Articles tagged “Reuse”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

5 Zany Ways A Microwave Can Save the Planet By Josh Peterson IN Tech & Transport Feb 9 2009 Microwaves, the appliance, can save the planet. Well, maybe not all of it, but those countertop cooking machines can lend a hand to aid mankind in our quest to green up the world. People were very skeptical when microwaves, the appliance, first became popular. My mother refused to get one, citing the "deadly radiation." A few years later when no one mutated into a horrible fly monster, my mother finally purchased a microwave and still uses it to this very day. Here are a few zany ways that microwaves can be used to reduce waste, conserve energy and save the planet. + READ MORE

Send Computers to Malawi, Your Office is Where You Are, and Reclaimed Cardboard Artwork By David DeFranza IN Tech & Transport Feb 9 2009 Today on TreeHugger: Send computers to malawi, your office is where you are, and reclaimed cardboard artwork. + READ MORE

Should You Stay In An Airport Hotel? If You Have To, Yes. By Elizabeth Seward IN Travel & Outdoors Feb 9 2009 I'd normally advise against staying in just any old hotel. Hotels are masters of waste more often than not, rarely hesitating to throw out barely used products and rarely encouraging their guests to do simple things like reuse their towels. But if you're a traveler, the question of where to stay needs to be answered and it will, on occasion, be answered with: a hotel. + READ MORE

Quit Buying Textbooks By Elizabeth Seward IN Work & Connect Feb 9 2009 The economy sucks. Saving money is now more important than it was before. A penny saved is a penny earned. Being a student is expensive and buying textbooks is an especially expensive part of being a student. Each year, students everywhere buy textbooks that resell poorly (in most cases—if they're resold at all). We're not just talking about chapter books either here. + READ MORE

5 Reuses for Errant Mittens By Josh Peterson IN Fashion & Beauty Feb 6 2009 Rarely a winter goes by where you don't see an orphan mitten lying in the snow, and we all probably have that mitten sitting in our closet missing its mate. Who knows? You might find a matching mitten, but I doubt it. You are stuck with a single mitten for the rest of your life. You?ll never be able to use it. You will be haunted by this mitten in your dreams. Or will you? Here are some suggestions for mitten reuse. + READ MORE

5 Reuses For Nail Files By Elizabeth Seward IN Fashion & Beauty Feb 5 2009 If you're not into using nail clippers or biting your nails, which I have to advise against given the vast colonies of germs dwelling beneath your nails, then the most efficient way to keep your nails looking good is through the use of a nail file. But nail files don't last forever. If you file your nails frequently, they'll eventually become dull and you'll be left to figure out what to do with that seemingly useless file on your nightstand. + READ MORE

What Do You Do With an Old Dishwasher? By Sara Novak IN Home & Garden Feb 4 2009 Energy efficient dishwashers aren't just better for the environment, they save you lots of dough. And if you were already thinking about making the transition, now's a great time. Energy Star qualified dishwashers use at least 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption. These efficient dishwashers use much less water than conventional models and can save you about $90 over its lifetime. But what do you do with the old guy? Don't just trash him, find ways to put him back to work. + READ MORE

Make A Lawn Chair from Road Blockade By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Home & Garden Feb 4 2009 In a great example of creating functional items from found objects, Syracuse University students Jeffrey Gerlach and Andrew Stanley came up with a great way to transform road barriers into chairs. The duo simply rearranged nails and wooden pieces to create Adirondack-style chairs. + READ MORE

Discover the Classiest Way to Compost By Brian Merchant IN Food & Health Feb 4 2009 Some people think composting is just for people who don't wear shoes or have huge backyards. It's not. Composting is finally catching on in mainstream America as a great way to reduce waste and keep your plants healthy. And no, I'm not biased—I'm not typing this from a solar powered commune, I wear shoes when outdoors, and own not a single tie-dye shirt. + READ MORE

How to Make a Hacky Sack Out of an Orphan Sock By Josh Peterson IN Fashion & Beauty Feb 3 2009 Hacky Sack is one those games that tends to break out in parking lots or at Phish concerts. It was real popular in the 90's. It might still be popular, but I haven't been hip since the 90's and even then, I wasn't very hip. Maybe I've just fallen in with a hacky sackless crowd. So much the better or worse for me. One thing I do remember clearly is how to make a hacky sack out of a sock. + READ MORE

How to Reclaim a Kitchen Sink By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Jan 30 2009 In my experience, the only people who remove the kitchen sink are cartoon characters trying to be funny. Most humans, however, don't remove their kitchen sink when moving out of or abandoning a home. I've seen a few sinkless houses in my days, ransacked by vandals who probably sold the metal sinks for scrap. Sinks are going to be one of those items that are ripe for the architectural salvaging. Here is how. + READ MORE

Turn Old Pants into a Chic Cocktail Dress By Blythe Copeland IN Fashion & Beauty Jan 29 2009 I'm not ashamed to admit that I am totally devoted to What Not to Wear, the TLC makeover show that turns the frumpily dressed into the fabulously frocked. + READ MORE

How to Reuse An Old Stuffed Toy In The Office By Elizabeth Seward IN Work & Connect Jan 29 2009 A little playfulness in the office never hurt anyone, right? It's good to let your guard down here and there at work, especially if you're helping to save on resources while you're at it. Children seem to get tired of stuffed toys more quickly with each year. Many households have piles of stuffed toys that have built up over the years that are no longer being put to use. If your household has begun to accumulate stuffed toys and you work in an office, you may want to consider bringing your stuffed toys to work. + READ MORE

Make Tomato Pincushions from Scrap Materials By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Home & Garden Jan 29 2009 While we wait out winter, we have a great, easy craft that makes staying indoors a little more fun. Using scraps found around the house, whip up a few vintage-style tomato pincushions. They're an easy craft that lets your imagination loose, and they are perfect for gift-giving. + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Green Bullet By Mickey Z. IN Tech & Transport Jan 29 2009 The term green bullet sometimes refers to a type of microphone. It?s also found in Ray Bradbury?s novel, Fahrenheit 451. With books illegal, ?firemen? set fire to homes in which books are reported to be found. One such fireman (Montag) uses a ?small green object no larger than a .22 bullet? to make contact with ?the world of ideas that he is missing". + READ MORE

To Block... or Not to Block Crawlspace Vents during the Winter? By Eric Leech IN Home & Garden Jan 28 2009 Should you block your crawlspace vents? This is a very common question. Especially in areas that have both a reasonably hot summer and fairly frigid winter. There is not much question that in general these vents are a needed and necessary part of a well maintained home. These vents are placed within the crawlspace to allow the moisture that builds up underneath to have an escape route. + READ MORE

How to Dispose of Lava Lamps By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Jan 28 2009 Maybe you had a lava lamp in your college dorm room. Perhaps it sat on one of those spools that used to have industrial cables wrapped around it. Was there a ?Frampton Comes Alive? poster on your wall? Did you have beads instead of a door? How many fringes did your leather jacket have? + READ MORE

Share Your Newspaper with Your Colleagues By Elizabeth Seward IN Work & Connect Jan 27 2009 Newspapers. Although they do seem to be more of an obsolete part of society with each digitally-advancing year, they are absolutely still an interwoven part of our news system. Each day on the subway, I see countless numbers of people reading their newspapers. Most of them are dressed professionally, on their way to work I'd guess. + READ MORE

How to Reclaim a Toilet By Josh Peterson IN Home & Garden Jan 26 2009 Rarely are there toilets unique and precious enough to pack up and move with the other furniture and possessions. Maybe if someone installs a waterless john, a low-flow model or some sort of Omni-Flush 6000 8-in-1 Toilet of the Gods, you?d remove it and take it to your new home. + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Grasscycling By Mickey Z. IN Home & Garden Jan 26 2009 While much of the country is shoveling snow, some are tending lawns. Grasscycling, in the words of the California Integrated Waste Management Board CIWMB, is ?the natural recycling of grass by leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass clippings will quickly decompose, returning valuable nutrients to the soil.? + READ MORE