Tuesday Tips, Just Another Great Post from Little House. I'm so humble.
This week’s Tuesday Tip, glass bottle art. Most of the drink containers in my household are aluminum or plastic, as you can tell we’re tres chic! However, while shopping for an eco-baby gift a few weeks ago, I encountered a clever and beautiful use for glass containers: light fixtures!
Tip #22: Get creative with your glass bottles!
Reusing glass bottles for center pieces or light fixtures can save you money.
- Looking for a creative light fixture for the dining room? Turn old wine bottles into a unique lighting fixture. Instead of purchasing a new light fixture, all you need is a less expensive light base. Remove any shade or covering it came with, cut out the bottom of your wine bottle and attach it to the lighting fixture through the use of a cord. The wine bottle’s base is wide enough to cover a regular sized light bulb or CFL.
- Mason jars make great luminaries too. Many sauces come in mason jars of all sizes. Once the jar is empty, clean it out and use it as a candle holder. Cluster a few different sizes together for a more dramatic effect.
- Inexpensive center pieces. Cluster a group of different sized, different colored glass bottles on a tray placing a single flower or two in each vessel. Voila! A unique center piece.
Repurposing glass bottles is good for the environment.
- Recycling glass takes more energy than aluminum. Finding new purposes for those glass containers is better for the environment. Not only does it limit the amount of trash that ends up in a landfill, it’s more efficient than recycling the glass.
Wine Bottle Light Fixture
Do you reuse your glass bottles? What other uses would you recommend?
Tuesday Tips, Just Another Great Post from Little House. I'm so humble.
This week’s Tuesday Tip, air dry your wash. I’ve been trying to sun dry my lightly used towels to reduce the amount of laundry I do, and I’ve also been much better about air drying my laundry to save energy and money.
Tip #21: Use the warm summer sun to air dry your laundry!
Air drying your laundry saves money.
- Instead of using electricity to dry a load of laundry, let nature take care of it. My husband installed an inexpensive shower rod directly above the washer and dryer. Since most of his shirts are made of the quick-drying golf shirt material, I can hang them up in the laundry room to air dry. Not only does this save money by not turning on the dryer, I’m also extending the life of the shirt; electric dryers can be harsh on some materials.
- Reduce the laundry load. I’m trying to get better at air drying our bath towels instead of throwing them in the wash as soon as they get damp. The middle of summer is a perfect reason to place the towels in the sun and let them dry out naturally, instead of wasting water and electricity cleaning them after each use.
Air drying laundry is better for the environment.
- Not having to turn on a dryer in the middle of summer is also better for the environment. Saving electricity not only saves me money, it keeps the house cooler, and is better for the environment. Much of my laundry gets hung in the laundry room, so it’s not an eye-sore for the neighborhood either. My clothes last longer, reducing the need for additional resources, and I limit my electricity use. I’m reducing on many levels!
Do you air dry your laundry? Have you found you are more prone to air dry in the summer months than in the spring or fall?
Tuesday Tips, Just Another Great Post from Little House. I'm so humble.
This week’s Tuesday Tip, finding less expensive and reusable alternatives for air filters. Or possibly any filter if the contraption you’re using will accept it!
Tip #20: Reusable and less expensive air filters!
Less expensive air filters are, well, less expensive!
- We use an air filter to limit the pet hair, dust, and smoke in our indoor air. Every year, we need to replace our HEPA filter with a new one for about $35.00. This year, we took out the air filter, examined it and realized there had to be a less expensive alternative.
- A quick trip to Home Depot with the measurements in hand resulted in a reusable, less expensive product. A large, reusable green mesh filter for a third the price of replaced our regular air filter. Not only can we wash it and reuse it for a while, we were able to cut out a total of 5 filters. Does it filter as well as our usual filter? So far, so good. It seems to be doing a fine job.
Reusing air filters is good for the environment.
- Instead of throwing away an air filter every year and having to ship a new one to my home, reusing one over again is a better choice. Not only am I reducing my trash, I’m reducing my carbon footprint by not having to ship an item to my home.
Have you found less expensive and green options to replace other items? Do you use an air filter? Please share your tips and ideas!
Tuesday Tips, Just Another Great Post from Little House. I'm so humble.
This week’s Tuesday Tip, many uses for plastic bottles. Don’t want to recycle all of your plastic bottles? Creative ideas for reusing plastic milk jugs and soda bottles.
Tip #19: Creative uses for plastic bottles and jugs!
Reusing plastic bottles and jugs can save money on everyday items.
- Need some small containers to start a garden? Cut the top off a plastic soda bottle, cut a couple of small holes in the bottom of the bottle and use the base as a container to grow some sprouts.
- Now that the tops of your soda bottles are cut off….use the tops as an inexpensive funnel.
- Refill your old milk jugs with water and freeze them. Old freezers will thank you for it by running cooler and using less energy.
- Need an inexpensive piggy bank? This idea I found online. Basically, glue empty thread spools for the legs, cut a slit on the top as the bottle sits sideways, decorate the cap for the nose and glue on construction paper for ears and googly eyes.
Repurposing plastic bottles is good for the environment.
- Unlike aluminum cans, plastic bottles take more energy to recycle. Repurposing plastics and finding ways to use them once their initial purpose if fulfilled is a much friendlier way to extend their life than discarding them.
Have you repurposed plastic bottles? Do you have some terrific ideas to add?
Tuesday Tips, Just Another Great Post from Little House. I'm so humble.
This week’s Tuesday Tip, use Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda as your all purpose cleanser. At pennies a scoop, Borax and washing soda can be combined to create all kinds of washing detergents.
Tip #18: Make your own cleansers for less!
Making your own cleansers saves money.
- Borax and washing soda can create all kinds of cleansers for half the price of store-bought. My husband has gotten on a “make it yourself” kick lately. He read an article and found a recipe for making laundry detergent for about 11-cents a gallon. Inspired by how much money it saved, he combined Borax, Washing Soda, soap flakes and water, then brought them to a boil and voila! laundry detergent. The same recipe, minus the soap flakes created dish washer detergent, all for just pennies a gallon. Borax and washing soda can also be combined with white vinegar for a surface cleanser. Borax can also be used by itself to clean porcelain tiles.
Creating your own cleanser is environmentally friendly.
- Borax and Washing Soda doesn’t have the chemicals that store-bought cleansers contain making this a much safer household product for your family. Also, since the Borax and Washing Soda come in fairly large boxes, there is little packaging wasted. Mixing these products together in reusable squirt-bottles or reusing old detergent bottles makes reducing and repurposing materials all that more friendly.
Have you tried making your own cleansers? Did you like the way the cleanser worked? Do you find it too time-consuming?
