For hundreds of years, people have used natural ingredients to create beauty products, lotions, serums, and more. Today, facial masks are one popular way to address different skin issues, but do you know what’s really in the face masks available at the store? What if instead, you could make your own skincare products from natural ingredients that really provide a […]
Many of us enjoy adding homegrown herbs, garden fresh tomatoes, and crispy salad greens to our meals, but are limited in what we can grow ourselves. Thankfully, even the most urban yards and patios have the potential for producing relatively high yields. Here are some helpful tactics that can help you cultivate the most produce per square foot of your […]
With spring upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, many of us are itching to get our hands dirty and plant some flowers or veggie plants. If you do any container gardening or keep indoor plants, you’ve likely made use of potting soil — sometimes called potting mix or growing medium. It beats digging up dirt in your backyard to fill […]
Brian Ringer is the founder and CEO of Seattle-based Emerald Technology Group, which recently launched the GetGreen app, a coaching tool for sustainable living. The recent flood of interest and press coverage of sustainability has created an opportunity to get more people thinking and acting sustainably. But we’re still in the early days of a transition from being sustainably naive […]
The reason food waste happens at home is that we fail to find ways to use the food we have on hand. Looking back on my childhood, I see waste increasing now when we need to make the most of every bit of food produced. Although many of us live in times of plenty, others are starving. Our wasteful habits […]
It’s often better for the environment to keep an appliance running efficiently than to buy a new one. And do-it-yourself repairs are a great way to save time, money, and practice self-sufficiency. Before you replace your current refrigerator/freezer with a sustainable, energy-efficient model, you may be able to repair it yourself without paying a professional. Understanding how to fix common […]
Broken items around the house can’t be prevented. What can be avoided, though, is sending those common broken household items to the trash. With a little ingenuity and crafting skills, you can repurpose broken household items from around the home into something new and useful. Here are a few brilliant solutions for those things that we all have in our […]
With Earth Day just around the corner, you may be thinking about how to make Earth-positive changes. Going green starts at home, and it doesn’t have to be costly or exhausting. Any number of green DIY projects allow you to get creative and make something that’s useful for you and for the planet. Here are six DIY projects for your […]
If you’re furnishing your home or simply updating your décor, how can you do so sustainably? It’s all about choosing products that reduce waste and are gentle on the planet. For example, by refurbishing secondhand items — whether furniture, wall hangings, or decorative ornaments — you extend their life and keep them out of the landfill. Estate sales and garage […]
Before you toss out an empty Froot Loops box, butter tub, or soda bottle into the recycling bin, take a second to determine if it has any potential for reuse first. Pantry staples and take-out orders yield lots of disposables, but some are surprisingly versatile and well worth putting aside for other duties. To spark inspiration for repurposing food packaging, we’re […]