Eco Savvy Gift Bag: Simple Solution

Every year we spend hours, wrapping countless gifts in preparation for the holidays. In a few minutes the excitement is over and we’re left with a big bag of trash.   Do this project early in the holiday season to avoid the late nights right before the big day.

Last year I made eco-friendly reusable gift bags.   You don’t need to be a great seamstress, just the  ability to sew a straight-ish line. They are fast and easy.

Quick and easy doesn’t mean, wait until Dec 19th to start sewing, or you’ll wonder what ever made you think this was a good idea.

The good news is, you only have to make them once. Then they are done. This year I only have to pull them out and wrapping will be a breeze!

Supplies

7-10 yards of lightweight muslin.
Large Spool of matching thread
Sewing Machine
Iron & Ironing Board

Instructions:

This isn’t an exact science, I approximated my measurements and worked it out. You’re essentially making a pillow case for each gift.

Grab a few of the gifts you need to wrap. Haven’t done your shopping, collect an assortment of toys and books. Look in the birthday gift stash for sample sizes too.

Each bag is made with one piece of muslin, fold over, pin down. Sew a seam along each side.

NOTE – If you are worried about fraying you’ll want to sew all the rough edges with a zig-zag stich before sewing your seems and hem.

Lay out your fabric to determine the “envelope size” you’ll need. Place the gifts on the fabric, allow an inch or two for wiggle room. Add 2″ extra inches for seams on the side and 1 1/2 for the top. Remember you will be using these again, so precision isn’t the goal.

TIP – Cut multiple bags of each size all at one time.

Next, determine how much room you need to allow for the length of your “envelope”. Guesstimate how much fabric it will take to cover your desired gift, then add a few inches. It’s nice to have extra on top for a prettier presentation.

Iron the bag. Fold the top edge over one time, then fold again (for a cleaner finish) and pin.

Sew the top seam.

Iron and your bag is done.

All that’s left to do is insert the gift, label and embellish (if desired).

For the greenest option (you’ll need to select a slightly heavier muslin so it’s not too sheer), insert the gift and tie with raffia.

I wrap the gift with a couple of sheets of tissue paper, and tie with raffia or satin ribbon (which I reuse).  The picture shows some ribbon from the past that I’m trying to use up.

What’s nice is the sheerness of the muslin allows the color of the tissue paper to show through. You still have a nice festive look and if you love to pay attention to detail (aka anal like me) you can color coordinate.

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Vanilla Room Fragrance Recipe: Simple Solution

Fragrances are a key area of concern for many people trying to reduce their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals and phthalates.  There are numerous articles dedicated to this subject on the EWG website.  My concerns have led dramatically reduce my perfume use – opting instead for pure vanilla and to stop purchasing room fragrances.

The trouble is – it’s still really nice to have a nice room spray to freshen up a room when it’s needed.  This recipe does the trick in our home.

So – now I make my own!  It’s simple, fast and inexpensive.  Anyone can do it and keep their powder room safely fresh.

1/2 Cup of Distilled Water

1 Tablespoon of Vodka

20 drops of Vanilla (or other favorite) Essential Oil

1 Teaspoon of Grapeseed Oil

Combine all the ingredients and store in a glass container for 45 days.  When you think of it – or every 7-10 days shake your concoction.

Once the fragrance has aged – use a funnel to transfer the liquid into a gorgeous atomizing container.

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Better Back to School – Tips For a Greener School Year

It’s that time of year again.

Parents everywhere are preparing to send their children back to school. In the US they are expected to spend 18 Billion dollars on back to school, an average of 563.49 per family with school aged children. Buying power like this can be influential. If parents make greener purchases, manufacturer’s will respond.

Some green these choices may be cost a little more, but many will actually save you money! Our children watch everything we do, so making green choices is a teaching opportunity too.

LUNCHES

*Be sure to label your water bottles – they are pricier – so you’ll want a chance at getting them back if they get left behind!

School lunches are the second largest source of school waste (first is office paper) – 2.7 Billion juice boxes alone.  If every family in the US sent their child with a waste free lunch, we would save 3.5 Billion Pounds of trash from going to our landfills or being incinerated.

The good news is that this is an area where you will save money, on average, almost $250 per year per child. If you work on one thing this back to school, make it your goal to send your child to school with waste free lunches. For more information check out www.wastefreelunches.org. Vow to stop buying prepackaged lunches and individual sized “convenience” packaging. I know it’s a little easier, but the alternative doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You just need a system.

Tips:

* Prepare lunches the night before, so you aren’t in a rush during the morning.
* Buy reusable beverage containers and fill with water, milk or juice (it really is best to skip the juice).
* Buy healthy snacks in larger packages and use reusable containers to send them in lunches – I keep a stack of containers in the pantry next to the items to be packed so they can be gathered together quickly.
* Wash and prepare fruit and vegetable snacks once for the whole week, then just pull what you need into a container when preparing lunches.
* Use insulated metal containers for leftover pastas, soups or other warm lunches – bonus using leftovers reduces waste saving money and the children get a warm lunch too.
* Use sandwich containers for… uh… oh yeah… Sandwiches. They don’t have to go in plastic wrap!
* Read my posts on plastics so that you understand the numbers and can choose carefully or better yet, avoid entirely. Safest way to use plastics, understanding the plastic numbering system.

Look for a great selection of everything you need to pack waste free lunches at www.reuseablebags.com.

As a bonus – lunches can be much healthier when you pack them yourself and avoid prepackaged options – you don’t even want to know all the %*# they put in pre-packaged food!

Note – we only use plastic for dry snacks & sandwiches – not for items that need to be reheated.

If I could do it again I would select stainless steel containers!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

* When shopping for paper products look beyond the recycle symbol – Ideally you want a product that contains 100% post consumer waste.
* Avoid Binders and other products made with PVC’s.
* Look for products made with recycled material, scissors, pencils, notebooks – these days it’s all available.

Buy School Supplies from eco friendly companies like:

Treesmart – they make both Plain and colored Pencils with 100% recycled newsprint they also make pens and rulers out of recycled content, shipping is included in their pricing.

Sustainable Group – they make school and office supplies out of 100% post consumer content and have a great corporate ethics – their back to school kit is $39.99 with shipping.

Product review and Giveaway coming soon from both Treesmart & Sustainable Group!

Avoid products that look cool on the surface, but dig a little deeper and the romance ends. Products like Smencils that are made of recycled newspaper, but are scented (scents are largely unregulated and can contain toxins) and the pencils are packaged in plastic tubes creating more waste.

Coming Soon:
Better Back to School – Clothing and Shoes

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Hardwood Floor Cleaner: Home Recipe

Mixing up new cleaning formulas has become a recent hobby. I love not spending hundreds of dollars on cleaning products and knowing exactly what I’m using in my home.

2 tbs Oil
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs alchohol
24 oz Water

or

2 tbs Oil
2 tbs Castille soap – I like the almond for wood floors.
2 tbs Alchohol
24 oz Water

If you like a little more fragrance add an essential oil of your choosing. PND likes almond and citrus for cleaning products.

Mix in Method Spray Cleaner Bottle – Spray on floor using a damp cloth over a mop to wipe. Because these cleaners contain oil – you do need to make sure you shake the bottle, to keep the liquids mixed while cleaning.

I’ve also used Method Hardwood Floor Cleaner, using about 1/2 cup and putting it in a spray bottle, fill with water. Spray directly on the floor and mop with a damp cloth.

Also try:
PND All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
PND Foaming Handsoap Recipe

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Drowning In Junk Mail

 

 

 

Is You Mailbox Full Of Junk Mail?

We  all get so much junk mail! It’s such a waste – ending up right directly in the recycling in our home.

How Many Trees Does It take to Produce Junk Mail

Did you know It takes 53 million trees to make the 19 billion catalogs that are sent every year?

Don’t despair – with a few simple steps stem the flow of junk mail to your mailbox and get OFF the dreaded mailing lists that are causing the flow.

It will take about 15 minutes to fill out a few online forms.  These simple steps will  reduce the paper invasion to your home and help stop junk mail!

When filling out the forms – Don’t forget to remove both yourself and your spouse or significant other.

Direct Marketing Association

The Direct Marketing Association will put your name on a “do not mail” list, which all its members must cross-reference before sending you a solicitation. This site represents marketers, so they will get you to jump through a hoop or two. In addition for companies that you have done business with, you will need to contact them directly.

If you are worried about missing special offers, you can always open an email account just for “junk mail”.

Another tip for special offers -  google a vendor before completing a purchase – often you’ll find all there current special offers.

https://www.dmachoice.org

Consumer Credit Reporting Industry

The Consumer Credit Reporting Industry will remove your name from the mailing lists that credit card companies use to send out offers. You will have to provide your SS information, so I went to a few sites that I trusted before I was comfortable proceeding – you can’t be too careful.

https://www.optoutprescreen.com

Phone Books

If you aren’t using them – why receive them. They are bulking take up space and use a lot of paper.

This organization will contact all phone book companies in your area and remove you from their lists!

YellowPagesGoesGreen.org

Or the number for individual companies using the following information:

AT&T  1-866-329-7118

Superpages 1-800-888-8448

Yellow book has made it easy – go to http://corporate.yellowbook.com/products/print-directory-options-opt-out/

When calling to cancel your phone book be sure to tell them they don’t need to call you annually to confirm you still don’t want the phone book! They actually said if they call and don’t reach you, they will resume regular delivery! But after a short conversation the representative was able to set it up so that we receive no phone calls and no phone books. Beautiful!

Online Bill Pay

You can also set up many of your bills to be paperless and to pay them online – if you’re worried about missing an important bill you can always set up an email account to be used exclusively for bills.

If there is a “Stop Junk Mail” resource we have missed, please let us know!

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Whole Grain Bread Crumbs: Recipe

Whole grain bread crumbs are readily found at most health food stores, but they are not readily available at regular grocery stores. I hate having to make special trips to the “health food store” for ingredients like this.  Not to mention they always cost a premium.

My family never eats bread heels, one day as I was throwing them out, I put it together. I should make Whole Grain Bread Crumbs out of our loaf heels.

Take the heels and toast them, then let them sit and toast them again, let them sit till they are rock hard. Then I add them to the “heel bag”. When I have a bag full of toasted heels I run them through the food processor.

Super easy and a win-win. Eliminate an expensive specialty item by using something you just might be throwing away otherwise.  Something from Nothing!

Are tips like these useful to you?  My girlfriend Jennifer insisted that I post this one, but I’m not convinced.  Share your thougths!

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Foaming Hand Soap: Home Recipe

This is so easy and inexpensive – Everyone can do it!  Not only that – an average family using one bottle of foaming hand soap a week will save an average of $180 a year.

The first thing you need is an aerating dispenser bottle.

Ours came from re-using a container from another  brand.   Method makes one, and I reused a bottle from Clean Well for a year.

Vanilla Orange Foaming Hand Soap

1 1/4 cup of water
2 TBS of Castille Soap – I used the Citrus. To create your own scent use unscented.
1/4 TSP of Olive Oil
3-5 drops of Vanilla Essential Oil
4-6 drops of Citrus Essential Oil

Combine the ingredients and in a measuring cup and use a funnel to pour into the dispenser. Soap will will dispense in an nice foaming lather… and if you kids use the whole bottle in 3 days, you won’t be furious!

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Skip the Paper Plates

By Tania Reuben

For your next big gathering skip buying the paper plates – instead take that money over to ikea, .99 store or look online for plain white plates (9″-10″) and buy a bunch.

One year we were throwing really a big superbowl party, for the price of the caterer’s paper quote I was able to buy 80 plates, 50 wine glasses and 48 small glasses. Now we have them every time we entertain, we use them for birthdays, bbq’s, I share them with my neighbors and a friend used them for her wedding.

I know what you’re thinking – you don’t want to wash them. Two full rows fit in my dishwasher. I really don’t feel like it’s much effort at all. Just rinse and stack them until the party is over and throw them in the machine.

They get used over and over and it’s so much nicer eating on a real plate.

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Avoid the Ick Factor in Bar Soap – the cleaner side of green.

By now you’ve likely heard that bar soap is the greener choice washing options – it requires less packaging, people use less, there is no container to dispose of at the end, and it’s formulated with less harsh ingredients.

Did you know that liquid soap bottles account for over 2 millions pounds of plastic in our landfills annually and this product didn’t even exist until the 1980′s!

A small amount of bacteria can live on the soap and there’s the icky mess – so I don’t know about you – but this has stopped me from embracing the bar. Now, I have the answer!

Take your lovely bar of soap and a potato peeler, to create individual sized pieces of soap and set them in a lovely dish.  Be sure to take your individual sized piece before wetting your hands.

You can enjoy the benefits of the bar without the gooey mess. You’ll also likely to wash longer as you wait scrub using your own little soap strip.

If you can’t break away from the liquid – find a green brand and buy the gallon size to refill your small containers. I’ve sometimes found the gallon sized method at Costco and Pangea Organics also makes a large bottle but you’ll need to order it.

So make the switch – save some money and be kinder to the environment.

 

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iPhone app for label reading – from EWG

Having a hard time choosing when to buy organic and when to save… this is the application for you! Take it with you and if you don’t have an iphone they’ll send you a pdf.

I have to admit – I’m jealous – they beat me to it… I wanted to develop this app a few months ago! But I guess they have saved me a lot of headaches – I can barely figure out this blogging thing – let alone a iphone application.

http://www.foodnews.org/

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