Make Yourself - Popsicles

Instead of buying Popsicles in the store, make your own! Obviously, it will save you money, but it also gives you the ability to control what and how much goes in them (Organic, sugar, etc.). Not to mention, it is a good way to keep from wasting food. In our house, wasting fruit is a big problem, since the fruit sits in drawers in the fridge, so it's "out of site, out of mind". This way, if I realize something is going to go bad before we can eat all of it, I can just make up some pops! Go read this great post with some tips and also some interesting ideas to help you get started and think out of the box in terms of ingredients. Green Factor:

• Can be made with organic produce.
• Making them yourself cuts out all the unnecessary fillers.
• You can control how much sugar (if any) goes in them resulting in a healthier treat.

Saving Green:

• Cheaper to make yourself then buy pre-made.

Homemade/Natural cleaners - Vinegar

I have been learning about homemade/natural cleaners lately. My current favorite is Vinegar.


My favorite use for it is de-stinking. It works wonders for clothes! I have a bad habit of forgetting about the laundry in the washer OR the wet clothes in the basket waiting to be hung up to dry. The clothes are left smelling mildewy and it takes A LOT of washes to get the smell out. Honestly, most of the time the smell wont completely come out. However, I have been using vinegar to get it out and it works in the first wash! I rewash the clothes with the regular temperature and amount of detergent. Then after they are done washing & rinsing, I turn the washer on for another rinse cycle and throw a downy ball full (not just to the fill line) of vinegar in with it and when they are done they smell like perfectly washed fresh clothes! Don't worry, no vinegar smell is left behind. I have used the same amount of vinegar for a small load of cloth diaper inserts and it worked perfectly!

It also works well for smells on hard surfaces around the house. I had a corner of my house my kitties had decided was their litter box! I used 1 part vinegar to 1 part water in a spray bottle and it got a LOT of the smell out. It would have gotten all of it, I'm sure, if the pee hadn't gotten under the flooring. It will smell like vinegar for a little while, but the smell with go away after a while. I used it on painted walls, baseboards, Pergo flooring, & concrete.

Green Factor: Replaces harsh chemical cleaners

Saving Green: MUCH cheaper then chemical cleaners

Re-use Curling Ribbon

You know the phrase right? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Well, here's a great way to reuse something we would normally throw away. Curling Ribbon. Check out Chica & Jo to find a "how-to" on making some cool looking coasters. I imagine you could make it fit any design scheme depending on what colors you used. Have fun!