There is nothing like the fresh scent of a live pine tree in your holiday living room. To be sure, harvesting a tree each year is better for the environment than buying one that was made in China. However, the Living Christmas Company takes it one step further, and rents you a tree that has not been cut, so you don’t even have to kill a farmed tree. Each tree will eventually need to be planted and someday reach its growing potential.
 
TreeHugger has more information.
 

Plastex is turning used plastic bags into textiles. Now, Plastex is more sophisticated than plarn, plastic “yarn” which you make for knitting or crochet by cutting bags into broad strips. Plastex is hand-woven in Cairo, Egypt by Reform Studio to create a durable, washable fabric with delightful variegations.
 
Learn more about Plastex at StartUp Fashion
 

For those of you who are curious about how your appliances work, About.com Laundry has an article about how top load washing machines work. The author also tells us some pros and cons of using a top loader, adding a few comparisons to front load washing machines.
 
About.com Laundry is updated by Mary Marlowe Leverette
 

This homemade paintbrush idea for kids is fun and versatile. Best of all, it teaches kids that they can be as creative with their tools as they can with their canvas. Katie Femia suggests making your own paintbrushes by decorating clothespins, and then using those clothespins to hold unusual, but brush-like, household objects. Try an artificial leaf or a pipe cleaner bent to any shape. Experiment with the way each brush head lends itself to different techniques. You can literally try anything, and you can even re-use the handles.
 
See the full tutorial at Premeditated Leftovers.
 

Antibacterial soap is overrated compared to a thorough, frictional hand-wash with regular soap. Yet, antibacterial products seem as popular as ever. Triclosan, antibacterial soap’s most infamous ingredient, is linked to bizarre changes in human and animal biology by ruining our hormones. Maybe the previous warnings are too weird to convince people to stop buying triclosan? Maybe linking to triclosan to liver fibrosis will hit home?
 
Christine Lepisto elaborates on TreeHugger.
 

At Premeditated Leftovers, Jody has a recipe for DIY fire starters using toilet paper rolls and holiday spices for scent. It’s a great way to reuse those abundant rolls. I have just one concern about using dryer lint to start fires. If your dryer load contains synthetic or petroleum-based fabrics, even your lint can release ugly chemicals in the smoke.
 
I would use this recipe in a fireplace or campfire; some of you would not. But those of us who use wood stoves tend to be purists. It may take a long time to gunk up that venting system but we like our wood stoves to last for decades. Plus, it’s fire we’re dealing with here. Fire and synthetics don’t mix well, while gradual buildup can catch you off guard. Am I being picky, here? Sure.
 
If your laundry doesn’t contain synthetics in the first place, you don’t have much to worry about. I still like the recipe and would use a version of it in the right places.
 
Pick up the spices.
 

Joshua Becker on Becoming Minimalist has seven ways that he prevents clutter from taking over his home, both during the holidays as gifts and offers pour in, and in the following months as you try to make your new things fit into your home. More invaluable is his introduction in which he addresses bad gift-giving motives.
 
Click for valuable surprises.
 

If you’re not sure where to look for slow fashion, Margaret Badore has a list for you on TreeHugger. The 13 gift ideas appeal to both men and women, and are more impressive than handmade accessories, including coats and even shoes. Take a look and see if Badore mentions any companies you don’t know about yet.
 
Sustainable shopping is better shopping.
 

The holidays bring a lot of pressure on moms. There are more people to clean up after. More people to impress. More people to feed. There is not more living room space. You might be worried you’ll embarrass yourself in the mess.
 
No, chances are, your guests didn’t come for the holidays so they could glare at you and nitpick your house. To help yourself remember that, Lisa-Jo Baker has created a “Tired Mother’s Holiday Creed.”
 
Take a deep breath…
 

Shopping can be fun, but how many people do it because they really thought about what they want from it? There are many things that people really, really want, and I mean things that people want so deeply they have never let them go from childhood until their senior years. Joshua Becker has a list of nine such needs that shopping cannot fulfill.
 
9 more reasons for Becoming Minimalist