[This magazine rack is made from recycled cereal boxes!]

Feeling guilty about the cereal boxes in your recycle bin? Pull 'em out and try some of these upcycled projects to give them a new life!

Recycling is great, but reuse is always better! Cardboard recycling is pretty efficient, as recycling goes, but it still takes energy to turn old cardboard into new paper products, and transporting cardboard from your home to the recycle center produces carbon emissions, too.

Boxes are a natural pick for storage, right? When I was researching some ideas for cereal boxes, I noticed that so many of them were organization-related! Next time you polish off a box of cereal, save the box for one of these home organization cardboard crafts!

1. Magazine Rack - Do you have magazines all over your house? Tidy those suckers up with a cereal box magazine rack!

2. Expandable File Folder - Get organized! Check out how to turn an old cereal box into a chic way to store your files.

3. Mini Album - Get your photos all in order with an upcycled album.

4. Fabric Storage Baskets - Cover old cereal boxes in fabric to make boxes for all kinds of organizing needs!

5. Closet Organizer - Tame a messy closet with the power of upcycled cereal boxes!

Have you guys made anything fun with reclaimed cereal boxes lately? Share your ideas in the comments!

We talk a lot about indoor and outdoor air pollution around here, so when I ran across this infographic at sustainablog, I couldn't resist sharing it with you guys. It gives a lots of information about common carcinogens that we encounter both in the workplace and at home. Check it (you can click the graphic to view a larger version):

Indoor Air Quality and Cancer

The part of the graphic that struck me most was the section at the end on cancer and indoor air quality. The air inside our homes is often far more polluted than the air outdoors, thanks to chemical cleaning products and off-gassing from our furniture and housewares.

If you're not familiar with off-gassing, it's when a product made with harmful toxins releases small amounts of those chemicals into the air. A good example is that "new car smell." What you're actually smelling is all of the chemicals used to make everything from the seats and steering wheel to the dashboard, gear shift, and floormats. When you think about what's actually causing that smell, it's not such a pleasant odor!

Looking for some tips to improve the air quality in your own home? Check out these 9 ways to make your home's air safer!

Packing peanuts are the pits from an environmental perspective. These single-use packing materials are made from Styrofoam, a petroleum product, and they're a huge waste of resources.

Of course, you can find ways to reuse those packing peanuts, but the greenest option is to skip them all together.

Whether you're packing for a move or wrapping up something fragile for shipping, it might be tempting to pad your package with peanuts, but there are lots of other, more eco-friendly ways to protect your valuables while they're in transit. We've rounded up a few packing peanut alternatives, and I've love to hear your ideas in the comments!

1.    Shredded Paper

Do you have a paper shredder to dispose of things like bank statements and bills with sensitive information on them? Instead of dumping that paper in the recycle bin, save it for the next time you have to pack and ship something fragile. I love this method, because not only does it replace a disposable petroleum product, but it extends the life of that paper just a bit longer.

2.    Linens and Towels

Next time you're packing for a move, don't put your linens, towels, and clothes in separate bags and boxes from your breakables! Instead, use all of that free fabric to wrap valuables. You'll end up with fewer boxes, which means a quicker, easier move, too!

3.    Reclaimed Paper

Junk mail, old newspapers, and magazines are perfect for wrapping up breakables, whether you're shipping something or packing for a move. Just make sure you use lots of layers, so your valuables will arrive safely.

4.    Popcorn

This might sound crazy, but in a pinch you can use popcorn in place of packing peanuts. Yep! Actual popcorn! Just make sure you go with the air-popped variety. Buttered popcorn would be a hot mess by the time your package arrived at its destination.

5.    Fabric Scraps

Seamsters! Those bins of fabric scraps that you've been hoarding are invaluable when you're moving. Use them to pad boxes with fragile items.

What other eco-friendly packing peanut alternatives have you guys run across? Let's keep the ideas going in the comments!

Image Credit: Packing Peanuts photo via Bigstock

Aren't packing peanuts just the worst? They're made of toxic Styrofoam, intended for a single use, and they get everywhere when you open a box that's full of those suckers.  Reader Hester Burch of Fun in the Making shared a beautiful, seasonal way to reuse those nasty little peanuts, so at least they're not landfill-bound after you unpack a boxful of them: snow swag!

Hester says:

Create a winter wonderland. Foam peanut snow swags would also be cool décor for a winter wonderland prom theme. -bonus that the materials wouldn’t cost anything!

All that you need to make your own are:

• packing peanuts
• embroidery needle
• white string or embroidery thread

If you need more details, check out the full description of how she made these on Hester's blog! I love how they look all strung up on her chandelier, and I think they'd look lovely strung up in a window or layered up on the mantle.

Have you guys found any fun ways to reuse packing peanuts? Share your ideas in the comments!

A reader wrote in last week asking for some tips on how to reuse shower water. What a great question!

When the weather gets cold, it can take the shower even longer to heat up. It's also awfully tempting to languish under that steady stream of hot water rather than face the cold, isn't it? Here are some ideas to help you use less water in the shower and reclaim the water that you do end up using.

1. The Shower Bucket - It is what it says it is! You can get more details about how I use a shower bucket to conserve water here! This is probably the cheapest way to reuse some of that shower water. There's nothing to install or maintain.

2. Use a timer. How effective this is really depends on how many people are showering and for how long, but try setting an egg timer for 3-5 minutes when you hop in the shower, and try to get out of there before it dings.

3. Install a low-flow shower head or aerator. You can find these at most home improvement stores, and they're not too hard to install. My husband installed both of our low-flow shower heads, and it seemed pretty painless. An aerator uses air to help push the water out of the head, so you don't feel like you're losing as much pressure. I'd recommend looking for an aerater, because otherwise the flow can get pretty pitiful when you turn it down.

4. Try greywater reclamation. Grey water refers to water that's been used but is not toxic. So, water from the shower is grey water, water from flushing the toilet is not. Putting in a greywater system is a little trickier - and not legal in all places -  but if you're handy with plumbing, you can try re-routing your shower drain through a filtering system, and use that grey water elsewhere, like to water the garden or flush the toilet. Here's a good resource with more information about greywater.

What about you guys? Have you used any creative solutions to reclaim shower water or reduce the amount of water you use in the shower? I'd love to hear your conservation ideas in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by stevendepolo

While in theory wood is a renewable and environmentally-friendly resource, in practice it is often harvested unsustainably – with impacts on both people and the planet.

Despite the profusion of modern construction materials, there are many applications for which wood has never been surpassed. It embodies a unique combination of properties compared to common alternatives like plastics, metals and concrete. Wood is strong and resilient, yet comparatively light and cheap. It is attractive, easy to shape and – in theory – carbon neutral and inexhaustible in supply.

The problem is that while some types of tree are fast-growing and therefore readily renewable, others take many decades to reach maturity. This is particularly the case with hardwoods, such as oak, ash, beech and more exotic species like ramin. Their density and tight grain structure, as well as attractive appearance, make them ideal as a construction material and for certain types of furniture and fixtures. However, our demand for their wood means that they are often harvested unsustainably – something that has an immense impact on the carbon cycle, fragile ecosystems and the people who live in them.

A carbon-neutral resource?

Like all plants, trees convert sunlight into usable energy by a process called photosynthesis: a chemical reaction that involves taking in carbon dioxide and water and giving out oxygen. This process also provides them with the carbon they need to grow. Every year, more than 100 thousand million tons of carbon is converted into plant material by photosynthesis. Every time a tree is cut down, the conversion process stops.

Worse, if the wood is burned, its carbon is released back into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.

If new trees are planted then this offsets the imbalance. Sustainable woodland and forests are harvested in this way. Not only does planting new trees help maintain the carbon cycle, but it ensures a viable long-term business model for the companies that practice it.

Unsustainable harvesting, particularly in the Amazon, are responsible for widespread deforestation – one major factor in climate change.

Bad for ecosystems

Forests – whether tropical or English woodland – are complex ecosystems. They are home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna, including many species that are still unknown. Unsustainable logging practices result in widespread harm to these ecosystems, with an inevitable loss in biodiversity. Where woodland is properly managed, biodiversity is protected and even improved.

The human cost

Lastly, where unsustainable and often illegal logging takes place there can be significant effects on local populations. Residents may be displaced, either due to physical threat or because the habitat on which they rely is damaged beyond repair (pdf). Supplying wood is a big business, and corruption and violence can go with the territory.

What to look for

Wood remains an excellent material for many products but it’s important to ensure that it has been sourced responsibly and sustainably. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization set up to promote the responsible management of forest and woodland. Look for their logo, which shows that products have been sourced renewably and with concern for social as well as environmental impacts. It is a voluntary scheme, and so it will generally be immediately obvious whether a manufacturer is certified or not.

This article was supplied by Simply Shutters who obtain their louvre door products from FSC approved sources. By only buying products with the FSC stamp you can be sure that you are not harming the environment and will be promoting the importance of the FSC to better manage our remaining woodland resources.

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by anathea

As the polar ice caps diminish and our climate becomes ever-more erratic, it should be a priority for every household to try to become as eco-friendly as possible. In these cash-strapped days, even climate change skeptics might be interested to know that becoming more eco-friendly almost always means spending less money.

Here are 10 ways you can make your home more eco-friendly and save some money at the same time.

Heating

Follow these tips to stay warm and cut your heating bills at the same time.

1. Insulate your walls and lofts and you will save hundreds of pounds' worth of heat escaping, literally, into thin air. The good news is that the government is offering free insulation to householders, whereby your wall cavities are insulated and loft is lagged using eco-friendly materials. Contact your energy supplier for details.

2. Simple and cheap measures such as putting foil behind your radiators and making draft excluders to stop cold air seeping through under the bottom of an outside door can save hundreds of pounds during the year.

Lighting

3. Switching to LED lighting is another simple and effective way of minimizing energy bills. Traditional incandescent bulbs use up to five times more energy and, as many people are not aware that lighting is the second biggest user of energy in domestic and commercial buildings, changing to these new, up-to-date, efficient light bulbs can save more money from your utility bills.

Become More Savvy

4. Many of us now routinely use the internet to find the best deals for everything from holidays to a new pair of shoes, but, oddly, many consumers stick with the same energy supplier, year in, year out. Using an energy supplies comparison service can tell us which tariffs are cheaper for us, but can also give information on the green credentials of the competing suppliers. Switching to suppliers who use renewable power is a very effective way of helping preserve the environment.

5. Buying energy efficient appliances also helps. Always check your new appliance meets at least the 'A' standard on the EU Energy Label or has an EnergyStar certification.

6. Invest in a smart meter and you can monitor your household's usage of energy - all day, every day.

Waste Not, Want Not

Too many households continue to waste precious energy that they pay for with their hard-earned cash.

7. Water is perhaps the natural resource we waste most of: up to 150 liters (about 39 gallons) a day, according to some estimates. Simple measures you can take to conserve water include; not flushing the loo unless you need to, installing a dual flush cistern, ensuring you switch off taps and repair those that leak, turning off running water when brushing your teeth and using economy/eco programmes on all appliances.

8. Stop over-filling kettles - the CO2 produced and energy wasted boiling unused water is staggering - and consider investing in an eco-kettle.

9. Switch off everything, anytime it is not being used. Astonishingly, up to 10 percent of the average electricity bill is accounted for by the blinking lights on computers, TVs and other audio-visual equipment.

Grow Your Own

10. Turn over your garden, or balcony, to growing vegetables. This improves your diet, saves you money, but also releases lots of lovely oxygen into the atmosphere and saves on CO2 emissions by cutting down on food miles.

This article was written on behalf of MHA Lighting, who produce energy efficient LED lighting and promote the transition from standard lighting to LED Lighting – for a more environmentally and economically viable future.

Image Credit: Eco-Friendly Home photo via Bigstock