Eco Friendly Home Projects

We probably can't go a week without buying something. Some of us try to reduce consumption, reduce the use of plastic bags, use BYO containers, go to the nearest shops whenever we can, etc; but the issuing of receipts seems to be a mandatory for all the major shops and malls. No matter how hard I try to squeeze as many items into one purchase, I still end up with way too many receipts. What's worse is: you get 2 sets of receipts when you use a credit card, and the thermal receipts are apparently not recyclable! Being a stubborn cow that I am, I refuse to throw any away as long as they still have a blank side on them - thermal receipt or not. I've been using them as note pads, to take phone messages (not that we had a lot), and write my shopping lists on, before I put them into the recycling bag for paper. Along with the compulsory receipts, these supermarkets and department stores also make sure that they paste a "Sold" sticker onto every bag (or every item i...

Have you ever bought electrical appliances or laptops, etc that came with not one but several of these twist tie wire thingies? Of course you have, and they will keep coming for as long as you plan to buy more in the future. Some people find them annoying because apart from tying some wires for storage purposes, they would just become clutter. Personally, I find them highly useful in aiding me in my daily chores and getting the house organised. Here is what I did with some of them: An extended hook for this calendar with a hole that's too small to go on the existing hook: The previous tenant left behind quite a few pointless nails - like this one that is too deep into the wall - which I can hardly hang anything on. So the twist tie wire came in handy as an extension: Due to the flexibility of these twist tie wires, they can be twisted into any shape and form to adapt to your needs. They are also quite strong and sturdy so I've used some to tie the new roller blinds to the old b...

No matter how careful I am, I sometimes buy things that I end up not using much - like this brown velvety halter dress. I bought it for some special occasion but it has not been worn much since. As you grow older, the chance of getting invited to parties and going to gigs reduces tremendously; this dress became too dressy for just going out in the day. After a few drafts on the drawing board, I've decided that I will make a simple knapsack out of it. The halter neck tie around strap is cut off to make into a thin scarf, and the length from above the waist and down is cut into this: The bottom hem is sewn together to make the base The top bit is hemmed up to leave openings for the drawstring Each corner of the bottom is sewn into triangular flap to make a depth on the base Leftover fabric (from the top bit of the dress) made into pockets on the inside of the bag. The rest of the leftover fabric is used to make a pocket on the outside, complete with zipper (a used one from some old...

There are some CDs which I can't get the printing or labels off, so they can't be used for making coasters . But I still refuse to send them to the landfill and I have used them to support plant cuttings over water like these herb cultivations here: I often make cuttings from my existing herb plants such as basil and mint to prolong and increase harvesting. I will place the cuttings in old jars (especially those which labels can never be taken off) filled with water till they root and can be put into soil. However some cuttings can be rather short and the leaves may fall below water surface and they will start to rot. So I put each cutting through the hole of the old CD/DVD, then place over the jar. This way the leaves can stay dry whilst the cuttings stay safe in the water. I have done this so many times, my very first basil plant is still alive since 2008.

In life you often come across things that you love so much you hang on to it whatsoever. I had a short checkered skirt that was altered from a long skirt because it was stained by some green paint, which I had worn from mid 90's till 2009, when I noticed a hole on the back of it. I had no idea how it got there but it is definitely not mendable. I was devastated as it was one of my favourites, and I certainly can't make it any shorter! Last worn on 3 April 2009, Lee on Solent Stubborn as I am, I refused to throw it away just yet. So I decided to make a bag out of it. The actual process of making it was not that long, but it was the waiting for the right material to come along. My sister passed me some old straps she took from her old ripped travel bags so I used some to make the straps, as well as the horizontal line pattern by the straps. The bottom piping was made by wrapping fabric from an old t-shirt (that was waiting to become a cleaning cloth) around an old cord off a ...

The big 2-panel full window by our bathroom long tub is one of the prettiest features in our flat. The problem is, some evil developers have built 2 much taller condominium blocks right opposite us. This means that the residents on the higher floor of these blocks might (we just won't know) be able to see us in the tub through our big clear glass window. One might argue that they are too far away to see us clearly, but the thought is just scary. We have done some DIY frosting on the lower panels of the window when we first moved it, just so that we have some privacy (just in case) and will still have good sunlight shining through in the morning. But these high rise blocks were not built then. I would hate to fully block the whole window, nor do we have enough window frosting sticker left from the last time (the lower panels and those in the second bathroom). So I thought I would improvise with the left over sticker. I cut the sticker into small rectangles and stick them on to the t...

Although I make a point to tell all my friends not to give me any presents to avoid unwanted gifts and excessive gift wrapping, I still get nicely wrapped gifts from time to time. When I do I will unwrap them very carefully and keep almost everything - from the gift wrapper, greeting cards to the ribbons and trimmings - and reuse them whenever I can. This month I happen to have some gifts to give away, so I've recycled these wrappers and cards. The purple patterned wrapper in the foreground is from a Christmas present I received in 2008. The white tissue wrapper in the background came from a clothing packaging. The dark pink tissue wrapper underneath is from another gift I received some years ago (which will be used for wrapping the other present) . The gift cards are cut out from old birthday cards. The ribbons are taken from an old top I dismantled. Nothing is new here except for what's wrapped inside, which is the most important thing. But I think they still look quite sweet...