Chaya Kurtz

Chaya Kurtz

Chaya is the former editor of Networx.com. Her work has also been published in the Sourcebooks anthology Jewish Daughter Diaries and on a bevy of websites. Chaya's goal is to help people to make greener, more efficient home & garden choices. She is based in NYC and enjoys urban gardening, DIY home design and healthy cooking.

Passionate about recycling and helping people go green, Chaya has written countless articles on Networx.com about simple tips and tricks for recycling things we would normally toss in the trash without a thought. She also gives valuable advice for cleaning your home without using harmful chemicals.

In her article “Eight Ways to Reuse and Upcycle Milk Jugs” (https://www.networx.com/article/reuse-and-upcycle-milk-jugs) she gives many ideas about alternative uses for milk jugs, such making colorful lanterns, creating a slow-drip irrigation system for your plants for while you’re away from your home, and even making jewelry boxes and halloween decorations! She also provides equally creative ideas for ways to recycle plastic bread tags in her article, “Six Clever Re-Uses for Plastic Bread Tags” (https://www.networx.com/article/clever-re-uses-for-plastic-bread-tags). She suggests reusing bread tags for labeling cords, scraping hard-to-reach cracks (like the corners of a baking pan), labeling plants, marking the end of a tape roll, and using it as a makeshift guitar pick.

Chaya details several non-toxic cleaning solutions in her article “Bathroom Cleaning Ideas Without Air Contaminants” (https://www.networx.com/article/bathroom-cleaning-ideas-without-air-cont). In her article, she explains that you can restore your toilet to it’s pure, unscented glory simply by pouring one cup of vinegar into the toilet bowl, squirting castile soap under the rim, followed by scrubbing and flushing the toilet. Similarly, she writes that tubs can also be cleaned with vinegar and baking soda. She also reveals in this article that a mirror can be cleaned just using water and a black and white newspaper, of all things.

Check out more of her articles below for more green tips for your home!

via Zillow.com

Richard Gere's Hampton's Estate for Sale

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 24, 2013

+Richard Gere's $65 million Hampstons estate could be yours, if you have $65 million. [Zillow Blog] +Patty Smyth (remember her?) and John McEnroe (remember him?) bought a new house...

Photo of white vinegar by Marisa|Food in Jars/Hometalk.com.

Bathroom Cleaning Ideas Without Air Contaminants

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 23, 2013

Bathrooms are dirty places. Pee, poop, mildew, mold, and plenty of moisture -- it makes total sense why one would pull out the hardcore cleansers to clean and disinfect the loo. However,...

Photo of a six pack of beer by -slav-/istockphoto.com.

Protecting Beer in Hot Weather

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 18, 2013

Well this is just about the most fascinating topic that I have written about. It all started this morning, when I was looking for interesting home improvement topics related to the...

Kristi @Addicted2Decorating/Hometalk.com

Inspiration: Four Rustic Tables Made from Scrap Lumber

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 17, 2013

The great thing about the rustic furniture trend is that you can take something kind of rough-hewn, and it's suddenly fashionable. Have you seen the Restoration Hardware catalog recently?...

Hoffner Landscaping & Nursery/Hometalk.com

Six Ways to Use Concrete Pavers

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 17, 2013

Concrete pavers are not the most glamorous building material, but they are much, much less expensive than stone. When carefully set, concrete pavers can look decidedly sophisticated...

Photo of green melons in an organic garden by poseidone/istockphoto.com.

Reasons Why Plants Don't Produce Fruit

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 15, 2013

By this time of year, gardeners across the country are either already harvesting fruit and vegetable crops, or eagerly awaiting the first harvest of the season. While we hear stories...

This is a fruit fly trap. Photo by Downtowngal/Wikimedia Commons.

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in the Kitchen

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 15, 2013

Fruit flies are one of the less pleasant parts of summer. By now, a lot of you are probably noticing an influx of the little guys. While common fruit flies, also known as "vinegar flies,"...

Elin B./Flickr Creative Commons

Recycled Lanterns for Summer Nights

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 14, 2013

It's summertime! We're talking midsummer! The nights are short, but they're hot. It's the perfect time to light up a casual gathering with DIY recycled lanterns. So many old things...

Stone-Crete Artistry/Hometalk.com

Three Outdoor Kitchens For Your House, Too

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 14, 2013

An outdoor kitchen is just for people who are really rolling in the dough, right? Wrong! While an outdoor kitchen is definitely an investment, quite a few homeowners have found ways...

MacGIRLver/Hometalk.com

Ideas for Transforming Trash into Furniture

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 11, 2013

"Trash to treasure" is one of those phrases which motivates DIY furniture builders. What could be more exciting than transforming found junk into something truly beautiful and functional? ...