around the house: repurposing ideas

Last day to enter the giveaway. :)

I stumbled across this book at our local library last year and loved the fun ideas for re-purposing items and also saving them from the garbage heap.

I especially was inspired by "The Salvage Sisters'" idea to create a quilt from past-their-prime jeans and decided to put together a quilt for our family. It's still a work in progress, but here's how it looks so far:

Here are some other ideas that I've used around our house:


Converting a wall hanging to curtains: Dave had a batik print hanging on his wall back in his bachelor days. When we moved it got stored away until I repainted our boy's room last year and thought it would work well as curtains. All I did was cut it in two, hem the cut edges and create a casing for the curtain rod. Easy peasy.

Using curtain rods as garden stakes: we used this idea in our garden to support tomato plants and to support netting we needed to put up to keep out the deer. This is the best picture I have of using the curtain rods. Note the decorative finals (which we eventually removed because they were too sharp and pointy - but if you use this idea, consider using rods with interesting finials)

Plastic cupcake holders make great change holders: we have one of these to hold our spare change in a cabinet near our kitchen phone. They'd also work well organizing items in a drawer such as buttons, safety pins, elastics and paper clips. 

personal care green tips

I wanted to share two of my favorite skin products - one I just discovered and the other I learned about a few years ago. Since doing a lot of research a few years ago and learning about what goes into skin care products, I've been more vigilant as to what I put on my skin. Here's my new favorite lotion which has a tropical scent (I found it at Target):

I've also been using California Baby's sunscreen on myself and my children for a couple of years now and was excited to discover Target also carries it (save on shipping!). You can get it unscented but I love the lemongrass scent of the regular screen.

Here are a few other personal care tips:

• If you have an infant, use cloth wipes instead of disposable ones (this also saves you some green :) ). I bought some cheap white ones so I could bleach them if needed. It takes a little more planning when you travel (e.g. make sure you pre-moisten them if you won't be near a water-source), but it's much kinder to the environment. I also noticed that when my  boys had diaper rashes, a wet washcloth doesn't sting their skin like the disposable ones did when I used them on my daughter.
• And speaking of rashes, I have found cornstarch helps prevent rashes, or when my children have had a rash, to combine it with petroleum jelly or diaper ointment to create a thick paste to create a good barrier on your baby's skin. 
• Baking soda works as underarm deodorant
• Reuse (washed and thoroughly dried) large spice shakers for your baking soda deodorant or to hold the cornstarch for your baby's bottom. My brother-in-law actually came up with this one and our family has used ever since.

 P.S. Only one more day to enter the giveaway!

giveaway green tips: birthday edition (including a tutorial!)

Since today is Ben's birthday, I thought it was only fitting to do birthday-related green tips (you have two more days to enter the giveaway). So without further ado, here they are:

1. Use strips of material instead of ribbon madeof plastic. See...

2. Use fabric to wrap your gifts instead of paper - especially good for your family members and friends who like to sew :). Here's a baby gift I wrapped in material and finished off with coordinating grosgrain ribbon:

3. Instead of paper/plasticky gift bags,use cloth bags. Here's one I put together (see this post for details)

And here's a lovely one my mom gave us:

4. Since pennants are a big thing lately, I came up with an idea for a birthday pennant and a way to upcycle your birthday cards. Usually, I end up recycling the cards because I have a daymare (grin) of drowning in paper and visions of our children going through all our stuff when we're gone and exclaiming over the mountains of cards we collected over the years. Anyway...I may need to amend my paper-tossing habits because God was gracious enough to give me this fun idea for hanging onto a bit of nostalgia. Thus, a tutorial for:

Step 1: Collect the cards and select one of them to use as a template. You may want to use a smaller rectangle - choosing a larger one may mean your template won't fit on the smaller cards. Unless you want to create several different sizes of triangles.

Step 2: Make your template. Tear the card in half along the crease mark. Like this:

Then, using the back half of the card (the one with the main message), fold it in half. Like this:

Next, using a ruler, draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other. Like this:

Cut along the diagonal, unfold, and...voila! your template.

Step 3: Cut out your pennant pieces. Using your template trace around the colorful front of the card and cut out. At this point, you may want to write on the back who the card was from, who the card was for, and the year. Also, you may want to play with the order of the pieces to get a pleasing pattern.

Step 4: String your pennant pieces together. Punch two holes at the top and thread string, ribbon or raffia through the holes. Holes small in diameter are better than larger ones unless you are using a thick material to string the pennants - you want to be able to slide the pennants along and adjust their position easily.

Step 5: Hang up on the day of the celebration and enjoy. Tuck away for the next birthday and add to it as you collect more cards. If you have more than one child, you may want to create a banner for each. Or mix them up and pull out the banner for every special occasion (in which case cards for other occasions may be used).

Funny behind-the-tutorial-scenes story: Apparently, I was very thorough in purging our birthday card collection from years past because I couldn't find any to use for this tutorial. However, I did have the entire cache of cards from our wedding and wedding showers, in case you noticed the wedding theme to the cards I used in the pictures. :)

I also admit to using the plasticky ribbon stuff to string these together - something I already had on hand. So if you still have this stuff in your stash, consider using it for this craft since it's meant to be something to hang onto for a number of years versus being bound for the trash heap after the gift opening is over.

Happy Birthday Ben!

eating his cake (one day early)

I can't believe my baby turns two today. I feel like I've tried to hold onto his babyhood longer than the others and certainly, this is the longest I've ever gone without being pregnant since we started having children. Sigh.

our favorite birth day picture

Ben is the only one of our four to arrive on his due date. The fact that he was later than the other three was wearing me to a frazzle and I was having such a hard time giving my worry over to God. Not my best moments.

So, in the interest of growing me in the area of trust and patience, God waited until 12:30 a.m. on Ben's due date to kick things in gear. I love His timing.

I thought my water had broken, but it turns out it hadn't - the doctor went ahead and broke it and very quickly things got IN.tense. I seriously contemplated the decision of going without an epidural because I was experiencing crazy painful contractions and when the nurse checked me I was only at 5 cm. I kept thinking there was no way I could go another hour or so to get to 10 cm at this intensity (which is the amount of time I figured it would take to get there). Turns out it only took me another 10 minutes or so - the next time the nurse checked I was at 8 and then on the next contraction (or maybe it was the one after that) I felt something...drop (I liked to stand up as I labored. Gravity is a good thing).

I jumped up on the bed fully expecting Ben to be halfway out already, but was relieved to find he wasn't as close to dropping on the floor as I first thought. Several pushes later and he was here. Interesting to note...all our children were born very near the half hour...and come to think of it, we were married on the half hour, too...

Anyway, here are some pictures to capture our littlest man in highlights of the past two years:

the best pic we could get as a new family of 6 :)

Ben tiring of waiting for me to finish up in the kitched

Ben loves his big sister

his favorite sleeping position once he could roll himself over - face down, arms tucked under him

Ben loves his daddy!

one year old  B.C. (before crawling)

 

he's not a baby anymore :(

 

playing with dinosaurs just like his big brothers

We celebrated yesterday with family and gave him a tricycle with a parent-friendly handle (finally, for the fourth child we realized the wisdom in this accessory :) ). It was Ben's favorite part too - which made Luke happy since he also thought it was a great gift. Please pray for the birthday boy (and Luke) - they both have wicked colds which have developed into fevers, and for Luke, mega-swollen glands.

Birthday edition of the giveaway green tips will be posted later today :)

swim finds and giveaway green tips

 I'm (re)discovering that I'm not a wing it kind of person. I am a planner through and through.

Which, for me, means adding research into my preparation for the triathlon. So far, I've been focused on what exactly to wear on race day, especially since the swim portion adds an interesting twist to "what to wear" dilemma and on freestyle swimming techniques.


Here's what I've discovered so far:

1. Swim goggles are a must. This probably is a no brainer, but some part of me was holding out hope that I could get away without needing them. Didn't work. 

2. Take some time to get used to the goggles before the race.When I tried out the goggles for the first time, it was a little freaky to see above the water, below the water and see my arms moving in the water all at the same time. Kind of made me a little "sea" sick. ;)

3. Spend a little extra and get a good pair of goggle. Dave got me a pair of Speedo(R) "Hydrosity" goggles from our local sports store. They worked well the first time, but then the straps became progressively looser with each use and the lenses kept filling with water. Part of the issue is that I have a smaller face. So...back to our favorite hometown sports store. Turn out the "Hydrosity" goggles are, in the words of the sales associate, "a kids goggle." Happily, they had a pair of women's goggles (I got the Speedo(R) "Vanquisher," but not the mirrored ones from this link) with a set of nose bridge pieces that can be swapped out until you find the perfect fit. Very cool. These goggles also have two straps which give a snugger fit.So far, so good.

4. Anti-fog solution for the goggles also is a must.

5. Swim caps aren't (at least for training). After readying the May edition of Triathlete Magazine, one athlete recommended this swim cap because it's easier on your hair.I got Speedo(R)'s version thinking it would keep my hair from getting wet and damaged from the chlorine. Didn't work - my hair still gets wet.


6. It's hard to find a two-piece competition swimsuit. So far my efforts have been unfruitful since the sports stores in our area aren't carrying competition-savvy two-pieces (other than one that say "life guard on the chest") and the one I ordered online was too skimpy in the bottoms. Note: I could make it easy and get a one-piece, but it bugs me when I'm running (and the temperatures are hot) to have something clinging to my torso. So the search is on.

Which leads me to the giveaway Green Tip...

Reuse (clean and empty :) ) cereal box liners to store your wet swimsuit.

I've been saving and reusing cereal box liners for awhile now when I decided to stop buying Ziplock(R) sandwhich and storage bags as a way of reducing the amount of plastic we use in our home. For the most part, I reuse the liners for storing leftovers and other food, but here are some other ways you could reuse them (if you have any severe food allergies in your family, you may not want to use this idea):

• Tuck some in a diaper bag for anything that needs its mess (or smell!) contained until you get home
• If you're shipping a breakable package or are moving, use them as packing material
• If you're going on a picnic and have items that may leak, put the container in the liner and secure with an elastic band.

Any other ideas? Please share them in the comment section. :)

green tips and a giveaway

Today and through next Wednesday, June 8, you will have a chance to enter a giveaway for this cheery pit pack on Love 2 Upcycle. Upcyclers is one of the etsy teams I belong to and the creativity and inventiveness of this group is amazing.

For added fun, I thought I'd share some "green" tips each day ('cept Sunday) between now and June 8. Since I chose the "Green Grass" Cheery Pack for the giveaway item, I thought it only makes sense to start with a grass-related tip since much time and money is put into keeping it green.

"Keeping it Green" Grass Tips

Tip 1: Resist the urge to water through the dry spells. Or, if you absolutely must water and also have children who love to play in the water, time your watering cycle with their play time - whether it's in a sprinkler or with buckets or even water balloons.

Tip 2: Consider incorporating microclover into your lawn. This is something we have yet to try, but in reading the research, it seems like a great way to go.

Tip 3: And, if you can't do this:

And prefer not to use one of these:

  Try this:

This is a lawnmower I can vouch for and the above picture is of the electric mower my husband brought home a couple of weeks ago. It has a rechargeable battery, so unlike other electric lawnmowers, you won't get tangled in the cord (something I've experienced in the past). It's also lightweight and cuts and mulches the grass well. We did notice that when the battery is low the mower does not like to cut really long grass, but fully charged, it handles the long grass well. I'm not getting any monetary compensation to promote this...just sharing what we happily found as an alternative to a gas-powered mower.

run.ning water

The closest I've ever come to being without clean, safe water was one day a couple of years ago. The fire department had just flushed the hydrant outside our home and soon after, I began to fill up our Brita filter. Only the water was yellowish and I immediately tossed it down the drain, thinking there was no way I we were going to drink it until it was clear again. It remained yellow all day and I was in a bit of panic at bath time because I wasn't sure it was a good idea to put children who usually swallow a few mouthfuls of bath water in a tub filled with stuff that I wasn't sure was safe. I think we may have chanced it and given them a bath anyway. The next day, the water was clear again. Mini-crisis over.

At least the crisis was over for us - a mere blimp on a horizon abounding with clean, running water at my immediate disposal. But I've grown increasingly aware that for many people, they don't have a choice in what kind of water they give their families to drink or bathe their children in. They don't even have much choice in where they get their water (I could have gone to the store if I needed drinking water). Their only choice is the nearest water hole, one most likely shared my animals, one filled with contamination and disease-causing organisms.

When I read this article in the Spring 2011 edition of World Vision magazine, I was again reminded that something I take for granted is a huge obstruction to social justice for many people in this world.

This is one of the reasons why I felt moved to raise money which will help bring clean, safe water to people who need it most. As part of the triathlon I'm training for, I'm raising money through charity:water and you can donate here. I'll also be donating 20% of my June and July sales through my shop to charity:water. I hope you will join me either by donating or shopping...though we may never hear the stories of the people we help, I am praying that these gifts will mean they have a story to tell because for so many, their story ends all too soon.