A while ago, we featured a craft created by one of our readers. It's called Plastic bag craft: Two crocheted tote bags. This craft is a perfect way to use up old plastic shopping bags as you crochet them into useful, cute totes. One of our readers, Linda Steger from Prince George, B.C., loved the idea of recycling plastic bags (that would otherwise sit in landfills for years and years) and turning them into something useful.

Here's her plastic bag story:
"It started when a friend of mine who lives in Mackenzie, B.C. told me about the pattern. I thought it sounded like a great idea and she mailed me a copy.

After I had made my first bag, I made a posted a sign asking my neighbours if they wanted to help me go green and donate plastic bags. Also, searching on CanadianLiving.com, I found another lady asking for a copy of the pattern.

That was the beginning. And since then, I have had requests from what I refer to as my Bag Ladies Network (or BLN) from all over the world. Some days I answer requests for a couple of hours! It takes me so long because I chat with them and find out where they are from.

I have had a great time meeting women from England, Australia, South Africa, India, all over the United States and many, many from Canada. They have all promised to send pictures of their finished projects, with which I'm planning to make a scrapbook.

As for me, I called the head office for Additionelle and their store's customer service department is saving me bags. Their sister store Penningtons also phones me with two or three large bags full of bags that they get from returns. These are my prized possessions since they are very heavy plastic and come in dark grey, royal blue and shiny black bags with red writing. I also save shiny white Liquor Control Board bags (too bad I don't drink more!), Zellers red is cool, but their customer service says the staff take the bags home and use them for garbage and poop bags (and then throw them in a landfill? GASP!)

I'm overflowing with all the bags and am sorting and cutting them.

That's my story, maybe it'll be more interesting once BLN starts sending me pictures and we all have a few bags under our belts!"

Interesting story indeed! What a great way to use up those old plastic bags.

Here's a couple of photos of some of Linda's bags

And here's an image of a tote made by a BLN lady in Laval, Quebec

I love these bags and am (slowly) trying to make one. Admittedly, I'm not much of a crafter, but my sister taught my to crochet so I can make this.

Have you made this craft?  Let us know! Send an e-mail with a photo of your bag and a brief blurb about yourself to forums@canadianliving.com and we'll post a photo of your bag in the Green Living blogs!

If you want to try to make a plastic bag tote, here's the pattern.

Also, contragtulations to Angela who gave us some great green cleaning tips. She wins a copy of the book Green This! Greening Your Cleaning, by Deirdre Imus. Check out her tips here. Angela, send me a private message at forums@canadianliving.com with your information so I can send you your new book!

Yesterday I joined folks from the Canadian Living, Homemakers and Outdoor Canada teams to plant trees in East Don Parklands in Toronto, Ontario. One of our colleagues is a key figure with the East Don Parkland Partners, an authority dedicated to preserving the meadows and wetlands along the East Don River in Willowdale area. This grassroots organization asked for our help, and we were all ready and willing.

It ended up being a beautiful day - the sun was relentless and we were sweating like mad. It's kind of funny going from seeing your coworkers sitting in their cubicles to watching them sweat like crazy while breaking ground with shovels. It was a great time had by all! Check out the pictures below and scroll down to read their captions:

Canadian Living magazine's Editor-in-Chief Susan Antonacci takes a break from planting with coworkers Chris Bond, associate art director, and Donna Paris, one of our senior editors.

Christine Picheca, our online food editor and author of The Foodie-File blog, digs a hole for a new tree.

Here's a completed section of newly planted trees in Toronto's East Don Parklands. This is just a small portion of what the team planted. I sure hope those poor trees get some rain this weekend!

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to make a comment here, on Tuesday’s blog post, to leave your best green cleaning tip. The person who shares the best green cleaning tip will win a copy of Green This! Greening Your Cleaning, by Deirdre Imus (I spoke about this book in a past post. Check out the book here). Simply leave a reply below! You have one week to leave you tip on this post, and I’ll announce the winner next Tuesday.

Read more:
• How to plant a tree

To all of those who live in and around the Greater Toronto Area should take a trip to Woodbridge this coming weekend to check out the 4th annual Green Home Show. The event will showcase the most innovative tools in home energy saving available today. The list includes solar, wind, green electricity, water, recyclables, and bed and bath products.

The show will be held this coming weekend, Saturday September 27 and Sunday September 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It takes place at Kortright at the Living City Campus at 9550 Pine Valley Drive in Woodbridge, Ontario. Admission for adults is $8, for student and seniors is $5 and kids under 15 get in for free.

The lucky attendees can get a tour of the Archetype Sustainable House (seen at the left) where they will be able to check out the latest energy devices in action – how cool is that? They're also welcome to participate in any of the seminars (visit www.kortright.org/ghs for info on the seminars) and are invited to take a hike on the Energy Trail where they will encounter wind turbines, grid connected photovoltaics and an energy self-sufficient cottage with a wood stove and a composting! There is also a kid's program that will educate your tots on all things energy related. Sounds like it's going to be an action-packed show!

For more information, visit www.kortright.org/ghs.

Also, don't forget to make a comment here, on Tuesday's blog post, to leave your best green cleaning tip. The person who shares the best green cleaning tip will win a copy of Green This! Greening Your Cleaning, by Deirdre Imus (I spoke about this book in a past post. Check out the book here). Simply leave a reply below! You have one week to leave you tip on this post, and I’ll announce the winner next Tuesday.

Well, today I've got more on green cleaning. The reason I'm so into it right now is because I allowed my house to get into such a state that all the cleaning had to be done at once. Apparently, houses don't clean themselves ... who knew? It was one of those moments where I couldn't stand it for another second. So, as a result, I've got cleaning on the brain.

The other week, my boyfriend and I had a standoff over cleaning the toilet. I broke down and he won. Usually I would never breakdown, but I was so excited to try out a cleaning tip that I had read on the Internet.

I poured about a cup of distilled white vinegar in the toilet bowl, gave it a scrub with the toilet brush and let it sit for about half an hour. I then added some baking soda, repeated the scrubbing process, let it sit for a little bit longer and then flushed the toilet. The result: Sparkling white! I'll never clean my toilet any other way.

Because I'm now so into cleaning, I thought I'd ask you for your green cleaning tips. Make a comment below and leave your best green cleaning tip. The person who shares the best green cleaning tip will win a copy of Green This! Greening Your Cleaning, by Deirdre Imus (I spoke about this book in a past post. Check out the book here). Simply leave a reply below! You have one week to leave you tip on this post, and I'll announce the winner next Tuesday.

I look forward to hearing your tips - and putting them into use!

Read more:
• Natural stain removers
• 45 things to do with salt
• 44 things to do with vinegar

Yesterday's Globe and Mail (I'm always playing catch up with my reading, by the way) ran an article describing how bad us Canadians are. The article, called Our problem with plastic, describes how Canada is far behind other countries when it comes to reducing our dependence on excess packaging. The author writes, " ... the pressure's on to minimize waste. But to win this battle, are consumers willing to live in a world without cellophane and coffee to go?"

According to the article, a national taskforce of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment are in the midst or coming up with a country-wide strategy to reduce packaging on consumer goods.

Though bans on fast food packaging and other measures are a great idea, the consumer needs to assume a level of responsibility. As the article points out, we consumers have to alter our dependence on convenient choices (coffee and bagel on the fly when we're running late for work) in order salvage the environment.

I'm not suggesting that we forgo our morning coffee if we don't have time to make it before we leave the house, but it doesn't take much to get in the habit of bringing your travel mug with you. Most coffee shops even give you a small discount if you bring your own mug ... big enough incentive, right?  Another thing that might help is refusing whatever packaging you don't need. Say no to the plastic bags your take out comes in and don't take 14 napkins if you only need one. Also, make sure you have cutlery stored at work, that way you don't have to use the plastic alternative.

One habit that I've had trouble breaking is using plastic wrap and ziploc bags. There, an embarrassing confession! But, I've stopped buying plastic wrap all together and I whenever I do use a ziploc bag that's foud its way into my house, I wash it out after each use and reuse it as much as possible.

What measures have you taken to reduce your plastic consumption? What's been the hardest habit you've had to break?

Read more:
• Plastic bag craft: Two crocheted totes
• Make your bathroom eco-friendly

In this day and age of the Internet we've gotten so used to having all sorts of information at our finger tips, or if it's not quite at our finger tips it's a mere click away. Is it because of this that we've forgotten our childhood friend, The Library? With Internet services abound, we can order any book at the drop of a hat.

Some people look at me stunned when I mention I have books on hold at the library, or are shocked to learn that they can order DVDs from their local branch. Don't they remember how convenient the library was why they were a child? Reaching in any direction, hands landing on a favourite Frog and Toad book or a new Curious George adventure. I want to shout from the rooftops that nothing has changed.

Instead of heading out to the big box bookstores every time you read a review of a book in the paper, or want a recipe from that new cookbook, just head to your local library. Enjoy searching through the stacks to locate your desired book (I guarantee you'll find many other gems along the way). If the library doesn't appear to have the book you're looking for, ask the librarian to search the database and put it on hold for you. Or, if you really don't want to leave your desk, browse your library's catalogue online. You can order a book, place holds and search the database from home, too.

Quick tip: Don't forget to check out the movie section at the library. They have great new releases, interesting documentaries and classic oldies. Plus, you can take them out for about a week for FREE!

So, do the world a favour! Save the odd tree and stop adding to your mountain of books. Your local used booksshop does not need another copy of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, trust me, and chances are they won't buy that latest diet trend book. Next time you want to check out a book, order it from the library. If you fall in love with it, then you can justify buying it.

Questions for you: Do you use your local library? Why? Why not? What's the best book you've ever read? What are you reading right now? Do you give away books after you read them? Or, do you have to own a copy of everything you've ever read?

Read more:
• Get your kids reading
• Encourage a love of reading

My partner and I are very active people so, admittedly, our shower gets lots of use. When I actually took a second to look at our tub the other day, I was appalled. It was stained with dirt, right where our feet go. It must be from all this summer trail running, which I've been abusing to the max. I decided yesterday, with great reluctance might I add, that it was time to get on bended knees and scrub that sucker until it shines like the Chrysler building.

Next step was selecting a cleaning product that would take on all that dirt. I made a mixture of water, vinegar, lemon and baking soda. Combined with a sponge and a little elbow grease, my tub was sparkling white in no time.

I found these products in my kitchen cupboard, they're super cheap, they didn't smell like they could kill someone and they cleaned my tub perfectly. Another green living success!!

Read more:
• Natural and cheap household cleaning products
• 44 things to do with vinigar
• 45 things to do with salt

I just read about Wild Dill on the blog Green Your Decor and thought I'd share the information with you. Wild Dill is an online store specializing in fair trade, sweatshop-free, natural and/or recycled product for your tots. They have really cute products - ranging from clothing to bedding to organic art kits.

My favourite item is the Roebuck Studio Chick Chair. It is made from local Baltic birch plywood, is painted with water based non-toxic paint and is complete with rounded edges for your child's safety.

I wish it came in a bigger size!

Read more:
• Raise your baby the eco-friendly way
• How to have a green baby
• Guide to organic and eco-friendly bedding

Today's Toronto Star ran an article (Green's carbon footprint) about the conundrums surrounding organic waste. Here in Toronto, we have a green bin program. Our green bins are meant for organic waste and are picked up from the curb once a week. It's a great program that has grown at a rapid pace (yearly, we toss 115,000 tonnes of organic waste into the green bin).

But because of this positive response from Toronto citizens, the program has begun to see some difficulties. Here are some of the problems: We use plastic bags to store the waste, so the green bin program contributes an obscenely large amount of bags to landfills. Also, because the program has grown so much and so quickly, our small organics processing facility cannot hold all the organic waste we produce. As a result, we've been transporting the spillover in diesel-burning trucks all the way to Quebec.

The City of Toronto website highlights how successful the project has been and how they're trying to implement organic waste options in multi-unit dwelling. There are currently 30 pilot projects under way. However, once buildings are able to separate organic waste from regular waste, our processing facility will be even more burdened than it already is.

It's no wonder this project is so overwhelmed - just look how much and how fast it's grown since its inception in 2002. I'm confident that Toronto will continue to work on ironing out all its kinks. Perhaps soon it will be mandatory to use biodegradable or paper bags on our green bins, just like they do in Durham and maybe the city will build more processing plants so we don't have to cart our waste to Quebec.

I can't wait to see what other incentives will be developed to help make our community greener

Read more:
• Canada's greenest communities
• How to start your own compost pile
• Guide to living greener

Something quite interesting came to my attention the other day. The InterContinental Toronto Yorkville (a downtown hotel) is featuring an EcoCab. They will be offering the service to their guests for trips in and around the downtown core. You can certainly be pedaled around Toronto in style in one of these babies.

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