Try as you may to avoid bringing home a plastic hanger, sometimes it happens. And actually, I was glad I ended up with this one because I needed a place to hang my earrings! I wrapped a little yard around it and voila! Now have...
Foil Curtains: The Cure to Hot House Blues
Super lightweight foil emergency blankets cost about $1.50 at outdoor gear shops
This spring, we were delighted as kittens in a perpetual sunbeam to have, well, a perpetual sunbeam coming in through the glass doors to our balcony. We were on the third floor of an old brick building that still had winter’s cold in its bones....
Stop Buying Stuff
We hear the messages over and over again to buy the fastest version, the newest model, and the most recent upgrade. We’re told by our politicians that if we don’t buy stuff, the economy will collapse. And then there’s this guy. He has a different...
Let it Rain: Harvesting Rainwater in Mexico City
Mexico City, a metropolitan area with a population of over 21 million people, is facing serious water issues. So much so that 8 million residents suffer from inadequate water supply, sometimes going weeks or months without a drop of water coming from their taps. The...
What Happens to Hotel Soap After We Check Out
Even for those of us that do our best to reduce waste have left behind some gently used bars of soap in hotel rooms before. Here’s a common scenario: We check into a hotel room, and after using the bathroom we crack open the new...
Instantly Turn Unusable Bits of Soap into a Foamy Bliss
Before I made the foamy soap holder from a garlic bag which makes natural bar soap behave like liquid foamy soap, I was really focused on another problem altogether: how to make better use of the tiny bits of bar soap when the bar is almost...
the most important solutions come out of the most important questions
The most interesting solutions come out of the most interesting questions. That insight about what the problem might actually be is often the most important and the biggest creative step. If you just assume you know the question, especially if it is the same question everybody else is asking, you’ll probably get to the same answer everybody else is getting.
The full quote: “Figure out what the question is. Many of us think, when we’re talking about design, is that it’s all about solving the problem and being creative about that. But I find generally, the most interesting solutions come out of the most interesting...
Upcycling a Garlic Bag into Your Bar Soap’s Best Friend
Liquid foamy soap is one of my favorite things. It’s so light and effective and it washes away easily without much water. The trouble I’ve always had with liquid foamy soap is that it’s usually laden with chemicals I don’t know and it comes in...
On Growing Food
The wilderness has to become a standard against which we judge our agricultural and cultural practices.
Green Bronx Machine
“We want every kid to look out a classroom and see a beautiful green roof growing food that will be accessible to all from the school.” Stephen Ritz, Green Bronx Machine The Bronx Green Machine is planting seeds of vegetables and hope in neighborhoods where...
