Reduce Reuse into a cute bag!!!

www.craftbits.com

Check out this cute craft to make a tote bag out of an old tank top!!!
Love this site! Not only is just cute to look at, it has some great ideas for those
do-it-yourself-ers and stuck at home on a snow day-ers!

Tips for being Green

Being that I am a Mama who has to watch her budget, "Going Green" is peaking my interest, not only for the dollars I can save, but the impact I can have on the environment by just changing my way of living. I did some research, and found some cool tips to make the switch in your home and lifestyle. I am sure that I am only touching on the basics here, and some of this may be "old news" for most of you. But these are some good things that we all should be doing, if not now, then in the near future. For the future! I welcome any other thrifty ideas you have done or heard of for doing the same!!

1. Cut back on paper products. Stop using Paper Towels and paper napkins. Switch to old dishrags for your cleaning jobs, and invest in some cloth napkins instead. Even better, find nice used linens at garage sales/estate sales, further lowering your impact. Keep some generic paper products on hand for when you really need them. Look for recycled, enviro-friendly Toilet paper as well. This is one we definitely don't do well on in our home. I recently made some of these adjustments, and I didn't notice the difference near as much as I thought I would.

2. Reusable shopping totes. Really easy way to eliminate all the waste from plastic and paper sacks. They're available about everywhere, in about every size and every design. Inexpensive, and so much more fashionable than plastic sacks. If you don't want to deal with hauling them around with you, or are just really like plastic or paper, look into recycling your used bags. Our local Dillon's has a drop off for plastic sacks set up in their front entrance.

3. Switch to products with the "Green" logo on their packaging. Or make sure they have recycled "content". (Meaning less raw materials used. Renewable means fibers like cotton are grown without pesticides.) 1 part Vinegar to 3 parts water makes a great all-purpose cleaner that is environmentally safe. Clorox has a line of products that claims to be "green" but still has some petroleum derived ingredients. Make sure what you choose is Biodegradable and cruelty free meaning no animal testing. Your local health food store will have products that fit this description so you clean guilt free.

4. Switch light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent (or CFL's). It is a much brighter, cleaner light than incandescent, and I just enjoy the fact that they seem to last forever. I haven't changed one from my light fixtures in 2 years so far!! That alone is worth it. Check local lighting stores for specialty bulbs or for lamps or unusual fixtures that CFL's won't fit in. There are other options such as LED bulbs, while, more money initially, offer the same benefits as CFL's but with a different effect. Not into it? Consolidate your bulb wattage's. One 100 watt bulb uses less energy than four 60's. Just make certain you don't exceed the wattage indicated for your fixture.

5. Check your toilets for water leaks. Flushing alone takes up to 30% of all water used by the average American, 44,000 gallons per year. Toilet leaks can waste 200 gallons a day! Check out www.nationalgeographic.com for a test to check for this wasteful leaking. If you can't replace to High Efficiency or Water-Sense commodes, there are some handy do-it-yourself tricks to fix leaks. Like wise, check your faucets, and shower heads. Limit your shower time to 10 minutes, and switch the shower head out to High Efficiency or Water-Sense Labeled. There are a wide range of prices for eco-friendly shower-heads and you can even find them at discount stores like Target or Wal-mart.

6. Check your Fridge Temperature. Put an appliance thermometer in a glass of water in the center of your fridge or freezer overnight. It should be at 37-40 degrees Fahrenheit and no more than 0-5 degrees in your freezer. Running it colder than necessary consumes 25% more energy than needed.

7. If you have little ones, consider going to cloth diapers. There are great options out right now for going cloth that will change how you look at using them. And if you are a Mom on the go you will find lots of handy accessories to help you change how you diaper and make it convenient. Not only is it good environmentally, but kids who wore cloth diapers potty train earlier and easier than diapered kids. I like www.bumgenius.com, www.diaperjunction.com, and Target now carries Bumkins. I did not get a chance to use cloth, but have heard good things about these sites. If you get a chance to go to Newton or Manhattan, you should check out the Healthy Baby Boutique. They have a great selection of cloth diapers with a knowledgeable staff to guide your needs.

8. Use your local recycling centers. Pro-Kansas Miller Recycling Center in Wichita takes most recyclable items. Go to their website to see a listing of what they take and won't take.

9. Put out the welcome mat. Make sure you have rugs by all your doors to catch dirt and chemicals from coming in to your home. Taking shoes off by the door is even better.

10. Turn the thermostat down. Try 70 degrees in the day time and 62 degrees at night in winter and 78 degrees or higher in the summer. Half the energy used in our homes is from our Heating/Air Conditioning. Find opportunities to open windows and use fans to help circulate air.

Would love to hear any of your ideas to simplify being eco-friendly and how you feel about it!
If you haven't done anything, start now, by recycling this message!
Thanks!

Rituals and Routines: Rx for health

I have shared custody of my two firstborn kids with my ex. That means half the week - they're at their Dad's. The day they return is referred to as "transition day" between my husband and I. Meaning "time to get them used to Mom's house again". We now have termed that day "Family night" meaning that whole evening from dinner on is devoted to doing something together, as a family, in order to help everyone bond again a little easier. It's been a lot of fun, and we have created a lot of memories in the process. And because of that, we took a usually negative day and made it into a day the whole family looks forward to. Normally we end up just playing a game together, (crowd favorite is "Charades"), but we change it up now and then to keep everyone interested.

Rituals and routines are important for family togetherness, and are shown to be therapeutic during times when the family unit is threatened, such as a divorce, or remarriage. The difference? Rituals are episodic (meaning regular and repeated), and have symbolic value. It is the way to convey your family identity. Usually involve Birthdays, Christmas, or family reunions. Routines, are regular, consistent ways of doing something in your day. Bedtime, chores, dinnertime. Rituals have been shown in studies to improve marital satisfaction, help teen identity issues, improve academic achievement, and beneficial to children's and parents health overall. Not to mention to family relationships! Which is very important in a blended family such as ours.

Today's Contemporary family is being called "entropic": at risk of falling apart. Understandable considering how much busier we are now than previous generations. Chaotic schedules leave little time and little choices for willing participants in family activities. Taking a step back and asking if these activities "meet the needs of our family", is suggested in helping cut what isn't important in taking up precious time for each other. Dropping an activity or two in order to allow more time for togetherness, sends a great message to your kids that "family comes first". I think an important one for those entering into teen-dom. (dom dom dommmm)

So how do you get it going? First, understand some important guidelines.

1. Keep it simple. If it's difficult, or expensive, or too time consuming, it'll become a chore. You don't want that. The idea is to keep everyone interested so it becomes a "ritual". We play charades. We didn't buy a game. We all made up our own titles and wrote them on small pieces of paper and tossed them in a gift bag. We add new ones all the time to keep it fresh!
2. Yes, do it often. Once a week is optimum, but once a month, or even once a year for you really busy families will still hold some benefits. I know of some families that get together at a local food bank every holiday season and serve the homeless.
3. Pick something for everyone. Make sure that no one could be excluded. Everyone needs to be able to be involved. From the youngest to the oldest member.
4. Oh, and it does have to be fun. The sounds of your children laughing and being silly is sooo worth it! My friend has made Saturdays, once a month, "pajama day". No one is allowed to get dressed, and it's all lounging and enjoying each other. I'd go for that once a week!!
5. Put the emails, Social Networking, iphones, and tablets away! No technology allowed during family time! Unless it's pertinent to your activity. All attention is to be focused on the kids and the activity. You can't be fully present if you are "multi-tasking".
6. Plan a time, stick to it, and be flexible. If the activity looses excitement, change it up, or rotate activities allowing everyone a chance to make a choice!

Routines are probably things that you are already doing, and probably started when you had your first child. Routines are praying together before every meal, our two year old will NOT let us forget this one, bedtime schedules and preparations, going to church every Sunday, and picking out your clothes before school in the morning. Routines have all the health benefits rituals have, and still keep your family strongly bonded.

Positive, fun experiences as a family make emotional imprints on the minds of your children. The memories that they create bring positive experiences that may be recalled and passed on to future generations! Enjoy your family, we're all we've got!

Click for coupons!

I love coupons! I'm terrible at clipping them, organizing, and then remembering to use them!! That's why I love this website!!! Shortcuts.com is Free grocery coupons online that link to your grocery card! All you do is sign in to the site, enter your grocery card information, such as your Dillon's/Kroger plus card, or other favorite grocery store savings card. Just click on the coupons to add to your savings card!! It keeps track of what you've added, how much you've saved, and how much you could save based on what you have on your card! Email updates of new products come a few times a month which helps remind you to keep clipping! They also have grocery shopping lists available to take with you so you can remember to get all the savings available.
It is such a bonus to see how much you've saved at the end of your shopping trips! It's made a big difference in my wallet!!