recycled composting instant desk mini bin

We all know we should compost our vegetation and organic waste. We have a grey plastic box thingummy in the kitchen to collect peelings, cores, the outer leaves of the lettuce that are a bit floppy, etc... But what to do when you eat an orange at your desk? You throw the peel in the bin don't you. What a waste! But keeping a separate compost bin would be impractical - there is so little organic waste at the desk (unless you count all the paper) that you'd only empty it once a month. That's going to get a bit pew! Introducing the compostable recycled paper magic instant mini-bin!
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Take one of those return envelopes that companies keep sending you with their bills, you know - the ones you throw straight in the bin.
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Fold in the corners like so - to produce a little bin. Simple huh! Tiny invention indeed.
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Then when you flip it over - as if by magic - a mini bin appears!
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Now just fill it with compostable by products of your desk bound activites:
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This has multiple advantages:
  • Paper composts pretty well, so you just throw the whole thing in the composter at the end of the day
  • Keeps desk tidy by gathering unwanted orange peel
  • Recycles envelopes that you would otherwise throw away
  • Fully compostable (as long as the envelope doesn't have a plastic window)
  • Shortlived as can be remade every time you get a new envelope - which is every day in my house
  • Easy to carry - even for those unfortunate not to work at home, this can tuck nicely into your bag to come home to your compost bin
  • No need to wash - unlike plastic bins of a similar dimension
  • Different look every day - some envelopes are brown, some white, some have checked innards
  • Oh - and it's free
  • Oh - and it's fun to make them
I can't think of any disadvantages. Apart from maybe pear cores can make them a bit soggy. But that's nothing that an extra bit of paper wouldn't handle. Save the planet people!

embossed moleskine

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I was clearing junk out of the garage (again) and found my big metal bench vice. So obviously I started trying to emboss the front of a moleskine with 3 dimensional objects. Dice worked best. Look!
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I left them in the vice overnight - an earlier test of an hour looked a bit wishy washy. Apologies to whoever did this a year ago who I can't link to because I can't find them - I'm sure they did a bat symbol from one of those old plastic toy batsign flipper toys.