One way to make Christmas not only more sustainable but also less expensive than it would otherwise be, is to make your own gifts ( I may have talked about this before!!). Now, when I was a kid, that usually meant making something out of cardboard that my parents then had to sneak into the…
There aren’t many people out there who wouldn’t like to do a little more at home for the environment. Recycling and re-useable bags are definitely a front foot forward, but what if you want to go that little bit further? Sure there is some government information about green building projects and tens of companies offering…
This post was first published last year as the winter came to an end. But now it’s starting up again and I have got the lurgy good and proper. So instead of spending Sunday in my office, writing this week’s blog post and catching up on paperwork, I spent it in bed with no voice…
Christmas is only 2 days away, but you can still make these easy gifts, each of which takes between minutes and an hour or two (mostly waiting time). You may even have the ingredients sitting in your cupboard! If not, it’s too late to order them online, but in Australia at least, most are available…
Interior designer Karla Jennings shares valuable insights into how to keep it green when renovating your kitchen, including relevant certifications to look for, areas to focus on and green building materials to use.
There are at least three driving forces behind the cultural movement towards DIY activities. One is frugality. Another is the desire to live more ethically and sustainably. A third driving force is a certain disenchantment with aspects of modern life. It is a desire to slow down, smell the roses and feel the texture of the wood. To develop a stronger connection to the world around you, and a better understanding of the items you use everyday. It is largely this desire to experience life more fully, or at least, in a different way, that motivated Mark Frauenfelder to become a do-it-yourselfer.
Going green does not always mean you need to replace your floors with bamboo or buy new energy efficient appliances. It can also mean reusing or repurposing existing items. Reuse old furniture, save money, and turn a bathroom remodel into a fun and creative home improvement project by converting an old dresser into a bathroom…
How to Brew Compost Tea for Growing Vegetables Different compost teas have different properties, and the recipe you choose will depend on how you want to use it. Home grown vegetable crops will benefit from fertilization with a compost tea that is high in bacterial activity and rich in nitrogen. A mixture of vermicastings –…
Did you read Eileen’s articles on vertical vegetable gardening and how to grow drought tolerant herbs? Here’s an infographic showing how to build a vertical garden out of a wooden pallet, as she describes in the article on herbs. But first, the credits. This infographic was: inspired by Fern Richardson (Life on the Balcony) & Stephanie…
Apart from the conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint, one major factor that has convinced a lot of homeowners to install “do it yourself solar panels” is the rising cost of electricity bills. But before we go into the advantages and disadvantages of making your own solar panels (or using DIY kits), we have…
