the three "R"s

We all know the mantra, "reduce, reuse, recycle." (If you don't know it, you need to listen to some more Jack Johnson). But do we really follow it? How can we?

Reduce: I really think this is the hardest one. Don't buy it if you don't need it. Dollar store toys that get trashed aren't just wasting your dollar, their wasting packaging, production, and plastic. (I should write a song about the three "p"s!) One suggestion is that anytime you think you need to run to the store to buy something, write it down. Once it's been on your list for two weeks, that means you probably need it and you can get it. Well I think that's a bit steep, it gets the point across- think about what you're purchasing before you purchase. Do you REALLY need it? Can it wait?

Reuse: Ahh, the one I love. I love thrift shops, cutting up old clothes for scrappy bits or rags, and giving anything relatively pointless to my kids as toys. Many of the clothes my kids have have been through 4+ kids! (I'm not sure I should be admitting this, lol). But really, there are many "good finds," and buying used really cuts down on the three "p"s (plasitc, packaging, production).

Recycle: Again, visit earth911.org to answer all of your recycling questions. This website tells you where you can recycle anything in any location. In our home we have two large trash cans: one for trash and one for recyclables. Since our city doesn't sort our recycling for us, we just fill up the can and sort it when we take it in.

Teaching your kids the three "R"s can be a fun lesson plan for your family. A government webiste located here explains the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in kid-friendly terms. Try having your kids make a list of things they can do for each category. This Jack Johnson song gives some ideas:

"Three: it's a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Because two times three is six
And three times six is eighteen
And the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R
We've got three R's we're going to talk about today
We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Well, if you're going to the market to buy some juice
You've got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste
And if your brother or your sister's got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we've got to learn to reuse
And if the first two R's don't work out
And if you've got to make some trash
Don't throw it out
Recycle, we've got to learn to recycle,
We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle....."

The government also has a site here that has links to crazy facts and awesome explanations about the three "R"s.

How do you follow the mantra to reduce, reuse, and recycle?

Happy Headbands

Okay, so headbands are a *little* frivolous no matter what they're made of, but if you're gonna have them, have them environmentally friendly! I made these from scrap fabric from other projects, so there's no cost, plastic, or waste involved!

The headbands took about 10 min each. I feel so silly, but after I made my first one (and it stayed on my head ALL DAY, which I have never had happen before) I made 4 more so I could have one to match any outfit.

The tutorial is here. I didn't do the finishing/topstitching on a few of the bands, and some are reversible and some are not. I had to cut my elastic 1/2inch shorter (small head) and I made then narrow headband, and it is plenty wide enough for me (the pattern for the wide looked way to wide). Good luck, and let me know if you make one!!!

I made yogurt!!!

Wahoo! I did it! I made my own yogurt!

So the most awesome part of making your own yogurt is that since it is SOOO much cheaper than buying it, you can make 100% organic yogurt for still less than half the price of store-bought! (I love when I can do organic for cheaper than the nasties).

And, for my husband (who sometimes is skeptical about my "green" endeavors) the yogurt is EXTREMELY green because it not only allows me to eliminate production waste, packaging/shipping waste, and plastic waste, but it also allows me to use organic!

The link for the easiest recipe I was able to get my hands on is here. I made it in my crockpot, which means I didn't have to babysit the yogurt and keep track of its temperature. The yogurt ends up sitting for a total of 14 hours, but you only have to interact with it twice during the process.

My alternatives for the recipe: I used 1% milk, added in powdered milk to make it thicker, and when it was done I flavored it with sugar and vanilla, and stored it. We add fruit to it when we eat it. It sounds crazy, I know, but you should really give it a try! It's awesome!

Salad Dressings

Encouraging my hatred for plastics, I have been making our salad dressings. This keeps me from having as many nasty plastic containers in my fridge, and I like eating preseravtive-free (and if you can afford it) organic salad dressing. Here are our two favorites:

Sweet Salad Dressing (this dressing has a sweeter taste, excellent with spinach, romaine, strawberries, dried cranberries)
1/2 c. mayo (fat-free)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. milk
3 tbsp. vinegar

Mix thoroughly, and shake before use!


Tangy Tuna Salad Dressing/ Veggie Dip (Since we rarely eat meat, I have a hard time getting enough protein. Using this as a veggie dip allows me to get more protein.)
2 5oz cans of tuna, or to be green, 1 12 oz can of tuna
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp stone-ground mustard
1-3 tsp sugar, depend on preference
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp miracle whip or mayo (fat-free)
1 tsp italian seasoning
salt & pepper to taste.

Combine thoroughly, and adjust sugar/lemon juice to taste. The tuna will mix in so well you won't be able to tell it's there!

What are your favorite homemade salad dressings?? Do you have a favorite recipe?

Homemade Cheese

...also known as curds and whey. That stuff little Miss Muffet ate? Yeah, it works as both cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. It's pretty easy to make, and saves your tupperware drawer from being crowded with un-recyclable cottage cheese containers that you can't bear to throw out until they start to take over your kitchen...

The recipe I like (and use) is by Barrett and was posted on Too Many Chefs. His link, which includes many pictures, is here. I prefer this recipe simply because you don't need to keep track of the temperature of the milk, which I think is annoying.

Basically all you do is boil (yes, boil) 1/2 gallon of milk, reduce heat to low, and stir in a few tablespoons of lemon juice, stirring clockwise. Take your pot off the heat, and let rest for 10minutes. Then using cheesecloth (I use a thin dishtowel) you strain off the "whey" (i.e. nasty yellow liquid) and you are left with the curds! Add a little milk and you have cottage cheese, or leave as is and use as ricotta cheese.

This isn't much cheaper than buying the cottage cheese, it saves you a little, but it does save in all those stupid plastic containers!

What DOES save money is if you make the cottage cheese from powdered milk, since that stuff (bought in bulk) is dirt cheap. The recipe for using powdered milk can be found here, at Hillbilly Housewife. If you don't have leftover milk to use up, then use this recipe, which saves you money AND plastic. Although this recipe says to keep track of the temperature, if you're lazy like me you can just bring it to a boil, it'll make your life easier.

Another recipe can be found here. Good luck!! It really tastes good, I use it in my lasagna and cheese sauces all the time! Let me know what you think.