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.

Figure out in advance how many squares you’ll need to make the size quilt you want. Make sure you cut your squares 1/4” larger on each side for seam allowance. Then sew them together with a simple running stitch. The easiest way is to sew a bunch of squares together end to end until you’ve completed a row. Then sew another strip, and sew the two rows together. Make sure you pin the strips before sewing so the seams come out even. Continue until your quilt top is done.

Layering and Finishing Your Recycled Quilt

You can buy batting, but if you want to be frugal and recycle, use an old blanket or comforter. You can also use a blanket for the back, or piece together the back just like you did the front. Sandwich the layers together – it helps to tape the backing to the floor at this point – and pin them together. Now you’re ready to quilt them together.

You can use a wide running stitch to sew the layers together. But if this is your first quilt I’d recommend tying it, which is much quicker and gives it a homey touch. Just take some yarn, start at the top and take one stitch through all the layers. Come back through the top and cut it so both ends are about 3” long. Finish it off with a square knot. Tie your quilt every 6” or so, hem or bind the edges and you’re done!
Congratulations! You now have a cheery recycled quilt you can keep or give to a friend – and you’ve given new life to a load of old clothes!

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 minutes to watch one of these masters at work. There’s a ritual involved that’s as inspiring in its way as watching a martial artist bow onto the mat and perform his routine.

He selects a log, placing it almost reverently upon the block. Then, hefting his axe in both hands, he takes a deep breath in and in one fluid motion hoists it up over his head and down upon the very center of the log. Steel hits wood, and the two halves fall neatly apart to hit the dirt with a satisfying thud.

Not every log is so easy to split. Sometimes a knot in the wood, or a particularly tough or fibrous piece, puts up resistance. But by now your master has entered the zone. Using wedges and a sledge, he patiently works away until the wood, almost sighing, submits to his will.

Time seems to stand still. After a while all that matters is sweat, breath, the wood and the steel. The rhythm of placing, chopping, stacking. An entire morning or afternoon falls away as effortlessly as the pieces of split wood tumbling from the block.

At the end of his wood chopping session the master leans on his axe and smiles with satisfaction at his newly-stacked pile of sweet-smelling firewood. A job well done.

Could he have chopped more wood in half the time with a diesel-powered hydraulic wood splitter? Sure. But that’s not the point. There’s a time and a place for technology. But not today. Sometimes speed needs to take a back seat to spirit. Today, losing himself in the rhythm of the axe, our wood chopper touched upon infinity. And smiled.

“Green” seals of approval are slapped on dishwashers, heat pumps, light bulbs and entire buildings. So why not the outdoors?

As of Thursday, even open-air spaces — from parks and parking lots to corporate and college campuses — will have their own environmental rating system.

“The recognition of the need to address climate change and sustainability is going up and up,” says Nancy Somerville, CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects, who worked with the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas-Austin to create the first national rating system for sustainable landscapes.

Until now, the most comprehensive guidelines and sought-after environmental ratings were for buildings. A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council can qualify builders and cities for tax credits. Now that the nation is embracing all things green to save money and natural resources, a LEED rating also brings marketing cachet to a project.

This seems like an idea whose time has come.  Maybe all those fertilizer-slurping green lawns will be a thing of the past.  Read more in the full article.

Caring for the environment doesn’t always cost money. Your concern for the environment can actually bring you cash. There are ways to earn money by going green without leaving your home.

Going green can refer to engaging in any activity that helps protect the environment. By engaging in green activities, you will not only be able to reduce pollution and the pressure on Mother Earth, but you will also be able to save up on your monthly bills and earn money as well.

You could start by carpooling. This will not only reduce your energy consumption, but will also help you save on gas. If you take the public transportation instead of driving your own car, you can save on maintenance and fuel costs while reducing the carbon dioxide being emitted in the atmosphere (your carbon footprint).

Here are some additional ways you can help the environment and earn money in the process.

Opt for green energy

Instead of relying on the non-sustainable energy from the power company, why not make use of wind or solar energy to power your household? There are people who save up to 80% on their energy bill by using green energy. Some even sell back the excess electricity and earn income in the process. Consult with your local power company to see which renewable energy source you can opt for.

Segregate your garbage

Don’t put all your garbage in one bin. Put your vegetable peels and other waste that can be composted into a different bin, so you can create compost for a natural soil conditioner and fertilizer. Recyclable waste like bottles and plastics should be placed in different bins to be sold to recycling companies later on. In addition to your county recycking program, there are small businesses that buy different types of waste for recycling purposes. Check them out if you want to earn and turn green at the same time.

Sell your old batteries

Some batteries are very toxic. You should never throw them into the trash. If you no longer have a use for them, look for shops that buy old batteries. If your car batteries are no longer working, there are recycling stores that buy old batteries or get them in exchange for a rebate for new batteries.

Energy Rebates

The government often has rebate programs that will pay you to add insulation to your house or convert to wind or solar energy. These programs allow you to earn money over and above the energy savings you will earn in future months.

These are only a few of the many ways you can help protect the environment by reducing waste and consumption and earn some income or benefit in the process. You can be creative and think of other ways you can be green and enterprising. The next time you start making important decision that will require you to use energy or consumer products, ask yourself if there is a way to do this without harming the environment.

“Help! I planted way too much zucchini and it’s coming out our ears! I don’t just need tips – I need zucchini solutions!”

Can you relate?

Many gardeners have a love-hate relationship with this prolific summer squash.

On the one hand, who can resist a plant that rewards so little effort with so much bounty?

On the other hand…well, just what do you do with all that zucchini?

No one will blame you this time of year for being fed up with zucchini. But we still have a few weeks or even months left for the happy plants to keep cranking out the little green buggers. Here are five zucchini ideas that will help keep late-summer garden grumbling to a minimum.

1. Pick your zucchini small. I mean really small, like 3 to 4 inches. They may even still have the blossom attached. Baby zucchini are at least as tasty as the larger ones, but it takes oh, so many more of them to make a serving. Try your baby zucchini stir-fried, cut in half and thrown into soups, or breaded and served as an appetizer with marinara sauce.

2. Grate it and freeze it. Your family may be grumbling about too much zucchini now, but imagine their delight next February when you surprise them with a steaming loaf of cinnamon-scented zucchini bread. Even with a hand-grater, it only takes a couple minutes to reduce a zucchini to shreds (unless you’ve let them get way out of hand!). Pack the stuff in zip-lock bags, seal and date, and chuck it in the freezer. Zucchini is a great source of folate, potassium and vitamins A and C. And it’s mild enough to sneak into nearly any dish, savory or sweet. Throw it into casseroles, baked goods, pancakes, soups & stews and anything else you can imagine, all year long.

3. Can your extra zucchini. By itself, canned zucchini isn’t very appetizing. Trust me — I’ve tried it. (Let me know if you’ve found a way – I’m open to suggestions!) But try this sure-fire way to prepare canned zucchini your family will truly enjoy: Just sauté it up with onions, garlic and your favorite herbs. Toss in some sliced tomatoes (canning or paste tomatoes are best) and simmer a few minutes, then can as you would any other non-acid veggie. Serve as a side or over pasta or rice.

4. Make a zucchini donation. Many food pantries only accept non-perishable food. But ask around. Some may take garden produce in season. Or try asking at women’s shelters, churches and other organizations in your area that help people in need.

5. Host a zucchini potluck party. What better excuse for a little social fun? Hand two or three zucchini to each of your non-gardening friends and ask them to transform it into something yummy. Chances are they’ll surprise you with their creativity – and you’ll end up with lots of great zucchini ideas for next year!

And if all else fails, do what someone in my neighborhood did a year or two ago: dress those babies up in swaddling clothes and leave them on a caring person’s doorstep!

The first building we put up on the piece of land that was to become our homestead was an 8 x 12’ garden shed. It’s a funny-looking garden shed because my husband Dan was feeling lazy. Rather than cutting the plywood sheathing, he built the shed tall enough so that he could just screw the sheets on whole. The extra height and peaked roof made it look like a small house, and allowed just enough room on the inside to install a loft for extra storage.

Which was a very good thing, because we ended up living in that little house for almost two years.

Here’s what happened.

We had decided to build our own earth-sheltered home. We figured we had enough time that first summer to have the slab and poured-concrete walls done and at least the shell of a small house up by the time snow flew.

Ha.

Those of you who have ever built a home know about the Delay Factor. It’s always a good idea to take any project completion estimate and at least double it. You never know what’s going to come up.

In our case we had our share of contractor delays, equipment failures and stormy weather. But it was a health issue that brought the home building to a screeching halt. Dan came down with a bad case of tennis elbow – in both arms. He couldn’t even lift a glass of water without pain.

So…we moved into the garden shed. With two kids. And two dogs. Fortunately, we had foreseen the possibility of having to live there for a few weeks while building the house, so Dan had equipped it with siding, insulation and a south-facing window. An outhouse and solar lighting completed the picture. We soon began to call the tiny dwelling “the Microhouse.”

Yes, we’re crazy.

But you know what? It was an amazing experience. And it really opened our eyes to the advantages of living small.

Not that I’d recommend going quite that small for a family of four, but there’s a lot to say for making do with a small home.

• Small homes are easy to heat. The Microhouse only cost about 80 bucks worth of propane to heat through the winter. Of course the Microhouse was insanely small, but you get the picture – a small home will save you big bucks.

• Small houses are quick to clean. Less housework is a good thing in my book. How about yours?

• Living small is clutter protection. You get very protective of your space. If it’s not something you love and use, it has no place in your house. You’d be amazed how much time is freed up by not having to deal with all that STUFF.

• Small houses are more environmentally friendly. Because of the fuel you don’t burn. And the stuff you don’t buy.

• Small homes bring people together. Those two years in the Microhouse, and a third spent in the 800 sq. ft. house we eventually built, really bonded us as a family. We had no choice but to interact – and to figure out how to settle our differences.

Times change. We ended up moving to a different part of the state for business reasons. Today we live in an old five bedroom home in town. There’s plenty of space, but I tell you…

…sometimes I miss the Microhouse.

Anne Michelsen is co-founder of Marathon Renewable Energy, Inc., specializing in solar hot water systems. You can read more of her work at YourGreenLifestyle.blogspot.com

You know the old saying – “You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”

If you’re a country girl (or boy) at heart but find yourself doing time in the city, don’t despair. There are plenty of things you can do to make yourself feel more at home.

One of my favorite urban homesteading activities is windowsill gardening. If you have a sunny window (south is great but east or west light will work fine, too) you, too can have at least a taste of home-grown goodness. (And windowsill gardening isn’t just for urban homesteaders – even those with big gardens often keep a few indoor pots going for fresh salad during the winter.)

All you need to start are some seeds and a few pots or trays you can fill with soil. If you’re lucky enough to have a sliding glass door you can even set up a tiered wire shelf unit in front of it for a multi-level indoor window garden. (Or try hanging pots of cascading plants – they save space and are pretty, too.)

Here are some suggestions for plants to grow in your windowsill garden:

• Any kind of herb. Herbs are ideal windowsill plants because most grow well in pots, and having them close at hand is a boon to the hurried chef. Try chives, basil, thyme, mint, parsley, lavender, rosemary and scented geranium.
• Baby greens. You can grow baby greens in pots or in trays. Try to find trays that are 3-4” deep. Lettuce, arugula, corn salad, dandelion, and sunflower and buckwheat greens should all grow well in your windowsill garden.
• For hanging plants, try Alpine strawberries or determinate cherry tomatoes. (Look for tomato varieties bred for container gardening.)
• If you’re really ambitious and have the room, you can get some great big pots and try growing tropical fruit trees. Check your gardening catalogs for citrus, banana and fig varieties that do well as container plants.
• Tend your windowsill garden just as you would any houseplants. Don’t forget to feed them at least every two weeks. (For a free and very effective nitrogen-rich fertilizer, just drain the liquid from your meat packaging and add it to the water when you water your plants. Sounds gross but your windowsill plants will reward you for it!)

For just a little effort your windowsill garden will provide you with home-grown flavor throughout the year, even in the city.

Anne Michelsen is co-founder of Marathon Renewable Energy, Inc., specializing in solar hot water systems. You can read more of her work at YourGreenLifestyle.blogspot.com

Where were you for Earth Hour? I confess that I don’t remember. I was comfortably living my life while the skylines went dark all over 88 countries and over 4,000 cities worldwide on March 28, 2009. Thomas Edison’s laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, where the incandescent light bulb was invented, went dark. Most of us in the U.S. pretty much went on about our lives.

This year’s Earth Hour dwarfed the 2008 event when only 400 cities participated. Will it make a difference?  I can’t imagine that it will.  Maybe world leaders will listen and do a little more this December at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Even without U.S. support, Earth Hour has come a long way from its 2007 beginnings in Sydney Australia – when lights were voluntarily switched off by 2.2 million homes and business establishments for an hour. The light switch off in observance of Earth Hour has become a global symbolism of the people’s vote for the earth’s sustainability. Among the world’s landmarks that stood in darkness for an hour include San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Sydney’s Opera House, Rome’s Colosseum, New York’s Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey in London, Edinburgh Castle, and the UN Headquarters among others.

The World Wide Fund for nature or WWF, which organized the global event since its 2007 inception, will continue to hold Earth Hour annually during the last Saturday of March. Next year’s Earth Hour, which will be on March 27, 2010, will once again see the switching off not only of non-essential light bulbs but of other electrical appliances to raise awareness on climate change.

On top of the list of Earth Hour participants is the Philippines with 647 cities and towns and more than 15 million Filipinos switching off their lights for an hour. This was followed by Greece with 484 cities and towns and then Australia with 308 cities and towns. More than the number of cities and people participating in the Earth Hour is the amount of energy saved during that span of time.

Delhi, India was reportedly able to save as much as 1000MWh (Mega Watt Hours) during Earth Hour. At least 611 MWh of electricity, which was equivalent to the shutdown of about a dozen power plants fired by coal, was saved by the Philippines during the one hour period. South Africans were not only able to save 400 Mwh of electricity but they also managed to save 224 tons of coal, 400 tons of carbon dioxide and 576,000 liters of water during Earth hour.

Earth Hour also saw a decrease in power demand for an hour especially in Ontario and Toronto, Canada where demand for electricity went down by 6% and 15.1% respectively. Svenska Krafnat in Sweden reported a 2.1% decrease in power consumption which is equivalent to the power consumption of about half a million households.  What about the U.S.?  Figures are not easily available, and the U.S. did not participate as broadly as other countries.

Ireland’s power consumption went down by 2% or 70MWh which is translated to a savings of about 30 tons of CO2 emissions. Electricity demand in Vietnam went down by 140MWh as per reports from the Vietnam Electricity Company.

But more than the energy saved, the Earth Hour demonstrates what the human race can achieve if they only learn to cooperate with one another and unite as a people. I think we in the U.S. should join in next year.  (I hope I remember this next March.) While it is largely symbolic, Earth Hour does unite people of all ages, races, and nationalities toward a common goal of saving the earth. It was only a flop in the U.S.

Green building is when you build with environmentally sustainable building materials and practices. Green building materials include rapidly renewable plant materials such as bamboo and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, recycled metal, ecology blocks, dimension stone, recycled stone, and other products that are reusable, non-toxic, renewable, and/or recyclable.

Other materials often considered  green include linoleum, wool, panels made from paper flakes, vermiculite, compressed earth block, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, flax linen, hemp, sisal, seagrass, coconut, cork, expanded clay grains, wood fiber, sand stone, and some forms of concrete (including self-healing concrete).  Green building helps people and the planet in many different ways. We can divide the benefits of green building into four categories: health benefits, environmental benefits, social benefits, and monetary benefits (or bottom line benefits).

Health Benefits of Green Building

Building with non-toxic materials reduces the risks of disease and illnesses normally associated with the construction of traditional buildings: and the health risks associated with living in such structures. Carpeting adhesives, paint, and other modern construction materials can produce gasses that are harmful to humans and animals.  Some central heating and cooling systems can trap these harmful emissions, and other systems may actually release chemicals into the air. Doing away with asbestos, lead-based paint, radon gas, and other such culprits goes a long way towards extending the healthy lifespan of residents and construction workers alike.

Environmental Benefits of Green Building

The way electricity is produced and distributed is one of the main causes of air pollution and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.  Much electricity in the U.S., for example, is produced by coal-fired power plants. Residing in a green dwelling can reduce your impact on the environment by up to 60% according to Building Environmental Science & Technology.

Social Benefits of Green Building

Because most of the raw materials that wealthy countries use come from smaller developing countries, the diplomatic relationships between first-world nations and the rest of the world have been terribly strained. Demonstrating a renewed commitment to sustainable living for all people, everywhere on earth goes a long way to mend these burning bridges.

Bottom-Line Benefits of Green Building (money and finances)

Initial design and construction costs are only the first part of a building project’s costs. It is also important to consider  operating, maintenance, repair, and replacement costs; as well as social and environmental costs (such as infrastructure, transportation, outside air emissions) and even employee productivity costs. Building green may cost more money in the short run, but those up-front costs more than make up for themselves in long-term savings.