My friend's mom has been repurposing and giving new life to furniture for years. And she's always been a sense of reuse inspiration for me. One of her biggest projects was converting a junky shed in the backyard into a 3-season work and sleep space. With a small fireplace or heater, it could easily be a great tiny house for a longterm guest. The house is decorated with all sorts of reclaimed and repurposed furniture, antiques and even some vintage tools.

When we give tours of The REUSE! Box Truck Tiny House, there are some specific things that Deek and I like to show and numerous "tour favorites" that people always comment on. This is why we created a map handout that shows the layout of the truck and our top 50 reuse features. We don't expect everyone to do all 50, but maybe they'll see a few them that they incorporate into their own lives. It's always fun to see before and after photos, so I thought I would showcase some of the more notable truck features and what these items used to be. And I also wanted to address the benefits of each. Wardrobe Original Use: Canning Cupboard Benefits: Storytelling: This was a food canning cupboard, dating back to at least the early 1900s. It's also the first item we found, months before we had the truck. Large amount of storage for my clothing, accessories and a whole lot more. I can use the door to project TV, movies or video games on Kept out of the landfill, as this was heading for a dumpster at a house that was being renovated Prevented a furniture piece from being manufactured with non-renewable resources Cost: $0.00 Kitchen Sink Original Use: Cooking Pot Benefits: Storytelling: This was my grandmother's pot and it keeps memories of spending time with her in her kitchen alive. Unique, durable kitchen sink I can hide the dirty dishes with the lid! Prevented a new sink from being manufactured with non-renewable resources Cost $0.00 Coat Hooks Original Use: Maple syrup spiles to tap maple trees Benefits: Storytelling: This is a fun reminder of the state where we first showed the truck before it was done. Unique, durable coat hooks Prevented new hooks from being manufactured with non-renewable resources Cost: $2.00 for 4 of them Closet Slide Outs Original Use: Skateboard decks Benefits: Storytelling - These were my personal skateboards and the one shown is a team board from my friend's shop in my hometown Easy way to access items in a deep closet Keeps broken skateboards out of the landfill Cost $0.00 Food & Spice Storage Rack Original Use: Ladder for a performing arts theater Benefits: Storytelling: This ladder was used for theatrical productions for over 50 years at the long-closed movie theater in the town where the truck was built. Unique storage for dry goods and spices Kept out of the landfill, as this was sitting unused in a building for years that will most likely be demolished Prevented a new rack from being manufactured with non-renewable resources Cost $0.00 Clearly, there are some great stories behind these items and the benefits for the planet are obvious. Plus, the total cost for these features was $2.00! Two Dollars! To see more about these and a lot more features in the truck, here's the trailer for the feature film about it and various viewing options. P.S. For any of the literally thousands of people who have toured the truck, if you have done any similar features in your own life as a result, please leave a comment. We'd love to hear about it. Thanks!