Nursing Pad Giveaway!

Each month, I am going to post at least 1 giveaway for products promoting natural, healthy, green living.  This month's is nursing pads made by RJC Gift Designs.  The color and design will be a surprise.

Composting, Naturally

Did you ever wish you could do something other than throw away all the fruit and veggie scraps that you get from cooking? I did. I recently heard about composting. I actually saw a commercial for a kitchen composter. It was very expensive but I thought the idea was awesome! I decided to put together a little of what I found while researching the topic.

Easiest Homemade Composter:

• Use a galvanized metal trash can. You will need to drill several holes into it and it will need a tight fitting lid. You will also need to dig a hole in the ground.
• Use a plastic storage container with tight fitting lid. You will need to drill holes in this as well. This can be for indoor or outdoor use. This can also double as a seat!
• Click here for how to make them.

What Can Be Composted:

• Vegetable Scraps
• Grains
• Pasta
• Fruit Rinds
• Fruit Peels
• Breads
• Coffee Grounds & Filters
• Tea Bags
• Egg Shells (only if washed out so no more animal product is in it)
• Paper Towels
• Paper Napkins
• Toilet Paper (not soiled w/ human waste)
• Paper Plates (no animal products on the plate)
• Leaves
• Sticks
• Grass
• Other yard waste

What Cannot Be Composted:

• Any animal products
• Meat
• Fish
• Poultry
• Cheese
• Oily Foods
• Butter

Here are a few resources that I found very helpful:

• California Integrated Waste Management Board
• University of Missouri Extension
• Home Composting

Do you compost at home? What do you use as your compost bin? What have you found to be benefits/negative of home composting? Please share any ideas on the subject that you may have. I hope to start this process soon so any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated!

Get FREE Points at Recyclebank

If you recycle, why not earn freebies in the mean time? Have you heard of RecycleBank? If not, check them out here. I have earned several free products such as Kashi Cereal, Seventh Generation Cleaning products, and more.

RecycleBank now also partners with Nature Made. If you are a user of Nature Made, you can earn even more free stuff! Get the details here.

Sunflower Project!

If you are interested in planting something new this year and would also like to help the environment then consider joining The Great Sunflower Project.

I have never tried to plan sunflowers before so I am kind of excited to try them out this year and see what happens. I had a friend that grew them last year and they looked awesome and the seeds he got were fabulous.

Not only is this a great way to try out your gardening hand but it also helps the environment. Did you know that there is a bee shortage in the US? That's right, there are too few bees. You may see bees as a pest that you are allergic to but they are actually very beneficial to the environment. They are the ones that pollenate flowers that produce fruits. They are also the source of honey. Without bees, we would not be able to enjoy honey, the most natural organic sweetener!

So, what do you say? You in or you out? Leave a comment and let me know if you will join the Project.

How to Recycle Old Office Supplies

I wanted to talk about how to re"ycle old office supplies. So lets think, what items are usually in an office stapler/staples, writing utensils, paper/folders, tape, ruler, envelopes, envelope sealers, pencil sharpener, pencil holder, paper clips, push pins, or page clasps.

1. Staplers & staples can also be used for scrapbooking. If you have a bunch of old staplers and staples laying around, use them to attach things to your scrapbook pages. Instead of using glue or tape, use a staple! I have learned that when you are on a budget, you use what is on hand instead of buying more stuff.
2. Writing utensils can be used for several things. If you have a pencil and it is getting too small for your to use, give it to your kids (if they are old enough to handle sharp objects). Their hands are smaller and you will get more use out of a pencil.
3. Paper or old folders can be used several times. If you print something and only use part of the page, use the rest as scrap paper (cut it down to post-it size) or shred it. The shredded paper can be used as packing material if you need to ship anything.
4. When you use Scotch tape, what do you do with the little ring that is left when the tape is gone? It is perfect size to use as napkin rings. You can use them white like they are or you can decorate them. You can add ribbon or glitter or any other type of material that matches your dinning room decor. The picture below is an example of the type of dispenser.
5. Rulers can be used for lots of things. Kids love them when they color, they can make straight lines which seems to make them happy. If you have a playroom for your kid/s, you can affix old rulers on the wall long ways up the wall. You can then mark your child's growth on the ruler with a sharpie! The kids will be thrilled. You can use any color of ruler or paint wooden onnes to match the room decor.
6. Old envelopes can be used to organize receipts. At the end of each week, take all your receipts and place them in an old envelope that can still hold things. Write the week's dates on the front and store your receipts in them.
7. Envelope sealers can be used in scrapbooking as a stamper. You can dab ink on the end and sponge it onto your paper for colored blots on a page. You can also fill them with accent paints for colored blots. The picture below is the type of sealer.
8. Pencil sharpeners can also be used as eye liner sharpeners. If you use a pencil liner, these are great! The below picture is an example.
9. Pencil holders can be used to hold q-tips and cottonballs in your bathroom, small scrapbook items, or crayons for the kids. You can use the holders as they are or paint/decorate them to match your decore.
10. Paper clips are a great addition to a scrapbook page. You can glue decorations onto the paper clip and attach it onto your page or use them as they are if it fits your theme. You can also use them as a bookmark like in the picture below.
11. Push pins flatten so easy, don't they? If you have flattened push pins, use them on a scrapbook page as well. The below picture is an example of how you can decorate with them. Just glue them onto the page!
12. Page clasps can be used to keep your receipts & rebates together until it is time to send them. Just clasp it around them. You can also attach them to scrapbook pages for decoration. Do you see the theme, scrapbooking is fun!!!

What are your ideas? Leave a comment and share them with everyone!

Recycle a Chandelier!

I thought it would be fun to figure out what to do with an old chandelier. Chandeliers are very beautiful and can be used to make many more beautiful things!

Here are some examples:

1. 1. Have you heard of Chandelier earrings? Well, why not save the money and make your own! This is perfect if you have an old chandelier laying around. All you need to do is take part of the chandelier that you would like as earrings, get earring hooks (only a couple dollars for a multi-pack), and a pair of pliers. Example earrings can be viewed made by craftjuice who runs an etsy shop of homemade items.
3. 2. You can also make necklaces, bracelets, or anklets in the same manner. Just purchase the chain to strin it on or use one you may have laying around the house. You can then have a perfect matching jewelry set to wear.

3. You can use chandelier pieces to make beautiful scrapbook pages or to decorate a card. You could use either glue dots to affix it to the page or sew it on with a needle and thread.

4. You can use them as ends to pull strings. You could put them on window blinds, ceiling fans, ceiling lights, etc. All you need to do is pry open the ring on one of the chandelier pieces and put it into the pull string. Use the pliers to clamp the ring tightly so that the chandelier will stay attached to the pull string.

5. You could make windchimes out of it. Take an old lamp shade, fishing line, needle, hanging hook and some chandelier pieces. Tie the fishing line to the rings of the chandelier pieces and sew the other end through the lamp shade. Make sure it is tied securely. Place as many chandelier piece strings as you desire for look onto the lamp shade. You can then tie fishing line from the lamp shade to the hanging hook. Now your windchime is finished, hang it out where desired.

Thanks to Colleen for the idea to recycle old chandeliers. Do you have an object that you would like to recycle but you aren't sure how? Post it here and let me know. I will do a post of it!

Greener House, Naturally!

Here are some simple ways you can have a "Greener" home.

Save Energy:

*If the weather is nice, dry your clothing on lines outside or set up lines in your laundry room.

*Use manual appliances instead of electric. Instead of a leaf blower, use a broom. Instead of the dishwasher, put just enough water in your sink and wash by hand. Instead of lights/lamps open the shades/doors in your home for lighting.

*Turn off your refrigerator when you go on vacation. Unplug electric items when they are not in use.

*Replace your lightbulbs with energy efficient ones. I did this and really did see a difference in our electric bill!

*Defrost your freezer every 3 months. This will prolong its life and help it work for efficiently.

*Wash your clothes in cool water. Most washers now have a Cold/Cool/Warm/Hot setting. Choose the Cool setting which gets the clothes cleaner than Cold but uses less energy than the Warm or Hot setting.

Help Environment:

*Plant trees, plants or your own garden. This helps improve air quality in your area.

*Compost organic materials. This is basically everything except animal products. You can add food (fruits, vegetables, etc. just no animal products) as well as outdoor items (leaves, sticks, etc.)

*Use natural pest control. You can go to your local garden shop and ask for organic pest control products. Most if not all will carry them or can give you remedies to rid the pests, naturally.

*Use non-toxic, biodegradeable products whenever possible in your home. These items are generally washable and reuseable.

*Paint the outside of your home a light-color. It will help reflect unwanted radiant heat.

Clean Green:

*Baking Soda - Cuts grease & oil, cleans, deodorizes, inhibits mold, extinguishes fires, & can be used to clean your teeth.

*Lemon Juice - Natural bleach that can remove stains, deodorizes and inhibits mold as well. You can also use it to dye your hair blonde if interested. Squeeze lemon juice on your hair, rub it in and lay out in the sun to desired color. You will want to use moisturizers in your hair afterwards because the acid in the lemon juice can dry your hair out a little.

*Salt - Gentle abrasive & disinfectant, cleans drains, & scours kitchen utensils.

*White Vinegar - Removes bathroom scum & hard water deposits, removes discoloration from metals, & removes rust. Perfect cleaner for the bathroom.

Thanks to Clean House! for some of these tips.

Do you have other "Green House" tips? Leave a comment below with your tips!

Lighting, Naturally!

One thing I absolutely love about spring is natural lighting! One awesome way to save on electricity is to utilize natural lighting when available. My favorite thing is to sit by an open window and read. What could be better than getting a cool, fresh breeze through the house to air things out and read by God's lighting!

Have you been able to do this yet this year where you live? Just open a door or window and let nature fill your house? I love comments, let me know what you think!

Going Green, Naturally!

Exchange Bottled Water for Tap:

Instead of buying bottled water, use tap water for drinking and cooking. If you don't like the taste of tap water or you live in an area of unsafe water, you can either boil it or purchase or make a water filter. Not only do you avoid the chances of BPA exposure, save money and you help the environment by having less waste product. Most plastic bottles are recycleable but recycling uses more energy than not having the need.

Exchange Paper Towels for Rags:

Paper towels and rags do the same thing, right? They both clean up messes, soak up spills, and wipe messy faces. Constantly buying paper towels costs more that using rags and washing them. We have to do laundry anyways, what is another couple rags, right. Besides the cost, paper towels add waste. They come in plastic wrapping, each paper towel gets trashed and the cardboard center. Did you ever wonder why there is a cardboard center? What a waste! There would be 2" more paper towels without it.

Exchange Chemical Cleaners for Homemade:

Most of us have baking soda, white vinegar, club soda, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices. Thats pretty much all you need for all your cleaning needs. The Tree Hugging Family has a list of 25 safe, non-toxic homemade cleaners. Whatever you need to clean, can be done with homemade products. This will save you lots of money as well as make your home and family cleaner, healthier and happier over all. Chemicals tend to cause increased allergies, in some cases cancers, and skin issues. Why not avoid those things if you can?

Do you have another simple way to go green in the kitchen? Please post it here and share with all of us!