Freecycle!

You don't have to throw anything away, and I mean that! If you haven't yet started to Freecycle, check out the main organization's site at: Freecycle.org

You can search out your Home Network there and join the group. I've freecycled a few awesome things to equally awesome people...and I've gotten some great stuff in return! It's like bartering, but better!

If you don't want to part with that box of old frames, but you know you don't have room anymore...Freecycling is the answer!

Here's a list of potential items for freecycling:

• Books, movies, and music (like a free Borders before it went out of business!)
• Lamps and Accent Furniture
• Linens (i.e. tablecloths, towels, pot holders, curtains)
• Clothes (especially clothes that don't fit anymore)
• Cords and Adapters (ones you don't need)
• Arts and Craft Supplies
• Candles and Candle-holders
• Appliances (not being used, that is)
• Kids' Stuff
• Containers
• Planters and Garden Accessories
• Kitchen Utensils
• Pots and Pans

Many people have more than they need of one thing (or a few things), and freecycling is a fun way to share with your community. Plus, you get to make new friends!

To sign up for a freecycling network in your community, visit Freecycle.org...get involved!

Patchwork Fun

In the post-holiday-season mad crazy rush on the malls and stores, I met up with a couple of my friends for lunch (at a mall, of course). It was the week between Christmas and New Years, and the place was packed. After lunch, we roamed around, grabbed cupcakes and tea, and shopped a bit. We started talking about consumerism. The whole holiday season, in fact, had reminded us of how consumerism is such an extremely wasteful enterprise. I told my friends about how I patch everything (even my bras) and they were shocked - how had patchwork never occurred to them! So I'm writing this now to say, Guess what? You can patch anything! Below, I've compiled a list of items you can patch with tips on how to:

• Duvet covers, sheets, etc. (My dog loves to chew on duvet covers, so now I buy patterned covers and patch them wherever they need it. You can barely tell!)
• Jeans/pants (These are super-easy to patch, and can be done either inside or outside. Make your pants funky by sewing on a colorful outside patch, where you can see the whole patch from the outside. I once patched a pair of grey velvet pants with magenta satin patches, and those pants lasted years! Another idea is to cut patches in shapes, like stars or hearts or circles. Depending on the jeans, the patches could become the coolest part of them.)
• Flannels, comfy shirts, etc. (These are also really easy to patch, and can be done multiple ways. I tend to patch shirts on the inside so they last longer, but these can be outside patches, too. I will occassionally patch over an old logo or saying on a tee-shirt with an awesome piece of fabric so that I can save the comfy tee for another few years. I patch those pieces outside, and they always come out good.)
• Hoodies/sweaters (Hoodies are easy to patch, since they're usually all cotton & sweatshirt material is easy to sew. Depending on where the hole is, you can use inside or outside. For sweaters, it definitely depends on where the hole is. If it's the elbows, they can be patched with elbow pads, like jackets, or outside patches shaped like elbow pads. They can be patched with inside patches, too. If the hole is in a less conspicuous place, I usually use an inside patch. Make sure the thread matches the sweater really well, because the texture will already be a bit different, and off-color thread can be an eyesore on a sweater. If you don't have any thread that remotely matches, use a complementary color so it sticks out! Make it fun!)
• Bras (Yes, I mean it, you can patch bras. When the wire comes out, fold a patch in half and sew it on. It may not be perfect, but it's great for around the house. Also, I had one bra where the straps were ripping off, so I folded them over and sewed a triangle patch on the corners so that the non-ripped piece of the strap was patched to the larger part of the bra. It's not a bra I wear out to dinner, but I wear it around the house and out to the park all the time.)
• Patchwork (You can make anything out of patchwork, a towel or a bedspread, a skirt or a top, a child's doll or outfit. Save random material for a while, and you'll find you have tons of fabric for patchwork. The plus side is, patchwork is beautiful!)

Patchwork is fun, and exciting! Every time I find a small piece of fabric that looks like it will make a good patch, I'm stoked to see what I can patch with it. There are so many uses for patches, and you can save your favorite clothes for years to come!

What to do with stale bread?

Certain breads can go stale really quickly, and sometimes you just don't get around to eating it in time. So here are some suggestions on what to do with stale bread...

• Italian-style bread: Make croutons! This recipe also works well for French bread or baguettes of any kind. Toast the bread for 5-10 minutes (until brown), and, once cool, chop the bread into crouton-size chunks. Arrange the chunks in a single layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and spices, and bake at 350 Farenheit for about 10 minutes per sheet. Voila! You've got homemade croutons! (I made these yesterday using fresh rosemary and thyme, and the croutons were delicious! I served them over creamy tomato kale soup with a little cheese sprinkled on top - these bowls were a delicious, filling meal all by themselves!)
• Pita-style bread: Make chips! This recipe works for tortillas, too. You don't need to pre-toast the pitas or tortillas, just cut or tear them into pieces first. Make sure that the pieces are only one layer each (not opening like a shell but flat like a pancake). Drizzle the pieces with olive oil and spices, bake at 350F for about 10 minutes, and you've done it! (I've made these pita chips several times, and they're always a hit! They are super-easy to make out of mini pitas especially, and great when served with hummus or tabouleh.)
• Any kind of bread: French Toast! The way I make French Toast is to mix 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1 tsp. nutmeg in a large bowl together. This mixture is usually good for 3-4 slices of bread depending on the type of bread. I put plenty of butter or oil into a pan and fry the toast until is light brown on each side. Serve with homemade maple syrup and it's breakfast-dessert! (I sometimes use a sweetener in the mixture before frying the bread. I made this recipe last weekend, multigrain bread swetened with a pinch of raw brown sugar on each side of bread, served with warm pears and maple syrup - it made our Saturday divine!)
• Any kind of bread: Bread Pudding! I have never personally made bread pudding, but I have a British friend who makes it all the time, and it is wonderful. Here are a couple recipes I found online that sound delicious:  British Bread & Butter Pudding, and Amish Bread Pudding.
• Any old bread: Feed the ducks! (Unless there are signs asking you not to, that is.) If you live near a lake or pond where ducks or geese live, take a walk near the water and share your stale bread with them. They'll love it!

Saving Paper: Re-using Greeting Cards

Every year, we all send out dozens of greeting cards. Usually, we save some, display some on the mantle or the fridge, but most of them end up in a pile to be recycled. I began buying recycled cards in order to be a little more green, but I still ended up recycling so many cards that I received. It seemed so wasteful that I had almost given up and decided to send e-cards instead. Then I went to a friend’s house during the holiday season, and she had streamers made of cards strung up throughout her house. At the top of every doorway and even hanging from one window sill, she had ribbons strung which were holding old greeting cards. I was amazed at her ingenuity in re-using old Christmas cards as decorations. Her idea only works for horizontal cards, however, so I began to give some thought to new ideas of re-using greeting cards to decorate. This is the list of ideas I’ve come up with:

• Postcards:  If I receive a card which only has writing on the one panel inside, I cut the front off of the card and use it as a postcard. I draw the lines and boxes on the blank side and leave the design from the front of the card as the front of the postcard. Then I can mail someone a postcard! It costs less in postage, too.
• Streamers: My spin off of my friend’s idea was to create streamers from all kinds of cards: vertical, horizontal, even photo cards. I simply punch a hole in the top and bottom of each card and string a ribbon through the holes. The ribbon covers the back of the card so that the front design can be seen when the streamers are hung. In order to avoid the streamers being too heavy, I usually cut the card in half if it is a folded card and use only the designed half. These streamers look beautiful all over the house, and they can be used year after year. The greatest part is that you’ll never run out of materials!
• Gift Tags: Never buy gift tags again! You can use any portion of used greeting cards for gift tags, and they look beautiful. Simply cut out a square or rectangle from a used greeting card, making sure one side will be blank or mostly blank, and you can use the blank side to write the names To and From. If you find a card you really love and there are no one-sided blank spots, you can cover the not-as-good side with plain paper, or with a blank spot from another re-used greeting card!
• Paper Ornaments: For those of you who want to be even more creative, you can cut ornaments out of old greeting cards. Simply make a stencil of an object, such as a snowflake, leaf, pumpkin, flower, tree, or any object that relates best in your household. Using the stencil, you can cut out many matching and non-matching objects out of received greeting cards. This is a great, easy craft to do with children, and then you can let them color on the blank side if they wish. You can even use a little glitter glue on the edges to make it extra special.

Being eco-friendly can be so much fun, and it can be a money-saving adventure in these trying times. Kids love craft projects, especially when they know you’ll be displaying their beautiful artwork around the house. These ideas are just a starting point. If you think of more great craft ideas to re-use recycled greeting cards, please comment below and let me know. Happy Recycling!

Save Green by Going Green Tip #3

Our next money-saving/planet-saving tip is...      Tip #3:  Make Your Own Rags

Making your own rags gives you something to do with all those old tee-shirts you were going to trash, and it saves trees!  Instead of using paper towels, use homemade rags to wipe up spills and messy counters.  An average family could save more than $100.00 per year by making the switch from paper towels to cloth rags.  Below I've listed a few times when rags could be used instead of paper towels.

• Wiping down countertops
• Cleaning up spills
• In place of paper napkins
• Dusting
• Cleaning the shower/bathroom
• Wiping off wet dog feet
• Wiping off messy boots/shoes

Follow this Link to see where I found the cost analysis on paper towels versus cloth.
Follow this Link to read a great New York Times article on paper towel use.

Be sure to check back with us to read more tips on How to Save Green by Going Green, and lots of other cool Green topics!

Save Green by Going Green Tip #2

Tip #2:  Reuse Containers

I know lots of people who wash out their nice, relatively new Tupperware sets and reuse those every time, and these same people sometimes miss valuable reuse-ing opportunities.  Most food items we purchase at the grocery store nowadays come packaged in containers of some sort, whether it be bottles, tubs, jars, or resealable bags.  All of these containers can be reused!  Just wash them out like you would a Tupperware container and use it again!  When you buy pre-packaged foods, be sure to look for foods packaged in glass instead of plastic, as the carbon footprint of producing glass is a lot smaller than that used to produce plastic (plus, glass containers hold up to washing better than most plastics).  Below I've listed a few types of containers that you probably see every day.  You can wash and reuse these products, save yourself money, and save the environment, too!

• Glass Jars (Great for dry goods, and can also be made into cups!  Remember Grandma's Jelly Jar Glasses? Can also be used for arts and crafts, to store hand-mixed paint or beads. We sometimes make food gifts and give them packaged in re-used glass jars with a piece of fabric or paper tied on top.)
• Glass Bottles (Useful for everything from olive oil to maple syrup - if you buy a large bulk tin of either, you can reuse a smaller glass bottle to store in the kitchen instead. Wine bottles also make great lights or candles. For lights, stuff the wine bottle with Christmas lights and tie a bow around the neck of the bottle. For candles, just stick a taper into the wine bottle opening and let the wax drip down the sides.)
• Resealable Plastic Bags (Good for smaller items and also for airplane travel. Also great for disposing of smelly or messy items, like paint supplies, or dog or baby mess.)
• Plastic Tubs (These can be used for pretty much everything, from leftovers to dry goods.  Just don't put them in the microwave!)
• Paperboard Boxes (These boxes can be used for storage, especially for messy things like art supplies and kids’ craft supplies. Also, these boxes can be used to make all sorts of arts and crafts themselves! Cut out a rectangle and write a postcard on the back, or cut out a shape for a tree ornament. Save trees while decorating them, too!)

All in all, most of us are doing our best to try to go green but make sure we're thrifty with our dollars, too. Stay tuned to this blog to find out more tips on both!

(Be sure to check out this link to the Ecology Center to see where I got some of my facts about Plastic vs. Glass.)

Save Green by Going Green!

We all like to save money, and most of us want to save the planet, too. For those of you who, like me, want to save both, here are some tips…

Tip #1:  Shorter Showers
Everyone knows conserving water is good for the environment, but what we don't always remember is that conserving water is also great for our wallets!  You can conserve water in multiple ways, so if you love your long, hot showers, don't worry - there's more than one option here.  Below, I've listed a few ways to conserve water in your home.  Whether you rent or own, these are great ways to rein in on your water bill and start saving money.

• Shorter Showers  (Not only is this good for water conservation, but it's also great for energy conservation.  You may cut down on your overall water useage, but you'll definitely cut down on Heated Water useage. Plus, I've heard it's better for your hair if you only wash it every 2-3 days. So cut down on shower time and stock up on shiny tresses.)
• Fewer Washes  (You can either wait to wash more items in one larger wash instead of two smaller washes, or you can hand wash some items which would otherwise go in a Mini load with one or two other items.  Just be sure to fill that washer when you can!)
• And the Kitchen Sink!  (If the dishwasher isn't full, don't run it!  I know we all want clean dishes and don't want to have to wait, but it's worth it.  Hand-washing dishes takes just as little time if there are only a few dishes, and conserves so much water.)
• Soak It Up (Soaking dishes in a small plastic tub can reduce the grease and food particles stuck to the dishes, thus greatly reducing the amount of water is sprayed out of the faucet to wash that same dish. The faucet uses much more water per second that a tub does, and this goes for the bathroom, too. Take a bath if you can, instead of a shower. It's relaxing and saving all at once.)