Homeschool Helper » Going Green

Make Reusable Sandwich Bags

amy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:19:48 +0000

Since I showed you how to make fold over baggies to carry chips and carrots in, I thought I would also show you how we made sandwich bags. I used the same PUL fabric from Very Baby. I think for sandwich bags you could use any fabric that you wouldn’t mind your bread touching.

Cut out a 10″ Square. Serge all the way around the edges. I used the rolled edge stitch on my serger.
No serger instructions: Cut out 2 – 10 1/2″ squares and sew them right sides together using a 1/4″ seam, leaving a hole for turning. Turn it right side out, iron and whip stitch the hole.

Sew a 1″ piece of velcro into the corner. Flip it over and sew the other side of the velcro onto the opposite corner on the opposite side of the fabric.

Fold in the corners without velcro first, then fold in the velcro corners. It is like an envelope.

You can also use it as a little tablecloth when you picnic.

Make Fold Over Baggies for Picnics

amy — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:13:36 +0000

I wanted to have some reusable baggies we could use for picnics and my husband’s lunchbox. Of course, it is the green thing to do to reduce the amount of trash we put in our landfills. But, I will admit that my main motivation is economics. It seems sillly to keep buying baggies if I could make something we can simply wash.

I started looking around to see what’s available. There are to lots of bags you can buy that use velcro, but I am afraid the velcro would get yucky. So, I decided we’d just make our own fold over style bags using PUL fabric. PUL fabric is used for making cloth diaper covers, so it is washable and has a moisture barrier. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable putting hot foods in it, but it should be fine for our purposes.

I ordered some PUL fabric from Very Baby in Candy Pink and Sea Spray. I was pleased with how thin the fabric is. It is just right for this project. Here’s how I made mine. They are just the right size for chips, crackers, or cookies. They are a little small for sandwiches. Here’s what we use for sandwiches.

Cut out 7″x15″ rectangles.

Serge all the way around. I used the rolled edge stitch on my serger. If you don’t have a serger, don’t fret. This part is inside the bag. Just zigzag around the edge or use pinking sheers all the way around.

With the fabric shiny side up, fold over one side 6″.

Fold the other side down 3″ or so until the fold meets up with the end you just folded. Pin the folded parts just through the top layers.With the pins still in, turn the bag inside out.

Sew up the two sides. I used 1/4″ seam allowance.

Turn the bag right side out and take out the pins. Now, just flip the top over and you have a fold over baggie ready to put in someone’s lunch box.

Homemade Bug Catcher

amy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:34:12 +0000

We have a small orchard in our yard. Two pear trees, a few peach trees and several apple trees. Oh, and the cherry tree we just planted. We aren’t wild about spraying the trees with pesticides, so last year we tried this homemade bug catcher. By the end of the season we had LOTS of bugs in the jugs and only a few worms in our fruit. (You know the joke, “What’s worse than biting into an apple to find a worm? Finding half a worm!” The kids think that is HILARIOUS – I suppose because they can relate!) Anyway, here’s what the jugs look like hanging in the trees. They do look a little odd – our neighbors asked what they were last year.

But, they definitely catch some bugs! Here’s a picture of the inside after being out just 2 days.

I hope all of these moths wound up in here before they laid any eggs on my trees!

Fruit Tree Bug Catcher

Slice a banana peel and put it into a milk jug. Mix 1 cup sugar and 1 cup vinegar. Pour into the jug. Fill about half full with water. Hang from your tree. We put them out when the trees start blooming.

Be sure to check out other gardening ideas at the Petersonclan’s Garden Club!

Homemade Weed Killer

amy — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:42:04 +0000

We have weeds at our house… LOTS of WEEDS! Back in my less earth and cost conscious days, I bought Round-up and sprayed those weeds that I couldn’t pull up. Last summer, I discovered a cheaper, safer way to get rid of those stubborn weeds.

Soil Sterilizer

Dissolve 3 Tablespoons salt in 2 cups white vinegar. Add a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Put into a spray bottle.

WARNING: This will sterilize the soil – nothing else will grow there for quite a while. I use this on my patio or driveway only.

This is a picture of a weed on our patio the day after my daughter sprayed it. That is another benefit of this type of weed killer. I can let my kids use it and not worry about the effects on their health.

I like to put a label with directions right onto all of my homemade cleaners and gardening remedies. Then I don’t have to hunt for the recipe when I need to make more. You can download the label I made for the soil sterilizer here.

I Reduced my Electric Bill

amy — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:12:37 +0000

Last fall, I stopped using my dryer almost completely. Before this, I had hung out clothes when it was nice outside. But, I wasn’t very faithful with my clothespins. Now, about the only time I use my dryer is when I wash the sheets and it is raining and I can’t hang them outside.

I have a big clothesline outside. I also have a clothesline and a drying rack in the basement. I also hang clothes up on plastic hangers and hang them from the ceiling in the basement. I have found that if I wash an average of 2 loads per day, I can keep up with the laundry and have enough room to hang up everything. The clothes in the basement dry overnight. We do school in the basement, so it is actually nice that I can fold the clothes as I am able in between helping the kids instead of having to do it as soon as the dryer buzzes so they don’t get wrinkles.

It seemed like we were saving on our electric bill, but I thought I’d graph it so we could see exactly how much savings we have had.

December and January here were very cold this year. We have a heat pump and we had to run the emergency heater many days this winter. Last winter we only ran it a day or two. That accounts for the two winter months. The other months clearly show a savings for us. I’d hate to think how high our bills would have been in December and January if we had been running the dryer!

What do you do to save on your electric bill?

Replacing Paper Towels with Crocheted Dishcloths

amy — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:12:31 +0000

We have been working on eliminating the need for certain paper products from our home. We have stopped buying paper napkins and now use cloth napkins. We are also trying to stop using paper towels. I used to use paper towels for cleaning, washing dishes and wiping up spills.

It was easy to quit using paper towels for cleaning. We just started using rags instead. I even use rags for cleaning mirrors and glass and it works just fine. Switching to rags to wipe up spills was also an easy switch.

It was harder to switch for washing dishes. I like to use a fresh cloth every time I wash dishes and paper towels seemed like the easiest way to do this since I didn’t have very many dishcloths. But then I realized, it is cheaper to make or buy some new dishcloths than it is to keep buying paper towels! Why didn’t I realize that earlier?! Anyway, I found a small ball of yarn in my yarn stash and started double crocheting a new dishcloth.

It works really well! I simply wash after one use so I don’t have to worry about germs growing on it. I am looking forward to making some more. It is a great little project to work on while helping the kids with school. Now, if I could just figure out a sanitary replacement for dixie cups in the kid’s bathroom!

How We Built a Loafing Shed for $6

amy — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:27:05 +0000

My daughter signed up to do a bottle calf in 4H this year. Although we live on some land in the country, we did not have any outbuildings suitable for animals. We did, however, have a compost bin. Since we did not use the compost bin, my husband decided to take it apart and use it to build the frame for a loafing shed. The compost bin was 16 feet long and the upright posts were 10 feet tall so he decided to make the shed 10×6. He welded the sides together and used bolts from the compost bin to fasten the sides together. After the frame was welded up and assembled, we needed to find some siding. He found some people who were demolishing a small shed and asked if he could take away their scrap sheet metal siding. They were glad to be getting rid of it without hauling it somewhere so they didn’t charge anything. They were even nice enough to save the insulation and the colored screws that held the metal on the building for him.

We wanted the shed to be portable so we decided to put it on some wood skids to make it easier to move. We contacted a local municipal utility company to find out if they had any used cross-arms from power poles we could have. They had just done an upgrade of a high voltage line and had some nice long used 4×6 cross-arms left over. Those were cut down to 12 foot lengths with the ends tapered making the shed easier to drag. Next he needed to fasten the two skids together with some 2×6 treated boards. This is where the $6 comes into play. We couldn’t think of any way to get free boards so my husband went to Sutherland’s to get them. We had just gotten our Friends of the Family reward check so the boards and lag bolts to hold them together only cost 6 dollars instead of 20. He notched the 4×6 skids and bolted the 2×6’s to them.He then bolted the frame to the skids. Next he cut the sheet metal for the sides and the roof, then screwed it to the frame. Since we don’t know where the calf we will get is coming from yet, its disposition is a mystery. We didn’t want a wild calf kicking dents in our new shed from the inside out so he used 1×8 wood dividers from the compost bin to put halfway up the inside walls. While he was at it, he put in the foam insulation he got when he brought home the sheet metal. To do this my husband screwed a 2×2 to the horizontal pieces of the frame that are halfway up the sides. He cut the foam insulation to fit inside the frame and then nailed the 1×8 boards vertically over the insulation.

After this was done, all that was left was to attach some chain to the skids so it could be dragged into position in the field. And this is our 6 dollar loafing shed.

Going Green – Cloth Napkins

amy — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:47:56 +0000

These days, it’s hip to be green and frugal. I was frugal way before it became in vogue, but all of the recent attention on penny pinching methods has got me looking for even more ways to stretch our dollars. One of my recent experiments is cloth napkins. I had some terry cloth fabric leftover from another project, so I cut it into squares and surged the edges. I made 3 sets of napkins and we haven’t had to buy paper napkins since. I am saving money, trees and reducing our trash! You could also make some napkins out of an old towel, or find some at a thrift store.