Keeping Your Bags in Shape

I discovered a new way to keep a round bag I crochet in shape.  I made use of the inner packaging from this cookies container.

This is how it looks like.

After washing it, I cut a slit at its vertical edge to make it fit perfectly into the bag.

So, be on a look out for these PVC inserts in all shapes and sizes.  There may be one that can be used to keep your bags in shape.  Throw in some silica gel packets to reduce the chances of moisture getting into your bags. You do not want your bags to smell musty from growth of mold.  

You do not have to buy silica gel as they are usually supplied with food product or health supplements that you have purchased.  You should avoid using silica gel packets that are stained.

If you cannot find PVC inserts in the right size, you can use cushions that have gone flat on you.  You can fold it up and tuck it into your bag or cut it up to size to sew.  

It does not matter if the cushion protrudes out of the bag.  Hopefully, the dustbag that you have received on purchase of your bag is large enough to hold and protect it.  You can also re-use your neck or baby pillows that you may have kept in storage somewhere for the same purpose. If the baby pillow is too small, wrap a towel around it to fit the bag.  You can also slip towels in laundry bags

Don't forget to add the silica gel packets.  There are many ways you can make use of them if you start collecting them.  

Pod Works, the Mini Work Stations

With a mobile phone in hand, gone were the days when we had to look for coins to make calls from a public phone booth.  So, what is going to happen with British Telecom red phone boxes that have gone redundant?

Bar Works Inc, a New York based company, is fitting out these phone booths with plugs, printers/scanners, WiFi and ethernet connections to create mini work stations for people on the go. The idea is that it can be very expensive to pay for cups of coffee just so you can have free internet access in a noisy cafe, when you are out of town.

Now you can pay a membership fee of £19.99 so you can have the privacy to work in a Pod Works any time, day or night, in the location you are heading to, that is, if a link to an APP confirms that it is available there.  To top that up, you will get free tea and coffee from its hot drink machine.

Pod Works will launch in July, 2016 and only in London, Leeds and Edinburgh.

This got me thinking.  Why does it take someone from USA to see value in UK's iconic looking red phone boxes?

Maybe reading, "HBR's 10 Must Reads on Innovation" by Harvard Business Review, which includes the article, "The Discipline of Innovation", by Peter F. Drucker will help us to discover how we can create wealth from the abandoned and save the environment along the way.

Heard of seatbelt bag?

Have you heard of seatbelt bags?  No, they are not bags for keeping seatbelts.  They are bags that are made up of seatbelts woven into shape and sewn up to be used like your regular bags.

These bags are not only eco-freindly but should be stronger and more durable, don't you agree?

Party's over. Now what?

When the party is over, start picking up those drink bottles to keep before they get discarded in the bin.  Find time to watch this video and decide what you want to do with your own collection of bottles.



There are definitely lots of stuff that you and your children can create so that they can have lots of fun during the weekends, even when they are spending them at home.

You can find the full "how to" instruction posted on Instructables at the following link:

10 Fun Things to do with a 2 Liter Bottle

Bone dry, rich.

Have you heard of Mahjong?  It is a game that originated in China played by 3 to 4 players to gain points or win some money.  

Do you know that the handmade tiles can be made from bones that are laid on top of bamboo without glue?  I have never thought of it as a sustainable game of chance until I watched this video.

Have you heard of Neighborhood Fruit?

Have you heard of Neighborhood Fruit? It helps people find and share fruits in USA growing wild or in your backyard.  All you need to do is register the information at the following link:

http://neighborhoodfruit.com/about

That way when the trees are fruiting, they will be picked up by those who are interested instead of leaving them to rot on the trees when there is a bumper crop.  If this application is available around the world, it would make life better for those living in poverty. 

Fruits can be eaten fresh, cooked, squeezed out for juices or drinks or baked in cakes. Find ways to use them on Pinterest and see if a business can be developed:
http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=fruit&rs=ac&len=5

For example, do you know that you can use some fruits for making dye?


Find more of such free tutorial from Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=fruit%20dye

It is common to see restaurant food served in banana leaves.  These can be collected to be sold if you know where you can find them: 

Even some product from Ikea are made from banana fiber?

Someone I know in Malaysia manufacture paper out of banana tree stump

Others I found by doing a search for "find free fruit in your area":
"Falling Fruit," pinpoints all sorts of tasty trees in public parks, lining city streets and even hanging over fences from the U.K. to New Zealand.
http://fallingfruit.org/

Wild Edibles

http://wildmanstevebrill.com/

You see, you can even make a living sharing information about Wild Edible Plants in Columbia, SC

http://www.theforagingfamily.com/

When there is a need, think green.

I am taking a free online course, “Leading Strategic Innovation in Organizations”, through Coursera, conducted by instructor David A. Owens of Vanderbilt University.

The project I am working on is "Stand On your Own", in which I hope to encourage single parents to create to sell Eco-friendly product.  This presentation is what it is all about.

Stand on your own (soyo) from Nancy Poh

I like it that I am able to include what I have shared on this blog to complete my course project.  So, never let others tell you that what you are doing is not useful if you think it is meaningful.  You never know where the future will lead you to when you are willing to share what you know.

Free cups? Need covering up.

Look into your cupboard and you are bound to find odd cups in a variety of shape, sizes and colours that you have received with some product you have bought.

If they are not something that you treasure because of the company logos printed on the cup, maybe it is time to get your crochet hook out and ...

...make a cozy to cover the logos up.

Why?

You can try to make some bucks while clearing them out that way by selling them on Etsy?

More crochet and kniting cozy designs can be found on Pinterest shared by Irmalulu.

Used chopsticks? Great art material.

What can one do with used chopsticks?  Ask artist-architect, Hong Yi, who use materials, that are commonly used in our daily activities, in her artwork.

She was requested by internationally known movie star, Jackie Chan, to create a portrait of himself for his 60th birthday and she came up with an idea to use disposable bamboo chopsticks to create it. Why chopsticks?

Jackie Chan is a Chinese and eating with chopsticks is so typically the Chinese way.  And who could forget his fighting skills with chopsticks in his movies?  Hong Yi likes the idea too that discarded materials can be reused and made into something meaningful and beautiful which reflects Jackie Chan, as an environmentalist.

So, armed with a collection of 64,000 chopsticks, this is what she has accomplished.



If you have it in you to create art, cost of material should no longer be a factor.  Be inspired by Hong Yi, the painter who don't pain with a brush..

Elevator? Very eco for treehouse!

Building a treehouse is green, espcially, the one built by Ethan Schlussler.

He utilizes sheets of metal reclaimed from an old barn as roofing material and wood from the trees in the area it is built on.  The treehouse is held in place by friction of five large cable clamps tightly encircled around the tree, so no nails, bolts or screws were knocked into the tree to secure it in place, 28 foot above the ground.

So, how does he gets up there?  See for yourself.



That's a bicycle powered tree house elevator you are looking at!

He modified his mom's old bicycle with used parts and old scrap materials but to ensure that it works safely, new pulleys and cable were added.

Source:
http://www.gizmag.com/human-powered-bicycle-elevator/29102/

Old stuff? Given new life.

Do you know that you can start a new hobby from stuff that have past their working capabilities?  Google ''gifts from bicycle parts'' and click link to "Images" and you will get the idea.

I think that the best way to keep things you once love is to give it a new life.  

Source: http://www.places-to-go.org.uk/burford2009_bicycle.htm

 

http://www.shaminir.com/photos.html

Don't you agree?

Wall for the garden? Spring mattress will do.

What can you do with old mattresses?

Before you discard your used mattresses, take out the inner spring cores and put them to work in your garden as trellis.

They will be a lovely sight to look forward to once your climbing plants start to grow over them.

You can find more "DIY Garden Trellis Projects" at The Garden Glove.

Discards? Keep them for decor.

It is alright to run out of ideas on how you can refresh your home decor because French designer, Pierre Lota of LOTA DESIGN is willing to share some of his decorating trick.



So, now you know.  When you plan to redecorate your home just do what Pierre is doing and don't run out of discards.

New look? Let's start from old.

Spring cleaning?  Take a look at what Pablo Fernández can do with the stuff you are likely going to throw out of your house.



Decision made?  Still throwing them?  Before you do, make an online search for "unwanted items pick up" to see if there are any charitable group that could make good use of them.   

Happy thoughtful cleaning. 

Cardboard Cathedral possible? Yes!

Let's build a Cathedral out of cardboard?  Not a miniature to play with but one to worship in?  Sounds cool but are you kidding me?   No, it's not a joke and Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban, made it possible with some shipping containers and ninety-eight cardboard tubes for decoration with timber beams inside to hold the load.

Why do that?  Do you remember the earthquake of February 2011 that struck the South Island of New Zealand? Its historic Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch was damaged.

Well, the so called "temporary replacement" which can last 50 years is finally completed.  And here is how it looks like.  Beautiful.

I picked this up from Gizmag.  It makes you wonder what else have been created with cardboard that are commercially viable, doesn't it?  OK, let's take a look then.



And if you think that it would be too difficult to do your own cardboard furniture, you just have to check out this video by Industrial Designer, Adrian Candela, where he shared why and how his cardboard furniture was created with easy to follow instruction, Ikea style.



Do a search on YouTube for "cardboard furniture" and you will find many more of such creations to inspire you.

A new look? Use reclaimed material!

Americans!  The next time you want to renovate your home, maybe you should run through what you intend to discard with PlanetReuse Marketplace as they maybe looking for that very material for their next building project. In fact, it is very likely too that you can find some stuff in their warehouse to re-use for your renovation

And if you think that it is not cool to utilize used items in your "upgrading" project, maybe taking a look at how used items are utilized at Pinterest can change your mind.  Also, there is Dan Phillips, an American designer and builder from Texas who can give you some ideas on how to incorporate reclaimed material into your home.

A company that sells reclaimed building items?  Can they be trusted?  PlanetReuse Marketplace did make it on WSJ Start Up of the Year List for 2013, if that is of any assurance to you.

A kitchen island for free? Pallet possible.

Looking to get yourself an island for your kitchen?  Before you head off to the shops to find one, check this eco and rustic looking island out and see if you can try making it yourself.



Yes, you saw it right.  Spanish designers, Alessandra Samson and Paco Serinelli from Anatomica Design, had figured out how to built their very own Paletina out of wooden pallets.

So, how many pieces of reclaimed wooden pallet would you need to give that a go?  Here are the numbers:

6 pallets 120 x 80cm (47 x 31.5 inch)
3 pallets American type 100 x 120cm (39.5 x 47 inch)
1 pallet 60 x 80cm (23.6 x 31.5 inch)
1 pallet American type from 130 x 110 cm (51 x 43 inch)
1 pallet 100 x 80 cm (39.5 x 31.5 inch)

To complete the look and make it functional, you will also need:

1 laminated glass sheet
1 stove top
1 oven
1 kitchen sink

While it is cool and environmental friendly to use reclaimed wooden pallet, remember to pop by GreenUpgrader for some hints on how to tell if your collection of pallet is safe for upcycling.

I picked all this up from Gizmag.

Cardboard? Light it up.

Cardboard.  A great packing material.  Though can be recycled, usually discarded .  Left in the bin and damaged by rain. Can't anyone see the value in it?

Vicara did with the creation of Cartonado lamp.  See the light.

VICARA from VICARA on Vimeo.

Be inspired.

Trash to play with

The kids of Cateura live in homes built on slum. So, how could they possibly consider starting an orchestra if they can't afford the musical instrument required? If you think that they are hopeless dreamers, then you ought to check out what they have achieved at Landfill Harmonic. They have created music with trash. What can you create with yours?

Slim and well adorned? Clear them out!

Slim and well adorned.

That's what they are always eyeing.  To them the next one is always better with a lot more to play with! When will they stop groping for the next one that comes along?

Yeap!  Mobile phones! The latest model wins hands down again.

So, what did you do with the older models?

How about selling and donating part of the payment to a charitable organization?  Mark Bowles makes it possible for Americans to do just that with his ecoATM, as long as they are willing to have their license and thumb print scanned.  A great way to verify ownership and prevent sales of stolen mobile phones.

So, what do they do with the gadgets collected by ecoATM?  75 percent of the devices are sold to refurbishers while the rest go to e-waste recyclers.  What a great way to reduce e-waste and re-use what are still applicable.

OK, let's check out what this machine, which won the Popular Science's , “The Best of What’s New Award" in 2010, is all about.