August 28, 2010

Reusable Gifts Bags Might Be a Frugal Choice

One of the newest products in green living are reusable gift bags.  These bags are durable and as you can see from the picture, they are attractive as well.

There are some pros and cons of reusable bags to consider.

Pros: 

1. The gift bags are reusable.
2. They come in many attractive designs and colors.
3. You could use them for other purposes such as a tote bag or lunch bag.

Cons or things to consider:

1. You can also reuse paper gift bags that others give to you and wouldn’t need to buy any.
2. Since these bags are new on the market, you probably won’t find them on clearance.  You can find regular paper gift bags on clearance.
3. Would you hang on to the bag and use it again and again, or would it just become more useless clutter?

I’m not saying that these reusable bags are the wrong choice.  I actually like the idea.  The thing is, I have a whole under-the-bed box full of other paper gift bags so it’s unlikely that I’ll be buying any of the reusable bags soon.  Also, at $2.99 each, I probably wouldn’t purchase them.  Some people may pay $3-5 for a gift bag, but that’s not my kind of thing.  I’m sure there are other places to purchase the bags for a more affordable price.  Who knows, may the Dollar Tree will start carrying them soon.

What are your thoughts on the reusable gift bags?

image (c) Karen Weideman

June 22, 2010

30+ Ways to Clean with Vinegar

A few years ago I decided to make a big change in my life.  I had used all sorts of cleaners. Many of them had caused me to break out, inflamed my eczema, and given me headaches.  I knew the stuff wasn’t good for me and with two small children in the home I wanted to do something different.  I began using white vinegar and water to mop my floors.  It wasn’t long before I was hooked on the natural and safe cleaner and began to clean the majority of my home with it. 

Now I keep a spray bottle under my kitchen sink that has equal parts of vinegar and water.  I use it to clean just about everything.

Before I get started on this list, I wanted you to know that some folks don’t like the smell of vinegar.  If that’s you, feel free to add a tiny bit of lemon oil or some other fragrance to your vinegar.

Here are some uses for cleaning with vinegar:

Kitchen and Dining Room

• Use vinegar to mop your floors.  I keep a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water.  Just spray on your floors and mop.  Or you add 1 cup of vinegar to your mop bucket. I think the spray method uses less vinegar though.
• Refill your Swiffer mop cleaner bottle with vinegar and water.  My hubby used some plyers to pull the lid off the bottle so that we could refill it.
• Spray vinegar in your sink and on your counters to kill germs.
• Wash your windows.
• Boil some vinegar and water to take away unpleasant smells.
• Clean your kitchen table, chairs, and hairchair. The vinegar will kill germs without being harmful to foods or your children.
• Soak or simmer stuck-on food in 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar.  The food will soften and lift off in a few minutes.
• Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.
• Appliances sparkle if cleaned with a vinegar and borax cleaner.  Mix 1 teaspoon borax, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 2 cups hot water and put it into a spray bottle.  Spray it on greasy smears and wipe off with a cloth or sponge.
• To loosen food grime and clean the microwave, place a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar inside the microwave and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes (it needs to boil). Keep your microwave closed for a few minutes to allow the steam to loosen the grime, then open your microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and wipe clean.
• To remove grease from kitchen walls, put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.
• Fill your water reservoir halfway with vinegar to clean your coffee pot.  Follow up by running 1-2 pots of clean water through to remove the vinegar.
• If you have fruit flies, put some vinegar in a jar on your counter. 
• Adding a cup of vinegar to a dishwashing cycle will help clean your dishwasher and will also help prevent spots from forming on your glasses.
• Use vinegar to clean your garbage disposal.  Run a tray of ice cubes with 1/2 cup vinegar poured over them.

Bathroom

• Use vinegar to clean the outside of your toilet.  Simply use your diluted vinegar spray bottle and use as you would a regular cleaner.
• Add full strength vinegar to the inside of the toilet bowl.  Allow to sit for a few minutes and then clean.
• Spray the shower curtain to help get rid of mildew.
• Spray to kill germs in the shower inbetween regular cleanings.  (I prefer to use Soft Scrub, Scrubbing Bubbles, or something like that to clean the shower. Vinegar helps for those inbetween cleanings.)
• Clean your mirror.
• Mop the floor.

Laundry room

• Add vinegar to your whites to help whiten the load.
• Add vinegar to your rinse cycle or softener dispenser instead of fabric softener.  Vinegar prevents your clothes from getting that waxy build up on them.  Vinegar is suggested for using to rinse cloth diapers to keep them absorbent. 
• Add vinegar to your wash to kill athlete’s feet bacteria.
• Soak smelly clothes in vinegar and water. The vinegar will help to get rid of smells.
• Soak stained clothes in vinegar and water. The vinegar helps to lift the stain.
• Remove ink stains from clothes by soaking them in milk for 1 hour.  Then cover the stain with a paste of vinegar and cornstarch.  When the paste dries, wash the garment as usual.  Do not heat dry the fabric until you know the stain is removed.
• After washing your whites with bleach, run another rinse cycle with vinegar.  The vinegar will help to remove the bleach smell.

 
Other

• Clean vaporizers and humifiers by soaking unit in vinegar.  Soak base of unit in a shallow bowl of vinegar and then run water through it.  I got this tip from the actual directions that came with my vaporizer, but it really does help to remove the deposits and also to sanitize.
• If your puppy (or child) has an accident on the carpet, apply full-strength plain white vinegar for about 10 minutes and then blot dry. I have never had any problems with the vinegar fading carpet, but you may want to test an inconspicuous spot first.
• Use vinegar and water to clean your baby and children’s toys.  You don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals this way.
• For laminate floors, mix 1/3 part white vinegar, 1/3 part rubbing alcohol, 1/3 part water, and 3 drops diswashing liquid.  Mix this into a (recycled) spray bottle and you have the equivalent of the Pergo floor cleaner. Just spray and mop.  Laminate floors are better off when water doesn’t sit on it too long; the alcohol is added to make it dry faster.
• When rinsing your reusable filters, spray them with vinegar first to kill mold and bacteria.

I know that this only covers a portion of ways to clean with vinegar. What are some ways that you clean with vinegar?

April 22, 2010

10 Ways to Reuse Jars

Although I have never considered myself a tree hugger, I try to do my part to help out and make this a better place for everyone.  If you think about it, being thrifty and green living go hand-in-hand.  Thrifty living and environmentally friendly living both involve being conservative, using less, and repurposing and reusing products. 

Within the past few years, I have begun reusing plastic jars. I used to throw them into the recycling bin and then I realized that they weren’t hard at all to clean.  We go through a lot of peanut butter in our house and so I have found all kinds of uses for the jars. 

To clean the jars, fill them with hot soapy water and let them sit overnight.  The next morning dump out the water and rinse them with hot water. The peanut butter that was in the jars will loosen overnight and rinse out fairly easily.  If the peanut butter is still a little stubborn, rinse out the jar, and soak it again with soapy water. 

Here are a few uses for the jars.  Of course, you can use glass jars for some of these ideas too.

1.  Store crayons, markers, and other art supplies. The small peanut butter jars are good for crayons and the large mayonnaise jars work well for markers.

2.  Store dry foods such as rice and beans.

3.  Store nails and screws in your garage.  Those boxes that nails are screws come in are very flimsy.  They break and soon you have the sizes and types of nails mixed. The jars can help keep them all separated in an easy to use and easy to see location.

4.  Store small toys.  My son has a jar with some of his favorite rocks and another jar with his tiny dinosaurs.  My kids know that we reuse the jars and so I sometimes hear, “Mom, when that jar is empty, can I have it?”.

5.  Make a letter sorting activity. Write a letter on each jar and have children sort small items into the correct jar.

6.  Collect your treasures.  Use them to store seashells, rocks, and other bits of nature.  Make a beach in a jar.

7.  Store your beads, buttons, or other craft items.

8.  Use jars as paint containers. This would work well for craft projects or to have some wall touch up paint at easy access.

9.  Collect money.  Use them as banks.  Everyone needs an easy place to collect money.

10.  Use them to store grease and oil. On the rare occasion that I fry food, I need a place to store the used oil. I don’t want to dump it down the drain or pour it into the trash so I pour it into a plastic container and toss it once it’s full.

What are some ways that you reuse jars?