Essential or Junks?

Below is the picture of my two Rosemary bushes covered with rice sacks! when the temperature recently dropped to about 11 degree Fahrenheit here. The rice sacks are made of jute (I think they are called burlap here in the USA), and I have been saving those ever since I started gardening. Previously they used to end up in some land-fills. Not only sacks, but I have been saving newspapers, used pots and pans which I don't use any longer and all sorts of plastics tubs and trays and even some aluminium pans. The plastic tubs become where I grow all the seedlings. The pots and pans become where all those seedling-tubs sit in water. I have found that in that way I can consistently maintain the moisture-level of the seedling-soil. I would like to think that I am re-using all these discarded items to save the environment; but in reality I am doing this to save my money. I am a big miser and would need to spend too much money to buy all those professional seed-growing kits. The downside of all these junk-saving is I have to clean my garden shade way too often. Still it remains such a messy place that two tiny white rats take up shelter there among all the junks, chewing up the newspapers and the plastics to construct a nice cosy bed on the pots! Does anyone else save such junks?