Welcome to The Budget Ecoist, where we help you go green on a budget. Check out our tips for recycling and reusing everyday items, our reviews of eco-friendly products, and share your tips in our green forum.
Category: Recycle and Reuse
Pencils Made from Newspaper: Recycle This
October 8, 2008
We've found the perfect writing utensil to use with our tree-free journals -- the tree-free pencil! O'Bon calls itself the home of the "world's greenest pencil," and although we don't have the ability to examine every pencil company in the world, we're really liking their products. Instead of the bland, yellow-ish pencils, they have multi-colored pencils with different designs. The graphite itself can also come in different colors. The best...How to Recycle Paper: Green Video
October 7, 2008
If you're looking for a fun and eco-friendly project, why don't you learn how to recycle paper? It's not as hard as it sounds -- you'll need a a mortar and pestle (or another way to mash up shredded paper and water), water, a frame, a sieve, plastic sheets, and thumbtacks. You can send off your paper to be recycled in factories, but what's the fun in that? This way, you'll feel as if you're more directly contributing to the effort to save the...Irreplaceable Parts: Recycle This
October 5, 2008
Our friends at Treehugger recently presented us with a conundrum. How can you go green when your home is filled with items that cannot be repaired/cleaned/re-fashioned? This particular story centered on an outdoor gazebo bought at a big box store that was in need of a new fabric canopy. After two years of use (only two years! that’s like, only 24 backyard luau’s!) it was dead. After searching relentlessly for a solution (affordable and...Old Keys: Recycle This
September 30, 2008
Keys are metal too, but since they're so small and all, we usually overlook them. Our keys to long-demolished cars and old apartments still sit in the corners of our junk drawers, gathering dust. We're experts on recycling cans and electronics, but something as simple as a key? We're surprised we didn't think of it earlier. When, we came across Keys for Kindness while surfing the Web for new ways to recycle, an imaginary energy-saving lightbulb...Domino Coasters: Green Video
September 23, 2008
We all have board games that are missing pieces. If you have an unplayable domino set, don't throw away the plastic pieces into the trash. Instead, watch this video and learn how to create a coaster out of them. All you need is scissors, a hot glue gun, the dominoes, and felt. Your tabletops will thank you, and so will the environment. Just make sure to put them out when your guests arrive so they'll ooh and ahh all over them.Bubble Calendar: Recycle This
September 19, 2008
What with this interweb thing sweeping the nation, we've been doing a lot of looking at other options for our underutilized mailroom supplies. And as we start taking in the last days of 2008 (What? You’re not panicked about the holidays holidays yet?) we’re thinking these Bubble Calendars are a genius combo of a super cool funky way of ringing in the New Year as well as a useful home for former shipping materials.The Bubble Calendar is a...
Pantyhose & Stockings: Recycle This
September 16, 2008
We know all about recycling our plastic bottles, metal cans, batteries, CDs, and much more, but there are more synthetic products where those came from! Pantyhose, made out of not-so-natural nylon, rips and wears down easily, and most of us toss them in the trash and buy more cheap ones. The most eco-conscious among us have been guilty of this, and we'll admit it. Good thing greenlivingtips.com has come up with ways to re-use them around the...Recycled Bike Clock: Go Green
September 15, 2008
In this digital age, regular old circular clocks have all but disappeared from American homes. Just like with handmade envelopes, Etsy has helped resurrect the past. This handmade, upcycled clock seems to have come from an industrial age, what with its hard metallic edges. It seems mean and spunky, but it's actually made from a bicycle chain ring, a hanger, and a textile sample. This clock doesn't have numbers, making knowing the time not as...FedEx Envelope as Lunch Bag: Recycle This
September 12, 2008
The innovative bloggers on Make have wowed us just as we were re-committing to taking our lunch to work. Who says you have to carry an aluminum lunch box (unless your construction environment requires it) or kill multiple forests with paper lunch bags? This young lady made her boyfriend a re-usable lunch bag out of a Tyvek Fed Ex envelope. She disassembled the envelope and sewed up the sides (also so glue wouldn’t touch food) and packed her...Recycled, Handmade Envelopes: Go Green
September 3, 2008
We mourn the loss of the handwritten letter when when we open our mailbox eagerly every day, only to see bills and advertisements. That's why we cooed over these recycled envelopes ($10) when we came across them on Etsy. These clever creations come in handy when you're sending out a thank you note, a greeting card, or a short letter. Alternatively, you can purchase them as a gift for a stationery-lover. The packet comes with 24 handmade...Tree Free Journals: Recycle This
September 2, 2008
Even though most of us journal, email, and do everything else on a computer screen these days instead of paper; there is still something special about taking out your beautifully bound notebook and quill and going to literary town. Sadly, some trees died for our right to write and that makes us a little less enthusiastic as we sit down to outline our musings. And we love trees! Unfortunately, no matter how good it might feel, it’s just not the...The Poop: Recycle This
August 29, 2008
There’s been a lot of talk about the dangers of plastic and dog poop lately, but most pet owners may not realize they are contributing to an environmental situation that is more wide-spread than a power-line destroying art installation.Just leaving the dog pooh behind after your walk around the block is not acceptable, and sometimes illegal. Rather than go to jail for tacky behavior, (most) dog owners scoop that poop with zillions of plastic...
Go Green with Throwplace.com
August 28, 2008
Throwplace.com touts itself as the Internet's landfill alternative, which is a big claim. We think they're qualified to make it though -- this free service allows you to donate your old appliances, furniture, computers, clothes, shoes, magazines and lots more. Based on the preference of the donor, the goods are divided into four categories: U.S. charities, international charities, business, and up for grabs. Instead of leaving them in the...Bartering: Recycle This
August 22, 2008
Like the days of yore, people are jumping on the bartering bandwagon to save money, resources and ultimately our fine planet. Whether you’re going big or looking to unload your iPod speakers in lieu of recycling them (and hoping to pick up a pair of Wolf Parade tickets in the process) Craigslist is the way to go. Just want to find a happy home for your IKEA shelves? There’s a Freecycle near you.On a much larger scale, Green Apple Barter...
Leftover Paper: Recycle This
August 19, 2008
Be the envy of your friends at the party, and deliver your gift with presentation! Don't let fancy stores have all the fun packing your gift for you; you can do it yourself with minimal effort and recyclable materials from around the house.
This past weekend, we were preparing for a party. We had purchased the bride-to-be some natural products to soothe her tired tootsies; now all we had left to do was put the gift together.
Leftover box...
Yafa Pens: Recycle This
August 15, 2008
Sometimes the little things get overlooked in your daily recycling sort. Plastic bottles? Check. Coffee lids? Eh, maybe. While we would all love to be uber-green and create our own textile piles from unraveled sweater threads, the reality is some things get left behind. Like say, your used up Bic. And while you can take your plastic ballpoint pens apart and recycle every last bit (here’s how), you may want to preemptively buy pens that are Continue reading
Key Holder: Recycle This
August 8, 2008
How many of us have fallen prey to organizational thingy-bobs, use them for a while, and then become, well, unorganized again? We're thinking specifically about those little hooked key holders you nail to the wall next to your front or back door. They're supposed to make it convenient for you to walk into the house, hang up your keys, and then Ta Da! No more scurrying about the house, searching for keys when you're already ten minutes late....
Houston, We Have a Problem: Recycle This….Now!
August 5, 2008
This week The New York Times reported that out of the thirty largest cities in the U.S., Houston is the lamest (our term, not the NYT’s) when it comes to recycling. They recycle only 2.6% of their total waste compared to New York City, which recycles 34%, and San Francisco, which recycles a whopping 69% of their total waste.
The mayor of Houston cites the independent spirit of Texans as a big problem in getting people to separate their trash,...
Eyeglasses: Recycle This
August 1, 2008
It's been two years...time to get your vision checked again. Afterall, we don't want to let those peepers view the world through less-than-stellar glasses (and there are some cute new glasses you've had your, um, eye on).
You might be tempted to keep that old pair of glasses but most likely you won't be using them (and if your prescription changes, it's not a good idea to go between glasses).
So put them to use! (Someone else's use)...
Mosaic Recycled Placemat: Go Green
July 23, 2008
There are some things that are just awkward to recycle. Water bottles, easy. Pizza boxes, not so much. Some city recycling rules don’t allow items that have held food, others do. Lucky for those of us who are easily confused, some innovative designers are making use of some of those borderline waste products.
CB2 is exclusively selling this mosaic recycled placemat made from shredded juice boxes and milk cartons. Isn’t it fab? The mats are...
