We’ve had an email from Dani:

You’ve said to avoid composting a lot of lemon peel, what can I do with it instead? There isn’t any juice left, just the tough yellow skin.

You should avoid composting too much of any citrus fruits in one go because it can make the compost overly acidic and when the peel is fresh, can make worms pull little bitter pursed lips faces and you don’t want to annoy your friendly compost worms ;)

You can, perhaps obviously, grated the peel to use as zesty pieces in baking or make candied lemon peel for snacking/cake-decorating.

Around the home, lemon peel is handy for freshening up garbage disposals or dry the skin and use it to add a fragrance to homemade pot pourri.

Any other suggestions?

I’m *finally* getting back on top of my email Inbox & feed reader after a few mad weeks of juggling work and house moves – here’s some super-interesting links I’ve been sent/read about.

• Andy at Hide Your Arms has pulled together a great list of 100 reuses/restyling ideas for old tshirts.
• MJ over at Making Do with the Not So New linked to Printable Paper – templates for printing specialist paper patterns rather than, for example, having to buy a 100-sheet pad of graph paper when you only need one sheet. They can also, obviously, be printed on the back of scrap paper too.
• I’m always a little sceptical about the value of petitions but this one on the Number10 website is about a good idea: making phone books opt-in.
• Nancy at 21centurydressmakers has been making photo/postcard stands using empty plastic bottles and other food containers.
• Calfinder have pulled together a short list of fantastic reuses for old window frames.
• And finally, pictured above, Mayaluna at maya*made has reused spent coffee grounds and an old sack to make a great smelling pin-cushion that also helps keep the pins & needles rust free.

This “Reduce This” follows on from Tuesday’s “How can I make this?” question: “how can I make a outside washing line cover re-using/recycling stuff?“.

I read a lot of green/simple living blogs by people in the US and it amazes me, utterly amazes me when people say that their local homeowners association or the like doesn’t let them dry washing outside on washing lines. It seems crazy to me that people aren’t allowed to take advantage of the great solar and wind-powered dryer that is the big blue room.

If you can’t dry outside – because you’re not allowed or because you haven’t got any outside space – what do you do to avoid using an electricity-guzzling tumble dryer?

Do you have any tricks to speed up the drying process (extra spinning? ironing?)? Are retractable washing lines the way forward?

We’ve had an email from Judy, asking about reuses for asthma spacers:

Y’know, the big plastic cone things where you put the inhaler in one end? They are now being recommended for adults too so there must be millions out there.

I understand hospitals in Australia sterilise them for reuse.

In third world countries kids sometimes have to use empty water bottles and although I did read these are effective it seems wrong to have one standard for our kids and one for other people’s. I mean if they are *that* effective why are we getting the *proper* version on the NHS and not using old bottles ourselves? They ain’t cheap either as anyone who has had to buy a spare will know.

Apparently there have been several studies proving that plastic bottles just about as effective as the specially produced ones – I guess the (cynical) answer to Judy’s “why aren’t we just using bottles?” question is that someone realised there was a buck to be had making something special ;)

So that’s one way to make them by recycling/reusing something that is usually considered waste – but what are the options for used purpose-built asthma spacers? Does anyone know of any sterilising/redistribution schemes?

Because nothing particularly interesting has happened in my life over the last few weeks – I mean, aside from us moving house after nearly a decade in the old place and my best friend Katherine giving birth for the first time (*hello 14 day old baby Joe!*) – I have been unduly excited by the discovery of covers for outside rotary washing lines.

They’re big plastic covers which sit on rotary washing lines, preventing the clothes from getting re-soaked every time there is a sudden but brief downpour — there are some clear ones that can be left on all the time, ideal for the UK where it goes from blistering sunshine to torrential rain and back again constantly throughout the day. I tell you – unduly excited – I can’t believe I lived three decades without knowing about them. It’s like the broccoli stalks revelations all over again.

The basic concept seems simple enough to make myself from scrap materials – I need a sheet of heavy-duty but flexible waterproof material, ideally clear, in the shape of my rotary line, some extra length to be sides (to stop sideways rain) and possible some cane or piping at the edge between the “roof” and the sides to give it some structure. We got a new mattress when we moved in here and I’ve kept the giant plastic bag that came in, which is a good start, and I’m tempted to befriend a local carpet fitter for some more similar stuff, which they get wrapped around the rolls of carpet. An old tent or gazebo covering would probably work too. Any other suggestions?

Has anyone made something similar for non-rotary washing lines? Once my eyes were opened to the concept, I started Googling around and found these Isle of Mull dryers which combine the cover and the hanging space in an inverted V-shape. Any other ideas?