Here is a great video from the folks at www.permies.com. This free tutorial outlines the steps for turning an old refrigerator or freezer into a food dehydrator. We love this idea! I have tried a few homemade solar dehydrators but they didn’t really work because of humidity. This appears to take care of that problem and prevents the purchase of a new dehydrator while keeping an old appliance out of the land fill.      

Upcycled soap? I know… I was slightly skeptical when this review first crossed my desk. Until that day, I had never considered upcycled soap. By the time, the package was 6 inches from my nose I had already started my conversion. Summit Soap smells FANTASTIC! The primary ingredient in this upcycled soap is cooking oil from Rocky Mountain, Colorado restaurants. The vegetable cooking oil is then purified and quality tested. The fabulous scent comes from fresh herbs and essential oils. I have used the soap for a week …

I have seen several projects that upcycle old deck material. Typically, the wood is used to build something new like a planter or raised garden beds. The problem with decking being used in such applications is that it is often pressure treated and full of chemicals. Not really what you want to use when gardening your tender vegetation! I saw this garage this summer and I absolutely love it! The decking is used as siding and already has that lovely weathered look. My daughter liked it too! …

I grew up in the country, right in the middle of corn fields and farms. Every evening when we cleaned up the dinner table we had a bowl for kitchen scraps. The bowl was either dumped in the corner of the garden or given to the pigs. I never thought to do anything else with kitchen scraps. That was, until I went to college. I clearly remember the first meal I made in my college apartment. When it came time to clean-up, I didn’t know what to do …

My seed catalogs came last week so it is officially time to start thinking about spring and spring gardening. My first spring product review is the Plantopia hanging basket.The basket is black and made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic. You know I like that! The Plantopia hanging basket takes the traditional hanging basket design and makes it better. In a typical hanging basket, you put your plantings in the top and hope the plants will trail off of the side. In this design, there are eight …

Welcome back guest writter Nikki Fotheringham of Guerilla Gnomes! Seed bombs are the staple of the guerrilla gardener’s arsenal. The seeds are encased in a hard ball of clay and potting soil that helps them to germinate. The seed bombs can be tossed into any bare patch of dirt and are especially effective in the city. Here seed bombs can be planted in the space around city trees on roofs, in pots or even cracks in the pavement. Just add water and Kabloom! You can put any kind of …

I grew up in the country. We once had some escaped cows in our front yard but I don’t ever remember bunnies eating my Mom’s petunias. When I moved to the “big city” with my husband, I planted all of my flowers with care only to have them chomped to the ground by all of the bunnies roaming around our backyard and living under our deck. I have since become wiser and have successfully kept my flowers and vegetables healthy without those pesky rabbits taking bites of all …

In our part of the world, it is time to start planting your garden. Here are some ideas for upcycled garden markers. 1. Old Silverware. You can leave them as is and write on either the back of the spoon or the handle depending on whatever is easiest with a permanent marker. You can also pound the spoon flat and stamp the letters right into the metal. Domestic Simplicity has a simple tutorial for using Modge Podge to adhere labels to the spoons. 2. Save your …

Stop!!! Don’t buy the messy plastic Easter grass. Try some of these green alternatives. 1. Shredded paper. You can let your imagination run wild with what paper to use. Some ideas are newspaper, used wrapping paper, magazines, tissue paper, junk mail and the list goes on and on. If you have a paper shredder, you can simply run the paper through and ta da! you have easter grass. If not, you could use scissors or a paper cutter to cut skinny strips. 2. Raffia. Raffia comes …

Look at this cute upcycled chicken coop. Any chicken would be lucky to call this place home! We have happily noticed an increase in urban farming. Families who have never gardened before are starting small gardens in their back yard and communities are working together to form large gardens or planting areas. Along with this push to become involved with growing our own food, is the ever increasing group of individuals raising chickens and other small livestock in urban settings. Raising your own chickens is a …