Reblogged from simplifyyourlife
call me home
design inspiration for living spaces
You may have read about Andrew Hyde somewhere. He is another extreme minimalist guy who owned just 15 things (as of Jan 2012 he has 39). To hear stories directly from him, visit Andrew’s blog. His stories will inspire you to go for a lifestyle of less so you can live a richer life. -Danny
What is extremely odd is how people think this is a stunt or a short-term publicity stunt. I have less and do more. Because I have less, people talk about me more. Because I do more, I talk less about the things I have.
(via moneyisnotimportant)
good:
Financial Fitness Task 30: Set Goals #30DaysofGOOD
You made it! But it’s not over. As with most things in life, setting tangible goals gives you an early advantage. By defining an item you want to purchase or a date by which you hope to pay off a piece of debt, you give purpose to your decision-making as well as chart your progress.
Sarah and I made toothpaste!
Ingredients:
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Xylitol
- Vegetable Glycerin
- Sage (natural teeth whitener)
- Peppermint oil
to do this week
Am I the only person who sees something like this, and thinks: “Who actually has that many paint chips — and why do they have so many?” (Well, with the exception of, say, some owners of house-painting companies or stores that sell paint, and architectural and/or interior design firms.)
I mean, I can see owning a handful of samples. In advance of my house-painting projects, I’ve visited hardware and paint stores and taken home sample cards of similar paint shades, to help me decide which tint I actually wanted to use. But I didn’t help myself to dozens of swatches.
Do you suppose that people collect paint sample cards with the intent of using them in home decorating/craft projects?
Wasteful, maybe?
What do you think?
Via Crafting With Paint Chips. DIY & Art Galore :: COLOURlovers, which features many other paint chip projects. (Spotted on Twitter here, via @DesignMilk.)
Related: Previous Unconsumption mentions of paint chip uses here, and on Pinterest here.
Add a burst of color without painting the entire room. One strategically placed section can make a difference, AND if you’re a renter, you won’t have to repaint the entire room when you move out.
(via homefixcorporationdiy)
More pallet repurposing …
In this installation, pallets are used as tiered seating in a media room. The pallets’ open sides can be used as shelves for books, magazines, and other items. On the opposite wall, wall-mounted pallets set off a screen.
(via TreeHugger)
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Often, the best green living advice boils down to one simple priniciple: Buy less stuff.
But it turns out it’s not quite that simple, unless you’re willing to do serious harm to developing countries in the process…
5 biodegradable seed-starting planter-pots to DIY
Like many of us, the gardening plans of Michele Pacey (mentioned previously here and here) include growing plants from seed.
In a recent blog post, Michele describes her seed-starting setup: seeds planted in biodegradable newspaper “pots,” which are placed indoors on foam meat trays while the seeds germinate.
After seedlings have sprouted, the plants — pots and all — can be planted in soil.
To make your own biodegradable seed-starters:
- Roll newspaper pieces around a jar and close the ends, as Michele shows in this short video, or roll pieces of newspaper around something like this.
- Fold newspaper pages, origami-like, into pots. For folding tutorial, see the For Greenies blog.
- Cut pieces of paper towel or toilet paper tubes, adding four slits on one end, then fold end pieces together to form a closed bottom. (Photo via girlgearstudio.) Ends also could be left open, as pictured in this earlier Unconsumption post.
- Use eggshells, as mentioned here (with description for blowing out eggs).
- Use citrus peels. (Found here.)
Another idea: Create mini-greenhouses from cut plastic bottles. Simply place bottle tops over plants. (Found on Poppytalk.)
What household waste do you use for starting seeds?
(via lipsbetweenthehips)
“Designing for a small space can be a difficult undertaking if you have a lot of possessions. However, there are tricks to make a small space appear larger by taking advantage of light and color….” Read More Here!
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Ethical Style: Don’t Donate Clothes, Repurpose Them
Quality clothing means better fabric, and good fabric can be reworked again and again to make sure it never goes out of style. Today, we want an ever-changing array of cheap clothes, and we rarely think about sustainability or quality. In order to consume clothes more ethically, we must change the way we think about them.
Ethical fashion requires making new styles out of metaphorical rags (even if they’re just last season’s jeggings), whether from your closet, thrift stores, consignment shops, or online outlets.
