12/10/13

Many DIY winter bird-feeding projects involve taking a piece of bread -- like a stale bagel -- and coating it in peanut butter and bird seed to hang from a tree. Top bird experts agree that this practice should be avoided because the bread offers few nutrients to birds; they need fat to survive, not carbohydrates. If you want to help, you can still coat natural peanut butter and seed all over a pinecone and hang that from a tree; it’ll provide valuable nutrition without carbo-loading our feathered friends.

12/9/13

Ever wonder what to do with old business cards? Paint both sides with chalkboard paint. Allow the cards to dry, then punch a hole at the top and run a piece of string through it. Voila! You have instant chalkboard gift tags to use year-round. It’s practically free to do, too! But if you have lots of printed business cards, remember this simple fact: You can recycle them with waste paper, too.

12/8/13

Sure, you could recycle your old wine cork collection into a wreath, bathmat or handy kitchen trivet, but if you aren’t crafty or don't have the time, you can also recycle them for free. Whole Foods Markets have partnered with Cork ReHarvest to collect real corks in all of its stores. Simply drop your collection of wine corks into the box, and it'll handle the rest: Old corks are ground up and made into new products like recycled flooring tiles. With more than 13 billion wine corks made every year, it’s important to save and recycle your corks to help cut down on waste. To learn more, visit corkforest.org.