I can't help but snicker every time I see a craft idea that claims that it is "green", "recycling, " or "re-purposing" something.  These projects can be fun for kids and inexpensive because you can use things on hand. They can also be a great way to keep kids busy for a while so that you can sneak in a cup of coffee and read a celebrity gossip magazine. But, let's get honest. These projects are just prolonging the inevitable certain end of the items' life.

Regardless of how involved the craft the project is, you are just decorating trash that will look like sparkly, cute trash with eyeballs and arms. Then, after playing with, proudly displaying it, or gifting it to someone, it still is nothing more than decorated trash. The difference is that now there is a guilt trip glued to it. If you throw away the craft project, you are throwing away your child's hard work. The kid probably wouldn't miss it but how would you live with yourself just pitching the margarine tub donned with glitter, the paper plate puppet with button eyes, or brown bag lunch bag that has been fashioned into a candy dish.

I think this is how hoarding started. I watch that show when I need to get inspired to clean my house. Not that my house is ever anything close to a hoarder's house but there is something very motivating about seeing a filthy, disgusting, rat infested house on TV that makes me want to do some dishes, mop the floors, and fold some laundry. I encourage you to watch an episode of Hoarders.  Listen to the homeowners and how they describe why the don't throw things away. So many times it is because, "It might be good for something." or "I am going to make something out of that." I can totally see how a well intentioned mom wants to save everything for a re-purposing craft since, well, everything can be fun with some glue and glitter so they start collecting... EVERYTHING!! I mean, really! One day it will make a really cute pencil holder, paper weight, or other trinket.

So I propose this... instead of trying to decorate our garbage, lets just throw it out. One less glitter decorated something-or-other thrown away now is just as good as a glitter decorated do-dads snuck into the trash can while your kid is using the bathroom. I am not bashing fun projects for kids, but lets not encourage our kids to save all things worthy of meeting the trash compactor by telling them that we are saving the environment by gluing beads, yarn, and other odds and ends to trash. They will still end up in a landfill, but now there will be more stuck to it than a banana peel from lunch.