Keep as much "stuff" as possible out of landfills- Reduce Reuse Recycle

For the past 6 years I have tried to keep as much "stuff" out of landfills as possible.
I'm one of those people who actually use reusable shopping bags for every grocery trip.
By recycling ALL of our paper, glass and plastic, our recycling bin is always chuck full.
We have a compost bin in our yard so all of our potato, banana peels etc end up there.
By cloth diapering the kids we keep diapers out of landfills, end result being minimal garbage in our bin each week.
Another major way of keeping other things out of landfills is by simply giving good "stuff" that is just sitting around your home that will eventually end up in the trash, to people who need it. It's about reusing perfectly good items.  Let me tell you about the Freecycle Network (freecycle.org). I have been a member of the Freecycle member for almost 3 years now and let me tell you, the concept really works!.
Here is an example of how it works:
Say I have a bunch of 12 mo old shirts that my daughter has outgrown. I simply put an Offer post in my local freecycle group, I then wait for people who can use them to email me and then we arrange a pickup day and time.
Say I need 18 mo shirts for my baby, I then post a Want post in the local group and wait to see if anyone has any 18 mo shirts laying around that they no longer need.
By the same token I scroll through the group post messages taking note of other people's Want posts, If i happen to have something laying around not being used that someone else needs then I contact the person who wrote the Want post.
It's simple and it works.
Check out the freecycle network by going to Freecycle.org to find out if there are local groups in your area.

Reduce REUSE and Recycle!
Happy crunchy green healthy day Y'all !  :-)

The incredible edible egg.

I know I know.. they're a source of controversy, but either way, here is my hubby's recipe on making the perfect boiled egg.

Set eggs in pot of water to cover.
Wait for it to boil and cover.
Turn heat off and let it sit covered for 45 minutes.

There you have it, the incredible edible egg :-)

Baked Chiken Recipe

I made baked chicken for the hubby today. This is the way he likes it, for it to fall right off the bone and melt in his mouth, with nothing but salt, pepper and curry. He's a picky eater so I follow this procedure to the T every time ;-)

I started by preheating the oven early this morning. 

It was hot and ready to go by 6:41 am at 350 F.

While the oven preheated I prepared the chicken, rinsing and taking the skin off. 

These two breasts have the rib meat. I sprinkled curry, salt and ground up some multicolored pepper on top. Covered it with aluminum foil.  Ready to go!

About 3 1/2 hours later.......

This is what the chicken looked like.  Notice how the fatty juices mixed with the curry and pepper dried up on the bottom. It is cooked at this point but not enough for the hubby. soooo....

Added 4 ounces of water

Reconstituted the dried up juices at the bottom of the dish and recovered with foil. Back in the oven it goes.

 Another 1 1/2 hrs later

 It's DONE DONE DONE. The rib bones just peel off and the juice is all used up.

Ready to make sandwiches or serve with Jasmine rice and steamed baby carrots, perhaps some steamed broccoli with some shredded cheese on top. Whatever strikes the fancy at the moment :-)

Happy crunchy green healthy day Y'all !  :-)

Prefolds: Sweet Pea vs Hemp Babies

I have been using both Sweet Pea and Hemp Babies prefolds for about 4 months now and I must say I have grown to love them. They are my nighttime solution for my now 1 year old 20 lb girl and nap time for 30 lb toddler. Everytime I use prefolds I have the assurance that there will be NO LEAKS.
I decided to compare the two and here are my findings.
 The Sweet Pea prefold that I use is the Baby size which measures 17X20 before washing, its fiber content is 100% Unbleached cotton and will fit from 16 to 35 lbs
The Hemp Babies prefold is a Bigger Weeds size which is 16 X 18 before washing, its fiber content is 55% hemp and 45% Certified Organic Cotton. You have to pre-wash it 3 to 5 times.

After going through the wash/dry cycle many times they have now shrunk to about 15 1/4 X 17.

Sweet Pea Cotton prefold on the left and Hemp Babies on the right

Here is a side view to show the thickness of each. 

Hemp Babies is thinner, has 2 layers of hemp fleece which when tri-folded you get 6 layers all together. 

Sweet Pea is thicker and has more a quilted look, specially in the middle, has 4 layers on either side and 8 in the middle. 

  

 

I prefer to do the angel wing fold

 

  

First, the Sweet Pea Cotton Prefold on my 20 lb 1 year old daughter.

 side view using the angel wing fold with a snappi

  

 Sweet Pea cotton Prefold top view.

  

 This is the Hemp Babies Bigger Weeds hemp prefold

Hemp Babies Side View

 Now for the fit on my 30 lbs  33 month old son.

 Sweet Pea prefold angel wing fold with snappi, front view

 

 Sweet Pea prefold Side view

 

 Hemp Babies prefold on 30 lb toddler front view

 

 Hemp Babies prefold Side view.

 

Water experiment

I layed out a Sweet Pea prefold and a Hemp Babies prefold and added 4 ounces of water to each, they both absorbed it very quickly and there was no water run off. 

Since there was no water run off i decided to add 4 more ounces to each.

 Still no run off, when folded up i noticed the Hemp babies (on the right)  left a bigger moisture spot than the Sweet pea prefold.

The Sweet Pea prefold weighed in at 5.2 oz when dry.

 and 13 oz when wet (with the 8 oz of water i poured in it)

 The Hemp Babies weighed in at 4.6 oz when dry

and 12.9 oz wet (with 8 oz of water poured in)

 

Over all I like both pre-folds about the same and use them the same amount of times. I find myself just grabbing whichever is on top, so not really a preference since they both work well. I have 6 of each in my stash and go through them quickly since I use them on both kids.

That's it for now. Till the next time wishing you all a happy crunchy green healthy day!  :-)

PS: I almost forgot to add that when using snappis, they grab the Sweet Pea cotton prefold pretty easily. With the Hemp Babies prefold I have to work at it a bit more for it to hold since it is a thicker weave.