Unique, Earth Friendly Gift Giving

It’s not just the poor economy that turns people to homemade, handcrafted gifts this season. Instead of purchasing more unnecessary goods this gift-giving season, why not use what you have and create beautiful items you know your recipients will use, and love. 

• Homemade Jewelry: Homemade jewelry does require some skill to make, especially more intricate pieces, but jewelry is a notoriously heartfelt gift, even more so if it is personally crafted. Craft supply stores feature a wealth of beautiful beads and materials for earring, necklaces and bracelets.  If you don’t feel comfortable making your own jewelry cites such as Etsy are great ways to find hand-made crafts and gifts from individual artisans. Not only will you receive a completely unique gift, but you’ll also be supporting small craftspeople and local economies.  

Sustainable Shoes Can Be 'Simple'

With the change of the season comes the hunt for shoes to brave the cold with. But shoes, like many other clothing articles, are most often manufactured from durable plastics or leather, which can be a less-than-desirable clothing option for earth and animal friendly people. 
A new shoes company has emerged to cater to earth and ethics friendly individuals seeking reliable footwear. Simple Shoes produce a variety of sneakers and sandals made from all-natural and recycled materials including hemp, bamboo,

Recycling Re-useables

Reusable containers are a great way to cut down on unnecessary waste from common household items like bottled water and Styrofoam dishes and cups, but even out reusable containers sometimes wear out. Then comes the question; how do you recycle your worn-out reusable containers? 

• Ziploc: Because Ziploc bags are in fact plastic bags, many recycling operations will not accept them at the curb, even if it is marked with a recycle code. The best way to get the most out of your Ziploc is to rinse and re-use it.
  
  There’s a movement in America for re-using items that were once disposable, paper towels included, and Ziploc and other plastic bags make this easy. Just rinse and hang to dry, you can use Ziploc over 10 times for anything from food storage to pastry bags (just snip off a corner.) When they do get a little too worn down they can be recycled be being taken to a local recycling center. Usually they are made of polyethylene plastic, a code “4” resin, a fact not usually marked on the bag or box.  

Cleaning House and Moving Home

As I enter the final stages of the transition to adulthood, I find myself in the midst of a number of housewarming parties. In all this I’ve come to learn that when moving into a new residence, you begin to realize just how much you own- and how much you don’t. But moving doesn’t need to be a disparaging event. Instead, “cleaning house” can be a great way to get off to a new, eco-friendly start.

The first step is donation. When moving out, decide what you use and what you don’t. Donating old clothes, furniture and electronics to companies like Purple Heart, Goodwill

Weekly Challenge: Reuse Your Stuff

You know that little green arrow triangle: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." I'm doing the recycling; I'm buying fewer packaged products and I always try to fix before I replace; if you read my previous post, you'll know that I am trying to get better at the reusing part of it.

My challenge this week is mainly directed at myself: reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Find a way to get new life and new use out of that stuff that is so often thrown away without a second thought. I like to get myself thinking of creative reuses by pretending I don't have a store around to run to. You can bet I'd be getting creative with the stuff I already have if I didn't have the option to go get more. I bet you would get more creative, too.

Plastic knives make great garden markers, and old shower curtains give you an easy way to transport mature plants. Read more on gardening reuse at Frugal Gardening

At Home Paper-Making

Even the simplest act of conservation can go a long way, not to mention providing some really interesting results. This is exactly the case with at-home paper-making. Making your own paper is a fun craft that not only helps use waste from oft unrecycled materials, but also gives a wealth of unique designs perfect for gift-wrapping, scrap booking, card-making, or printing.

To start you’ll need a variety of old papers, anything from tissue paper to junk mail. I like to add interesting fibers too, like fringed hemp or twine, or even flowerpetals (just make sure they’re not completely dry or they’ll crumble.) Colored tissue paper will add colour, while cotton fibers help give the paper a stronger consistency. In all; Experiment! It’s half the fun!

You Will Need:

A large bowl or wash tub.

A blender.

A sponge.

Lint-free cloth.

A deckle and a mold

Colorful Bags for the Green Girl

For me, it started about a year ago at my favorite SuperFresh store. I saw the colorful sacks hanging next to the registers and knew, for only $1 each, I must have them.

From then on I’ve found the reusable bag an invariable craze, with chains like Target, and even the lesser-known Acme market

What's Old Is New Again, Recycled Art

I pulled into the parking lot of my favorite coffee shop last week, when my eye caught a curious glint from the car next to me. Upon further investigation, I found I was staring at a sun catcher, but not any normal sun catcher, one made from an old CD.
The novel idea sparked a wealth of others. How to recycle mundane or broken things we normally throw away, to create not only useful items, but beautiful items.
As someone who admittedly spends too much on shiny objects, from jewelry to candleholders, I like the idea of recycling objects in order to satiate my need for art. Even in high school I remember doing

Recycling Philosophy, Part 3: It's the Economy, Stupid

I'll try to wrap up this recycling discussion today. Yesterday we talked about the sheer amount of stuff we have in America (and really, in any part of the non-third-world world) and the apathy which results from lots of stuff and the waste that results from the apathy. Oh trail of destruction!

Let me clarify one thing here: I'm not into scare tactics. Almost every media outlet has used them, at one time or another, to promote one cause or another. I don't like it when a grim reporter looks into the camera and says something I know to be a blatant exaggeration. You're not going to die tomorrow if you don't recycle. You're probably not going to die at all due to your lack of recycling habits. What will happen? Let's analyze.

You'll produce an average of

Recycling Philosophy, Part 2: The Problem with Prosperity

Disposable. Herein lies the problem. Well, disposable and undecomposable. (I confess, I don't think "undecomposable" is actually a word. But I bet you know what I mean.)

America is an affluent country, which is really nice for those of us who live there. But there's something that comes from affluence that isn't so nice. My high school history teacher called it apathy. It translates, materially, into lots of waste. When you have so much stuff, everywhere, with limitless options for getting more, everyday, three things happen.

You take it for granted that the stuff will always be there, should always be there, has always been there. You believe that the masses of stuff are a normal part of life. Everybody has a car full of stuff, a house full of stuff, and a garage or basement or attic stuffed with more stuff, right? I mean, that's just life. Right.

You get really attached to the convenience and specialization that your stuff provides. It's just so