17 household uses for vinegar

Our good friends at MotherEarth Living compiled a wonderful list of 17 ways to use vinegar around the home!  We loved their ideas and wanted to share them with you!

1. Grease Cutter: Vinegar’s acidity lets it cut through grease with ease. Dip a sponge in vinegar and wipe to degrease stovetops, microwaves, dirty dishes and more.

2. Disinfectant: A natural antibacterial, vinegar makes a great base for any nontoxic cleaning solution. For an all-purpose disinfecting solution, dilute 1 part vinegar in 4 parts water and use anywhere germs are found, such as countertops, keyboards, shared phones, doorknobs and remote controls.

3. Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Clean, disinfect and deodorize your toilet by pouring 1 cup of vinegar around the inside of the bowl. Let sit for an hour, use a brush to remove rings, then flush.

Reusable Batteries… a greener choice!

He’s got a bag that is filled with toys for the boys and girls again  ...

… and most of the toys will be battery operated.  What should green parents do?  

Invest in reusable batteries!  For approximately $20 you can purchase a battery charger and four batteries making it easy to recoup your investment in a year or less and quickly save money. 

Reusable batteries can be charged between 1,000 – 1,500 times and are easy to recycle when they have maxed out.

If you have used traditional batteries at home and are not sure where or how to recycle them, check out 1800recycling.com to find the closest place to recycle.

***  We've written several e-cookbooks {all $1.99} that are quick, easy & guaranteed to bring yummy, fun times in the kitchen!  Pull out the spoons, put on your oven mitts and get cooking with one of our cookbooks.  Get them here!  ***

houseplants for a healthy home

Did you know that indoor air can be 12 times more polluted than outdoor air?  There’s an easy and pretty way to clean up ugly indoor airborne toxins (like benzene, formaldehyde & carbon dioxide).  Get some houseplants!   Not only does every home look better with plants, these green sponges can absorb most homes indoor toxins!

Keep your home healthy and your plants happy by:

• Grouping them together!  Plants do better when they are placed close together.  They benefit from each others humidity, moisture and oxygen.
• Playing classical music!  Who knew that your ferns were Bach afficiando’s?  It’s true… soothing music helps plants grow.
• Talking to them!  Plants respond to human voices.  Interestingly, according to Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society, “women’s voices speed growth much more than men’s”.   Plants also react positively to soothing kind words and wither when there is a lot of noise and yelling. 
• Primping!  Keep the leaves dust-free so they can get the air that they need (use a lightly dampened cloth and gently wipe dust off of the leaves). 

Read our "3 cheers for houseplants" article!  We've got 3 more reasons why houseplants make a home healthy! 

upcycling clothing for kids

I am not crafty at all!  As a matter of fact, I think I have a craft deficit, so when I see super cute ideas like upcycled kids hats, toys and tops, it makes me wish that I had inherited my mom’s crafty abilities (and while we’re at it, her green thumb too!).  Luckily these projects are relatively easy for anyone with a small amount of craft ability.  Just to be safe, I am having my mom come over before I venture into my next craft project.

Not only are these projects typically simple, they are also super green and a great (and cute!) way to use items that might get donated or tossed. 

Here are instructions for:

Upcycled kids hat pattern

Upcycled kids toy

Upcycled kids skirt

happy crafting!

switch to soy candles

This holiday season light soy candles for a greener home!

You’ve made a delicious dinner; set a gorgeous table that includes a candlelit glow and, cough, cough… you don’t realize that you are inhaling the equivalent of secondhand smoke with your petroleum-based candles.  Keep your family safe & still enjoy candles by switching to soy.

Soy is a healthy alternative to petroleum-based candles.  Petroleum-based paraffin candles contain possible carcinogens or toxic chemicals like benzene, toluene, ethyl ketone, naphthalene and possibly lead in the wick.  Soy is easier to clean up and burns cleaner.  It is usually more expensive but burns a lot longer (sometimes twice as long as paraffin candles, which offset the higher cost)! 

Image courtesy of Coco & Bubbles

Shop here for their soy candles!

leftover love

Leftovers are one of my many favorite things about Thanksgiving, but not everyone feels the same way.  If your family likes a different meal every night, you can re-use your Thanksgiving fixings and create a delicious, easy and new dinner!  That is definitely something to be grateful about.

Leftover potatoes (russet or sweet) can become Potato pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup flour

Salt and pepper

In a bowl, thoroughly combine the potatoes, eggs and flour.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a large heavy skillet, heat olive oil over moderately high heat, until it is hot but not smoking.  Drop Tablespoons of the potato mixture, being sure to flatten them with a fork.  Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown.  Transfer the pancakes as they are cooked to paper towels to drain and if desired keep them warm on a rack set on a baking sheet in a preheated 250 degree oven.

Leftover turkey can become Barbecued Turkey Sandwiches

Combine and heat 3 cups shredded turkey with ¾ cup prepared barbecue sauce.  Serve on a brioche or onion roll.

Leftover cranberries can become Apple Cranberry Crisp

Leftover cranberries (up to 1 ½ cups)

6 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ cup flour

2/3 cup oats

½ cup butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cranberries & apples and place in a buttered 8x8 pan.  In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, oats and butter together; blend with fingers until crumbly.  Evenly top apple/cranberries with oat mixture.  Bake for 35 minutes.

mashed potato pancake recipe adapted from epicurious
apple cranberry crisp recipe adapted from Cooking FUNdamentals
photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids

E is for Environment

Looking to encourage a little more green in your offspring?  Check out the lovable book, E is for Environment!  Brother and sister, Elliot & Lucy are featured in 26 engaging stories filled with ways to make a positive difference for the environment.  The stories are cute and charming while teaching kids fun lessons and examples of how to be eco-friendly! 

Each story has an adorable illustration (we wish there were more of the sweet pictures!) and features questions at the end of each story (for the record, my son wasn’t into the questions, but he loved each of the stories).

Written by Ian James Corlett and Ilustrated by R.A. Holt, this book would be a perfect holiday gift or addition to a child’s library! 

Check out E is for Environment on Amazon!

iPhone apps for kids

I am guilty of letting my kids use my iPhone or iPad to keep them busy.  I have mixed feelings about it… we pretty much know that exposure to cell phones carry some potential hazards (and that’s especially true for children!).  But our kids are growing up in a technological world.  They are constantly adapting, growing and learning along side technology, and they love and understand the tools that they have available to them.

But, truth be told, I don’t give them the devices to help with their computer know-how.  I do it so I can make a 5-minute phone call in peace.  Or start dinner without the kids hanging on me (or asking for food even though they just ate 2.5 minutes ago).  So if I am going to cave in, I should at least make their experience educational on some level… right?

Thankfully for me, Babble.com provided a Top 50 iPhone Apps for Kids (they also have the Top 25 Android Apps for kids).  They ranked their Top 10 Favorites for: Education, Stories & songs, Art & hidden pictures, Fun & games, Familiar friends & classic games.  My sons and I played around with their list and instantly found some new favorites (it’s hard to believe how quickly kids can maneuver and get acclimated to these apps).

Here are our new favorite apps thanks to Babble’s list:

123 Color - Talking coloring book

Fish School - Letters, numbers, colors, shapes & matching

Letter Writer Oceans - Teaches preschoolers to write their letters

Preschool Connect the Dots



Tell us what app(s) your kids love?

2 for tuesday

421,000 units of bacteria (including E. coli!) can be found on the soles of shoes.  Another great reason to leave the shoes at the door.

98 percent of non-organic apples have pesticide residue on them, which is why they top the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of the 12 most pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables.

We've written about the importance of taking shoes off in the home and the dirty dozen list.  Read all about it!  



1 source, photo.  2 source & photo.

packing lunch… the green way!

It is estimated that each American child produces 67 pounds of lunch packaging waste each school year! That’s a big ‘F’ in our report card! This year when school starts, make sure that your kids are lunch box smart!

There is no longer a need for plastic sandwich bags, paper bags and juice boxes.  There are tons of green lunchbox options out there and a lot of them are super cute too!  Here’s our eco lunchbox lowdown:


 1. Forgo the brown paper bag and invest in a durable lunch box or bento-style lunch container.

2. Go reuseable! Reusable sandwich bags and containers are super sturdy and easy to use, clean & store. If you have to pack a plastic bag, try to reuse it or recycle it!

3. Store beverages in stainless steel water bottles! Have your kids sip out of a reusable bottle rather than a juice box or plastic water bottle.

4. If your child needs cutlery or a napkin, pack the real thing. Encourage your child to bring home all leftovers to prevent accidentally disposing of the napkin and utensils (they may even be able to compost any leftovers).

5. If possible, steer clear of purchasing prepackaged foods for your child’s lunch. They are typically wrapped in excessive packaging and are more expensive than buying in bulk.

We’ve got an entire selection of GREEN LUNCHBOXES & accessories on our eco ike eco boutique!  Check out our entire selection here!

Cruise Control = Fuel Efficiency

It’s road trip time… This year when you hit the highway, be sure to take advantage of the cruise control button as much as possible. Maintaining a steady speed allows you to drive 10 percent farther on a single tank.

Some other gas-saving tips:

• Remove excess weight – take out unnecessary items from your vehicle, which can reduce your fuel economy by up to 5%

• Avoid idling – Turn off the engine when the car is parked for longer than a minute. Starting your car only uses a few seconds worth of fuel, rather than a quarter to half gallon of fuel per hour while idling

• Keep tires properly inflated – under-inflated tires can waste up to 6% of extra fuel

• Don’t drive aggressively – rapid acceleration, braking and speeding wastes gas. Drive sensibly --- it’s safer & fuel efficient!

be green on vacation!

It’s that time of year to pack up the crew, have fun with the family and make some memories. It’s easy to be eco-friendly on your next escape. Here are six tips for making your next vacation a green one:

1.) When leaving your hotel room, turn off all lights & unplug electrical devices.

2.) Turn off air conditioning when leaving or adjust the thermostat.

3.) Take a walk, ride a bike or use public transportation when you get to your destination (it's a great way to see your vacation spot).

4.) Recycle! seek out an area that recycles your paper & plastic. If your hotel does not have recycling bins, speak to a manager and suggest that they start offering that must-have service for their guests.

5.) Use your towels & sheets for a couple of days. Hotels are now making it easy to cut down on water waste by encouraging guests to reuse.

6.) Search out & support a green hotel or green lodging.

EcoSearch.org search engine

Change your home page to ecosearch.org!  It's a search engine that is powered by Google.

EcoSearch donates all of it's per-click ad profits to eco-groups such as the Sierra Club, Rainforest Alliance, Heal the Bay and Healthy Child, Healthy World.



follow eco ike on facebook & twitter! 

air dry

Use the ‘air-dry’ switch on your dishwasher!  If you don’t have an automatic ‘air-dry’ switch, manually turn the machine off after the final rinse and open the dishwasher to allow the dishes to air dry.

Skipping the heated dry cycle can cut your energy use by 50% every time the dishwasher is run!



follow us on facebook & twitter for more green tips!

Rub a Dub Dub! 3 reasons to use bar soap over liquid

(1.) Most liquid soap comes in excess plastic packaging that can be recycled, but end up in the landfill. Bar soap typically comes in a paper wrapper that has considerably less packaging.

(2.) You get more soap with a bar. Ounce for ounce, the bar soap will last longer than the liquid soap (typically water & liquefying ingredients are the first ingredients in a liquid soap – not true for bar soap).

(3.) It’s more economical! It’s good for the pocket book & the environment!

Raise the bar... because... substituting one bottle with a bar in each U.S. home would keep 2.5 million pounds of plastic out of landfills.

{photo of Nature Boy soap from Whole Truth shop here!}

follow us on twitter + like us on facebook

place a recycling bin next to the wastebasket!

a simple trick to encourage more paper recycling and less landfill accumulation is to place a recycling bin right next to a garbage bin.  this is a super easy way to conserve paper!  producing one ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 7,000 gallons of water and 17 trees!

{trash & recycle decals from Tasty Suite- get yours here!  use the code ECOIKE at check out and get 25% off on your order!}


let's connect on Twitter and Facebook!

cloth napkins = the green choice!

Replace paper napkins with cloth ones!  Doing away with disposable napkins would keep 500,000 tons of trash out of landfills each year!

{'Eat Well' Cloth Dinner Napkins from Nicole Porter based out of NYC... get yours here!}

let's connect!

twitter

facebook

cancel those catalogues!

Remove your name from unwanted catalog & mail lists!  Junk mail kills 100 MILLION TREES a year!

To make the opt-out process super simple, sign up at Catalog Choice {it’s free, easy & secure}! http://www.catalogchoice.org/


tweet with us!   www.twitter.com/ecoike
we 'like' facbook!  www.facebook.com/ecoike


photo courtesy of digital photography school

 

waste not!

waste not! you can use the rinds from Parmesan cheese to help flavor soups & stews.  simmer it in the soup & discard before serving :)

talking trash

We’re talking trash at eco ike! We just read this staggering statistic, “Each year Americans waste an estimated 160 billion pounds of food”! Whoa! That stat is according to Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food (and What We Can Do About It).

Here are some of his tips to help reduce food waste:

• Love your leftovers. You can look at leftovers in two ways: convenient or creative. It’s convenient to pack the next day’s lunch after dinner. It’s a culinary challenge to turn last night’s roast chicken into several meals from soup to enchiladas.

• Keep your refrigerator uncluttered. Pack leftovers in clear containers. Shift new items to the back and old items to the front. Designate a shelf as the “use it up” area for soon-to-expire items.

• Start a compost pile. If you do have to throw food away, you can avoid sending it to the land-fill and instead help your garden.


American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food (and What We Can Do About It)

image courtesy of Land of Nod