On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: Recycling an Old Mattress Set

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Recycling an Old Mattress Set

When John and I got a new mattress set last year, we put the old one, a queen size set, in storage, not sure if we'd ever need it again, but not wanting to be too quick to dispose of it on the chance that we might indeed need it again. Well, it's spring cleaning time, and I need the storage shed cleaned out so I can organize the storage and put necessities in there. So it was decided that the mattress set would be the first thing to go.

John and I are frugal people. Waste not, want not is practically our motto. And I do what I can to be eco-friendly. As it is, I recycle so fervently, we only have enough trash to haul every four months. So John, knowing that we were going to dispose of the mattress set, started thinking about what he could possibly do with it.

Recycling a used mattress set

In the first photo you can see the breakdown of the set: the box spring frame, the inner mattress coils, the foam pads, and the mattress covers, a bit stained, but otherwise useful.

The box frame and inner coils will be adapted for use in the garden as trellises. Might take a little more work and a lot of imagination, but we're thinking they will work just fine.

The foam pads and the mattress covers will be cut and sewn into comfortable dog beds

Hanging over the chain link fence in the background at left is this really interesting piece of plastic mesh. My first thought is that it would make an interesting addition to a wicked Halloween costume! But it might also do made into a bag for drying onions or garlic, or as a cover over a chick brooder, or as netting over fruit bushes or brambles to deter birds. If I think on it a bit longer, I'm sure I'll come up with some other great ideas.

Cotton batting from the box spring and mattress

In the next photo you'll see feed bags* (another item pressed into recycling use) full of cotton batting removed from the inner-springs and mattress.

John did his research on the materials. The darker cotton in the trash can on the left is not usable, but the white cotton in the three feed bags* is not treated with any toxic or otherwise harmful chemicals, and is safe for us to use. So this cotton will be used in the smokers for tending the bees. This amount will last us quite a long time.

*Feed bags accumulate quickly on the farm. John is always expressing to me the intrinsic value of these versatile bags. I don't care for them or their use, because they are not aesthetically pleasing to look at. But practicality has to win out here at 5~Acre Farm.

Not only are feed bags good for storing this cotton, but John uses them as insulation in the dog houses, and as a waterproof roof on the chicken kite. He intends to use them layered as insulation in our new well house, and wants to use them as insulation in the storage shed. These bags are excellent for holding garden produce, and could be used as mulch, or even sand bags if needed.

So I can't complain too much. Practicality has to win out over aesthetics sometimes, especially on a farm.

I hope this post inspires you to be eco-friendly and recycle something you have that up until now you thought had no further use. If it does, please come back and leave a comment to tell me about it!

3 comments:

UnknownMarch 21, 2013 at 7:06 AM
I can organize the storage and put necessities in there. So it was decided that the mattress set would be the first thing to go. http://www.bestmattress-brand.org/review-of-top-7-adjustable-bed-brands/
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AnonymousSeptember 3, 2013 at 5:43 AM
Awesome job! I know it was hard work but they are beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration.Oak Bunk Beds
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UnknownSeptember 19, 2013 at 4:41 AM
well worked...something interesting.EXPRESS BEDZ
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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.