I have concluded that I have become very narrow-minded.  One of the things that I've discovered when reading about people who are frugal or approaching self-sufficient is that they are very creative and think outside the box.  For me a trashcan has always been a trashcan.  Since I've been reading on this site and others, a trashcan can be feed storage, excess water storage, add some sand and motor oil from your last oil change and it's a place to store yard tools to prevent rust, drill some holes and it's a place to grow potatoes, drill some more holes and it's a place for compost (roll it around the yard for easy mixing), and others that I haven't come across yet.  These uses all seem so obvious when you consider that a trashcan is nothing more than a large container. 

I had this epiphany about a week ago when the weather finally cleared up enough to make hanging clothes outside a reasonable option.  I had this tiny little basket and it took me about three trips to transfer all of the clothes from the washing machine to the lines for hanging.  I had to stretch my thinking a little, but finally came up with a solution:  a wagon.  We had this red wagon that was too little for the DD's, but would be absolutely perfect for bringing my clothes out and then taking them back in.  A wagon is just a container on wheels afterall.  How perfect - wheel it in and out of the house as needed.  Pull it along under the line to catch any potential drops.  It's higher than a regular basket thanks to the wheels so less stooping.  What I might have done prior to learning to think outside the box was just go buy a larger clothes basket.

Discovering second lives for things is very satisfying.  Odd that you can often end up with something better by using something unconventional.

Share some of your unusual second life experiences!

If you didn't have a wagon, a pull-behind shopping cart would work too.  :-)

I have a little red wagon too, and use it for gardening.  It hauls my gardening tools, gloves, buckets and stuff.  There's a story behind it which goes along the second life subject... a few years ago my husband and I used to visit the scrap yard pretty regularly in search of metal and interesting old items for the garden.  I had wanted a trellis entrance to the backyard, so looked at the local garden centers and thru mail order catalogs.  Very expensive, and a lot of them looked like they'd blow away in the wind.  Anyway, at the scrap yard we found a bunch of old black wrought iron-type fence pieces.  Eureka!!  My husband borrowed my dad's welder and made this really cool trellis by cutting and welding up this fencing.

The same day we found the fencing, I spotted an old Radio Flyer wagon.  The handle was bent, it was really dirty, but we scraped out the dirt (from the inside), rebent the handle and it rolled along fine.  One of the owners saw me with it, however, and said I couldn't take it.  They "used it" (yeah, right).

Later for Christmas or my birthday (can't remember which), I got my little red wagon as a present.  New, but there wouldn't have been anything wrong with putting that old one to use either.  I've given a lot of things a second life, and call me strange, but it can be more satisfying than buying new.

Lynnea Berr:

If you didn't have a wagon, a pull-behind shopping cart would work too.  :-)

You're right!...but I don't have one of those.  I considered using my two-wheeled wheelbarrow, though, before I remembered the wagon.  That wheelbarrow is definately a multi-use item.

We use a sturdy old picnic hamper for our foot stool/chairside table/coffee table in our living room.

Plastic tubular hangers hold wet shirts and pants until they dry.

Our very stained/well used towels, washcloths, etc. go straight to the rag bag.  No paper towels or store bought chemical wipes used here.

CharlieB:

I've given a lot of things a second life, and call me strange, but it can be more satisfying than buying new.

It's not strange at all because I know exactly what you mean.  I bet everyone on here does.  A lady next to my DD's school got a new bathtub put in and she is using the old one for a flower planter in her front yard!

What a great wagon story - maybe they do use it now since you cleaned it up and fixed the handle.  That's a great use for the fencing, too.  My dad welded together some rebar left-over from their housebuilding to make a trellis.  Talk about sturdy.

That all reminds me - what may be the ultimate second life story I've personally witnessed - my dad built a small gazebo for the kids to play in and he used a huge old worthless fiberglass satellite dish as the roof!!!  He painted it with copper paint and it looks like metal up there.  No one even realized what it was until he told us.  He even built a little cupola on top to cover the hole in the middle.

 I bought a "little red wagon" to use for yardwork. I mix soil in it and haul plants in it as well as tools. 

The most unique repurposing that I can think of was when my then husband installed a ceiling fan in our living room. The ceiling had a light fixture in the middle of it, but the hole was too big for the fan to cover. He used a margarine bowl, cut a hole in the bottom, turned it upside down, glued it over the hole and painted it. No one could tell what it was.

mmm I do reuse things in other ways, always have but can't think of many things at the moment. 

blues clues backpack as a diaper bag.

large wicker basket as a our laundry hamper.

decorative plant tin holds my clothespins.

piece of iron fence is a trellis

old 5.25 computer floppy drive holder (holds 100) for recipes

have been getting rid of baby/kid stuff but keeping the flannel receiving blankets etc for reusing for bird cloths (put on shoulder under bird)  and for in the future making rice bags as the inner bag.

can't think of anything else at the moment.  the kids are great for reusing things for toys and play

MarthaMFI:

old 5.25 computer floppy drive holder (holds 100) for recipes

 I particularly like this one!  I have a small basket with a lid from a yard sale many years ago that holds my recipes.  It sorta looks like a treasure chest, but it is just big enough for index cards and cut-out recipes.