Have you noticed how completely ugly most recycling bins are? I am sure you have. If you use the bins provided by your city or local waste collection service then you probably have the standard plastic tubs in red, green, or blue. They are fine for putting out at the curb once a week but it gets annoying to have to look at them in your kitchen every day. Not only do they waste a lot of space, they look unsightly. So what to do? I know! Hide those dastardly bins in the garage or set them out back. That does work, except when you find that kids, husbands, or perhaps even you skip the trip and throw recyclables away. This won’t do.

We need something easy, accessible, and pleasing to the eye. Lucky for us there are quite a few options out there nowadays that meet this criteria. They match our snazzy ‘green’ decor better and they make it easier to recycle as much as we possibly can. Admittedly some are on the small side but big things can still be put out in the garage bins right? It’s not as if someone is going to take the time to rip up large cardboard boxes to fit inside the garbage if they can just walk it to a nearby bin right? Yeah, I think these are workable. I would be jazzed to have any of these recycling systems in my home. How about you?

Stainless 2 Compartment Recycling Bin – 16 gallons with two compartments in case you want to keep items separated (ala glass and plastic). The finish is lovely and will match your other appliances if you have a stainless thing going on in the kitchen. It is also on wheels so you can easily move it around.

Hands Free Triple Bin Recycling Can – This is another stainless option and I love that it is hands free, whilst still having a lid. It has three bins all with a 3 gallon capacity. They are removable so you can just pull them out and dump into your roadside bins. Sounds like a job for the kids, no?

Brushed Stainless Recycling Bin – This option is finger-print proof  and thus more expensive but some people have really fancy kitchens and it might be important for them to maintain the look. This bin and foot pedal are made to last for many, many years so it won’t need to be replaced any time soon and the lid has a filter for odor absorption just in case someone doesn’t rinse out the milk jug before recycling it.

Polyester Stand Up Recycling Bags – Okay I do NOT have one of those aforementioned fancy kitchens. I think these would be a-okay for display. You may or may not agree but these waterproof upright bags would be super easy to use and care for. They fit a lot of stuff and they are different colors if you need to separate your recyclables.

Recycling Bin with Changeable Labels – This bin is another that may not be stylish enough for some high end kitchens but I love that it is upright and has a label system. It has labels for compost, landfill, glass, plastic, paper, and others. I love that you can compost in one section and collect glass bottles in another.

Pull Out Recycling Bins – These bins are not so pleasing to the eye but they are made to be tucked away inside one of your kitchen cabinets using the provided tracks. They are pretty roomy and they will be out of the way. You can use both for recycling or one for regular landfill trash.

Did you find one that will work for you?

I am very much in favor of supplementation. This is because I belive that our food system is so broken and our soil conditions are so lacking that food cannot provide us with all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need for health. To close the gap I take various supplements such as fish oils, magnesium, Vitamin D3, and Milk Thistle. I have some on hand that I am trying out (Moringa) and some that I only need occasionally, like Echinacea. This leaves me with a bit of waste problem. I have many brown glass bottles and some plastic bottles that had supplements in them that are now empty. I decided to compile a list of things you might do to reuse/recycle them.

Freecycle – You would be amazed how your trash might be just what someone else needs. Animal shelters might use them for pet medication, churches might want them for mission trip meds, and crafters might have use of them too. Make an offer…

Fishing Supplies – My oldest son is an avid fisherman and we use bottles for small things like hooks, lures, and weights. That way mom doesn’t end up getting a fish hook in her flip -flop when she walks in the garage.

Seed Containers – Paper seed envelopes can be a giant pain in the back side. You open them for your first planting and then you might end up loosing half them by the next year. Putting them in a bottle makes storing them much easier and you can tape the label from the envelope on the underside of the jar or the top of the cap.

Coin Holder – If you or your children collect coins then jars and bottles are perfect for storing them. No need for a piggy bank!

Organization – You can use them to organize desk items… paper clips, pencils , rubberbands, tacks, earbuds, beads for crafts, etc

Mini Vases – If they are larger jars (think fish oils) line them up on a windowsill with small, pretty flowers to brighten up the room! You can even paint them or wrap yarn around them first to make them pretty. As an alternative you can hang brackets on the wall and hang the bottles on those.

Get Gorgeous – Use to decant olive oil, coconut oil, or jojoba oil which can then be used for hands, face or in the bath because who wants a big jar of coconut oil or olive oil in their bathroom?? Also handy for carrying in your purse.

Let There Be Light – If the opening is large enough, you can put a tealight in them. Get your kids to decorate the outside with colored tissue paper.

Go Herbal – Dark bottles are great for storing bulk herbs for cooking and medicinal use.

Travel On – Instead of buying travel sized shampoo to meet TSA requirements put some of your regular shampoo or conditioner in one of these small bottles.

Do you have any more ideas to add? Share!

A big part of green living that gets overlooked in favor of recycling is the simple concept of reusing. Yet the slogan is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The first step in greener living is to reduce the amount of stuff we buy and consume in the first place. The second is to find clever ways to make those initial items last longer or find new uses for them.. aka reusing them. Then AFTER those first two steps we try to find a way to recycle the things we can’t use any longer. Here are ten things you can reuse or recycle on a small scale before you toss them out:

1. Junk mail – Instead of tossing the junk mail in the recycling bin see if you can use it first. Envelopes can be used as paper for grocery lists and to-do lists. They can also be cut up and used for notes (in lieu of post-its) or for children’s craft projects. My oldest son loves to collect junk mail to make homemade recycled paper. We also use empty envelopes as bookmarks.

2. Cardboard egg cartons – These can be saved to plant seedlings in during the spring or to grow herbs in your kitchen any time of year. You can also buy wooden play eggs for your kids and use a real carton to store them in. Plastic, wool, or wood Easter eggs can be stored in egg cartons to keep them neat and organized. They can also be used as fire starters for camping… just fill the holes in with dry brush or dryer lint and use to get your campfire going.

3. Foam packing peanuts and bubble wrap – Whenever you get these in the mail add them to your Christmas/holiday storage boxes to protect breakables. Bubble wrap can also be used to insulate windows in the winter.

4. Newspaper – Save for messy craft projects, painting, lining kitty litter boxes and trash cans, or even donating to local pet stores or animal shelters who use them for bedding.

5. Plastic milk jugs – These can be cut and used for scooping pet food quite well. We used to use them for scooping grain for horses each night. They are also excellent for draining fish tanks and then using the water to feed plants (who LOVE fishy water). Cut the top off and use to collect kitchen scraps that you will eventually take out to the compost pile. Use them as cloches to protect seedlings in the spring.

6. Worn sheets/Towels – Cut them up and use for cleaning rags and for craft projects. A sheet and towel combo is perfect for making a homemade dish drying mat like this one I made this year from a project I saw in Handmade Home.

7. Used gift wrapping paper – Instead of tossing the paper see what you can salvage for scrapbooking and crafting. You may even have some pieces large enough to reuse for smaller gifts. You can also glue pieces to card stock and make your own greeting cards and thank you cards. Using the paper that was used to wrap your gift in the card you send to say thank you, is a nice touch.

8. Reuse glass jars – Your spaghetti sauce or jam jar has more than one use from Vodoo jars at Halloween to a hanging lantern for summer nights. See 10 Ways to Reuse a Glass Jar and 10 MORE Ways to Reuse Glass Jars.

9. Beer bottle caps – If your laundry is anything like mine, then you find a steady supply of these in the husband’s jeans. Glue and magnets from the craft store will turn these into magnets for your refrigerator. For plastic bottle caps check out Bottle Cap Activities : Recycled Crafts for All Ages.

10. Plastic bottles – If you buy plastic shampoo or lotion bottles these can be kept to hold homemade cleaner such as vinegar and water. Most have tops that allow for accurate squirting so why buy new spray bottles when you can reuse your shampoo bottles?

What creative ways have you found to reuse what might otherwise get tossed in the garbage?

One of the first places I head to in my local thrift store is the glassware section. It is not uncommon for me to buy up all the mason jars or other glass jars they have. I like ones with lids (as long as they don’t have mold or rust) but I will buy ones without lids as well because they are one of my favorite storage containers. I rarely buy anything from the store that comes in jars like these (spaghetti sauce, pickles) so I have to get mine second hand.

Last year I wrote about 10 Ways to Reuse a Glass Jar and I was inspired today to write about 10 MORE ways to reuse and repurpose glass jars cause I just LOVE them!

1. Drink out of them – I drink my green smoothies out of them and because they are often rimmed or bent I use a glass straw as well. My husband drinks iced coffee and tea out of them too. They are the first drink glasses we will go for. I steal the smaller chipped ham glass jars that my dad buys and those are the kids glasses. It was those chipped ham jars that I drank from every summer when I stayed with my grandma. She was the queen of thrift and managed to save over a million dollars during her working years, while employed at a factory. Every time I drink some OJ from a chipped ham jar I think of it as a frugal luxury.

2. Collection Jars – Glass jars are great places to put marbles, buttons, sewing notions, stickers, shiny rocks, pretty baubles or anything you or your kids like to collect. Not only do they store the items for you, they display them nicely for you. There is a lady down the street from me who put 3 shelves inside the window sills of her windows and on them she displays glass jars filled with various treasures. Every time I pass by her house I have to look!

Photo by alexkerhead

3. Dried Beans, Nuts, and Seeds – Instead of buying glass jars from Wal-Mart or some other store I just put old ones to work for storing dried beans on my counter top. I use jars in the refrigerator and freezer for raw nuts and seeds too. You could also use them for flour, spices, or virtually anything.

4. Specimen Jars – If you homeschool or just enjoy home education projects then glass jars make great specimen jars. You can put herbs, leaves, bugs, cocoons, or other objects of interest and then line them up for your kids to identify and study. The bottom can be labeled with the name of the specimen so they can check their work. They can be reused every week with new specimens to encourage your little scientists and nature lovers.

5. Nut Butters – The great thing about having a food processor or a Vita-Mix (which I have) you can make your own nut butters like almond butter, peanut butter, or cashew butter. Glass jars are a great place to store them.

6. Snack Jars – When your kids get home from school you can whip out a couple jars filled with grapes, nuts, raw cookies, and dehydrated fruit in jars. It makes them feel special to have all these options to presented to them in a pretty way and they know exactly what they can snack on when they get home without ransacking through the frig and pantry, or maybe its just my kids that do that!

7. Paint Brush holder – All our paintbrushes are stored in a glass jar so that if the kids don’t bother to clean them afterwards there is no large mess to clean up.. I just rinse the jar out when it needs it. I use candle jars from the thrift store for the wet paint. You can also use a glass for holding straws, pens, pencils.. you name it.

8. Fermentation – Jars are awesome for your sour dough starters, Kombucha tea, and homemade vinegar.

9. A hanging lantern – In one of MaryJane Butter’s books (I can’t recall which at the moment) there are instructions for using glass jars and the lids to make a hanging lantern using a chain and a candle. They would be perfect for eating outside in the summer and if you put a citronella candle in them you could keep the bugs away too. The ones in the book are absolutely lovely.

10. Voodoo Jars – This is probably geared towards Halloween but I just love it. You put scary little items in the jars.. like eyeballs or those little babies like you get in the King Cakes at Mardi Gras (been years since I had some King cake!) and then you color the water and make it look like you have been conducting “evil experiments”. Muhaaawa! Plus you can probably get most of the stuff at your local thrift store so you don’t have to buy new.

How do YOU use glass jars?

Photo by revjim5000

Election Day was November 3rd but you or your friends may have some leftover election signs now. If so do not just toss them!

Put Old Campaign Signs to Good Use

The results are in which means election season is officially over. It’s time to take those campaign signs off the front lawn but instead of throwing them away, why not put them to good use!

Disney FamilyFun magazine recommends turning those old campaign signs into special birthday signs for your children. Just prime and paint them “Happy Birthday Ryan!” and reposition them in the front yard for a very special birthday surprise.

Your kids will love this new tradition and the signs can be repainted and stored for years to come!