Stuck inside on a rainy, dreary day? Have a hankering to start a new, crafty project? Using random objects and materials from around your home, these fun and eco-friendly DIY projects will cost you little to nothing.

Scrap Paper Notebook

You have a scrap paper galore in the drawer next to your desk, but this clutter is starting to get out of control. No problem! Stack your scrap paper to make all of the edges line up neatly. Punch three holes along the length of the paper an inch from the left margin. (You may want to divide the stack to make this step a little easier.) Cut the front and back sides from a cereal box and punch three holes in each side to align with your stack of scrap paper. You can cover the box panels in anything you like – get creative. Use decorative ribbon to tie together the individual sheet and the cardboard cover.

Portable Scrap Paper Pad

Need something more portable for taking notes on the go? Remove the staple from an empty matchbook and slip out the piece of cardboard that mounted the matches. Measure the matchbook and cut pieces of scrap paper to fit neatly inside. Tuck them underneath the bottom lip and staple them down.

Magazine Envelopes

After flipping through your magazines dozens of times, what else can you do with them? Take apart an envelope to use as a template and trace this outline onto a cover or page of an outdated issue. (If you plan on sending this envelope in the mail, use pages with images instead of copy. This way, the address will stand out more clearly.) Cut along the lines and fold it along the creases that match that of the original envelope. Use non-toxic flue to seal down the flaps.

CD/DVD Coasters

When your favorite tunes or films start skipping too much to enjoy, just turn them into coasters. This one is a cinch. To cover up the images and text with something a little more decorative, trace the outline of the CD/DVD onto contact paper leftover from lining drawers and cut along the lines. Seal it to the surface with non-toxic glue.

Scented Drawer Satchels

Who wears nylons anymore? I know I don’t, but they’re still lurking in the lingerie drawer. But, just because they are no longer wearable doesn’t mean you have to toss them. Cut them up into sections and seal one end with a decorative ribbon. Fill each makeshift pouch with dried herbs, tie the other end shut and put them in your drawers for a fresh fragrance.

Magnetic Dry Erase Board

Measure the outline of a broken CD case and cut a piece of blank white paper down to the same dimensions. Slip it inside and use non-toxic glue to secure the front and back of the CD case together. Secure a magnet to the back and hang it on your refrigerator for quick notes.

Homemade Drip System

Interested in conserving water in your garden? Use a pin to punch tiny holes into a plastic bottle. Shred pieces of scrap fabric and stuff them in through the neck of the bottle. (This absorbent material will cause the water to drain gradually.) Bury the bottle in the soil up to the neck next to plants in your garden, so that it releases water almost directly to the roots. Use a funnel to fill the bottle with water.

Reusable Shopping Tote

Dig through your pajama drawer to find an old, baggy t-shirt. Flip it inside out and remove the sleeves. Cut around the neck hole, making it several inches wider. Stitch the bottom hems of the shirt together. (You may want to sew a reinforcement seam for extra strength.) Flip your new reusable shopping tote right side out and use the sleeve holes as handles.

Tea Tin Candle

Following these steps, turn empty tea tins into decorative soy candles.

Bird Feeder

Rinse out an empty milk carton. Cut out two ample-sized openings on parallel sides and, about an inch below each, poke a hole using the tip of a pencil. Insert a rod through both holes to act as a perch for your feathered friends. Run a wire or string through the top of the carton to hang from a tree branch. To make it a bit more ornamental, embellish the carton with milk paint and secure popsicle sticks on the top slopes with non-toxic glue to look like shingles.

Upcycled Picture Frames

Rinse out some glass jars and completely remove any labels. With the images on the outside, roll up pictures of your friends and family, and insert them upside-down into the openings of the jars. Flip the jars over and display them on tabletops and shelves around your home.

Drawer Dividers

Do you cringe at the thought of organizing your infamous junk drawer? With some homemade cardboard dividers, it’s easy to keep it orderly. Just measure the length, width and height of your drawers. Break down a cardboard box and, based on your measurements, cut enough strips to create as many compartments as you want. Slice a slit halfway through the width of each strip to easily interconnect these pieces.

Bonus idea: taking inspiration from the image at the top of the post, why not spend an hour at the park or in the garden collecting seeds, nuts, flower bulbs, twigs, leaves or other pretty organic items to make a seasonal still life? All you need is a favorite dish or bowl and a spot to place it.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

5 DIY Alternatives to Holiday Gift Wrap

12 DIY Wall Stencils

12 Free Green DIY Projects

12 DIY Projects for a Green Geek

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose posts from the archives that we think you’ll love. This original post can be found here.

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We recently gathered once again for a gal’s night out, something me and my friends do to honor one another when our big day bites us in the ass (I mean elates us) each year. It’s all warm and buzzy, the serious sipping of full figured red wine, the grazing of small sumptuous Spanish plates, the embarrassingly intimate inebriated birthday toasts counting the ways we count. And the climax hasn’t changed since you were ten, the oozing dessert all aglow and the presenting of pretty packages that will transmogrify into long overdue thank you notes.

While the loot does indeed get much better as we get older (did I mention the jewelry?), there is nothing I need to acquire to feel more blessed. I cherish the handcrafted cards my children make each birthday, but beyond that, I feel guilty about accumulating more stuff. If you feel the same, why not consider other options? Don’t feel pretentious suggesting to your friends that they honor you with an eco alternative. The following options take the cake!

1. OptNow Gift Cards

Instead of the Nordstrom gift cards my friends love to gift as group gifts, the OptNow option is used to support a mission to end global poverty.

2. Pack up Party

You’ve wanted to clean out the cupboards and closets for months and pack up what you don’t use to donate to a shelter or other needy recipient. Invite the group over (even a couple pals can make it a party) and have a ball rummaging and packing up your junk.

3. Take a Hike

On one of my “milestone” birthdays, I decided to do a hike rather than a chichi dinner or costly trip. It was free, amazing exercise (just ask Kendra Wilkinson) and an ideal way to reconnect with wildlife and our natural surroundings. The greatest team building gift of all: No cell phones.

4. Board Public Transit to the Farmer’s Market

You and your epicurean pals or kids can shop for locally grown, organic produce and eat some for your b-day lunch. It’s an ideal way for ladies who lunch to munch responsibly while celebrating you and supporting community growers. But don’t drive if you have access to a bus, bike or train and of course, take a basket or reusable bags.

5. Renewable Energy Sponsorships

Ditch the new laptop purchase, and instead ask for a sponsorship from the start-up company, Powered Green. It sponsors new wind turbines that make enough clean and green energy to power your old computer for seven years. Each laptop credit covers 690 kilowatt-hours of certified wind energy and stops 1030 pounds of CO2 for $16. For $28, you can buy a desktop sponsorship for 1300 kilowatt-hours of certified wind energy, ceasing 1900 pounds of emissions. Each sponsorship comes with a decal for your computer, showing off your commitment to the planet. Way to grow!

6. Group Food Bank Volunteering

My 11-year-old’s friend held her party this year at the San Francisco Food Bank where guests donned protective plastic gloves and spend a couple of hours sorting can goods and packing them up for the needy throughout the city. Why limit this to kids? It is a great idea for grown ups, too, and a way to still have fun dishing and laughing while you work, all for a great cause: Feeding hungry neighbors. Now, that’s a gift. Oh, and guests can also donate money while they are visiting.

7. Say it with Darkness

Don’t say it with diamonds. Instead, make it lights out, candles in. Let her or him create a candlelit ambiance – beeswax naturally – to show how you glow, even when adding another year to the time clock. Spend the day without any electronics if possible and then flicker away at night. Spread out on a blanket if you like and recite poetry instead of watching the tube. A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou beside me, singing in the wilderness. . .It’s all so very friendly.

8. Scrap It

Scrapping is in big time – no, not just the recycled steel – but also scrap books as gifts lovingly assembled using existing materials by your friends and family. You can re-purpose an old photo book to create a personal masterpiece. It is the best gift I have ever received – one large book from friends on a big birthday and a small, beautiful pink one from my daughters on a Mother’s Day.

9. Gifts from the Garden

If eco is a return to purity and simplicity, then an ideal green birthday gift would be staying home and enjoying the fruits and veggies of your husband or best friend’s labors. There is nothing like cut flowers from the garden (give it up for lilacs and dahlias) and a nurturing soup of fresh picked veggies made and grown by someone who adores you.

10. Adopt a Furry Child

Come on, a new best friend from your old best friends? It’s a win-win situation. There are too many unwanted and neglected dogs and cats waiting for homes and the SPCA can connect you to a loving shelter pet on your birthday or any day. Tip: As I found out, some gifts snore a lot louder than others!

Images: AlphaTangoBravo,Luanne Bradley, SPCA, Polkadot Creations, Aldon;  San Francisco Food Bank

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