Green Gifts Guide

Friends, family, hot chocolate--this is why they call it the most wonderful time of the year. Unfortunately, however, it can also be one of the most wasteful & expensive times of the year.

Making homemade gifts through upcycling instead can be a great way to make something cool out of old junk instead of buying something new. Here are some gift ideas that are unique, creative, and cheap too. Your loved ones will appreciate the thoughtfulness, and you might find that you enjoy the creative process!

1. Recycled Paper Baskets
Make something useful out of old newspapers, magazines, and even (clean) food packaging.

2. You could also try a recycled paper and cardboard photo frame

hipster child not included

3. Teacup Candles
Make something useful and pretty out of those matchless teacups at the thrift store.

4. Cassette Tape Flash Drive
For bonus points, you can put music on the flash drive--a new mix tape from your old mix tape.

5. Milk carton art supply bucket

click to see larger size

5. Make mittens from an old sweater

6. T-shirt Bracelets

7. Make a new camera strap from an old belt

8. Turn a plastic bottle into a cool hanging lamp

9. Make a wallet out of an old book cover or other scrap paper

10. Give the gift that keeps on giving all month with a homemade advent calendar

This one is made of a muffin tin

Or... for those who can't do... there's always Etsy.com! It's a great place to shop for handmade (often recycled) items and support an artist.

For more recycled arts and crafts ideas you can check out UpcycleThat and Instructables.

If you have other ideas, suggestions, tips, or examples, please send them to ssu_environmentaldepartment@soka.edu

DIY Deodorant Followup

I'm talking the talk and walking the walk, guys.

Back in January, I shared this recipe for making your own deodorant at home. ...And then TODAY this happened:

Empty deodorant container

So I decided that it was time for me to try out the recipe myself! You know, for science. I already had most of the ingredients for the second, simpler recipe, so that's what I did.

The Process

Ingredients: baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil (4:4:6).

 Why would this work? Baking soda removes odors. My roommate and I have been using it in our bathroom cleaning for over a year now. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer--and it smells good too.

STEP ONE
Mix baking soda and cornstarch.

STEP TWO
Add coconut oil. Stir thoroughly.

Looks like ice cream

STEP THREE

Put in containers

Ta-dah!!!!

I had enough left over to share:

Re-purposing old tins

The Result

It's much softer than what used to be in my deodorant roller--I could just as easily rub it on with my fingers--which might be different from what some of you were hoping for or expecting. I also suspect that in the summer it'll be prone to melting...

But it definitely seems to be working so far--I smell like coconuts! :)

And if you already buy deodorant without aluminum from Sprouts or Wholefoods, its a cost effective-solution. One deodorant roller from Sprouts can easily cost $7, which is about how much I paid for a biiiig jar of coconut oil at Ralph's. One jar of coconut oil = LOTS of deodorant. Moreover, making your own reduces the number of plastic rollers that you have to throw away when they're used up. I used my old roller to hold my new batch of deodorant. Last but not least, this gives you complete control over the ingredients. All of the ingredients are simple, non-toxic and (although you wouldn't want to eat them by the spoonful or all together) harmless if ingested.

I highly recommend trying it.

DIY Deodorant

Happy New Year, everyone!

To start the year off, here's another DIY eco project. Have fun!

If You Thought Plastic Bottles Were Always BadBadBad,

Think again!

Here's a great way to get twice the use out of your plastic bottles and keep some of your food fresher.

You're welcome.