I know of no one who likes to throw things away or donate them more than me. I am so loyal to recycling and reducing that I get daily newsletters to figure out how to give new things away. But I have a confession. I’m a microwave glass plate hoarder. It is one of few things that I just cannot make myself give away, even though I have four of them in various sizes.
Recommended Read: “ Round 2: Filtering out the oddballs on Craigslist and Freecycle ~ If it’s free, why are you so entitled?”
The small collection started off simple enough. A maroon microwave I bought during my college years broke in transit from my dorm in one state to my new apartment in another. I was furious. When would I ever find another maroon (my favorite color since the age of 16) microwave? I kept the wheel, even though I threw away the microwave. Two more microwaves came and went, and I kept those microwave glass plates too. Then I bought a condo that had a built-in microwave already installed. I still refused to give up those microwave wheels, going as far as posting them on Freecycle and Craigslist only to delete them again in 60 seconds.
I just had a feeling that one of these days, my microwave glass plate would break and I’d need a backup. (This has never happened in 23 years, but my mind works how it works.) Then it hit me. If I couldn’t use these extra microwave wheels for their intended purpose, why not find new ways to use them instead of discarding the glass plates? I found three handy ways to reuse the microwave wheels—without needing the guide support or the tray support.