My husband and I were looking for a hose holder for the side of our house and gave up when we saw that all the options in the hardware store were made of plastic and would therefore easily break. Maybe I should just go this route and use old wooden spools to hold the hose. It looks kind of cool, and hey: not plastic. [White Trash Beautiful]

I enjoyed this tutorial on turning a tree stump into a side table. Karen from The Art Of Doing Stuff took an ordinary stump:

and turned it into this kick-ass table:

In this very thorough tutorial, she goes over how to remove the tree bark with a hammer and crowbar, sand the wood down, attach the legs, and stain the table.

The result, much like this birch tree log table, is stylish for not much money. Which, as we know, is my favorite kind of style. [Design Sponge]

James Wilson made a homemade light box from an old flatbed scanner. You know, one of these things:

He uses the light box for viewing negatives and contact proof sheets.

In his own words, “It was a simple process; gut the scanner, hook up a light fixture inside it:

“…and paint the inside of the glass white. Total cost was around ten bucks for the light fixture, wiring, and paint.”

You could use this light box for other art projects, too. Old scanners like this often show up in thrift stores. [Lifehacker]

If, like me, you have lots of old files on hand, you can turn them into accordion files by following this tutorial on How To Make Your Own Accordion Files by Diane Gilleland on OregonLive.

“If you have some beat-up old file folders on hand, it’s simple to turn them into sturdy, fabric-covered accordion files to organize receipts, backup disks, and other important items. You can make them just the right size for your needs,” says the site.

I like the idea of turning extra files into something more useful, especially since you can adjust them to any size you want. [Craft]

I always wonder why polyester fabric doesn’t come up more in the conversation about oil. Polyester is made from oil.

I’m aware of how prevalent polyester is in our clothes because my mother is allergic to it. Every time we go shopping, we have to read the labels to find all-natural fabrics like cotton or linen. You would be shocked how much polyester is mixed in with the fabric.

So I was interested in finding the above video from “How It’s Made,” where a factory takes plastic water bottles and turns them into polyester. It reminded me of the discussion we had about the story of bottled water.

The video shows a way that plastic water bottles can be recycled into fabric–which is good–but it also shows how weird polyester really is. No wonder my mom is allergic!

Here’s a clever idea, “Clockpops” from REaction Gifts. They are made out of the lids of soda bottles and jar caps.

Even the “spokes are made from old bicycle wheels, fencing materials, or other scrap rods,” according to the site. A great and attractive way to recycle. [re-nest]

I like this idea from Design Sponge of taking an old calendar and making it into a gift bag. I always wonder what to do with those calendars at the end of the year.

The tutorial uses a board and tacks to make the bottom of the bag. While that will help the bag last longer, I wonder if cardboard and glue would get the same effect with less work.

Either way, this is some great recycling.

The Story of Stuff people did The Story of Bottled Water. I knew about the economic problems with drinking bottled water–paying 2000 times for something you can get for almost free in your kitchen–and of course I have talked about the environmental impact of plastic before. But this video does a good job of putting everything together, especially in showing how we came to be consumers of bottled water in the first place. According to the above video, soda companies became concerned about the sales of sodas leveling off, so they started trying to sell water to people. Consumers weren’t buying the idea for awhile, so the companies started scaring people with ad campaigns suggesting that tap water isn’t safe. And yet over one-third of the bottled water we buy comes from that very same tap. Pretty nervy stuff!

While I don’t use bottled water at home, I used to stop in a store and buy a bottle if I wanted water while I was out. A couple of years ago, however, I switched from bottled water to a reusable bottle that we got as swag at a conference. I fill the bottle up every time I go on a hike or wine tasting or any other activity that requires extra water. Over time, I must have saved myself from buying hundreds of bottles of water this way. It’s amazing what a little change in habit can do.

I am one of those people who are picky about the taste of tap water. I like the tap water in my current house, but have lived in places where I didn’t like the taste before, and it was a struggle to force myself to drink it anyway. A water filter helped, as did adding flavor to the water. Even to this day, I commonly used lemon slices, cucumber slices, or the stems from my mint or basil plants to give the water a lift and help distract from traces of minerals and chlorine. It makes a big difference.

What are your water drinking habits?

I am just twisted enough to enjoy these rugs made from recycled teddy bears by artist Augustina Woodgate. She uses discarded teddy bears to make these rather attractive looking rugs.

Not bad! [Re-Nest]

Here’s a tutorial to make an Infinity Scarf from two old sweaters. This is a great example of recycling, especially since you get something that is trendy at the end. And it doesn’t look hard to do, either. [Recycled Crafts]