One of the beauties of adopting a green lifestyle is that you can give an old item in the house a new lease on life.  You can call it repurposing, reusing or recycling because the aim is always the same - to spare the environment from yet another of man’s garbage.

Yes, even your old wool jacket with the tattered edges can be repurposed in so many ways.  You have to use your imagination coupled with crafty hands and voila!  Your old wool jacket into something - no, make that many things - new.

This is definitely better than donating your wool jacket to donation centers, thrift stores and consignment sites.  After all, you do not have the full assurance that the wool jacket will be used by other people or that it will be repurposed by the new owner instead of being thrown into the garbage.  And you must know by now that once in the garbage, it will most likely end up in the landfill where it will contribute to environmental pollution.

And so, repurpose your old wool jacket you must, if only to save the environment.  But did you know that by repurposing something you can save money as well?  Look at it this way: You will have the item that you need, be it a purse, a mat or a floor rug, instead of buying them from the store.  Your repurposing will also achieve another tenet of a green lifestyle - you are actually reducing your carbon footprint by lessening your expenses for products that take their toll on the Earth.

Yet another thing about repurposing old wool jackets is that the material itself is durable and beautiful, not to mention that it is highly versatile.  You can turn it into so many things from personal accessories to household items and anything else your imagination can think of.

You will need the equipment to transform a jacket into various items.  We are talking about sewing equipment like a sewing machine, needles and scissors as well as threads, buttons and maybe even ribbons.  You will find many patterns in online sites for the various things that a wool jacket can be transformed into.

Just to name a few of the things that you can make out of an old wool jacket:

-Cases for cellphones and iPods or any small gadget that need fabric protection

-Handbags and purses

-Cases for notebooks and laptops

-Pillow and pillow cases

-Stuffed animals

-Floor rugs

-Quilts

-Table runners

-Drink coasters

Now, if you have a number of wool fabrics just waiting to be repurposed, you should start thinking up of the many ways to combine them.  Or you can combine wool with other fabrics just lying around the house.  This way, you can achieve texture, style and variety in your new things, so to speak.  For example, you can make pillow from a wool sweater with a wool backing or a flannel backing.

Indeed, when you set your mind to it, you can and will find new ways to use old things.  You will then be able to save on the cost of buying new things while doing your part for the preservation of the environment.