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Member Wins & Money Smiles July 2026

​How to Recycle an Old Electric Blanket into Useful Garden Supplies

Our 10-year-old queen-sized electric blanket finally died and could not be repaired. I didn’t want to simply send it to landfill, so I looked for ways to reuse as much of it as possible.
First, I removed the skirt and cut the fabric into suitable sizes to make reusable vegetable produce bags and protective covers for fruit ripening on the trees. The skirt also contained several metres of bias binding, which makes excellent soft plant ties. Next, I removed the electric wiring by carefully snipping the wire at each end of the coils and gently pulling it through the blanket. The wire is plastic-coated and flexible, making it useful for tying and supporting larger plants that need something stronger than ordinary garden twine. Once the wiring was removed, I was left with a large piece of blanket fabric with plenty of practical uses. It could be repurposed as:
  • an extra blanket for cold nights
  • warm bedding for pets
  • a weed mat in the garden
  • protective padding for stored items
  • mulch mats for newly planted trees.
My favourite idea is to cut the blanket into squares approximately 40cm x 40cm. Cut a small circle in the centre of each square, then place it around the base of a newly planted tree. The fabric helps suppress weeds and protects the soil around the young tree. With a little time and imagination, almost every part of the old electric blanket was reused instead of being added to landfill.
Contributed by Carol Woolcock

​How to Reuse Coles and Woolworths Paper Grocery Bags and Save $165 a Year

​I realised I was wasting about $2.10 every week by putting my Coles and Woolworths paper grocery bags straight into the recycling bin. The bulky bags quickly filled the bin, leaving less room for the rest of our recycling and sometimes creating extra disposal costs.Now, instead of throwing them out after just one use, I reuse the paper bags to hold dry kitchen rubbish and other household waste. This gives each bag a second purpose and means I don’t need to buy as many rolls of plastic garbage bags. By reusing the paper grocery bags, I save approximately $5.40 a month on garbage bags, as well as the $8.40 a month I was spending on paper shopping bags. That is a total saving of around $13.80 a month, or $165.60 a year. Some weeks, I avoid buying paper bags altogether. I place the groceries loose in the boot of the car, then carry them into the house using the sturdy reusable supermarket bags I keep at home. It takes a little extra effort, but it saves money, reduces waste and even gives me some useful light lifting exercise. It also makes me smile when my husband comes home from an occasional supermarket trip with all the groceries carefully spread out across the boot of his car! Reusing the bags and combining shopping trips also helps reduce fuel costs, household waste and the stress of an overflowing recycling bin.
Contributed by Faye Lording

​How to Use Up an Overfilled Fridge and Prevent Food Waste

​Our household has been gathering and buying food for four fridges, and suddenly we have found ourselves in a real feast-or-famine situation! At the moment, my kitchen fridge contains 23 litres of milk, five dozen eggs, fancy cheeses, fruit that has been given to me, leftover asserole, three bottles of juice and seemingly endless jars and bottles of sauces, condiments and jam. I even keep my cold face creams in the fridge to help them stay fresh. It is a lot of food, but I am determined that none of it will be wasted. The eggs will be used at a rate of around three eggs per person each day. We will eat the leftover casserole first, enjoy the fresh fruit daily and work our way through the cheeses and milk. Anything that cannot be used before it spoils will be portioned and frozen where suitable. Opened sauces, condiments and jams will be checked, organised and used regularly in meals. Freezer-safe foods will be labelled and frozen so they are not forgotten. My son follows a carnivore diet and has lost 20 kilograms, so he does not eat many of the extra or fancy foods. My husband and I eat a varied, healthy diet, but it appears we have stocked up a little too enthusiastically for those rainy days! By making a careful plan to use what we already have, we will avoid food waste, reduce supermarket trips and save money. Once everything has been eaten, frozen or properly organised, I will also be able to give the fridge a thorough clean. Sometimes an overfilled fridge can feel overwhelming, but with a use-it-first plan, it can become several weeks—or even months—of meals without needing to shop.
Contributed by Faye Lording