CasaSugar

Cool Idea: An Interactive Trash Bin

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:00:33 -0700

British fashion designer Paul Smith and Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic today unveiled a five-foot "rabbit bin." Whenever a passerby drops rubbish in the bin, the bunny's ears light up. The bunny is part of the Design Museum Super Contemporary Exhibition in Covent Garden. I love the concept of making civic responsibility (such as keeping your city clean) whimsical and fun. Perhaps the streets of my fair city would be a little cleaner if there were rabbit bins here.

Would you want a rabbit bin in your town?

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Cool Idea: Sorting Garbage Can

CasaSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

If you read my post on the Ovetto recycling bin, you'll know that while I dug the concept of a sorting recycling bin, I hoped for one that blended in better with our kitchens - less of a design statement. Well, I think the Constance Guisset Tri3 may be just the thing. Like Ovetto, this garbage can sorts with one compartment for waste, one for plastics, and another for glass, in addition to a trash bag dispenser. Each compartment opens outward from a central axis via one of three charming blue pedals at its base. Functionally, this design seems to fit the bill - although I might use the discard compartment for cans instead - and it's quite easy on the eyes as well. Resembling a stack of three drum shades, it is modern, but being completely white, it would sit quietly in most kitchens. To see more photos, read more.

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Casa Quickie: Trash Can Cleaning

CasaSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:00:48 -0700

Of all of the messes to tackle in your home during Spring cleaning, the trash can is probably the stinkiest. OK, your compost is up there, too. Piles of leftovers rotting away for a few days in a warm plastic bag is not exactly my favorite scent. So, when it comes time to clean, you can't just spray it with some all-purpose cleaner and wipe the grime and stench away: You've got to exercise a little patience. The best way to clean your trash can is to soak it for 30 minutes before scrubbing off the gunk with a sponge. I prefer to use a solution of super-hot water and vinegar or Clorox Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner. If it's really messy, you might want to spray it down with a hose before you soak.

This Just In: Vipp and Helena Christensen Team Up For Charity

CasaSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:30:37 -0700

Danish design company VIPP and supermodel Helena Christensen have teamed up to hold a charity auction of Vipp pedal bins that have been given a fashionable makeover by fashion, design, art, and entertainment leaders. The bins have been made over by the likes of Bono, Michael Stipe, Mario Batali, Michael Bastian, Simon Doonan, Frederic Fekkai, Karim Rashid, Jason Miller, Todd Oldham, Alice Temperley, Mena Suvari, and more, and will be sold in a silent auction benefiting the Food Bank For New York City and Chernobyl Children’s Project International. An installation of the bins will be on display for public viewing and pre-bidding at The Conran Shop in New York through Thursday, Sept. 18, when an evening auction event will be held at the Winston Wächter Fine Art Gallery. Bidding for the bins begins at either $500 or $750, and you can learn more details by calling a bidding specialist at The Conran Shop at (866) 755-9079. To see more of the designs, read more.

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Casa Quickie: Trash Made Easy

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:00:51 -0700

Keep a small supply of trash bags at the bottom of your garbage can. That way, when you pull out your full bag, a fresh, new bag will be waiting for you. Just make sure you take out that full bag of trash, and refresh the bag supply when it gets low.
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Recipe For Clean: Garbage Can Deodorizer

CasaSugar — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:15:42 -0700

Of course, we want to keep our homes smelling so fresh and so clean, so it's logical to think about taming the beast that is the garbage can. If you've assembled your home cleaning kit you'll have most of the ingredients for this Recipe For Clean. Use it to get your garbage cans smelling Spring clean.

Supplies

1 cup baking soda
1 tsp. tea tree oil
white vinegar
water
favorite herbal scent or essential oils (optional)

To find out the steps for this DIY, just read more.

Mix the baking soda, tea tree oil, and a few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional) together.
Make sure to get out any lumps. You can use the back of a spoon to squish out lumps.
Take out garbage and garbage bag. Line the bottom of your garbage can with the mixture. Let sit for a half hour or more.
Rinse pail with white vinegar and water.
Let the garbage can dry in the sun.

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Do You Have a Stainless Steel Trash Can?

CasaSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:00:49 -0700

My plastic trash can is smelling not-so-fresh these days. Although I originally scoffed at the price of this VIPP Kitchen Bin ($319), the odor-reducing quality of steel is seeming more and more valuable to me - especially considering how many pricey Diptyque candles I've bought to mask the smell of my garbage can. Then again, a good hose-down would do the trick, too. Do you have a stainless steel trash can?

Casa Quickie: Mulch Your Fall Leaves

CasaSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:30:08 -0700

When your trees' leaves have all fallen to the ground, it's customary to bag them up to be hauled away by your garbage man. But before you go there, consider mulching them to help enrich or insulate your soil. To turn them into mulch, all you have to do is run your lawn mower over them, which acts like a food processor! It helps to spread them out in long rows instead of one big clump. Then you can spread the chopped up decaying leaves around any plants, trees, or flower beds you have!

Would You Read a Book About Hoarders?

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:08 -0700

The subject of hoarding seems to be enjoying a renaissance. There is, of course, the A&E series Hoarders, and now, novelist E.L. Doctorow's new book Homer & Langley tackles the story of New York's Collyer brothers. The brothers, who died in their apartment in 1947, had packed their apartment with over 100 tons of garbage and objects, including 14 pianos and a Model T. While Doctorow's novel takes liberties with the facts, it always remains respectful of the brothers' story. The book came out on Sept. 1, and you can read an excerpt here.

On the Market: Grey Gardens For Summer Rental

CasaSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:00:24 -0700

Grey Gardens, the once squalor-filled Hamptons mansion that was the home of "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, aunt and first cousin of Jackie O., and the subject of HBO's recent flick of the same name, can be yours for $30,000 this Summer. Current owners journalist Sally Quinn and husband Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee are renting out their East Hampton mansion from August 28 to Labor Day. Thirty thousand for 11 days in a former garbage-strewn home? Well, the turn-of-the-century house has since undergone an intensive renovation, and Long Island is nice in the Summer. See postrestoration photos of the home from a 1984 issue of Architectural Digest when you read more.

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