Green Tip – (05/27/09) – Organic Gardening

A great way to give back to the planet, save money, and be certain you are getting fruits and veggies that are safe for your family is to create an organic garden. Organic Gardening means that you will only use natural methods to grow your garden. No synthetic or nasty pesticides allowed.

3 Important Tips for Organic Gardening

Organic additions to soil. You can add decayed plants and other organic material.

Earthworms. They will help your roots grow well and water to pass better. Worms equal healthy plants.

Tilling. Be sure and till your soil regularly.

I hope these simple tips help get you started on a great organic garden. I will be sharing some more tips from time to time that will help you with your environmentally friendly gardening.

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Get a Little Crafty with a Pineapple Juice Can!

I finally used a can of pineapple juice that has been sitting in my pantry. It went fabulous with the ham I recently made. When I was finished with it though, I was perplexed as to what to do with the can.

Have you seen a pineapple juice can?? They are huge. LOL. Well, I had to get the creative juices (no pun intended…lol) flowing because there was no way I was throwing that bit of mess into a landfill!

What to do…what to do…

Then it dawned on me…Don’t just recycle it…Make something new with it! Now, keep in mind, I have not done this yet. It is still in my head. When I actually do it, I will post pics and instructions.

I am going to make a utensil holder. For big stuff, like wooden spoons, spatulas, etc.

What do you think?

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Review: Green Bags (greenbag.info)

If you are a regular reader, then you know that I am a regular Christian wife and mommy who always trying to think green. I am by no means an expert. However, I am doing my best to make positive changes that will help me to be a better steward of God’s planet.

One thing that I just changed is buying a reusable grocery bag. I could only get one to start. I estimate I will need at least 5 bags to do a full grocery run. The good news is that they are super cheap! Yeah!

I love this bag. It is green. It says the name of my favorite grocery store on it and the material is great. It is easy to clean too. Just wipe. It comes with a plastic type material square piece for the bottom of bag to remain stable when groceries are in it.

I had the bagger put my groceries in it and I tossed it on my shoulder like any other hand bag. It was totally awesome people! ROFL! I am very happy that this change is occurring. I will finally be free of the bags and dilemma of how to reuse them!

When I got home with my groceries, I was looking over the bag, I saw a website; GreenBag.info

Me being me decided to check them out…

I read about my nifty new bag and found out how wonderful this reusable grocery bag is!

Features of my Green Bag Include…

• water repellent
• carries what takes 3-4 plastic bags
• the more people who use them the more trees we save
• 100% recyclable
• Easy to pack
• Easy to use
• Strong
• Can be used for more than just groceries
• The most affordable bag I have ever bought
• A one year guarantee…and I only paid a buck!
• It’s the color greeeeeen! Lol!

They do not offer an Online shop from what I could tell. However, they do have a query section and a section for retailers. I am considering having some make with Green Christian Network on them for my readers! What do you think??

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Tip – (05/15/09) – Garage Sale Season

It’s that time of year. Garage Sale season. What better way to recycle? Plus, you can make some extra cash to spend on your family this summer. Your trash really can be someone else’s treasure.

Garage Sales are a green idea that has been around longer than the green movement! Lol!

The best part is the cleaning you will have to do in order to find all the goodies you need to “recycle.” Get the kids involved by telling them they can keep the money they make from selling their no longer used items.

You can turn it around too…meaning if you need some stuff, try going on a garage sale trip one Saturday afternoon to see if you can find what you need used. You will save money. Make it a family walk through the neighborhood and you will be even greener! Lol!!!!!

Let me know how it goes…

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green those Tubes!

I am happy to announce that I use only recyclable toilet paper and paper towels. However, I was having a hard time figuring out what to do with the cardboard tubes they are wrapped around…even the foil and wax paper. The cardboard tubes befuddled me.

Not anymore!

Tips to Green those Tubes

Straighten up! You can use the toilet paper tubes to straighten flower stems and plants when they are droopy.

Kid Crafts. The sky is the limit with this one. You can make all sorts of crafts with your kids. Use your imagination.

Paper Towel Holder. One of my kids made me a paper towel holder with the left over tube from wax paper. She glued it to a circle she cut out of cardboard and stuck it to my counter. It has been working for over a year now. How creative and recycle guru is she??

Easter Egg Holder. You can cut rings from tubes and sit the Easter eggs in them. It is a great and reusable way to hold them for drying. Decorate them and you may even be able to use them for displaying them.

Packing Material. The cardboard tubes are also a great packing material to keep your breakables safe. Love this idea. Thank you to my sweet child for this one.

Napkin Rings. Cut rings from the tubes and decorate them. You can use contact paper, beads, jewels whatever tickles your fancy. This is a great way to reuse these tubes over and over.

As you can see, there are many ways to reuse things and make the most of what we have. Being green is being a good steward of God’s planet and the money He gives us.

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Tip – (05/11/09) – Chinese Takeout

I love Chinese Takeout. It is a staple in our house. We eat it on a regular basis. We love it. Unfortunately, Chinese takeout, in our area at least has not gone green. Since I do not have any desire to give u p Chinese food, I needed to come up with a way to make Chinese Takeout green in our home!

Tips to make Chinese Takeout Green

Fabulous Containers. Who needs Tupperware when you have those nifty resealable Chinese takeout plastic containers?? Reuse them over and over again for leftovers, crafts or anything else  you need a plastic container for.

Paper Bag. The paper bag that the food comes in can be used to clean up the mess if it’s already been stained. If the bag can be salvaged, you can make puppets with your kids!

Plastic Bag. The paper bag is usually in a plastic bag. You can reuse that in many ways. See here for great ideas for reusing plastic bags.

The sky’s the limit! You can be green and eat Chinese Take out! Do not get o caught up in being green that you never enjoy life. If companies or other people do not want to be green, you can be green for them!

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Tip – (05/06/09) – Shop Online

Yes, if you shop Online, you are doing something green! Shopping Online can be beneficial for the environment in several ways.

How Shopping Online Helps God’s Planet

Drive Less. You do not need to drive to the store. You will save gas and money.

Free Shipping. Many companies offer free shipping. This saves you money and the middle man. Energy and money being saved all around.

No Catalogs. Look for your items Online. Do not bother with paper catalogs that help kill trees!

Shop Green. Shop with green friendly companies when possible. I personally like (www.buygreen.com).

Sure walking to the store is green and the preferred method. However, make use of the Internet when walking to the store is inconvenient. It’s definitely greener than driving to the store!

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Water Heater

Making our home green one step at a time will help our environment for years to come. Let’s take today to look at a very important home appliance, the water heater.

Tips for a Green Water Heater

Check the Temperature. You do not want your water heater to over do it’s job. Make sure you keep it at an average setting of 120 degrees. This will save a ton of energy and it will save you money as well. IMPORTANT: Never set it below 115 degrees though. You will be dealing with some nasty mold growth if you do.

Use Insulating Foam. Wrap the first six feet of pipe with insulating foam.

Wrap the water heater in a foil blanket. Be careful when doing this. You do not want to block important vents or controls. You will want to follow the instructions very carefully. Your water heater may not allow for this idea.

Invest in a Tankless system. These water heaters are designed to be “on demand.” They will save a lot of water and energy.

Keep up with it. Check it regularly. Make sure that it is working properly and repair it when needed.

Go Solar. Another option is to buy a solar water heater. This will save you money on your electric bill, save energy and be a better choice for the environment.

Implementing these tips will help you contribute to the environment in a positive way. It only takes one good choice at a time to begin the trek of becoming a better steward of God’s planet.

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!

               

Green Tip – (05/01/09) – Walk for Green Sake!

Not only is walking a healthy thing to do for your heart and body, it is also a positive thing you can do for the environment. How? Well, when we walk more, we drive less. When we drive less, we use less energy, oil, and other harmful things that are not positive for God’s planet.

Make a conscience effort to walk more. Reduce your carbon foot print with a few more walks added to your lifestyle. You will save money, lose weight and impact the earth in a positive way!

Walk to the store when possible. Walk as much as you can. Walk for your health. Walk for the environment. Walk for Green Sakes!

Copyright © Green Christian Network

Stay Green!