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I’ve been thinking a lot about Resalvaged and what the word Resalvaged even means. We started using the word when we ran our junk removal and estate cleanout business back in 2009.
At the time, it seemed like a good word to use because we were knee-deep in salvage and recycling – but the more you think about salvage, the more you realize that can go a lot farther than just old scrap metal.
The word Salvage means to retrieve or preserve something from loss or destruction. The prefix re- can mean again, such as in the case of the word reuse. It can also mean back – the way it was before, such as in repair, restore, and revitalize.
The prefix re- is really quite interesting as well, because so many of the things we do and write about here at Resalvaged are all about preserving and retrieving something that is forgotten and discarded, broken and worn, and bringing it back again in a new way.
Sometimes, we make repairs and restorations. Other times we find creative ways to reuse something – maybe an old T-Shirt isn’t suitable for wearing anymore because it has holes or stains or doesn’t fit – but it can certainly be repurposed into something that we can use – such as a rag rug, rope and yarn, a tote-bag or even just a useful rag we can use for cleaning dust off of something.
A lot of times, what we do here at Resalvaged isn’t just about “stuff” – there’s a lot more that needs salvaged and brought back to life than just things.
Think about the words recovery, rehab, redeem, and resilience – those are powerful words if you’ve ever been through something painful. Even in our everyday mundane ordinary daily activities we often face challenges such as rejection or we fail at something and need to redo what we were working on.
Beyond all of the “stuff” there are a lot of intangible things we can repair, restore, and reuse. That “thing” could be a good idea, a scrap of knowledge, a plan, a relationship, a business — even your health or your sanity.
While thinking about this, I inevitably made a big list of all the relevant words that start with the prefix re-. I also scoured my own archives to find this dictionary page with a bunch of the words that I salvaged and digitized from an old antique Funk & Wagnall’s Dictionary. 🙂
I am going to start a series here, and it will probably take me quite a while to complete it – but I want to write about each of the different words that start with re- and what they mean through the lens of Resalvaged – taking something that is thought to be worthless and giving it value and function again.
In the meantime, I thought I would share my list of words that start with the prefix Re-, because it will serve as a wonderful prompt list to use for future projects, not to mention help us stay focused on our mission.
Words That Start With Re-
- Restore
- Revitalize
- Repair
- Rehab
- Renew
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Revision – Revise
- Reimagine
- Rethink
- Rediscover
- Recover
- Rearrange
- Recalculate
- Rekindle
- Rewrite
- Redo
- Resilience
- Rebuild
- Redact
- Reserve
- Revamp
- Return
- Review
- Result
- Reflect
- Resolve
- Research
- Report
- React
- Retrieve
- Reclaim
- Remember
- Republish
- Revive
- Reject
- Reduce
- Revert
- Rejuvenate
- Redeem
I am sure there may even be more words than just what I thought of in this list – but when you put all of these words together in a list like this, it is easy to see how there’s a lot more to resalvaged than just collecting vintage or creatively recycling something. I see potential in so many things, and it’s part of our mission to bring the best out of everything we encounter.
To go back to one of my favorite quotes: