Offcuts
The crust on sliced bread. Do you cut it off? Maybe for a child. I’ve known many a mother hastily scoff the trimmings of a Hovis loaf after the packed lunch run.
We all feel guilty throwing something out, after the bulk has been used for a different process. The home cook is nothing without a good bag of vegetable or meat scraps for stock. The spare clay is splashed into a bucket for slip. What do you cut off?
I cut a lot of paper for my practice. Enough to acquire an industrial paper cutter. It guillotines through 400 sheets at a time, making light work of bound spines and uneven edges alike. I was finally able to tidy up the rest of a road atlas I was recycling, meaning I was left with many long, thin strips of map.
I have found a home for them, for now. Part of being a thrifty crafter is knowing when your offcuts are worthy or just waste. Simple, undecorated papers are straight to the scrap bin. Anything with interesting patterns or print would suit a collage. 50mm by 50mm squares are worth keeping for all sorts of decoration. You can find them as the brand label for my upcycled notebooks, or on the flap of an envelope when I’m feeling like sending a letter.
If you standardise your offcuts, you will find it much easier to store and use. Knowing if there’s specific sizes or shapes that tend towards usefulness will save you from an unsorted heap. You should never have an unsorted heap of anything. If you have an unsorted heap, you are allowed to just dispose of it. You are not a one person recycling plant, and if it’s not worth the effort now, it’s not likely to ever be.
Whether it’s a kitchen, a studio, or a workshop- be careful with your offcuts. They are an entirely free resource that you can do anything with. That doesn’t mean you have to.
Feeling tidier already,
Haley