by Andy Greene on May 13, 2010

If you're new here, you may want to get the 61 page report 125 Ways To Go Green and Save for subscribing to the newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

London, England (CNN) — Eco-designers are fond of showing us how the future might look but are often guilty of luxuriating in form at the expense of function.  Happily, “Sustainable Futures,” a new exhibition at the London’s Design Museum has steered clear of green frippery favoring instead to focus its attention on a clutch of projects that not only look good, but do good too. From models of Curitiba in Brazil — an environmental role model where recycling and efficient transport were established decades ago — to Masdar, in the United Arab Emirates which is scheduled to be completed in 2016 and is being touted as the world’s first zero-carbon city, a range of city building projects are showcased.

Read More at CNN

{ 0 comments }

Save the Bay for Earth Day

by Andy Greene on April 22, 2010

{ 0 comments }

Beating Boredom with Toys Made from Junk

by Andy Greene on March 20, 2010

“I’m bored!”

Kids on the homestead are less likely than most to voice this familiar complaint, because there’s usually plenty for them to do. But every once in a while it happens. When it does, it’s nice to have some projects up your sleeve.
Here are some fun toys you can make with the stuff you probably already have lying around. Depending on the ages of your children, you can either make these toys yourself, or with your kids – or put an older one in charge of making them for the younger set.

  • Dolls: You can make dolls out of nearly anything. They can be as simple as an acorn head with a tiny scrap of fabric wrapped around it for a hood and dress, to very elaborate, like a jointed wooden jumping jack. Rag dolls are a perennial favorite. You can make hair from bits of rovings or scraps of yarn, and clothes from your daughter’s favorite outgrown dresses.
  • [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Recycled Quilts from Old Clothes

by Anne on February 22, 2010

What do you do with your favorite clothes when they get too ratty to pass down? You know the ones – the sweatshirt with the dingy cuffs, the shirt with the ketchup stain on the front, the jeans with gaping holes where the knees used to be.

Sure, you can turn them into rags. But how many rags can you use in a year? And besides, a lot of that fabric is still perfectly good. It seems a shame to throw it away.
Women have been solving the very problem you face by turning old clothes and quilts into scraps for generations. Why not you?

Starting Your Recycled Quilt

All you need to make a quilt besides your fabric is a pair of scissors, needle and thread and some imagination. The simplest quilts are simply large squares of different fabrics sewn together. The squares can be any size, but the bigger they are the less sewing you’ll have to do. Or you can sew smaller pieces together to make larger squares.
[click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Sledding – Not Just for Kids Anymore

by Anne on February 7, 2010

Wheeeee!

Remember sledding when you were a kid? That hill back of the school, or behind the barn, or at the end of your street? The long trudge up and the thrilling reward when you finally reached the top and pushed off, speeding down that hill so fast the wind whipped tears from your eyes?

Where’s that old sled now? Gathering cobwebs in your shed? Well, if you live where there’s snow it’s time to dust it off and polish up the runners. Because I have good news for you. Sledding isn’t just for kids. In fact, if you want to save gas and your back, your old Flexible Flyer could turn into one of your most useful wintertime homestead tools.

How many times have you fired up the four wheeler in order to carry a load that was just a little too heavy or awkward to haul around in your arms? A sled lets you pull a surprisingly large load with little effort, without the use of fossil fuel. It’s great for bales of hay and straw, hauling firewood, and of course for that little spruce tree you cut for Christmas, or for hauling home that prize buck.
[click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

The Zen of Chopping Wood

January 14, 2010

Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak! Swing. Thwak!
Chopping wood is time-honored tradition on many homesteads. You’d think there would be more complaining about the intense work involved. But if you ask seasoned wood choppers, most will shrug, and smile a little as they admit, “I like to chop wood.”
Take a few [...]

Read the full article →

Home Made Wreaths From Your Homestead

December 24, 2009

Looking for a special, budget-busting way to introduce a little holiday cheer?  Try making your own holiday wreaths!
Nearly every homestead has abundant raw material to create striking and unique holiday decorations. Of course the old standbys of evergreen boughs and grapevine spring to mind, but if those are scare at your place don’t despair.  Just [...]

Read the full article →

Preparing Root Vegetables for Winter Storage

December 11, 2009

When it comes to winter food storage without using up lots of electricity or other fuel, root vegetables are king.   After all, their whole purpose is to last until spring!  Storing your root vegetables doesn’t have to be complicated.  Just keep these few rules in mind·

Keep them some place cool, but don’t let them freeze.  [...]

Read the full article →

An Electric Car from China Looks Promising

November 27, 2009
Read the full article →

Recycling – Putting Dry Leaves to Good Use

November 24, 2009

In cities we spend huge amounts of human and fossil energy raking, blowing and carting them off – not to mention the thousands of plastic bags used to hold them.
In the country we tend to simply let them fall and ignore them.
But the millions of leaves that fall from our broadleaf trees each year represent [...]

Read the full article →