Upcycling Cribs!

I love to upcycle! Using less money and making sure there is less waste produced. I was on a pallet kick for the longest time but now my newest obsession is old cribs. You know the kind you're not suppose to use anymore because they have a drop side. People are now selling these on online yard sales and craigslist for around $10 or free if you're lucky! Reuse these things to make your life more organized and to do your part in keeping things out of landfills!

This is what I used them for ....so far. My first project was a shoe organizer which is super easy! Just take the long side of the crib and lean it against the wall in your closet or room and stick your shoes in the between the bars. Like I said SUPER easy!

The kids shoes

Master Closet

And then there is my favorite project so far! Crib to kid desk/activity center! I have to give all props to my husband! I just gave him the idea and he created, put together, and painted it! This is just three sides, the bottom, and a sheet of plywood. It turned out great! 

The wood from the bench came from the same sheet of plywood and the paint was what we had left over from a previous project! So this was a cheap build! 

I still have one three sides, a bottom, and a mattress so don't worry there will be more to come weather my husband agrees or not!

~Heidi

Peppermint~The Amazing Essential Oil!

I have to tell you about peppermint oil! Peppermint oil has come up more times than I can count this week. It is an amazing oil that has so many uses!

Let’s start with why I started using it. I would get headaches constantly and aspirin wasn’t helping much. This was before going chemical free. I did some research feeling that the drugs were not healthy. That is when I found peppermint! I used peppermint almost everyday for these headaches and it is really what got me through with out all the aspirin!

Jump ahead a couple years, and now I use it for my kids upset tummies and fevers. I use it for a spray to keep spiders and other bugs away. My husbands heartburn and my own upset stomach. I also use it in my allergy pills!

This oil has antiseptic and antibacterial properties works on so many digestive issues, respiratory issues including asthma, memory, muscle pain, decongestant, stress,  and bad breath! The list just goes on! I am constantly finding new ways to use this oil and always have some on hand! How are you using peppermint oil?!

image by blog.youngliving.com

Am I A Liberal Hippie?!!

This is kind of hard for me to write. Not that I don’t want to write it, but, I’m going to be calling some people out and I never like to hurt someones feelings. Sometimes, someone just has to point out you are going down the wrong path before you can even see the path that you are on.

All that being said, let me tell you why this has weighed on me so much lately and also for the past 5 years. When I started my “alternative” lifestyle 5 years ago it was partly because it was cheaper to do so and partly I wanted my family to be as healthy as possible. I will never forget multiple people telling me if it was a money issue they would buy me disposable diapers so I didn’t have to use cloth. Or that worrying about the disposable diapers taking 500 years to decompose made me a liberal hippie. Now, always being a somewhat conservative Christian republican, this somewhat upset me. And, since I can remember exactly who they were and could call them out by name, it obviously stuck with me and knowing that these people were also conservative Christian republicans confused me.

As a Christian you are to take care of God’s planet he left for us. It is stated in the Bible! Why have so many become blind to this?!

Leviticus 25:23-24 The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. (NIV)

Numbers 35:34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel. (KJV)

Am I the only one seeing this?! Where are all the Christians at that are protecting the earth along with the “liberal hippies”?! I do have “hippie” ways, as my husband would call it, but it shouldn’t stand out as “hippie” it should just be normal to recycle, produce less waste, clean green, and just care about what we are doing on this earth. I know I’m not alone, so I’m not calling everyone out, but if you are right there with me just know you are not alone. What have you done to do your part today?

Update: I don't know where I fall in politically anymore but religiously this all still applies!

What they don't tell you about BPA

It makes me worry when they actually have someone on the local news telling you about the harms of BPA for you and your children. It makes me worry even more that no one is doing anything to get this chemical out of our everyday lives. I’m sure you have all seen the newer baby bottles that say BPA free but if you’re giving your baby formula there could be BPA in the container storing the formula. These are the people we should be protecting they can’t protect themselves. Here is just a few notes about BPA and what you probably haven’t heard before.




First of all maybe you don’t know what BPA is. BPA or Bisphenol A is a chemical compound used in making polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin in tin cans. You can also find this in food storage containers, water bottles, medical devices, CDs, and even receipts. Yes, just touching this can be harmful. In Japan they have completely banned the use of BPA and Canada has now named it a toxic chemical. So, why is the United States denying all of this and still using it in our everyday lives?



This has been linked to many health issues like; cancer, diabetes, obesity, infertility, hyperactivity, impaired learning and memory, increased aggression, and early onset of puberty. I have said for many years now there has to be a reason kids are physically maturing alot earlier and now we know.



Even though you can’t avoid this chemical completely right now there are ways to keep your young ones safe. Avoid plastics marked with 3, 6, and 7. Many companies are realizing the consumers are paying more attention to the amound of BPA they come in contact with so there are many products that will say BPA free. As for canned foods it can be a little more difficult. Canned meats, pastas, and soups have the largest amount of BPA in the can. If your rinse canned fruit or vegetables before eating it can lower the amount of BPA that you consume. If you use plastic food storage containers check the number on the bottom of the container with the ones I mentioned earlier. Do not heat these in the microwave and you should either wash them by hand or put them on the top rack in the dishwasher. I’ll be looking for new containers soon!

Fluoride toothpaste or Fluoride free?

I recently switched my toothpaste to fluoride free and a friend of mine asked if we needed fluoride to protect our teeth from decay. For once I didn't have much to say. I didn't do much research before hand but had just briefly read up on fluoride poisoning. So being me I had to look more into it and I'm worried now that I did. Not for my toothpaste but for our water! Fluoride is being added into our water and even Nursery water for babies! Too much fluoride can be harmful!
There is a pro to fluoride, but just one that I can find, which is that it helps protect the enamel on our teeth making cavities less common. However, if your an adult this doesn't really help as much as it does in children who still have growing bones. You really need to watch how much fluoride they are consuming though. You should only use a pea sized portion of toothpaste with fluoride for children to brush their teeth since they naturally swallow pretty much anything you put in their mouth.
Now lets go into the cons! Fluoride has been linked to certain cancers and Downs syndrome. It also has been linked to thyroid problems and too much fluoride can actually damage your teeth not help!
60% of Americans drinking water has fluoride in it already. Some fluoride is naturally in the water but shouldn't have more added like many places have been doing for years! Call your local water department to find out if you have fluoride added in your tap water. Fluoride can also enter through your skin while bathing. You might think that since you buy bottled water your safe from fluoride but it is also added in this water as well. Last night I was just thinking why is cancer more common? Could this be one of the reasons?

How to become a Tightwad!

So, you might be thinking that you need to start saving money as you never know what could happen in the future. I went through the same thought and had to make a start somewhere. Now days everyone makes decisions minute by minute and doesn't really plan for the future. Being a tightwad is going to change you! If you make small changes to plan ahead for the week with a dinner menu you can cut down your food costs and gas costs on making last minute trips to the store (plus less waste of food). If you plan ahead for the month you could cut down food costs even more by being able to buy in bulk (or split bulk items with a friend). If you want to think even farther ahead start on Christmas now or buy summer clothes for next year now (which will be very cheap out of season). We have started planning Christmas gifts which are pretty much all handmade but by planning ahead we are able to recycle wine bottles into the bottles we will be using for our gifts instead of having to buy them. Make this first step at becoming a tightwad and see how much you can save!

What does your carpet hold?

Stains? Well unless you don't have kids, pets, and don't walk on your carpet often you might be lucky enough to not get a stain. But what about other things in the carpet like odors, pollutants, toxins, and even mold! Scary to think about as our children walk and crawl on these carpets everyday. Then as well as being walked on these odors, pollutants and toxins are being released into the air for all of us to breathe in! No one knows how much this harms our bodies.
So now you have decided to just get new carpet all together....well, sorry to say that may not be the best choice either. New carpets are made with many chemicals. If you just replaced your carpets then think about getting them frequently cleaned as this can reduce the amount of chemicals released into the air.
If your wanting to get your old carpets cleaned lets just talk about the most dangerous thing in old carpets. Mold spores are common in old carpets which can cause headache, congestion, fatigue, and has even been linked to childhood asthma. Your first thought after finding mold spores in your carpet is to get them cleaned but when getting your carpets cleaned they can use up to 100 gallons of water and with the heat used this can cause the mold spores to spread.
Eco friendly carpet cleaners are not very common but you can always ask the carpet cleaner around you if they offer eco friendly cleaning and some do! But its also good to keep up on your own carpets between cleanings. I often put up ideas on green carpet cleaning so stay tuned!

Gardasil Vaccine

I haven't really been paying much attention to this gardasil vaccine as I am past the age that they want women to get this by but it recently came up in a couple different conversations and I am shocked that this is still on the market. I understand that HPV can lead to cervical cancer but if your getting regular checkups they would catch this anyways. Our main problem is that women put their families first and forget to take care of themselves and don't go in for their yearly. I personally think if we just started paying attention to ourselves and making sure that we do get our check ups then this vaccine wouldn't be needed especially after reading about some side effects which have included death.
I have been reading http://www.truthaboutgardasil.org/ and am in complete shock. I hope they figure something out before my girls get to the age that they are trying to vaccinate girls. I encourage everyone to check out this site and read up on this vaccine before getting it and letting your children get this vaccine.

Green Cleaning 2

The smells from the drain cleaners on the market can pretty much make me feel sick so I loved the fact that I can use just vinegar and baking soda. Pour 1/4 cup baking soda and 2/3 cup of vinegar into the drain and cover for awhile then follow with very hot water.
You can even use hot vinegar to remove paint from glass after you were just trying to do a touch up and ended up making a mess on the window. Use a cloth to wipe away the paint after applying the hot vinegar.
Brush your carpets with 1 cup vinegar in 1 gallon water for the color to see a new life given to them! Also, use vinegar (4 Tblsp with 1 gallon water) to rinse your carpets after shampooing to remove residue from the detergent and save some of the life in the carpet.

Yes I'm a Tightwad

Craigslist is my new best friend. I just found and purchased some items cheap!! A huge box of fabric for $20 and 40 lbs of canning tomatoes for $20. We just made pasta sauce and canned it along with a couple more just tomatoes. I'm so excited to do more! With so many ideas running through my head it's hard to figure out where to start.
I have also started planning meals for the whole week on Sunday and making things ahead of time. The recipe from The Tightwad Gazette 3 (which is actually found in The Betty Crocker Cookbook) for refrigerator dough is going to be used in almost every meal this week. Amy used it for doughnuts, rolls, and breadsticks. I have also found you can make so many things in the crockpot! I now use this a couple times a week and definitely on the days I know I'm going to be tired.
I have also made more of an attempt to get to garage sales. With a young child this can be difficult but last week went great! So excited for this week and hopefully it cools down a bit so I can enjoy it even more. I used craigslist again to find garage sales in my area and a few estate sales as well.
I would love to hear more ideas on tightwadding!

Preparing Food for Winter

Maybe you aren't a canner or you just don't have anymore more room for cans. Try freezing some of the excess from your garden! I just finished some tomatoes to freeze and it was so simple. You have to prepare the tomatoes just as you would for canning. Peel (which is easier if you put in hot water til skin starts to peel then place them in cold water and peel) then chop them up however you would like them and place into freezer bags.
You can even freeze fresh herbs! Place in freezer bags chopped or whole depending on how you think you will use them, make sure the air is out of the bags and place in freezer. I have even seen where some people freeze basil in ice trays with water then when frozen they take them out and put them in a freezer bag.
The amount of food you can freeze is pretty easy to judge just by what you can buy frozen at a grocery store. Obviously lettuce, cucumbers and celery wouldn't do well but carrots, peppers, tomatoes, peas...and the list goes on can be frozen. Who wouldn't want to eat the produce from the garden over produce bagged, froze, shipped, and from the grocery store. I'm going to need a bigger freezer!

Green Cleaning

I have found a huge spider in my house which if your anything like me, it would completely freak you out. I get the feeling that bugs are crawling all over me after I see any spider. This feeling made me go to find pest controls that are natural.
Ants for instance are just annoying. We haven't found alot of them but even a couple is too much for me when I have a baby crawling around that likes to put everything on the floor into her mouth. Put lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills or really anywhere you might think ant might enter. You can also place lemon peel slices outside around your main entrances. This also works with cucumber.
Fleas will keep me scratching just thinking about them. Take the juice of 4 lemons and 1/2 gallon of water and wash your floors. Also, washing your dogs bed in salty water will help repel the fleas.
I haven't had many problems with mosquitos this year but if your out grilling throw some sage or rosemary on the coals to repel them. If your thinking of doing some landscaping marigolds would be great to add since they repel most insects from their fragrance.
I'm already itchy from just writing about these bugs!

Tightwaddery!!!

My newest kick besides trying to make things better for the environment is becoming a tightwad. Not only does this save you money but if you try to reuse everything possible rather than buying new you are making an impact on the environment from the amount of waste going out.
My family did a book swap and out of that swap I took The Tightwad Gazette volumes 1,2, and 3 which apparently was huge in the '90s written by Amy Dacyczn. She has some great ideas of how to reuse items, cook from scratch recipes, and crafts. She started with a goal in mind in her case a house and worked on saving enough money for that house which then led to just a whole lifestyle change. I'm not there yet but I have a goal and am slowly making the change to being a tightwad. It is very difficult when the rest of the world is all about spending money and not saving. I'll be putting up ideas of Amy's, mine and other people I get ideas from up every so often on how to save money.
I just made the switch to not buying wipes but using homemade. This one is hard if you have a sitter that is younger and doesn't know much about cloth diapering and expects store bought. I have dealt with this by buying a pack of wipes (with coupon) and only using them with the sitter so one pack will last a couple months if not longer since we don't go out much.
I am learning about canning and freezing food as I go. There are so many things that can be frozen that I didn't realize. This helps save on the amount of food thrown out! I just froze my first batch of tomatoes that i will use for goolash.
One main things that sticks with me from the books so far is that if you read your dishwasher detergent it usually doesn't say to fill the dispenser in the washer some say only fill halfway. I just started this and mine says to only fill halfway so make sure to read the directions on the detergent!
A lot of the things I already did are saving us money as well. For example, using vinegar to clean and in laundry. A bottle of vinegar is roughly around $2-$3 and I can use it for a couple months for everything. Same goes for the baking soda and lemon juice.  So many more ideas to come! And would love to hear some ideas from others!

Vaccine for the Chicken Pox?!

So as my kids are getting older I'm noticing all the new vaccines kids have to get. Is it just me that finds this crazy?! I mean I didn't have that many vaccines and I'm fine. Take the chicken pox vaccine for example. When I was younger this was just a normal thing that everyone went through. You had the chicken pox and got out of school for a week. Now people look at it as a deadly disease compared with polio and measles.
I know there are people who can become very ill if they get the chicken pox but it was few and far between. With the vaccine now being mandatory for pretty much everyone in every state it seems to me that this could become like the measles where kids are getting vaccines which will protect them for a couple years but then college aged kids were getting measles years later and having re-immunizations for colleged aged people was required.
My other concern with this vaccine is that it is a live virus vaccine. So, your putting this live virus straight into your blood stream when if you were to just get the chicken pox your body has ways to defend itself against the virus before it gets to your blood stream. You would obviously get the virus still but to me thats just the natural course something like this should take.
What are the long term side effects this will bring to an individual and to the rest of the population? Is this going to become mandatory for everyone? I still have so many questions and I'm not finding the answers yet.

Cloth Diapers Part 2

So everyday I think I learn more and more about cloth diapers and everything that makes it easier. If this your first time using cloth diapers don't expect to know everything from the beginning you have to find what works for you and your baby.
I have found a website that has helped me so much! http://www.diaperjunction.com/ has helped me tremendously! And I would definitely tell anyone using cloth to check out their selections especially the hemp liners that make it possible to go all night in a diaper! They also have swim diapers which I just recently purchased that are absolutely adorable and you won't be spending all the money on disposable swim diapers. The flushable liners help with keeping the diapers clean and also not throwing the mess in the trash keeps it out of the landfills.
Seriously, anything you could want for cloth diapers can be found here if you are wanting to purchase. However, some items are able to be made by hand if you would rather go that way. Just having the options there make it easier! They even have more than just diapers such as breastfeeding, baby carriers, items for mom, wipes, wetbags and many more.
Have fun learning!

Baby Food

As you all know I am all about saving money and doing what is healthiest for my family. Well, as we are getting to new stages with our little one I now get to explore a little bit more in my money saving tactics.

We started baby food! Of course I have decided to make it all myself which really isn't complicated at all! You simply puree the fruit or veggies in a blender and store for either the day or for the next week depending on how much you want to make at once.

Fresh of course is always best. With vegetables you will just need to cook them and remember steaming them will keep more of the nutrients. Also, you will want to keep the water you cooked/steamed the vegetables in to help thin out the veggies (except for those high nitrate veggies such as carrots). Place the veggies in the blender and add the water until it is to a good consistency for your child. The fruits usually have enought natural juice to make it easy for your baby to eat.

To store you can pour the food into ice cube trays then covering it with foil and placing in the freezer. With that process you are able to take out and thaw only what you need. I have been using those small rubbermaid containers that are so small you really don't know what they are suppose to be used for. Well apparently I figured out what they are to be used for because these are perfect for if you are on the go.

We had baby food given to use which we will still use so that I can reuse the containers to store new food. We were also given a lot of baby cereal but it is also possible to make this yourself too! Maybe next time around I'll try it out!

Paper or Plastic?

So, we all get this question everytime we go grocery shopping, paper or plastic? Which is best for the environment? This is actually a trick question. Plastic can kill wildlife from it blowing around and animals eating or suffocating on the bag. Paper uses more energy to make. They both take about the same amount of time to break down in a landfill. Both can be recycled but it takes more energy to recycle plastic than paper. We use 12 million barrels of oil to make plastic bags in one year but we use 14 million trees for paper bags.

Now that you know a few facts its really up to you on how you want to impact the environment. The best option is obviously reusable bags and you can watch for sales on these and the price keeps going down. Also, some stores give you a discount or money for bringing back the plastic bags from their store.

What to do when you have those random plastic bags that end up at your house? Reuse if at all possible! I use them for trash can liners and always keep an extra in the diaper bag in case the wet bag gets full from the cloth diapers.

Organic Grocery List

While trying to stay healthy and away from pesticides many people are going organic. The prices however are sometimes stopping many other people! How can you decide what is worth the money and what you can go without? I have talked about the dirty dozen before but you should also keep in mind the clean fifteen. Write them down on a note card and keep it with you when you do your grocery shopping to keep your family healthy but still following your budget!

Dirty Dozen (keep in mind that they do update this list every year so it can be different then what you have seen before)

1. celery
2. peaches
3. strawberries
4. apples
5. blueberries
6. nectarines
7. bell peppers
8. spinich
9. kale
10. cherries
11. potatoes
12. grapes

Clean Fifteen

1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet peas
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon
13. broccoli
14. tomato
15. sweet potato

Tidbits

So I know I have been completely off of my usual schedule since the move but I have just been amazed at how much more there is in a larger city and how many more opportunities there are to save on your environmental impact and money.
I'm really excited to check out the many farmers markets in the city. Maybe not all of them but atleast two or three! Which is a great way to give back into your local economy. Along with the many road races that I plan on running. Again, maybe not all of them but atleast a couple to help out local charities and businesses. It gets me motivated to run with a deadline and the fact that I don't want to look horribly out of shape in front of people!
The recycling is everywhere! I was so excited to see how easy it is to recycle! They have drop offs all over the place. Did you know that recycling one pop can, can then provide enough electricity to power a television for three hours!? That just made me want to recycle even more!
I have also been making our place a little greener making sure we unplug as much as possible and even spending a little extra on powerstrips to put in certain areas like the t.v. to save on that electricity. TV's and anything else that use a remote are actually on standby and not turned off so its slowly using energy that doesnt need to be use by turning these off it save you some green! On average these appliances use up 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually which is enough to power a house for two months!
Just a few tidbits to chew on! New posts of crafts, food, and vitamins to come!

How To Save Money During a Move

We recently moved and while in the time leading up to the move began to realize how pricey it can be to relocate. You have so many things that just add up plus bills at both places and things don't get back to normal for a couple months. This is from my experience on how you can save some green in a major relocation.

First of all, your going to have to pack up all your things and this is also where you start realizing you have added alot more stuff to your collection of things. Don't throw these things out! We are in a recession and there are still plenty of people out of jobs. Donate your items that you don't need anymore to Goodwill or any kind of charity. This helps you get rid of things, someone now has that one item they haven't had the money to buy, and also helps you on your taxes for the following year (keep the receipt!).

Your going to need boxes to put the things that you can't part with in. Don't go out and buy new boxes when your going to just turn around and recycle them when you move. There are plenty of grocery stores or restaurants that you can ask if you can reuse the boxes that items are shipped to them in. This saves you money and them time from breaking down boxes.

Next is the vehicle that your going to move all those boxes in. Most of the major moving truck companies can get really pricey. You might want to look into small local companies that rent out trailers. I know this really isn't reasonable for all people but if it is it can save you $600 or more. Rent a truck from a local company and then rent a truck or borrow a truck from a friend. We were even so lucky to have a couple friends able to drive out and drive the truck and trailer back. That was just gas money and trailer rental for us.

The small things add up too! So remember to keep your overnight bag with you and pack a cooler for your meals in the travel. Just buying water or coffee can be $3-$5 in one stop. The biggest time and money saver is to plan ahead! Also, sell what items you can before you move to save on the amound that you are moving plus some extra money is always good. You can always replace items later on. Happy moving!!