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Transform Books Into Decor, Art, Projects, and More With the fall season beginning in just a few days, it is time to plan for seasonal activities and events!  Trips to pumpkin patches and haunted houses are always fun, but some days, it is just as enticing to curl up at home with a good book.   For voracious readers, with stacks of novels at home, it may be a good time to comb through bookshelves and decide if any books are no longer needed.  Instead of throwing unused and unwanted books away, books can be "upcycled" and/ or re-purposed in creative, and green, ways.  Learn some methods for "recycling" books here: 1. Donate books to a new home : A great way to "recycle" old books is to donate them!  Many organizations, like non profit organizations/ charities, accept gently used books.  In addition, local libraries often accept book donations.  In the Montgomery County Public Library system, many branches accept book donations.  Learn more abo...

Litter Can Lead to Severe Repercussions  As discussed in a previous GreenLiving blog post , littering is an opponent of a green lifestyle.  Litter can harm or injure plants and animals and destroy animal habitats.  But how long does litter last when improperly disposed at the beach or in the local park?   Below are five examples of common pieces litter found outdoors and the amount of time it takes these items to fully decompose: 1) Aluminum cans: Aluminum cans take up to 200 years to fully decompose when left outside.  Cans, and other aluminum products, are often recyclable materials and can be re-purposed and reused.   2) Batteries: Batteries take up to 100 years to decompose if improperly disposed.  Though some batteries cannot be recycled, others can- remember to always do research to learn how to best dispose of batteries . 3) Plastic bags: Plastic Bags, and other plastic products, can take between 10 and 1000 years to fully decompose on land or i...

Crafts and Projects the Whole Family Will Enjoy Love living a green life but struggling to encourage friends and/ or family members to do the same?  Try to find greenliving crafts, events, and activities that everyone will enjoy! Many items that cannot be traditionally recycled can be "upcycled", a term that means reused, through fun, creative, DIY crafts and projects.  Family members of any age can find DIY projects that reuse household items and, simultaneously, promote a green lifestyle. Have a bunch of old crayons lying around the house?  Learn about three craft ideas that can turn old crayons into creative, new ideas: 1) Create a melted crayon painting : This unique craft idea (featured right) turns old crayons into the perfect piece of art for gifts and/ or decor.  To make this type of painting, all that is needed is a canvas, crayons, glue, and a hairdryer.  Glue old crayons to the canvas and wait a few hours until totally dried.  Then run a hairdrye...

Reuse and "Upcycle" These Common, Household Materials Using tape, glue, scissors, and a few other craft supplies, you can easily turn the following materials into decor, art projects, and other items, such as...  1) Books and Magazines :  Turn book and/ or magazine pages into wall decor, gift tags, magnets, and/ or even jewelry.  Use the bindings of books and magazines, or stack the books on top of one another, to create shelves, jewelry boxes, shadow boxes, and other small containers. 2) Boxes : Decorating old boxes, such as a shoe box or a shipping box, can create: ottomans, decorative storage containers, shelf organizers, and more. 3) Bottles and Cans : Turn bottles and cans into planters, pencil/ utensil holders, self-watering plant vases, bird feeders, and more. 4) Newspapers : Tearing newspapers into strips can create the material needed to be threaded into baskets, picture frames, and trash cans. 5) Milk Cartons : Old milk cartons and jugs can be washed and then ma...