Upcycling: The Spirit of Creativity and Co-Operation Throughout History

 I LOVE to creatively upcycle, but I'm definitely not the first to do this, and I know I won't be the last. We may have been the generation to put the hip name on it, but the idea of taking an unusable item and giving it new useable purpose instead of discarding it has been around for a long, long time. Who knows how far back it goes, I'd say maybe even back to the advent of the spirit of creativity coupled with the lack of supplies to meet a demand.

-Historically, upcycling was a need-based mindset-

During the Great Depression money and supplies were scarce. People of that era often had to use their creativity to reuse an item that was needed at the time. This was a creativity that was sometimes based in a need for survival from day to day. A more light hearted example of this spirit of human perseverance and innovation, despite their living conditions, was the use of flour sacks to make various household items. The flour manufacturers of the time had started to notice that the cotton sacks they used to transport large amounts of flour in were being repurposed by savvy and resourceful women of the era to make dresses.

A very innovative marketing employee had the idea to put the flour in sacks made of contemporary cotton fabrics instead of the plain printed flour sacks they had been using, and sales went through the roof.

Wartime rationing also brought out a great diversity of creative repurposing and another example of the innovation and inventiveness of the people of the time- to save money and ration nylon used by the military wartime women would draw a black line on the back of their legs to simulate pantyhose. So sassy, cute and it worked!! Bravo ladies!

Food items were reused and recycled, kitchen scraps like cooking oils and bacon grease previously thrown out were collected for reuse by the war effort. All throughout history people have been recycling items that had possibly worn out their original purpose into something else the was useful to their owner. Our generation is most familiar with this during the early to mid 1900s. Back then everyone knew how to sew and cook. With rationing during the world wars and the Great Depression people had to be both thrifty and creative.

A great result of this creativity and resourcefulness are clothing items like those cool colorful war era jackets they made from antique Hudson Bay wool blankets that are still around, and iconic and so collectable today.

Brochures were distributed with up cycling ideas like patterns to make women's skirts and blazers out of old men's suits.

                                                                                                                                                                  The world war era was a great time for examples of human ingenuity. Neighborhoods were organizing supply collections and many community action groups were formed in the spirit of volunteerism at that time. It was a time of people coming together and uplifting each other through cooperation and a collective spirit of staying positive through a sometimes lonely or negative experience.

-Upcycling is now a conservation/conciousness based mindset-   

Modern society is built on the creativity of it's ancestors. This was just the beginning of the current upcycle/repurposing movement. There are still many benefits to this type of mindset.  Environmental preservation, service of others, our neighbors and community. A globally orientated mindset. Simplifying and decluttering our lives. Thinking outside the box, being creative yet still practical. Conservation, using what we have on hand to manifest our current project. Living within our financial means, saving money. Simplifying with a zen/less is more focus. Freeing ourselves of our self induced prison of purchased stuff. Just to name a "few"!! Haha

All those unused items just sitting around cluttering the house can weigh us down, both in our physical and mental space. We have become such a society of consuming and mass production to match that consumption, I feel it's getting out of control. Throw away culture subliminally guided through the designed obsolescence of a corporate run capitalistic system for the benefit of few, unwittingly paid for by many... I for one, had been somewhat brainwashed into this mindset. Say no!!  We can change this by our purchasing power!! We can say yes to a simpler existence with less stuff  and a less cluttered mind. Life forces you that way sometimes but we still have the tools to make the right choices. And the choice to purchase from reuse stores instead of new items or, even better, reusing or repurposing out of materials already on hand is something I know I can always improve on in my life.

            Now we upcycle and repurpose but it's for a different reason. We do this not because we have to or are forced to.. We do it as an act that shows we choose what is important for ourselves, our families and everyone in our communities. It may seem that the odds are stacked against us, but we still can make a change, even if it does start out small. We choose to put our families, friends and neighborhood first. We choose to put our focus on environmental issues.

We have a voice. We matter.

   We don't even realize that we are being manipulated by mass marketing- numbed by a constant onslaught of the mass media even in our own home on our own time. This invasion of our privacy and our thought processes should not be allowed. We have free will, and I believe in the good  and the humanity that we all still have in us. We should not be told what to do, buy, eat, think. We have the power to change this- say no to the new junk they are putting out there for us- low quality at outrageously high prices. So paint, fix, upcycle- it's so much fun!! Shop the vintage and thrift
stores- almost every time you can find better quality, cool retro style and usually much cheaper.. It's the first step to utilize your creativity, think for yourself and others,  help keep the planet green and break out of the matrix of modern society consumer culture. It's just that first step that can precede a great change that benefits everyone!

          "This aggression will not stand, man."

                    

          And The Dude Abides.  Be the change. Peace.