Our blogging friends at Home Design Find recently published some helpful tips for the collector in all of us. From the article:

…anyone with a collection of just about anything comes to realize at some point that things can get out of hand. Collections, after a while, can come to feel like clutter. And that’s a real downer.

What steps can you take to organize and highlight your collection rather than have it sit around and collect dust in one big jumble?

Here are a few paraphrased tips from Home Design Find:

• Edit. Edit. Edit. Just because you own 300 snow globes doesn’t mean you have to display them all. Instead, pick, choose and rotate to display just some of your collection to the best effect.
• Use lighting. Dramatically lighting a collection can turn just a humdrum display into something earth-shattering. Use directed spotlights to draw the attention to your collection.
• Beware the window sill and mantle trap. A lot of collections of small things tend to find their ways to window sills and mantlepieces. But this look can often look cluttered and haphazard. If you choose a mantle or window sill as a display area, edit the objects displayed and keep them grouped together for maximum visual impact.

That’s just a taste. For more detail and more tips, be sure to check out their article.

Photo courtesy of Lost Found Art

Today’s link love post pokes some fun at some silly “green” inventions, shares some nifty uses for shampoo you probably haven’t thought of and more. Let’s get to it.

Top 5 Silliest Eco-Inventions
Inhabitat
With the increasing interest recently in “going green,” the world has been bombarded with products making eco-friendly claims. Some of those claims are more legitimate than others, and some of those products are sillier than others. Inhabitat runs down what it believes are the five silliest — like the solar-powered fan hat pictured at right. What do you think of these products? Any other silly “green” inventions you know of?

Extraordinary Uses for Shampoo
Lifehackery
As this post declares, haircare is only a part of shampoo’s usefulness. Makeup remover, car cleaner and more. Any other tricks you have to share?

The Lorna Corner Shelf
Curbly
Curbly’s prolific guru “DIY Maven” shares this interesting find, a gorgeous, stylish, unique bookshelf that makes the most of an otherwise dull corner of any room. As the Maven points out, the price tag ($1,500!) is a bit steep for a bookshelf, but maybe the photos provide enough inspiration for a nice do-it-yourself project.

25 Eco-Chic Ideas for Your Home
Whole Living
By way of Re-Nest, we learned of these great ideas for eco-friendly decorating. They involve a lot of simple reusing of other materials, which of course is a great way to cut down on waste and can add a nice bit of style when done well. Be sure to check these out.

Leah Moss at Re-Nest shares great ideas on putting glass jars to great use for decorative (and functional) effect. As she says in her headline, don’t throw away that jar!

…I’m now guilty of selecting food goods based on the decorative weight of their containers for future uses. Glass jars clearly take the cake. Here are some new and old reasons to save a few…

Her post offers 10 creative ideas, ranging from creating “magical floating chandeliers” to replacing your ineffective junk-drawer organizer. With links to more details step-by-step instructions from sources like Martha Stewart, Country Living and the This Young House blog, you sure to find some creative inspiration somewhere.

Have you found a creative use for glass jars or other commonly tossed-away objects?

Photo courtesy of Bee Boxes on Flickr