DIY Life

Using a comfortable mat when doing yoga isn't really necessary, but it sure does come in handy against carpet burns, bruises from the hardwood floor, and grass stains all over your lovely white shorts. No matter how much padding you have on your tush, if you don't use a mat, you may notice all the pretty colors on your body the next day.

Your yoga mat is probably in need of a new bag, and Myam has just the thing, with a handy tutorial on how to make a yoga mat bag. To make the bag, measure the length and circumference of your yoga mat, then cut your fabric, adding two extra inches of fabric to your rectangular piece. Cut out the bottom piece. Don't forget to add two strips of fabric to make the strap.

Myam's pictures and her tutorial are perfectly easy to follow. I love the fabric she chose. It is so very energetic, and just the pick-me-up we all will need after our heart pounding yoga exercises are done and we all have to drag our butts out of the class.

via: Craft

When it comes to packing sandwiches, there all kinds of ecologically minded alternatives to baggies, foils, plastic and other disposable wraps. And they all have their drawbacks.

Those cool aluminum boxes, for instance, are kind of pricey. I'm a huge fan of traditional Indian tiffin carriers and Japanese bento boxes, but most don't provide a snug enough fit for a sandwich. There's always parchment paper, although it isn't exactly leak-proof. And while waxed paper bags that are "natural" (unbleached, non-toxic when incinerated, won't contaminate groundwater, etc.) are a convenient alternative, they aren't biodegradable -- and they're still disposable and therefore waste-generating. Most promising, there are high-tech food wraps that are edible, fortified with vitamins and minerals, and/or anti-microbial, but these aren't commercially available, as far as I know.

Oh, the agony!

I'd nearly given up when Jennifershmoo from Vegan Lunch Box turned me on to the Wrap-N-Mat, a reusable sandwich wrap made from a coated fabric that doubles as a placemat when it's unfolded. But the off-gassing smell she reports sounds more than just off-putting. Then along came one of her crafty readers to the rescue, suggesting a DIY version of the Wrap-N-Mat using PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric that you can purchase to sew your own cloth diapers (so it's supposed to be leak-proof and non-toxic). Something I'm definitely going to try.

Do you have any good sandwich wrap solutions?