Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder

This one's an easy project!

You'll need:

toilet paper roll

peanut butter

birdseed

hole punch

yarn

Directions:

1.  Punch 2 holes opposite each other at the top of the roll.

2. Spread peanut butter all over outside of tube.

3. Roll in birdseed.

4. String yarn through holes.

5. Hang outside near other branches,

so the birds have somewhere to perch. :)

Here are some more creative ideas for toilet paper rolls!

(photos belong to their respective websites)

Binoculars!

Pencil Holders!

Firestarters!

(click on the underlined ideas above to

get instructions for the other crafts pictured!)

A New Take on the Old Twist-tie!

My ever so creative mother forwarded me

this idea in an email for our blog.

While we all KNOW that we shouldn't be

buying things that come in plastic bottles,

the inevitable does happen. 

And so we recycle them! 

But we also all KNOW that the tops on

plastic bottles do not get recycled. 

So what to do?

Try this ingenious idea!

Cut up a plastic bottle and keep the neck and top, as in below photo.

Insert your repurposed plastic bag through the neck
and screw the top to seal the bag.

Voila! You're a recycling, reducing, reusing pro!

From Jar Lid to Spoon Rest

This one's a no brainer! 

We don't own a spoon rest, so we are always looking

for something to set our utensils on while cooking. 

So we started using the tops to spaghetti sauce jars,

pickle jars - any jar with a wide mouth.

So easy!

Wednesday Words of Wisdom ~ 06.16.10

This time it's in a favorite tune of ours, per Morgan's request!! Enjoy!

Jack Johnson performing "The 3 R's."

Eco Tip of the Week - Ban the disposables!

Becoming eco friendly can be a daunting task. Where to start? Do you buy organic, get rid of all plastics, save water, use toxic free cleansers, compost, get a canteen, walk to work, start a garden? It can be so overwhelming to decide how to make these important changes.  So I decided to start posting a weekly tip that is easy to accomplish and easy to incorporate into your daily life.

So without further ado, here we go!

Tip #1:  Ban the disposables!

Remember when using the good dishes/silverware/napkins

was such a special treat?

Now you can treat yourself everyday!  You may have a few more dishes, but you'll have a lot less garbage and save a few trees in the process.

*Use cloth napkins
*Skip the paper plates
*Don't use plastic utensils. Yes, even the little ones can handle real silverware!
*Store items in reusable containers - stainless steel, glass, repurposed cereal bags, etc.
*Use the nice drinking glasses and wine goblets - even if it is just water!

Make the change one meal at a time, one day at a time and pretty soon you won't even miss the paper & plastics goods!

What to do with those annoying plastic containers?

We don't get take-out often, but when we do,

it comes loaded up in plastic containers. 

I can recycle most (1-2 in our community, 3-7 at work),

but most communities leave you hanging on those #5's. 

What to do, what to do?

Plant a garden!

They make excellent seed houses.

Pop a few holes in the bottom for when you plant

and rinse and put away after you transplant!

(Big Tip: Preserve Products will also send you

pre-paid shipping labels to collect all your #5 recyclables!)

From Rags to Riches!

A lot of our hand-me-downs still have a lot of life left in them. 

But they've also been well lived in, ie: stains, rips, faded patches.

So what do do with those not-so-perfect beauties?  Get out the fabric markers!

The little ladies love coloring their own designs and then showing them off.

We use Crayola fabric markers on clean clothes and

then either iron to set or toss in a hot dryer for about 10 minutes.

And the finished product! Good as new!

Repurpose Those Cereal Bags!

What to do with those plastic bags that house your cereals & crackers? Use them as ziploc bags! I have not bought a box of plastic storage baggies since November - yay me! I've been saving the plastics bags from inside our cereal & cracker boxes.  I just turn them inside out and wash them and let them dry.  So far I've been able to use them for taking my lunch to work, holding my washed/cut up fruit and veggies, storing leftovers in the fridge and even in the freezer.  I even stored a min-watermelon in one the other day.  Who needs plastic wrap?!  While I'm not sure what number plastic they are made from - yet - it sure beats tossing them in the trash. (I've emailed a couple of the companies and have not received any answers yet, but googling the bags points to a #2) How to seal it with no "ziploc"?  Reuse rubberbands or simple tie a ribbon around the opening!
Goodbye plastic bags and plastic wrap! May you never set foot in my house again!

Refill Those Cartridges!

So, I don't do a lot of printing at home. If I need a picture, I just upload it to a photo site and have it printed off at one of our local drugstores.  But, we are completely out of ink and I have 3 separate Teacher Appreciation projects for 3 different schools that involve lots of printing. (Thanks dear sister, for tossing your project my way, as well!)

I grabbed my empty cartridges and headed up to OfficeMax to buy some new ones.   On my drive up, I got to thinking about how it's great that we can recycle the empty ones, but what about taking it one step further? How about REFILLING them?  When you first walk in at our OfficeMax, there is a station for dropping off your cartridges to refill them. Approx. $10 for black & $15 for color.  I left them last night around 8pm and got a call this morning that they are ready.  So, while I didn't get to take them home right away, I still get them within 24 hours.  The one thing I worry about is how the printing will actually look.

Here's a little info:
PROS:
*Save money
*Reusing something made from plastic
*Reducing packing paper/plastic packaging by not buying new
*Someone else does the filling, so no mess
CONS:
*Have to wait to pick up the refill
*Questionable quality due to reusing cartridge heads made for single use only
*Air bubbles in reservoir can cause messy printing on the paper

I will update when I print to compare the quality of these refilled versus new cartridges!

My New Love! Why you should ditch your plastic water bottle.

Finally! I found a stainless steel water bottle that I love! (I don't love the cheapo ones we have, as all of them tend to leak!) I've been going round and round about what brand I want.  I didn't want a Sigg.  I didn't want a Klean Kanteen.  I wanted something pretty and something where I didn't have to drink straight from the metal edge - without costing a fortune.

So walking through Target on my lunch the other day, I popped down the aisle with all their stainless steel bottles. Lo and behold, I found perfection! Reasonably priced, BPA-free plastic drinking spout, and made by Thermos.

Change happens once small step at a time.  Start with the water bottle and move on to the rest of the plastics. IF you have to buy something in a plastic container, these plastics are BPA-free, phthalates-free and PVC-free: #1, #2, #4, #5.

If you ever needed a reason to ditch the plastic - read on! 

#1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET): No known hazards.

#2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): No known hazards.
#3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or vinyl): Plasticizers are added to many PVC products to make them flexible. These include phthalates — suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), DEHA, another possible EDC, was found to leach from PVC cling wraps into cheese. Grocery stores commonly use PVC to wrap deli meats and cheeses. Reyonds cling wrap is PVC. Some waters and vegetable oils are bottled in PVC. Ad PVC’s manufacture and incineration produces highly toxic dioxins, as does the PVDC used in Saran Wrap, according to Consumers Union.
#4. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE): No known hazards.
#5. Polypropylene (PP): No known hazards.
#6. Polystyrene (PS or Styrofoam): Made from styrene, a suspected carcinogen, PS also contains p-nonylphenol; both chemicals are suspected EDCs. Do not consumer fatty foods or alcoholic beverages from Styrofoam containers; styrene can leach into these substances. Some opaque plastic cutlery is PS, as well.
#7. Other Resins, including Polycarbonate (PC): Most clear plastic baby bottles and 5-gallon water bottles are made of PC. Bisphenol-A EDC in PC, has been found in water and heated infant formulas bottles in PC, as well as food cans lined with a plastic film. For more on the evils of BPA, click here.

(source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/safe-plastics-for-lunchboxes.html)

From Yogurt Tub to Trinket Collector!

This is an easy one and will take maybe 15 minutes to complete!

Supplies:

Yogurt tub (or any plastic tub)

pretty paper

glue/double stick tape

stickers

scissors

ribbon

knife

Directions:
Lid:
1. Trace around lid on paper.
2. Cut out and glue or tape to top of lid.
3. You will then cut an 'X' in the container. 

               This will allow toys/shells/beach glass to go in, but not tumble out!

Container:

1. Cover container with paper. 
2. Poke two holes on opposite sides.
3. Decorate container with stickers, glitter glue, etc.
4. Take the ribbon and poke through each hole.
5. Tie a knot on the inside that is bigger than the hole.
6. Put lid on container.

Voila! Your recycled container is done!

No Sew Recycled Wrist Warmers

When we go out to play in the snow, even though I do the whole *gloves-on-first-then-coat* with the girls, the gloves manage to eventually wriggle out and leave their wrists exposed.

So, I recalled reading about using socks as wrist warmers for outdoor play.  I dug through our sock bag for a couple mismatched & holey pairs and whipped up a few for the little ladies. 
I even made a pair for myself!

The great thing about them is that if you use knee highs, you get coverage up to the elbow.   It also adds another layer of warmth under their gloves and doesn't interfere with the fingers on mittens.

What a great way to reduce & reuse!

Directions:
1) One pair of socks.
2) Cut the toes off.
3) Cut a hole in the heel.
4) Voila! All done!

Great Natural Scrubbers!

We like to use old t-shirts for cleaning around the house, only I find that they aren't always as thick as I would like for scrubbing in the tub or kitchen.  So I was cleaning out some drawers and came across an old thermal shirt that had seen better days.  The waffle knit in it was large and I thought to myself these would make great scrubbers!

I cut the body of the shirt into small cloths and used the bottom of the sleeves for hand mits. And I was right - the rougher texture made a great scrubber! Even the little ladies helped out with the cleaning and we knocked out the kitchen, bath, & living rooms in no time. 

I'm saving the cuffs and collar for some future creations - maybe a doggie coat or freezerpop cozies!

(You can even sew the end shut so that it stays on your hand better.)

Here's a few recipes to make for your own non-toxic cleaning kit.

One Pint ~ Three Lives ~ One Hour of My Time

A creative way to practice the three R's!

Did you know that donating a pint of blood can save up to 3 lives? Yes, one hour of your time can give THREE other fellow humans a lifetime of hours that they otherwise might not have.  The whole thing takes about an hour and the actual donation takes only about 15 minutes.  I did it 4 years ago for my father-in-law when he had surgery for cancer.  I swore that I would continue to donate and I never did again.  I had all good intentions about finding a drive and with the usual busyness of life, I always forgot.

Two weeks ago a letter came home in my daughter's school folder.  Her school was hosting a blood drive in honor of a fellow classmate who died of a rare blood disorder called ITP.  A sweet little girl, who had an unknown platelet disorder that the doctors caught too late.  It's a heartbreaking story that crosses my mind time to time when I look at my own very healthy, very alive little girls.  The Red Cross calls it a "Pint Size Hero" drive. The kids are supposed to get at least one adult to sign up in their stead to donate blood.  They in turn become Pint Size Heros and get some cool prize.  Perfect opportunity! I went online and signed up. 

The Red Cross website lists all the drives in the area in one place, so it's easy to find a blood drive to fit your schedule. 

So last night my daughter got to be a Pint Size Hero. And I got to be one, too.  Last night I gave a mother back her child, a parent back, a husband, wife, sister, brother, friend back to their loved ones. Last night I got to be a miracle maker and it cost me nothing.

An hour of my time, a pound off my scale, and I received a lesson in gratitude. Because last night while my blood filled the donation bag, I sat there with my daughter and thanked the universe a thousand times over that my family and I were on the giving end of the blood donation.  I was grateful for the chance to express my thanks in such a simple and profound way.  And you can bet that I will no longer let excuses get in the way of my being able to give this gift as often as I can.