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!

Lisa D/Hometalk.com

Garden Junk is Freaking Great

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Aug 09, 2013

As we can all agree, the more untamed a garden is, the better it is. Untamed gardens get a crummy rap from cable TV gardening shows and from HOA's, but I'll take a huge, rambling garden...

Wendy Cutler/Flickr Creative Commons

Eight ways to reuse and upcycle milk jugs

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Aug 08, 2013

Milk jugs are a pretty perfect material for DIY projects. They're durable, lightweight, they float, they're flexible, and they are ubiquitous. The best part of making cool stuff from...

Estimating Concrete Patio Cost

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Aug 08, 2013

The buzz is that installing a concrete patio is less expensive than building a deck. That is sometimes true, but keep in mind that concrete patio cost is very site- and job-specific,...

Is Your Bed Hot? How to Sleep Cooler

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Aug 06, 2013

It's mid-summer and we've had some hot, humid nights here in New York City. The heat broke last week, but most probably we're in for another heat wave before the summer is through....

Six Clever Re-uses for Plastic Bread Tags

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Aug 01, 2013

Plastic bread tags are ubiquitous. They don't just close bread bags; you can find them on plastic mesh produce sacks and tons of other supermarket items. How many plastic bread tags...

July 2013 Bed Bug News Roundup

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 30, 2013

July has been a big month for bed bug infestations this year. If your skin is not already crawling with just the mention of bed bug infestations, here's a list that will make you want...

Hometalk.com

This Home Office Is the Best Thing I Have Ever Seen

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 25, 2013

Historic Shed, a professional builder in the Tampa area, built this amazing shed as a home office. Let's talk about all of the ways...

Andy Arthur, Dinner Series, namestartswithj80, Lorena Cucpake/Flickr Creative Commons

Bro-tastic Beer Pong Tables

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 25, 2013

What is this? Who actually goes out and buys a beer pong table? Not to be that grandma who likes to remind everyone that when she was a child, they ate what they were given and they...

Hometalk.com

Scarlet Begonias!

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 24, 2013

It's fair to say that "Scarlet Begonias" is one of my favorite songs ever. I know that it is not "cool" to admit that you like the Grateful Dead, but I never said I was cool. I just...

eBay

Guess who spent $750K on gold-plated toilets?

Posted by Chaya Kurtz | Jul 24, 2013

Page Six reports that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have spent $750K on gold-plated toilets for their Bel-Air mansion. The Los Angeles plumbers who install those toilets better be wearing...