In honor of our last post of 2010, we’ve decided to round up our most popular posts ever. Below are the top 10. Enjoy and we will see you next year for more great home living information! Thanks for reading this year.

• Built Around You: Laundry in a Closet
• Remodeling Using ‘Quality Over Quantity’
• Unusual homes: Cool conversions
• How To: Grow Tomatoes Upside Down
• Space-saving ideas for small spaces
• Built Around You: Stylish Bathroom Overhaul
• Small on Space, Big on Style
• New Uses for Old Windows
• Amazing Windows Created By Amazing Artists
• myMarvin Architect’s Challenge: Lake Cottage

Overwhelmed by cleaning? You’re not alone! We all have busy lives and jobs and sometimes in the evenings it can just seem too exhausting to think about cleaning. And then the weekend rolls around and, well, isn’t the weekend better devoted to the pursuit of fun rather than cleaning?

And so the grime continues to build. If you can do a little bit each day though, the rewards will come in the form of a clean, uncluttered and calm home. To get you started, Apartment Therapy offers an awesome tutorial for how to get (and keep!) your home clean.

Our favorite Apartment Therapy tips include dealing with things right away, whether they be credit card offers to be shredded or dirty dishes in the sink, finding an awesome soundtrack and setting a timer on your cleaning. Everyone has 15 minutes to clean before your favorite television show starts (or during the commercial breaks!). Anything is easier when you know it won’t go on forever.

They even offer a day-by-day cleaning guide that you can follow every month. No more excuses and no more weekends spent feeling guilty you haven’t been cleaning. Check it out!

Image courtesy of Todd Baker on Flickr

Laundry. It’s the eternal chore — never seems to be done. No matter how many loads, there’s always a mountain of clothing. And let’s not even get started on the folding!

With all the laundry being done out there, it’s no surprise to learn that most of us have room for improvement in this area when it comes to living green. Between using bleaches and hot water and drying every single last item of clothing, we’re due for a laundry overhaul.

Without buying an entire laundry room’s worth of new things, there’s some things you can do immediately:

• Cold water works great for washing! Please note that MayoClinic.com does recommend laundering sheets in hot water to kill dust mites and allergens.
• Hang it up! Buy a clothes line or a a drying rack and use it. In addition to saving money and energy, line drying will help keep your clothes looking great for longer.

If you are ready to make some larger changes, then the most obvious place to start is by looking at replacing your washer and/or dryer. The Green Guide recommends that when shopping for a washing machine, you look at ENERGY STAR ratings, water factor, top loaders vs. front loaders and programmable wash cycles.

For dryers, their recommendations are a little different. They point out that if your washing machine is energy efficient, that will help speed drying time. A good thing to look for however is moisture sensors — clothes get just as dry as you need them. And if you can hang on to your old dryer until 2011, you may have some options. The Green Guide says that “smart dryers” are “green machines…designed to use power only during the electricity grid’s non-peak periods. That reduces overall demand and the emissions from largely coal-fired power plants.”

And for some ratings on washers, visit Re-Nest’s round-up of energy efficient washing machines.

Photo courtesy of aussiegall on Flickr

When I moved into my 1922 apartment, I noticed that outside the door was a nailed-up little door up on the wall. I assumed it was a now-closed trash chute, until my landlord explained to me that it was actually an icebox where the milkman would drop off the day’s dairy delivery.

So much for my dreams of not having to walk my trash down to the Dumpster. It’s a neat feature though, and always a good conversation piece. This Old House (via MSN Real Estate) gave a rundown of some of the cool features that you can only find in an old house:

• Deep front porches: True “outdoor rooms” with plenty of space to sit on a swing with your sweetheart, sip coffee on wicker furniture or lay in a hammock.
• Floor registers: Yes, the occasional earring might have been sacrificed, but floor registers were always the perfect place to warm your feet or see how poofy your skirt could get.
• Storm shutters: These beauties may have added the perfect Southern charm, but thanks to hurricane-resistant products, they can now just be enjoyed for their good looks.
• Dumbwaiters: The perfect way to send packages and groceries upstairs!
• Solid walls: Nothing beats lath and plaster for preventing noise from traveling between rooms.

We’ve gained a lot of great things with advancements in building. But with progress, sometimes things are left by the wayside. For instance, I can’t recall seeing the ever-handy laundry chute in a newer house. And of course other things, like a beautiful hitching post in the front yard, are no longer needed. What other interesting features do you fondly recall from old houses? Let us know in the comments!

As you walk down the aisle of the store looking for something that will safely and effectively clean your house, you will soon realize you have a lot of options. What’s green and what’s not?

If you want to be absolutely sure what’s in your cleaning products, you can always make your own (check out our guide).

But if you want to go the quick route and buy something, Re-Nest offers a guide to how you can make good decisions on green cleaning products. Here are some high points:

• If it says poison or danger, take the label at its word: it’s poisonous and/or dangerous.
• Look at the ingredients. Avoid those that contain “chlor” (chlorinated chemical), “ene” or “ol” (indicates the presence of petroleum or coal-tar based ingredients).
• If it will irritate skin, there are most likely caustic chemicals in the mix.
• “Readily biodegradable” is a good phrase–it indicates that the ingredients will break down faster than simply biodegradable.

We would also say to simply ask yourself–do you really understand what is in the cleaning solution? If not, maybe keep looking until you know exactly what you will be spraying on your countertops or squirting in your tub. Check out the rest of Re-Nest’s post here.

Image courtesy of itto.be on Flickr.

Moths: the bane of our bedrooms, the scourge of our sweaters. What can be more annoying than taking a sweater out of a drawer to discover the tell-tale hole of the moth? If you have a cedar chest or cedar closet, your battle against moths has gained a formidable weapon. For those who aren’t blessed with a cedar closet and don’t want to invest in a cedar chest, there are some good options. Re-nest gives a run-down of moth prevention without resorting to toxic chemicals and foul-smelling mothballs.

The first thing you should do is wash your clothes thoroughly. Moths are attracted to the skin cells, oils, etc. that we leave behind. It’s best to wash clothes in hot water to kill moth eggs and larvae. Please remember that wool should be washed in cold water only to keep it from shrinking. The Laundress has a tutorial on how to properly hand-wash wool sweaters.

After your clothes are clean, prepare their resting place: vacuum and air out the closet and consider wiping out drawers. The best way to store clothing though, is in airtight containers. If you have the space, try freezing clothing!

Incorporate the old standby of cedar. You don’t need a whole closet; look for cedar balls or planks to keep the moths away.

As we head towards spring, hopefully these tips will help keep your seasonal clothing safely stored and moth-free!

Image courtesy of ehoyer on Flickr

Creative minds put to the use of good design can make a big difference in the world! Look at the simple act of washing clothes. Clean clothes can be important for health and dignity. But what do you do if you don’t have a washing machine (through choice or economic circumstance) and don’t want to flash back to pioneer days and wash your clothes with large metal tubs and washing boards?

Enter the Swirl — used for clothes-washing AND fun! Calfinder points out that this product probably has the best use in developing countries. Nonetheless, its principles could make it work anywhere.

It’s simple and ingenious. According to its maker, designaffairs STUDIO, it works this way:

Swirl is a human focused design that simplifies washing in developing countries. The overall design resembles a ball containing a swirled sphere shaped basket and lid, connected to a steel tube handle. Washing is accomplished through the rotation of the “washing ball” – using long distance travelling to and from water supply to wash the clothes. The user can also wash by just rolling it back and forth in slow rotation cycles. At home, after the basket is filled with clothes, the lid should be screwed and the handle locked in. Transportation can easily be done by pulling or pushing the handle. At the water source, the basket should be filled with water and the product is ready to wash.

Simple, useful and fun! Swirl’s use of good, creative, flexible design does a world of good.

Photos courtesy of designaffairs STUDIO.

“Clean your room!” It’s a refrain that parents often throw at their children, but when you’re an adult, it can be tempting to concentrate on cleaning the more public areas of your home.

Unfortunately, keeping your bedroom fresh and clean is one of the most important household tasks you can do. Because a good portion of your time in there is spent unconscious, you want to make sure that dust and dirt don’t interrupt your slumber.

Apartment Therapy has listed some great ways to get and keep your bedroom clean and orderly. Here’s the plan:

• Take 10 minutes to clean. Pick up, dust and wipe and make sure everything is in its own place.
• Clean and organized the closet. Yes, you can shut the door, but don’t you want to be able to find all your clothes and shoes easily? An organized closet is a thing of beauty, but it might take a little time to get there. So carve out anywhere from an hour to an afternoon to really get organized. Don’t forget about all the great closet organizers available!
• Control dust! This is especially important for asthma or allergy sufferers. This may involve anything from removing carpet to washing sheets in hot water.
• Make homemade linen spray to keep your bedroom smelling great.

Visit Apartment Therapy for more tips on keeping your bedroom clean all year long!

Today’s link love post shows you how to take apart an iPod and make it a little more natural, how to grow great tomatoes, how to wash clothes with just one cup of water, and how to justify your paper-towel habit at home. Good stuff, so let’s get to it!

Wooden iPod
Design Boom
Have an old iPod and some scraps of nice wood laying around? Sounds like a project! I say “old iPod” not because it makes the project easier but because I’m pretty sure this voids the warranty, but it looks gorgeous. Key point: The wood that’s laid over the click-wheel is shaved so thin that the click wheel still works new! More photos on the builder’s Flickr page.

Tomato-Growing Tips from the Pros
Home Know-It-All
Just a few days ago, we wrote about growing tomatoes upside-down. We have some more great tomato-growing tips, thanks to the folks at the Home Know-It-All. Among them: “Fight blight with mulch.”

Spin dry: The washing machine that needs just one cup of water
Daily Mail Online
Researchers at Leeds University in Britain have developed a washing machine that uses only one cup of water to wash a load of laundry. One cup. During the washing cycle, the water is heated to help dissolve the dirt, and thousands of tiny plastic chips to absorb the dirt. And eventually, we might be able to afford them!

Why Being “Paper Towel Free” Is Overrated
Re-Nest
The folks at Re-Nest shared a lengthy, photo-filled write-up in defense of paper towels, a topic that’s much more interesting than it sounds. “So why is there SO MUCH FUSS about paper towel use in the kitchen? It’s all the rage to say, ‘I’m paper towel-less!’ like there’s a medal to be won or a badge of honor to wear because of it. On the opposite side, maybe you’re feeling the reverse effects of green goers around you. There can be a tinge of shame when you sheepishly raise your hand to admit you still use them in your home. Being green enough is a whole new way to keep up with the Joneses.”

Photo courtesy of jozaeh on Flickr

Here’s today’s round-up of some interesting and hopeful helpful posts from around the Web. If you have any suggestions for articles you’ve found interesting — or maybe some great photos of remodels or design projects — let us know in the comments.

Transforming a dining room for entertaining at home
PointClickHome Interior designer Mark Culter provides an overview of “five things that we did to turn [the existing dining room] into the new space” for entertaining guests. Check the before and after photos: The upgrade on the chandelier is arguably the best change he made.

Test Lab: Mrs. Meyer’s Laundry Detergent
Re-Nest Trent Johnson at Re-Nest offers up a simple review of this earth-friendly laundry detergent. Check the discussion in the comments, too, for some more thoughts from other users (and a fiesty little tangent about proper grammar!).

5 Ways To Keep Excitement In Your Kitchen
The Kitchen Designer As writer Susan Serra says, “Even the most perfectly designed, fully functional kitchen can feel just a bit tired at times. That’s my theory. Doesn’t matter how beautiful, how state-of-the-art it is, that feeling can sneak into anyone’s thoughts in any kitchen, anywhere at anytime. BOREDOM!” She offers five simple ideas for fixing the boredom, frustration and helplessness that might set in. What have you read lately that we should know about?