DIY Life

College students: want to go green? Even if you call a dorm room home and you're on a serious budget, you can still pack tons of positive changes into your lifestyle. Here are a few easy and budget-friendly ideas to try:

1. Go solar. Buy an inexpensive solar desk lamp, like IKEA's Sunnan, which comes in a bunch of vibrant colors. Consider a solar charger for your iPod, cell and other electronics, too.

2. Buy organic. If you can't afford an all-organic diet, don't fret. Most of us can't. But you can commit to buying organic versions of some of the foods you eat most often. At the very least, skip the "dirty dozen" – the 12 fruits and veggies most contaminated with pesticide residue. While you're at it, pick up some Fair Trade Certified coffee and feel better about your caffeine breaks.

According to Super Eco, it depends. With the growing popularity of bamboo, eco-fabrics and "green"wear, the environmental-friendly clothing may not be quite as friendly as you assume. Here's why:

1. Chemically manufactured bamboo fiber is a "regenerated cellulose fiber similar to rayon or modal." And where are chemically-manufactured fibers created? In manufacturing facilities, most of which pose potential health hazards and damage to the surrounding environment.

2. A research team at Colorado State University recently found that, contrary to bamboo's finest selling points, the anti-bacterial qualities praised in bamboo fabric are found in many other fibers and are not unique to eco-friendly fabrics. What this means? If you're paying more for the deodorizing, antibacterial effect, take your money elsewhere.

3. Many bamboo fabrics originate in China, where labor practice is often suspect.

So how can you be sure your tee is green? According to the LA Times, check for the Oeko-Tek 100 certification, which won't be placed on a clothing label, but most manufacturers will post their certification on their site. The Oeko-Tek 100 is proof that your clothing is free of dangerous and potentially harmful chemicals.

Bamboozled? Don't be. Just remember to shop smart and do your research. You'll be living green in no time!

Did you know that air-drying your clothes can save up to 700 lbs of CO2 each year? Neither did I, and luckily for both of us, I've rounded up a few other green tips for your laundry that are 100% free to implement. I keep a list of these in my laundry room as a reminder that taking a few extra steps in my daily laundry routine can make a HUGE difference...


1. Clean out your dryer's lint trap before each use to improve efficiency, which saves energy in the long run.
[BONUS: Dryers are the third leading cause of household fires, so by keeping it lint-free, you're keeping your family safe and sound.]

2. Run the cold cycle. Trust me, it gets the job done just as well as warm, and there's even a special cold water detergent you can purchase if you don't believe me.
[BONUS: Your clothes are less likely to bleed in cold water, so when your husband throws that bright red dishcloth in with your whites, running the cold cycle will have more than likely saved your marriage.]

3. Swap bleach for baking soda or vinegar. Bleach can be harmful to the environment, so switch your bleach-infused softener to white vinegar or baking soda.
[BONUS: Both ingredients are ridiculously cheaper than softener and perform double duty when it's time to clean your kitchen.]

4. Wash in full loads to save water. Always, always, always.
[BONUS: You'll end up doing less laundry loads, which means more time with your family!]

I'm a sucker for all-in-one products, but they all seem so harmful to the environment. Until now...

Care2 teaches us how to make a green cleaning kit using supplies that I guarantee are already in your household (except perhaps tea tree oil, which you can purchase right here for less than my a pack of socks). By using the same key ingredients, you can create a green cleaning agent for every room in your home! I'm simply amazed.

Round up your spray bottles and mix away! Don't forget a handy caddy to hold all of your new cleaners in (I love The Container Store's lace basket right here).

Bonus? Your homemade mix will cost about a tenth of the price as household cleaners from your grocer. You'll save time, money and who knows? You may even save the environment.

Your front yard doesn't have to be perfectly manicured or professionally landscaped to look good. It is, however, your public face -- of sorts. Plus, your neighbors are forced to look at whatever you put out there!

Be a good neighbor: banish the following items from your front yard.

1. Plastic foliage. I'm talking anything you got from a craft store. Like this, for example. Plastic ivy. Faux dried sunflowers. Silk chrysanthemums. Plastic wreaths. Fake autumn leaves strung into streamers. Shudder.

Plastic flowers are tacky in the garden. They're unnecessary. After all, you have Mother Nature at your disposal! Why choose fake flowers? Finally, they evoke the cemetery. Enough said.

Colony collapse disorder, the mysterious phenomenon that has entire colonies of honeybees vanishing into thin air, has brought the state of our bee population to the forefront. Not many people realize this, but bees pollinate about 90% of our flowering crops. What that means is: without bees, we don't eat.

Creating a bee-friendly yard may not solve the issue of colony collapse disorder, but it is a great way of doing your part to encourage a healthy bee population. It'll also ensure that any of your own fruit, vegetable, and flower crops get pollinated, so that you have fresh food to eat and a beautiful yard to enjoy. In addition, the same plants that draw bees bring other pollinators, like butterflies.

So how do you go about attracting bees to your yard? It's not difficult at all. Read more about it after the break.

Now that you are wrapping your sandwiches in an eco-friendly vinyl wrap, you can go a step further and carry those wrapped sandwiches in a neat woodgrain oilcloth lunch bag, courtesy of Derek and Lauren over at Design*Sponge.

To make the lunch bag, you'll need 1/2 yard woodgrain oilcloth, scissors, a sewing machine, thread, a ruler, and Velcro sticky dots. Derek and Lauren cut the pine woodgrain into three pieces, then sewed the pieces together. After turning the bag right side out, they attached the Velcro sticky dots, and the job was complete.

While many of the commenters like the oilcloth bag, a few think that the lunch bag really isn't eco-friendly at all. I think the bag is awful cute, and would argue the fact that if you use the bag every day, then it really is environmentally friendly, simply because you aren't using and tossing a paper bag every day.

Here at DIY Life, Earth-friendly ideas are always a popular topic. So, when we heard that our sister site Green Daily is running a fantastic giveaway from Gardener's Supply Company, we couldn't wait to tell our readers about it!

One lucky reader will win a complete composting kit, featuring more than US $300 in supplies. The centerpiece of the prize is the Earthmaker Composter (a $225 value), but there are also plenty of accessories in the package, including a nifty odor-busting crock in which you can collect your kitchen scraps before putting them in the compost bin.

To learn more, and enter, please visit the giveaway post at Green Daily and follow the instructions: all you have to do is leave a comment telling them what you would compost if you were the winner. If you've never commented before, the system will require you to confirm the comment with a legitimate email address. Good luck!

If you don't win, a few great DIY composting ideas may come in handy. Check out the following posts:

• Bethany's Start your own worm composting bin
• Create a compost pile in your back yard, also by Bethany
• Francesca's Make a compost bin from shipping pallets
• Anna's 163 items to add to your compost

My husband usually takes sandwiches to work for his lunch. I always cringe when I see how many plastic sandwich baggies we go through in a month, and have often wondered if there was a way to reduce or eliminate using them. The short answer is yes.

The Small Object has come up with an awesome way to make reusable sandwich wraps. The wraps are shaped like an octagon, so that it can be used to wrap odd shaped bread or wraps, and can also be used as a placemat. The wrap is made out of vinyl coated fabric for the interior and regular fabric for the exterior. Velcro closes the sandwich wrap.

This is a great way to use up some of that extra fabric you have laying around. The pattern and instructions are easy to follow, and in a short amount of time you can easily whip one up for each member of your sandwich eating family.

via: Craft

Eco-friendly. Go green. Environmentally aware. Call it whatever you want, we love it when the DIY tips we give you are also good for the environment. As we celebrate Earth Day today, let's take a look at some of the ideas we've shared in in the past that can help you get green.

Nothing says "I'm helping save the Earth" more than a compost pile filled with leftover food scraps and grass clippings. Here's everything you need to know to start your own compost heap, including what kind of organic materials you can toss in (egg shells) and what you can't (meat scraps).

This long list of ideas on how to make your home eco-friendly covers everything from programmable thermostats to spark igniter pilot light systems. Even if you already practice green living, you might find one or two ideas on here that you never thought of.

Make spring cleaning a little less onerous this year by tossing out the harsh chemicals you usually use and cleaning up with essential oils instead. Find recipes for bathroom cleanser, dish soap, glass cleaner, and more.

Many people like to celebrate Earth Day each year by planting seeds and flowers in the yard. Before you haul out the hoe and shovel, consider making seed bombs. Let 'er rip!

Have you pledged to your family and your wallet to cut down on fuel consumption and pedal around on your bike instead? Pull that forlorn bicycle out from the corner of the garage, dust it off, and then use these handy tips to give it a tune-up.

Weed killer and other pesticides can be bad for the environment and terrible for your health. Try this approach that uses a common household ingredient that you probably have leftover from Easter.

Water: can't live without it. Learn some painless ways to conserve it around your home, both inside and out.

Have you just gotten home from the market loaded down with organic food and don't know what to do with the plastic grocery bags? Go fly a kite!

Are ready to commit to a low-flush toilet and aren't sure how to retrofit your commode? We can help.

In many homes, the bathroom is the last vestige of privacy (unless you have kids) and also one of the most eco-unfriendly spots in the house. Here's several things you can do to change that (sorry, no advice on how to keep the kids from interrupting your bath).

For even more Earth-friendly tips, be sure to check out our sister blog, Green Daily.

Bamboo is fast becoming one of the hottest green flooring materials. Why green? There are at least two reasons. First and foremost, it's sustainable. If you've ever had any in your backyard, you know how hard it is to contain. Even worse if you don't want it, but it's an under-the-fence gift from a neighbor!

Yes, I know there are non-spreading varieties. But the point is, compare bamboo's renew rate to hardwood.

The second green aspect of bamboo is that it's a natural product. Carpet usually has a lot of synthetics in it, and that means petrochemicals and gas-off issues. Formaldehyde may also be an ingredient. Yuck.

There's a variety of choices for installing bamboo flooring. It requires a dry floor and a membrane or layer of felt. Other than that, it can be nailed, glued, or floated like laminate floors. There's something for whatever kind of subfloor you have!

Our fabulous sister site, Green Daily, has just launched an equally fabulous guide to green gardening. If you frequent Green Daily you will already know the site offers a wealth of info on everything green. From climate change to household conservation tips, from celebrity tidbits to technological innovations--they got it covered. And now -- ta-da -- green gardening, too!

Among the attractions are container gardening tips, book reviews, planting advice and soil preparation pointers. The Green Daily bloggers have also looked into a subject I'm trying to learn more about: landscaping with native plants. Last but not least, the Green Daily Gardening Guide offers up many colorful photo galleries for your viewing pleasure.

Finally, may I also say that green gardening advice is so very needed. We gardeners need to unlearn many environmentally harmful practices that we grew up with and never thought twice about. Like the routine use of herbicides and pesticides, to name just one thing that makes me go "grrr." Thanks, Green Daily, for helping spread the word.

So, fellow gardening enthusiasts, put down that shovel and kick off those dirt-encrusted boots. Put your feet up in front of the computer and enjoy this brand new blogging attraction!

Sow wildflowers the fun way with seed bombs! The "bombs" -- balloons stuffed with a mixture of wildflower seeds, fertilizer, potting soil, and water -- are an eco-friendly innovation designed to encourage the spread of wildflower gardens.

These gardens can be created right in your own yard. Some folks are also using them to "regreen" ugly and neglected urban landscapes such as roadsides. Sure beats a bunch of barren concrete, don't you think?

Here's what you'll need: wildflower seeds of your choice, 1 funnel, 1 pack of water balloons, fertilizer pellets or powder, peatmoss or peat-based potting soil, and water. Use the funnel to hold the neck of each balloon open while you stuff in the "ingredients." Add the dry items first, then make sure to add enough water to make the whole mixture nice and wet.