DIY Gardening Ideas for Spring

7 Simple DIY Garden Projects

If you want to achieve a beautiful garden this spring but aren’t sure how don’t worry! At Waste Solutions 123 we’ve made a list of 10 simple DIY gardening projects you can do this spring! Take a look at the list below and get started on creating a lush garden.

Create a Garden Walkway

Create an elaborate garden this spring by laying down a walkway or path. If you have the space, you may want to consider laying down stone or brick to create a functional walking area that will be surrounded by your favorite flowers. Laying down a pathway will unify the different areas in your garden and yard.

DIY Garden Sculptures

DIY Garden sculptures can range from your child’s school projects to an intricate statue. Get creative with this DIY idea, you can show off your personality with your choice of sculpture. Take a look around your home for inspiration, get some potted plants and paint them your favorite colors, spray words on and stack them for a cute DIY garden sculpture that shows off your design skills.

Make Your Own Outside Benches

There are a ton of tutorials on how to make your own outside bench that you can find on YouTube or Pinterest. Some may be harder than others and would be better left to more experienced DIYer’s. Benches are a must when planting a garden, especially if you have a large backyard.

Paint Some Plant Markers

Plant markers are as functional as they are simple, you can finish this DIY project in just a few hours or less. Grab some stones, shells, bricks, or any other surface that will hold up. Write the names of the plants and veggies you’ve planted in your garden with a colorful paint marker that will show easily.

Build an Outdoor Plant Stand

If you have limited space due to living an an urban environment but still want to have a garden of your own, don’t worry! You can still achieve a garden of your own by building an outdoor plant stand, plant stands are great for tight spaces and provide many of the same functions as a normal garden. You can even recycle some materials you may have, such as an old ladder or various size wooden crates to complete this DIY project.

Vertical Flower Beds

Pallets have a ton of uses in the DIY world, especially in gardening. Take a pallet and turn it into a vertical flower bed that you can display on a wall or something that can also support the pallet. Vertical flower beds are a great way to add some rustic flair to your garden.

Homemade Porch Swing

A porch swing is a great addition to any home, and making it yourself will be even more rewarding! Sit back and enjoy the view of your garden by building your own with this tutorial how to make a porch swing.

We hope you found these DIY ideas helpful when creating the perfect garden this spring! Remember if you’re doing a little landscaping project of your own and have a ton of yard waste, call us at Waste Solutions 123 for a yard waste dumpster rental! Call us today for a free quote and get started on your backyard project!

Making Moving Easier

Tips for Moving into Your New Home

Moving into a new home is an exciting time for anyone, but it can also be equally as stressful. At Waste Solutions 123, we often get orders from new home owners who are starting to move into their first home, along the way we’ve learned a few tips on what to do when moving into your new home.

Don’t Buy Everything at Once

Try to keep in mind while moving into your new home, that you do not need to buy everything at once. Don’t go crazy buying decorations, throw blankets, pillows etc. until you see what goes together. Decorating should be a fun part of moving in so take your time doing it! Remember good things come from planning and not rushing through, while you may want to have everything ready the minute you get the keys, take a step back. Make a list of things you want and what you need, then choose items based off their design, does the couch match your decor, is this wall color going to go with your furniture? Take your time, you’ll be glad you do!

Do a Deep Cleaning

One of the most important tips for moving into your new home, is to clean the entire house before moving any furniture in. Once you’ve moved in it’ll be hard to clean and disinfect around all of your furniture and things. You should always do a deep clean when moving into a home, you don’t want to be living with someone else’s dirt and germs. Check air vents, wipe down the windows and light fixtures, disinfect the appliances and bathrooms, and consider deep cleaning any carpets that you may have.

Take Photos Before

Taking some pictures of your home before your stuff is in there is a good idea if you are planning to rent. It may be difficult to remember how things were before you took over, these photos can also be used as proof if you need to prove something to your landlord. If you aren’t renting you can still take pictures to have something to look back on, having a little before and after of your first home is something you may want to make a memory of.

Keep Your Fridge Stocked

When moving into a new home, you’re most likely going to be getting some help. Whether you have family or friends helping bring boxes in, people delivering furniture, or even workers doing some renovations, it’s always nice to have some water and drinks handy. No one will expect to be fed, but it’s nice to offer some pizza or cold drinks in exchange for their help.

Keep Clothes in Drawers

Boxing up clothes and items can get confusing, we suggest labeling each box with what’s inside and where they should go. It can turn into a huge headache opening every box to see what’s inside and then moving it to the proper room. You can easily avoid this problem by keeping your clothing in the dresser drawers while moving, cutting down on some packing and unpacking. For clothes that are hanging on hangers, don’t even take them off, throw them right into a box and label it accordingly. No one wants to waste time sorting through boxes of old sweaters when they’re so many more important things to do.

Take time to enjoy this milestone in your life and get excited about your new home! Don’t let the stress of moving get to you, take your time and take these tips into consideration when moving into your new home. Remember when moving in and out you may find yourself with some old junk you want to get rid of, or your new home may even have some things left over you want to toss before getting in there. If you find you need a dumpster rental, call us at Waste Solutions 123 for an affordable dumpster! Call us today for a free quote and get started moving into your new home!

Reduce Your Plastic Use

7 Ways You Can Reduce Your Plastic Use

Celebrate Earth day this year by making a commitment to reduce your plastic use! Take a look around your house, you probably have some plastic water bottles, grocery bags, and other products that you use on a daily basis that are made from plastic. It may seem difficult to change your habits and cut back on your use of plastic without disrupting your daily routine, however that’s not the case!

Here are 7 ways you can reduce your plastic usage without affecting your lifestyle:

Buy in Bulk

Manufacturers use a ton of plastic when packaging their products, which means every time you purchase something the chances are it’s going to come wrapped in some form of plastic. While you obviously can’t stop buying groceries, you can still avoid buying plastic wrapped items. Buying in bulk is a great option when buying things like toilet paper, if you’re buying in bulk you’d be using less plastic than you would buying individual rolls or smaller packs.

Glass > Plastic

When you’re home and you want some water or any other kind of drink, reach for a glass cup rather than a plastic one. Glass can easily be recycled, some municipal recycling centers will only process certain types of plastics, always choose a glass bottle or cup when you have the choice.

Don’t Buy Cheap Razors

You may not want to spend the money on a more expensive razor, but buying tons of disposable razors that can only be used once or twice is not exactly eco-friendly. Instead, buy a razor with a replaceable blade, you may have to spend a little more upfront, but it’s worth it to cut back on your overall plastic use.

Store Your Food Wisely

Think about how you pack your food when you’re taking lunch to work, or even how you store leftovers after dinner. You might not realize how much plastic you’re wasting by just packing up food. If you’re one of the many who use Ziploc bags, saran wrap, and plastic containers to store your food, don’t worry, you won’t have to completely change your routine to achieve a more plastic free lifestyle. Store your lunch and leftovers in washable glass containers, they’re not just eco-friendly, but are safer for you when reheating your food.

Make Your Own Juice

Juice is great for your body, fruit juices are full of nutrients and vitamins your body needs, however the plastic bottles juices come in are not good for the environment. Next time you’re doing some food shopping, buy some fresh fruits and veggies and skip over the processed juices. Use the fresh produce to make your own juices, saving some plastic and also cutting down on artificial flavoring and a ton of sugar!

Avoid Plastic Utensils

It might be hard to not use plastic utensils when eating lunch at school or work, but try to fight the urge so you don’t create more plastic waste. If you order take out from a restaurant, tell them they don’t need to include the plastic utensils when delivering your food. Making these small changes may not seem effective but in the end it does help!

Reusable Shopping Bags

If you go shopping a lot, whether for food or products you’re wasting a ton of plastic. Rather than taking the bags from the stores to get your stuff home, bring your own reusable shopping bags. You can find reusable shopping bags almost anywhere at a very low cost, it may seem like a hassle to make the switch, but the amount of plastic you’re cutting back on is worth it!

By using these tips in your daily routine you can significantly cut down on your plastic usage without making any drastic changes to your lifestyle! We hope you found this post helpful and can start cutting back this Earth Day! Remember if you have a ton of waste that you need to dispose of properly, call us at Waste Solutions 123 for a quality dumpster rental!

10 Things You Can Do This Earth Day

10 Things to Do this Earth Day & Every Day

April 22nd is Earth Day, an annual event on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate the support of environmental protection. The issue of environmental protection has increased drastically within the last decade, every day we must try to focus on making decisions that help rather than harm our environment. While earth day encourages people to go out and do some good for the planet, we hope these tips will carry on through out the year.

Slow the Flow

A leaking faucet can waste over 1,300 gallons of water per year, a leak from a hot water source wastes water and fossil fuel, which creates more greenhouse gasses. Most repairs to plumbing issues will pay for themselves within the first year, so it’s better to address the situation before it gets worse.

When You Clean Think Green

Cleaning products that contain chlorine or petroleum distillates can expose your family to toxins, which then end up in our ecosystem. Choose products that are nontoxic, and natural, keeping both your family and the environment safe from chemical harm.

Use Both Sides

Each year, pulp mills release over one trillion gallons of tainted water while making paper, rather than wasting paper use both sides! Choose recycled paper, especially processed chlorine free paper.

Maintain Your Machine

Americans waste over 700 million gallons of gasoline yearly just from poorly inflated tires. Million of gallons are wasted daily because their cars are not properly tuned up. By keeping your car running and well maintained, you’ll help reduce emissions.

Dinner Minus Meat

While you may not be a vegetarian or love your greens, trying to have a meat alternative for dinner is a great way to reduce meat consumption, which can help conserve fresh water, save topsoil, and reduce air pollution. Enjoy some pasta with alfredo or marinara sauce, meatless veggie tacos, or even veggie burgers are a great way to get a healthy dinner in while staying green.

Use Your Bike

Whether you walk, run, roller blade, or bike, by occasionally riding a bike for a small errand rather than driving your car, you can save over 70 million gallons of fuel each year! You also get the added benefit of enjoying the fresh air and getting some exercise.

Get to Gardening

In 50 years, a tree generally makes $31,250.00 worth of oxygen, provides nearly $62,000.00 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500.00 worth of water, and controls $31,250.00 worth of soil erosion. Not only that but it provides shades that keep our homes and cities cooler! This year try planting a tree in your neighborhood or property and help our environment benefit from all it can give.

Handle the Weeds by Hand

Rather than spraying herbicides all over your weeds, get a pair of gloves and gardening tools and remove them yourself! Herbicides may help when you want to keep your garden weed free, but they are most definitely not environmentally friendly in any way. You should also use natural alternatives to pesticides for getting rid of unwanted pests in your garden.

Lighten Your Energy Bill

Use compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs rather than regular bulbs, CLFs last nearly ten times longer and only use about a quarter of the energy that regular bulbs use. They also produce about 90% less heat, while still producing more light per watt.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Everyone has heard this before, start making the world a greener place by doing simple acts! Return hangers to the cleaners, donate clothing and old electronics, recycle old cell phones and pack your lunch in reusable containers! There are hundreds of simple everyday things you can do, it’s just up to you to make them a part of your routine!

We hope you’ve found these tips helpful and will practice them in your daily routine! Remember with just a little effort you can make a huge impact and help our environment. If you’re planning a project, whether a household clean out, landscape project, or home remodel call us at Waste Solutions 123 for an affordable dumpster rental!