Second Life for Dryer Sheets

I learned this a while back and recently tried this. It works great. Take your dryer sheet and use it to remove soap scum around your bathroom tub. It works great and doesn't scratch the surface at all.  Give it a try next time instead of just throwing out your dryer sheet.

Portion Control

I have discovered my newest love. It is the 1/2 cup glad ware cups with lids. No more waste from my kids. When they used to see jello in a big container their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. I would waste a lot of jello and other food items. So now I make the jello in a pourable Pyrex measuring bowl and then pour directly into the 1/2 cups and snap the lids on them. They then go into the fridge and are easily accessible for all. It also helps me to make lunches very easy.

I love convenience packaging but it is expensive and wasteful. Now, I make them up ahead of time with jello, pudding, applesauce, and diced pears and then kids have a choice on what they want for lunch. Its cheaper, and reusable. The glad cups come in a set of 6 for about $2.99 and are reusable whereas you buy refrigerated Jello premade it cost the same and you can't reuse the cups.

Repurpose Leftovers

We are a throw away society. We throw out leftover food and for me leftover scrap material. I decided that I would take my leftover material and make bookmarks. I love reading so it seemed like the easiest thing to do with my scraps and great thing was the  bookmarks don't need to be a certain size. In repurposing the scraps I am giving a new life to something I would have thrown out.

So the next step was to decide what to do with the bookmarks. I decided that I was either going to donate them to the librarian or teacher as a treat for the students or see if the PTO could add them to our school's bookfair.  I saw last year a little boy who didn't have enough money to buy anything and it was sad. I figured the PTO could charge less than a dollar for the bookmakr and everyone could afford something and not feel left out.

Speak Up!

This weekend I was at a church function. We we outside at a water theme play time with the kids. It was hot, we were enjoying Rita's ice and water bottles. I asked where the recycling bin was for the water bottles. The hunt for one was headed by the pastor's wife and then she took charge going through the garbage to dig out the thrown out bottles.

Do you know that it takes approximately 92% more energy to make a water bottle from scratch then remake a recycled bottle. Think of the impact of that on our environment through global warming and pollution.

Don't be afraid to Speak Up!

Frugal And Green

The two things I love best are being frugal and being green. The two words go hand and hand.  I try to breathe new life into my things by giving to Goodwill or selling at a yard sale. I hate to throw anything out.  Convenience packaging is great but not cost effective on a budget or very green. Buy in bulk and package yourself. We need to teach our kids about protecting the planet that has seen so much human destruction in the last century. Start small and you will never get overwhelmed with change. I am hoping to blog more about the frugally green lifestyle I strive for.

New Pictures Updated

For picking out fabrics I have chosen to just use small swatch samples. Because of that it is hard to visualize the size and fabric on the bags. I have placed examples of several current and previous fabric bag sets under product description and photo gallery. Be sure to check the sets out there! If you need to see a certain bag set before buying and it is not there email me and I will send you a photo!

Clean the World

I was recently on vacation and felt called to be a good steward to the earth. Cleantheworld.org is a nonprofit company trying to recycle used hotel sized soaps. They sanitize them and repackage to send to third world countries. I was in a timeshare resort and made it a point to stop and let the staff know about the program. How many are going on vacation and can suggest the same?

Earth Day

So yesterday was Earth Day. I posted on my facebook page how we all can make a difference for our earth. I of course asked what everyone was going to do to make a difference. I hardly got any posts. I was suprised with all the social movements to become greener that no one was sharing what they were doing. I few friends did the same thing and the same result for them as well. Very few commitments or suggestions of greener living. I was very saddened by this. We all should try to live a more simple and greener life. One way of course we can make a difference is to stop using plastic. Carry reusable shopping bags and reusable snack bags.

FYI- I celebrated yesterday by hanging a load of laundry and my husband decided to not drive to work yesterday and take the day off. He of course just wanted a day off and was not due to Earth day :)

Raising a Greener Generation

I was at the gym the other day and one of my favorite friends, who is also a big supporter of the reusable snack bags, was there. I showed her a new fabric and she loved it. She of course bought it right on the spot. Her daughter who was in a tumbling class across the room saw the bags and immediately came charging towards them thinking there was a snack inside. Kids love these bags, not only because they are whimsical but because they carry food. A greener lifestyle can start young by just making the greener route more enjoyable and fun

Coming Soon Napkins

Tonight at dinner I was experimenting on a fabric to use for my napkins. At my house I am using homespun cotton which is nice but to encourage kids to use they are a bit boring. So I had one napkin and make my children play guess which hand behind my back has the napkin. Of course the youngest won which made the oldest mad. He sulked all through dinner. It was encouraging to see the response of my new fabric and the excitement to use them. So as soon as my business allows I will be adding reusable napkins as well as my reusable snack bags!