I know. All consignment, resale and thrift shopkeepers are fanatics about reusing, repurposing, recycling everything that can possibly have a longer useful life.

But there are some things you shouldn’t recycle.

Like:

* Negative feelings, attitudes, vibes. Okay, someone complained, yelled, snarled or just plain ignored you and made you feel bad. Happens to us all. Don’t recycle that feeling on the next person you run across. Bad moods deserve to die an early and unmourned death. Dump it in the dump.

* Other people’s property. You don’t get to use writing or artwork that isn’t yours. Some folks think if it’s on the Internet they can use it for their own purposes. This is not true. Not legally, not ethically. Educate yourself on what you can and cannot use before you find yourself recycling by stealing. Besides, posting a graphic with a big ole copyright symbol on it makes you look like a rube. Be inspired, yes. Decide that (s)he said it best and besides, you’re much too busy to create your own paragraph or photo so you’ll use theirs, no.

* Unexamined opinions, even opinions we agree with, that seem good, from experts we trust. We all form opinions, sometimes even with hard facts and experiences behind them. Doesn’t mean someone else’s opinion should automatically rule your world. Use your brain: does this opinion suit your circumstances? Maybe it does, kinda. In that case, recycle the parts which apply to you (navy’s a good color for me; I could so do that in my business) and dump the rest (Navy with orange? I think not.)