What are your little secrets?
Printer-friendly versionThe thing about little things is that they can add up to be big things...does that make any sense? :? Anyway, what are the little secrets you use around your garden, greenhouse, or home to save time, money, energy, or anything else that makes you a little more efficient. Efficiency makes Mother Earth happy, right. So please share with us and with each other any little trick or suggestion you have for being a responsible steward of the Earth.
Great idea using both sides of paper, but once they're used, shred & add to your compost pile or garden. I have driven around office complexes (after hours) picking up bags of shredded paper that they throw out. Recycle it back to the ground.
The shredded paper is also ideal for a worm farm (worm composting) from what I have read. I was thinking of doing a worm farm and found a good web site on how to make your own home made one, but haven’t gotten around to it yet . Worms are great to fertilize and aerate the soil. I try not to use chemicals in my yard so as not to discourage or destroy the good bugs.
However, I have a plastic 4’ x 4 ’ compost bin, it snaps together like one of those fisher price play houses. You could almost mistake it for a pay house but it has no windows. Anyway, I went to a fishing bate store and purchase a container of red worms and dumped them in the bin in the spring. They are doing well and are fat and multiplying. They sure help to brake down the organic stuff that goes into the bin. Shredded paper would work in the bin too.
Josie
Not sure how secret this is, but I covered the floor of my greenhouse with bricks and they are holding the heat very well. Apparently, it is a cool way to keep heat in a greenhouse in the winter.
We go through a lot of paper here at the office. Fax cover sheets, misprinted documents, etc. Instead of throwing those things away like many people probably do, I save them and take notes on the backs of the pages. This gives the otherwise wasted paper a use, and I don't have to use a notebook to keep my notes. It's a win, win situation.Related to this would be trying simply using both sides of a sheet of paper whenever possible. It's a good practice to get into, and it will even save you money!
Drew,
After you use both sides of the paper and it is no longer a value to you.
Have you considered a worm bed? Regular red fishing type worms.
Earthworms eat paper, cardboard and such, transforming into enriched nutrient for the soil, perhaps you could find a place for a small Wormbed and put coffee grounds filter and all, banana peels, cuttings and trimmings from your plants, etc. and recycle all those things into great natural growing matierials.
Respectfully,
Pete
My work site has lots of waste disposable styrofoam cups. I crush them up some and use them to lighten large planters that I have to move into and out of entrances.
They also serve well for disposable paint mixing cups and watering. They stack and don't take up much room in my already cramped greenhouse workspace. I will probably use some for plant starting as well since otherwise they will be trashed, we have few recylcing options here.
We go through a lot of paper here at the office. Fax cover sheets, misprinted documents, etc. Instead of throwing those things away like many people probably do, I save them and take notes on the backs of the pages. This gives the otherwise wasted paper a use, and I don't have to use a notebook to keep my notes. It's a win, win situation.
Related to this would be trying simply using both sides of a sheet of paper whenever possible. It's a good practice to get into, and it will even save you money!