Rehash.com

Yet another fun swapping site! I want to mention rehash.com to people. I'm loving it so far!! It's basically a clothing swap site, but you can also put up other things.
I found that one cool thing has been that i now have a way to get rid of a bunch of bath and body products i have... i recently switched to some all-natural products, but i had several full, unopened bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc etc. from my previous stockpile. :)
I also have a bunch of jewelry and stuff that i have received as gifts over the years that have sat in boxes because they're not my style. But being gifts, i've never been able to just give them away, haha. This way, i can exchange them for somethign i want! :)
If you'd like to get an idea of the site and what it looks like, feel free to check out my profile. :) http://rehashclothes.com/heathermary83
Why is this green? Well, because it keeps items from landfills for longer! Reusing is a huge part of keeping the world a little greener. And it's also actually saving me money (a VERY good thing!!) because i would otherwise be buying new clothes... now i can just trade for some gently used ones. Works for me!

Freerice.com

Another fun link for good deeds! Think you have a good vocabulary?

pacifistic means:
a)anti-war
b)sensible
c)easily deceived
d)compatible

If you guessed a)anti-war, you would've just donated 20 grains of rice to hungry people through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. For every word you get correct, you've donated 20 grains of rice. If you get stuck and answer wrong, no worries! The rice is still donated, and they give you another chance.

If you're a word nerd like me, this can be a great way to exercise your mind while doing some good at the same time! :)

www.freerice.com

Oliver Heath on the Power of Recycling

This is a great little video on how easy it can be to recycle, and what an amazing impact it can make.

Frugalreader.com

I have a tendency to buy books a lot instead of borrowing them, because well, the library's in a yucky part of town, haha. And i'm a chronic re-reader, so i usually get my money's worth. However, there's many books that i'll read once, or start but not finish because i didn't care for it... and people know i love to read, so they tend to pile their unwanted books on me as well, haha.
So what to do with all those books? Frugalreader.com! You enter in the ISBN numbers of the books you're willing to part with. When people want your book, you'll get a "request to ship". You ship the book out to them, and when they receive it you get credits. These credits are used to get books from others. I believe that paperbacks are 1 credit and hardcovers are 2. You also get bonus credits for swapping popular books. I signed up this past week and entered 10 or 11 books. By the next morning, i had 3 requests to ship! I have also requested a book myself, and it has been shipped. They also have a referral program, and if you refer other people to the site you get a free credit as well. If you have friends on frugalreader, definitely refer to them. If you don't, feel free to put me down, my s/n is heathermary. :) You can also purchase credits, i believe for like $2 or something, so still a lot cheaper than buying books at the store! :)

Soapnuts!

I was intrigued at the thought. Nut shells, cleaning my laundry? That can be used many times? This fascinates me.

I immediately ordered them from the first site i found them in, which was unfortunately in the UK. Someone was kind enough to give me a link to a place in the US that sells them, and kindly reminded me that Google is my friend. haha. I had to wait a little bit for the soapnuts to come in, and even longer before i was actually ready to use them.

But i'm getting ahead of myself. First things first - what are soap nuts?

Soap nuts are the fruit of the Chinese Soapberry Tree (Sapindus mukorrosi). They are shells that contain saponin, an all-natural surfectant. When water touches the shells, it creates a detergent that works wonders for cleaning. You take a few shells and put them in a small drawstring bag, and toss it in the wash with your clothes. That's it. You can even leave them in through the rinse cycle and they won't get sudsy or anything. :) I added a little lavender essential oil to the bag to lightly scent my laundry.

What drew me to throw dried Chinese berries into my wash? I was looking for an all-natural laundry detergent. When conventional detergents are entered into the water system, it wreaks havoc on the ecosystem...killing algae and fish, polluting our waters. I personally like water and would like to keep it for a while, so i figured reducing the damage would be a small step. This lead me to soapnuts. They're biodegradeable, reneawable, all sorts of good stuff. Also reusable... one baggie of the soapnuts can be used for 4-6 loads of laundry. It also naturally softens your clothes, so there's no need for added softener.

Upon reading the included info, i found that you can also make a cleaning solution with the nuts, by simmering them in water and putting the solution in a spray bottle. I have to say, it is the UGLIEST cleaning solution ever, but it works just fine!

Some places you can find soapnuts to try on your own:

Maggie's Pure Land - California

In A Soapnut Shell - UK

So that's it... in a nut shell. ;)

Recycled Crafts - Candles (2 parts)

I just wanted to share with you all something i've been doing.


I'm addicted to Yankee Candles. I admit it. :) But notice how sometimes when you burn a candle in a jar, it melts funny and there's a ton of wasted wax on the sides? Well, the first easy thing is to get a candle warmer. It heats up the jar and candle melts the wax, releasing the scent. (You wont' be able to light it afterwards, so wait till the wick is down to nothing.) You'll get hours and hours more out of your candle by doing this. That's the first part.


The second part is something i just thought of recently. When you're ready to "toss" the candle, warm it again until the wax is all liquid. Pour the wax into some sort of mold, and you have recycled drawer fresheners! :) I have simple soap molds because i do a lot of soapmaking, so i've been pouring it into those and popping them out. I have one for every drawer, and then some! haha. But even better, now all the wax is out of your jar and it can be put in the recycling bin. :)

Here we have remants of Pomegranate Cider, Meadow Blossoms, Vanilla Oak, and Balsam & Cedar. :) I would think that if they're the right size you could also use them in a tart warmer, but i haven't tried it out yet. :)

Daily Click!

The Rainforest Site

One of my daily clicks! Every click helps to protect 11.4 square feet of rainforest.

There's also 5 other sites you can access from that page to help other important causes as well.

:)

Pets can go green, too

I have 3 cats: Luckadoo Horatio, aka Lucky, 3 1/2; Gwendolyn Louise, 9 months; and Gwen's littermate Daisymae Matilda. These crafty critters are my furbabies, my kids until i have kids. I started thinking about THEIR environmental impact... or rather, the one i choose to make on their behalf.
I used to use clay litter (scoop away was a personal fave), scoop the waste into a plastic grocery bag, tie it up and toss it out. I didn't know of a better way to go about it. A few years ago I saw Feline Pine and tried that, but the pellets didn't work with my regular scoop so i quickly gave it up.
In December (2007) i decided i wanted to try again. I asked the good people in the livejournal community green_daily for their take. I learned that clay litters are made by strip mining, which is a rather unpleasant, destructive process. I've also heard that this type of litter will never biodegrade, because it has already reduced as far as it will go.
Greenlivingtips.com's take on strip mining

So what's a cat lover to do? Luckily, there are now many different alternative litters on the market.
Swheat Scoop - a wheat-based clumping litter. (The only negative i've heard about it is that for some, it attracts Asian Meal Moths. But most people i talked to had no issues.)
Feline Pine - 100% recycled pine. There's also the Feline Pine Litter Box.
World's Best Cat Litter - corn based, perfume free, great for people with allergies.
Smart Cat Box - An amazing system! Non-absorbent litter (safflower seeds!) is used and it's a great option for diabetic or special needs cats, as the urine goes through the seeds and into a chamber below, so it's available for easy testing.

And last but not least, Cedariffic. (Sorry, no website!) This is what i've been using since December, and WOW what a difference!! It's reclaimed sawdust, so no trees are harmed. I buy it at my local grocery store, for $4 for a 7-lb bag. It also lasts twice as long as the traditional litters i've used, for half the price! I figured out that i'm saving over $200 a year by switching!

Now for disposal. Instead of putting the waste into a plastic bag, i've found a better way. I had kept a plastic bucket from my Scoop Away days, and i now scoop the waste into the bucket all week and shut the lid tightly. Then before i take out my trash to be picked up, i dump the contents straight into the bag. No dealing with odors, no mess, and best of all, a LOT more eco-friendly!

If you know of any other options, or want to share your experiences here, please do so!

Beginning a Green Journey

I've always been a bit of a tree-hugger, ask anyone who knows me. :) But lately i've been trying to move towards greener living in general. I've been doing so much research and trial and error that my regular blog was getting bogged down with it all. Hence, a new one, devoted to the trials and tribulations of my adventure!
I plan to share articles, tips, and whatever else i feel is relevant. Expect a lot of crafty recycling! :)

I am not an eco-nazi. I just have found that there's so many small ways we can make a big impact. Most people aren't aware of how simple it can be. It's ok, that's what i'm here for. :)