Reusable: Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls

You do not have to be a crafter to repurpose your left over toilet paper rolls and prevent waste.

Here are a few ideas we collected:

1. Donate them to your local animal shelter. Small animals love playing in toilet paper rolls and chewing them up to make bedding.

2. Keep spare electrical cords tangle-free by fanfolding the cord and putting it through a toilet paper roll. You can even decorate the roll with colorful paper.

3. Store string around the outside of a roll to prevent tangles. You can create notches at each end to attach the string ends to.

4. Give to kids along with some markers or paint and see what crafts they come up with!

5. Roll your linens up in longer paper towel rolls to avoid creases caused by storage.

6. Use the rolls as seedling planters. Rather than purchase several small starter pots, use one tray, insert in several rolls cut in half horizontally and place soil and the plants in each roll.

7. Poke holes in the rolls and use them as toy building blocks. Kids can poke the ends of pencils into the rolls to build objects.

8. Create wall art! Take a look at these amazing designs by blogger Tali Schiffer Oren for inspiration. Here is one of Tara’s creations:

9. Prevent your kids’ artwork from sitting in boxes and wrinkling by rolling the pieces up and fitting them into paper towel tubes.

DIY Upcycled Urban Planters

In urban and suburban settings, access to green space can be very limited. Having a home garden is still possible with the use of urban planters. With a little creative planning for organization and storage, you can make room for do-it-yourself garden options. Whether you are potting herbs for recipes or planting colorful flowers to spruce the place up, you can make your own planting beds in areas without a lot of green space.

Here are some creative and easy DIY planters using items you probably already have on hand, or if not, could locate pretty quickly from thrift stores or other secondhand locations.

Upcycled over-the-door shoe racks are great items to use for makeshift planters because the “pots” are already built in. eHow.com provides a step-by-step manual for making a discarded organizer work for your planting project, indoor or out.

• First, decide between a clear organizer or one that will keep the bottom of your plants hidden. These items are pretty cheap, maybe only a couple of dollars secondhand.

• Choose a location. These can either stay outdoors on fences, back porches or patios, or they can compliment a kitchen door.

• eHow.com points out that it’s very important to anchor your planter well, which may involve nailing it to a sturdy wall or other platform because the addition of soil comes with some weight.

• Fill the compartments with some potting soil, but leave room for the plant itself.

• Plant your flowers or herbs and recover with soil to cover roots, but leave room for watering.

Another great project for at-home planting is to use old appliances and things lying around the house as planters. Anything from old work boots to abandoned kitchen sinks and antique dresser drawers can work well as compartments for flowers and herbs to grow. Here’s a great way to reuse old jeans or overalls as planters! Just build a sturdy hanging contraption, and install a hook, similar to the hanging door rack. Soon you will have pretty, flowering pants!

What creative uses for old objects have you used as planters?

Household Cleaners That Go Green

With the changing of the seasons comes the settling of dust in once-clean nooks and crannies. Once summer turns to fall, many households also get restless and pick up shop to inhabit a new apartment or cozy dwelling. With all these uncovered dirt pockets also brings the need for a little touch-me-up cleaning. However, with the overabundance of green claims these days, which products are the healthiest and most environmentally-friendly?

While the scent of lemon or pine conveys a sense of cleanliness, we now know that smelling clean doesn’t necessarily mean something is sanitary. An easy clean also doesn’t make for environmentally-friendly cleaning either. How are you to make up your mind when browsing the endless aisles of marketing claims on the shelves? The Learning Channel offers some insight by discerning the degree of “lack of federal oversight.” For one thing, manufacturers are not obligated to tell consumers all the ingredients included in a product. This information is sealed tightly under a vague secret-sauce type of clause. TLC says, the “EPA only requires manufacturers to warn of toxicity.” Additionally, though no company can legally mislead the public, there is not an actual definable characteristic set for what constitutes a “green” product. If you can’t be pinned down for not actually being “green,” you can pretty much say anything but the most outrageous of claims regarding your eco-friendliness.

Treehugger suggests making your own household cleaning products stating, “most of your home can be cleaned with recipes that are a combination of hot water, vinegar and baking soda or washing soda; add a few drops of essential oil for scent if you prefer.” Personally, rose or lavender are always nice, homey scents for a well scrubbed floor. Note these alternative recipes, some incorporating that familiar aroma of lemons, from Green Living Magazine.

Stubborn drains are also a common problem in many older (quirky) houses. Sierra Club posted an at-home solution, originally from eHow.com:

• Mix 1/4 cup salt with 1 cup baking soda and pour down the drain. Let it sit for 3 to 6 hours.
• Boil 1 cup vinegar with 1 cup water in a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl.
• Pour the boiling vinegar solution down the drain. The mixture will fizz, and quite a bit of foam may come up the drain and into the sink. Boil more of the mixture and repeat 1 to 2 more times after the fizzing stops.
• Turn on the faucet and flush the vinegar and baking soda out of the drain to avoid damage to the pipes from the acid solution.

Another resource to try is Eco Salon’s list of household products you probably already have on hand to help green up your home.

If making your own green cleaner does not interest you, give our Vermont Soap Organics Liquid Sunshine Non-Toxic Cleaner a try. Liquid Sunshine is an organic cleaner that is safe to use throughout your whole home! Use it for stain removal or laundry detergent, or clean bathrooms, carpets, cars, floors, walls, woodwork and counter tops with it.

Simple Safety Protocols for DIY

Homemaking, healing and gardening: These are all such fundamental aspects of human life on this planet and are extremely important for that reason. The tools to create a more intentional and sustainable daily existence all stem from the tiny actions that we perform in our everyday lives. That being said, DIY projects should not be limited to people with a lot of time, space or experience. DIY is for everybody and creates a natural way to live on our own terms. However, it is important to remember that even natural formulas can hurt you. Here are a few things to keep in mind while participating in DIY projects, creating and using homemade remedies:

Natural does not mean Edible. Although compounds like borax and washing soda are more safe than most, if not all, the ingredients you will find in your local drugstore there are still some things that should not get into your body. Remember to wash your hands after mixing cleaners and clearly label the containers you keep them in. Check out this The Daily Green’s simple recipes for cheap green living, for more information on how to make your own green cleaning solutions.

If you are pregnant, there are certain herbs and oils you should avoid. During pregnancy, it is extremely important that you are aware of what goes into your body. While most herbs are rather safe for an individual to take, there are quite a few that can cause certain problems for pregnant women. Because each pregnancy is different with its own precise details, the best way to use herbs during pregnancy is under a physician, midwife, herbalist, or a homeopathic doctor.

A great resource is the Herbal Encyclopedia. This site will tell you what herbs are recommended and herbs that should be avoided during the different stages pregnancy and development. Or you might find this article on herbal remedies for women to be useful.

For additional information on alternative medicine and herbs during pregnancy check out Herb Reference.

Know your Body!

Pay attention to your body when/if something is making you feel sick, itchy or just straight up uncomfortable. The whole point of DIY is to make you feel better, not worse. Take care of yourself and pay attention to your body and how it reacts. You can learn more about potential allergic reactions to herbal remedies at  the guide to herbal remedies.

Remember: plants have families

If you know you have specific allergies, you will obviously want to avoid using that herb.  However, do your research because a lot of herbs are closely related and you will want to avoid using any herb related to the one you’re allergic to, for cosmetic or medicinal purposes, otherwise you could experience an allergic reaction or worse. A great resource to help you learn more about plants and their families is the Online Botany Guide.

DIY is about making our lives intentional and perhaps more simple. It allows us to pay close attention to our bodies and the systems that we know are right for us. Not to mention you’ll spend less money and reduce packaging all while doing your part to keep our beautiful Earth natural