Columns There are many ways to recycle goods – this is how the phone ended up with a reindeer and a sled in the river

In Inari my acquaintance had an extra cell phone. He doesn’t tend to throw anything away, but he stores the goods and invents new uses for them. For example, in empty butter boxes, berries can be frozen in late summer.

But what to do with a cell phone?

My acquaintance has domestic reindeer living on his lands. If the reindeer are in the adjacent forest, they are invited to eat by ringing the bell.

An acquaintance of mine put the bell on the cell phone as a ringtone and hung the phone on the neck of the reindeer leader. When meal time came, he rang the bell and rang the phone at the same time.

The deer was initially confused by the call, but got used to it, my acquaintance said. Little by little, the reindeer learned to connect the ringing of the phone to the moment of food. In the end, all he had to do was call his cell phone, and the reindeer rushed out of the woods to eat.

I live for a large part of the year in Inari. I always follow with interest how the goods go here.

For example, my neighbor did not throw away a broken Stiga sled but put a plywood board on it. Now the sled is “driven” along the Kettujoki river in the summer after the motorboat.

My husband is also an avid recycler. He cut the galoshes with scissors from the old rubber boots that broke on his arm.

Likewise, he arranges the nuts and nails in empty, glass pickles. He puts the screw on the lid of the jar and attaches the jar to the ceiling of the shed.

This saves shelf space.

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The deer was initially confused by the call.

I am learned to appreciate how goods are recycled and used – whether in the south or the north.

I myself have started to pay attention to clothes. I heard the phrase below Black Friday: “The most ecological garment is the one you already have in your closet.” The thought flared and bumped. The more clothes you wear, the more ecological it becomes.

So I’ve started rocking my clothes even more for repair.

When I got my broken jeans back intact, I chuckled with satisfaction. Unsurprisingly, it feels like I got twice as much dopamine from repairing my jeans as I did when buying new ones.

At the same time, the “emotional bond” with the clothing deepens. The repaired garment somehow becomes even closer.

But what about the reindeer? My acquaintance said that it took so much effort to charge the phone that it ended up on the table. However, he is not going to abandon the idea altogether.

It may be that there is still a reindeer in Lapland with a telephone.

The author is the editor of HS Lifestyle.