you can even dye your hair with it

From the brilliant Apartment Therapy's cool little sister Re-nest, here's 11 uses for coffee grounds post-press:

1. Mix with water or soap to make your own exfoliating scrub to wash away dead skin cells.

2. Used as a scrub on your lower half it's said to minimize the appearance of cellulite.

3. What works for your face will also work for your kitchen counters (it may stain grout however)

4. Mix coffee grounds with egg whites to make a mask for your face. Slather it on and let it dry then rinse it off with water.

5. Rinse your pets with coffee grounds to help keep fleas away.

6. Sprinkle coffee grounds near cracks to keep ants at bay.

7. An open glass of coffee grounds absorbs odors in your refrigerator or freezer.

8. Pour them into a single sock or nylon, knot it. Use it to clear out odors from sneakers, your closet or your car.

9. Use them to scrub your hands after cutting onions or cleaning fish.

10. Work coffee grounds into your hair after you wash it instead of your regular conditioner to make it soft and shiny.

book bite: wake up and smell the planet

We have to admit, we were a little reluctant at first. Here was a book from the purveyors of Grist, the environmental news site that is sometimes a bit too 'well-aren't-we-clever' for our taste. Happily, from page one (waking up) we were hooked all the way to bedtime.

Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day is just that - informative, useful, and - while humorous - easy to digest, and not laden with puns. Instead of being just another iteration on the 'change your lightbulbs' theme, we actually learned things from this book.

It feels like a warm and cozy friend, a book to pull off the shelf and reference for years to come. It's also one of the first books we'd actually re-gift to our eco-intimidated loved ones. Best of all, it actually answers that question: which IS better, paper or plastic?

will common sense prevail?

Some Markham city councillors are working on a plan that includes a more sustainable approach to growth in their region.

The idea is to preserve what existing agricultural land they have left by labelling it as 'food belt', which would be protected until at least 2031.

This would then help in turning the focus away from developing prime farmland to intensifying urban areas.

Build up, not out...just makes sense.

Read the article here.

bye bye, glade plug-ins

Those plug-in air fresheners may leave your living room smelling like Hawaiian Breeze, but did you know the chemical fragrances are actually highly toxic?

In the winter months, we work hard to save energy by keeping the heat in. But our efficiency efforts, combined with synthetic items like air fresheners, cleaning products, upholstered furniture, carpets, scented beauty products and scented candles, actually worsen the quality of our indoor air.

According to GreenNexxus, these synthetics "off-gas" – meaning they emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are all toxic.

It is estimated that indoor air is about five times more polluted than outdoor air - outdoor, city air that is! Because we're not about to throw open the windows for any extended period of time, here are some suggestions from GreenNexxus to breathe a little easier:

-Choose eco-friendly cleaning supplies that are less toxic than conventional products. Look for those with the EcoLogo certification so you don’t have to decipher labels. Better yet, switch to vinegar and baking soda for most of your cleaning needs.

-Ensure your stove top is properly vented (especially if you have a gas stove) and avoid cooking with Teflon coated pans since they emit toxic fumes when used at high temperatures.

-If you’re painting choose low VOC or zero-VOC paints. Home Depot, Home Hardware and Benjamin Moore all carry lines of these eco-friendly paints that make a newly painted room livable and much healthier.

-Avoid room fresheners, especially those that plug in. The chemical fragrances used in these are highly toxic.

-Buy fragrance-free beauty products and avoid all aerosols (you inhale all of those tiny spray particles).

-Choose soy or beeswax candles rather than regular candles, which are made from petroleum products. And go the unscented route since artificial fragrances are toxic in their own right.

-If you heat with a wood stove or wood insert ensure the chimney is properly cleaned annually.

-Incorporate house plants into your home decorating - they help to clean the air by absorbing toxins. Spider plants, philodendrons, mums, peace lilies, gerbera daisies and English ivy are some of the best. You need about one plant for every 100 square feet of living space in your home to really take advantage of the benefits.

Get more tips from GreenNexxus readers >

three things to do today

The problem: Each year, more than 1.5 billion disposable lighters end up in landfills or incinerators every year, according to Gillian Deacon's Green For Life. Lighter casings are made from petroleum-based plastic while the butane fluid is a petroleum product.

The solution: Use cardboard matches. They are made from recycled paper and decompose faster than lighters.


The problem: Around 9 billion ATM transactions occur each year in the U.S. and Canada, most of them spitting out receipts. That's a lot of unnecessary paper, considering after a quick look, it all inevitably gets balled up and pitched.

The solution: Instead, keep tabs over your transactions online. If 10,000 people decided to do that, together they'd save a roll of paper more than 460 metres long, according to The Ideal Bite, now part of Disney.


The problem: We know we need to reduce, but in our everyday lives the reality is that there are still things we need to buy, use and consume - which leaves us with leftover bits of food, old household items, and empty containers of all shapes and sizes all destined for landfill or resource-intensive recycling.

The solution: The brilliant team over at How Can I Recycle This? can show you what to do with squeezed toothpaste tubes, broken scissors, even those Ferrero Rocher boxes you got for Christmas (seed trays!).