The Fun Times Guide > Living Green > reusing / repurposing

How To Save Water In The Bathroom: 3 DIY Ways To Avoid Wasting Bathroom Water

bathroom-water

If you were to ask someone back in the day the best way to conserve water in the bathroom, the most common answer would probably be: "Turn off the faucet when you're brushing your teeth!" And yes, that's true – we waste tons of water if we let the faucet run while we're scrubbing our pearly whites. At the same time, there are even more ways to cut back on our H2O usage and conserve water, energy, and cash all at the same time. Although these are not technically brand-new ideas, not … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Simple Ways To Go Green Tagged With: , , ,

How To Recycle Toys

recycle-toys

I grew up relatively spoiled, I must admit. Though I was raised in a middle income household, my collection of toys looked fit for a prince, and boy did I enjoy playing with everything in my room. However, as time rolled on, I, like all boys of a certain age, stopped pulling the wooden train sets, LEGO blocks, and Tonka trucks off the shelf. Eventually, I outgrew the toys that catered to my early imagination. Years later, as my closet space grew scarcer and scarcer, I decided I wanted to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Simple Ways To Go Green Tagged With: , ,

4 Cool Ideas for Recycling Glass Insulators from Telephone Poles and Power Poles

recycling-glass-insulators

Remember when telephone poles had colorful glass insulators atop their cross arms? These days, most telephone poles have either silicone or ceramic insulators, and many people are recycling the obsolete glass insulators as communications and power companies continue updating aging lines. Old insulators, which are bell shaped and used to suspend phone lines and power lines from supporting poles, have long been a popular item to collect, especially among many who grew up seeing vivid … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Ideas, Home & Garden Tagged With: , , , ,

6 DIY Pallet Furniture Tutorials

diy-pallet-furniture

It is estimated that 2 billion shipping pallets are in use every day in the U.S. alone, so it is inevitable that some lay abandoned. Why not use them to make something awesome? Following are 6 DIY pallet furniture ideas to add some pizzazz -- and practicality -- to your outdoor living space. Some of these might even enhance your indoor living space too!   #1 - DIY Pallet Furniture Table & Chairs Set View the photo tutorial with all the steps required to build a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Ideas, Home & Garden Tagged With: ,

Awesome Recycling Project: Buy an Old Traffic Light and Turn it into Game Room Décor

old-traffic-light

Want to go green with a fun recycling project? How about red, yellow, and green? When I was eight years old, my dad bought me an old traffic light for my birthday. He and I later painted it, fixed it up, and got it working again. It soon became part of my bedroom décor and almost 25 years later still adorns my home. At the time, he bought it for me because I had a love (and still do) for traffic lights. But, beyond being one incredible birthday gift, it also reminds me that municipalities … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lighter Shades of Green Tagged With: , , ,

5 Easy Tips for Going Green in Your Car

going-green-in-car

Everyone’s going green these days, even in the car. The advent of flex fuel, environmentally friendly cars has helped millions of Americans go the extra mile in keeping our planet a little greener. While I’m trying my best to stay eco friendly, I haven’t currently the financial means to go buy an electric vehicle, and frankly I love having ample horsepower under the hood to play around with. However, there are many other ways that I can be environmentally responsible without having … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green Travel / Transportation, Home & Garden Tagged With: , , ,

4 Fun Ideas for Recycling Clothes

recycling clothes

When I’m cleaning out my closet (which is a task I don’t do as often as I should!), recycling the clothes I no longer need or wish to wear is something I do to try and stay as environmentally friendly as possible. Sure, there are many clothes that I will donate to shelters and charities, but my rule of thumb is this: if a piece of clothing is too worn for me to wear, it probably is for somebody else, too. So, recycling the clothes that have seen better days is not only the responsible … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Simple Ways To Go Green Tagged With: , ,

Poo Paper – Get the Scoop on Elephant Dung Paper

poo paper

My girlfriend and I were at the local zoo shopping in a souvenir store there one day when we spotted poo paper, recycled paper made from elephant dung. As the first anniversary since our initial date was that weekend, I bought her the pad of elephant poo paper as a gift (hey, I’m a romantic, and it was our paper anniversary!). Of course, poo paper serves as much more than a unique first anniversary gift. Using it is also a creative way to live green with products that are made from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Green Products, Home & Garden Tagged With: ,

Seaweed Fertilizer: A Great DIY Natural Fertilizer For Your Garden

seaweed-fertilizer

I’ve been gardening for many years -- both in vegetable beds and using containers on balconies. Whatever the situation has been, one of my annual keys to success is seaweed. It’s true, most other things called ‘weeds’ we’d rather keep out of the yard, but when seaweed is available it’s one of the best kinds of organic fertilizers nature provides. Not only does seaweed supply important nutritional value to soil, it also helps stimulate growth in plants, enhances the dietary … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Ideas, Home & Garden Tagged With: , , ,

11 Ways to Reuse Plastic Grocery Bags

Something that happens to me, more often than I care to admit, is that realize I've left all my reusable bags in my car while I'm standing in the line at the grocery store waiting to check out. Oh so useful, right? If you ever find yourself in this situation you could definitely make a mad dash to the car to get the bags. However, if you don’t feel like working up a sweat then just checkout as normal and get the plastic grocery bags. Plastic grocery bags???? Worldwatch Institute … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home & Garden, Simple Ways To Go Green Tagged With: , , ,
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