Posted October 5th, 2010
by Lilly Kibble
Whether you inherited it, picked it up at a secondhand store, or rescued a landfill-bound treasure, saving a piece of furniture from the landfill is an excellent way to go green in your home, but the chemicals, paints, and varnishes many people use for refinishing are often anything but green. Often loaded with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals, many products aren’t just bad for the planet, they’re also bad for your health.
The good news is there are alternatives, old and new, that can help you green the furniture refinishing process, and a few precautions can prevent a variety of health hazards.
- Work in your garage if you have one.
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Tags: Furniture, Furniture Refinishing Posted in Home Design Tips
Posted October 1st, 2010
by Lilly Kibble
Living with Ed follows Ed Begley, Jr., and his wife, Rachelle, as they green their home, family, and celebrity friends. But if you’ve ever wondered what kind of advice they’d give the rest of us, then the Ask Ed forum is your chance to find out. Readers submit questions and comments about the show, green living, etc., and Ed chimes in with his green answers; here, we’ve rounded up some highlights of the past month.
Q.We are building our new house in KwaZuluNatal on the East Coast of South Africa and are trying to do as many of the right things as possible. We would like to remain on the grid for emergencies only and provide most of the power for our home in a ecologically responsible manner.
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Tags: Ed Begley, Green Posted in Home Design Tips
Posted September 27th, 2010
by Lilly Kibble
If you have bike repairs to do, don’t discard the excess parts! Here are five ideas showing how you can transform those parts into something new.
1. Bike Chain Choker Don’t just ride your bike; wear it! This great choker was made from links from a bicycle chain.
2. Necklace and Earrings Part of a deraileur makes a great pendant, while small gear levers make beautiful dangle earrings.
3. Bracelet A pink ribbon transforms a bike chain into a sweet bracelet. Add a charm at the clasp, and you’re good to go!
4. Belt A tire inner tube can be transformed into a belt with the help of some grommets and d-rings.
5.
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Tags: Parts Posted in Home Design Tips
Posted September 22nd, 2010
by Lilly Kibble
We were all new gardeners once upon a time. Oh, the mistakes we made. The plants we killed! The dumb choices we made. Mistakes and dumb choices will be a part of your gardening life until the day you set aside your shovel and pruners (or until they day they pry them from your cold, dead hands, in my case) and that’s a good thing. Mistakes help us learn. I can’t imagine gardening without them.
But beginner’s mistakes can be especially disheartening. There’s nothing worse than just getting started in a new hobby and watching everything you’re trying to grow just sit there pathetically when you dreamed of ripe juicy tomatoes and a garden full of flowers.
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Tags: Gardening Mistakes, Mistakes Posted in Home Design Tips
Posted September 19th, 2010
by Lilly Kibble
There comes a point where you can’t eat another steamed, sauteed, or fried bite of zucchini. The thought of making another loaf of zucchini bread or batch of zucchini muffins makes you almost nauseous.
But come February, the fresh flavor of steamed crookneck squash can often help brighten even the most dreary winter day. If you take the time now to freeze some of that glut of summer squash you’re getting from your garden or CSA, you’ll be sure to have some on hand when you want it this winter, without resorting to rubbery, flavorless supermarket zucchini.
How to Freeze Summer Squash
There are two basic ways to successfully freeze summer squash:
Blanch and Freeze You want to retain the flavor and texture, so how you freeze the squash matters.
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Posted in Home Design Tips