4/22/12

Flimsy plastic clothes hangers from the store can be upcycled into useful snack food closures in one easy step. The next time you go shopping and you come home with pants hangers -- usually with two clips holding your pants snugly in place -- pop off the clips, and use them to keep pantry staples fresh. Roll down a bag of cereal or chips, and clip it closed. Of course it's best to leave hangers at the store to be reused, but for the strays that make it home, this is great way to upcycle them.

4/21/12

Polystyrene packing peanuts are a lot of people's pet peeves, but they can come in handy when planting container gardens outdoors. Use packing peanuts to lighten the weight of heavy plant pots by layering them inside the pot and sprinkling soil on top. It will make transporting the pots easier and will help with water drainage to keep the plants healthy and happy. And, as always, any leftover peanuts can be donated to pack-and-ship stores to be reused.

4/20/12

If you use chlorine bleach to keep your whites whiter and disinfectd, be sure to use the exact amount listed on the bottle. While using a little extra bleach here and there may sound like an easy way to make sure your clothes are superclean, using extra bleach actually breaks down your washing machine faster over time. Chlorine bleach speeds up the deterioration of the plastic seal around and inside the washing machine, which, over time, makes the machine ineffective.