For play, I am always reusing containers, boxes, paper, and anything else that can be manipulated. And, what person doesn't get a cheap thrill with the fact that a piece of trash occupied a toddler?
I keep all of the cards we get and use them when we read books. We are able to talk about the picture, why we received the card, and who sent the card to us. I love it when I am able to point to the picture of the person that sent the card to help make more meaning for him. (The homemade cards get thrashed first--so, I pull them out to keep before they are shredded. Most of these cards are from his 1st birthday.)
Everett loves our name badges for work. So, I made a badge of cards for him with old gift cards, hotel keys, and the fake plastic credit cards we get in the mail. He loves it. Recently, we have used the cards to talk about color. I never thought I would get this much mileage out of trash.
We also hang on to pictures and birth announcements. We get to talk about the people in the pictures and, really, what young toddlers aren't fascinated with the baby face.
One thing I have stopped repurposing is a variety of containers for bathtime. He would use them to displace the water from the tub as if he was on a sinking ship and bailing out water to save his life. He does have one old detergent cap that he uses to drink water out of from the tub faucet. Other than that, everything has else has holes.
