Greening your tiny house

Tiny House (public domain photo)

I love tiny houses! They have so many environmentally sound benefits. From reducing your consumption to saving living space to, well, just about everything about tiny houses is green, isn't it? Still, you can make them greener. Here's how.

You can add flower boxes or....

Growing your own is an economical way to go local with your food sources. So, why not add some flower boxes or trade that tiny house porch for a tiny greenhouse? You could also park your tiny house in a permanent, tiny spot and grow a small garden or build a stand alone greenhouse.

Gray-water

While you're at it, why not pipe the gray-water from tiny house living right to those plants. It's doubly green. It may even be triple green if you consider the water you save, the local plants and your good health, which eliminates meds in the water.

Of course, you can go solar.

It's fairly simple to generate whatever little power you need in a tiny house. After all, you're not lighting up a mansion. You can even use electric, solar powered heat in a tiny house. You don't have room for energy draining large appliances anyway, so why not make that tiny fridge even more ecofriendly?

Building materials can be reclaimed.

Finding used materials is as easy as surfing Craigslist. The bonus to this is that sometimes you can even get them for free. You also use less of everything. So, you can buy the expensive green materials like bamboo flooring and still save money.

Tiny houses are green for so many reasons.

You can easily make them even greener. The ideas above are just the tip of the iceberg. You could have a composting toilet, for instance. And speaking of compost, why not put a tiny compost bucket under your tiny house sink for veggie scraps? The ideas just keep coming if you give it some thought. So, why not make your tiny house a green house? You're already halfway there anyway.

Is it possible to eliminate plastic in the home?

Even my laptop has plastic parts! (public domain photo)

Why would you want to eliminate plastic in your home? What is the environmental impact of plastic products? Is it enough to choose BPA free products? It's all very confusing, isn't it? Today I decided to take an inventory of all the plastics in my kitchen. How will I ever eliminate plastic in the home? I'm afraid it will have to be one piece at a time.  

Let's start with the obvious plastic food storage containers.

How many do you have in your home? I have more than I can count. What can I replace them with? Well, there's glass, of course. That could be rather expensive. Still, it's worth it, for the health of my family. OK. Let's just do it. I'll recycle all the plastic food storage containers and gradually replace them with glass. Meanwhile, I'll use foil wrap and the dishes I already have to store leftovers. I'll nix the plastic baggies and plastic wrap too.

What about the rest of the plastic dishes?

I have plastic cups for when the grand-kids come over. I don't like them drinking out of them, but I also don't like replacing glassware every few weeks. I have a plastic pitcher for making juice and the like. I also have some plastic mixing bowls. OK. My next step will be to replace those items with glass for the health of my family. I'll just have to live with the breakage. Maybe if I buy thicker glass items, it won't be so bad. I have plastic utensils too. Maybe I can switch to wood or metal?

Is there anything I can do about the appliances?

We have a coffee maker, a toaster, a mixer, a juicer, a crock pot, a waffle iron and more. Plus, there are the usual major appliances. All are made, at least partially from plastic. I don't think you can buy appliances that don't have at least a little plastic on or in them these days. Wow! I guess I have to keep some plastic in my home.

I just realized something.

We have a kitchen that needs updating. That's right. You guessed it. We have a linoleum kitchen floor. Linoleum is a form of plastic, isn't it? We also have cabinets with a small amount of vinyl coating, vinyl drawer slides and vinyl shelf holders. Oh boy. Our silverware tray is plastic too. I guess I can get a wood one. Unfortunately, replacing the floors and cabinets just isn't in the budget right now. At least we have old time white tile counter-tops. No plastic laminate. I knew there was something I liked about them.

I don't think it's possible to eliminate all the plastic in our home.

It's simply too prevalent. I've only gone through the kitchen. I'm already seeing an incredible amount of plastic that needs to be dealt with Not only that, there are many items that are no longer manufactured without plastic components. What a shame! I can, however, do my best to get it down to a reasonable level. So in this case, good enough greening will have to be good enough. However, I will do everything I can.

This post was previously published by this author on Yahoo!

Unique ideas for recycling old magazines

Old magazine (public domain photo)

As I sit at my writing desk I look over and see my stack of old magazines. The pile grows but it also shrinks occasionally. That's because my Mom taught me some unique ways for recycling old magazines. My Mom is clever, artistic, creative and frugal. Luckily, these are talents she passed on to me. My Mom grew up when being frugal was a necessity. Using every item to it's full usefulness was part of everyday living. Here's some of my Mom's tips and some of mine for recycling your old magazines and making less waste.

Cancel your subscriptions

Magazine subscriptions are great for those who actually make use of them. On the other hand, some households receive magazines every month that they never read. Why? They're too lazy or too busy to cancel the subscription. Rather than recycling them, they just gather them up and toss them every few months. If you have a subscription like this, cancel it. Better yet, cancel all your subscriptions. Buy magazines only when you have time to read them. This is a great way of reducing the amount of magazines in the landfills. It's not recycling, it's precycling.

Donate old magazines

Are there charitable organizations in your city or neighborhood that shelter, feed or clothe the less fortunate? When you are done with your magazines, how about donating them so others can have something free to read? Sure, reading a magazine won't help them put food on the table. Still, it may take their minds off their worries for a little while. Recycling old magazines is sometimes as simple as sharing them with others.

Note: You could also drop them at your doctor's office, hospitals, car repair shops and more.

Share your magazines Before recycling old magazines, talk to your friends, relatives and neighbors. They may have similar interests. Maybe they would like some new reading material. Better yet, how about sharing subscriptions? This could save you money and is a clever way of recycling magazines through reuse. Have a monthly magazine swap to recycle all your old magazines. It's a great excuse to get together and catch up too.

Make paper dolls

When I was a kid there were paper dolls in some of the woman’s magazines. When there wasn't, my Mom had a clever trick. She would find a magazine page with the right size and pose of person on it. Then she would glue the page to a shirt cardboard or other stiff paper. Once it dried, she would cut around the picture to make a paper doll. She cleverly left a rectangle at the bottom. She would slit a hole in the rectangle center and insert a piece of cardboard as a stand. I always had the best and most original paper dolls.

Recycled crafts, puzzles etc. for kids

Kids are great at making something out of nothing. From collages to calendars to scrapbooks, recycling old magazines is second nature for kids. They can glue a picture onto cardboard and cut it up to make a puzzle. I used to recycle old magazine for dioramas at school. Scenery pictures make awesome backgrounds. Sometimes you can use the cardboard backing trick to make stand up people and animals for kids dioramas. Throw old magazines at your kids. They'll recycle them for you in no time.

Frame old magazine pictures as decoupage and more

Admittedly, this is a little cheap but there are some beautiful pictures in magazines these days. Think National Geographic and you'll get the picture. Why not frame a set of pictures to decorate the house?
Another way of recycling pictures from old magazines is decoupage. Paste the picture to a wooden object and cover with shellac or acrylic coating. I like to use Mod Podge decoupage glue. It's non-toxic.

Want an antique look? Crumple the picture. Iron it smooth. Use a light colored wood stain on it. Another way is to burn the edges. Add magazine pictures to paintings for another unique look. Recycling old magazines can create some beautiful new art pieces.

This article was previously published by this author on Yahoo!

Hand me down recycling

Clothing donation (public domain photo)

Receiving hand me down clothes is like shopping without spending any money. Giving away used clothing is a very green thing for someone to do. Isn't it funny how we do this a lot but never think about how earth friendly it is? I recently received some hand me down clothes from my daughter. That started me thinking about how it's not only a wonderful, surprise gift, but green as well.

I was going to have to buy new clothes.

Now, I don't have to. That saves resources. Plus, not only do I get some free new clothes, I save myself a shopping trip. Going to the store to buy new clothes takes gas and adds to pollution levels. That's good enough greening for me.

More green benefits to hand me downs

Going green with hand me downs means not adding to the landfill. I'm pretty easy on clothes, too. So, chances are that when I get tired of them, they'll still be gently used. They can become hand me downs again.

What if I don't like the hand me downs?

Well, then, I'll hand them down to someone else who can use them or give them to goodwill. The same is true for those clothes that don't fit me. The nice thing about goodwill is that even if they can't re-sell donated clothing, they'll shred it for recycling.

Who knew hand me downs were so green?

It's amazing how much a small thing like handing down clothes instead of throwing them away can help the earth, isn't it? So, next time you're about to toss some outgrown clothes, stop to think who can use them. Or, simply donate them. You can save the planet, one dress at a time.

Unique cardboard recycling in the garden

Cardboard box (public domain photo)

My partner and I were at the recyclers about a week ago to drop off a used water heater. He's a plumber, so this is a frequent occurrence. Still, I couldn't help but turn my thoughts to cardboard. The cardboard pile (and I use the term loosely, as it's not a pile but a heaping 12 foot tall, 100 foot wide, mass) really grabbed my attention. You see, we were dropping off the box to the new water heater while recycling the old one.

Random recycling thoughts

Now, I know that recycling the cardboard is a good thing. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if I could have made better use of it in the garden. There are, of course, many ways to do this. The one I'm most familiar with is keeping down weeds. This is recycling too, of course as the box breaks down to provide compost once it has outlived its usefulness as a weed blocker.

Normal garden cardboard recycling

In the gradual garden, we do a lot of good enough greening. We try to make our recycling methods there as simple as possible. Those water heater boxes, when cut in fourths the long way, are the absolute perfect size for blocking weeds in garden paths around raised beds or between rows. However, that's not what I was thinking to use them for this time.

A new recycling idea

It occurred to me that if they were cut in half, the long way, those pieces would be the perfect size to top a raised bed. You see, some of our raised beds are older and getting a bit weedy. I'm thinking that cutting holes in a couple of cardboard boxes for plants or seeds might be a good enough option for weed control right within the beds themselves, next year.

Cardboard box planters?

I was also thinking that since the boxes are quite strong, they might make good temporary, small raised beds all on their own. We could cut the bottom out, cut horizontal pieces the right height, fill them with soil and go to it. Of course, they would have to be replaced each year. However, we have a good, continual supply from the plumbing business. Plus, it would certainly save us a lot of money on lumber, not to mention labor when we go to expand the garden.

What do you think of these two ideas?

Do you have a favorite recycling tip for cardboard boxes? If so, please feel free to contribute in the comment section.

Five benefits of a manual push mower aka reel mower

Reel mowers are as green as it gets. (public domain photo)

There are a lot of good reasons to own a manual push mower. It isn't just about saving the earth, but that is a big part of it. Right now, we have both a gas and a reel mower. That's because our fixer upper backyard is full of nasty weeds. We use the reel mower in front. That's good enough greening under the circumstances. Of course, once the back lawn is tamed, we'll use it for both. Here's why.

Reel mowers don't pollute.

That fact alone would have made our decision easy. Protecting the environment is very important to both of us. Neither of us are city people. We're not impressed with fancy gadgets and noise. We like the simple life. We're both happiest when puttering around the yard. Somehow the idea of polluting our little paradise just doesn't suit our style.

Manual push mowers are cheap.

I would say inexpensive, but I'm not that fancy. I tell it like it is. In fact, you can buy a reel mower for under $100. Even the deluxe model comes in under $200. While it's true, a cheap gas mower can be under $200. as well, it won't be as reliable as the push mower and requires a lot of maintenance.

There's very little maintenance involved with a reel mower.

There aren't a lot of moving parts to replace. You don't need oil, gas or electricity to run them. You do have to lubricate the parts occasionally. You have to keep the blades sharp. They don't break down very much. In fact, my Dad had one that he had since he was a kid. He was in his fifties when I left home. It still hadn't broken down.

A manual push mower is good exercise, but lightweight.

They are admittedly, a little harder to push than a self propelled mower. They're definitely harder than a riding mower. Still, I like them just for those reasons. I think we need a little more exercise in our day anyway. Why not get it through a little good honest work? The newer reel mowers aren't quite the struggle the old ones were. I think I can handle it.

Manual push mowers are quiet and don't bruise the grass.

You can mow at midnight (without disturbing the neighbors). What's more, they're actually better for your lawn. They don't rip and tear at the grass the way motorized mowers do. So all that sodding, seeding and weeding you did won't go to waste. Keep the blades sharp and you get a nice clean cut.

You can buy a bag for your reel mower if you like, but it's not necessary. They spread cut grass evenly to give your lawn a fertilizer boost.

Portions of this post were previously published on Yahoo! by this author.

Recycling junk mail

Junk mail gift bag shreds (public domain photo)

Why not make good use of junk mail by recycling or re-purposing it? We all hate it. We all get tons of it annually. Why waste an opportunity by throwing it directly in the trash? There are some interesting things you can do with junk mail. Here's a few simple ways you can recycle or re-purpose junk mail without cluttering up your home.

Let the kids play with the fake credit cards.

These come with those annoying credit card offers. They're quite realistic, at least in the eyes of a young child. Kids can use them at their pretend grocery store. Or, they can put them in a purse or wallet to feel more grown up. My younger grand-kids get happy when I open those credit card offers and hand them one.

Light your fire.

You know you want to burn that crap up. Why not use it as a fire starter for your back yard fire-pit or grill? You were going to light the fire anyway. Why not at least do it non-chemically? This works great if you have no shredder and have a lot of those credit card offers. Did you know there's a scam where people steal them out of your mail, write in a new address and attempt to obtain a credit card in your name? If you burn it up or shred it they can't.

Make gift bag filler.

If you do have a shredder, you can turn all that junk mail into gift bag filler. Just shred it up. It costs nothing. Free is much better than the price they charge for colored shreds at the party store, isn't it? You can also use those shreds to pack breakables for moving or mailing. Do be sure to shred it first for security reasons.

Make more paper.

Shred it. Mix it with water until it becomes a pulpy mess. Spread out the goop thinly, on a flat surface or screen. Let it dry completely. Peel it off. Presto! You just made your own paper. You can do this with newspaper too.

Up-cycle this tip: Mix seeds with your paper for easy planting. Just bury the whole sheet about an inch deep in a pot filled with potting soil.

Indirect recycling

Produce bags can be re-used. (public domain photo)

Last post, I talked about how my plumber boyfriend shares his recyclables with local scrappers. We also save aluminum cans for the neighbors to recycle. They use more of them than we do. I call all this indirect recycling. That term could also be applied to up-cycling and other green methods that benefit others or don't involve a trip to the scrapyard.

I indirectly recycle in the garden.

I use wet, rolled newspaper to attract pesky bugs I use cardboard for weed control. Sometimes, it's the cardboard from those water heater boxes. It's the perfect size for garden paths. It biodegrades harmlessly too.

I indirectly recycle in the house.

I use grocery bags (when I forget to bring the cloth bags) as trash bags in the bathroom. OK, it's not exactly recycling, but at least they get more than one use. Plus, I'm not buying special bags for the small bathroom trash cans, which saves resources. I also save the vegetable bags from produce to cut down on the number of plastic zip-lock bags and containers that I buy.

I indirectly recycle on the job.

Sure, I write online for a living. That means I'm at home. So, rather than using disposables for my lunch or generating fast food trash, I eat off my own plates and use my own silverware. Right now, I'm indirectly recycling articles from a soon to close site by posting them on other sites. It saves me writing time, which means less computer time, which means less energy wasted.

How do you indirectly recycle?

Maybe you have some good ideas that my readers and I could use. Leave a comment!

No fuss recycling for plumbers

Plumbing tools (public domain photo)

We don't have any of those fancy recycling containers at our house. However we do recycle anything we can. My gorgeous partner is a plumber. So, in addition to aluminum, glass, cardboard and kitchen waste, we have leftover plumbing stuff to deal with. There's water heaters, bits of metal and more that he doesn't want to throw away. On the other hand, he works hard. He doesn't want or need elaborate recycling methods. He just doesn't have the time for complicated processes.

The metal

None of the metal is extremely valuable. Nevertheless, we don't like having much of it around, so we make a trip to the recyclers once a week or so. We have two small bins for recyclable metal. Very simply, when he gets home, he yanks any salvageable metal out of the van, then cuts and sorts it into the appropriate containers.

He puts some hard to cut and sort metal out with the trash. Nine times out of ten, it gets recycled by someone who comes by looking for it each week. Some does end up in the regular trash at times, but it's not enough to worry about. Plus, the landfill people don't bury it. They salvage what they can for a profit.

Note: Never use your property for valuable metal storage unless it's extremely secure. It's not uncommon for thieves to watch for signs that you might have recyclable metals on your property.

What about large items like water heaters?

My partner occasionally installs water heaters as part of his job. The old ones are worth about ten or twelve bucks each at the recyclers. So, since we're already taking the small metal, we haul whatever water heaters and household recyclables we have right along with us. If we wait too long, we can get a ticket for accumulating large items on the property. So, sometimes when we have nothing else to recycle, the water heaters and such go right out in front of the driveway with a free sign on them. It's a great solution.

You see, several trustworthy scrappers know where we live. They check our house for water heaters and other large plumbing scraps periodically. Honestly, they never sit there for more than half a day. If they do, I have their phone numbers on the fridge. They earn money. We help the environment without having to make an extra, gas guzzling trip to the recyclers. It works for everyone and helps save the earth too.

Easy green compost

Simple compost (public domain photo)

So you want to make your own compost? You can do it the hard way, following complex instructions or you can do it the good enough greening way. Either way, you'll get great compost. So why not skip the complex whys and wherefores and get right to it?

Making compost is a snap.

Nature does most of the work for you. Oh, you can get out your pitchfork and turn it daily if you have the time, I suppose. You can carefully measure out your proportions of green and brown matter. Or, you can just throw it all in a heap and harvest your perfectly wonderful compost in the spring.

I like the last suggestion, don't you?

Here's how you make lazy compost.

-Continually toss layers of leaves, small twigs, lawn clippings, coffee grounds and vegetable scraps in a heap in a sunny corner of your yard, throughout gardening season.

-Use no animal products, like fish, waste, bones, meat leftovers and such. They make things nasty and unusable.

-Wait until spring.

-Turn the pile over, shaking the loose stuff to the ground.

Voila! Perfect compost without the fuss.

The loose stuff is your lovely, perfectly composted material. It should look like black dirt. It might have a few bits of leaves in it, like the compost in the picture. That's OK. Till it into your garden when preparing for planting, along with the grass clippings from your first spring mowing (for nitrogen). Nature will finish the job of breaking it all down to feed your plants over time.

Keep making perfect compost every year.

Repeat by adding this year's twigs, leaves, grass and scraps to whatever is left of the pile that didn't fully decompose.

Harvest it again next spring. And so on.

Who needs chemical fertilizers? Not me.

About good enough greening

Just throw it in a pile! (public domain photo)

It's overwhelming isn't it? There's so much environmental damage and so many different reasons, causes and evils behind it. What can one person possibly do to stop it, reverse it or at least slow that train down? Well, you can't do it all. That's what I realized a few years back. On the other hand, you can make your environmental efforts a little less complex.

For instance:

-You don't have to compost exactly like the experts say. You can just throw that crap in a pile. Voila! It still works. Nature is great like that. She heals and renews herself naturally. Duh!

-You don't need a fancy-shmancy container for your aluminum cans, glass bottles, newspaper and whatever else you're recycling. An old trash can (or a bunch of them) will do.

-You don't even need a plan, a book or a guide.

You do, however, need this blog. Ha-ha. Hey, you can't blame a girl for trying, right?

Anyway.... This blog is all about making it easier to go green. It's not about making concessions on what or even how much you do to save the earth, but on how you do it. So, why not follow me on my lazy, crazy journey toward a green planet? It beats sorting out those recyclables, right?