The Greenest Thumb

Manda K - Save the little things

|2009-12-29 11:23:31

My mom saves all of the twisty plastic covered metal ties from all of her grandchildren's Christmas presents to tie up her tomatoes every year.
They're sturdier than old pantyhose, and with nine grandkids, they are usually lying about the house in abundance after the holiday opening spree.

I also save baby food jars if I'm in a bind, or we're traveling, and I've had to use jarred baby food to feed my son. Instead of repackaging them with my homemade baby food, though, I use them myself to put homemade granola, trail mix or dried fruit in for a snack at work.
The four ounce jars are the perfect serving size. And best of all, :grin

I don't have to worry about plastic zip top bags opening or getting punctured in my purse.

Damon T - Recycle Old Windows

|2009-11-11 01:54:14

To me green is finding new uses for things you may normally toss in the dump. People are installing new energy efficient windows all the time replacing their old which in itself can be considered green. But just simply tossing the old windows in the dump, not so green. Not only do I recycle all the aluminum pieces I recycle the sashes too. Total cost to rebuild these are less than 10 bucks. What you have when you are done is some nice casement style windows that can be used in storage buildings, workshops, or kids play houses. I think they may even make nice interior features too like cabinet doors or even used in interior walls. To me using old building materials has always been green. Saves money over buying new also. Here is a link to the windows:
http://thesmallhouse.com/windowsash.htm

Mark S - Recyling Building Materials

|2009-12-07 16:10:27

Great Tip! Did you know:
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the equivalent of 250,000 single-family homes in the United States representing nearly 1 billion board feet of salvageable structural lumber is annually disposed of.
The Building Materials Reuse Association is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to facilitate building deconstruction and the reuse/recycling of recovered building materials.
http://www.bmra.org/

Damon Talbert - recycle

|2009-12-17 11:43:28

She kinda made it sound like I rebuilt the aluminum. I just collect all aluminum and sell it for scrap. It's the wood sashes I rebuild. I did a job in Murfreesboro, and had to dump a lot of old sheet rock. Didn't know were the dump was but did see a guy with a load of scrap wood. I followed him and he led me to the dump. He was tossing what was a deck off of a house. 90% of the wood still looked good. I dumped my sheet rock and picked up his wood. Not only did it keep the wood out of the land fill but only paid about 2.00 to dump because of the extra weight I left with. Took a few nails out, and pressure washed the wood, and later used the wood for one of my own projects.

I do not waste anything. It makes economic since not to waste. You have to pay to dump stuff. I cut up an old door and built a cabinet for my flat panel TV. My dad drops by and drinks a Mt Dew and I get miffed when I see his can in my trash. I keep a big can outside to toss empty cans in and tell my neighbor to ...

Darla Runge - Natural Dog Treats

|2009-11-10 16:39:04

Dog treats are expensive and who knows what is in them or where they may have come from. Some boughten treats make your dog fat! I grow my own sweet potatoes, slice them in small pieces and bake until crunchy. My dogs go nuts over these and will do tricks just to get one. What a healthy way to keep your dog happy.

Kate Spears - Rooting Plants in Water

|2009-11-04 10:18:24

Many plant cuttings will root in water. It is easy to snip a stem or two, stick them in a vase of water and in about a week, roots will appear. Then just pot these new plants. This way, I have been able to increase the number of plants in my home for free. Some of the easiest to root are mint, all types of ivy, coleus, and jade plants.

Doris W - Dry Your Laundry on a Clothes Line

|2009-11-04 10:13:22

I hang all my laundry on the clothes line. I have been doing this for over 50 years and raised 4 children doing this... Benefits: great smelling clothes, family time hanging out and taking in laundry, saving electricity, and having bright colors decorating the back yard line. Everyone needs to sleep on sheets dried by the wind... they feel and smell great.

Manda K

|2009-12-29 04:33:47

I agree, Doris! I have a clothesline out back in my yard and I LOVE using it. Everything feels just a little cleaner when I bring it in. But sometimes my clothes stiffen a little on the line. Am I doing something wrong? I have heard a little vinegar in the final rinse will help remove the extra soap residue from your clothes. Do you think that'll help?

Fran E - Add a Baked Potato

|2009-11-04 10:07:59

One of the ways I stretch chicken, turkey and egg salad, is that I add a medium size baked potato in with it. I simply bake one potato in the microwave for about 10 minutes. After its done baking, run it under water and you can peal the skin off with your hands. mash it up a little bit then put it in with the meat and start mixing your salad using your favorite goodies. Adding a medium potato just about doubles the mass of the salad and I have yet to get a complaint.

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