Posts tagged: Reduce
15 Homemade Swiffer Cloth Patterns
By DIY Maven
Tipnut has assembled the ultimate list of homemade Swiffer Cloth Patterns. Some you sew, some you crochet, and some you knit.
How to STOP Junk Mail!
By DIY Maven
1. Visit dmachoice.org and click on ‘Remove My Name From Those Lists’ to get off the Direct Marketing Association’s mailing lists. (Online registration is good for 5 years; you should see an 80% reduction in junk mail within four months.)
2. Don’t register new products you buy; doing so puts you on mailing lists, according to Tom Watson from the National Waste Prevention Coalition.. Your original proof of purchase will guarantee your war » READ MORE
How To Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter / Energy Conservation Begins at Home
By batticdoorHow To Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter / Energy Conservation Begins at Home
Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding attic stair, a whole house fan or AC Return, a fireplace or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day.
These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause heat to pour out and the cold outsi » READ MORE
10 Ways to Go Green Through Design
By DIY Maven
Communications design agency Thomas Matthews designs sustainably, which they define via their manifesto. Here it is in ‘rule’ form.
- Re-think
- Re-use
- Use friendly materials
- Save energy
- Share new ideas (through Curbly!)
- Design to last
- Stay local, buy ethical
- Support what you believe
- Inspire, have fun (on Curbly!)
- Save money
For further information regarding Thomas Matthews’ manifesto, visit their website.
Image from 'Do All The Good You Can' at Allpost » READ MORE
Is the Bag-E-Wash a good idea?
By DIY Maven
At first glance, the Bag-E-Wash seems like a great idea. Basically, it’s a nylon dishwasher accessory that holds open used plastic bags as a means to wash, dry and, of course, reuse them. The Bag-E-Wash website says that if you reuse one box of 30 gallon-sized bags 50 times each, you’ll save $150 bucks and keep 1,500 bags out of landfills. Sounds good, huh? However, the apparatus looks like it takes up a lot of room in the dishwasher, which would » READ MORE
How to Spin Yarn Out Of Plastic Bags
By DIY Maven
Pluralmolecule over on Instructables has posted a very easy and clever method of spinning yarn out of plastic bags. The supplies are minimal; they include:
- A bunch of plastic bags
- A scissors
- A simple spindle
This how-to does not include an accompanying video, but I found step-by-step videos on joyofhandspinning.com. In them, they are spinning wool, but the technique appears to be the same as in the Instructable post. The website also includes instruc » READ MORE
35+ Uses for Used Plastic Milk Jugs
By DIY Maven
Marion Owen has amassed a list of clever uses for used plastic milk jugs in an effort to keep them out of landfills. Here are some of her suggestions:
- Bird Feeders
- Scoops (½ gallon jugs work particularly well for these)
- Swimming Floaters
- Weights
- Potted Plant Bases
- Luminaries
- Organizers
- Funnels
- Poor Man’s Blenders
- Toilet Brush Holders
- Jack-o-Lanterns
- Piggy Banks
For detailed instructions on making these and other projects, check out this page.
How to Make a Toilet Tank Sink
By DIY Maven
The only way to describe Greg’s toilet sink hack over on Instructables is ingenious–and totally DIY-able! Check out the video of the sink in action. Too funny!
Why Everyone Should Learn How to Crochet (It’s all about recycling, baby!)
By DIY Maven
If the ideas on MyRecycledBags.com don’t inspire you to learn how to crochet, nothing will! Basically, the site features things made from plastic bags, cassette and VHS tapes. From totes to handbags, baby bibs to Barbie Doll clothes, MRB offers up a great collection of free patterns to reuse all that stuff we try to get rid of.
To learn how to convert plastic bags into yarn, check out this post, via Craftzine. And to help you learn how to cro » READ MORE
Kids Go Green–With The Green Family
By DIY Maven
WGBH, those guys who bring us Masterpiece Theater, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, and Curious George, among many others, have a new project in the works. It’s an ‘upbeat and optimistic’ website named Meet The Greens, and it’s all about getting kids to think ‘about the world and their place in it’. The makers hope to encourage kids ‘to make informed choices and meaningful changes’ as they pertain to the environment.
The Green family co » READ MORE
Flush your toilet with your sink water!
By DIY Maven
Gray water is another term for the used water that goes down our sinks, tubs and shower drains. Black water is another term for the water ‘and stuff’ that goes down our toilets. Now, with the Aqus Toilet System, available through Vivavi, we can accumulate the grey water from our bathroom sinks and use it to flush our toilets–thereby turning grey into black. According to the website, using the recycling system ‘can reduce water usage in a two- » READ MORE
How to take a Navy Shower
By DIY Maven
According to Wikipedia, a standard 10 minute shower uses 60 gallons (230 liters) of water, whereas a Navy shower uses 3 gallons (11 liters) of water.
Although never in the Navy, I have had to take my share of Navy showers. Anyone who has spent time in the woods, in an RV or on a boat are most likely familiar with the concept. For the rest of you who haven’t experienced this ultimate water-conserving method of personal hygiene, here’s a helpful vi » READ MORE
Eco-Tote Bags
By DIY MavenFellow Curblier bsgilf posted a question yesterday that was of concern to me a couple of months ago. It all started with IKEA charging for their shopping bags and San Francisco passing an ordinance requiring retailers to use eco-friendly bags. Always answering ‘paper’ when the paper/plastic question arose, I was looking for sturdy shopping bags of the same size as a quality paper grocery bag. In my search, I found ECOBAGS, which has a perpetu » READ MORE
How to green your sex life.
By DIY Maven
Oh, Treehugger, oh Treehugger, how lovely are thy how-to tips. Yup, it’s Christmas in June as Treehugger offers a little go-green cheer to aspiring environmentalists everywhere. Some of their more intriguing titles include this gem of a trifecta: ‘How to Green Your Wedding,’ ‘How to Green Your Sex Life,’ and ‘How to Green Your Baby.’
(Graphic from Tree Hugger T-shirt, which is available through Ban T-shirts for $15.95.)
An argument for making cloth napkins. (How to included.)
By DIY Maven
According to Seventh Generation’s website "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 250 count package of virgin fiber napkins with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
*1 million trees
*2.7 million cubic feet of landfill space equal to over 4,000 full garbage trucks
*380 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 2,900 families of four
*and avoid 64,000 pounds of pollution!"
Of course Seventh Generation wants you to buy their 100% recycl » READ MORE
How To Make a Plastic Bag Keeper
By DIY Maven
In an effort to reduce and reuse plastic bags, how about making a plastic bag keeper? Chances are you already have everything you need to make one for free. Or you can buy one at The Container Store for 4.99 plus 6.50 s & h. Your choice.
The Props
- A 2 quart plastic bottle (I used a Juicy Juice bottle, which worked particularly well.)
- Box cutter and/or scissors
- Sharpie
- Durable tape
- Excess plastic bags
The Procedure
Mark your bottle on top and bottom as s » READ MORE
How to Make a To-go Coffee Cup Tissue Pop-up
By DIY Maven
There’s a company out there called WeGo, that sells facial tissues in a take-away coffee cup. In the interest of DIY-ism, I bought one of these cups of 50 sand-paper-rough tissues for 3 bucks so I could pop off the top, rip the guts out and figure out how to make them. Here’s my easy, no-cost version.
What You Need
A cleaned, small to-go coffee cup and appropriately-sized lid to fit (the cup in the example is 4 ½" high with a 3 ½" top diameter) » READ MORE
How to Make a Folded-Paper CD Case
By DIY Maven
Instead of paying good cash for cd cases, which eventually break and end up in a landfill, how about creating your own, unique folded-paper cd cases that are biodegradable and take up a fraction of the space?
The Props:
8 ½" by 11" paper
a cd
a computer (optional)
labels (optional)
The Procedure:
1. Center a cd, which you’ll be using as a guide, at the top of a sheet of paper, as shown.
2. Fold in sides of paper to sides of cd.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle $0
By frithmobiles
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle $0
1 tissue TP of any kind
2 Empty CD Holder (after CD's have all been used)
3 Cut the center of the top of the empty CD Holder (or unscrew spindle) with an exacto knife
4 Take out cardboard center of the TP roll
5 Place TP roll into CD holder and pull center of roll through the top
Add colored/patterned paper to the inside of holder for added effect and to conceal the TP
Related Tags
- Reuse
- recycle
- environmentalism
- green
- water
- stickers
- kitchen-livingroom-table-couch
- nonprofit
- reduction
- sparrow
