At our previous home, recyling was taken care of by the HOA.  Not something I really thought about a lot.  So...fast forward to our new home and I not have to choose my own trash disposal company.  Without detailing all my woes with the first company I chose, let me just say that the price of recycling pick-up on top of the quarterly fee was just too much.

But...

all this was being thrown away even though it could be recycled (ignore the squirrel food in the bottom right).  Just a pile of recyclable items in the garage.  And since I'm generally trying to be a little more green (eco friendly?), this just didn't sit right with me.  After some digging, I found out there was a satellite center just minutes from the house which was totally doable.

So the search for the perfect recycling receptacle began!  My efforts began with a trash bag hanging off a kitchen drawer while I was still on the search.  Just ugly.  Really ugly.  So...enter in the Simple Human 60 litre Rectangular Recycler.  I adore Simple Human products.  I think they're all so well thought out and fit the bill every time that they're usually the first items I look at.  Back to the trash can, it comes with two compartments, one for recycling and one for trash.  I tried doing it this way at first, using both sides individually, but the size just wasn't working for those bulky recyclables like cardboard boxes.  Best idea ever...a removable divider!  Problem solved. 33-gallon liners fit perfectly with plenty of room leftover to tie off the bag.

But...I had to label it somehow.  Because no matter how lovely their products are, it still looked like a regular trash can.  My in-laws would confuse my recycling trash can with the regular trash can sometimes.  Imagine me digging in there for some banana peels.

Here comes the Silhouette to save the day!  As a welcome birthday gift from my husband, I decided to try my hand at vinyl labels.  Super easy.  I googled some public recyling logos and traced those on the software.

 
Carefully remove the pieces you want onto the transfer paper while taking off the negative area.  Still a struggle but it can be done.


Apply to your surface of choice...


and tadah!!!  Isn't it beautiful?  My husband told me after he saw it that it looked like I had bought it that way.  Love the magic of vinyl.  Now no more confusion on where to put things and we are saving the planet in our own little way!

And to end with a last parting image...


The Simply Human can in all it's labeled glory.  It's become one of my favorite things in the kitchen.  It fits so much in there that I empty it maybe once a week.

Has anyone else used their Silhouette or other cutting machine to make vinyl labels for something?  I'd love to hear about it.