Are you thinking about doing a home makeover and you are on a budget.  With a little ingenuity, you can use and add these recycle and reuse home décor ideas to your place and go from drab to fab without going deep into your pockets. Here are eight ways to spruce your home up.

Use Old Spoons and Forks as Cabinet Handles

Tired of those lousy cabinet handles that doesn’t add value to the beauty of your kitchen? Get a little creative with your old spoons and forks. Affix them on the cabinet or drawers to replace those wooden or brass handles.

Use Old China or Cups as Curtain Holders

Spruce up your window treatment by recycling old china or cups for original curtain holders. Make sure that you cut out the bottom part to create a sassy curtain holder. You can kick things up a notch by painting the cups with colors and patterns of your choice.

Use Old Suit Cases as Nightstands or Night-Tables

Take advantage of the classy allure of old suit cases. Stand a bunch of them to create a sizzling nightstand. They’ll  add a touch of sass, style, and flare to your bedroom. And, yes; you can still store some of your valuables in them.

Handmade Candle Holder from an Old Soup Serving Spoon

Nail or glue your old soup serving spoon onto a piece of painted wood. Whether hung indoors or outdoors, the handmade candle holder will sizzle up the interior look.

Recycled Sari Fabric Shower Curtain

A sari is one of the ancient forms of dress still in existent; its characteristic colors and intricate patterns make it stand out from other fabric dresses. Sew up several saris to come up with flamboyant yet colorful sari shower curtain. You’ll always get enchanted by the colors when you take a shower.

Decorative Bowl made out of Recycled Record

It might not be the heydays of vinyl anymore, but records can add some substances to the overall feel and look of your home décor. They can be turned into stepped or smooth decorative bowls.

T-Shirt Rug

Don’t throw away all those fancy tees you don’t wear anymore. These t-shirts can be cut and braided into a lovely rug. The tee colors will certainly provide the rug with an array of patterns.

Use Spoons as Key Hangers

Fold the spoon (or fork) beautiful and fix it on the wall to be used as key or hat hangers. You can also spray paint the metallic part with a color of your choice. There you have it! Now get started today and begin making your house a home with these simple small changes.

Many people are still trying to comprehend how Hurricane Harvey bore down on Houston, bringing with it billions of cubic meters of rain water and destruction on a sinfully large scale. As the death toll continues to add up, we can’t help but notice that Harvey was truly a peculiar hurricane. It intensified quite rapidly, lingered over a single area, and dumped record rains for several days.

Which begs the question: did global warming revved up the intensity of hurricane Harvey? A clique of bespoke scientists seems to think so. And here’s why they are dead right on the spot:

The Question of Wind Intensity before Landfall

Here’s the thing you need to know right from the outset: hurricanes typically dwindle in intensity as they approach the land. That’s purely historical and scientific. You see, evaporation is what fuels hurricanes, implying that the wet, hot ocean air is their rich source. That’s why they tend to lose power and virility as they approach the shore. Surprisingly, Harvey’s speed built up quickly in the last 24 hours to landfall. That alone is a sure-fire sign of the effect of global warming.

According to Professor Kerry at MIT, the potential for wind speeds to soar intensifies in warm temperatures. Borrowing a leaf from Kerry's Statement, we can say that Harvey swelled up because the air on its path was more heated than usual, implying global warming. Startling, right?

A storm that can add more than 60 knots to its speed in the 24 hours prior to landfall was unheard of. In fact, its frequency was estimated at once every century back in the 1900s. According to Kerry, however, we can expect these hurricane mammoths every decade or so by the turn of the century if global warming continues at its current rate. With Harvey having hit that threshold, it should be a huge wake-up call to the world.

The Question of the Volume of Rain

Harvey dumped more than record 50 inches of rainfall within a few days, something Texas has never experienced in its history. Most scientists are now in agreement that Harvey could only have been driven by global warming to pack enough moisture to deliver such tremendous volumes of water. As the planet continues to warm, heat buildup on the surface of the ocean enables the storm to sweep more moisture. And since the air within the storm, too, is warmer, its capability to hold more precipitation also increases.  No matter how you look at it, all signs point towards global warming as the primary culprit for Harvey’s ferocity.

People cannot move towards a sustainable life and a sustainable future until they have the knowledge and understanding of certain ‘important’ aspects of sustainable living. The responsibility of providing people with the knowledge and understanding of these ‘important’ values falls on each one of us. Here are principles that we can educate others about:

Sustainable education is all about making people realize that without considering and involving every person that lives on this planet, we cannot achieve a sustainable future.

We must therefore work in partnership with one another to make sure that the systems we live by are owned by both young and old alike, and that they are feasible not only for this generation, but for all generations that follow. This is what sustainable living is all about.

Holidays generate a lot of anticipation and involve a lot of decorating, meals, and energy use. As such, people tend to get so caught up in the festivities that they forget to be sustainable. Don’t get me wrong, holidays are amazing but there is life afterwards that can get pretty tough if you don’t find ways to save money during the holiday season. Responsible holiday shopping is as much fun with the added advantage of ensuring that you will continue living comfortably afterwards without feeling as if you lost all the money during this season. To exercise wisdom for this holiday season, here are five sustainable ways to save money while still enjoying the festive season:

Stay within a Budget

Budget both your money and time. After all, the earlier you shop for presents, decorations and other items necessary for the holiday season, the better the bargains and this can help you save some money. On the other hand, budgeting will help you see just how much you can spend. You can then go analyze your budget and cut the unnecessary expenditures to save even more. A budget is must to create long term saving solutions in the home.

Reuse and Repurpose

This is not only environmentally friendly but also saves money. For example you can use previous cards to cut out gift tags. You can also use old newspapers to wrap gifts, but decorate them in a creative way first. Other things that can be repurposed include old wine bottles as vases or lighting fixtures, glasses as candle holders and newspaper snowflakes to act as decorations. Reusing decorations and accessories that are still in good condition is also a sustainable way to save money.

Send e-cards

Know how to save some money and still be creative? Send e-cards. With e-cards, you can still catch up with family regardless of where they are. Show your creativity by creating personalized e-cards and save on postage money. E-cards are cheap and effective compared to physical cards.

Save Energy

Be sure and use solar power or switch to LED bulbs to save on energy. Be sure to buy string lights that do not use up as much energy in order to save power. The lesser amounts of energy you use during this holiday season will definitely lower your electric bill.

Choose Meaning over Glitz

The holiday seasons tend to emphasize the glitz in today’s world and can also highlight consumerism over meaning. Ensure your family knows that family, purpose and tradition always trumps the glitz and materialism. Cherish gestures and family as opposed to valuing expensive gifts. You will therefore gift more thoughtful and personalized items. Inexpensive gifts can mean a lot more with the added sustainable benefit of saving money!

The fact that organic sections are a feature in almost every supermarket, groceries, drug stores, and markets makes for a debate as to the advantages of organic foods and products. Chances are whenever you pick up an organic food or product, you are convinced that it has a better chance of improving your health. What about weight loss? Can organic solutions really help you lose weight? Going organic can actually increase your chance to lose weight. For you to lose weight, you need to practice healthy living which means you have to eat healthy nutritious foods. This is because organic foods contain better nutrients such as antioxidants and vitamins to match the calories.

While nonorganic foods especially fruits may seem bigger and hence more appealing, they have more calories than healthy nutrients as the nutritional value does not increase with the increase in size. Therefore, though you may be tempted to just focus on portion size on your weight loss, remember that what you eat counts just as much as, if not more than how much you eat. Besides, organic foods do not contain synthetic pesticides, chemicals, growth hormones and genetic engineering among other undesirables and hence aside from being nutritionally dense, they do not cause addiction cravings that lead you to eat more as over processed foods do. No more creeping to the fridge to satisfy a craving in the middle of the night then feeling guilty about it. Here are the three hottest solutions to losing weight:

These three organic foods are linked to weight loss. Vegetables and fruits are not only filling but are high in nutrients while low on calories. As such they are perfect addition to anyone looking to lose weight. Herbs and spices such as cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger and turmeric not only add natural flavor to the food but also aid in helping you stick to a healthy diet not to mention also being superbly efficient in boosting metabolism and aiding in fat burning. These three organic super foods when combined are a source of nutrients, vitamins and fiber without added sugars, chemicals and sodium.

Antioxidants have many powerful functions such as balancing the body’s metabolism and increasing fat burning. Natural organic foods and beverages are rich in antioxidants. As such to facilitate weight loss, drink green tea and bone broth. The former is rich in antioxidants while the latter has lysine as well an agent that aids fat burning.

Adding protein to your diet is a great way to lose weight as its digestion process burns calories and boosts overall body metabolism. Protein also makes you full and less prone to high appetite and cravings. Choose organic protein such as organically sourced meat, fish and poultry, fresh beans, peas, eggs, and milk. Avoid processed meats and dairy as well as canned foods for a healthier outcome.

Have you been spending way too much on hair products, but still have not seen the desired results? Did you know that there are natural ways to get lustrous hair that won’t hurt your pocket or hair as these expensive products do? Homemade organic products that create lustrous hair do so because they are organic, and nourish the hair roots and scalps allowing healthy growth and shine to your hair without weighing it down with chemicals. Organic homemade product gives the hair much needed nutrients sourced from the individual natural ingredients that make up the final mixture or product. Here are homemade organic products sourced from your pantry that will create that lustrous hair that you crave.

Egg Treatment

Eggs are rich in protein and have vitamins and fat that helps condition and heal dry and brittle hair. You can use this treatment easily whisking up half a cup of egg and using the resulting mixture to coat clean damp hair. Leave the egg mixture for 20 minutes before rinsing it out with cold water. You will notice a world of difference!

Honey Conditioner

Do you have tough dry hair? No need to worry for your pantry holds a solution. Honey is a great homemade organic conditioner that closes the cuticles and adds softness and shine to your hair. Use the honey conditioner by simply applying three tablespoons of honey to your hair and leaving it on for half an hour before rinsing it out. You can also add a bit of olive oil or even plain yogurt.

Avocado Hair Mask

Avocados are great and healthy and hence make a great ingredient for a homemade organic hair mask. They contain monounsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamin E and the mask is powerful enough to strengthen dry, thin hair and stimulate growth. Mash the avocado and apply it to clean damp hair, cover with a plastic cap and let it sit for an hour before rinsing thoroughly and washing and shampooing normally.

Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Hair Rinse

These two products are great in restoring shine to dry and dull hair.  Lemon closes the scalp’s pores and removes excess oil from the hair making it bouncier and healthier. Use a lemon water mix in the lemon-water ratio 1:2. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) on the other hand is an excellent guard against dandruff and itchy scalps and also removes excess oil and is hence a great homemade organic hair rinsing product for shiny, bouncy, and clean hair. Apply organic ACV mixed with equal parts warm water, to your hair wait thirty minutes then rinse thoroughly.

Oil Hair Serums for Growth

Rather than spend large sums of money purchasing expensive hair serums, raid your pantry for oils and also, add some more organic ones to help in hair growth. Coconut oil is an excellent conditioner, organic extra virgin hair a natural moisturizer while oils such as castor oil, lavender essential oil, jojoba oil, rosemary oil and almond oil strengthen the hair, increase its shine and nourish it with every use. Try these tips at home and watch your hair grow as nature would have intended.

Global warming is real despite the many ways people try to ignore the gravity of the situation. The truth is, climate change is an issue that is affecting the USA and should be addressed much better than it has been in the past. For instance, did you now that not all Americans will suffer equally in the face of climate change? Some states may see benefits, others mild effects and yet others great effects of climate change will manifest in the years to come. Therefore we all need to realize exactly how each region might be affected by the climate change reality. These tragic after effects should spur people to be on the frontlines in the fight for the earth’s environment. 

According to researchers, climate change will in the coming years increase the frequency with which we experience extreme weather all around the world. Based on these studies researchers have identified which areas are likely to bear the brunt with the U.S.’s Southeast and Midwest areas identified as the areas where the results of this climate change could be most disastrous. Here are the five states in the United States that will be affected the most due to either position or lack of preparation:

The state which is one of the most exposed states when it comes to extreme heat, wildfire and drought has not done much in way of preparation for climate change. It has been awarded a grade F regarding preparedness which shows that its climate change policies, emergency management plans and vulnerability assessments are very poor.

This southern state is at risk from wildfire, heat waves, drought and coastal flooding and also has a poor rating for its preparedness meaning that it has no plans and policies that mitigate climate change risks.

Facing the climate change risk of inland flooding, drought and wildfires, this state has also done very little in way of planning for these future risks that could affect thousands of its inhabitants. The risks coupled with poor preparations, make Arkansas one of the states that will likely be affected the most by climate change.

Faced by the looming risks of drought, inland flooding and wildfires, which are predicted to get even worse with the passage of years, this state has poor preparedness adding it to the states at risk of disastrous effect of climate change.

This state has a glowing red target on its back for climate change. However, it has plans in place to mitigate current threats and hence, needs to explore plans that will make it better prepared for future climate change threats. A particular serious threat for Florida is coastal flooding with as many as three million already living in its coastal flood zone experiencing flooding due to the globalwarming crisis now, and that number is expected to get higher.

Every state needs to prepare and be ready to tackle the number one global crisis of our time. The planet and the next generation future is on the line. We all must act.