The Zero Waste Home

im hooked on this site! (thanks mom!) www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com

i keep thinking about it and two things really caught my attn...

"holding onto (something) does not make it into something useful." and

 " even if you did not see the point of decluttering in order to form better shopping habits, share with others, or make Zero Waste manageable for environmental reasons, don't you value time saved from not caring for the unnecessary? i personally do... time has allowed me to re-connect with the outdoors, green my home, create this blog... time is the most valuable commodity needed in caring for the environment -it is our lack of time that created the problems that we now want to fix."

seems like every week we have four or more full bins of recycling. its a hassle to both of use to be constantly rinsing and taking the stuff out- how sweet would it be not even have to do that! i also want to have a garage sale if possible or start donating stuff we arent using. i am not big on rotating all kinds of decor or whatever so storing what im not using is pointless and taking up space for things i do rotate like caidens clothes or our summer/winter gear. i had to move all his diaper and wipes to his closet bc the linen closet couldnt hold all of it, plus toilet paper, and all the pillows blankets and linens we need for all the company that comes thru. so now i see lots of wasted storage space holding things that im not using but arent letting go bc i might have a use for it.

so where else to start? here- "one item at a time, you can "Zero Waste" your grocery shopping too" i think I'm going to start with cereal, napkins, and the farmers market for produce. i figured those are all easy changes bc 1- ill be shopping at new places and i can get to know whats there and scope out the next item to change, 2- it wont be a lot of change of habit at home until after the food is gone (no napkins or cereal bags/boxes to throw away) its a small change to start but it will make a difference all around.

ill keep you posted!

Kitchen Cheats

Now that I'm able to spend a little more time in my kitchen cooking I really rely on two of my favorite kitchen cheats. They are two cheats that use what you already have to save you money.

1~ Dishsoap turned Foaming Handsoap.

Since it can be expensive to keep nice handsoap at the sink and I wash my hands a LOT I noticed I had a new expense. I really like the foam hand soap and always wondered how it went from liquid in the bottle to foam in your hands. Well I didn't investigate how it made the foam but instead what soapy liquid I could put in the bottle to "refill" my foam soap dispenser. It was as easy as refilling my container with water, leaving 2 inches at the top them squirting at least 2 tablespoons of my fav dishsoap in and shaking. Viola! It works just as well as the store bought and lasts just as long. So I bought a $2-3 foam soap dispensing pump for each of my bathrooms and the kitchen sink.

When I refill my dispensers each month I also wash them to get rid of germs that are still there. You can buy nicer foam soap dispensers than I have but I just picked a nice looking plastic bottle from the store.

Kitchen Cheat 2 ~ The heel slice of bread turned Moisture Equalizer

Almost everyone I know buys the mainstream boring bag of white bread (or wheat or whole grain). And at the begining and end of every loaf is the boring overly crusty ends or heels of the loaf, that either get eaten unhappily or wasted. Two things I have read to do with soft or dry bread can resolve a pretty big kitchen problem... mositure! Some foods hold too much and some loose theirs quickly. And itll probably (ok maybe) amaze you how easily a slice of bread can fix this:

A ~ Chopped Lettuce ~ which in most cases gets wet to fast and wilts or turns before you can use it all. You could use a paper towl, kitchen towl OR use that lonely dry slice of white bread to soak up the excess moisture. Just place it on top of the chopped lettuce and by the next day you'll still have crisp lettuce.

B ~ Hard Brown Sugar ~ which is a shame to waste this mapley- sweetness. Next time, place a soft slice of white bread on top of your sugar and in a few days you're brown sugar will be moist again. If you need to use that hard brown sugar sooner than a few days you can also microwave it until it softened up. *Note ~ Don't leave the bread in the sugar too long or it can mold as well. Its an easy fix just sweet enough to try!

Week in a Day

Ooh wow how the holidays had me busy! You can tell that just before Halloween my control-freak energy pulled me away from my new blog. It was always in the back of my mind as new ideas for posts popped in my head. But now that we are in the New Year, all major holidays are over (except the birthdays of my two favorites guys.) And I've started another new adventure staying home with my son. Its week one and I'm loving it! 

This first post of the year was inspired by Rachael Ray's new show Week in a Day. I just saw a commercial for it and am so excited. I can't tell when it premiered but there is a new show this weekend. I have been very interested in double duty dinners, freezer meals, and planning ahead so I hoping this show can give me a heads up on how to do this better. Then I can cook less often but eat at home all week long!

Keep a look out for new posts... I'm going to get right back into it! Thanks for hanging around for me!