Frugal Accomplishments

This past week we had some great frugal scores, as well as keeping up with our regular activities.  Here's our list of accomplishments:

• Cooked all meals at home.  This included lentil sweet potato soup using homemade turkey stock, sweet potato waffles, baked chicken with sweet potatoes and salad, and cranberry currant muffins.
• Took leftovers for lunch every day to work.
• We took advantage of lots of overflow from the food pantry and said yes to:  half gallon of milk, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, chopped root veggies, yogurt, oranges, pomegranates, and bread.  This will keep us from having to go to the grocery store this week and maybe next week.
• Took advantage of three shared meals this week with family, friends, and church.  We took corn on the cob to the meal with friends and tortilla chips to the chili cook off at church.  These meals were fun entertainment and saved us on meal prep and groceries.
• Saved two cartons of milk from the school cafeteria that kids were going to throw away unopened.  Used these for coffee drinks.
• The citrus we ordered from the local high school band arrived, so we have two boxes of mandarins and grapefruit.  The whole family loves these, and they will store well for weeks in our unheated basement space.  It's nice that it was a fundraiser for the band program too.
• Hung all clothing to dry after laundry.  Used lowest heat setting on dryer for drying sheets and towels.  Washed all clothing on cold water.
• Continued with cloth diapers for baby and night time potty training for little man, saving on diaper costs.
• Both boys have colds, so we're treating those with home remedies such as homemade broth, humidifiers, Vicks vapor rub, hot showers, and hot tea.  I'm still nursing baby, so his cold isn't as bad, and I'm trying to convince little man to take some of the extra breastmilk to help ease his cold too.
• Showered every other day to save on water and keep my skin not as dry.  
• Saved citrus peels for making homemade citrus cleaner.  I'll make some liquid with white vinegar and some powdered with baking soda and borax.  It is great for cleaning the bathrooms, and I use the powder for gifts for some friends.
• Zested some citrus for drying. I'll store this in a jar and use it in baking.
• Enjoyed our first delay day due to weather to make waffles with the family.  It was a nice treat to have extra family time on Friday.
• Carpooled to work most days, saving on fuel.
• Used our shop vac to clean the car out, rather than paying to vacuum it out at the car wash.
• Continued to compost all appropriate kitchen scraps, including paper towels, brown cardboard, and brown paper.
• Stayed home on Saturday, saving on fuel costs.  I entertained the boys with things we had at home, and helped little man make tie dyed shirts for the family for Christmas using dye we already had and existing white shirts.  Baby will look so cute in the onsie, it gave new life to dingy shirts, and little man is so proud of his gifts!
• Accepted some hand-me-down clothes for the boys.  Some are a bit big still, but they are good quality and we can store them.
• Browsed magazines and cookbooks we already had for entertainment and to help get new ideas for menus.
• Posted items to sell on eBay.
• Reposted our room ad for upstairs.  Hoping to rent that space soon so it doesn't sit vacant too long.  It really helps our budget, and we enjoy sharing the space with someone who's a good fit for our family.
• Saved cool whip containers from a lab at school for use with Christmas goodie gifting.  The containers will hold holiday goodies well, and will look festive when wrapped in tissue paper tied with ribbon.

What did you do to live and save green this past week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Frugal Accomplishments

This week we started out strong, but ended up being kind of a bust, thanks to some medical expenses that were out of our control (but necessary for baby).  Here's the lowdown:

• I carpooled to work daily.  This was my week to drive, so I drove the car with best fuel economy.
• All meals were made at home, except on Monday when we joined Mom at Chick-Fil-A.  She had coupons to use, and paid for what was not covered, so it was a nice treat.
• Wednesday we served a meal for the Wesley Foundation, so we had dinner there with the college students.  This was a lot of fun, and nice to have a free meal.
• We continue with our regular composting and recycling, which really cuts down on our trash and helps out with our spring gardening.
• Our spice order arrived from San Francisco Herb Company, so we're excited to have new nuts and seeds, dried fruit, and refills on our spices.  We also have some new things, such as coconut milk powder, to add to smoothies or to reconstitute for regular use.
• It was our week to do snacks for preschool, so we opted for frugal homemade caramel corn for little man's birthday on Tuesday.  Later in the week, we did apple slices and a large carton of vanilla yogurt.  (There are some in the class who can't do nuts or gluten, so this is limiting some of our homemade options.)
• We did a fun gift for little man's birthday and he got to pick out a beta fish from the pet store.  He's super excited about helping to take care of it, and is loving watching it.  (And we already had all the supplies on hand, so we only had to buy the fish.)
• We're hosting the birthday party at our house, and made it a potluck, so we're only having to prep a few things.  The only special item we bought was a candle for the cake (which a friend is making), and some chips.  We will also make the requested caramel corn again, and will have some hot tea/cocoa set up.  We are using our regular mugs for hot drinks, and will use plastic plates we have on hand for easy cleanup.
• The budget buster this week was that I ended up having to go to the hospital birthing center last night for some tests.  Without too much detail, there was some concern about baby's status, and they couldn't check it at the office.  Thankfully, all the tests showed that everything was ok and I just ended up with a prescription for an antibiotic.  Regretfully, we don't have a large enough OB clinic to accommodate the lab testing there, so we're just waiting for the big bill to arrive.  Hopefully, since it was during the day, it won't end up costing as much as an ER visit would.
• On the up side, rent is due this week, and I got paid.  My paycheck was a little less this time, due to now covering Benny with our family health insurance, but it really ends up being a wash because the money comes out pre-tax.  This medical coverage is also better for Benny, so that will be nice if/when he needs it.
• We continue to advertise the rental space upstairs, and are having a few interested parties, so we're hoping to have that space filled soon.
• I found a summer professional development opportunity that pays a significant stipend, so I'm hoping I'll get accepted.  We'll figure out the nursing/pumping thing once we find out if I'm accepted or not.  It sounds like a great opportunity, so I'm really hoping it works out.

What about you?  I'd love to hear from you about how you're living and saving green this week!

Saving on Maternity Clothes

This time around, I've tried to be just as frugal as we were with our first little man.  We're trying to save as much as we can for the baby fund, while also building up our regular savings and paying down our car and home equity line debt.  Part of this means saving what we can on maternity clothes.

I've been fortunate to be able to borrow maternity clothes from a few friends and family.  I also had a few things left over that were my own from the first time around.  I haven't been choosy about things, but willingly took whatever was offered to me.  Some of it isn't my normal style, but if it fits and suits the occasion, I'll wear it.

My mom also generously purchased a few new to me things at the local consignment sale.  These have been really nice to fill in the gaps from things that I've borrowed.

The only thing I've had to purchase this time around has been some compression tights and leggings.  (Yea! for varicose veins in pregnancy.)  I found a great website, Preggers by Therafirm to purchase them from that's been wonderful to work with, especially when we had to return a pair because they were obviously going to be too small a few months from now.

So, the basics for saving on maternity clothes:

Beg and Borrow  
Don't hesitate to ask friends to borrow their stuff.  I asked around at work and was able to score a few things too.  Most maternity clothes are worn for such a short time that they're in really good shape.  If pants are too long, you can temporarily tack them up with some simple stitches that you can remove when you return them.  Take care of things, of course, because you'll want to return them in as good a shape as they were loaned to you.

Use Your Own Stuff
There are some of your regular clothes that will work and stretch, at least for the first two trimesters.  I have several shirts, sweaters, and leggings that will be modified to work all the way through.  Scarves and jewelry also allow you to personalize things that you've borrowed.

Purchase Used When Possible
Shop consignment or online (eBay, Twice, Thread Up, etc.) for used maternity clothes.  I found a deal on a maternity coat for $10 at the consignment sale, which probably would be upwards of $40 or more new.

Expect the Unexpected
I never thought (or even really knew) that varicose veins would be an issue this time around.  And compression hose, socks, leggings, tights, etc. are not cheap!  But by finding a well designed product with great customer service, I've been happy and comfortable.  We also found coupon codes to use, and shopped the sale items, to find items that would work for me.  For example, I found that the tights with toes were way too tight and my toes really hurt by the end of the day.  So, I found some footless tights and leggings through Preggers that worked for me.

I've probably spent about $50 in compression hosiery, but that's all we've spent out of pocket in terms of clothing this time around.  By borrowing things and using what I already had, I'll make it through this pregnancy in comfort and well dressed.  Do you have any tips for saving on mommy stuff during pregnancy?  I'd love to hear from you!

Going Paperless (or Reusable) as Much as Possible

We've made the effort to go paperless as much as possible in our household.  Not only does this mean we're using fewer resources, and therefore being more environmentally friendly, but we're saving in our budget too.  Here are a few places we've started:

1.  Paper towel-less.  We try really hard not to use paper towels to clean up messes, cover food in the microwave, etc.  We use rags for messes, and have a microwave cover for the microwave (you could also use a plate you turned upside down too).  I've been known to use brown grocery bags cut down to cook bacon in the microwave, or to drain meat instead of paper towels.  (We then compost these; we've never had any trouble with the minimal amount of grease affecting our compost or drawing unwanted pests.)

2.  Tissue-less.  We use handkerchiefs instead of tissues in our house, and have for a long time.  We use them for a few days at a time and then wash them in warm water with towels or sheets, so we don't have any bacteria issues to worry about.  If we're sick, we sometimes do use tissues because they're easier on the nose, but we generally compost them too (as long as your compost gets hot enough for long enough, bacteria shouldn't be a problem).

3.  No disposable dishes.  There are a few times a year we break this policy (for parties mostly), but even then, we try to choose items that can be composted or washed and reused.  We always use dishes that can go in the dishwasher, so clean up is a breeze for weeknight dinners.

4.  No paper napkins.  Cloth napkins have been the standard in our house since we got married.  They're nicer for guests, and easy to wash with the weekly load of towels or sheets.  We try to use patterns that hide stains, such as plaid or darker colors, so we don't have to use a lot of stain remover.

5.  Cloth diapers, not disposable.  For the first year of little man's life, we had him in cloth diapers exclusively.  Now we use one disposable at night, because he sleeps through the night that way.  We also use disposable for travel, but we plan to potty train next month over spring break, so hopefully we'll be done with diapers all together soon.

6.  Cloth wipes (or "family cloth").  We use cloth wipes for our little one, and also use them some for ourselves to cut down on our toilet paper usage.  This actually ends up being really good for those of us with sensitive skin, because it means that we're not exposing our skin to all the bleach and other chemicals that are used in commercial toilet paper.  We just wash the wipes with the cloth diapers, so it's pretty easy.  The wipes that we use are just cut from a few old t-shirts, so there's next to no work involved.  For some people, this would be over the line, but for us, it works.  We still have TP around for times when we need it and for guests.

7.  Less packaging.  Buying in bulk saves a ton of paper and plastic packaging.  Buying used saves packaging all together (think Craigslist, thrift shops,etc.).  What packaging we do get, we try to deal with responsibly (recycle, reuse cereal-type boxes for projects, composting unwaxed cardboard, etc.).  By using whole foods (whole produce, baking from scratch,etc.) and cooking from scratch, we save a ton of packaging.

8.  Reuse containers.  We wash and reuse plastic ziplock bags that didn't contain meat.  Saving produce bags and bread bags from our CSA subscription gives us enough bags to handle our homemade bread for a year, usually.  Repurposing plastic containers (sour cream containers, large yogurt containers, etc.) gives us a ton of storage containers for small toy items, craft supplies, etc.  We can also use these for starting seeds early for the garden.  This is a huge help with our herbs and lettuces.  You can also do some cute kids crafts with paper milk cartons.  Some of these containers make fun bath toys too.

9.  Use both sides.  When cleaning, I use both sides of a rag.  When we print something, we try to use both sides, or at least use the back for a to do list or something else.  When I use cotton balls or pads to clean my face, remove makeup, etc., I use both sides.

10.  Reduce magazine subscriptions and bill mailings.  We're trying out an online subscription to a magazine this year and so far it's working out.  By paying most of our bills online, we save on paper and on stamps.  The company saves on resources too, which hopefully would trickle down to us.  Our church recently went to online giving, so this has saved us paper in the form of checks each month too.

These things have become so much a part of our lives that we rarely consider that they might not be the cultural norm.  It's only when we go to someone else's house and see something like *shock* paper towels or the lack of a compost container that we realize how much we have reduced the amount of disposable resources in our lives.  (It also registers when we consider that we only have to take one kitchen trash bag out about every two weeks, and that's with someone who rents our upstairs space contributing.)

What have you done to reduce your resource consumption?  Did I leave anything off my list?  How are you living and saving green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Cutting Christmas Costs without the Cutting the Celebration

We've had to cut back on our overall budget in several ways, but holidays was one easy place to trim quite a bit.  I love the holidays; the decorating, wrapping, celebrating, and baking.  But our culture often tells us that the more we spend on these things, the better.  Here are a few ways we trim the budget, while not trimming the spirit.

Decorating

Several years ago, we bought some lighted garland at an after Christmas sale, so it was deeply discounted.  That same year, we bought some plastic metallic ornaments, snowflakes, etc.  We use these each year to decorate the handrail to upstairs and the mantle.  I use a lot of my silver plated stuff to sprinkle in on the mantle to add more sparkle, which I already had.  Much of this stuff is sentimental too:  Grandma's silver candle sticks, a set of pottery candle sticks given to us by my aunt, a silver platter we bought at an antique store on a date one time.  I use wired ribbon to weave through things too, which can be reused each year.

We have several artificial wreaths I decorated over the years which we store in plastic bags.  This is the easiest decorating ever... just pull the bag off and hang it on the door!

Outside we do very little.  Most of this is because we don't know if it will blow away or get covered in snow or ice for weeks on end.  We do put window candles in our windows, and some years, we scavenge tree trimmings from friends to use outside.  These trimmings I stick in some all-weather flower pots (not pottery, they will crack if you have big temperature fluctuations) and fill the pot with water.  Then, the water will freeze, holding the branches in place.  You could do the same with holly branches, etc.  These just end up being more festive if we have snow fall.

Wrapping and Cards

I've gotten in the habit of saving large pieces of wrapping paper and gift bags for years.  Now we have a substantial stash, so we reuse these.  Often we reuse the wrapping paper for kids gifts, since this paper is more likely to be torn.  We also reuse tissue paper for stuffing gift bags and for wrapping stocking gifts.  My great aunt, who grew up in the Depression era, has mastered wrapping without tape, which is a skill I have yet to learn, but would love to.  These strategies save us lots of money, as well as save valuable paper resources.

We save the fronts of gift cards and Christmas cards to use as gift tags or upcycle into new Christmas cards.  I also make hand-stamped Christmas and thank you notes, which saves a ton of money over buying gift cards.  I use my ink rewards from Staples to "buy" cardstock and envelopes, so I have only the cost of the stamps and ink invested.  This year, we'll take advantage of some of the great photo deals out there on photo sites to print a family portrait to give with Christmas cards.

Gift Giving and Celebrating

When it comes to gift giving, we're all about homemade. We make jams and jellies throughout the summer and fall to give.  I've also found some recipes for homemade soup mixes, which are fun to give with a loaf of homemade bread.  Giving bread is cheaper than giving cookies because there's less sugar, chocolate, or nuts involved, all of which are expensive when compared to the cost of a bulk bag of flour.  We also make homemade vanilla extract for the bakers in the family, and I put away a few pounds of herb butter in the freezer made from herbs we grew this summer.  For some friends, they'll get a loaf of homemade French bread and a stick of herb butter.  All of these are gifts that come from the heart and are genuinely appreciated, and they cost us far less than buying something for everyone on our list.  Giving a gift certificate for services is also fun.  I gave my mom a gift certificate for a bread a month, which was really fun.  She didn't use it every month, but she did enjoy it when she took advantage, and it was nice when she was entertaining for her to not have to worry about that, but just call me to bake a loaf for her.

We also get creative about how we purchase gifts that we need to.  We use Amazon credit, I'll use Recyclebank points to give magazine subscriptions, or we'll purchase used and upcycle.  We might buy some picture frames at the thrift store and remix them into something that suits the recipient, and give a family portrait that way.

You can also get creative with celebrating.  We do lots of potlucks this season, where everyone brings their favorite holiday side dish.  Sometimes, we've done a Feliz Navidad theme, which is kind of fun and a nice departure from all the same kinds of foods.  By going potluck, it takes the pressure off the host and means everyone got at least one thing they like to eat.  By hosting, it means that we get to enjoy everyone getting together, and it's far cheaper than eating out with everyone (and less chaos since most of us have kids).

Baking

I save on baking this time of year with the same basic grocery strategies we use all year.  Buy in bulk, use coupons, shop sales, etc.  This time of year is a great time to stock up on baking necceties, though.  There are always sales and coupons for spices, brown sugar, nuts, etc.  I try to save a portion of November's grocery budget just for stocking up on baking supplies so I don't have to buy them later in the year.  I'll try to buy enough brown sugar this month with coupons and sales to last us for the year.  We'll stock the freezer with fresh cranberries this time of year so we can make cranberry muffins, bread, and cranberry chutney throughout the year.  We love all these things, and the chutney is great on bagels with cream cheese or mixed into oatmeal.  The chopped frozen cranberries are also great in popsicles or cooked with cabbage as a side dish.

How do you save green at Christmas?  I'd love to hear from you!

(Re)use it or lose it

By now you know that we are all about repurposing items around our home.  Not only is this green because it keeps it out of the waste stream, but it often keeps us from having to purchase something new.  This means that there's more money in our savings account.  Here are a few things that we've repurposed recently.

Spray bottle:  Rather than purchasing one for our homemade shower cleaner, we repurposed one from some laundry stain remover we had used up.  This has been great!  We use it daily, and it's held up well.  When you repurpose bottles like this, it's important to relabel them clearly so that everyone in the house knows what they're now used for.

Mason jars:  We use mason jars (or large spaghetti sauce jars) for storing all kinds of items.  They're great for storing grains in the fridge that we don't use as often, and we use them for storing brown sugar, dried beans, and other pantry staples.  I'm really digging the old vintage blue glass ones right now, so I'd love to find a few of those at garage sales or thrift stores.  They make pretty casual summer time flower vases too.

Plastic food containers:  We often repurpose plastic sour cream containers and the like for lots of things.  They are great containers for holding water for painting projects.  The larger ones also make good containers for holding paint if you're painting trim in your house.  We also use them to start seeds for the garden, by poking holes in the bottom for drainage.  Lately, though, we've found that our little one loves the small ones.  He's got a drawer in the kitchen dedicated to his kitchen things, and these are perfect for him to throw around and play with, and it saves our regular ones from getting as beat up.

Paper bags:  We rarely use paper towels, but when we finally ran out of a roll this week, I used a piece of a brown paper bag to drain bacon on.  It worked great, and it saved a trip to the store for a roll of paper towels.  The larger ones also make fun gift wrap if you cut them apart, and of course you can use smaller ones for lunch sacks.

Rubber bands:  We save our rubber bands from produce.  These get used to seal all sorts of things, but they also make a good makeshift child lock if you have a kid who doesn't yank too hard on the cabinet doors.

Produce bags:  The plastic bags from produce purchases get reused in our home for storing our homemade bread.  We used to purchase bread bags, but we've started using these instead because they're free and generally pretty clean.  Usually we can reuse them a few times before they get a hole in them and have to be tossed.

What about you?  Anything you reuse that others might toss?  I'd love to hear from you!

New Life for a Little Old Lady

So, Monday was a snow day for us (a rarity this winter) and we made the most of it. Benny was off too, so we decided to tackle two of our projects that have been in the basement for waaay too long.

The mission: give new life to two old dressers desperately in need of some love. See Exhibit A.

The players: Benny, myself, and a ReStore dresser we moved into the basement when we built the house and a little dresser that was my great, great aunt's (it's got her signature on the back) and was mine as a kid.

The first is the little lady that was mine as a kid. It's solid construction, though the runners of the drawers needed a little paraffin (we had none so resorted to bar soap) to help them slide better. Originally, it had painted wooden knobs that had a few coats of paint that had seen better days, so I knew these would go. It also needed some serious sanding since the backs of the drawer fronts had been painted and had adhered to the dresser front after years of storage in my mom's attic. And, of course, it needed to be primed and painted. It's got this cute little apron front detail and is a nice small scale, perfect for additional linen storage in our kitchen. (It seems you can never have enough storage in the kitchen.)

I should mention here that I'd been drooling over this cool paintable textured wall paper that they now carry at Boone Paint and Interiors where Benny works. Since we're not the wallpaper on our walls type of people (too many horrible experiences removing the stuff after people didn't prep the walls properly), I kept trying to come up with a way to use the stuff. These projects ended up being the perfect fit, since they were pretty plain pieces without any ornate detailing on the drawer fronts or anything. (Plus, the ReStore dresser had a horrible finish that had been poorly scraped off leaving the sides very distressed, and not in a pretty-I-meant-to-make-it-look-like-that way.) So, Benny brought home the book and I chose a modern circle pattern that was the right scale for the pieces.

So, on Monday, we took these babies up two flights of stairs to the office to paint them, after they'd been prepped and primed earlier in the basement. They both got wallpaper pasted to the sides, which we measured and carefully cut with a razor blade. The wallpaper paste ended up being free from a painter Benny knows (it's great to have him work in this business sometimes). The painter recommended that we thin down the paste with some water and mix it with a kitchen whisk, which was perfect. (We did spend all of 94 cents for a new whisk so that we didn't risk mucking up our good one for baking.) We rolled it on with a disposable foam roller, so that made it really easy. Then we carefully smoothed down the paper and pressed out any air bubbles. This part was a little tricky with the textured paper to see all the bubbles, but once we got the hang of it, it was pretty quick work.

After pasting the paper and letting it set for a while (we went downstairs for a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches... yummy, one of my favs that Benny makes), we painted each one with paint we had leftover from other projects. The little one got white Aura (this is Benjamin Moore's low VOC stuff and it covers great... one coat!) trim paint and the taller ReStore one got some paint we'd color matched to go with the aged white paint on the furniture in the guest room. This way, if we ever need another dresser in the guest room, it will be the same color and we won't have to paint it again. The drawer fronts on the little lady for the kitchen got painted out in leftover blue Aura paint from our living room to help tie the two spaces together a bit more. We applied the paint using the red feather mini rollers left over from another project, and since we didn't have any roller tray liners, we used plastic grocery sacks (which somehow inexplicably make their way into our kitchen, even though we use reusable totes whenever possible--even to the extent that if we forget them and leave them in the car, we'll go out of the grocery store with an armload of produce and cereal and the cashiers think we're nuts).

Once we finished with all the painting, we came downstairs and ordered the hardware for the dressers from . We searched out an online coupon code for the site and found one that would work for our order and gave us 5% off. (There were better ones, but we didn't have a big enough order.) One trick with this site is to order all your hardware from one manufacturer to save on shipping, otherwise it's an additional cost per manufacturer. We ended up paying about $60 for the hardware (10 knobs, 4-3" handles/pulls, 3-5" handles/pulls), which was above my $50 goal for the hardware for both, but still pretty good when you compare to retail prices. The hardware should arrive tomorrow and I'm so stinking excited! I can't wait to put the jewelry on my little lady in the kitchen! (I'll put a new pic up when I get the hardware on.)

Last night, I lined the drawers of the new kitchen linen chest (little lady sounds so much sweeter) with some wallpaper we found at my grandmother's house that was what used to be in her kitchen. I think it's so neat that this piece has so much family history and is getting used again after a lot time in storage. It's such a nice addition to our kitchen and really helps to clear out some of the areas that were just too full. I love that I can now store all our cloth napkins right in the kitchen, along with our dish towels, place mats, and table runners. (These used to take up a good portion of the bottom shelf in our bedroom closet... we so did not plan enough storage in this house.)

The ReStore dresser is now kind of in limbo in the office waiting for us to finish up some more cleaning out and finish some other projects before there's space for it. It's going to look great in the office and will provide some much needed storage in there for our winter items (scarves seem to multiply around here with me, and hats) and office supplies.

So, here's the estimated total, for those of you wanting to know:

"little lady" kitchen cabinet: free (gratis as Benny would say)

ReStore diamond in the rough: $10-15 (I can't quite remember, I bought it like 4 years ago)

textured paintable wall paper: $15 per roll (we only needed one)

primer/paint: free (leftover from other projects)

wallpaper paste: free (gifted by painter)

whisk to mix wallpaper paste: 94 cents

sponge rollers: $2.50

cabinet hardware: $60 (including shipping)

Total: $93.44 for two dressers

So, what do you think? Have you been up to any painting projects lately? How have you saved a buck (or saved something from the landfill) and still added storage to your home? I'd love to hear from you!

** I'll be back with pics later. I just couldn't wait to post this! :)

Kicking more of the paper habit

We've been a recycling family for a long time, and I've been a recycling crusader since about first grade. I come from a family of scientists, teachers, Boy Scouts, and conservationists, so I "come by it honest".

But it's always bugged me that there are some things you can't recycle, such as some types of plastics (we only recycle # 1 & 2 here) and some paper products, such as waxed freezer cartons and the ubiquitous tissues. I've figured out how to use those other plastic containers for packaging leftovers/food for gifting and for starting seedlings. I've also begun using the waxed paper cartons for starting seedlings, just cut them off to fit the size you need (a butter carton will give you two containers if you cut it in half and retape the open end, a milk carton or cream container will work perfectly if you cut off the spout end, etc.). Then it's easy to give away these seedlings and you don't have to worry about getting your containers back.

But what about the tissues? I know there's a sanitation issue with recycling them; totally get that. So, I've begun using handkerchiefs as most of my grandparents generation did, and many still do. Certainly there are times when a tissue is best (when you're sick), but for the occasional nose blow or wiping sweat from your face when you've finished yardwork, a handkerchief works wonders. By folding it over a few times, you can get a few uses out of it (sorry if that's too graphic for some of you more sensitive readers out there). I keep one in the bathroom where the tissue box used to live and one in my pocket when gardening. When it's dirty, I throw it in the wash with the sheets and towels, since these get washed in warmer water to sanitize them.

All in all, I figure this has saved us a small amount of money in our monthly grocery/toiletry budget (since we used coupons anyway, we could generally get tissues for about 50 cents a box), but it's definitely saved the amount of paper that's thrown out in our house. It means the bathroom trash fills less frequently, which means we're saving on plastic bags there. (Not that we purchase these bags, we simply reuse plastic grocery sacks that seem to find their way into our house, even though we use reusable totes at the store.)

So, I'd love to know... was this post too extreme for you? Would you ever consider using handkerchiefs as tissue substitutes, or is it just too Depression-era or hippie for your taste?

Our Ghetto Greenhouse

Back in late February, I began planning for our veggie garden. (Some of this was done over snow days browsing seed catalogs and drooling over Barbara Kingsolver’s descriptions in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.) The seeds were ordered and each day we checked the mail, I was like a kid waiting for a letter from Santa… “Did they come yet?” The little packets of seeds arrived one day and I began the next phase; setting up our ghetto greenhouse.

This began with getting out all the plastic egg cartons and assorted yogurt/sour cream/ricotta cheese containers I’d been saving all winter. (I told you we reuse everything around here… well, almost; we draw the line at toilet paper.) I punched drainage holes in the egg cartons with an ice pick and nested the two halves together. I did the same thing with the larger plastic containers, saving them for transplanting later.

This meant that I could water them from the bottom and not disturb the seedlings’ tiny roots once they germinated. I filled the top one with organic soilless seed starting mix and then moistened each pod. The seeds were pushed into the moist soil and then I slid the whole set-up into a large bread bag and closed it with a twist tie. We started peppers, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, basil, brussel sprouts, and cilantro this way. Once these were all ready to go, we put them on a card table in front of our sunny, southern facing window… right in the middle of the living room.

In about six weeks, we had some fabulous seedlings in each pod. I transplanted the tomatoes, lettuce, brussel sprouts, and peppers to the larger yogurt/sour cream containers I had prepared earlier. Using a spoon to scoop them out made this process really easy. Transplanting them to deeper containers really gave the seedlings a jump start.

In the meantime, Benny built some raised vegetable beds for outside in the yard where we’ll transplant the veggies this weekend, after we fill the boxes with a mixture of peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. We’re looking forward to good fresh veggies this spring and summer—as local as they get!

We’ll update tomorrow on how we constructed the beds and managed to fit all the materials into the Jetta. I’ll also fill you in on our new additions to our edible landscaping.

I’d love to hear what you’re doing in your garden this spring, so leave some love in the comments!

A Crafty Solution

Recently, Benny and I were discussing the state of the kitchen table. It tends to be my craft work area/landing zone for all that everyday crapola that comes in the house... junk mail, jury duty letter and parking pass (yes, I get that joy next week), recipes we want to try, etc. I tend to be a "piler" while Benny needs a space to be free of clutter. He's put up with my craft junk covering half the kitchen table because he knows I need to leave a project unfinished at times, and because I like to be in the same space with him when he's working on the computer or watching TV. But I realized that it would make him tremendously happy to have a clear kitchen table, and I'd like seeing the space neat and tidy also.


So, this past weekend, we took about an hour to organize my small collection of stamping supplies that had recently taken over one end of the kitchen table. (I forgot to get a before picture of this... sorry for all of you who love before and afters. Just imagine all your junk mail piled up with stamping supplies and a few random leftovers from Christmas decorating and you've got the general jist.) Thanks to Benny's mom, I had recently acquired some fabric covered storage crates (from Costco, where else?!) which I used to organize the paper, envelopes, and stamps.


Then we moved Benny's dresser (it had been emptied at the time that we installed the closet system last year and had never made it's way to the basement... we're hoping it'll find a new home with a friend or a food pantry client--the dresser in it's previous location is above) in front of the window for the time being. We carried the small sewing table that was getting little use in the upstairs guest room down to that corner of our bedroom. With it positioned on the wall adjacent to the window there's plenty of natural light, but I added a small desk lamp for some additional lighting for evening work. The small drawer is great for storing embossing powder, ink pads, decorative scissors, etc. and hides all that clutter well. I love the tape dispenser that's got the pre-cut tape that I can grab with one hand while holding things together with the other, and I added a coaster for the glass or water or mug of hot tea that I always seem to need when I'm in the throes of a craft extravaganza.

I'm going to add a pen/pencil holder to the desktop when I find just the right glass container, and I want to get a desk calendar/blotter to catch all the random pen scribbles and ink from the stamps. Eventually, we'll add some floating shelves above the desk for additional storage. (I'm thinking something white and clean-lined, Ikea-esque, that would blend with our trim and not seem too out of place with the traditional lines of the table. What do you think?)
Right now, I'm bringing a kitchen chair in when I want to work, but our plan is to recover one of the chairs in the basement with our tax refund and some cool striped velvety upholstery fabric my mom purchased for us a while back.

I love the fact that it's allowed me to keep the kitchen table uncluttered, which keeps hubby happy. It also means that my craft area is on the same level as the TV and kitchen, so that means that I can visit with Benny while I craft or check on whatever is baking in the oven without running up and down the stairs.

But on to what you really want to know... how much did we spend?

Table: free (originally from my house growing up, so from Mom)
Storage crates: free (thanks to my mother-in-law)
Desk lamp: free from college days
Coaster: free (it was one of a set of four picture frame coasters--I used wall paper samples instead of pictures to add some texture)
Caster cups: $2 at Wally World (these were to protect the soft bamboo flooring from dents)

Not too shabby for working with what we've got! Have you done any fabulous transformations by just shuffling things around your house? Do you have any grand ideas for the shelving we want to do one day? I'd love to hear from you!

After Christmas Holiday Decor Deals

I'm sure you all found your share of after-Christmas deals. This year, I was on the hunt for some pre-lit faux garland, silver ornaments to decorate the garland with, clear glass ornaments to decorate for gifts for next year, and holiday mugs to use as gifts with homemade hot cocoa for next year.

I managed to find my garland for $5 for a 9-foot section at Target, after seeing it at Michael's for more than double that. I scooped up two sections, as well as some silver ornaments for 50 cents a tube (I think there were 8 in each tube). They were a mix of sparkly glitter, matte finish, and standard shiny silver ones. I got a variety of sizes, and we'll use them to decorate the garland on the banister and the mantle next year. I also plan to use the polished silver candle sticks from my grandmother's house in the mantle decor next year, as well as some magnolia leaves spray painted silver, and some pine cones from the family tree farm.

We also had a hayday in my in-law's attic and at Goodwill finding all sorts of holiday decor that could be updated with a little spray paint. My mother-in-law had tons of 80's brassy ornamental instruments, including french horns and trumpets, which will get updated with a coat of silver or white spray paint. I'll wire them onto the banister or work them into the mantle decor. The larger ones will find a place hanging inside a wreath on the door. She also had several decorative nut crackers, of which I took one (there were four... notice the restraint on my part ;)), with plans to strip the faux fur beard and hair and spray paint him silver or white to add do the mantle, in the style of this humble blog. I'm loving that I'll be giving these things a new life with just a little paint, that they're being saved from a landfill, and that they're FREE! There were also some clear glass ornaments at Goodwill that were perfect for our DIY ornament project, though we snagged a few more at Michael's also after Christmas.

I found some of the holiday mugs I was hunting for at Goodwill, and they're super cute for $1 each... neat little snowmen. They'll be perfect for some homemade cocoa and a candy cane or two tucked in for a sweet little holiday gift for coworkers or friends. While at Goodwill, we also found two pairs of pants for Benny, one of which will be made into shorts, as well as a nice Old Navy sweater for me that's this season's style, without the big price tag. I'm still on the hunt for some skinny jeans to wear with my boots, but I'm not willing to pay retail prices, so I keep scouring the Raleigh Goodwill in hopes that I'll find some. (Goodwill, and thrift stores in general, are great places to go after the holidays, since people who didn't like their gifts and couldn't exchange/return them often donate them. It's also a great time to go since many people are doing the last minute clean-out to get the tax credit for their donations before the end of the calendar year.)

So, how about you? Any deals on holiday decor or amazing thrift store finds? I'd love to hear from you!

Holiday Favorites for 2010

We finally got the tree totally up and decorated this weekend and tidied the house on Sunday, so it looks a little less like the evergreen explosion in our home, and more like Christmas. Since I've had a few snow days on my hands this week (it started snowing on Saturday and is still coming down in small flakes today), I've had some time to blog hop, along with the beginnings of some holiday baking and online window shopping. Here's a short list of favorites:

1. A good book and a cup of hot chocolate: Who doesn't love this on a snowy day? Or maybe you're more of a movie person... either way, here's my short list of holiday reading picks.

• The Chronicles of Narnia (we love it so much we have the whole series on CD)
• The Polar Express (it's our Christmas Eve tradition to snuggle under the covers and read this one together)
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (I loved it this summer and am going back to reread parts--I want to try my hand at making some homemade mozzarella on a snowy winter day)
• Any good cookbook, especially those by Cook's Illustrated, since they're full of good factoids and how-to's.

2. Snuggly hats and scarves: I love to crochet, so I have a thing for scarves. I have them in all colors and styles. But this year, I'm noticing some super cute hats out, including this super cute one wool beret from Target, among others. There were also some fun felted wool ones in other styles in the store. Hats are a really fun way to express a sense of style without sinking a ton of cash into something that you might want to change out next year.

3. Gorgeous holiday decorations: I've been inspired this year to add to our Christmas decorations by decorating the mantle. Ours is interesting to decorate, since the TV sits in a nook above the mantle, making adding some height from candles, etc. a little interesting. But I've found this inspiring one and want to try to whip up something similar with some antique candle sticks and the PB inspired sheet music candles I'm seeing all over the blogosphere. And, I'm still working on getting that clothespin wreath just the way I want before I take a pic of it for the blog. (Right now, I'm having trouble finding all of my holiday decorating stash... does that happen to anyone else?)

4. Homebaked goodies: Inevitably, our holiday gift giving list grows each year, which means I try to find a new recipe or two to introduce into the mix. This year, it's jam thumbprint cookies and homemade peppermint hot chocolate mix. I have also been known to put a few of the slice and bake varieties on a cookie platter if I'm in a pinch for time (shh... it'll be our little secret). However, usually, we try to get most of our baking done ahead of time, and we include some chocolate dipped things (pretzels, coconut, chow mein noodles) that last for a while, so we can make them well in advance. Homemade jam is also a nice thing to add to a goodie basket, or as a small gift for a coworker or acquaintance.

5. Christmas cards in the mail: I love getting holiday cards in the mail... it's just so much more exciting than the junk we usually get, and it's fun to hear what friends and family have been up to throughout the year. We're generally slackers and don't get many cards sent out, but I think we might do an e-card this year, just to continue the sentiment. I also like to use the old Christmas cards as gift tags, so it's always fun to see what the pictures are on the front, so that I can match them up with the wrapping (is that just me being a nerd... or do other people think about that too?). Plus, it gives the card one more "life" and you know I'm all about reusing.

So, what are your holiday favorites? Do you have some new ones to add to your list this year? I'd love to hear from you! Check it out later this week and there will be a guest post on saving a bundle on a phone.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This morning, we awoke to a dusting of snow and blustery weather... the perfect way to begin December. We've made it through the Thanksgiving food rush (and learned that baking soda, vinegar, and a little liquid soap make a great cleaning agent for the oven), and have had our fill of winter squash and pumpkin pies and cupcakes.

So, now we're in the throes of getting the house ready for Christmas and it looks like Santa's workshop has exploded all over the living room. The artificial tree is halfway up, with lights on part of it; the Christmas wreath will go on the front door this afternoon; and the Christmas goodie list is being made and we're stocking up on flour, sugar, and all the other baking necessities. The Christmas wrapping station has not been put up yet, but I'll showcase some of those packages for you to give you some creative ideas for wrapping your own gifts.

The holiday projects, outside of baking, include staining the handrail for the stairs (which we've put off for two years... it just hasn't been at the top of the priority list) before decorating it with garland, lights, and bows. I also started a wreath last year with antique clothes pins (hurray for reuse), but I have to figure out what kind of embelishments I want to add to that. I've already spray painted it silver, so I'm thinking I might go with a teal and green theme for that wreath, since those are the colors in our living room and kitchen. (These might come from the holiday wrapping stash.) I'm also wanting to put together our cork board to put by the back door, so that we can post a calendar and not forget all of our holiday parties or committments.

So, what about you? Have the elves already been at work at your house, or are you fitting it around the edges of a hectic schedule? What are the projects you want to get done before December 25? How about that holiday goodie list... are you trying something new this year? I'd love to hear from you!

Reuse it or Lose it

Today's post is all about finding new ways to reuse items that some might be ready to send to the landfill or recycling center. Here are a few that we commonly implement here at home to lessen our environmental impact.

1. Reuse the old shower curtain liner. We've used them for drop cloths when we're painting, as a tarp in a pinch, and you can use them to help protect plants during early spring when late frosts threaten new growth. I've even seen friends cut them into smaller portions and use them under high chairs to keep the mess from getting out of control. (Though that would be totally unnecessary here with the fuzzy Hoover picking up every crumb in sight.)

2. Find new uses for containers that once held products in the fridge. We use milk jugs for watering containers and berry picking. They also make excellent scoops if you cut part of the top off (try them for bailing water out of the boat after a rainstorm or for scooping up compost to add to the garden in small portions). For containers with tight fitting lids, like whipped topping, we commonly use them for taking things to church potlucks, taking food to a family who just had a baby, and gatherings with friends. That way, it's no biggie if we forget it. You can easily reuse the yogurt and sour cream containers for starting plants from seed or delivering small transplants to friends.

3. Reuse aluminum foil and ziploc bags. If the foil is clean or easy to wash after covering soup or a casserole, we'll reuse it to cover something else. We reuse our gallon size ziploc bags several times if they're going to hold the same thing, like our weekly batch of homemade bread.

4. Reuse jam and jelly jars. If you're going to make refrigerator jam or a standard batch of jam that you plan to use right away and keep in the fridge, then you can reuse these jars. You can't process these in the boiling water bath, as you would with standard canning jars, but as long as they're sterile (we wash ours in the dishwasher), then you can reuse them if they're going straight to the fridge. You can also use them for salsas, pickles, etc. in the same way.

5. Reuse cardboard and newspaper. I've written quite a bit about using these in the garden to block weeds, but we've also used large sections of cardboard to mount posters on for display (great in a pinch for school projects). For example, we mounted a county map on a piece for our neighborhood small groups at church. Once this is finished and we're done with the map, then I plan to trim the cardboard a bit and make a memo board out of it by covering it with some batting, scrap fabric, and criss crossed ribbon. This will be a great organizational tool at school and will cost far less than purchasing one new, since I have all the materials on hand.

6. Reuse the unexpected. You can always get creative with old china, metal containers, large metal cans, baskets, etc. if you plan to use them in the garden. I discovered a cool old metal gas can when we were cleaning out my mom's shed, which I (really Benny) plan to drill some holes into the bottom and plant some cascading plants into the small hole. I think it'll add a nice eclectic touch to the garden in the spring, and the green patina of the container will blend in nicely with the other plants in the garden. Old potato bins can make unique trash cans or recycling centers, especially if you have some vision with stain or paint. The same is true of baskets of all shapes and sizes; think blanket storage, a place to stash kid or dog toys, hide your collection of magazines neatly, etc. Smaller containers can hold jewelry, mail, collect pens on a desk, and a variety of other uses.

So, with yard sale season in full swing and treasures always to be found at thrift stores, I hope this gives you a few ideas. I know when I passed a few yard sales on my way home from the farmer's market this morning, I was sorely tempted to swing in and see what I could find!

Here's to creative reuse, saving a bit of cash along the way, and keeping things out of the waste stream for at least a little longer--one of the easiest ways to live a little greener. I'd love to hear your reuse ideas!

Things I'm Loving

Today's post is all about things I'm loving, especially for outdoors this summer. I hope you enjoy the pictures and links and that they inspire you to think about how you can make your outdoor space more enjoyable.

Rain Barrel I'm loving this from Lowe's and think it might be the next purchase to improve our garden area. It will certainly make watering in front of the house easier and will help to recapture some rain water, rather than using our potable well water for watering the flowers.

This hammered spray paint from Rustoleum is helping us to transform some slightly rusted white iron outdoor furniture (thanks to wonderful kitchen diva Aunt Debbie and ranger Uncle David). The white would have been beautiful in the right setting, but this paint felt more in keeping with our colors and outdoor design. With some outdoor pillows, it will be perfect for relaxing on the deck in the evenings.

I'm loving having my fresh herbs this summer to use in the kitchen. The lemon balm is a great addition to cut flower arrangements. I'd love to have an herb basket, something with a nice handle and a low frame, to carry around the yard when I gather herbs and flowers to keep both hands free when I need them. I'm thinking something along these lines, with the hope that I can find one at Goodwill or a yard sale. This one came from an Etsy shop, Carol's Cupboard, but it's a bit out of my price range for a basket.

Along those lines, I'm loving our library's current collection of landscaping and gardening books. It's allowed us to get some great ideas for free, as well as providing me with resources on how to deal with some of the pruning details and soil amendments that I had questions about. I've also found some fantastic summer reads at the library, many of which come from the staff pick section, which is a nice way to pick up something quickly.

Lastly, I'm loving adding to our pottery mug collection. I found a cool one last weekend at Goodwill in Raleigh for $2.50... score! It's the perfect colors for our kitchen and living room and has a nice shape. I don't have any like this stoneware mug that I found on Etsy. I like the shape of this mug, and the handle seems to be large enough to suit our needs and taste.

So, what about you? What are you loving this summer? Had any fantastic Goodwill finds or ideas for your summer garden? Here's to living and saving green in your summer ventures!

Closet Revitalization on a Budget

A few posts back, I mentioned that Benny and I scored part of a closet system at Lowe's on the clearance table. Well, after that, Benny went to another Lowe's location to see what pieces they had, only to find that all of their pieces had been shipped to the Boone store already. What he managed to score was even better... after a little haggling, he was able to get the whole display unit from that store for $50! (We found out later that this was almost $600 worth of stuff... geez, I love a deal!)

So, the day he brought home the store display (in a friend's truck, since the Jetta definitely wouldn't hold it), this is what I came home to. That's right... a bedroom and living room full of pieces parts of closet system. Mind you, this was a weeknight and I had class that night, so I was beat! And our bed was covered in closet stuff... so, I made Benny a deal. I'd live, for up to two weeks with stuff scattered all over, if he'd get it all put up. He said it would take the weekend. Here was our closet before (after we zealously took down the wire coated stuff that previously hung in the space--to be repurposed in the laundry closet as a second shelf and in the one-day refinished basement as additional storage).

Well, after a little more than a week, I'm eating my words... (it didn't happen in a weekend or two weeks, so I guess we're both compromising) and we have a newly revamped closet for about $50! Benny had to pick up a few hardware pieces along the way, but we were able to put almost all of the purchase of the closet system onto our Lowe's gift card, which meant that the purchase was a nice extra (that we'd been drooling over for about a year), without eating into our thrifty budget. (We discovered quickly that there were more pieces than would fit into our closet, so we moved them downstairs to be used in the basement when we finish that space out in the future... hopefully near future.)

So, let me go on record saying that I'm so stinkin' proud of my husband! He did a fantastic job piecing this all together (since it was the display and was already disassembled when he bought it, there were no instructions for how to put the units back together) and it totally increases our storage space. The shelves go most of the way up the 9-foot walls, which makes use of more of the vertical space we weren't using before, and the shelves across the top will allow us to store out of season clothes in easy-to-see (and reach) baskets and bins. With the space the wrap-around corner shelf provides, we now have some storage for linens, which we were sorely lacking before. Now, there's room for all of his t-shirts, which were crowding the dresser, and we've even got space to hang my wedding dress behind the door with a hook mounted on the wall. This all means that we might be able to get rid of the dresser he doesn't like and replace it with a recovered Goodwill chair, which he's been wanting as a space to sit and tie shoes and generally make the bedroom more of a retreat by adding a reading light.

How're your budget DIY projects coming? How are you repurposing things around the house? Got a great deal to share? Please share... I'd love to hear from you!

Sharin' the green love and savings!

Organization on the Cheap

All those store bought organizers are really cool, but you can easily create your own system much more inexpensively (or find a deal on the store bought ones, like we did today... more on that later).

For coupons, I use a system of bill organizers. I have one for grocery items and one for toiletries. These are great, because they fit nicely into our reusable grocery totes, so we never forget them. I like having the two organizer system because it allows me to have more specific categories. The categories I have for groceries are: cereal/breakfast, canned goods, cleaning supplies, dairy/meat, condiments, snacks, pasta/rice, frozen, baking, and misc. There generally aren't many coupons for produce, but when I have those, I put them in with dairy and meat, since I associate these with perishability (not a word, but go with it). For the toiletries one, my categories are: toothpaste, oral care (floss, toothbrushes, mouthwash, etc.), medicine, soap, shampoo, shaving, lotion, deodorant, feminine care, makeup, and misc. Since I sell Mary Kay, the only makeup things that go here are chap sticks or items that I think people would like as gifts or stocking stuffers.

For favorite recipes, I've created a binder system for most of my recipes. I started out with one, but have had to expand to two. The first is for main dishes (soups, casseroles, meats, pastas, etc.) and sides. The other binder is for appetizers, breads, and desserts. I use a divider system within the binders to keep things more organized, so that chicken is separate from beef and seafoood, etc. Any recipe I find in a magazine or online gets torn out or printed and then put into a plastic sheet protector. When I make the recipe for the first time, I make a note of the occasion, date, and what was good about it. If there were things I'd change (i.e. cut down on liquid, add more pepper, etc.), then I also note that. (And of course, if it was a total flop, the recipe gets recycled.) One of the binders I use came from my mom as a Christmas gift, which is where the idea came from. The other is one that a student left in my classroom a few years ago, which I claimed as my own when it was never claimed. (This meant that I was giving this binder a new life and saving it from Janitor John and the giant, rolling trash can.) The sheet protectors are nice because they make things easy to keep clean when I make a mess on the counter (which happens often).

Today, we began organizing the office (again) since Benny brought a nice lateral filing cabinet home from Raleigh a week or so ago, that originally came from Goodwill. We're organizing all of the paper junk that accumulates there and will have a friend help us move it upstairs, hopefully this weekend. It will be a nice, solid piece of furniture and will allow me to use the shelves and drawers in the closet for organizing other things, like luggage, crafting items, and my Mary Kay supplies.

During my snow day today and Benny's day off, we ventured out to Lowe's to do some research on patio pavers for the spring project and to check out programmable thermostats. We didn't plan on making a purchase, but took our Lowe's gift card just in case. And we hit the jackpot! Benny and I have been eyeing the closet organization systems in Lowe's and elsewhere for over a year, but couldn't rationalize paying what they were charging for the pieces (over $100 for the whole wall system). Well, they're discontinuing one brand of closet system, so we found several pieces on clearance for anywhere from 50-75% off. So, we came home with the framework and two drawers, as well as the middle shelf and three rods for $28. Not too shabby, huh? Benny's going to check out the Lowe's where he works to see if they have the matching pieces that will allow us to finish out the closet. We'll repurpose some Goodwill baskets on the top shelf to hold the linens for the bed and other things we don't need as often. So, if you're looking for something like that, check out Lowe's, because it looks like the whole chain is discontinuing that brand in favor of another.

Hoping these tips help you get organized, and let me know if you've got any tips of your own to share! I'd love to hear from you. Sharin' the green love and savings!

Repurpose and Remix

So, yesterday (during yet another snow day), I did my cleaning thing and laundry. While I was putting away Benny's clothes (or more like setting them on the top of the dresser so the drawers didn't get overstuffed--see yesterday's post), I knocked down a picture frame that Benny had given me a few years ago with some of our wedding photos in it. So, since the dresser is angled in the corner, it didn't just fall flat, but fell totally behind the dresser, crashing as it went down. Picture... shattered glass, dinged bamboo flooring, scarred walls with black scuff marks from the black finish on the frame. (I'm seriously hoping that breaking picture frame glass isn't the same as breaking a mirror... though I'm not superstitious anyway.) I cleaned up the big pieces of glass and vacuumed up the shards after moving the dresser (while keeping Lavender's curious nose out of things) and double bagged it to go in the garbage (they don't like to take broken glass at the recycling center... not sure why... it breaks when you toss it in the huge bins anyway, but I've always been one to follow the rules). I was totally bummed because we both loved that frame and pictures (pictures are not salvagable, they got scarred by the broken bits of glass... but at least we still have digital copies and can get more prints made).

Then, I discovered this post at Young House Love... and inspiration struck! As soon as I acquire enough wine corks (if you have any around that you don't have a project for, send them my way), I'll do the same thing with my busted picture frame and give it a whole new life. I think it'll look great on the small wall that leads into our bedroom... or upstairs in the office... or hanging on the basement door (if I can figure out how to make that happen without it beating up the door every time we open it). So many possibilities...

As I was brushing my teeth last night and getting ready for bed, I decided I'd had enough of the chaos that had become my side of the vanity. Take a look. Crazy, no? And look at all that unused vertical space... it's just crying out for a shelf. Well, I knew there was no way I was going to convince Benny to break out the saw and scrap wood to make one for me, so I found this shoe rack that had lived it's life in our former apartment. It doesn't work in our closet now, so it's just been hanging around waiting for a Goodwill drop off. Enter: repurposed vanity shelf! I hauled everything out of the cabinet, organized it into categories, tossed the stuff that was no longer good (and gave away the bubble bath to a family with a three year old... I never take baths), and cleaned up the shoe rack. Here is the finished product (well, not totally yet, I think I still need some low baskets to contain all those little things--razors, travel shampoo, nail polish). Not too shabby for free!

We've also repurposed some other things, which I won't picture (use your imagination) because you know what they look like. Benny decided that our compost container was too small (the original one was a Cool Whip container), so when we polished off the cookie dough I got suckered into buying from a kid at school for a fundraiser (so really, we loved the cookies... and I always tell my students I'll buy from whoever hits me up first), we turned the tub into the new compost container. I finished off one container of quick oats this morning with our oatmeal (it had blueberries, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon... beautiful color and soooo yummy... ok, here's a picture, it was just too pretty not to share), so after I clean out the container and paint the outside, it will become the new canister for our brown sugar. (Yes, I'm going to paint it to coordinate with the colors of the house... why not? We have leftover paint.) I also discovered that this little pottery cappuccino cup a kid gave me for Christmas has a crack in it (which is a shame, because it's the perfect colors for the house), but I can't stand to part with it. So, I've decided that it will make the perfect container for an indoor collection of succulent plants. The crack will keep the plants from getting too much water, and since these plants grow to the size of their container, they'll look great on the kitchen window sill. (And indoor plants help with indoor air quality, always a plus.)

Of course, there are all kinds of things you can repurpose or remix... old table linens can be turned into window treatments by just draping them creatively over pretty curtain rods. Use stained place mats as a laptop pad, or dye them and give them a new life. A flannel shirt with a hole in it can become a foot or neck warmer, simply by cutting out a rectangle of fabric and filling it with rice and sewing it back together (then just heat in the microwave for a minute). Use pretty glass salad dressing bottles as a bud vase. Shoe boxes, painted or covered in fabric, become great gift boxes. Put Styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of a planting container to save on potting soil and allow for good drainage. (Didn't I tell you we reuse practically everything in our house?!) And the list goes on... What have you repurposed or remixed? Any cool ideas to share?

Sharin' the green love and savings!

Green and Budget Wrapping and Gifting

One of my first rules of thumb when it comes to wrapping is to make it beautiful. I take joy in wrapping packages, as friends can attest, and love giving a pretty gift. My second rule of thumb is to do it as inexpensively as possible, without making it look cheap.

With wrapping paper, I try to reuse as much as possible. I've found the Sunday comic pages make great birthday wrapping, and can be recycled in the end. I love using pretty, glitzy paper at Christmas, but try to make sure that it's good quality, so that when someone unwraps the gift, if they don't want the paper, I'll quietly sneak it away, fold it neatly, and use it to wrap another gift. If it's not good quality paper, then it generally tears and can't be reused as readily. Plain brown paper, plain newsprint, butcher paper, and newspaper can be stamped or painted with your own designs and are fun for kids to make. (These generally fall into the budget arena, although the newsprint, brown paper, and newspaper are recyclable if you stamp them.) I've also found that fabric makes great wrapping "paper", although it's a little trickier to get neat folds, and is definitely in the "reusable" category. (Benny's family has been known to wrap gifts in pillow cases and sheets, or not at all. While this is definitely green and budget friendly, I just don't find this as festive--love you all!)

I ALWAYS reuse gift bags and tissue paper, sometimes to the point of being OCD about it. If I see anyone throwing away perfectly good tissue paper (i.e. it doesn't have tape all over it or hasn't been torn to shreds), I'll almost hurtle myself across the room to save the precious tissue paper. (And if it's the pretty printed stuff or gold/silver, I'm all over it. You can use gold/silver for ANY occasion!) In our family, we find that we just swap gift bags around quite a bit. Being a teacher, I'm never in short supply for gift bags and tissue paper, as students generally bring Christmas and end-of-the-year gifts in these (really, most of their moms send them, but they're still much appreciated).

My great aunt has mastered the art of wrapping without tape (I think it's a Depression era thing), so her wrapping is easy to reuse, and she saves on tape. I have yet to master this art, but want to take a few lessons the next time we see her in CA or over the holidays in NC.

For ribbon, I try to use grosgrain or wired ribbon. Although this is more expensive than curling ribbon up front, it can be reused over and over again, if you're creative. I've also found that incorporating a well placed Christmas ornament is a nice way to make a package more festive for the holidays. It doesn't take much wired ribbon to make a present look professionally wrapped, especially if you use a double-looped bow. (I'll post a play-by-play of my bow making and wrapped gifts for inspiration sometime soon.)

We cut the front off of any greeting card we receive and use it as a gift tag. Some of the most beautiful cards would be thrown away by others, but in our family, they get a second life. (We recycle the part that has been written on.) This trick works for almost any birthday, thank you, Christmas, or wedding card. (We have so many from our wedding, we'll never have to buy a wedding gift tag again!)

I also make all of our thank you notes/greeting cards from my stamp collection and card stock. Sometimes, my greeting card finds have new life in these note cards. I find this to be a great way to spend an hour or so on a Saturday and we save tons of money on greeting cards. (I am amazed that some greeting cards sell for upwards of $5.00!) I'm fortunate to have family who enjoys crafting as well, so we had an assembly line for making our wedding thank you notes in my aunt's dining room. We had 300 notes knocked out in a few hours once we got the system down.

As for green gifting, I find that it really takes knowing your recipient (which I hope you do if you're giving them a gift!). So many of our friends and family are trying to simplify their lives and teach their children not to buy into the consumerism that drives our culture. So, often, instead of giving a physical gift, we make a donation to a charity that would mean something to that family or individual. For instance, for our friends who have a child who had a cancer scare, we made a donation to the American Cancer Society for his third birthday. I'm sure that this gift meant a lot to the family and I know that the child didn't miss the gift at all... he just had a ball with his friends and loved the cupcakes. There are hundreds, thousands of charities and nonprofit organizations you can give to out there, so figure out what would mean something to your friend or family member and give away. We find that a well phrased message on a handmade note is a nice way to convey the gift we've mad in the person's honor. (On the budget side of things, the majority of these gifts are tax deductible, so when you make your donation, they will send you a receipt. Keep those receipts in a folder so they'll be handy for the next tax season.)

I hope you've picked up a few good tips today and have an occasion to try them out soon! Sharin' the green love and savings!

A few evening thoughts

So, a few things I wanted to share with my wonderful readers (who may amount to only three, but hey...).

First, for meals today, I made some great oatmeal this morning before heading off to school (yay, the sun finally came out!). I used quick cooking oats, not instant stuff, and followed the cooking directions, but added raisins and about a cup of frozen blackberries from this past summer's harvest. Toward the end of the cooking time, I added a splash of half and half and some cinnamon... end result, totally yum! For dinner, we made a fantastic pizza with some italian sausage, frozen green pepper from an earlier meal, and onion. We topped it with whatever shredded cheese we had in the fridge, and came up with a fantastic meal that will feed us for a few more days.

So, on to the real goods...

Some of you have been asking about making your own rain barrels. I found this post at my new favorite blog, Young House Love. This post of theirs has complete step by step instructions with great pics, so hopefully it will help answer all of your questions. And, maybe, you can find a make your own workshop like they did and do it on the cheap (theirs was $40, I think.)

Lastly, it's super double coupon week at HT. That means that coupons up to $1.98 will be doubled, offering you amazing savings. So, we'll go tomorrow, probably (after Saturday school), and stock up a bit. (They'll also take online printables, so scour those coupon forums and print some up. I found some Seventh Generation coupons on their webpage, so I'll get that TP and some baby stuff for a shower next weekend.)

Sharin' the green love and savings!