Treasured trinktets? Make candles out of them!

Dig into your drawers and I am sure that you will find some trinkets that you have outgrown. You are not throwing them away even though some may no longer be complete or may have been broken. In whatever condition they may now be, these trinkets hold special memories for you. Some may even be gifts from long lost friends from your childhood days. So, what can you do to hold on to them for their sentimental values?

Have you heard of gel candle? The clear gel used in making the candle allows you to embed your trinkets inside it as a decorative measure. There are ways to make them either with a microwave oven or stove as your heat source.

You may like how your trinkets look in the gel candles that you have no reasons to discard them after all. Long live happy memories.

Painting material? Found in feathers.

Are you thinking of saving some trees by cutting down usage of paper for painting? Then, remember that other than rocks, you can also try your hand on painting feathers.

I received these beautiful pictures of Feather Painting in an email recently. I did a search and discovered the artist. Julie Thompson has clearly succeeded in creating abundance from abandoned feathers that her mother's peacocks have shed.

Be inspired.

You can find many free tutorials posted by Expert Village on YouTube.

Global Warming? What's your message?

Everybody wants a place in the sun and some would consider moving to a foreign country to realize this dream. If we do not take care of our environment now, there will come a time when a move to a warmer country is no longer necessary.

This slogan I have created says it all.

"A place in the sun for you. Coming soon with global warming."




Who do you think is the cause of global warming? Would you wear this warning on your Tee?

"Wake up or pack up. Urban heat taking over."



Stay GREEN! Go Read Every Eco Notes.

Vote to say you would wear these messages at Threadless.

It's Earth Day.

You don't see, you don't use. What a waste!

I have to admit that reducing food wastage with waste is not going work if you cannot see what you have stored in your refrigerator.



Imagine if you have to open up every package to locate the vegetable you need in your recipe. It is time and energy consuming if you left the refrigerator door opened too long in the process. No worries, I have found a solution with more waste materials.


What you need to collect are some catalogues from supermarkets in your area, clear plastic bags and rubberbands.



I cut out pictures of vegetables I have and place them in the clear plastic bags, that were used to store my VCDs. Then I tied them around my vegetables with rubberbands. That way I am able to locate my vegetables with ease.



This bag holds two ingredients I need for a soup recipe.



For vegetables, I could not find a picture for, I write the name on a small piece of paper.



It is not a hassle to cut out these pictures as it can be a very useful communication aid if you have a maid who cannot read or communicate well in English and you cannot speak her lingo.

This is my lettuce after more than a week. Still looking fresh.



Rework your storage if you want to maximize things that you have at home.

1 More Need Less

Of functions and gadgets, one more of the former means that you will need less of the later. Working on this, here are some ideas to play with.

Instead of buying one more ingredient for the recipe you are working on, consider finding substitutes already in your kitchen.

What do you do with microwaveable wares that you rarely use? Here is what I did to my collection when I was advised that microwaving is not a healthy solution to quick cooking.

This used to be for microwaving fish. Now it helps me keep my mugs neat and clean.



I used to put them on a tray without a cover and it's gross when you can see traces that a lizard had visited.



This is meant for steaming buns but it holds my tea cups perfectly.



Both these cookwares come with draining trays. So, you can also use them to store your vegetables you have washed up and put them in the refrigerator. The water will drip out of the vegetables through the trays.

Do you need to buy more egg trays for your refrigerator? I cut the egg carton from my supplier in half and...



... stack one on top of the other in the refrigerator. I am able to hold three stacks of eggs that way.



I love the packaging boxes for storing A4 size paper from Xerox. They are so solid that I kept them for storing my stuff.



Just wrapped them nicely with wrapping paper and they look as good as the ones selling at Ikea. If I use them to keep my children's toy, I will cut out a picture of the toy and stick it to the side of the box. That way, the children will not rummaged through all the neatly stacked boxes of toys.



I am glad I kept this bag for packaging some herbal product I bought.



It is useful for storing my utility bills. I segregated the bills with cardboard cut out from boxes. That way, I do not have to staple each month's bill together or punch holes on them to file. It makes looking for a bill easy.

And don't discard that old pair of slippers. They make great door stopper, at least for your back door, if style is an issue with you.

Economy wise, how's your car doing?

If anything about automobiles interest you, then you may want join Ecomodder, an automotive community. Over there, they talk about their automobiles performance based on fuel economy rather than power and speed.

Find out how they are rated as economical and ecological car owner and what they have done to get there.

I also find this calculator for fuel consumption rates posted on Land Transport NZ interesting.

Kids not reading. Lure them to it online.

I have been trying to get my children to read more often but I have not succeeded so far.

Since they enjoy going online, I hope that the introduction of eBooks by Greener Business will lure them back to a good reading habit.



Just in case, the words are little too tough for them, I have also complied a list of websites they can go to for explanations. Many of these websites have translation in other languages, such as Spanish, Italian and French.

Hmmmm...., I wonder if they will pick up a foreign language in the process. This I know for sure. If the idea of reading books electronically picks up, we do not have to cut down more trees.

Glass bottles litter? You can stop complaining.

I have read about bottles littering the beautiful beaches of Ecuador. The environmentally conscious residents there are working hard to boycott companies who supply their beverages in non-returnable containers in bottles and cans.

While they take such a stance on bottles litter, Bedrock Industries is making money out of the very same litter by creating beautiful tiles and decorative items.



I discovered this company from Greener Business. Greener Businesss promotes companies who make business out of any kind of environmentally friendly materials.

If are looking for some DIY ideas, check out the Projects videos they have posted which provides simple tips, guides, and how-tos.

And if you have been inspired by what you see, you can leave them a free GeenerBusiness Voicemail about your episode ideas and see if they would include them into their future episodes.

Worn out containers? Watch this before you throw.

If you have some square containers that are a little worn out, you may want to consider using them as compost bins. Check out how Bentley “the Compost Guy” Christie use them for vermicomposting,

Going on vacation? What about the plants?

I have been able to re-use my plastic bottles and bags to create Watering Pals for watering my plants while I am away.

Here is an easier method by Liz Gilman of Better Homes and Gardens and you still get to re-use your plastic bags and ...



... your kids' balloon holder.

"I am always away" is no longer a valid excuse not to grow some greens in your home.

Composting methods

I have written about "Composting: what's in, what's out?". Now I have been asked for the how tos.

I have collected a lot of information about composting from a few websites and I have written out the instructions in table form to ease reading and referring.

Following are more of such useful websites that I have discovered.

Home Composting

Read articles at Worm Digest or join their forum.

Check out some of the bins and methods used in worm composting.

"HOW WE COMPOST" by Bay Worms, a non-profit, student/ citizens-run collective operating as an independent entity.

Worm Bins - Vermicomposting Systems. This is the kind of system purchased by Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer to start their Vermicomposting business in 2002. What kind of sales can they expect to make from worm excrement? Check these figures out. $70,000 in 2004, $500,000 in 2005, $1.5 million in 2006, and an estimated $4 million in 2007. This year TerraCycle expects to turn a profit with a projected $8.6 million in sales!

Their TerraCycle Plant Food packaged in recycled soda bottles and other recycled containers are sold in organic groceries, independent garden shops, Wal-Marts and Home Depots around the United States and Canada. This is obviously a company who has successfully created abundance out of lots of abandoned materials.

Happy D Ranch used to supply the Eliminator, which is an educational model made of wooden and metal with a Plexiglas side to see what the worms are doing.

Here is a DIY model for school posted by a GreenYes member, Frank Teuton.

1) 30 Milk Crates stacked in a space of 3x4ft.
2) Place 3 boot trays under crates to catch any leachate.
3) Line crates with waste material as food stock: wood, cardboard, breathable material like fabric. If plastic bags are used, punched drainage holes into them.

Warning: Expect unwanted visitors, such as flies.
Tried and tested: You can microwave or freeze wastes to destroy fruit fly eggs prior to feeding the bin.

Google "Frank Teuton compost" and you will find many useful "dos and don'ts" tips from him on composting. That is how I found these useful information.

Also, check out the many video clips posted on YouTube on composting or compost bins. Here is one that I like by Home and Garden.



Did you notice the bin she used? You can get that free from companies in the renovation business who buy paint or plaster in large containers. Remember to punched holes into them before you start the layering process.

Trash Bins? Can be smart.

A bin that can weigh recyclables you have dumped into it and track how much "recycle dollars" you have been rewarded with for recycling. Cascade Engineering has developed such a smart bin.

The bins have Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips embedded in them so that, they can be weighed and scanned by the sensors in the garbage truck. The Smart Cart automatically records the information in computers and the householders are credited with "Recycle Bank Dollars". With that they can get coupons for discounts from participating businesses, such as, groceries, gas, clothes or travel agencies.

Fred Keller, CEO of Cascade Engineering, calls that "Econology”. Check it out.