A Green Kid

Clothing and Toy Swap Kit

2012-03-19T13:38:00.003-04:00

Do you need to de-cluttered your home and get ready for Spring? If so this is a great way to help you do that and have fun as well.

http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/get-involved/

Laundry Tips

2012-03-05T13:32:00.000-05:00

For a few years I was always doing laundry every single day, folding and ironing. That can be a lot of work. Then I read somewhere about teaching children at a young age to do their own laundry. So I set up hampers in their rooms for them to put dirt laundry in and once full - helped them do their laundry. They were about 11 & 12 years old at this stage - but you can start as early as you like. Once their laundry was taken out of the picture - I just had towels & linens, hubby's clothes and mine. Not a lot at all. One exception is that I still do all the whites together. This means that I'm only really doing the laundry about 3 times a week - which you can get done easily one weekend morning. If you have an outdoor line use it as often as you can - clothes smell so good and you will be saving money too! If you have little children, you can still but hampers in their rooms and do the laundry by room - this way when you are folding it - you can fold the whole load in their bedroom and put straight away. Just make sure you have enough clothes for every day of the week.

Caroline

Outdoor Bathrooms

2012-02-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

I just love this idea, having a bathroom outdoors. It means that you can be one with nature. If you have some land even if it is only an acre - then this is something to think about installing. You can even have hot water by attaching gas under it if you want.

Children will enjoy this too - like a small pool in the middle of summer.

I actually got these images from a farm in New Zealand, where they offer Romantic Getaway's for couples. Which is basically an old farm cottage without power (lots of candles). An open fire for heat and no TV what more would a couple need in a getaway! They offer a simple 3 course meal and a farm breakfast, with fresh farm eggs. Plus they charge about $275 for the night!! Which, I think this is a great way for farms to make a bit of extra cash on the side.

If you need a little more information or links to farm getaway - comment.

Caroline

Monday Monday

2012-02-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe a week has gone by and I haven't posted anything! Busy busy I guess. I have been reading some amazing blogs - everything from getting ready for spring planting, up-cycling, great baking and recipes (that I have to try). I will be posting some links on here soon.

Yesterday, I was asked what is the biggest difference between New Zealand and the USA? Interesting I had to think about this a little, my answer was food and the freshest of it. In New Zealand, we are able to eat fish that has been caught that morning - can't beat that. Most people have a veg garden or go to the market in the weekend and buy vegs - straight from the grower. We have a more even temp so we can get a good 8 months out of our gardens. Our main vegs are potatoes, carrots and peas. We also eat a lot of cauliflower, broccoli, silver beat and sweet potatoes. Silver beat is a little like spinach.

So much goodness in it too. So this week check out your local farmers market - fresh vegs are so good plus fresh eggs too.

Game Day

2012-02-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

Well today is game day - who will win? Do you watch it? And do you recycle your bottles and cans? In NY state you can return your bottles and cans for 5 cents a piece - how cool is that! My son helps me out about once a month and then he can go and get candy if he wants from the shop. Speaking of that - how much candy is too much for kids? I think from a very young age we need to watch what we feed our children. My teenage daughter has a figure that any girl would want, a couple of nights ago she thanked me for feeding her good food. I had never thought of it like that before, but between my husband and me we try to cook health meals every night, usually with a lot of vegetables - we always eat a lot of broccoli (high in Vit C), peas, carrots and potatoes are always found in our house too. When the children were little and we lived in New Zealand we would always have fish and chips on Friday nights. It is fried so fattening, but then they are having fish which sometimes is hard to fit into their diet. We don't often have soda in the house - our main drinks are milk (not choc), apple juice and water. And I try to have fruit in the house as a snack. My son even asked me to pick up pineapple next time I'm at the shop. And he quiet often boils an egg after school as a snack.

I could go on for ever - I just really think it is so important to develop good eating habits for your children before it is too late. Watch breakfast cereals too, good old oats have so much value in them!

Mooberry Farm Homesteading Journal: Old Fashioned Egg Noodles

2012-01-31T12:44:00.001-05:00

Mooberry Farm Homesteading Journal: Old Fashioned Egg Noodles: One of my favorite ways to use our fresh, farm eggs is making them into yummy egg noodles! Noodles are very inexpensive and simple to ma...

Pikelets

2012-01-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

I love this recipe as a light lunch or an after school snack. You can put maple syrup, or even jam and cream on.

Pikelets

1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking power
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl beat egg and sugar until thick. Add with milk to the sifted ingredients. Mix until smooth. Cook table spoonsful on a hot greased girdle or non-stick frying pan. Turn pikelets over when bubbles start to burst on top surface. Cook until golden. Makes 8 - 10.

Honey Nutmeg Face Mask...

2012-01-29T21:06:00.001-05:00

I love finding stuff like this on the internet - homemade and so good!!

Honey Nutmeg Face Mask...

Make your own laundry detergent

2012-01-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

Have you tried to make your own laundry detergent? I haven't yet but plan too very soon - you just don't realize that going green can save you money - plus you are not using all the plastic.

Make your own laundry detergent

Dollar Store Crafting-Activity Bags

2012-01-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

I love this idea brought to us by Second Chances by Susan.
http://secondchancesbysusan.blogspot.com/2012/01/dollar-store-crafting-activity-bags.html

This is a great idea and can be take with you every where.

Great for getting kids outdoors in Winter!

2012-01-19T10:10:00.000-05:00

I found this idea and just love it - can't wait to try it!

With tempatures dropping this weekend, its the perfect time to take advantage of the cold weather with a fun experiment!

Did you know that you can freeze bubbles? These temperatures are perfect for using that left over bubble mix from the summer. Go outside on any day when it’s below 32 degrees F and try this: blow a bubble and then catch it on the bubble wand. Wait a few moments while it freezes- it will turn into a cool crystal ball before it shatters!

You can also make icy crystals with your bubble solution! To do this: dip a large loop in the bubble solution – but dont blow a bubble. Instead, watch the crystals grow. The will form a lattice structure!
Too cold to go outside? You can learn how to make your own crystal ball bubbles in the freezer with soap by checking out the site below…

Another clever gardening idea

2012-01-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

I love this idea as well - very easy to build and gives you a little break from your neighbors. Image having a BBQ and being able to make the salad right there!!! Couldn't get any fresher!!

http://katedjupe.com/how-does-your-garden-grow-up

Clever Gardening !

2012-01-18T09:45:00.001-05:00

I great way to still have a garden with very little yard or not a lot of sun - try this. Fresh lettuce during the summer. What a great idea - be sure to drill holes along the bottom about 3 inches apart for drainage. Another reason I love this idea is because kids and animals can run through it and damage it. You don't have to buy new drains - see if you can find some at a second hand yard or just ask around.

Caroline

Homemade Citrus Enzyme Cleaner

2012-01-17T09:13:00.001-05:00

I come across this cleaner - I haven't tried it yet as it takes 3 months to make - but will try and start it this week ready for spring cleaning.

11 oz of lemon or orange peels
4 oz of brown sugar
4 1/2 cups of tap water.

Put all the above into a bottle with lid and shake. This needs to be stored for 3 months in a dark place, but you will need to shake it everyday. Gases will build up in the jar so you may need to loosen the lid so gases can escape during the process.

After 3 months you can use this for the following:

Dishes - 1/4 c enzyme
Floor - 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water - after washing the floor you can throw over outdoor plants - this will control the bugs somewhat.
Bathroom - 1 part enzyme to 10 parts water
Car - 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Caroline

Homemade Playdough recipe

2012-01-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

When it is cold out, this will entertain the kids for hours - you can find all sorts of things around the house that they can use to cut and play with it - I love rolling playdough into balls and rolling them across the table to each other.

Ingredients for this classic playdough recipe:

plain white flour – 1 cup
salt – 0.5 cups
cream of tartar – 2 tsp (you can substitute 2 tbsp of baking soda)
water – 1 cup
cooking oil – 1 tsp (if you use baking soda, add 1 tbsp of oil instead of 1 tsp)
food coloring

Directions for this classic playdough recipe:

Mix all the ingredients together with a fork in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth and one solid color
Pour the mixture into a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Stir until smooth and then until playdough bunches up to form a ball
Take it out of the pan and allow the playdough to cool
Knead for a few minutes and store in an airtight container

Caroline

Organic Pest Control

2012-01-15T11:29:00.000-05:00

Organic Pest Control

by Australian Organic Gardening

ORGANIC BUG SPRAY FROM ONION SCRAPS

You can make your own organic bug spray from kitchen leftovers! Simply save your onion skins, peels and ends then refrigerate in an empty margarine-sized tub or ziplock bag until the container is full. Once you have enough, place the onion pieces in a pail and fill with warm water. Soak for a few days, up to a week. You can keep this on the patio in the sun to steep but this is optional. After one week, strain the onion bits out and store the onion water in spray bottles.

Bury the onion bits around plants that are prone to aphids, spiders and other pests. Just spray both house and garden plants with the water to fight aphids and pests. You can also mix your garlic trimmings in with the onion pieces, bugs hate garlic too!

Reducing your electric bill

2012-01-13T11:02:00.005-05:00

Do you use the dishwasher? I try to wash the dishes by hand as often as I can. Plus I use the same cup all day long so therefore less to wash. In winter I love running a hot sink of water for my hands as well. I tested the dishwasher the other day and it took 20 watts. If my calculations are correct I think it cost me $2.60 each time I use it. Which is around $78 a month. OMG. Off course you still are using power to run the sink to do the dishes but you are still saving around $50 a month by doing the dishes by hand!!! How about you do the dishes by hand once and a while plus work out how much it is costing you?

Caroline

Making Your Own Baby Powder

2012-01-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is great - love the idea. All you need is 1/4 cup of corn starch and 10-15 drops of essential oil (lavender).

Check out the video below.

Healthy Byte: Making Your Own Baby Powder | Healthy Child Healthy World

Caroline

Reusable shopping bags

2012-01-09T12:44:00.004-05:00

Do you use a reusable shopping bag? Did you know that each year the United States consumes 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees.

I have a few but always leave them at home or leave them in the car. Now that I'm meal planning each week and only going to the shop a lot less - I'm really going to try and remember my bags. I would love to reduce the old plastic bags that hang around my house and to think that I'm taking another step closer to becoming greener. I challenge you to do the same and lets see if we can reduce that plastic bag monster!

Breathe Easier - Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality in Winter

2012-01-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

I found this very interesting - I always try and crack a window for a couple of hours everyday.

Have you ever realized why you wake up with a headache in the morning? Most the time it will be from your airflow during the night. Last winter we had diesel heating for our home which cost $450 each time we filled the tank minimum - anyhow not being very good with our budget we had about a week in February without diesel heat - we did have a great fire and electric heaters. But during the night it would get very cool and during this time I would wake up so fresh and clear minded to take on the day that I really loved it. Now we have electric heat system and we don't have it turned down to 64 at night and bedroom doors wide open we feel tried and have a stuff head in the morning. I would love to turn the temp down to 50 during the night and stock up on woolen blankets and hot water bottles (like my childhood). Only problem as it would cost to much to get the heat back up the next day - would be good to test and see if it does effect the energy bill?? Love you comments!!!

Breathe Easier - Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality in Winter

Growing up in New Zealand

2012-01-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

I love this video - I don't know the people in it but it shows what life is like growing up in New Zealand.
http://youtu.be/3wkp3qDDKJQ

We have water all around us, so going to the beach without crowds was just the norm, the grass is always green - mild summers and mild winters. Our water is cold but we still love swimming or playing on the beach collecting stones, driftwood or playing in the rock pools. Most people have their own gardens so vegs are of plenty and as our winters are mild we are usually outdoors all year round. Trying to create this sort of life for my family is difficult in America but not impossible. Currently in the middle of winter my teenage daughter goes to the gym at the YMCA everyday - it costs $13 a month. She can walk there from High School about a 5 min walk. She goes with a few girl friends to make it interesting and does a variety of things for 2 hours - she loves it.

Tomato Relish

2012-01-06T12:35:00.001-05:00

My task for today is to make tomato relish. I grow up on this and so did my husband but it is very hard to find a good one in America. You can add it to any meal for extra flavor or we love it in toasted sandwiches with ham and cheese - a great Friday night meal. Another reason I am making it today as I want to make a Bacon and Egg Pie this weekend for lunch. I made them all the time in NZ, great for leaving in the fridge as a snack after school etc. I haven't made one here yet but going to give it a go this weekend. I will post the recipe - I'm going to make it first with store puff pastry but will work on making my own down the road. By the way my house smells incredible!!!

Tomato Relish

2 cans of diced tomatoes (I got mine on sale for 30 cents each!!) you can use fresh tomatoes from garden too

1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of hot pepper sauce
2 Tablespoons of Worcester Sauce
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 T Lemon juice

Add everything apart from lemon juice to a stock pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium heat and simmer for 15-20 mins. Remove and stir in lemon juice. Cool and refrigerate. (Can be put in mason jar with lid). Post update: My husband's comments to me - this is so good you should be selling it. Maybe I shouldn't of posted the recipe!!

Basic Marinara

2012-01-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Women's Day Sep 2011.
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 large onions finely Chopped
2 medium carrots, grated
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
4 28-oz cans whole plum tomatoes (can use tomatoes from garden if in season)

1/ heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and beginning to brown, 15 - 20 minutes.
2/ Add the garlic and oregano and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes (do not let brown)
3/ Add the tomatoes and their juices, squashing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the pot, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 45 to 55 min.

Makes 12 cups. To freeze, let it come to room temperature, then transfer to freezer-safe pint-size containers and freeze up to 3 months.

You can add anything you like to this - pasta and Italian sausage is one of my favourites!

I love the WWW

2012-01-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

I have to post that I love the internet - so much information, I just read all day long. Today I have been reading about meal planning and simple cooking (cooking from natural products). Did you know you can make your own soda from a product called water kefir - I have never heard of it before today and going to test it or get my team of moms to test it out!!

Welcome!!

2012-01-05T10:58:00.001-05:00

Hi - I love living as green as possible and teaching my children and everyone else how to live green as well. I grew up in one of the most greenest natural countries in the world - New Zealand. Now that I live in America I still want to instill the values I learn growing up onto my children and so on and so on down the family tree. One big thing I noticed moving to America is the amount of trash I put out every week!! In New Zealand each week we have 3 wheelie bins for trash - red, yellow and green. Red - household waste (hopefully they delete this one soon). Yellow - household recycling. Green - Organic waste - food scraps and garden trimming. Plus we have a lot of recycling centers - where for a small price ($10) you can take your household recycling and Organic waste. Plus anything that is still in good condition like old china, washing machines etc and they will sell them - it doesn't cost you for these. So what I'm working on is a small bin for household waste, larger bin for household recycling and another bin for Organic waste. 3 bin system - I'm lucky enough to have household recycling collected once every second week. Plus I take my bottles into a 5 cents return center for store credits which I really enjoy, I drag my son along to help and teach him the value of recycling. The other thing I do is watch what I buy - not a whole lot of individually wrapped products and try to get back to basics when cooking too. You will be surprised at how much you can make from scratch and actually knowing the ingredients that you are eating and feeding your children. You know what - you are going to save so much money this way as well. To show you what I mean I'm going to post a recipe for basic marinara - it is for 12 cups (as this is basic you can add anything to it to make a meal) so only need to use 1 cup per meal. It costs about 50 cents for each cup compared to $3 so saving $2.50 (which works out to $130 a year - which is basically a new pair of shoes or two!!!!! ) So be sure to follow me as I teach you how to raise A Green Kid and Family!! Caroline