Newsletters

Sustainability

Sustainability
Page 10
A New Brand Claims It’s the Most Environmentally Friendly Paint in the World
In the quest to create the most eco-friendly paint and most innovative, LEED-platinum buildings on the planet, one Spanish company is throwing it back with one of the oldest building materials known to man: lime.
Melissa Massello
May 3, 2019
It’s Not Easy Being Green: 4 Times I Went Back to Chemicals
I like to reduce the chemicals in our household, not only because I don’t want them accessible to my young children, but also because I try to reduce our chemical exposure in general. That’s why I mix my own Alvin Corn glass cleaner (“alcohol, vinegar, cornstarch” — awesome stuff), and use baking soda to scrub my sinks.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
These Amazon Deals Are Good For Your Wallet – & The Environment
We are always looking for more eco-friendly ways to shop for our homes. In addition to being better for the environment, it’s also a money-saver. That said, it can often mean spending more money up front for savings down the line, even if it’s small (like our new favorite $6 solution to paper towels). So when we do see deals on green products, we get excited. Ahead, three buys that are better for the environment – and currently better for your wall – on Amazon.
Marshall Bright
May 3, 2019
Why I’ll Always Keep “Alvin Corn” in My Cleaning Kit
I love inexpensive, simple DIY household cleaners with one giant caveat: they have to work. One of my very favorite homemade cleaners is Alvin Corn. I’ve mixed one up for every bathroom in the house and one for common areas and it’s one cleaning solution I’ll never replace. Alvin Corn is a homemade glass cleaner that actually works — and works so very well. I first found out about it years ago on Crunchy Betty when she tested several homemade glass cleaners.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
Why You Should Spray Vinegar Around Your Windows
We’re eager for that moment to throw our windows open to fresh spring breezes — and it seems that the things outside our homes are awaiting the opportunity, too (but for different motives). If it’s not the pollen blowing inside, it’s the bugs that somehow make it through the tiniest nooks and crannies you don’t see (even if you have screens).
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
This Homemade Two-Ingredient Deodorizer Will Make You Want to Vacuum
Unlike grout cleaning and emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming is a household chore that I never mind doing. I love seeing all the dirt in the canister and knowing that I got all that out of our living space, and I love the immediate sense of satisfaction from looking at a newly-vacuumed rug. Vacuuming, to me, is a chore with one of the most visible results. Recently, I kicked my vacuuming routine up a notch, just once a week, and now I enjoy it even more.
Shifrah Combiths
May 3, 2019
6 Plants That Naturally Repel Mosquitoes
I live in a one bedroom “garden” apartment, which means that I get to have my own front door, porch, and small strip of flower bed. The only downside? The flower bed is under the porch roof, which means it’s constantly damp and shady, and also an ideal mosquito habitat. So this year, after frantically trying to squash a few rogue mosquitoes that snuck indoors while I was carrying in groceries, I’ve decided to get myself some mosquito-repelling plants.
Rebecca Straus
May 3, 2019
You Should Know How to Make Your Own Drain Cleaner
Dead skin cells, soap scum, random food scraps, human hair, pet hair, and just regular ol’ dirt—these are all the things you regularly wash down your sink or tub’s drain. And if they sound gross now, image how much worse they are once they’ve congealed into a stringy, slimy ball of gunk inside your pipes. Yuck! You want to prevent any of this gunk buildup before it becomes a real problem—especially in homes with older pipes or large families.
Ayn-Monique Klahre
May 3, 2019
6 Small Ways You Can Be More Self-Sufficient at Home
Remember that time you said you were going to double down on being less wasteful at home? Good news: It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking, as long as you’re willing to add a few quick and easy skills to your repertoire. Being more self-sufficient at home starts with relying less on outside services and wasteful resources. It’s the type of change that happens when you commit to a lot of small tasks in order to make a greater holistic impact on your home life.
Tyler Calder
May 3, 2019
Magic for Modern Life: An All-Natural Antidote to Negative Vibes at Home
If your home is feeling a bit stale, here’s a way to freshen it up and move forward with positive intentions. Burning herbs and flowers is a customizable twist on the incense you might remember from college. Choose your favorite blend of organic materials—based on their individual scents and properties—and create your own unique aromatherapy.
Erin Perez Hagstrom
Apr 30, 2019
This Homemade Mask is The Ultimate Fix For Dry, Damaged Hair
Between beanies, coat hoods, and dry, winter air, my hair always ends up looking like the Cousin It version of itself by New Year’s Eve. As a curly girl, I was getting sick of forking over $20+ for hair treatments and trying DIY hair masks that left a funky smell (I’m looking at you, mayonnaise mask). So this year I started looking into other options and kept reading about how great aloe is for your hair.
Cat Meschia
Apr 30, 2019
An Expert Reveals What You Need to Know Before You Try Zero-Waste Living
If you're trying to live a more zero waste lifestyle, avoid these don'ts.
Adrienne Breaux
Apr 29, 2019
Green Tour: A Future Forward Four-Square
Location: Chicago, ILSize: 3600 sq/ft >> window is located in the dining room to show off super efficient foam insulation used throughout house.
Rachel Wray Thompson
Apr 17, 2019
10 Cheap DIY and Before & After Projects Under $50
Innovative DIY projects are always inspiring, but even more so when they’re budget-conscious! All of these Before & After DIY projects can be done for under $50. So pick your favorite and get to it!
Cambria Bold
Apr 7, 2019
Before & After: 15 Creative Kitchen Renovations
There’s a big misconception in the renovating and real estate world that kitchen remodeling needs to be flashy and expensive to be good. That’s simply not true! We’ve found that with a little creativity, some reuse, a new coat of paint — and sometimes not even that much work, kitchen renovations can be not only eco-friendly, but also inexpensive. Here are our 15 best before and after kitchen posts of the year!
Rachel Wray Thompson
Apr 7, 2019
Clever Green Solutions to Everyday Issues
Some of my favorite Re-Nest posts are the ones that share clever solutions to everyday issues (you know, the kind that make you think “huh, how did I not know about this?”). From removing pesky stains to keeping pests at bay and everything in between, here’s a roundup of our favorites from 2011!TOP ROW• 1 Use Citrus Peels To Start Your Seedlings• 2 Hot Tip: Wrinkles? Forget the Iron. Use a Spray Bottle.
Lauren Zerbey
Apr 7, 2019
25 Easy Tips, Strategies, and Ideas for Small Space Living
As we close out our Small Spaces & Simple Living month here on Re-Nest, we’re rounding up a list of tips and ideas provided by YOU via this post. Everyone has a bit of a different take on coping with small spaces: it’s all about purging your stuff. No, it’s all about organizing your stuff. Wait, it’s all about storing your stuff!
Cambria Bold
Mar 13, 2019
Hot Tip: How To Keep Your Paint Rollers and Brushes Fresh
My fiance and I have spent our last two weekends priming ceilings. It’s hard work, but rewarding. Every night after a few hours’ work, we fastidiously clean out the rollers and brushes, using more water than we’d like—and they’re never up to par the next day. This was our practice until a friend stopped by today and let us in on a painter’s secret.To make the rollers and brushes last much, much longer (and save gallons of water in the meantime!
Amber Byfield
Mar 13, 2019
Painting a Room? How To Avoid Paint Bubbles
If you have a hard time living in a space sans color and tend to paint every place you live, you’ve likely encountered the damaging effects of bubbling paint. I have and as they appeared on Monday, I thought to myself, I should have known better! Luckily I was only painting test swatches on the wall, but there they were: those irritating little air bubbles behind the paint. What they are and how to avoid them? Read on.What are paint bubbles?
Landis Carey
Mar 12, 2019
Basic Guide to DIY Basket Making
I come across so many beautiful baskets in stores that I forget these items are often handmade. With a little bit of practice and patience, it’s not so hard… as long as you start small. After all, they don’t joke about bird courses as ‘basket weaving’ courses for nothing! I recommend preparing your materials (find local materials, then dry and soak them), then weaving them into small shapes or flat mats.
Emily Smith
Mar 12, 2019
How To Make a Moth-Repellent Sachet
Whether you’re just pulling out your sweaters or putting them away for the season, a moth repellent is key to making your winter wools last. Forget the stinky, toxic moth balls—and who really has the space for a cedar closet? What you need is good smelling, tiny alternative, and we’ve got just the thing!
Ashley Poskin
Feb 24, 2019
How To Make a Ladder Wardrobe
Geneva, from A Pair & A Spare, recently moved into a new studio space, and has been working through a long list of DIYs to make the space just right. She found an old ladder her builder had left behind and got to work on one of the projects she had in mind — a ladder wardrobe. She only spent $9 on the total project, and she plans to use it for storing work-in-progress DIY projects and pieces waiting to be photographed.
Kate Legere
Feb 24, 2019
20 Posts On How To Get & Stay Organized
As we noted earlier this month in our Slow Home Manifesto, a slow home “doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be easy to live in.” And what’s one of the tenets that make a home easy to live in? Organization! Here are 20 of our best posts on how to get and stay organized.
Cambria Bold
Feb 24, 2019
15 Outdoor DIY Projects For Summer
Fancy an outdoor rolling bar cart? Or a succulent scrap wood table? How about a shade sail or some wine crate planter boxes? Make the most of the outdoors this summer with one (or more!) of these 15 DIY projects.
Cambria Bold
Feb 23, 2019
15 Repurposed, Upcycled, and DIY Storage Ideas
There’s nothing we like better than seeing something creatively repurposed into something else—particularly if that ‘something else’ is storage-related.
Cambria Bold
Feb 21, 2019
Tim and Hannah’s Affordable DIY Self-Sustainable Micro Cabin
Name: Tim Eddy and Hannah Fuller Location: Tahoe, California Size: 196 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; Owned Hannah grew up in a home her parents built (her father is a boat builder), so it was only natural for her to follow in their footsteps. Tim, on the other hand, has never built anything but fires.
June Bhongjan
Feb 20, 2019
Conserve Resources and Money: How to Take Shorter Showers
According to the Boston University sustainability department, an average shower uses about 5 gallons of water per minute. That means if you shorten your shower by just 2 minutes each day, you can cut your water use by 10 gallons at a time. It really adds up–with major impacts to your wallet and the environment. Whatever your goal–lowering your bill or just your water usage overall–it’s quite the challenge to try and shorten your time in the shower.
Taryn Williford
Jul 14, 2018
Forget Kindling: Start Fires With Orange Peels
With the first day of Fall just around the corner, there are some parts of the country that have seen rather low nighttime temperatures. We’re always ready to bid Summer farewell and welcome Fall (and all that goes with it) with open arms. Time to light the first fire in the fireplace? If so, turn to citrus peels instead of kindling!Although you’ll probably need a little supplemental help from another source, orange peels are perfect fire starters!
Sarah Rae Smith
Sep 19, 2011
5 Places To Put A Compost Bin In A Small Kitchen
Many of us are all for composting, even if we don’t have a lick of outdoor space to call our own. Some have the luxury of slightly larger kitchens of cabinet space, but others are doing good if they can open their oven and refrigerator doors at the same time. If your kitchen feels a little small, here’s 5 places to place a compost bin and a few of our favorite resources for making it happen!1.
Sarah Rae Smith
Mar 16, 2010
7 Things You Should Be Recycling
7 Things You Should Be Recycling
Jan 5, 2018