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!
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 29, 2013
Where is your garden hose leaking from? The location of the leak will define how you'll fix that leaking garden hose. Before you call a plumber or run out to spend money on a replacement,...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 29, 2013
The lmysterious thing about tree roots growing into sewer lines is that it happens below ground, which means that you can't see it without a backhoe. It's a shame, isn't it? Because...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 28, 2013
Have you ever pried a straw out of the mouth of a young child, only to find it macerated and dripping in saliva? Let's all let out a collective "eeeewww". In general, my "clever uses"...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 27, 2013
Pool season has arrived. Suspicion will soon mount about that child who managed to swim for four hours straight. When grandpa jumps in the pool straight after his five hour drive to...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 26, 2013
Shopping for new counter tops is an exciting part of a kitchen remodel. Since the counter tops occupy so much space and plays such a vital role in your kitchen, of course the decision...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 26, 2013
Is there anything that Mason jars can't do? I've been seeing Mason jars used as lampshades and lumieres all over the blog-o-sphere. Mason jars make excellent sconce shades: They are...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 26, 2013
The dog days of summer are coming, and in some parts of the U.S. of A., they have already arrived. If you had tons of money, you could, like, build a new house that is oriented toward...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 23, 2013
Your kitchen cabinets are exposed to grease, dirt, fingerprints, sticky stuff, and the occasional projectile meatball. Ouch. That kind of stinks, because you paid a lot for them, right?...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 23, 2013
All winter long, your car took a beating. There was salt; there was sand; there was that time you accidentally drove into a snowbank. Liquids are now dripping from your car's underside...
Posted by Chaya Kurtz
| May 22, 2013
Fun fact #1: Cicadas have emerged and swarmed Staten Island, NY. Exterminators have perhaps their biggest project ever. Will the cicada infestation of 2013 be worse for Staten Island...