Featured Article: 5 Easy Garden DIYs with Pallets

Usually we try to keep our features to once a week, but this was too great to skip! This article has 2 very important things, Gardens and Pallets.

This Apartment Therapy article has 5 DIY pallet recreations for any garden lover! Weather you use your garden to entertain guest or just your children, there is something here for you! While we love all of these DIYs, we especially love the sweet playhouse for under $10! Considering the price of a playhouse, that's quite the bargain! Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Read the article here

Featured Article: Everything You Need to Know About Buying in Bulk

Today's featured article is all about buying in bulk. Buying in bulk can be a great way to lower your wrapping waste, and lower your food waste. This article takes you through the tips and tricks of shopping in bulk and being efficient at it. 

As the article points out, don't automatically think of Sams or Costco. The beauty of buying in bulk is that products aren't pre-packaged, so you can buy as much or as little as you like or need. 

This article is a great read, so check it out and find all the secrets to buying in bulk, and don't forget to compost food waste that you do still generate.

Read the full article here.

Featured Article: Simple Ways to Reuse & Recycle Your Holiday Decor

The new year is here and with it comes the chore of taking down holiday decorations. Since taking down is a lot less fun than putting up, it's easy to think that maybe it's time to toss some older decorations. However, sending that decor to a landfill is just no good! So, today's article goes over just a couple easy way to reuse old ornaments in a fresh, new way.

Check out this article, and find a new way to refresh ornaments, lights, holiday cards and wrapping paper! Which is your favorite? Do you have another craft that you like to reuse holiday ornaments for? Let us know in the comments!

Read the article here.

Tips for a Sustainable New Years Party!

2013 is nearly upon us, and with it, a slew of parties and get togethers to celebrate the new year! If you're hosting a party this year, there isn't any better way to ring in the new year than by being green with your party! These tips are sure to help you have a fun and eco-friendly get together!

1) E-Vites: Rather than sending out traditional invitations, which waste paper, envelopes, and stamps, why not go the easy route and either send out evites or just invite your guests over the phone? This will save you a little bit of money and just think of that paper waste you've avoided!

2) Look for Locally Grown: For food and drinks, there isn't anything better than locally grown. You know it's fresh and there's a lot less emission waste associated with buying local. It even has the added plus of supporting your local community!

3) Use your own dishes: While washing up afterwards may seem like a pain, most of us have dishwashers these days and removing all those plastic/paper/styrafoam plates will make a huge impact!

4) Decorate Responsibly: Let's face it, your house is probably still decked out for the holidays, and getting a bunch of "2013" banners and hats that will just end up in the garbage the next day isn't exactly good for the earth or for your bank account! Skip out, or make your own upcycled decorations!

5) Don't forget your resolution: Making a green resolution is a great way to promise yourself that the change will stick. Whether it's simply to remember to recycle more, starting your own compost heap, or just switching to all LED bulbs in your house, these little promises can make a difference in the long run!

Featured Article: Green Gifts that People REALLY Want

With the holiday season officially upon us, the Internet has a wealth of gift ideas for your sustainable friend or family members. However, one often wonders how practical these gifts are, or if people really want them. This article was a breath of fresh air. Apartment Therapy asked their Green Living readers what they wanted for a gift. From reusable cups to home compost turners, this list gives you a gift at every price point.

This list is nice because it covers a wide variety of choices and price points, so if you have a sustainable friend with a black thumb, plants aren't your only option.

What will you be giving your sustainable friends and family this year for the holidays? Share your gift ideas in the comments!

Check out the full article here.

Featured Article: 5 Ways to Start Preserving Food At Home

Once you start to look into the statistics on food waste the can be fairly alarming. In the United States over 40 percent of food produced is wasted, and the average American produces 10 time their body weight in trash a year.

When faced with statistics like that it's easy to start taking food preservation measures that will also save you some cash! That's where today's featured article comes in. This article goes over a few easy ways to start saving your food, from canning to making jam, they have some great ideas to help you get the most out of your grocery bill.

We hope this article can help you to save some much needed grocery money and some waste- but don't forget that if you do have food waste composting is a great sustainable way to take care of it.

Check out the article here.

Do you have any other smart ways to preserve your food? Share them in the comments!

Top 15 T-Shirt DIYs

With the seasons changing it is a lot easier to go through our closets and find items we no longer wear. Whether it's due to a change of taste or a change of fit, we eventually have to let go of old articles of clothing. While donating is also a great option, DIY with t-shirts is fun and can create some pretty cool things! We've compiled our top 15 t-shirt DIYs here for you!

DIY instructions

Making an old t-shirt into an iPod holder out of an old t-shirt is great for running or working out with your iPod, and it's easy to do with this simple tutorial! What a great way to encourage yourself to stay active during the winter months!

DIY instructions

Throw pillows are a great way to brighten up a room or throw some fun colors on a neutral colored couch. These throw pillows memorialize your old t-shirts while giving them a new purpose.

DIY instructions

 This cute and functional ruffle skirt looks dressy enough to be business casual, but since it's made out of your old t-shirt you know it will be very comfortable.

DIY instructions

 It can sometimes be hard to pack shoes, since you wear them on your feet they can often get dirty. This fun shoe travel bag looks cute, is machine washable and you can make it from your old t-shirts! How great!

DIY instructions

 If you simply adore an old t-shirt because of the print on it, and your home is lacking in decorations, then framing your old shirt might be the best option for you! It's a fun way to display the old shirt, and if you get a frame at the right time it can be very cheap!

DIY instructions

 This fun, cute vest is extremely simple to make and looks great on! What could be better?

Link to original

These t-shirt neck ties are great! The only bad thing is that the original article we found links to an esty account that you can send your shirt to for someone else to DIY a tie. However, there are a couple different images so we'd like to think that our crafty readers will be able to figure it out (if you can you should let us know)!

DIY instructions

Remember shag rugs? Super comfortable, shag carpeting was a staple in the 70s', but you can still find shag rugs at major stores. This tutorial shows you how to take your old t-shirts and make your own! How great is that?

DIY instructions

An old t-shirt can make a great apron, and this one even shows you how to make one with pockets!

DIY instructions

Washable diapers are coming back into popularity right now, and what better way to show Mom and Dad's style than by reusing one of your old t-shirts for the little one's diaper? This is a fun way to get a large variety of reusable diapers while still making to reuse some of your own wardrobe!

DIY instructions

 Summer tank tops are great, but if you have one that you're just not wearing anymore a new purse could be even better! This DIY takes an old tank top and makes a great new bag that you can use year round!

DIY instructions

 Scarves are great, whether they're just accessories or necessary for keeping warm. This DIY shows you how to create a fun, fashionable scarf from an old t-shirt. It's quick, and it's no-sew!

DIY instructions

This is another t-shirt turned skirt, but it's a little more casual and simple than the other skirt we have on here. It also allows a lot more room for imagination. The original poster embellished her finished skirt with some cute buttons to dress it up a little bit more.

DIY instructions

 This fun scarf offers another method of reusing the shirts without losing the images you loved from the original shirts. It would be easy to make a themed scarf from old shirts to keep warm and cozy while still remembering why you love your old shirts.

DIY instructions

 Finally, a t-shirt quilt. This is another idea that makes it easy to keep the memory of the old shirt alive while creating something new and functional. They're also very cozy, so it's great to keep warm once the winter months set in.

Do you have any other favorite t-shirt DIYs? Leave them and your thoughts on these ones in the comments!

Featured Article: Wax Walls Keep The Temperature In Your Home Comfortable, Without Using Extra Energy

We're all about the new and sustainable, but this new product could save you some serious money during the winter and summer months as well. Today's featured article comes to us from Fast Company, all about new wax walls!

When you live in the midwest it is easy to see the benefits of better insulation. Our summers are hot and our winters are cold, we get the full effect of every season, which means we like our walls well insulated. These new materials would replace current drywall and be much more efficient, because the heat and cool temperatures are stored in the walls, so that during cooler nights the heat captured during the day will be released, and vis versa.  

Imagine the impact that boards like these would have on your energy bill. Combined with some well placed windows you could be paying much less a month to heat and cool your house. 

These products are just beginning to enter the construction market, so we'll see how they do when put to the test of actual use. 

What do you think? Would you use these boards in place of traditional drywall? 

Read the full article here.

Featured Article: Sprout Pencil Grows Plants When You Plant the Stub

This monday we're doing a featured article on a new sustainable product- pencils that you can plant! 

These pencils have seed caps at the end filled with a plant of your choosing, including herbs, vegetables and flowers. These pencils are currently in the fundraising stage, and have a kickstarter project that allows you to fund the project with the promise of receiving a package of the finished project. 

This concept is definitely interesting. As many of our readers know, wood is compostable, however often times the lead may not be. The idea is definitely innovative, and it can help kids to realize the environmental implication of a pencil. 

What do you think? Do you like the idea of planting your pencil? Are you a pencil chewer who may have trouble not chewing on the seed capsule at the end? Let us know in the comments!

Read the original article here.

Top 10 Fall DIYs

With labor day and a 3 day weekend starting our week, it's easy to get in the spirit of fall, even with the 100 degree weather! If you're ready to start prepping your home for fall look no further! We have a special blog with our top 10 fall DIYs!

View Tutorial Here

This DIY is Pottery Barn, with an original twist! The original DIY-er found something similar to this in Pottery Barn, but decided to make her own and put her initial on it as well! How fun!

View Tutorial Here

This is another tutorial that someone saw in a store and decided to give it a go on their own. This burlap  tablecloth tutorial is a fun and edgy twist to traditional turkey day decor, and you can personalize it all you want this way!

View Tutorial Here

These candles are a subtle and trendy way to pay homage to the fall classic- candy corn! Plus, you could easily use this tutorial with different colors to create all sorts of fun candles!

View Tutorial Here

 This is another tribute to candy corn, but this time the candy corn is a little more involved! This fun display can easily be changed to fit the season. Let's face it, lots of our holidays are associated with sweets and colors, so you could easily change out the candy for something appropriate for the season (If you can manage to keep it in the container the whole season)! Plus this could easily be a recycling craft if you used bottles that you already have.

View Tutorial Here

 This craft is obviously a recycling craft for all of your left over glass bottles. The original DIY-er did another ghost with a soy sauce bottle as well, although she added that the top was not as nice looking as the wine bottles. These fun decorations are cheap and chic and can easily spice up your home for the fall.

View Tutorial Here

We're a sucker for planters, and with how warm it's staying outside, maybe we'll have warmth all season long. This pumpkin is a stylish and fun way to show your fall spirit and keep your plants going!

View Tutorial Here

This is a quick and easy DIY that is sure to leave your house smelling fantastic! It also proves to be a cute decoration, so it's a win on all fronts!

View Tutorial Here

 This tutorial is for some fun seasonal coasters! Light stitching required, but it's worth it for these adorable coasters!

View Tutorial Here

Modge Podge got extremely popular this summer, and it looks like the trend will be continuing into fall, especially with this cute modern looking wreath!

View Tutorial Here

This last tutorial is a little more artsy, it's a DIY for some accent artwork especially for this windy season. This DIY perfectly captures the feeling of a windy fall day!

Those are our top 10, what are yours? Which DIY is your favorite?

Featured Article: A Green Business Rating System, Created By Middle School Students | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

Today's featured article, from Fast CoExist, seems even more important as we approach the beginning of the school year. Today's article features students near Detroit who developed a Green Business rating system for businesses in their town.

These middle school students collected information from 100 business owners in their area to find out just what they were doing to be sustainable. They included waste diversion, CFL bulbs, natural lighting, hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles for business purposes, and many other factors to develop a rating system of all of the businesses they worked with.

This article is inspiring. If these students can work so hard to encourage area businesses to be more sustainable, what could we do at our own places of work. Waste diversion is easy, and we can help your business to become more sustainable through waste diversion. Other methods of creating a greener business are also easy to implement, as long as you take the time to do so.

What is your business doing to be sustainable? Let us know in the comments.

Read the original article here

How to be green when back to school shopping

Last weekend Iowa had their annual tax free weekend, where shopping centers state-wide are filled with back to school shoppers. Between pencils, backpacks, and new clothes it's hard to remember to be sustainable when dealing with crowds and children who want the folder with the newest fad on the front. Here's our 5 tips for having a greener back to school experience. 

1) Try to reuse: When you get that back to school shopping list it's a lot easier to just shop there. Most stores carry the lists for you, so you pick it up and buy everything on it while you're their. It is better to start with your list at home. Cross off those scissors, pencils, and protractors that you still have from last year and save a little money as well. 

2) If possible, buy refillable: Refillable pens and pencils are initially a little more expensive than the disposable ones, but they are definitely more sustainable, and they usually last longer than their disposable counterpoints as well. 

3) Look for recycled products: Notebooks, planners, pencils, pens, and computer paper made from recycled materials are all available from mainstream shops now. Recycled paper works great for anything a student would need it for, and it's the more earth friend option than virgin paper. Using recycled plastic or wood in your pencils and pens are also no different than the non-recycled ones, but they make a much smaller impact.

4) Reusable bottles and lunch bags: Purchasing reusable lunch bags can save another brown bag from going in a landfill, and reusable bottles can be filled with whatever your child's favorite drink it, be it chocolate milk or juice, without having to buy individual milk cartons or juice boxes. 

5) Spring for high quality: When buying long term items like backpacks and lunch boxes, spending a little bit more can end up saving you money in the long run. When buying a backpack try to lead your children away from the superheros and television or movie characters that they may like this year, often times those interests are short lived. Instead buy a plain, good quality backpack. If they still want their character on the bag, just buy a patch or a pin for them to clip to the outside. Then they can change interest every year and you can keep the same backpack.

With these tips you'll be sure to have a more sustainable and possibly a cheaper back to school shopping experience. 

Top 5 Bizarre and Beautiful Recycling DIYs

We've already shown that we love Pinterest, and that it can be a great source for eco-savvy DIY-ers. We've found some pretty bizarre DIYs that are a little off the wall but pretty cool as a finished product. Here are our top 5 of the bizarre and beautiful recycling DIYS.

Original Pin

This pin leads to a whole list of bizarre but awesome. It's really hard to find something to do with those one time use paint chips or paint samples when you're done with them. This list gives a plethora of different DIYS to help you use all of your old samples.

Original Pin

At first glance this pin just looks like a regular necklace. However, this DIY teaches you to make necklaces and other things out of old aluminum cans. While you may not want to do this with your pepsi can, this is a really fun tutorial and will definitely create some unique jewelry.

Original Pin

Anyone who has ever tried to gift baked goods knows that it is always hard to get them to their intended recipient unbroken, squished, or in any other way harmed. This repurposing of an old plastic or aluminum wrap box creates a unique way of gifting muffins, cupcakes, and other baked goods.

Original Pin

Coffee addicts out there go through a lot of those cup sleeves. Now, there's a way to reuse them to create coasters, so their coffee mugs at home don't leave rings on their tables. With the number of patterns and designs used by different coffee shops, these could be pretty cool and colorful.

Original Pin

Remember doing shrinky dinks either as a kid or with your kids? Well, here's a more "grown up" way to have all the fun of shrinky dinks with all the style of store bought jewelry. This bracelet is made out of plastic that was shrunk and hardened in the oven and then bound together. It's a fun way to keep your plastics out of landfills.

Are there any great DIYs that you've found that are off the wall but awesome? Leave them in the comments, we'd love to check them out!

Featured Article: Carbon Neutral Higher Education

This featured article is a little different than our usual bizarre sustainable. This week we're exploring the idea of being carbon neutral in higher education. Luther College in Decorah, IA is hard at work toward their goal of being carbon neutral, and the school is doing a great job.

As Professor Jim Martin-Schramm says, "Colleges aren't supposed to be a mirror for society, we are supposed to be a model." Schools enstill values in their students, and many private and public college across Iowa are aiming to be more sustainable. It's showing their students that a sustainable lifestyle is goal worth working to attain.

As a company that deals with compost, we've worked with a diverse group of companies and institutions to make them more sustainable through their waste stream. When speaking about sustainability waste stream is a part of the topic often left out in favor for wind and solar power and electricity saving measures, or local produce shopping. Part of that may be the 'yuck' factor associated with talking about what we waste, but it is a crucial element of the conversation.

We commend Luther for their efforts, and we hope that they reach their carbon neutral goals. If other colleges wish to shrink their footprint as well, we encourage them to consider their waste stream and think about what could be diverted from landfills. We also encourage them to contact us about organic waste diversion.

Read the original article from The Des Moines Register here.

Featured Article: German Designer Turns Sour Milk into Silky Fabric

Okay, this story is a little older, but it flew under our radar for a while. Usually these featured articles are about wacky sustainable products that are made of unusual materials. This is no different, this designer made a fabric that is supposed to feel like silk from sour milk!

One of the benefits of this fabric that the article points out is that, although it is marketed as a luxury fabric, it's price will be stable, unlike silk and other labor intensive fabrics. It is also non-allergenic which would be very helpful in making a wide variety of products from blouses to bedsheets for hotels. The possibilities for this fabric is pretty impressive, and as long as we have animals producing milk it is available for production.

Feel free to read the original story here. What do you think, would you buy a shirt made from QMilch?

Proud Member of Adopt-A-Highway

Our company's headquarters are based in Iowa. We have a deep commitment to keep our state beautiful, so we are proud to be members of the Adopt-A-Highway program and clean a stretch of highway as a company.

There are so many benefits to the Adopt-A-Highway program. It enables our government to divert the funds that would have gone into paying workers to clean that stretch of road into other programs that are in need of funding.

Adopt-A-Highway also makes sure that our state displays the pride that our residents have it in. With clean highways visiters will have no doubt that Iowa cares deeply for it's natural resources and beauty.

The Adopt-A-Highway program started in Texas, but has spread to 49 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. It is easy to see why, the very nature of the program fosters a pride in all those involved and allows them to be actively involved in the preservation of nature.

If you'd like to get involved with the Adopt-A-Highway program visit their site here.

Creating a more sustainable fair

It's fair season again, which means long days spent outside in your community. With County Fairs spread throughout the next couple of weeks, and the Iowa State Fair running August 9-19th it is easy to get caught up in the fun. However, it could also become much more sustainable fun with a little help from our company. Chamness Technology would like to help your fair receive a green ribbon for sustainability.

Fairs mean animals, and animals mean lots of bedding being used. We can safely dispose of all your fair bedding sustainably, which means keeping the world more beautiful for future fairs.

Fairs also mean a lot of food, and food waste can all be turned into compost. If your fair were to utilize our composting services you could use your waste to return nutrients to the soil that will be used in agriculture and gardens.

If you're interested in making your fair more green it's easy, just contact us today!