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By eliza_cross, on January 28th, 2012%
“The remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served us nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” ~Calvin Trillin
It just kills me to discard spoiled food that we didn’t eat. One of my goals this year is to make better use of leftovers. The whole concept of “zero waste” appeals to me on so many levels, and utilizing food efficiently is so important.
If you feel the same way, you might enjoy the Leftover Chef site where you can input whatever strange ingredients are lurking in your refrigerator for recipe ideas. Enter ‘turkey, ‘cranberries,’ and ‘onions,’ for instance, and you’ll find an appealing recipe for Turkey Cutlets with Cranberry – Pear Relish.
Do you have stale crackers and chips lurking in the pantry? Refresh them by spreading them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and baking at 300 degrees F for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool and then seal in an airtight container.
What about those stray veggies in the vegetable crisper? Use them in salads or on pizza, or freeze them for your next batch of soup.
Leftover tortillas can be used to make homemade tortilla chips, like this healthy baked version from Savory Sweet Life.
What’s your favorite way to use leftovers? We’d love to hear your ideas!
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
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Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus several books at the end of the month. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 25th, 2012%
 Glass canning jars can be used again and again - photo by GoodNCrazy “In a recession, people are inclined to keep things, but I feel the opposite. The less I have, the richer I feel. Stuff weighs you down.” ~Béa Johnson
Last year I read the most inspiring article in Sunset Magazine, about the Johnson family in Mill Valley, California. The Johnsons have pared down their possessions and live a wonderfully simple life. The family members are so careful about not consuming wasteful packaging, they generate almost zero garbage.
The Johnsons are big on composting, and this is one way we love to reduce waste. I just love the idea of reusing the kitchen scraps in a way that benefits the garden and keeps stuff out of landfill.
What about recycling? Homeowner Béa Johnson says, “So much recycling really goes to waste, so you need to try to reduce that, too.” They are diligent about taking reusable containers to the store for food and eliminating junk mail, and their tidy pantry and closets would inspire anyone to minimize and simplify!
How much trash does your family generate in an average week? If you got everyone in the household on board, could you reduce it by 50 or 75 per cent? Or 80 or 90 per cent? We’re down to about half a can per week, but the recycling bin is full every two weeks when it gets picked up — so we have a long way to go. The Johnsons have motivated me to try harder to reduce our recycling and trash. If they can do it, why can’t we?
For more inspiration, you might enjoy the Johnson family’s blog, The Zero Waste Home.
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
—————————————————————————
Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies plus several books at the end of the month. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on January 14th, 2012%
“When strangers start acting like neighbors… communities are reinvigorated.” ~ Ralph Nader
One of the things I love best about our neighborhood is its community spirit, and a big part of that old-fashioned spirit comes to us in a very high-tech way: last year, we created a Google Group to stay in touch. Now, we can easily send each other messages and connect with one another. From the start, the messages generated by this group have been positive and generous. Some of the things we’ve shared include:
- Free Halloween costumes and sports uniforms
- Available clothes that our children have outgrown
- Excess produce, free seeds and plants
- Equipment that we we’re willing to share
- Free and inexpensive furniture, electronics and other items for sale
- Garage sale announcements
- Inquiries and referrals for plumbers, electricians, lawn care and other contractors as well as trusted doctors and dentists
- Security concerns, such as suspicious activity in the neighborhood
- Coyote sightings
Before we created our Google group, we used an old-fashioned e-mail list and our neighbor Kathy graciously agreed to keep the list updated. Is your neighborhood connected yet? If not, could you be the catalyst to start a movement? Be sure to let us know about your efforts.
P.S. In case you’ve just joined us, the January Money Diet is a challenge to take a 31-day break from nonessential spending. You can learn more about the money diet here — and jump right in!
—————————————————————————
Win a Deluxe Happy Simple Living Gift Basket
In honor of the January Money Diet, I’ll be giving away a gift basket chock-full of home and garden goodies and a signed copy of my latest cookbook 101 Things To Do With Bacon. On January 31, 2012, I’ll draw one random name from everyone who commented during the month and that lucky person will win the gift basket. I hope you’ll stop by often this month and share your own ideas, thoughts and experiences about taking a 31-day break from nonessential spending.
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By eliza_cross, on May 4th, 2011%
“I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home…. I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.”
~ Nancie J. Carmody
Spring has sprung, and while some of us no longer adhere to the whole-house spring cleaning rituals of our grandparents’ generation I do notice that winter has taken its toll on our windows. Professional window cleaning can cost upwards of $7 per window, which doesn’t include deep cleaning. Instead, you can wash your own windows with materials you probably already have around the house — and pocket the savings. Better yet, the cleaning solution and supplies are completely eco-friendly!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap (this tiny amount helps get the windows really clean)
- spray bottle
- newspapers
- sponge or rag
- dishwashing or work gloves (optional)
 Combine the water, vinegar and dishwashing soap and pour the mixture in the spray bottle. If there are odd bits of crud on the windows, use a wet sponge to gently remove them. If you don’t want to get newsprint on your hands, now’s the time to don the gloves. Fold two pieces of newspaper into a paper towel-sized rectangle, and fold in half. (In case you’re wondering, newspaper is the perfect medium for washing windows because the newsprint’s slightly abrasive texture gets the glass squeaky clean.)
Spray some of the cleaner on the windows and use a horizontal stroke to wipe down the outside of the windows. Switch to a vertical stroke for the inside of the windows and continue cleaning. Avoid the window frames, because newsprint can sometimes leave a mark on the frames.
Keep a sponge or rag handy to wipe the window sill and catch drips. When the newspaper becomes dirty and soaked, put it in the recycling bin and grab a fresh piece. Check your work; horizontal streaks mean you need to go over the outside, and vertical streaks mean you need to go over the inside. With a little elbow grease, your windows will soon be sparkling and streak-free!
Are you doing any spring cleaning this May? I’d love to hear about your projects.
By eliza_cross, on October 17th, 2010%
When I arrived home today, an evil surprise was waiting for me – a yellow plastic bag with a Denver metro area telephone directory inside. Since I just recycled another vendor’s unwanted phone book two weeks ago, I was not especially tickled to receive this book. I keep the Dex white and yellow pages in my office and use them occasionally, but I generally go online to look up telephone numbers, don’t you? Besides, how many phone books can one household use?
After visiting this particular directory publisher’s website and opting out of future deliveries, I discovered a link to a wonderful one-stop website to easily deal with this challenge. You can opt out of any U.S. publishers’ yellow pages directories by visiting YellowPagesOptOut.com. Enter your zip code and you’ll be given a list of the companies that publish books in your area plus directions for opting out of any directories you don’t want to receive. In Canada, visit the Yellow Pages Group for opt-out directions.
It’s great that the companies collectively provide a way for consumers to specify their preferences, but unfortunately many people don’t know about this service. Think of all the gazillions of unused directories that end up in landfills and recycling centers each year. According to BanThePhoneBook.org, up to 5 million trees are cut down each year to create the white pages phone book. The directory publishers only utilize 40% recycled materials when they print new editions, so the environmental impact of all these companies printing unwanted phone books is truly staggering. The good news is that we can really make a difference by spreading the word, especially since most of these opt-out programs are permanent.
How You Can Help
Here’s a simple link you can ‘tweet’ or use for a Facebook update:
#GreenerYellowPages – How to stop delivery of unwanted phone books: http://su.pr/1gMKIr
If you’re a blogger, I created this little banner that you can post on your blog to take readers to these instructions so they can opt out. Just copy and paste this HTML code into the desired location on your blog or website:
Are you receiving multiple editions of phone directories you don’t want or use? I’d love to hear your comments and experiences, and if you blog or tweet about this issue please let me know.
P.S. Plastic and paper can’t be combined during the recycling process, so do your recycling center a favor and take the book out of its plastic bag before putting it in the bin.
Also, if you find magnets glued to your phone directory don’t forget to remove those before recycling the book. Want to repurpose the magnets? Our friends at A Girl and a Gluegun, Baby Brainstorm and AHC Arts & Crafts have some very creative, crafty ideas.
By Eliza Cross, on August 23rd, 2010%
Are your Reeboks run down? Have you maxed out your Merrills? Instead of sending old footwear to the landfill, why not refashion your shoes into a pair of funky planters? These soulful mini-gardens were for sale at the Easton Farmers’ Market, but you can make your own with some good quality planting mix and sturdy plants like Seedum or Hens and Chicks. Add a little water and good natural light and you, too, could be the envy of all your well-heeled friends.
Have you discovered an unusual vessel to repurpose for a container garden? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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