Make Mittens from old sweaters

Everyone has an old sweater stuck back in the closet that you know you’ll never wear again – especially one of those tacky Christmas sweaters that your mother-in-law gave you as a gift. So why not give it new life? And what better way than turning them into mittens. Here’s a great how-to from Backwoods Home Magazine. Now, go build a snowman!

Turn a shirt into a fashionable wrap

You can make a fashion statement with a great wrap and it’s much easier than you may think. If you’ve got an old button down shirt in your closet… think outside the box and turn it into a wrap with these instructions from about.com.

Old T-Shirt into a tube top

I know… it’s hard to give up an old T-Shirt. But this way you’re really not giving it up, you’re just repurposing it. Try these easy instructions from ehow.com and you’ll be wearing a sexy (and if your summer has been as hot as mine), cool tube top in no time at all. I’m going to try this how-to from ehow.com over the weekend.

Fashioning a Bikini out of an Old T-shirt

Here’s one more interesting tip of how to fashioning a bikini out of an old t-shirt at DIY-Guides website. This one looks pretty good.

Turn an old pair of jeans into a skirt

This is a great idea for your favorite pair of jeans that you just can’t wear any longer as jeans or better yet, a pair of jeans that for one reason or another – you really just don’t like. You can turn them into something you do like, a denim skirt.

Whatever length you choose – short or long, you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to do. Like this how-to from savyseams

Scarf and hat from an out-dated sweater

I started with a sweater, so let’s end with a sweater… not to mention, I saved the best for last. This idea is for the little ones in your life. You can turn one of your old sweaters into the cutest scarf and hat for your kids. And what a great gift idea! Try this how-to from Skip to my Lou for easy to follow instructions.

Note: You can always repurpose old clothing with new looks by adding appliqués, belts and jewelry.

So as you can see, there are several ways to save money, but most importantly be eco-friendly. I’m sure there are plenty more ways to turn out-dated clothes into a new fashion statement. You’re only limited by your creativity and imagination.

Remember these three words:

• Reuse
• Recycle
• Repurpose

And you can always donate or giveaway. Now, it’s time to go raid my closet and see what I can re-invent.

Further Soap

Reuse is a keyword in helping to protect the environment.  Reuse your bags, clothing, electronics and the list goes on.  But what about reusing the waste oil from restaurants?  You have probably heard of biofuel and those who use it to run their automobiles, but what happens to the waste from the biofuel?

That is where Marshall and Megan Dostal’s creative thinking comes in.  Marshall has been collecting leftover grease from fine restaurants in L.A. for years and turning it into biofuel (in his own garage) for his car.  That is pretty creative on its own.  But, with the help of his wife, Megan, the Dostals managed to take “reuse” one step further.

Glycerin is a byproduct of the biofuel distillation process and with all of that biofuel creation, Marshall had a lot of it.  Glycerin is also used to make soap, which is exactly where the idea for Further Soap came in.

Mixed with aloe and other natural ingredients, the glycerin became a luxurious hand soap, scented with their signature fragrance of bergamot and olive essential oils and exotic grasses.

Well, of course they couldn’t stop there.  The Dostals then return their soap to the very restaurants where they originally get the waste oil to create the biofuel.  And the cycle continues.

Image credit:  Further Soap

As you might have noticed by now, the summer has finally arrived for us here on Green Blog. That means the posting level will be low for another couple of days, until its starts to rain, of course. Instead of making just a dull and uninteresting post about our wonderful summer holiday I want to share with you two interesting emails we’ve received during the past days:

The first one comes from Jeff:

Let me begin by saying I love your blog. In today’s world, people don’t pay attention to the issues that really matter—the issues facing the future of our species and our home.

One of these issues is the emerging world water shortage. Our water is running out and it boggles my mind that more people aren’t concerned. It is going to very soon affect everyone in very big ways.

I decided to take action, so I created a presentation to explore the water issue and to get more people thinking. It is called THIRST. I thought you all at the green blog might be interested in checking it out. You can view it here: http://www.slideshare.net/jbrenman/thirst/

And no, it’s not just emails that love our blog that gets through our attention-filter!

The second email comes from Bryan:

My name is Bryan Migliorisi and I am writing to you today in hopes that you will help publicize on your blog a small social network with big potential.

The Staga Network is a site I created over the past year or so with the goal of helping people in nearby neighbourhoods. The idea is simple: You give away things you no longer use to people nearby.

By doing so, you can clear out the ‘clutter’ in your own home, you help someone who may be in need, and most importantly you help reduce unnecessary trash. Since the communities are based on your local neighbourhood, everything is free and there is no need to mail and ship anything (which also helps eliminate excess emissions).

http://www.staga.net

Also, don’t forget to welcome two of our new authors here on Green Blog: Christine Reed and Jennifer Kaplan. And don’t forget that you can talk with all of us over at our Green Forum, registration is free, simple, takes just a few seconds and you can even help us plant trees.

Jenny Cisney, Information Designer at Kodak.com, has come up with a pretty neat idea to make something useful of those heart shaped candy boxes.

When you polish off the last piece of chocolate from your Valentine’s box of candy today… (What? You don’t eat all yours right away?)… don’t throw away the box! You can use it to make a Valentine’s picture frame.