10 Clever Household uses for plastic shopping bags

10 Clever Household Uses for plastic shopping bags:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20310499_20685589,00.html

1. Fill in Gaps

Stuff plastic bags into cavities around pipes, ducts, or other wall or floor penetrations to provide a substrate before filling voids with spray foam or caulk.

2. Protect Fruit

In late fall, tie plastic bags over nearly ripe fruit on a tree to keep out bugs and guard against frost damage.

3. Apply Waxes and Creams

Use a bag as a mitt to spread furniture wax or polish. Then buff to a shiny finish using a soft, dry cloth.

4. Transport Unpotted Plants

Divide overgrown perennials and place extras in bags to contain the soil and keep in moisture while you carry them to a friend.

5. Seal a Paint Can

When you’re done painting, slip a plastic bag over the paint can lid before replacing it so that dirt or flakes of dried paint on the lid’s underside won’t fall into the liquid.

6. Keep Your Jeans Clean

Cut holes in the bottom of two bags and wear the bags like kneepads to protect your pants while you’re gardening.

7. Make Sure Glue Won’t Stick to the Wrong Thing

Before clamping up a woodworking project that’s just been glued, slip a plastic bag between the piece you’ve worked on and the clamp blocks. Once the glue has dried, the blocks will slip off your piece easily.

8. Save Time After a Storm

Expecting snow or sleet? Tie plastic bags around your car’s side-view mirrors so that you don’t have to scrape ice off them; just yank the bags off and you’re on your way.

9. Keep Your Dog or Cat Comfy

Stuff an old pillowcase tightly with plastic bags, sew the open end closed, and let your pet lounge on it during nap time.

10. Corral Hardware

Line tool-belt pockets with a bag trimmed to size. No more stabbing yourself as you reach for nails deep in the seams.

 

Bags and Cases Made from Re-engineered Rubber

While searching the web looking to see if I could find a new laptop bag that I liked better than my current one I came across a California based company that manufactures cases for Laptops, MP3 players, Cell phones and various other uses from what they call re-engineered rubber.  They are basically taking the tubes from South-American truck tires and transforming them into hand-crafted bags and cases.  They bags and cases look nice, but unfortunately I did not see anything that a liked better than my current bag.  If you want to take a look at these bags and learn more about this company please visit their site at http://www.tread.com

 

How To Reuse Newspaper Around The House

Browsing around the web I have come across several suggestions and articles on different ways to reuse newspaper around the house.  This is an easy way to keep newspaper out of your local landfill; especially if your local municipality hasn’t started a recycling program yet.  I came across a lot of different ways to reuse newspaper; I am limiting this to the 15 that I found the most practical.  To do this I recruited my friends and family to try out a lot of them and figure out which ones we would most likely use on a daily basis.  Some of the suggestions we found we all agreed we would never try; like wrapping a fish in wet newspaper and cooking it on the gril. Some of the gardening tips I could not get my mother-in-law (the local gardening expert) to try; like the oragami seeding pots.  She refused because she has been using the same seeding pots since she came over from Italy.  Here are the 15 that we found most useful:

1. Crumpled newspaper works well for a streak free shine on glass and mirrors.
2. You can also use crumpled newspaper to clean up messes around the house.  Use it to absorb most of a spill and then use a damp sponge to clean up the afterward. 
3. Newspaper also absorbs odors.  Pack some in your luggage or plastic storage containers to absorb any odors.  You can even pack some in your cooler when you store it for winter so it won’t stink in the spring
4. If you have a fireplace you can tightly roll up a few sheets of newspaper and use it as a fire starter.
5. You can use old newspaper to protect your floor when painting.
6. Unripened fruit will ripen faster if you pack it in newspaper.
7. If you line your vegetable and fruit drawers in your fridge with newspaper it will absorb and odors and moisture from forgotten fruit that can cause other items to go bad.
8. The Sunday cartoon section makes a cute and colorful alternative to wrapping paper for children’s gifts.
9. If you garden; lay a 1/4 inch layer of newspaper down before covering with wood chips.  This will help prevent weed growth; just make sure you wet the newspaper to keep it from blowing away while you lay at the wood chips.
10. If you need to ship anything to family or friends you can use crumpled newspaper as packing material.
11. If you have a cat; line the litter box with newspaper to absorb odors.  This will also help make cleanup easier.
12. On snowy or rainy days (depending on where you live); lay out some newspaper near the door to layout wet shoes and boots.
13. If you compost your grass clippings; mix some shredded newspaper to the mix to absorb and odors from the grass clippings.
14. If you do work on your own car; keep some newspaper in the garage.  If you spill any gas or oil; use the newspaper to clean it up.  It will absorb the spill and can prevent stains on your concrete.
15. If you entertain company often you can layer some flat sheets of newspaper under your tablecloth.  This will help absorb any spills that may happen and will act as a heat pad for any hot items you may be serving.

 

Do you know what your environmental footprint is??

Was searching around on-line and I came across the Earth Day Network Footprint Calculator.  I figured what the hell I car pool, I recycle, and I am pretty environmentally friendly lets see what my footprint is.  Well I was surprised that it said it would take 4.1 planets to support my lifestyle.  I am thinking I am not as green as I thought.  When you have a chance take the test and see if you are as green as you think.

 

Responsible Electronics Recycling: Turning Policy into Practice

Found this article on GreenBiz.com.  Has an interesting point of view on the how corporate policy does not always filter down to the actual e-waste recycler.

IT professionals have become good environmental and privacy stewards during the past 10 years — on paper. Corporate policy now generally reflects the fundamental tenets of good electronics stewardship, requiring verifiable data destruction and forbidding the use of landfills and export in lieu of responsible recycling. As anyone who receives RFPs for IT asset disposition can confirm, the market has spoken.

Why, then, is eBay a bazaar for hard drives containing corporate and personal data? How is it possible that a majority of e-waste still is being exported to developing countries, according to most estimates?

Read Full Article

 

Did you know that for every ton of plastic bags that is recycled we save 11 barrels of oil?

Here is an interesting article that not only includes some interesting reason on why you should recycle plastic bags as well as some tips on how to. 

http://earth911.com/blog/2009/06/15/360-recycling-plastic-bags/

 

How to recycle your used electronics

This article is a great doorway for those of us who have so many electronics already, and always want to get more.  Take a look and see if there is a way for you to recycle your older electronics and make an environmentally conscious decision when removing them from your home.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/computer-recycling-electronics-recycling-461219