Living in a 1930’s building, it’s obvious the era of “plug in everything” is a very recent change in lifestyle. And although our modest one-bedroom apartment isn’t a big energy hog (modest refrigerator, window AC, gas heater, and LED/CFL bulbs throughout), there are always a few more ways to nip and tuck at the monthly energy bill… More Read More..
o-it-yourself cleaning and cosmetics have kind of become my obsession my hobby. I think about how I used to slap down my cold hard cash for all those creepy chemicals, those toxins just sitting under my sink, with their smells that seemed to permeate my every pore. I remember the artificial aqua, the glowing neon green, such unnaturally bright colors. And I’ll never forget that cloying, eye-watering suffocation that came from cleaning a too-tiny bathroomwith too many kinds of soaps and powders and pastes and bleaches. Oof.
I think back to those days and I can’t help but smile. Because now, I’m spending mere pennies and my cleansers and cosmetics are good enough to eat – literally! And my house is just as clean as ever and my body is just as beautiful, and gosh, but everything is so much more pleasant.
While you may think some of your stuff has hit the end its life cyle, or is only good for one thing, much of it could be leading a double life in your garden! Before you give them the heave-ho, check out Real Simple’s great list of 46 new uses for old things in the garden; here are our 10 favorite ideas. More Read More..
The trend toward keeping backyard livestock in urban and suburban areas seems only to be growing. We’ve featured plenty of chicken coop designs in the past, but we loved this homemade coop in a small backyard in Los Angeles so much that we wanted to share the story.
Irwin Miller, whose kids’ room we featured for its clever use of small space, inherited some chickens from his son’s school. He explains how the whole addition
We’ve all faced it at one time or another. You walk into the laundry room, fully weighted down with a bulging basket of dirty clothes, only to discover that every machine is being used … and there’s a queue of other baskets stacked up next to it. Skip the laundry room, head back to the comfort of your apartment and freshen your clothes with these portable washers and drying racks.
