“Leave no trace” was one of Beth Muething’s mottos. The Pleasant Ridge resident and mother of four believed in having the smallest ecological footprint possible.
So when she visited a creative reuse center in Portland her first thought was how to create something similar in Cincinnati. She came home and gathered a team of other local residents, and Kennedy Heights Arts Center as fiscal sponsor, to dream and plan.
Beth wrote grants, scouted for sites, recruited volunteers, made presentations to community groups and funders, painted the walls, and laid the floor… literally and figuratively.
The result was Scrap It Up, a volunteer-run nonprofit that promotes sustainability and creativity by keeping materials out of the waste stream and putting them into the hands of creators. Community members visit the store on Ridge Road to purchase yarn, fabric, paints, and any number of other supplies for creative pursuits for just pennies a pound.
Since 2017, Scrap It Up has diverted more than 137,817 pounds of materials from the landfill and provided low-cost creative resources for thousands—from students to teachers to a quilter who uses the low-cost fabric to make blankets for sick kids. 100 percent of the net proceeds are donated back to arts and green community organizations.
Sadly, Beth passed away in 2022 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, but her legacy continues to enrich our community and generations to come.
“Beth cared deeply for her family, her community, the earth, and our scrappy little endeavor,” remarked fellow volunteer Mindy Burger. “She was a bright, kind, innovative, and humble leader who was passionate about making the world around her a better place.”
