Reusing Everyday Household Objects

11. April 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Homemade Products, Household, Money Saving Tips · Tags: , ,

Please enjoy today’s guest post on reusing everyday household objects.

Being a parent is rarely regarded as a creative, entrepreneurial job, but it darn well should be! Raising a child, especially in a healthy, eco-friendly atmosphere, can be one of the more challenging tasks an adult can take on. Don’t believe me? Consider asking your parents living at your local Brookdale assisted living center what the hardest job they ever had was. A good number of them will say raising their kids. Make things easier on yourself, your wallet, and the environment by reusing household items. Here are some of the more obscure examples:

T-shirts—Most households have attics and basements full of old clothes. You can always donate these clothes to Good Will. Or you could reuse the old t-shirts for a variety of applications. Cut out square patterns to create a blanket, sew certain shapes onto jackets, or use them as cleaning rags.

Egg cartons—One of the best uses for egg cartons is as portable seed sprouters. The little oval shapes are the perfect containers for a bit of soil and some seeds. Get your kids involved in this project. You’re teaching them two valuable lessons at once: how to reuse household items and how to sprout seeds, which are very healthy and delicious on salads.

Greeting cards—You probably have hundreds of all greeting cards laying around—birthdays, holidays, get-well-soon’s. Since you can’t really reuse these in the traditional way, cut them up, reappropriate them and create your own new greeting cards. Or, if your kid is into arts and crafts, use the pictures and textures as the raw material for a mobile or a collage.

Coffee Grounds—After making a pot of coffee you’re stuck with a turgid black-as-night mess that you would normally toss in the trash. Not so fast, though. Coffee grounds makes for a great fertilizer for your garden or compost.

Glass bottles—Start collecting multi-colored glass bottles and create your own fun and creative lamps. Any shape, any hue will do—all you need is a light bulb fixture.

Toilet paper roll—You’re thinking, what on Earth could this possibly be reused for? The answer is wires. The average living room or home office has dozens of pesky wires connecting various appliances to various outlets. Use toilet paper rolls to bundle them together.

There are hundreds more examples of how every household items can be given a second life. Collectively, if we all started reusing many of the objects laying around our houses instead of throwing them away, we would save more money for our families and protect the environment too.

Natural Ways to Clean Your Silver Jewelry

28. March 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Cleaning, Household · Tags: , ,

Please enjoy today’s special guest report which shares some tips on how to naturally clean your silver jewelry.

We all have our favorite pair of earrings, a great bracelet, or a ring that we love to wear, and often do. However, regular wear and use can cause jewelery to tarnish or simply become more dull. But traditional jewelry cleaners contain harsh chemicals that generally aren’t environmentally friendly, and can be harsh on your skin. To clean your jewelry using more natural methods consider giving one of the following options a try:

White Toothpaste

For smaller pieces of jewelry, such as diamond rings or silver earrings, you can simply use white toothpaste to clean the tarnish. Simply place a small dab on the tarnish and rub it in. Once you have rubbed it in, usually no longer than 30 seconds, rinse with water and be sure to thoroughly dry.

Baking Soda – No Heat

Baking soda can do wonders when it comes to cleaning around the house, and one of the best ways to remove tarnish from larger pieces of silver jewelry is using baking soda and water. Simply mix some baking soda with a little bit of water to create a paste, and apply the paste to your tarnished jewelry. Rub the paste into your jewelry piece with a damp sponge. Once adequately rubbed in and covered, rinse the piece of jewelry with hot water and dry with a clean, soft cloth.

Baking Soda – With Heat

If you like to purchase jewelry at thrift or vintage stores, there is a good chance that the pieces you purchase will be heavily tarnished. For these types of pieces, a bit more effort may be needed in order to clean the piece. First, you will need baking soda, a piece of aluminum foil, a deep saucepan, and the piece of jewelry you wish to clean.

Before you begin the tarnish removal process, clean the jewelry piece of any dust or grime using soap and water. Then line your deep saucepan with a piece of foil, and fill the saucepan with enough water to submerge the piece of jewelry you wish to clean. Then add a few teaspoons of baking soda. For one piece of jewelry, two to three teaspoons should be enough; however, for larger or multiple pieces add a few extra teaspoons. Bring the water to a boil.

As soon as the water begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat source, and drop the jewelry in the water. Make sure that the jewelry is touching the foil. Let the jewelry sit in the water, occasionally moving it to increase better contact with the foil piece. Once the jewelry appears clean, remove it from the water, and dry with a soft cloth.

When it comes to cleaning jewelry, there is no need to purchase expensive or chemical jewelry cleaners. These are not only not friendly for the environment, but they can be harmful to your household in general. Instead of wasting money on these types of products, simply create your own.

Why Hard Water Isn’t So Bad

02. January 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Household

Please enjoy today’s special guest report on why hard water isn’t so bad, and Happy New Year!

Water is crucial to our survival, and something that most of us don’t get enough of each day. In our attempts to be more healthy and drink more water, several of us spend thousands of dollars a year on bottled water and other pricey filtration systems. Another growing trend to give ourselves the best water possible is the installation of a water softener.

Many people believe that hard water, which is generally full of certain minerals such as calcium and magnesium, is bad for them. They want better tasting water that will also give them a much more rich lather when they shower. While a water softener will definitely provide a homeowner with a better lather, they should really weigh the pros and cons before choosing to install one. They may find that a rich lather isn’t worth the additional costs at both your health’s and wallet’s expense.

The Health Factor

While many believe that soft water tastes better, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is better for you. In fact, soft water is often stripped of many beneficial minerals including calcium and magnesium, which your body needs to function naturally. However, this isn’t the worst of it.

Water that is processed using traditional water softeners must be run through iodized salt in order to make it softer. That iodized salt often increases the amount of sodium in your water, which ultimately increases your sodium intake. While a bit of salt is good for you, too much can lead to other conditions such as hypertension and high blood pressure.

The Costs

In addition to lacking minerals and extra salt, traditional water softeners also lead to pipe corrosion due to the large amounts of salt they use. So not only will you have to pay for regular maintenance and salt, but you can expect to have to replace your plumbing as well – which isn’t exactly cheap.

We all want great tasting and healthy water, but that doesn’t mean that you should have to pay an arm and a leg for it. Sometimes the best water can come right from your tap. However, if you find that your water really is too hard and is causing build up in your pipes or leading to poor tasting water, consider installing a salt-free water softener. These types of devices require very little maintenance and don’t require you to pour pounds upon pounds of salt into your water regularly. They will soften your water, but without giving you the detriment of a diet high in sodium.

How to Get Stains Out of Carpet Naturally with Vapamore MR-50

27. May 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: Cleaning, Household, Product Review · Tags: , ,

If you need to know how to get stains out of your carpet naturally, you’ve come to the right place, because I’ve recently tested the Vapamore MR-50 Portable Wet / Dry Steamvac.  I have a child.  And four pets. And white carpet…  so I’m the perfect testing ground.  When I was first asked to test the Vapamore MR-50, I thought, “Well, alright.  But you don’t know my carpet.”  Since the unit can also clean and sanitize things other than carpet, I figured it wouldn’t be a total loss if I couldn’t remove carpet stains.  On top of that, I figured I wasn’t being fair to it, testing it firstly on an old stain right in the entryway where my son had spilled dark chocolate goop on the white berber.  I can see that area of carpet from where I sit now; but I don’t see a stain.  It’s totally “Vapamorized.”

The unit is simple, lightweight, and takes up very little space.  It’s like a hand vacuum, but it has a water tank and steam mechanism.  To remove the stain, I added water to the tank, waited about 20 seconds for it to heat, and with the provided brush attachment, I went over the area and watched the stain disappear.  With just water.  Afterwards, I flipped the switch and the unit sucked the water back out of the carpet, along with the dirt and old grime.  Easy!

I’ve been able to use the Vapamore as a regular handheld vacuum, too.  It’s quite convenient to have around.  And since it can sanitize, that means I can do some deep cleaning on that kitchen floor, which for some reason, my son has found to be an irresistible spot to play with his cars.  I use it often because cleaning it out is easy and much quicker than dealing with a regular vacuum.

If you have allergies or asthma in your family, then you’re probably used to scrounging around for safe household cleaners, since these are major triggers of upper respiratory issues.  The Vapamore uses water and only water for its cleaning, so you won’t have to worry about unhealthy cleaning products.

Overall, this really is a great product, and one I wholeheartedly recommend.  When you’re trying to figure out how to get stains out of your carpet, and you want to do it naturally, you really can’t go wrong with the Vapamore MR-50 – a worthy investment.

Lip Balm Sale at The Giving Essence!

25. February 2010 · 4 comments · Categories: Money Saving Tips · Tags: , ,

Healthy lips - the Perfect Way to Kiss Spring Hello!

 

DkMommy Spot’s very own online store The Giving Essence is having a pretty exciting sale right now, if I do say so myself.  For those of you who may not know, I make a pretty mean handcrafted lip balm, and normally you can buy a set of three 1-ounce tins for $15.  (A 1-ounce tin, by the way, is 6 times the size of a chapstick tube!)  For a limited time, I have the sets of three on sale for only $10, and of course you get to mix and match from the six flavors.  (No coupon code necessary.)

All the lip balm is completely natural, made with sweet almond oil, beeswax, honey, Vitamin E, and essential oils.  Sets of three come in a cute little organza bag.  And of course a portion of all proceeds goes to charity! For February, we’re focusing on Haiti relief, and proceeds are going to the Red Cross.  (With the exception of Peppermint Lip Balm; 100% of its proceeds go to breast cancer research!)  Also with every purchase comes a free sample of another TGE product, and for U.S. orders over $30 there’s free shipping.

If you’re a lip balm addict as I am, a set of three gives you the chance to keep one in your purse, one by the bed, and one in the bathroom.  Or one in the living room, one in your backpack, one in the kitchen.  Or all three in your pockets.  Endless balmy possibilities.

So swing by The Giving Essence for some natural lip balm and ditch the chapstick quick.  Spring is on the way; time for fresh skin.  Your lips will thank you!

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