Shower Curtains

Okay, first of all, don't buy vinyl shower curtains! They off-gas the plasticizers they're made of and these VOC's are endocrine disruptors, which means they mimic natural hormones like estrogen and may interfere with a developing fetus. VOC's are eye-irritants, central nervous system damagers and possibly cause cancer. You can buy really tightly woven fabric curtains instead (I bought mine at Sears) or nylon ones which don't off-gas. They last indefinitely and you can wash them in your washing machine. But if you already have vinyl shower curtains, here are some ideas from Trash Talk on how to reuse them:
"Vinyl shower curtains reused make good drop cloths for painting projects. In the garden they can be used as row covers for tender spring plants (when a cold night threatens). Like costly landscape fabric use curtains to control weeds in garden beds. Cut an X at each plant location, plant, then close the X around the plant stem. Cover the entire sheet with rocks, gravel or bark mulch."
They also suggest using them as ground covers under your tent when camping, using them as liners in the trunk of your car, or cutting into big rectangles and securing at the shoulders with clothespegs as craft smocks.

A Great Tip from Trash Talk: Cardboard Reuse

Cardboard works great for weed control in the yard or garden. Lay out the flattened cardboard first making sure to overlap it by at least six inches. If the weeds are very established or if your weeds are more like small shrubs, do a double or even triple layer to ensure nothing grows through. We found that it is best to wet the cardboard with a sprinkler to soften it before applying the top layer of bark mulch or gravel so the cardboard will settle in and smother all the weeds completely. In as little as one year the cardboard will have composted into a rich loamy soil while the weeds have been killed off by lack of sunlight and air. Simply top off the bark mulch periodically as it too breaks down over the years.

GREAT book: "Trash Talk"

This is an incredible book, written by Dave and Lillian Brummet, published in 2004 by PublishAmerica LlLP. It is chock-full of ideas for reducing our trash -- from refusing to buy over-packaged items or packaging that can't be reused or recycled, to creative crafting with otherwise discarded items, to thousands of fantastic ideas for reusing everyday items when the primary use has ended. Lillian has given me permission to share some of their great ideas on this blog, and I highly recommend having this book on your shelf for daily inspiration and great ideas -- it's the one you'll pull down off your shelf and lend to that friend or family-member who needs inspiration in the direction of sustainability!