From Trash to Treasure. Glad Black Bag Teams up with artist Jason Mercier and Keep America Beautiful

Spring Cleaning!!! Oy, I started one project and now my enthusiasm is completely deflated.  I began going through all the clothes in the boys closet, weeding out all the ones to give away, the ones too keep in case we ever have another man-child, etc.  In the midst of my feelings of defeat I hear the front yard calling my name. “Weed me, weed me, Amy!” it calls.  I wish I could just tell it to “Can it!”, but I think instead I’ll just have to bag it. Glad® black bag it.

I’m intrigued by Glad’s black Force Flex bags.  Have you tried them???  Remember how last time you stuffed a bunch of yard clippings, sticks, and all that other junk in a trash bag you found when you were tidying up outside?  Remember all those tiny holes punctured by all that pokey stuff in the bag that just kept stretching and getting larger with every step you took toward the trash can?  Yeah, not so great.  Glad’s Force Flex Bags really cut down on all that because they actually stretch to accommodate different sizes and shapes of whatever you are stuffing in there.   Because they stretch they are also great for storing or transporting large stuff like kids toys that they no longer play with, old clothes, and all the random items that are getting the boot as you declutter your home.

Glad Black Bag has teamed up with the Picker Sisters – best friends and interior designers Tracy Hutson and Tanya McQueen to find ways to reuse some of those items that might otherwise get the boot.  Here are a few tips for turning your trash to 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?
• 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.
• 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.

Keeping with the theme “trash to treasure,” Glad Black Bag and Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanups, Glad have teamed up with celebrated mosaic artist Jason Mercier.  Mercier has created 4 up-cycled masterpiece mosaics using the trash of certain celebrities as well as unique trash items found in Glad’s Great American Clean Up events.  These works of art will be auctioned off during the Glad® Black Bag art auction on eBay for people to bid on, from April 16 through April 26, with proceeds benefiting Keep America Beatiful’s Great America Cleanup.   Glad has been a partner of KAB, whose mission is to engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments, for 27 years.

Here is one of my favorite of the pieces that is on auction: