Resolve to repurpose – Christmas day edition!

A friend of mine says that when she was growing up, her Japanese Mother would always make them clean the house the week between Christmas and New Years. Her thought was that whatever way you start the New Year was the way the rest of your year would go, so a clean and orderly house was in order.

Thinking about this and about New Year’s resolutions we all struggle to keep (as I start up my own end of year cleaning cycle), I wanted to share some ways you can reuse everyday household items to support your dance habits. As I started writing this, I started looking at everything differently; and, I hope you will, too! These resolutions will be EASY to keep, and may save you some money. Let’s see how many we can rack up, starting with the leftover items from today’s gifts.

1. Save the RIBBONS from Christmas presents and use them as straps (or a strap base) on a costume bra.
2. . . . or, as side bands for a bra.
3. . . . or to sew sequins, beads, rhinestones, or other embellishments onto when covering a bra.
4. . . . or, sew them along the upper band of your hip scarves to stabilize them.
5. . . . or, sew them along the upper edge dance belts to ease pinning. To do this, hold the ribbon about 1” down from the upper edge of the belt. When sewing, sew along the center line of the ribbon, allowing you to pin above or below as needed.
6. . . . or, if they complement a belt that is a little too small, use them to cover filler material that expands the belt diameter.
7. . . . or, use them for wrist bands.
8. . . . or, for arm bands.
9. . . . or, for flutters that dangle off of arm bands.
10. . . . or, for a head band.
11. . . . or, for ankle bands.
12. Save the TISSUE PAPER from today’s packages to wrap your coins scarves in; the tissue will keep them shiny.
13. . . . or, cut the tissue into small squares to use as blotting papers for glistening brows after a show.
14. . . . or, use it to cushion more delicate props, like glass candle holders.
15. Save the BOXES from today’s gifts to stow your bedlah.
16. . . . or, for storing your beaded dresses so they do not stretch.
17. . . . or, for storing your beaded skirts so they do not stretch.
18. . . . or, for storing your hipscarves.
19. And, since silica gel IS your new best friend, you know you want to save those guys to store with your costumes, right?
20. But, did you know that you could also keep silica gel to store with your FABRIC to keep it in good shape, long before it becomes a costume?