Sara Noel of Frugal Village is talking about overlooked ways to re-use, reduce or recycle items in her newspaper column today. You’ll find it on page 3E of today’s print and e-editions of The Monroe Evening News, and here’s where you can find her column on line.

A snippet:

If you come across old, abandoned houses or buildings that are going to be torn down (or a neighbor who’s moving), get in touch with the owner or construction company and ask whether they mind if you take some of the plants. You’ll be saving them!

I did that! We used to live in the Colonial Gardens townhouse complex by Mercy Memorial Hospital. The hospital has converted the complex into office space, and we were among the last residential tenants to move out.

When we left, our next-door neighbor asked if she could have our rose bush when she moved. We told her go ahead! A previous tenant had planted those roses, and they were quite pretty. But our new home wasn’t ready for landscaping. So we couldn’t take the plant.

By the way, I’ve recently registered as a member on Frugal Village forums. It’s a very active community. You’ll find me logging in as Monroe on a Budget.