Tuesday's Green Tip - Eco-Me

Want to make your own cleaning products, but need a little boost to get going?

Check out Eco-Me - a company who provides you with the tools to make your own cleaning products. They also have kits for body and baby.

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday - Cookout with friends - burgers, hot dogs, italian sausage, baked beans, broccoli salad, brownies, cookies and lemonade pie

Monday - Barbeque pulled chicken, corn and green beans

Tuesday - Leftover hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, peas, pears

Wednesday - Chicken Soft Tacos, pears

Thursday - Eggplant Parmesan with whole wheat pasta

Friday - Date night!

Saturday - Farmer's Market - TBD

I’m an Organizing Junkie is home to Menu Plan Monday.

Sustainable Saturday - Biodegradable Plastic Bags

So earlier this week I discussed how easy it really is to start a compost. Now we can't compost everything that is waste . . . so what is the best earth-friendly way to deal with trash that must go to the landfill?

When making your decision regarding how to dispose of your trash, consider this: conventional plastic bags are made with petroleum which may eventually break down, but it will never truly go away. When exposed to heat and light the plastic breaks apart into tiny particles which infiltrate our soils, bodies of water and are ingested by the fish we eat.

Here is the info you need to know when it comes to biodegradable plastic trash bags . . .

Find out exactly where your trash goes: does your city compost garbage or does it truly go to a landfill?

If your city does compost garbage your best bet is a bio-based trash bag. Bio-based means its made from corn, sugarcane or potatoes.

If your trash goes to a landfill consider using bags made from recycled plastic or synthetic biodegradable plastics. Synthetic plastics mixed with additives allow the plastic to break down when exposed to light, heat and oxygen. If they are buried underground they may not break down as nothing biodegrades 100 percent in an air tight landfill. Bags made from recycled plastic would be the preferred option.

Tuesday's Green Tip - Method at Big Lots

Big Lots has Method (Rt. 23 and Lazelle in Columbus) this week and there are many great deals to be had. I purchased the Method, 32 load, Free & Clear Triple Concentrated Laundry detergent for $3.00!! I also purchased Pink Grapfruit All Purpose Wipes for $2.50. There were also air freshners, dryer sheets, hand soap, dish soap, all purpose cleaners and a variety of their holiday scents as well.

Now I have said previously that I was phasing out purchasing cleaning products in lieu of making my own . . . and I am still doing that. However, there are some products which I will continue to purchase like laundry detergent, hand soap and dish soap from companies like Method and Seventh Generation.

Tuesday's Green Tip - Composting UPDATED

Composting is probably one of the easiest Green tasks that we do at our house. When I first began composting our food scraps almost two years ago, I thought it was going to be a daunting task. Many times I joked about how I had added yet another task around the house by attempting to compost.

Turns out composting actually reduces our weekly waste by quite a lot. We put all of our fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds and filter and egg shells in our compost. We have built a outside compost bin using wood from recycled pallets. We have used this compost to fertilize our garden in the past and will use it to fertilize our lawn this fall.



UPDATE: Check out today's post on The Green Parent for more detailed information on composting as well as a compost tumbler giveaway!

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday - Baked Penne & Smoked Sausage *Family Favorite*
Monday - Breaded chicken tenders, sweet potato fries and green beans
Tuesday - Judlah (lentils & rice) served with plain yogurt and pita bread
Wednesday - Mexican Casserole *Family Favorite*

Ingredients:
1 lb. Cooked ground beef or turkey
Spanish Rice packet
Peppers (green, red or yellow)
Corn
Mexican Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Cook ground beef/ turkey. Place meat in 13x9 casserole dish with corn and peppers (sometimes I also add tomatoes or really whatever I have on hand that sounds good) and mix together. Place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Place chips on top and cover with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

Thursday - Leftover Buffet
Friday - Italian Fettuccine Pie
Saturday - Farmer's Market Shopping - TBD

I’m an Organizing Junkie is home to Menu Plan Monday.

Sustainable Saturday - Saving some Green

Want to go Green, but don't want to go broke doing it?

Replace the toxic household cleaning products in your home with environmentally cleaners that you can make with common household items!

Ingredients to get started:

White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Borax
Lemon Juice
Essential Oils
Olive Oil
Spray bottles made with recycled plastic

How they work:

Vinegar and lemon juice cut grease
Baking soda cleans and deodorizes
Borax cleans, deodorizes and disinfects

Sink and Tub Cleaner

1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Baking Soda
3 tsp Lemon Juice

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Flush toilet once to wet
Sprinkle 1 cup Borax
Drizzle 1/2 cup Vinegar
Let set for an hour, then scrub with a toilet brush

Window & Glass Cleaner

1/4 cup white Vinegar
1 quart warm water
Lemon Juice
Tip: Use newspapers to clean windows.

Furniture Polish

2 parts Olive Oil
1 part Lemon Juice
Apply with a soft cloth

Fabric Softener

Add 1 cup Vinegar or 1/4 cup baking soda to final rinse

Oven Cleaner

1 part Vinegar
4 parts water
Spray on cool oven
For tough spots use baking soda as a scrub

Happy Cleaning!