Freebies and tutorials make my day. While the attraction may seem obvious, I'll just elaborate: I love these online project tidbits, because they present the ingenuity of the DIY spirit in all its flying colors!
Tutorials are popping up all over the web. DIY tutorials are instructional lessons that lead the viewer through a series of step-by-step directions. Generally, a tutorial will include what materials are needed to make the project and the steps to make it from beginning to completion.
Going green at home doesn't have to drain your bank account. With some recycling, repurposing and creative resourcefulness, it is easy to create useful and decorative green items for your home and save money. Here's a room-by-room roundup of inspiring, free (or almost free), eco-friendly DIY projects for your EcoNest. Click on the project for the tutorial. I've included two projects for each room!
Kitchen
1. Compost Holder-
An easy and green DIY project that uses a two gallon bucket, a scrubbing pad and some glue.
2. Reusable Swiffer Pad-
The creator of this project sums up why she came up with this cleaning solution. "I contemplated tossing the dreaded Swiffer, because every time I looked at it, I felt more and more guilty about my purchase. But since I already felt guilty about throwing all those pads away, why would I throw the Swiffer away? It was then that I decided to make my own re-useable Swiffer pads?"
Dining Room
3. Dining Table Made From A Door-
This dining table is stunning and has endless possibilities. The creator used an old wood door and four IKEA table legs. This table could easily be made with just these two items, but to further the aesthetics of the table, the pictured table is lined with decorative paper and covered with tempered glass.
4.Hanging Glass Rack-
This is an easy project made from coat hangers.
Living Room
5. Art from paint chips-
This picture is a pixilated painting. It's made by cutting paint chips (from a home improvement store) into two inch squares. The painting process is much like a paint-by-number mosaic. Green Genius!
6. Suitcase Table-
This is a quirky project that uses a few antique suitcases and table legs.
Bedroom
7. Pillows From Shirts-
Got some old plaid shirts? These cozy plaid pillows are easy to sew up.
8. Cardboard Furniture-
This is an adventurous project, and it obviously isn't the best piece of furniture for a damp space. But, it's an interesting concept, especially if you've got a huge refrigerator box hanging around.
Kid's Room
9. Piñata-
Every day's a party with a hanging piñata. Make one with your kids.
10. Photo Blocks-
I did this with a school class. Fun to make, fun to play with and a fun decorating idea.
Bathroom
11. Bathmat made from recycled towels-
Wow, I love this project and have already started making one. You will need to purchase gridded matting, like the kind used for rug making.
12. Bamboo Curtain Rod-
This is an elegant, yet rustic idea for a shower curtain rod. It uses a sized piece of bamboo for the rod and a dried seed pod as a finial. Natural and inspiring!
Office
13. Paint Can Organizer-
Easy and free. If you don't have empty paint cans, ask at your local home improvement store.
14. Fabric Covered Mousepad-
This is another clever, simple project, and would make a great gift as well.
Den
15. Magazine Holders-
Empty cereal boxes make this DIY project free.
16. IPod Holder-
Print out the pattern on cardstock and fold for a nest for your IPod.
Craftroom/Studio
17. Tic Tac Storage-
All those little candy containers have a great reuse for capturing beads and small objects. Start collecting!
18. Spool Knitting Loom-
I remember making lots of long knitted ropes on spool looms when I was a Girl Scout. This DIY loom is all grown up.
Laundry Room
19. Window Screen Hamper-
This project requires some materials, but the main ingredients are old window screens. Very, very cool.
20. Laundry Soap Recipe-
What more can be said for a project that saves money, your health and the planet!
21. Love/hate Martha? Either way, check out Martha Stewart?s Craft of the Day. This site provides a dearth of ideas for home décor that range from bright green to not so green, but always beautify photographed and with easy to understand directions. Also, The Crafts Dept. is a treasure trove of inspiring projects.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
How to Go Green: Laundry
Top Tips for Greening Your Laundry
Don't Rush: Don't wash what's not really dirty. None other than the United Nations itself reports that you can consume up to five times less energy by wearing your jeans at least three times, washing them in cold water, and skipping the dryer or the iron.
Skip the Phosphates: Despite the billions of dollars spent to convince you otherwise, most commercial detergents are the same and are bad for the environment. For example, phosphates (a common ingredient in laundry soap) can cause algal blooms that negatively effect ecosystems and marine life. Shop green or simply make your own.
A Laundry List of Tips: Wash your laundry in cold water, dry clothes on a clothesline, don't use an iron, try public laundromats for more efficient machines, and so on. Hey, we did say there's a wide range of very attainable green changes involved here, didn't we?
Did You Know?
90% of the energy used by a typical washing machine is used to heat the water; only 10% is used to power the motor
The average increase in energy efficiency for a washing machine between 1981 and 2003 is 88%
The amount of carbon dioxide emissions saved each year by line-drying your family's laundry is 700 pounds
Don't Rush: Don't wash what's not really dirty. None other than the United Nations itself reports that you can consume up to five times less energy by wearing your jeans at least three times, washing them in cold water, and skipping the dryer or the iron.
Skip the Phosphates: Despite the billions of dollars spent to convince you otherwise, most commercial detergents are the same and are bad for the environment. For example, phosphates (a common ingredient in laundry soap) can cause algal blooms that negatively effect ecosystems and marine life. Shop green or simply make your own.
A Laundry List of Tips: Wash your laundry in cold water, dry clothes on a clothesline, don't use an iron, try public laundromats for more efficient machines, and so on. Hey, we did say there's a wide range of very attainable green changes involved here, didn't we?
Did You Know?
90% of the energy used by a typical washing machine is used to heat the water; only 10% is used to power the motor
The average increase in energy efficiency for a washing machine between 1981 and 2003 is 88%
The amount of carbon dioxide emissions saved each year by line-drying your family's laundry is 700 pounds
Keep Cool This Summer Without Turning on the A/C
The summer heat is coming on fast, and it can be hard to resist turning to the air conditioning for relief, even for people with the greenest of lifestyles. But the A/C is one of the most energy-intensive appliances around and the more we can stay away from it, the better off our planet will be.
The Refresh Blog has some handy tips for keeping cool this summer without the A/C.
Check out how easy steps to fix your lighting can stop emitting so much heat into your home, or how insulating your pipes even with a simple blanket will help lower temperatures and also save you money.
Some of the tips are obvious, yet we still don't do them: skip the dryer and opt for a clothesline instead, unplug electronics when not in use—something that helps reduce energy consumption anyway, so that should a year-round habit—and do your best to avoid cooking in the oven. (You can use an outdoor grill, which at least keeps the heat outside, but better yet, try a solar cooker. They're easy to make yourself, and can even be a great reuse project for old CDs.)
Go for a white roof or other light color, or even better a green roof, and keep the curtains closed during the day to block out the most potent source of summer heat. Read the rest of the post to learn how to maximize your landscaping and choose the best fans for maximum ventilation—all to keep cool without ever turning on the A/C.
The Refresh Blog has some handy tips for keeping cool this summer without the A/C.
Check out how easy steps to fix your lighting can stop emitting so much heat into your home, or how insulating your pipes even with a simple blanket will help lower temperatures and also save you money.
Some of the tips are obvious, yet we still don't do them: skip the dryer and opt for a clothesline instead, unplug electronics when not in use—something that helps reduce energy consumption anyway, so that should a year-round habit—and do your best to avoid cooking in the oven. (You can use an outdoor grill, which at least keeps the heat outside, but better yet, try a solar cooker. They're easy to make yourself, and can even be a great reuse project for old CDs.)
Go for a white roof or other light color, or even better a green roof, and keep the curtains closed during the day to block out the most potent source of summer heat. Read the rest of the post to learn how to maximize your landscaping and choose the best fans for maximum ventilation—all to keep cool without ever turning on the A/C.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
how earth was made
Look down beneath your feet. Have you ever wondered what you're really standing on? What is the Earth made of?If you could take the entire planet, sort it out into its various elements into piles, you'd have the following: 32% iron, 30% oxygen, 15% silicon, 14% magnesium, 3% sulfur, 2% nickel, and then much smaller piles of calcium, aluminum, and other trace elements.Obviously, we don't breath an iron atmosphere or swim in oceans of silicon. The elements of Earth are layered in the planet.We live on the outermost layer of Earth, called the crust. This varies in depth between 5 and 75 km. It's mostly made of silicates, with a tremendous amount of oxygen mixed in. In fact, 47% of the Earth's crust is oxygen. The thickest parts of the crust are under the continents, and the thinnest parts are underneath the oceans.Beneath this crust is the mantle, which goes down to a depth of 2890 km. It's the largest layer on Earth, and mostly consists of silicate rocks rich in iron and magnesium. Volcanoes are places where this mantle wells up through the crust.Below the mantle is the core, which is broken up into two parts: a solid inner core with a radius of 1,220 km, and then a liquid outer core that goes out to a radius of 3,400 km. Scientists think that the core consists mostly of iron (80%), which pulled together into the middle of the planet during the formation of the Earth, 4.5 billion years ago
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)