apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Posts By rachelw

ShowerMinder

01-07-2009showerminder1.jpgI’ll admit it – my weak spot is taking long showers. I can’t figure out how to take a shorter one, except that I do tend to zone out during my morning showers… That’s why I think a new device, the ShowerMinder, shows promise to help people like me. Rather than restricting water flow like some other devices, the ShowerMinder intends to change user behavior through traffic light-like LEDs to time your shower and let you know when time is up.

4 Ways to Reuse Your Old Calendar

01-06-09calendar.jpgI’m not a big calendar person, but when I do get them, I usually really love them for their design and get sad when December is over. Yesterday Stephanie posted about how to make a planner out of scrap paper. But what do you with your newly out of date calendar? Check below the jump for some ideas of how to repurpose your calendar…

Radius Toothbrush: Now in Flax and Recycled Currency

01-05-2009radius.jpgWhen I was younger one of my favorite Christmas gifts was a Radius toothbrush. I loved the big handle and ergonomic design - they even make separate designs for right handed people and lefties. Over the years they’ve rolled out variations on their design, and now their most recent, the Source Toothbrush, which was already being made of tree cellulose, is now offered in two additional environmentally friendly options - flax and recycled currency.

December: Most Popular How Tos and Tips
Best of 2008

01-01-2009DecHowTo.jpg'Tis the season for great green tips, December was all about the holidays -- how to make gorgeous paper snowflakes, ornaments, and creative wrapping ideas!

Jump below for the the best how tos and tips from December...

Lighting
Best of 2008

12-31-2008TopLighting.jpgIt’s been quite the year for lighting – whether it was clearing up misconceptions about CFLs, advances in LED lights, alternatively powered lights, or creatively upcycled light fixtures – there’s been a lot to get excited about. We’re looking forward to upcoming advances in lighting technology, and look out for some new LED reviews in the New Year.

Jump below for our favorite lighting posts of 2008 ...

August: Most Popular Posts
Best of 2008

June: Most Popular How Tos and Tips
Best of 2008

12-27-2008JuneHowTo.jpgJune was full of great green tips - some focusing on improving your home with greener cleaning supplies and fixing the grout in your bathroom, while others focused on the outdoors such as how to stay cool with out A/C and how to save your local bees.

Jump below for the the best how tos and tips from June...

Most Popular Green Tours
Best of 2008

12-25-2008TopHouseTour.jpgHouse tours are one of our most popular features for you readers, and I’m no exception – I can’t get enough of them. We’ve toured apartments, historic renovations, vacation homes, high-tech, practical, modern and traditional – all very different but green in their own way. I can’t decide on my favorite, so I’ve listed the top 10 most popular green house tours of the year, and rounded up the rest for your viewing pleasure.


12-18-bestlogo08.jpg1. Handmade House in Williamsburg

2. Anne's Sunny Renovation

3. A Barn Inspired Wisconsin Retreat

4. Michelle Kaufmann's Very Own Glidehouse

Jump below for the rest of the list...

February: Most Popular Posts
Best of 2008

Fun Font Gift Wrapping

12-19-2008wrap1.jpgTaking a page – literally – from Stephanie and Trent’s 9 Days of Gift Wrapping, Bugs and Fishes has a great idea for recycling various papers to use as large font name tags. We love the look of it, and will be using this idea for our gifts – click below the jump to find out more.

How To: Make a Magazine Christmas Tree

12-18-2008magazinetree.jpgSomehow we missed this activity when we were kids, but this magazine Christmas tree is a great looking and super easy idea! We all like things made from magazines so check out the instructions below the jump.

5 Gifts that Keep Giving Beyond the Holidays
Un-Gift Guide 2008

12-16-2008gift.jpgAmongst all the recent worldly turbulence, I’ve somehow found myself very satisfied with my life, possessions and day-to-day activities. Perhaps it’s just seeing life from a different perspective, but most of my friends and family feel the same way. So we’ve decided to do gift giving differently this year. Some require no money whatsoever, and all of them are more about quality, not quantity. Click below for a few things were’re looking at that will last beyond the holidays.

Sustainable Gingerbread Houses
New York Times 12.11.2008

12-15-2008ginger1.jpg>Last week the New York Times featured a cute article about a green inspired gingerbread houses. We love this second place winner – it’s so different from the traditional gingerbread house and it kind of reminds us of a gingerbread version of the Low Impact Woodland Home. Click below the jump to see one of the other contest entries – with a wind turbine and all!

Architectural Artifacts Holiday Show

12-12-2008santa.jpg


This weekend one of our favorite salvage shops, Architectural Artifacts, is having their annual Holiday Show – this means lots of handcrafted goods from local artists and designers. Did I mention that everything in the store is at least 50% off?

One Day Poem Pavilion by Jiyeon Song
A Solar Projector

12-11-2008overallpoem.jpgMaster of Design candidate, Jiyeon Song, has created this amazing interactive pavilion out little more than perforated panels. The specific arrangements of the perforations reveal different shadow-poems according to the solar calendar: a theme of new-life during the summer solstice, a reflection on the passing of time at the period of the winter solstice.
12-11-2008poem_by_time.jpg