Rolling Papers.

No, not that kind! How practical and pretty are these paper bowls from Cuiora? Made from spiraled bands of waterproof recycled paper, these cute containers comes in lots of colors and stripes. Buy a blue one for your oranges and a pink one for your bananas. Also makes a nice accent and catchall for an entryway.

Paper Toss for Uncle Sam.

Last night, I spent a good two hours going through all of my random papers and folders in hopes of squeezing in a bit more organization while tracking down all of my tax season paperwork. I was successful in locating what I needed for TurboTax, but I found Container Store to have a simple and relatively helpful list to follow when it comes to figuring out what documents and records to toss and what is in your best interest to keep. If you are still in doubt, contact the IRS for more assistance! Recycle away!

Documents to Keep Permanently:

• Annual tax returns
• Year-end summaries from financial service companies
• Stock and bond certificates
• Deeds of property and ownership, auto titles, insurance policies
• Home improvement records
• Health records, wills and powers of attorney
• Birth certificates, adoption and custody records, death certificates

Documents to Keep Temporarily:

• Paycheck stubs until reconciled with W-2 or 1099 forms
• Phone and utility bills for one year (or seven years if business-related)
• Monthly bank and credit card statements for one year
• Monthly mortgage statements for one year
• Brokerage or mutual fund statements until they’ve been reconciled at year end
• Year end statements from credit card companies for seven years
• W-2 and 1099 forms for seven years
• Cancelled checks and receipts for all tax-deductible expenses for seven years

Discard Or Shred:

• ATM, bank-deposit slips and credit card receipts after cleared on a statement
• Non-tax deductible receipts for minor purchases
• Old magazines and articles not read within the past six months
• Receipts, instructions and warranties for items you no longer own (or warranties that have expired)

Clunkers for New Chairs.

From now until February 2010, popular chair manufacturer, Emeco, will offer a 50 percent discount on any chair and stool in its online catalog to anyone sending in an old, clunker aluminum chair. Emeco will collect the unwanted chairs and send them to its recycling plant in Baltimore, Maryland, where the discarded aluminum will then be repurposed into future products for the Emeco line. Its easy to do too! Tell Emeco by email about the clunker chair or stool you want to trade up and soon you will be on your way to a new seat or two. Nothing like recycling!

As Emeco states, “We make chairs. That’s what we do. Handmade from 80% recycled Aluminum. It’s not easy. In fact it takes 77 steps to get there. Designed to last for 150 years. Now that’s what we call sustainability.”

Coke Infused… Upholstery?

Ever wonder what some people do with used Coke bottles? You might very well be sitting on this 100% green fabric yarns (Diet Coke perhaps?). Kravet Fabrics is using these recycled yarns for weaving their gorgeous fabrics. Thank you Paula Grace for the information on this recycling this fizzy container.

Before...

The Kravet Green Collection is made of 100% recycled polyester. The polyester is a unique blend of post-industrial and post-consumer fibers woven and finished with water based products and environmentally approved dyes.

... After

Personal Space… Delivered.

Today I learned about YardPods through blogger Home Design Finds. Sonoma Mountain Village, only one of five One Planet Communities in the world is being created entirely out of zero-carbon YardPods.

Sonoma Village

These YardPods are instant prefabricated sheds that can be configured to meet almost any need – backyard yoga retreat, workshop, artist studio, potting shed, or other desired interior space. Costs range from $2,000 to $20,000 and will afford you a personalized recyclable steel space with finish options that include FSC woods, recycled metals, bamboo and cork flooring, recycled cotton fiber insulation, cool roof or long-lasting standing seam metal roofing, efficient windows and doors, and Hardywood siding.

Recycling the Odds & Ends.

For a while there we were all concerned about recycling the old furniture, the old rubber tires, taking from fast-growing bamboo and melting down metals and glass for new table tops. But what about those things we never imagined we could incorporate into new design? We chuck these odds and ends away, toss them in the trash without second thought. Someone is way ahead the unexpected… Point Click Home shows us that when common objects become an inspiration, there is always the next modern muse.

Bench from Bike Parts | By Nic Rodex

Pendant made with toothpicks | by Diasuke Hiraiwa

Plastic Hanger Chandelier | by Etsy

Desk made of scraps | by Chris Rucker

Textile Scraps create a Chair | by Camilla Halvorsen

Pleated Paper Makes a Chair | by Nendo