For Many Bits Of Old Stuff, a Useful New Life

Tempted to Toss It? Think About the Possibilities.

Spring cleaning doesn't have to mean bag after bag of garbage.

Given fears of a recession and worries about overflowing landfills, there's new incentive to find second lives for many household items.

"We can't afford to keep living disposable lives," said Lori Baird, a co-author of "Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew, and Reuse to Make Things Last," a compendium from Yankee magazine. "It makes sense for all of us to be more careful about how we spend money."

Some of Baird's favorite tips include using the wire racks from an old refrigerator as cooking racks for baked goods and donating old towels to animal shelters, which use them for dog baths.

But not everything can be salvaged. Baird warned against reusing items like children's car seats, which have expiration dates because of frequent changes in safety features. "If there's ever a question of safety involved in reusing an object, I'd say don't do it," Baird said in an e-mail.

For everything else, repurposing often requires a little washing up and a touch of imagination. The next time you're contemplating giving something the old heave-ho, here are 15 tips to give it new use.

· Old Dishes, New Planter

Filling large outdoor planters with soil for a small plant can be costly. Pieces of a broken clay pot or ceramic dish help drainage and prop up undersize plants. Place shards at the bottom of a large pot until it is almost half-full. Add a layer of plastic foam pieces or a mixture of gravel or pebbles (you can also use filler from old aquariums or wine corks), then fill with potting soil.

· Old Branches, New Decor