The kid's treasure chest

Like most kids, my girls love a good craft. Give them an empty box, a glue stick, and some markers, and before long they will have a rocket ship, a cooking stove, or a dollhouse.

All this crafting is great for their creativity, but a little rough on the environment in the amount of resources they go through on a daily basis. That's why I have "the treasure chest."

The treasure chest is a large bin that I keep in the pantry for "reusables" -- items that can be reused as craft materials rather than tossed in the trash can. The typical contents of our treasure chest include paper towel tubes, fabric swatches, plastic containers, cereal boxes, old newspapers, egg cartons, and bottle caps. It's purpose is twofold: keep stuff out of the landfill and feed my girls' insatiable need for craft supplies.

A few recent masterpieces to come from the treasure chest include a robot that Emily made by covering an empty toilet paper tube with tin foil, attaching pipe cleaner arms, and decorating the body with various bits of bling; and a dragon that the girls made together using an old juice carton for the body, egg carton cups as scales, and recycled paper for the face, wings, and tail.

So if your kids like crafts, you can save the planet (and your wallet!) by starting them a treasure chest of their very own.

And check out these sites for some cool ideas on turning everyday trash into treasure: AllFreeCrafts.com, About.com, and KinderArt.com.

Jenn Savedge's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.