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Making Our Home Green

Posted by jen 23 November, 2009 (0) Comment

I have been part of the “green” movement since I was in elementary school. Even back then, I decided it was cool and necessary to recycle and pushed my family do adopt the practice. (I am happy to report that after much prodding, my dad finally puts his cans in the recycle bin!) While I like to think of myself as “green,” I know there is still much more I could be doing. But if we all start small and build, together we will make a difference, one step at a time!

Twitter Moms and LighterSaferGreener.com are hosting a blogging contest, they are asking bloggers to share our ”Top Three Green-Living Tips.” So, in accordance to the blogging contest and my desire to encourage others to be green, here are my Top 3 Green-Living Tips!

1) Bring your own bag! Even to me, this seemed a little daunting at first – how would I ever remember. But I found that the more I did it, the more I wanted to do it. I felt good about saving that bag, plus I bought myself some cute bags (made of 100% recycled bottles) that I would like to carry! Once you make a commitment to yourself you can do it. BONUS – some stores like Target and CVS are passing along their bag savings to you in the form of a discount!

2) Recycle EVERYTHING! My family is very lucky that our curbside recycling collects all types of plastics, papers and more. I know some municipals are more selective as to what can be recycled, but the only way to know is to check. Look up your county municipaland see what you can recycle curb-side, once you know recycle everything they will take! We greatly reduced our trash output in 2009 just by confirming what could be recycled. Cereal boxes, tissue boxes, plastic blister packages, junk mail and more – we now fill 2 recycle bins every week and only about 1/2 a trash can. Now that’s progress!

3) Give the Gift of Recycling. When curb-side recycling isn’t an option, you can mail in your recycled items. I know, I know another cost. Trust me, the frugalista in me doesn’t like spending money to dispose of something I can toss for free, but some things kill me to throw away. For example, batteries. Besides the nasty acid that can leak out, how long do you think they ”live” in the landfills? So, this holiday season give your family a recycling kit. The kit arrives with a box to fill with your recyclables and then postage paid to return it for recycling. I bought our family a box about 6 months ago, it sits in the cabinet where the fresh batteries are kept and when a battery needs replacing the old one goes in the box. At some point, we will fill the box, ship it back to be recycled and I will buy a new one. A small investment to keep batteries out of our landfills!

4) Bonus tip #4 – Pass it along! If you can’t/won’t use it any more, don’t throw it out, pass it along! I know you have head this before, and people are getting better about donating old items to charity, but take it a step further. My neighbor and I have an unspoken exchange program. Anything we can’t/won’t use I give to her family and visa versa. We pass along extra food, coupons, diapers and more. Anything that might go to waste if it isn’t used is passes along. (Which reminds me, I have a new loaf of bread to give her that will go bad while we are gone for the holiday!)

So, there are 4 easy things you can do to help your family be a little greener. I hope you will try to implement one of these steps for 2010 and beyond!

Categories : Green Living Tags : Green Living, how to be green, Recycle, reduce reuse recycle, reusable

Thanksgiving – TRADITION!

Posted by jen 21 November, 2009 (1) Comment

In my family, if we have done it more than once we like to call it a tradition. (At least the good stuff!) In a family with more than 30 J names, we stick to traditions and continue to add to them. I hope to pass many of these traditions on to my daughter (even the tradition of creating traditions), but some of our Thanksgiving traditions are the most important.

The number one tradition that I have already passed on to my daughter, is Thanksgiving at The Ranch. My Aunt’s family owns a cattle ranch in north Florida and my family has spent our Thanksgivings at The Ranch since I was small enough to be bathed in the porch sink. After nearly 30 Thanksgivings at The Ranch, I can’t imagine another way to spend the holiday. To me, Thanksgiving is The Ranch, and I can’t wait to take my daughter to her 2nd Thanksgiving at The Ranch.

The second tradition I look forward to passing down are family recipes. As I have admitted before, I am not a cook, but there are certain recipes – like Granny’s Dip – that hold special meaning for me. Making sure my Granny’s dip is ever present at our family festivities is important not only to my taste buds, but to my family’s too!

Finally, the tradition of the more the merrier! One of the best parts about Thanksgiving at The Ranch is that everyone is invited. Some years it is small with just the core of us, other years there have been more than 50 people in attendance. Since everything is potluck and mostly outside, bring a lawn chair and some food and join in the fun. I love that my family has no boundaries on a guest list. While it can make people crazy… us “kids” love it!

I’d love to hear about your traditions!

Categories : Everything Else Tags : thanksgiving, tradition

More Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards Codes

Posted by jen 20 November, 2009 (2) Comment

Last time I found free Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards Codes I won a Starbucks GC – that I am still waiting for… I didn’t win anything this time, but maybe you will!

Here are some of the newest Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards Codes:

1-Pt. Codes

BCPBB-XQHPH-RJPGB
BBQHL-LQQPC-MLPGB
BCCBD-JBCTB-HFPGB
BCCHZ-WFLLX-GGPGB
BCDXM-ZPMFW-SQPGB

2-Pt. Codes

BCXSF-DDGFC-GXPGB (Expires 11/20)

5-Pt. Codes

PBWSM-QGKCL-BKPGB
TPJNG-DZCQB-HGPGB
WHTZH-NBDQF-XKPGB
BCWPP-SDLLF-SFPGB

Thanks to Crystal for the codes!

Plus some more 5 pt codes I found!

MLXRC-CNRWK-KWPGB
GWMGG-PJXKF-LLPGB
BCRQB-RMLXS-BJPGB
NBDKD-QZGDT-FJPGB
QRNXW-HLQGC-PPPGB

Categories : FREEBIE,Saving Money Tags : huggies, huggies enjoy the ride

Rubbermaid Lock-its Review

Posted by jen 19 November, 2009 (2) Comment

When Rubbermaid contacted me about reviewing its line of Lock-its storage containers, it was perfect timing because I had just purged my plastic storage containers with missing lids/bottoms. (Where do they go?!?!)

Admittedly, I am not a cook. It’s just not my thing, but this time of year there are a few treats that I can’t wait to bake! You know, family cookie recipes! So I was exited to receive new containers to store my baking ingredients during the holidays.

I received four sizes of the Lock-its containers from Rubbermaid – a 5 cup size (perfect for leftovers) and a three container set with 3.7, 5.25 and 15 cup sizes for baking ingredients.

One of the first things I noticed were the markings on the outside of of the container to indicate how much is in your container. Such a little thing, but for non-cooks like me genius! Since I am not used to cooking often, I have no frame of reference in my head for how much of something I have – do I have 2 cups or 3 of flour left? I like that the container will tell me how much is left!

The next thing I noticed was that the bigger containers are just the right size to be hats for my toddler! Ha – I know this doesn’t really have any functionality, but I did have to point out how much fun my daughter had stacking, banging and wearing the containers!

Back to the real review… Since I don’t bake/cook often, when I do, I seem to make a giant mess! Last Christmas, I remember not being able to get the lid off my flour container, when I finally muscled it off – poof, flour went everywhere. In stark contrast to that tough lid, I love how easy these lids go on and come off! With four locking tabs, you clearly hear four snaps as your lids close tight. Then when it is time to open, click, click, click, click and they are off. No muscling them open and no mess. (Well, at least no mess from opening the containers, I am sure Iwill make a mess in other ways!)

I love how secure the lids are once all the tabs are locked. No wondering if you got the lid on right, if you hear the four clicks you are good to go!

I previously mentioned a problem that plaques all kitchens, miss-matched containers and lids. (Again, where do they go?) To combat this age-old problem, Rubbermaid Lock-its have Easy Find Lids(TM). Basically, the containers rest perfectly in the groves of the lid, making stacking these containers a breeze. Unfortunately, the lids have to be the same size lid to stack nicely, so it still isn’t a perfect solution, but it is a nice start.

So, where can you buy Rubbermaid Lock-its? I noticed them a Publix on my last trip to the grocery store. You can also buy on Amazon and at K-Mart.

Since I am all about coupons and ways to save money, I had to do a quick search for coupons. This lead me to learn about the Rubbermaid Club. According to the Rubbermaid site, when you join the club you will receive Money Saving Coupons & Rebates, Special Birthday Savings, Organizational Tips and New Product Information. Not sure what types of savings you will receive, but it is worth signing up to check it out!

Before my containers big Christmas ingredients debut, they will help me transport food for Thanksgiving!

Disclosure – I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period.

Categories : Everything Else Tags : review, rubbermaid, rubbermaid lock-its, storage containers