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Home Hacks: What Would You Like to Learn This Month?

Welcome to February, and a month of Home Hacks: Smart How Tos for Great Homes. We're going to be focusing on How To all month. What do you want to learn this month? What would you like to get done around the home, and how can we help?

We would love your input on tutorials and How To posts. When it comes to green and sustainable projects, and creating a happier, healthier home, is there anything you would like learn? Small or big, simple or complex, tell us here, and we'll do our best to give you great tutorials on those topics this month.

Green Style: Budget-Friendly Salvaged Workspace

Aaron at AT:Boston highlighted this super cool DIY workspace today made almost entirely of recycled materials, including wood salvaged from a demolished house. The workspace was built as an extension to the owner's home, and the combination of skylights, white walls and large windows overlooking the back garden helped to unify the interior space with the addition.

Inspiration: Salvage Montage by Catia Da Silva

We just came across designer Catia Da Silvia by way of a post over at Treehugger. Now we're smitten. Her collection of furniture&mdash"Salvage Montage: A Journey into a Discarded World"—makes us want to pick up a hammer and nail.

15 Repurposed, Upcycled, and DIY Storage Ideas

There's nothing we like better than seeing something creatively repurposed into something else—particularly if that 'something else' is storage-related. Here are some great ideas to get your creative juices flowing, including a drum shell turned into an ottoman and an old window shutter upcycled into a mail carrier…

Cucumbersome.com: DIY Crafts, Tutorials & More

Remember this great Athropologie inspired Ikea Hacked Bedside Table? Well it was one of our favorite transformations and we've been checking out the designer Britt McMaster's crafty blog Cucumbersome ever since. In light of our Home Hacks month, we'd thought we'd introduce you to the fun website and highlight a few of our favorite DIYs and tutorials.

Drawn from Clay by Atelier NL: Made with Local Farm Soil

This lovely ceramics collection by Dutch designers Atelier NL was recently awarded the Re:Vision Design Award by Modern Painters magazine. The hand-crafted collection is called "Drawn from Clay," and the unique feature of the collection is that each piece was made from a specific plot of soil taken from a variety of farms across a 460 square kilometer in the Noordoostpolder region of the Netherlands.

Product Review: Method Detergent with SmartClean
Test Lab

Name: Method Laundry Detergent in Peony Blossom
Price: $15 for 50 loads, $8 for 25
Rating: Recommend

I'm a sucker for greener packaging so when I saw Method's new super concentrated plant-based laundry detergent in a 50% recycled plastic bottle, I had to try it out. Last week I was fortunate enough to find the new Method in the hardware store and was immediately impressed by the small size and look of the bottle.

How To Make Your Own Finger Paint
Home Hacks

Yesterday we had friends over to watch "the game" and we invited them to bring their kids. Since we didn't expect the kids to be able to sit still during the whole game, we set up our dining room table with things to keep them busy, including these eco-friendly and easy-to-whip-up finger paints.

Keep the Air Clean For the Kids

By now we're all aware that pollution inside the home can be just as bad (if not worse, in some cases) as that outdoors. And we know it's important to improve the air quality for health benefits. But a recent study shows that there's another big reason to do just that.

How To Get Mildew Stains Out Of Linen?
Good Questions

Q: I'm using a linen shower curtain from Gaiam right now. It gets thoroughly wet, but doesn't leak and dries pretty quickly. Despite the "anti-mold" claims, mine did get mildew when I went too long (2 months) without washing it. Does anyone have any good recommendations for getting mildew stains out of linen? (It's natural colored, unbleached and undyed, so bleach is out even if I did want to use it.)

Sent by Rebecca

How To Make Your Own Bathroom Cleaners
Home Hacks

There are tons of "green" bathroom cleaners on the market, but most of the time it's cheaper and just as effective to make your own. Armed with a few simple non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients, you can keep your bathroom fresh and sparkling.

BaByliss Eco Hair Dryer Halves Power Consumption

The BaByliss Eco Hair Dryer was designed to meet the performance level of the average 2000Q hair dryer, but with just half the power consumption requirements. Supposedly the compact sized hair dryer improves upon efficiency by utilizing a more powerful airflow mechanism which pushes more warm air quickly with less energy loss.

Beyond Solar Power in California
Los Angeles Times

When it comes to finding a green way to power our homes, we rarely think beyond solar panels. For quite some time, although photovoltaics haven't been totally affordable, they've seemed like the only realistic option. But according to an article in the LA Times, residential wind power is steadily gaining in popularity.

"Earth Home" Renovation by Sustainable Design Group
Fritz Hubig

We're always delighted when Fritz Hubig of Green Realty DC sends us one if his innovative projects. Tonight he leads us into the fascinating home of the Regans, a Bethesda family who teamed up with the Sustainable Design Group to renovate their home using dirt found in their own backyard!

Greener Gadgets Competition Showcases Eco-Gizmos

It's that time of the year again. The annual Greener Gadgets conference has announced its nominees for their Greener Gadgets competition. There are 18 entries you can vote for, with the winners announced at the event on February 25th. We've selected our four favorite entries, which you can read about after the jump.

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