DIY Life

Plastic bags may not be friendly to the environment, but when recycled, they can be the earth's best friend. Even better? Plastic bags can add a touch of chic glamour to every home they grace. Don't believe your grocery bag and "chic" belong in the same sentence? Think again:

1. The Plastic Bag Chandelier
I always hear that you can make a lamp out of absolutely anything, but I have to admit -- I never believed it. Until now.
See the first chandelier here, and the second right here.

2. The Plastic Bag Chair
Sit on it and spin... literally. The plastic bag chair from Ryan Frank may not be the most functional, but it's certainly the most beautiful.

3. The Plastic Bag Cushions
Cushions that are both lovely and earth-friendly! See them right here.

4. The Plastic Bag Shoes
Don't even think about leaving out your tootsies. Plastic bag shoes? You betcha!

5. The Plastic Bag Containers
Crochet your way to recycled containers right here. Amazing!

Summer's over. You probably have a pair or two of worn rubber or foam flip flops headed for the trash. Before you toss them, though, think about clever ways to reuse and recycle them.

Okay, okay, no-one is suggesting you go overboard with complicated, yet eco-friendly, craft ideas a la UniquEco, a Kenyan non-profit that gives villagers work making abandoned flip flops into all manner of arts and crafts. After all, you'd need a heck of a lot of old flip flops to make a nifty flip flop basket or flip flop doormat, right?

On the other hand, old flip flops can be used for various simple around-the-house projects. For example? Cut them into small rounds and use as furniture leg floor protectors, keeping your hardwood floors scratch-free.

The humble cardboard carton: the perfect vessel for holding milk or juice. Alas, even with the rise of recycling, squillions still end up in the nation's landfill each year where they wait for Mother Nature to do her thing.

So how about putting them to good use around the house and garden? Here are a bunch of clever, thrifty, crafty and downright surprising uses for the humble cardboard milk carton.

INDOORS

Mega-sized ice cubes. Clean cartons thoroughly, fill with water and freeze. Remove cardboard and use them in the cooler for your next party, or let kids and pets play with them outside.

Compost is more than just veggie peelings and leaves. Yes, it's now fairly common knowledge that tons of household items can be used as an ingredient for "black gold." Shredded junk mail is an everyday addition in many homes, for example. Ditto used tissues, wilted flower arrangements and spent tea bags.

Recently, I got to wondering what other, more unusual things people are composting. Things that might be overlooked, even by green-minded people like myself. I came up with the following short list of 20 surprising -- and sometimes downright gross -- items that can be composted. Enjoy!

1. Gum
2. Latex condoms
3. Old wool or cotton socks

We brought home a new patio set last week -- for an imaginary patio that's yet to be built, but that's a story for another day. After unpacking and setting it up, I looked at the huge pile of bubble wrap sitting on my lawn. Surely, there must be a way to reuse this stuff, I thought. So after letting the kids have a few pieces to pop, I got busy looking for new ways to put it to work.

What I discovered is that besides being a fun and addictive noisemaker, bubble wrap is surprisingly versatile. I've squirreled mine away so that I can try out some of these unusual uses:

• Use bubble wrap to line the crisper drawers in your refrigerator. It'll protect delicate fruits -- like pears -- from bruising when you toss them in. And when you forget the pears are there and discover them too late ... easy clean-up!
• Bring bubble wrap with you to the grocery store to wrap frozen items in before bagging, ensuring they'll still be frozen when you get them home.
• Start saving bubble wrap now for when the cooler weather sets in, then use it to winterize your delicate outdoor potted plants.

You're bound to collect a handful of glow-sticks this summer. They get passed out at firework shows, holiday barbecues, and just about any other outdoor summer evening event. So what do you do after the festivities are over? Well, at our house, we typically find them hiding in the sandbox, lost behind the toy-box, or tossed away in the trash.

Kish, over at Instructables, re-purposed his into this funky glow-stick lamp. You'll need 15 glow-sticks and a plastic bottle; one commenter suggests using a glass bottle instead. If you chose one with an interesting pattern you could get a really cool effect.

This would make a fun accessory for any dorm room, kids room, basement or kitchen (sure, why not!). Check out the video for full instructions.

[via: Daily DIY]

My two local thrift stores are full of kids' games and adult board games. Most of the games are missing pieces, but that's OK with me, since I like to use them for craft projects.

Laura, otherwise known as The Scrabble Gal, is great at re-purposing materials some people would send to their local thrift store. She recently had her fingerprint mini-mosaic tutorial made from Scrabble tiles featured on Junk Creation, and sent us the link.

Laura took some old Scrabble tiles and painted them white. She arranged them in a pattern around the non-painted tiles. She then dipped her fingers in a non-toxic ink pad and transfered her prints onto the white tiles.

The possibilities of what you can create are endless. Magnets, scrapbook keepsakes, wall art: the list goes on. For more ideas on how to use Scrabble tiles, either as a kid project or made to give as a gift, check out M.E. Williams's post on making Scrabble tile coasters.

You're generally an eco-friendly sort. You try not to use that dryer much, and when you do, you cut your dryer sheets in half to make them go further.

It still rankles a bit that you then throw them right out, though, doesn't it? You could always make your own, re-usable dryer sheets, of course: they're far less expensive, less loaded with chemicals,and less wasteful.

We've just moved into a new house, and my boys are excitedly adding personal touches to their room to make it their very own. These personalized door hangers are a perfect way for them to express their own taste and take ownership of their new room.

In this project, your child will decorate cutouts of their own initials and hang them on their bedroom door. For their decorations, they'll be reusing cardboard, greeting cards, magazines, and other treasures they find around the house.

Take some inspiration from the gallery, and see how ours turned out. I'll share full instructions and some useful tips after the break.

I realize it is only July, but it is never too early to think about Christmas, or at least to get a head start on your decorating this year. If you are into recycling items some people would rather just throw away, then release the artist in you, and paint yourself some one-of-a-kind ornaments.

Since you probably throw away your old burned out light bulbs, I invite you to recycle them into handpainted Christmas ornaments, courtesy of Kraftykristen over on Craftster. Kristen cleans the bulbs with rubbing alcohol, uses acrylic paint to make a snowman, gingerbread man, or a Santa onto the bulb, and finishes up with an acrylic sealer.

Green? I bet you thought red, white, and blue would be the appropriate colors for an Independence Day BBQ, not green.

Think again. Clearly, most people are interested in doing even little things to help keep their families healthy and preserve the environment in this age of toxins and pollution. Here are some things you can do to help while throwing a bang-up July Fourth party:

• Skip the plastic plates and cups. Go for anything recyclable or reusable, even bamboo.
• Natural gas grills pollute the air less than charcoal grills.
• Don't shoot off polluting fireworks at home. If you'd like to enjoy the big boomers, find a town celebration nearby.
• Serve up local, organic food, which causes less transportation pollution to the environment -- and your food will be super-fresh.
• Throw a potluck party to share resources.

You'll find more details on how to have a greener Independence Day in Greenzer's article. So fire up that barbie with a clear conscience!

Look adorable -- and express your patriotism at the picnic! -- with this easy and stylish no-sew red, white, and blue hair sash.

If you dread donning predictable holiday attire, you can whip up your own originally designed homage to the Fourth of July in about an hour. You'll get full credit for being patriotic and part of the gang, but you'll have the satisifaction of doing it your own way.

You could even make these for the kids, the dog, and grandma, and turn out a matching do-rag for the hubby and anyone else who shares your distaste for manufactured stars and stripes garb; after the Fourth, you can still use these instructions to make yourself a great headband. You'll find complete instructions after the break, and a demonstration in the gallery below!

As I have said many times before; almost everything has more than one use, and I believe it is our duty as inhabitants of this planet to recycle as many items as possible, sometimes reusing the same item over and over again.

Plastic soda and water bottles are items that can be reused. Join me after the break, as I give you a list of things that you can reuse plastic bottles for, which I found over at Green Home.

Lately we've been reusing some of our (BPA-free) water bottles. But drying a bottle is a drag, especially when you hand wash, as we do. So instead of paying $16 elsewhere, my wife put the chopsticks we rarely use into a toothbrush stand we were going to throw away.

Reusing water bottles and plastic sandwich bags not only saves money, but reduces waste, and might be better than recylcing. If you're concerned about BPA, check your water bottles' recycling number. A #2, #4 or #5 won't leach BPA, but a #1 and #7 will. You can use the #1 and #7 stuff as a vase for flowers.

Pretty much everything on this planet has more than one use. Think of all the things you use on a daily basis, and I'll bet you could use those items for something else. The same goes for office supplies.

Lifehacker has a top 10 list of office supply hacks, pretty much involving binder clips. From closing a chip bag, to holding files together, to keeping them from falling over, binder clips can be used for more than keeping your important paper in one place. They can turn a stack of index cards into a Hipster PDA; they can even catch loose cables.

The list goes on to say that you can remove permanent marker from a dry erase board, with, yes, you guessed it, a dry-erase marker. You can also get of all your computer equipment off of your desk by using a letter tray to organize it. For even more great ideas, be sure to check out the Lifehacker comments.

This isn't the first time we've discussed creative uses for office supplies at DIY Life. In the past, Francesca told us how to build a MacBook stand using binder clips, and Diane created a card wreath using paper clips. There are many other possibilities... comment to tell us your favorite hack!