The New York Times paints the town green with test runs of 10 brands of low- or zero-VOC indoor paints. Among the guinea pigs were paints from Yolo, Safecoat, and Benjamin Moore.

Re-Nest advises on "How to Set Up a Home Recycling Station That Works." 

Design Milk checks out the Plus Wash Station, a water-saving sink/toilet combo that recently took second place in the Green Dot Awards. 

Inhabitat heads down under for a look at the NewActon Nishi apartments, a residential complex in Canberra, Australia, that melds sustainability with a "sexy minimalist aesthetic." 

TreeHugger excuses itself for a moment to discuss backyard urban outhouses in the UK. Once thought of as as fixture in poverty-stricken households, outdoor loos are now considered desirable, "heritage" features of older homes. 

Yanko Design admires the repurpose-happy magic of David Olschewski, a designer who can turn clothespins into lamps and shovels into coat racks. 

The Los Angeles Times reads three new books — Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces, Creating Your Backyard Farm: How to Grow Fruits and Vegetables, and to Raise Chickens and Bees, and The Complete Idiots Guide to Self-Sufficient Living — that cater to aspiring backyard farmers. 

TrendHunter thinks that the Morphy Richards Ecoelectric Toaster is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Well, not really. The toaster saves 30 percent more energy than standard models and helps you to "... enjoy your breakfast without eating your valuable resources." 

Dornob finds reclaimed wood furniture that's right up any sustainable design lover's alley: William Stranger's furnishings made from old bowling lane flooring.