Living la Vida DIY
Do-It-Yourselfers Save Money, Energy and Resources
A guide to online resources that offer information on how to make everything from home-made cosmetics to your own solar-powered home.
Part of living a green lifestyle is learning how to do more with less, or learning how to make things yourself, instead of driving out to a store and paying for something someone else -- possibly on the other side of the world -- made. Adopting DIY (do-it-yourself) habits helps save money, energy and resources while reducing waste. It also gives you a sense of empowerment: you really can do a lot more for yourself than you might have thought.
So, with that in mind, consider bookmarking and regularly checking out some of these online resources that can help you learn more about how to do and make the things you need ... all by yourself:
BuildItSolar.com (http://builditsolar.com/). Whether you're looking to build solar-powered toys for your kids, a simple pool heater, a solar cooker, your own wind-powered electrical generator or a home hydopower system, this is a great site to start with. More than just a reference tool for solar projects, BuildItSolar.com provides step-by-step guides, project ideas, article links, references and more for all things renewable and sustainable.
DIY Network (http://www.diynetwork.com/). The online companion to the DIY Television Network, this Website offers project videos, message boards and ideas for projects in a wide range of areas, including jewelry-making, home-made paper, butterfly gardens, organic gardening and home remodeling. It also provides users a way to share photos and videos of their own projects with others online.
DoItYourself.com (http://www.doityourself.com/). DoItYourself.com bills itself as "the leading independent home improvement and home repair website." The 12-year-old resource features articles, project ideas and tips for everything from organic gardening, composting and pest control to craft ideas, soap-making, recycling and home-canning.
Kitchen, Crafts & More (http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net/). Whatever the recipe or make-it-yourself guide you're looking for, this site will probably have it. Kitchen, Crafts & More offers information on everything from home-made cosmetics, aromatherapy, baking soda uses, bread recipes and bubble-bath recipes to home-based business ideas, household cleaning recipes, grocery-shopping on a budget and uses for vinegar.
Make-Stuff (http://www.make-stuff.com/). Not all of the content here is free, but non-subscribers can still find a wealth of how-tos and recipes for things like baker's clay, home-made soap, paper mache and paints for kids. If you want access to all the information at Make-Stuff, you can pay for an online subscription for $1 per month.
Pioneer Thinking (http://pioneerthinking.com/). This neat site delivers a potpourri of recipes, guides and how-tos, with information on everything from making essential oils and managing dust allergies to tips for soap-making, home-brewing, making your own preserves and wedding planning. Pioneer Thinking also offers an assortment of discussion boards, and the site's content can be translated into numerous languages, including French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
