DIY: Give New Life to Wilted Celery

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Michelle

Before you toss your wilted celery into the compost pile, try this fool proof trick for bringing it back to life.

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Eggs: An Easy Way to Determine if They’ve Gone Bad

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Michelle

Bad Egg?

I was adding eggs to a quick bread recipe the other day when I noticed an odd odor coming from the bowl. After the addition of a second egg something just didn’t smell right.

After chucking out my batter (who wants to get food poisoning?) I thought it wold be a good idea to check the rest of the eggs in the carton for freshness.

First, I checked the best by date – still plenty of time left before having to chuck them into the compost pile.

Next, I looked each egg in the carton over for cracks and funny smells – none.

Finally, instead of tossing out perfectly good organic brown eggs, I gave each individual egg the water test. Here’s how it goes:

Sink or Swim?

Place each egg in a bowl filled with water. If the egg sinks immediately and lies flat on its side it’s a fresh egg. If the egg floats on top of the water it’s bad and should be tossed out. Sometimes you may get an egg that sinks but stands up on end, you can still eat it, but use it up quickly.

How do you check eggs for freshness? Have a great kitchen tip you’d like to share with us? Feel free to leave a comment below, or send me a tweet @greenearthbazar . I’d love to know what you think.

Green Tip: Cut Up Those Plastic Six-Pack Rings

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Michelle

Cut it Out

Okay, so your family can’t quite kick the soda habit and now you’ve got a ton of those awful plastic six-pack rings littering the top of your refrigerator (oh wait, that’s me).

So what should you do with them? Cut them up into small pieces so our little animal friends don’t ingest them, and toss them in with your regular plastic recyclables. It’s easy and helps to keep our furry and feathered friends from meeting an awfully cruel end – insides so filled with plastic they can no longer eat and eventually starve to death.

So remember to cut up those plastic rings up before getting rid of them – the environment will thank you for it.

Have anything to say? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Green Tip | Use Vinegar to Clean Your Mirrors and Windows

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Michelle

Here’s a useful green tip: clean your mirrors and windows with vinegar instead of a traditional commercial glass cleaner.

Commercial glass cleaners, like the blue stuff of old, may contain chemicals we wouldn’t want in our homes. Chemicals like ammonia, harsh detergents, and surfactants.

Vinegar is safe, non-toxic, and very inexpensive. Put some in a spray bottle, and you’re good to go. I use vinegar to clean the mirrors and windows in my home all the time. If the vinegar smell bothers you, you can add a few drops of an essential oil to cut the odor. I use straight, undiluted vinegar, and find that the odor goes away after a few minutes.

Green Tip | Save That Bar of Soap!

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Michelle

Let’s face it, soap is a necessity. We use lots of it around our house, especially since there are three very rambunctious, sometimes very dirty kids. For the most part we use Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, but I do like to keep bars of soap on hand too, especially for face washing and leg shaving. Of course, I only purchase organic, fair trade bars of soap which can run into a lot of money if you go through them too quickly.

To make sure we get the most out of our bars of soap we never leave them in the shower. Instead, we wrap our bars of soap in wax paper and store them in our bathroom cupboard. It really helps to prolong the life of our organic bar soaps, and ultimately saves us money too. I’ve been able to use one single bar of Dr. Bronner‘s Almond soap, like the one pictured above, for three months now, and I still have quite a bit left. I’d say that’s pretty frugal, of course each individual household is going to be different, but you get the idea. For best results, allow your soap to air dry on the wax paper, turning over once so each side gets fully dry before wrapping and storing your soap.

It’s DIY Friday! | Make Your Own Non-Toxic All Purpose Cleaner

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Michelle

: Image by How can I recycle this via Flickr

I know I’ve mentioned this before, and maybe I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but I swear by Dr. Bronner’s soap. It is simply fan-freakin’-tastic! We use it for everything in our house. From body wash and shampoo, to cleaning the kitchen sink, Dr. Bronner‘s does it all – you can even brush your teeth with it. Now that’s all purpose cleaning!

At our house, ditching toxic, harmful chemicals is our number one priority. We strive to be as healthy and green as possible, and no way are we going to throw a wrench into our green works so to speak, by using cleaning products that are hazardous to us and bad for the environment. And what could be more harmful to your health than cleaning your home with potentially – and proven to be – hazardous chemicals? I think we all want to be healthy deep down inside, and of course we want to raise healthy, happy children too, but maybe “going green” can be a little bit scary for some. Let me be the first to tell you going green is pretty simple. You can do it, and without having to spend a fortune on new green, organic products either. I’ve priced those green cleaning products – and they’re pricey. If you can afford to purchase them, and find they work well for you, then more power to you. I on the other hand, don’t want to spend a small fortune on items to clean my home when I can make them myself, and for next to nothing too.

Here’s my very simple recipe for a great, non-toxic, all-natural, all-purpose cleaner.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap – You can purchase it from stores like Walgreen’s, GNC, Target, and Whole Foods. Or you can purchase it online from their website. One 32 ounce bottle lasts our family of five an entire month. Mind you, we use it for everything. It costs approximately $15.00, comes in a variety of lovely scents, and since it is so concentrated, you can simply dilute it in water – a little goes a long way. Plus, it’s organic and certified fair trade – totally cool!
Empty spray bottle – I use a 32 ounce spray bottle which originally contained another green cleaning product (more recycling love here).

Simply add water to your empty spray bottle, making sure to leave enough room to add your soap. Next, add 2 tablespoons of the Dr. Bronner’s to your bottle. Viola! You’re all ready to get your green clean on – so get to it you dirty hippies. Just kidding – not all hippies are dirty, and not all dirty people are hippies. There’s a little lesson in logic thrown in for you too – no need to thank me. Enjoy!

Green Tip | Keep Your Food Fresh With This Simple Gadget

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Michelle

There’s nothing worse than going to the pantry, taking out a bag of veggie chips or granola (or whatever else you like that comes in a bag), and digging into it only to discover that it’s gone stale – yuck!

I have a very simple, frugal solution for that. What is it? Binder clips. Binder clips are awesome, relatively inexpensive, and aren’t just for keeping papers from flying across the room (sometimes it gets pretty breezy in my house, and papers will fly).

Since we homeschool our three kids we keep lots of binder clips on hand. I like them much better than regular paper clips – the kids can’t unbend them to make sharp objects to poke each other with – objects that: a.) ultimately end up on the carpeting, discreetly blending in just waiting for my bare feet to trod upon them, or b.) end up being sucked into the vacuum cleaner causing it to sound like rapid machine gun fire.

I scored these beauties at my local hospice thrift store (I just love our local hospice. If you have one in your area, check it out! They do great work). I purchased a big bag of the really large binder clips(the most expensive size) with a few smaller ones thrown into the mix, probably 25 or so, for a couple of bucks. I saved money, donated to charity, kept someone else’s unwanted items out of the land fill, and no longer have to deal with stale veggie chips. I’m a very happy green girl.

Binder clip in action. Pretty tech, huh?

Green Tip: Apply Body Oil With Less Mess

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Michelle

I prefer to moisturize my skin with oils like olive, almond, and coconut, but sometimes applying them can be messy. Using oils straight from the bottle usually means you’re left with oil rings on your counter top, and greasy bottles that must be wiped clean. Applying body oils out of a spray bottle works much better, however, the oil still seems to end up in places it shouldn’t be, not to mention the tendency to get hands so greasy you cannot pump the sprayer with only one hand.

To remedy this, I took an empty glass perfume bottle (for non-alcohol, oil perfume), one with a roller on the end, and using a small funnel, poured in my organic coconut oil, replaced roller and screw-on cap, and viola! – a better way to apply my body oil (and a convenient way to use and carry body oil on the go too). No muss, no fuss, and a new use for my empty perfume bottles. Plus, adding the oil to an empty perfume bottle makes your newly added body oil slightly scented because of the left over perfume oil residue. Enjoy!