Tag Archives: human rights

Put Those Grounds To Good Use!

Has your relationship with coffee changed since becoming a mother? Mine sure has. I grew up in Seattle, and inevitably have had a lifelong love affair with Starbucks. I couldn’t imagine anything more refreshing on a warm summer afternoon then an Iced Vanilla Latte. Nothing warmed me up better during rainy fall afternoons than a Pumpkin Spice Latte. After I got married and the reality of paying bills set in, paying $3-$5 for a cup of coffee was no longer a reality. I soon began brewing my own Starbucks coffee at home. The love affair continued. Then, I got pregnant, … Continue reading →

Celebrating Human Rights, Preschool-Style

My pregnancy announcement to a group of my friends was a little obscure. For many years, I’ve been involved in human rights work, and about five years ago I stood up at a group of friends and announced that we’d have a new member joining our group the next June. They were a tad baffled, but since 2005 my daughter has been involved in celebrating and working for human rights. She’s drawn many pictures for people around the world, and the occasional letter of the alphabet as well. Many people think that human rights work. It isn’t, really. Whatever your … Continue reading →

Clever Reuse Ideas

Reusing what you already have around the house can go a long way to saving your money and your resources. if you can reuse just five thing a month into something wanted or needed, well then you can save quite a bit of money. Reusing items can come in all shapes and forms. The practice just requires a little bit of creativity or the sharing of an interesting idea. Here are some clever ideas that I have come across for reusing common items. Parents Magazine featured a reader tip with a very interesting idea. Kim Neu of Philadelphia, Pa, not … Continue reading →

The New “R” in Green Living

You may have heard about the three “Rs” in green living. These are easy to remember guides to practicing responsible consuming. These three points are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Reduce means to consume less and produce less waste. Reuse means to get the most out of something, rather than discarding it and replacing it with something new. Recycle means you either repurpose something old that you don’t need into something new that you do need, or to recycle that product so it can be made into something new by someone else. There is a new “R” to add to our … Continue reading →

How to Reuse Ribbon Scraps

Ribbons are so useful aren’t they? We usually use ribbons for an obvious reason, to tie up packages. Sometimes we even use them in crafts. But ribbon ends can quickly add up, and you may find yourself left with dozens of little pieces that can’t be used for anything els, or can they? If you just can’t bring yourself to toss your bits of ribbon, try using them in one of the following ways. Ribbon can be used to hang a picture for a designer look. You may not actually want to use the ribbon to hang it, because it … Continue reading →

Your Reuse Ideas Could Earn $100

Reusing is a great way to be frugal and green at the same time. Here in the Frugal Living Blog and the Reuse Category in this blog, we have found many ways to reuse all sorts of things from tennis balls to sawdust. But now, one magazine is asking for your ideas, and they are willing to pay $100 for them. Frugal people are so clever at reusing things. I think of one friend of mine who creates amazing furniture out of discards, using them in unique ways. Almost anything can be reused, even things we might normally think of … Continue reading →

New Uses for Chalk

Reusing items is more frugal than just recycling them or throwing them away. Many times, we can find new uses for inexpensive things that we already have, making an expensive trip to the store unnecessary. Chalk is pretty inexpensive, and if you have kids then chances are that you have chalk, since it is a popular and cheap toy that spurs on the creativity. Even if you don’t have kids, consider picking up some chalk, which may be on sale at the end of summer, and using it for one of the following tasks. You can use chalk with some … Continue reading →

6 Ways to Reuse Cereal Box Liners

Do you think that some things could never be reused? There are so many uses for the ordinary stuff that comes in and out of our lives. One good example is that cereal box liner. Cereal box liners are the waxed bags that hold the cereal and keep it fresh in the box. In an earlier blog about reusing the cereal boxes themselves, I touched on how useful these liners can be. Now, I’ll share six ideas for reusing them. Why throw something away if it could save money? Which idea is your favorite? Do you have an idea that … Continue reading →

What to Do with Vending Machine Bubbles

You know that you are really frugal when you can look at anything at all and find a way to reuse it. one such items that came up recently for me is the plastic vending machine bubble. These are the little plastic cases that hold rings, tattoos, erasers, cheap jewelry, bouncy balls and other little toys that can be had from a vending machine. Now, what am I doing talking about buying little overpriced things that cost 50 cents or more these days? Well, I am not actually talking about purchasing these bubble-filled toys, but actually just reusing the bubbles. … Continue reading →

What to Do with Old Windows

Reusing what you have is usually a sure bet to save money. Some things have obvious reuses, such as paper bags from the grocery store, while others may be a bit obscure, such as what to do with a bunch of leftover allen wrenches. One item that keeps coming up in reuse questions is the old window. This may be the year that we replace our old drafty single pane windows with insulating double pane ones. Just throwing the windows away could cost us two times. The first is the cost to dispose of the windows, either through the window … Continue reading →