DIY Eco-Gifts For Recyclers On Your Holiday List

Maybe one of the biggest differences between growing up in my childhood home and my children's home (mine too), is that now we all recycle. This one small act is something each and everyone of us can do at home to help save the planet.

I was totally floored during a recent conversation with an obviously intelligent woman who blurted out, "I don't recycle." It opened a floodgate of comments here. Recycling is such an integral environmental issue that I come back to it often -  as I did last week in this post, "5 Reasons Why People Don't Recycle and 5 Reasons They Should."

We need to continue to cultivate a culture of recycling. I wrote about setting up a recycling center with my son in his first apartment here. Maybe, just maybe, we can begin to make a dent into the environmental mess we've made.

What do all good recyclers need? They can never have enough recycling bins.

DIY Gift Idea: Recycling Bin and Labels

Recycling bins perform an important task, but the bins themselves are pretty utilitarian. Here are two novel DIY gift ideas: This Barn Wood & Chalkboard Bin is made from a reclaimed wood bin that has been painted with chalkboard paint. Use low-VOC blackboard paint from Hudson chalkboard paint to label the contents of the bin. Or, you can just print out a sheet of personalized DIY Recycling Bin Labels.

I love the clever labeling on the recycling bins in the main image. It makes you think about all the possibilities, while raising awareness.

For 5 more recycling center ideas CLICK HERE.

Photo: Apartment Therapy, VivaTerra

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Musician On Your Holiday List

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." ~ Charlie Parker

I have a sweet spot for musicians. Not just because my son is one, but also because I love listening to music. It has the ability to reach right into your soul and lift your emotions.

I recently found a treasure trove of old sheet music in the piano bench. I plan to make this paper box garland to decorate the living spaces of all the passionate music lovers in my life.

DIY Music Paper Box Garland

Susan Wasinger, author of eco craft adds a festive touch to holiday decorations. She created an origami music box garland that is illuminated with LED string lights.

How to: Fold sheet music into a boxes and string the LED lights into the holes of the individual boxes.

To make a music folder, recycled record bowl and clock, concert ticket holder, woven guitar pick basket, personalized CD inserts, music cookie cutters, and a musical Christmas stocking CLICK HERE.

Photo Credit: Ben Scott

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Long Lost Relative On Your Holiday List

Nothing evokes family like holiday gatherings. Why not gather your whole family together in a family tree? Creating a family tree can be a profound and thrilling journey into unknown territory. Once you get past the forest of names and information, the insightful findings make the effort personally rewarding. Plus, it's a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for relative.

DIY Family Tree

My Tree and Me creates hip and modern genealogy charts connecting the history of your family. I also like My Tree and Me because 1% of all of their profits are donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Photos: Jen O'Neill for My Tree And Me

Solutions For Living With Wood

At the beginning of the heating season, I'm all gung-ho about heating with wood. Hauling wood is exhilarating exercise, and the oh-so-toasty radiance of a wood fire is enchanting. After the initial infatuation wears off, I start grumbling about it…mostly, about the mess.

2 Problems, 2 Solutions:

Problem: There are splintery pieces of wood that gather around the stove which makes walking barefoot treacherous (and messy).

Solution: Remodelista presented a beautiful wall-mounted log holder via Skona Hem. Not only does this wood holder look handsome, it frees up floor space. While it may be an  inspirational solution, I can't read a word of Swedish, and there are no particulars of where to purchase such an item. Has anyone found an off-the-floor solution for the in-house wood stash?

Problem: This morning I piled up a few logs into my arms, stoked the fire, then ran out to have breakfast with friends. Someone commented that my jacket made me look like a porcupine. I looked down and there were spikes of wood embedded into the fleece. Geeze.

Solution: While writing Stalking The Wood Pile, I came across this DIY wood tote on the Whipup site. It’s stylish, functional and easy to make. The creator of the project was in the process of building a house and says, “I made this firewood tote to help move all the logs to the house site. This firewood tote sews up super fast, and will make carrying wood to your fireplace, or building a house just a bit easier.” Brilliant!

Download the DIY pdf instructions and CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Photo Credits: Rais, Remodelista, Whipup

Dreaming: Desire To Inspire

3 things I love about Desire To Inspire (besides the room porn above):

1. Desire to Inspire is run by two women who have never met. Well, they e-met on Flickr and shared bookmarked images. Kim lives in Canada, and Jo hails from Australia. The mission of these two design junkies is to inspire the world one room at a time. I just love the way they share a long-distance relationship and their passion for all things beautiful for the home.

2. Desire to Inspire's "Pets On Furniture" feature each week is hilarious, and so very shameful. If my pooches only knew how the other half lives…Hey, that dog looks like one of mine!

3. Econesting was highlighted in Design To Inspire's latest reading list. Cool…and thanks!

Photo credits: Desire To Inspire