Upcycling or Recycling Which Is It?

Some time back I saw a couple of projects made out of old sweaters, and I thought WOW. That person is so creative. I loved the sweater pillows. But I really loved the cable knit bag made from a vintage sweater.

Today I found an entire website devoted to projects made from recycled wool and cashmere. Resweater. I think I am inspired! Inspired I say!!

Upcycled or recycled I don't know the difference. I do know I'm all for reusing things and keeping them out of the land fill. Even sweaters.

Bottled Water Is Unhealthy

After reading several articles about bottled water, and impact it has on our world, I'm going to encourage my entire family, friends, and my on-line friends to make the switch to filtered tap water.

Here in the United States, it takes 1.5 million barrels of crude oil just to make the bottles we use in one year.  When it comes to disposing of the bottles, not even 20% of the bottles are recycled. The rest of them end up cluttering up the earth or as air pollution, if they have been incinerated.

Bottled water isn't as highly regulated by the feds as our city water supplies. City water supplies have high standards for purity. Water filters like Brita take care of a lot of the impurities in the tap water. Ther pitcher style is inexpensive and super easy to use.  

I'm going to invest in a few kleen kanteensfor my reusable water bottles. They are stainless steel, and there is no leaching of harmful chemicals into my water.  You can find kleen kanteens at REI and Amazon.

Even if you don't invest in a good quality reusable water bottle, at the very least, make the commitment to stop buying bottled water in containers smaller than 1 gallon.

Make the Switch To Reusable Bags

I have purchased several canvas bags to carry my groceries from the store to my kitchen. Because I purchased mine one at a time, it wasn't a big expense. Many grocery stores carry the reusable bags on racks near the check out stands and at about a dollar each, they are very affordable.

I've been doing a little research on the subject of paper, plastic, or reusable and reusable is my choice.

1. It takes approximately 12 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bags used in the USA each year.


2. Even though paper bags are made from farmed trees, the process of making them, produces as much toxins released into our air as the production of plastic bags.


3. According to the Wall Street Journal, only 1% of the world's plastic bags are recycled. The rest go into landfills.


4. Paper bags are recyclable, however, according to research, approximately 20% of paper bags are recycled.  The rest end up in landfills.


5. Plastic bags account for more than 10% of the garbage washed up  along the US coastlines. 

Vermicomposting Under the Kitchen Sink

I've been looking for ways to live green and I've made several changes in my life that I think are simple and economical. Real simple changes including switching out my light bulbs to energy saving light bulbs, and using green cleaners.

I'm ready to step it up and do more to live green. One of the things I can do is make a compost bin under my kitchen sink. When I first heard about this, I thought yuk. That sounds nasty enough. But after reading this article about creating a simple compost bin under the kitchen sink, I think this is something I can do.

If it works, in a short time I'll have some beautiful compost for my garden. Compost I usually spend hard earned money on.

It sounds cheap and easy. I'm going to give it a try!