apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Posts By carrie

How To: Make Baby Wipes

2008-10-08-wipes.jpg

With so much focus on how environmentally unfriendly diapers are, baby wipes have sort of slipped under the eco-radar. Erin recently wrote us to share a green how-to:

I'd been freaking out about the non-biodegradability of traditional polyester baby wipes.. (300 years to disappear is a conservative estimate!) So I figured out how to make my own less environment-hatey ones. It also doesn't suck that they work out cheaper than traditional wipes, even when you use unbleached, recycled materials. So you know, win-win.

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Look! Paper Boat Wrapping

2008-10-02-boat.jpg

Ahoy, mateys! Remember Denise of Studio d Sharp? Well she has a way with paper. Not a fan of cutesy-kidsey wrapping paper (neither are we), she fashioned this clever paper boat from an old map to make a memorable gift presentation.

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Bakfiets Box Bike In Action!

2008-09-15-bakfiets.jpg

We've had a fascination with the Dutch Bakfiets ("bike with the box") for awhile, yet it seemed more like a European fantasy than a practical, affordable mode of transport. But in progressive, bike-friendly Portland, Oregon they're gaining in popularity and we were very excited to read about one family who took the Bakfiets plunge. Because we're the curious (sometimes just plain nosy) types, we wrote to ask them a few questions.

2008-09-15-bakfietscombo.jpg

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Apple-a-Day Lunch Bag by Spool Sewing

2008-09-05-spoollunch.jpg

Our little sister was an early green crusader and insisted on bringing her lunch to school (Catholic school at that!) in a cloth Crown Royal Whiskey bag. This Apple-a-Day lunchbag by Spool Sewing in Philadelphia might have been more appropriate.

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Klean Kanteen in Kolor

2008-09-08-klean.jpg

How many more reasons we can give you to stop buying bottled water? Oh fine, here's one more - Klean Kanteens now come in color, er, "kolor".

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Look! Book Rack from Clothes Hanger

2008-08-21-wirehanger.jpg

Simple, cheap and not bad looking. Not to mention putting wire hangers, of which you no doubt have oodles, to good use.

posted originally from: OhDeeDoh

Green @ Home: Jessica's Happy Daughters Use Happy Farmer Kitchen Composter

2008-07-28-farmer.jpggreenATHomelogo.pngName:Jessica
Location: Golden, CO
Profession: Green Coach and Mom

Jessica and her daughters are all about not wasting food and here they're showing off two ways they go about it. Going green with kids can be fun!

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

An Introduction to Land Trusts

2007_12_10_land trust.jpg

While many of us live in apartments or in urban areas, we or our families may someday own a little piece of land. You've probably heard of land trusts before, but we've invited our sister, a land protection specialist, to give us some basic information about them and how they help protect the earth's future.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

Mobiles by Wallter

2007_12_14_wallter saucer.jpg

The best items in a nursery are the ones that will last. What we love about Wallter's new mobiles is how easily they will find a striking spot elsewhere in your home when your baby has outgrown them. Wallter (formerly Fold Bedding) is a family company run by Max and Linda Geiser, parents of young sons, Adam and Owen. They believe in not just great design, but great sustainable design and look for ways to make their products eco-conscious at every turn.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

LED Holiday Lights

2007_12_03_LED lights.jpg
Have an even greener tree this year by making the switch to LED lights. They’ll use about 90% less energy which is good for the earth and your pocketbook.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

The XO Laptop: Give One. Get One.

2007_11_26_xo laptop.jpg

One laptop per child. The XO laptop has been through many changes since its conception (it's no longer the "$100 laptop" and the iconic hand crank has been replaced, for example), but the mission and vision behind it have stayed on course: "to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves." Through December 31st, you have the opportunity to participate in this endeavor by donating a laptop to a child and receiving one for a child in your life, too.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

Word of the Year: Locavore

2007_11_19_fall plowing.jpg

Capturing the Zeitgeist. The New Oxford American Dictionary has unveiled it's 2007 Word of the Year: Locavore! A locavore is someone who strives to eat food grown locally in the belief that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. They also see the practice as environmentally friendly since fuel is not spent shipping food long distances.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

Eco-Friendly Paint Roundup

2007_11_05_yolo paint chips.jpg Greener Paint Options. In case you were inspired by October's Color Month to get out the paint brushes and add or change some color in your home, we've put together some eco-friendly (and child-friendly) paint resources for you. We've done the legwork by collecting all the AT posts we could find on the topic and putting them in one place as well as added a few extra resources.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

Reducing packaging material

2007_10_15_amazon_packaging.jpg

"Dear Amazon, what are you doing?" So begins a recent post by CindyW over at Organic Picks about an instance of extreme packaging by Amazon. The photo above shows the packaging used to send a single 1-cup Pyrex bowl (#5 in the photo). If this doesn't seem outrageous enough, Cindy writes that her husband ordered 4 1-cup Pyrex bowls and they each arrived separately with this amount of packaging!

posted originally from: AT:Nursery

Soy Gel Paint, Varnish and Urethane Remover

2007_10_01_soy gel.jpg Au naturale stripper. If you're planning on adding some color to your nursery or kid's room - repainting some old furniture, for example - you might need to remove paint or varnish first. Traditional solvents carry a strong, lingering odor - strong enough that they're best used outdoors so the fumes can disperse. And don't even get us started on the the knee and back pain of using sandpaper or sanders. We spotted Soy Gel on the web and are waiting for a project to give it a try. Made from soy beans, it is nontoxic, biodegradable and nearly odor-free, making it safe for indoor use - great news for apartment dwellers without outdoor space. Because it's a gel, you can apply it to vertical spaces (fireplaces, furniture) and it stays in place instead of running off as a liquid would.

posted originally from: AT:Nursery