From Aquarium to Terrarium

As I've mentioned before, I am fairly new to the world of apartments.  I'm honestly not a huge fan of living in such close quarters to people however I have found a hidden gem in my apartment complex - THE DUMPSTER! 

The other day my man friend and I were heading out for a walk - dropping of the garbage on the way.  Little did I know I would find a handful of goodies waiting for me.  All for FREE - Amazing! We came back to our apartment with a basic stool, a large mirror, a really ugly chandelier, a hutch and a fish tank. Each piece is ready and waiting for me to transform it into something amazing. 

I've started working on a few of the pieces but my first finished product is my fish tank.  We started out with just a regular rectangular fish tank... nothing special, a little dirty even.  As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I'd seen so many fancy terrariums on Pinterest and I knew it wouldn't be a problem for us to make our own. So after a couple of good spray downs, a rinse or two and a trip to Home Depot I left the tank in my man friends hands.

He was able to hide all of the seams using thin pieces of wood, creating a wooden frame and making it look amazing. Then we had to pick the plants for our terrarium - and I really wanted to use only succulents. I've been madly in love with succulents since my second year of university when one of my friends told me that if I took a piece of her Jade Tree and put it in water that it would grow.  I do not have a green thumb so I didn't fully believe her - I had to see it for myself.  In true university fashion, I grew my Jade clipping in a shot glass for quite some time.  Over the years it grew to be giant - with my mother bringing it back to life several times after I left it on the brink of death. Sadly, it grew to be a little too heavy for its own good, tipped over and snapped off its main branch and it never recovered. So I thought I might try again.

We ended up going to a nearby greenhouse which specializes in succulents called 'Jade Gardens' and pulled together a lovely group of plants. To the bottom of the tank we added a layer small river rocks which we purchased from a garden centre and then a layer of activated charcoal from the pet store in the fish tank section. This allows the plants to drain properly and helps improve air quality.  From what I have read the charcoal is especially important if your terrarium is going to have a lid - allowing the terrarium to act as its own ecosystem.  On top of that we added cactus soil rather than top soil - it is more conducive to growing succulents and cacti - and then of course the plants. Our original plan was to make this an enclosed terrarium but some of the plants that we picked were rather tall so instead we chose to leave the top open.

Here is the finished product - What do you think?

Let There Be Light

My next upcycling project for my apartment was our lamps. Since I met him my boyfriend had always had these terrible looking lamps in his bedroom. The stand was tarnished gold and for some reason the shade always made me think of the inside of a genies lamp. Worst of all they were covered in dust that never seemed to disappear. 

Needless to say, there was no way I was going to have these lamps in my new appt looking like that. So I decided to transform them. 

We bought a can of black spray paint and sprayed the bases and I went out and bought new lamp shades. The bases turned out to be amazing - the black really brought out all of the intricate detail (a feature that I hated before, but is now one of my favourite things about the lamps). 

Ideally I would have loved to cover the old metal frame of the lamp shade with some sort of inexpensive material like burlap however the existing frames were in pretty rough shape so I decided against it. 

Here is the finished product! 

In the end I think we spent approximately $35 to complete both lamps (would have been much less if I could have salvaged the shade frames) and they look great! Who could ask for anything more. 

Upcycling My Apartment

For some time now I have been obsessed with the idea of upcycling - Taking something used or something that could be considered waste and turning it into something fantastic!  For me the most fascinating type of upcycling is anything involving skids - possibly due to my past in retail. Skids are just so versatile - tables, deck chairs, planters, you name it… you can do it.  I must admit Pinterest has only fed the fire, giving me more and more ideas for projects that I have no time to complete or no where to put. 

Luckily I recently moved out of my parents house and into my own apartment! I am now a grown up. Even more fortunate… I have a man friend who is handy with tools.  When we moved in we had very little furniture for our living room - we spent a few weeks with out a couch… repainted a terribly ugly bookshelf… inherited a TV stand and we are currently using another TV stand as a side table. The one piece I knew that I wanted my man friend to make was a coffee table out of… you guessed it… skids. So he worked his butt off and pulled together this amazing table!  

I love it! From what I am told our coffee table cost about $25 - essentially the cost of the stain and varnish.  Way better than the majority of coffee tables we saw while we were couch shopping with a similar style costing over $150. 

Not only was the table cheap … it is also something that is unique to our apartment - something that no one else has (those of you that know me know that that is probably my favourite part). 

Next, I'm hoping that eventually we can find time to pull together some side tables to match. 

Green Beaver Beauty

I'm finally back at it... and as promised I wanted to let you all know the natural beauty products I use!

Green Beaver is my FAVOURITE natural beauty brand. Their products have never disappointed me, they are not uber expensive, AND they are Canadian! I'm so proud. Green Beaver products are made of 100% natural ingredients, all organic, gluten free and vegan. Most importantly... THEY WORK!

I first fell in love with Green Beaver's "Daily Facial Cleanser for sensitive and acne prone skin" after trying some on a trip I took with one of my friends.  My skin felt super clean and smooth after I used it so I went out and bought my own as soon as I could. It's made with grapefruit enzymes, which gets rid of excess oil and smells delish, and aloe vera, which is gentle on skin and helps to reduce redness. The thing that makes me the happiest is that you don't have to use much which means that one tube lasts a very long time. This cleanser is by far my favourite natural beauty product that I've come across so far.

And then came Christmas! My parents gave me a collection of Green Beaver products -  tooth paste, boreal body lotion, and boreal hand balm.  I will admit that the toothpaste is not my favourite but I am super picky about my natural toothpastes.  The body lotions and balm on the other hand are awesome.  They leave your skin a little bit tingly (i think they have eucalyptus in them) and the only way I can describe how they smell is "like a forest" which is oddly appealing. 

Even better are my latest purchases - green beaver's fresh mint hand soap and fresh mint body wash. I have a bit of an obsession with body products with mint in them. It is  one of my favourite smells. Once again these two products make your skin tingle, they always smell delicious and they leave you feeling clean - which is the most important thing!! Next, I am hoping to try Green Beavers shampoo and conditioner - I have high hopes! 

Moral of the story... if you are thinking about switching your beauty products, Green Beaver is an excellent place to start!

Happy Recycling!

Now I know that I promised to let you in on all of my natural beauty secrets in my next post but as an 'enviro-nerd' with a slight obsession with waste, I wanted to let you in on some not so secret changes to Halton`s recycling program!

As most of you know, not all products that have a recycling symbol on them can be recycled in all regions.  For example, Halton cannot recycle Styrofoam but Hamilton can.  This can make recycling super tricky... and can lead to some frustration when trying to understand what should and shouldn't get tossed in the blue bin. To make your life a little bit easy, most regions provide brochures with their pickup calendars clearly showing what can be recycled, what can go in the green bin and special pick up days for items like Christmas tree pickups. They are also available online.  Here is Halton's...

A few months back, I was reading the Halton waste management newsletter and I was super excited to see that Halton was adding several new items to their list of recyclables (and there are some good ones) starting in April. I was so excited about it that in true enviro-nerd form I tweeted about it! But now it's time...

Starting today Halton can recycle:

• Plastic Clam Shell Containers - I bet that many of you didn't know that all of those containers that you buy berries in from the grocery store couldn't be recycled until now (and they still can't in many regions). 

• Single Serve Yogurt Containers - This is a big one.  Especially if you have kids. Now you can pop those yogurt containers right in the blue bin instead of tossing them in the garbage! 

• Coffee Lids - This one really excites me!  Too many times I have forgotten my coffee mug, felt bad about using a disposable cup, then redeemed myself slightly by putting the cup in the green bin only to feel bad again about throwing out the lid. Finally my emotional roller coaster has come to an end!

•  Plastic Take-Out Containers - Not as ideal as bringing your own container, but at least you can feel a little less guilty about taking it to go. 

• Other Items - Plastic Plant trays and pots just in time for spring, empty paint cans and cardboard cans from things like frozen juice and cinnamon buns. Plus all of the items you could recycle before.  

I'm proud that Halton's waste program is moving forward, trying to make recycling a little more all encompassing (and a little more simple) while expanding the lifespan of Halton's landfill.  Keep these new guidelines in mind as you fill up your bin and if you don't live in Halton go online to find out what products your region accepts.

HAPPY RECYCLING!

The Cost of Beauty

Over the past 20+ years of my life I have exercised my right as a women to own an impressive amount of beauty products.  From shampoos and body lotions to mascara and foundation, I'm sure that I have multiples of them all.  So over the past year I have been attempting to whittle away at my overwhelming collection. 

Not only was my goal to get rid of some of the clutter my collection caused, but also to start switching over to more environmentally friendly products.  The logic behind this - Curb my product addiction (reduce my consumption), align my behaviour with my beliefs and most importantly buy products that are better for my body.

For the longest time I didn't realize how much CRAP was in the stuff I put on my skin.  It's a little scary really.  Chemicals that cause cancer, reduce fertility and cause birth defects etc etc have no business being in my beauty products.

Many companies are beginning to replace some of these chemicals but their products may still be far from clean... Other companies are boasting that their products are free of this thing or that in an effort to get you to buy by making you think that they are better than their competitors.  Some of these things can be as simple as sodium chloride - which is table salt - others are things that have been banned from all products.  Sneaky... I know. So be careful.

Here are some of the resources that I have used to navigate the natural beauty world and avoid these attempts at 'greenwashing':

• Skin Deep Database (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/) 

This database was created by the environmental working group. Based on the information that they have gathered they give each product a score, as well as a breakdown of the ingredients in the product and their health and environmental implications. I find this website very helpful if I am looking to buy a new product and don't know the brand etc.  Definitely worth checking out. 

• Ecoholic Body' by Adria Vasil 

I just bought this book and even without reading the whole thing I have found it very helpful.  The book discussing everything from makeup to clothing - everything that touches your body. She talks about the toxins that are in traditional products and companies that have changed their products. She also rates different products in each beauty and suggests homemade recipes for things like shampoo (baking soda and water - I tried it... and to my surprise it worked).

Next post I will let you know how my beauty product cleanse is going and which new products that I love!

Hey! I Wanted to Eat That!

Those of you who know me well, know that I hate to waste food.  Especially restaurant food.  Whether its the handful of fries that everyone tells me "you can't heat up," the left over veggies that didn't get eaten or the toast that I never touch at breakfast, I always have the urge to get them 'to-go' (even if they weren't on my plate). Add in the fact that I rarely ever finish a full restaurant meal, so I almost always get a second meal out of it). I'm not sure if it's that I paid for the food so I am definitely going to get my money's worth or if it's that I know that it's going straight into the garbage and directly to the landfill.

Either way... in my mind food waste = money waste.  Check out this video that I created for my ecopreneurship class!

Plus... there is just so much you can do with left overs. Cut up the fries, toss them in the frying pan to crisp up, add veggies and an egg and Voila... Breakfast! Add a chicken breast to left over pasta and you have another meal.  The possibilities are endless so why not take advantage of them.

Here is my issue though... The containers. I really don't need a giant-sized Styrofoam or plastic take out container that for a little bit of food.  And to make matters worse... We can't even recycle these in Halton so when I get home I have to throw the container in the garbage anyways.  For me it turns into a toss up.  Do I waste the food (and the money) or do I waste the container?

In most cases, my desire to get another meal out of my purchase wins, so to combat this I have, on many occasions, brought a container with me. Now even though my purse is ginormous so that I can hold my water bottles and coffee mugs, toting a large container around on top of all that can be quite a pain! So instead I have been on the hunt for an alternative.

In my research, I've seen many people keep ziplocks in their bags, but because using less ziplocks this year is my resolution... I'm choosing to avoid that one. I could keep on of my lunchskin bags in my purse, but most meals would either end up smushed or result in food being spread throughout the inside of my purse. Not ideal! 

I recently came across an article on the We Hate To Waste web site called 'The Future of Doggie Bags' (http://www.wehatetowaste.com/doggie-bags/) and I found the solution to all of my food problems... Collapsible Silicone Containers! You know, like the collapsible strainers etc. Toss it in my purse before heading out to eat and it won't take up a ton of space and then pop it open and fill it with food before I leave.  It seems like the perfect solution!

I haven't purchased anything yet - I was trying to look for them at some of my local shops downtown but came up dry. So now I just have to find the right brand and order it online. I'm excited! Has anyone seen these around, or have them at home? Any other ideas to deal with your leftovers?