Living on an acre of land creates a certain yard tending challenge.  Add to that nineteen 100 plus year old Pine, Oak and Sweetgum trees and collecting leaves and pine needles and sweetgum balls from the yard can be quite daunting.  We have to have a reliable trash bag that can hold all of the sharp and sticky fallings and be able to be dragged to the front of the property to the curb.

For years, we have relied on Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags to handle this chore for us.  And we have never been disappointed!  With it’s unique diamond texture and easy to tie closures, we can cram the sharpest pine cone into the bag and it won’t tear open.  Plus we cram as much as we can into them – grass clippings too – and they just expand and take it!

But Glad Black Trash Bags are for more than just yard work.  They can handle our families trash as well.  Spilled milk containers, kids food thrown in the trash, sharp parts of broken toys.  No matter what we throw in them, the bags hold up.  In fact, I can not remember one single time that we have had a tear in one of these bags.  And we use A LOT of them!

However, lately, I have been more and more interested in recycling, composting and reusing items I have to make other things.  And with Earth Day upon us, I am even more excited about coming up with ways to help preserve and conserve this planet for my children. Shows on like the Picker Sisters give me motivation and ideas on trying to turn our ‘trash’ into treasure!

If you have never seen the Picker Sisters, you are missing out!  These two fun and intelligent women travel the county ‘picking’ up pieces from people that they see as trash and creating the most beautiful lamps, chairs and more from them!  And then they sell it to the public and anyone lucky enough to get the piece has a recycled, green, conversation piece for years to come.  It really is a very cool and innovative show and my husband and I love watching it together!

Well now, Glad Black Bag has teamed up with the Picker Sisters – best friends and interior designers Tracy Hutson and Tanya McQueen – to celebrate and cleanup wild moments when things get broken and things get damaged, and then find ways to reuse discarded items.

Here are some key points from the Picker Sisters that can help you turn trash into treasure!

Practically practical – As a designer, it’s essential to think about how a piece will function. Will the item get lots of use and have to withstand daily beatings? Make mental note of who will be using the pieces and how often, then design your projects using materials that will suit your lifestyle. Your creations should be both beautiful and functional. For instance, consider using an old trunk as a coffee table. If you want a smooth surface, get some glass cut at your local home improvement store to fit over the trunk, so you can still admire the charm of the piece, while making it useable.

Embrace the eclectic – Mixing old with new, modern with antique, or rustic with mid-century, can bring freshness to your style and breathe new life into your space. And the good part is, you can choose items you prefer, not items you think you need to make everything match exactly.

Refresh key pieces – Looking to freshen up your dining room chairs because they’ve endured their fair share of spills? Don’t throw them out. It may be easier than you think to reupholster the cushions with a fresh, new print, or, perhaps something spill-proof. With just a few key tools – such as an electric staple gun, pliers and screw driver – and you can have a fresh-looking dining set. Check out a how-to video at www.thisoldhouse.com.

Inspiration everywhere – We draw inspiration and ideas from everything around us all the time. Magazines, the Internet and nature itself are brimming with interesting, evocative images and objects that may spark a thought that you can then incorporate into your own design. The most original ideas can come from the most unlikely places. So keep your eyes open and your creative goggles on, and draw inspiration from the great big world around you.

Celebrated mosaic artist Jason Mecier will create four works of art utilizing people’s trash or “wild life remnants,” including items collected during GACs from across the country, as well as items donated by celebrities, such as Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon A Time) and Nathan Kress (iCarly). These works of art will be auctioned off during the Glad® Black Bag art auction on eBay for consumers to bid on, from April 16 through April 26, with proceeds benefiting KAB’s Great America Cleanup.

Even if you don’t bid, at least help spread this amazing message by clicking one of the social buttons next to the photos.  It is so easy to share this amazing auction on Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest.  Please take a moment to spread the word.  You can even repin my Pinterest board with the photos and links on them!

Be sure to pick up your reliable, Glad Black Trash bags with the diamond weave design in the 30 gallon and 33 gallon sizes soon!  And check out the Picker Sisters on your local channels!  I can’t wait to see who wins the auction too!

What do you do to reuse discarded items?  Do you have links or photos you would like to share with me?  Please feel free!

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Glad Black Bag and received a Glad Black Bag product and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. I was also asked to “pin” one (1) Glad Black Bag Art Auction photo on Pinterest.**