UK Designer Jamie Ward rescues discarded and salvaged furniture found around his hometown of Manchester and revitalizes the pieces as one-off, iconic expressions of pop culture.  Combine one dinged-up old desk, scraps of movie posters, newsprint, concert announcements and other found materials – result – hybrid furniture that is functional, sustainable and kind of eco arty.

If inspired by this concept you could easily pursue your own DIY furniture creations.  Required – old stool, chair, table or similar, an eye for the eclectic, some basic tools and a modicum of good taste.

A Little Piece of Earth is a short book written by Maria Finn.  As the title of this post indicates, it is a book about how to grow your own food in small spaces.  No space is too small.  As my husband and I have learned as new tillers of the land, 2.5 acres is enough land to feed 100 people and to make a living on.  So there is no reason why people in urban and suburban areas cannot grow enough for 2-4 people in their backyards with a little bit of creativity.  This is what Ms. Finn shares in her book, along with little stories about the people she’s helped with her gardening experience.

From roof tops and window sills to indoor gardening, Maria Finn provides the beginner and veteran gardener plenty of food for thought.

Such as this line, “Edible gardens not only provide food, but also connections – to the earth, to the past, to the culture and to one another.”

And this a funny tip: A raccoon deterrent is an Oreo cookie with a jalapeño pepper inside!  Can you believe that?  She also said that aphids do not like hot peppers, so grow a few extra to keep those bugs at bay.

Another idea was to grow a grapevine privacy wall between you and a nosy neighbor, which seemed not only a neighbor/privacy solution but a way to grow grapes in a small backyard, too.  I also loved her section on children’s gardens, like using the Weeping Plum tree as a reading/tea party nook or the Pink Jasmine Tepee that would be more cost effective than many of the commercial tepees on the toy market and would smell a whole lot prettier too!

This book supplied me with enough intriguing information on multi-tiered worm composters, yummy recipes to try, different kinds of heirloom plants, garden design ideas, precious space saving techniques and even seed saving tips which make me want to study each of these subjects more in-depth.  After all, this little book is more of a quick study/pocket reference book with only 212 pages in its 8”x 5” covers.  I would definitely recommend it to those wanting to use their space more wisely.

(find @ amazon.com)

For vagabond urban gardeners and those who like to grow their own – this portable garden design allows you to take your garden with you when your girlfriend finally kicks you out.  BACSAC was created by a trio of Parisians – Godefroy de Virieu, Louis de Fleurieu and Virgile Desurmont.

These container garden bags are suitable for all climates and are made from a 100% RECYCLABLE Geotextile material that’s UV, frost, tear and traction-resistant.  The container’s material is permeable to let soil breathe and drain with limited evaporation while protecting roots.  The light-weight, portable bags enable you take your precious produce from terrace to rooftop, from one address to another, rotating crops year-round.

All square and long BACSACs are based on 12″ squares; web straps and rods keep BACSAC in shape under the weight of the soil — and provide a handy subdivision of growing surface.

in various configurations @ a+r store

Related:  previously on altCon

• grow your own – the ultimate in going local

Memorial Day’s almost here – yay!  Time to really take care of our skin and slough off winter’s coat.  Save some time and money as you exfoliate — Do It Yourself, and have some fun in the comfort of your home.

Slap on an apron, pour yourself a strong lemonade or light tea, and crank up the tunes.

Courtesy of Body + Soul, here are a few great ways to clean up your act before applying that sunscreen and hitting the beach.  Tip: try to use organic ingredients – skin drinks-in much of what ever’s slathered on it.

Oatmeal Lavender Face Scrub: 1 cup ground oatmeal; 1/2 cup dry lavender flowers, stripped off stalks; 1/2 cup milk (either whole or nonfat); 2 tsp cornmeal

• mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
• massage into damp skin
• rinse with warm water
• Note:  scrub will keep for 6 months.  Recipe from Do It Gorgeously, by Sophie Uliano

Coffee Zest Body Scrub: 1/2 Cup used coffee grinds; 1/2 Cup honey;  1 Tbsp fresh orange zest

• mix ingredients together in a glass container
• gently rub into skin using upward strokes in small circular pattern; 1-3 minutes
• apply 1-3 times a week, depending on need
• Recipe from Brenda Brock, founder of Farmaesthetics

Be sure to follow the above routine with moisturizer.  You can make your own Grapeseed Body Oil by taking your favorite essential oil (rose petal, orange, lavender) and mixing a few drops into grapeseed oil.  Shake before each use.

Your skin will love you for it.  So do tell, what’s your favorite DIY homemade skincare tip?

via:  May 2010 – body + soul (love this magazine!)

Related:  previously on altCon
(11.2.09) DIY Soap; Shampoo; Deodorant
(4.27.09) DIY toothpaste

Someone drained the nectar out of these Captain Morgan and Bacardi bottles and upcycled them into handy hummingbird feeders.

Safe for the birds, with labels sealed so these bird-friendly conversation pieces will withstand the elements.

If you’re handy you could probably make your own DIY version.

choice of styles – $14 ea. @ DeeLuxDesigns Etsy shop

With our concern for the ever mounting problem of e-waste, we welcome the following post contributed by Paul Nelson, one of the founders of RepairLaunch.com.

I refer to them as “DIY Repair Services” because many of the resources available today explain not only how to fix your own stuff also offer to fix the stuff for you.  Call it bait if you want, but if you apply yourself you can probably repair your item by following the steps provided by the resource you’ve chosen.

Fast growing are iPhone repair services and the iPhone as a whole has a ton of information to save your phone or Apple device.  Generally speaking, the more popular your electronic device is, the more likely you will find information on it. Something to think about before you buy.

Here are some quick DIY repair tips for the easier types of repairs if you’re in a bind:

• An iPhone screen repair is commonly needed because the glass breaks rather easily, especially at parties.  If you have learned that already the hard way, hopefully you knew that if it is just the glass that is broken, all you need is a couple tools and a replacement screen and you can fix it in under 20 minutes (in a many situations).
• Your iPhone gets wet.  First thing to do is get it out of the water.  Make sure you don’t turn it on and (more…)

For Earth Day this year I visited my sister Kate’s third glass class in Hopewell, NJ.  We demonstrated how to make a simple, DIY Glass Cleaner and then all 40 of the sweet monsters made their own people- and planet-friendly concoction in a spray bottle.

They also designed their own individual labels and hang tags before bringing their bottles home.  Hopefully, their moms and dads are using the spray on a daily basis now.  (I wish I’d taken photos of the event but it was quite hectic so I didn’t get it together.  The kids were quite enthused about the whole happening.)

Here’s the easy to follow formula for eco friendly glass cleaner:

• One Cup warm water
• 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar*
• 20-50 drops essential oil.  We used Lemon essential oil.  You could also try lavender, orange citrus or sweet tangerine.

*You can adjust the amount of distilled white vinegar to suit your personal preference; its smell is as potent as its cleaning power.  To help minimize the lovely vinegar scent we added about 40 drops of essential oil to the bottle.  Before spraying on glass, be sure to shake the bottle so the oil isn’t left floating on top of the mix.

Why you should try it:   It’s probably the most effective, eco-friendly and least expensive Glass Cleaner available today.  It’s healthier — better for the air you breathe than conventional store-bought glass cleaners.  And you can stop purchasing plastic bottles that wind up in ever-mounting landfills.  Simply empty, clean and use one of the spray bottles you probably already have under one of your sinks.

Cost:

• One gallon of Distilled Vinegar ($2 – $2.99, depending on retail store)
• Essential Oil ($8.99; health food / Whole Foods market).
• These 2 ingredients will last you a very long time.
• I use a microfiber sponge which can be rinsed clean after each use.  I strongly recommend that you try to break that paper towel habit.

If you give it a try, let me know how it goes.

If you really are pressed for time, here are a few suggestions for store-bought sprays.  The GoodGuide rates Method and Seventh Generation among their Top Two household cleaners.  I also love Better Life and Ecover.  For hard core grime, nothing beats Shaklee’s Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste, one container has lasted me three years. It’s really quite amazing.

Related:  previously on altCon – DIY soap – clean up your act

This post is contributed by guest blogger D. Salmons on behalf of DIY Guides.

The vast majority of us wear some kind of clothing, and it all has to be laundered.  The impact of all of those clothes being cleaned has a major impact on our planet.  But as good stewards of this beautiful planet it is our responsibility to lessen any destructive impact on it.

So, with a need as crucial as clean clothing, how can we be more kind to our planet (and perhaps kinder to our finances as well) when it comes to laundry?  A little caution and a sparing approach will no doubt take you far, but to get the ball rolling, we present five ways that will help you be more green when it comes to laundry.

1. Choose Your Detergent Wisely
Take a strong look at what is in your detergent.  A lot of brands contain phosphates, which are hard on the environment.  Phosphates can promote algae growth that can adversely affect marine life, and it is hard on the eco-system.  Also look for petroleum products in the detergent, which can be hard on the planet, as well as help to contribute the need for oil.

One way to go more green in your laundering habits is a simple one – use a concentrated detergent in place of a regular one.  Using a concentrated detergent saves energy because it takes less space and fuel in its distribution.  This saves energy and promotes a healthier environment.

Soap nuts from the plants known as Sapindus are an up and coming alternative to modern detergent.  Soap Nuts contain a natural surfactant, and they were used for thousands of years by Native Americans and others as a popular means of washing.  Being an all natural solution, the soap nuts can be composted at the end of their life cycle.

Finally, consider making your own laundry detergent.  In this way you know exactly what is being used in your family’s wash as well as using an eco-friendly alternative.

2. Hang Out To Dry
One of the easiest ways to go green with a dryer is to avoid the power button.  That is, consider using a clothes line to let clothes air dry.  The added benefit here is that the wear and tear damage that clothes receive in the old rough and tumble is avoided, and they tend to smell nice when line dried.  Now, not all areas allow a clothes line to be openly used, so you may want to check first if you have any doubt.  You can find more information about line drying from LineDryIt.com.

Even if you elect to line dry only certain items, the overall impact can add up.  The home dryer is the second largest user of electricity in the home, with only the refrigerator using more power in a typical home.  (Source:US Dept of Energy)

3. Develop Good Habits
Developing good habits when it comes to doing laundry can have a large impact on not only the environment, but on your bottom line too.  For example, some clothes, such as jeans, can usually be worn more than once before laundering.  Not only does this save from laundering, but it has been estimated that as much as 70 percent of the wear and tear in clothes comes from the laundering process.  By laundering less the clothes last longer, saving you money.

One good habit to make is to wash in cold water.  Around 90 percent of the energy used in washing clothes comes from heating the water to wash them.  By washing in cold water where possible, you save that energy, helping the environment and your electric bill.

Another great habit to have when laundering is to wait until you have a full load to wash.  By washing partial loads you waste water and energy that would have otherwise went into washing more clothes.  It is more efficient when you maximize the effectiveness of a given wash cycle.

4. Skip the Fabric Softener
One of the main ingredients in most fabric softeners is undenatured ethyl alcohol.  This is suspected to contribute to many health problems, including being a liver toxicant and an endocrine disruptor.  You really don’t want that in your family’s wash, do you?

Instead, you can try adding a half cup of vinegar to the rinse water.  It has the added benefit of acting as a slight disinfectant as well (although this is not proven), and it has been reported to help with hair in the wash.

5. Upgrade the Gear
Finally, take a good look at your washer and dryer.  If they are showing their age, there may be a worthwhile gain to replacing them with a new model.  According to Energy Star, an energy star qualified washer will save about $50 per year over a non-qualified model.  It’s almost like buying the dryer for free. And if your washer if dated before 1998, then you are spending about $135 a year more than a qualified model.  This would pay for both appliances over the course of their lifetime.

But it is not only your pocket that could get a boost from the new gear.  Switching to an Energy Star qualified top loading machine can save up to 7,000 gallons of water per year.

As you can see, it is easy to help both the environment and your bottom line by watching how you do your laundry.  On top of the items listed here there are more things you will find that saves on laundry waste, such as not ironing when it is not needed and the advantages of keeping the washing machine clean.  But once you start noticing your habits, don’t be surprised if the savings also translates to another extremely valuable commodity on the planet – your time.

Here’s a pattern that will let you sustain the life of your favorite sweaters by recycling them as nifty green baby shoes.  This pattern is for making baby footwear from parts of a felted/shrunken sweater, which are assembled using simple crochet stitches.

Making the shoes requires knowledge of simple crochet stitches (slip stitch, chain, single crochet) – and a little attention to detail.

The pattern comes with detailed written instructions, step-by-step photos, and a simple tutorial on how to (intentionally) felt your own sweater(s).

$3.95 from the coffeelady