What to do when your child needs a time out...

and sitting in a corner is a pain? Create a calming jar!


Piggy backing off of my last post with babies, I came across this idea and thought it was GENIUS! I'm definitely going to do this when I start a family!

It's called a CALMING JAR. Here's how it works.


A calming jar is a glass jar filled with water, food coloring, and glitter. When your child acts up and earns him/herself a time-out, they shake up the jar and sit in their designated time-out place until all of the glitter settles back at the bottom of the jar, and they both “calm down.”

How to assemble:

• Find a large glass jar. I would recommend using at least a 15 oz jar (we used a recycled spaghetti sauce jar).
• Fill the jar ¾ full of water.
• Add a few drops of food coloring. I would suggest allowing your child to pick the color.
• Pour in a small packet of glitter. Be sure to use only very fine glitter (almost powder-like) as most large-piece heavy glitters will only take a few seconds to settle to the bottom (I made this mistake with my first jar–my daughter really lucked out that day!)
• Fill the remainder of the jar with water so that there is only about an inch of empty space on the top of the jar, and shake until the color and glitter blend.
• After the glitter has settled, put the jar on a flat surface and use as needed!

Please let me know how it's worked out for you!

This has been a guest post by Hillary from Lansing, MI, a contributor to The Krazy Coupon Lady Blog

Being Green and Baby in the same sentence!

I've noticed a lot of people around me getting pregnant or have a new addition to their family. For me, the initial thought is always the money. All the diapers a baby goes through in a single day, the baby formula and the clothes they'll constantly grow out of. I'm enjoying that fact that I can still fit into clothes from years ago, but for a baby, they have sizes in the months! So, how do soon to be parents respond to the realities of bringing home a newborn?

I don't have all the answers, but I came across something that can help! Personally, I was so very excited to see this and it's definitely something to share! It's Netflix for baby clothes! The company is called Good Karma and with a monthly membership you get a box of clean clothes that fit your baby and once your baby outgrows them, you can ship it back for another box. I think this is a fabulous idea and I can't wait to have a little one to do this with!

An excerpt from Earth911's newsletter.


Raising a baby is hectic, so it’s no wonder disposable bibs, diapers and bottles are in high demand. They’re easy and always clean, but they aren’t always “green.” As those little limbs grow, in a way, clothing becomes disposable too, finally finding its way to the trash or donate pile after a short few months.

Thrift shopping is an economic and environmentally friendly option, but new moms and dads don’t always have the time to go out and bargain hunt. That’s where Good Karma comes in. The service is like Netflix for baby apparel: Instead of films, Good Karma trades baby clothes as your little one grows out of their old numbers.

With a subscription, seven outfits arrive to your home washed and ready to wear. As your baby outgrows the outfits, they can be sent back in a pre-paid shipping bag for the next size up. Good Karma keeps outfits in stock for babies up to 24 months.

Subscriptions to the service start at $27.99 a month for “basic” bundles. Higher quality, brand name bundles are available for $44.99 a month. The service also works as an exchange. If you have gently used baby clothes to sell back to the service, you can ship them along with your bundle. They don’t guarantee they’ll buy the clothes, but they’ll credit you for which outfits they do.

Thinking outside of the box for everyday items!

I was very impresses with this little list that I got from Recyclebank. it gave me ideas of how to use everyday household items for other purposes. It's a great way to be green and save some green. I hope you enjoy the information as much as I do! I can't wait to try it! :)

1 Tablespoon Of Vodka
Use on a soft cloth to clean and sterilize your eyeglasses. Apply to a bandage and let sit for a few minutes to remove the adhesive glue and the bandage will come off painlessly. Mix with a teaspoon of sugar and a cup of water to keep flowers looking fresh.

5 Aspirin Tablets
Crush and mix with a teaspoon or two of water and use to relieve the itch of a mosquito bite. Add a few teaspoons of plain yogurt to the mixture and you can use it as a mask to treat acne.

1 Lemon Wedge
Not only does it add flavor to your iced tea or water, but rub that wedge over your teeth and tongue after your meal to freshen your breath. Juice that lemon wedge into a container, add an equal amount of water and rinse your hair to stop dandruff. Grind a lemon wedge in your kitchen garbage disposal to eliminate orders.

A Small Ball Of Aluminum Foil
Hang it outside to scare birds away from your garden. Toss it into the dryer to eliminate static cling (no more dryer sheets, ever!). Cut it up with your scissors and it will sharpen them as good as any professional knife sharpener.

1 Tablespoon Of Olive Oil
Massage into wet hair and rinse with warm water to condition your dry mane. Rub into dry cuticles to soften, or use as a shaving lotion. Also use to fix a squeaky door or lubricate a bike chain.

1 Old Used Dryer Sheet
Will dust a mini-blind or remove static cling from winter clothes. Tuck it in a dresser drawer to freshen things up a bit.

5 Plastic Grocery Bags
Use them to pick up after your dog. Use them to cover your plants during harsh weather or to wrap fragile items when shipping.

Quick tip to bring the life back to your romaine hearts!

I love to buy romaine hearts to make salad with. However, when I don't eat them soon, I notice that my romaine is wilting and it doesn't look appetizing at all. It's almost as if I should throw them away. I end up feeling like I've wasted food and money.

But at last, there's a quick trick to bring life back to your salad. Just pick off the amount of leaves that you want, put it in a bowl filled with water. You want the bottom of the stem to be soaked in water. After a couple of hours, you'll see that your romaine turned younger and it looks like you just brought it home from the store. What was really going on was that the leaves were thirsty and you're just re-hydrating them. Now you can eat all of your romaine and save you money!

How to pick a pineapple?

As pineapple season is coming our way, I've found myself confused on how to pick a good, juicy and sweet pineapple at the grocery store. Thank goodness for technology because I just looked it up on my phone. Little did I know, I was way off with my initial choice. But I've found out the tips that work and I hope it brings a successful pineapple home with you the next time you shop.

To sum it up, you want to make sure the color is an overall yellow, more than green.

Keep in mind that pineapple will not ripen with time like a banana. It stops ripening once it's been picked.

Next, you want to squeeze the pineapple to make sure it's not mushy. If it's mushy it's too ripe.

Then, smell the butt of the pineapple to see if you can smell a sweet scent. That gives you and idea of how sweet it's going to be. If you don't smell anything, chances are, it's not going to be sweet. I've also noticed that it's hard to pick up a scent if it's been refrigerated, so you may have to really try and smell it.

Lastly, try to pick off one of the leaves. If it's easy to pick off, it's good to go!

Now that you've been equipped with the right tips, I hope your next pineapple journey is a successful one!

Have unwanted shoes laying around?

Instead of giving them away, you can give them a second life. Through Recyclebank via ShoeBox Recycling, you're able to ship your shoes off to someone in need! I'm always looking for a way to clear out unwanted things and what better way than to help someone else!

Click here to join Recyclebank.

And click here for more information about the program!

Show me the Green!

Through my various explorations of how to be more green I was able to stumble on this great site: greenergadgets.org showing me how and where to recycle and possibly make money on it! If I hand found this sooner, printer and other various electronics might have brought some green home. It's been late than never and  I'm sharing it with you so you don't miss out! 

1. Find out if your device has value, either cash or to someone who needs it.
   • Kodak offers a mail-in cash program for old digital cameras and printers.
   • Best Buy’s cash mail-in or in store trade-in program.
   • Amazon.com offers gift cards through its electronics trade-in program.
   • Gazelle.com has paid out $25 million for consumer electronics.
   • Hewlett-Packard in partnership with Staples provides free.electronics recycling for all brands of office electronics (excludes TVs) at Staples stores across the US . HP also offers customers a choice of cash, donation to charity, or HP gift card for most computer equipment—visit the website to get a quote.
   • NextWorth offers great values for your used devices.
   • Recyclebank offers a points system for recycling, which you can then use for discounts and merchandise. The site boasts more than 2 million users.
   • Staples offers cash for printer cartridges and in partnership with HP provides free.electronics recycling for all brands of office electronics (excludes TVs) at Staples stores across the US..
   • Close the Gap makes reused and refurbished computers available to underprivileged individuals in Africa and other developing countries.
   • Digital Links has distributed over 50,000 reused computers to the developing world and provided access to technology for over 125,000 individuals.
   • Panasonic offers a plan for recycling of Toughbook® mobile computers that have reached the end of their life-cycle. The process works the same for all customers and is free of charge.
2. Recycle It!

You can find more ways to be green at Recyclebank and at Greenergadgets.org.

The Source of Procrastination

Procrastination is a very common concept. It's the explanation we use when we leave things to the last minute and do a half ass job on them. We are then left  with the horrible feeling like we did a really bad job, we could have done better and we're in a space of shoulda, coulda, woulda.

But what's really at the core of procrastination? It's the unwillingness to make a choice. We're presented with choices everyday - what to get at Starbucks, to run the yellow or to pick up the phone call from your mother in law. In those moments, we don't hesitate. If you do, you'll have a line of people annoyed at you, you get a ticket or your mother in law is nagging at you at the next family dinner.

Yet, when we're faced with more pressing issues, the issues that really determine our bottom line, we're able to avoid the issue and put it on the bottom of our to do list. That my friend, is pure procrastination. What would happen if you just dealt with the issue head on, made a choice and followed up with the necessary actions determined by your choice? Your inbox would be empty, you would be productive and the feeling of accomplishment would actually consume you. Your hump-day would no longer be a hump; it would be a highlight.

It is very easy to give into the the idea "I can do that later" but we forget how many tasks we say that to and the list piles on. Tackling the issue the moment it is brought up is a win-win situation. So, what is it about making a choice? For me, sometimes it's not knowing what the right choice is or not having all of the information and even not willing to put in the amount of time that is required to render a choice. With all of those objections, how would I succeed with my bottom line? I wouldn't. It's plain and simple. Then the next time I'm confronted with the idea of "I can do that later", I'll either do it at that moment or schedule when later is. Because we all know, "someday" isn't in any of the seven days.

To that note, I'd like to leave with a quick concept that I got from Fast Company. You can't be afraid to fail. You have to make choices and in making those choices you learn from them. That is how you grow, that is how you succeed and that is how you fulfill your business. Tackle a choice that you've been putting off today!

Putting up with the little things.

If you've seen me around, you would notice that I have a tablet with me. I was given the opportunity to play with this toy for two months and get paid for it. It was a pretty sweet deal. 

Once I received the tablet, I immediately found out things that didn't work for me. There were no arrow buttons to get my cursor where I wanted, the response to my finger wasn't as accurate or quick enough and the layout didn't follow my common sense. After a while, I noticed that I started to put up with it. I was taking the extra time to deal with the inefficiency of this time suck. 

Soon I realized that there were other things in my life that I was putting up with. Granted, these are minor things but they have been in the back of my head sucking up my time and energy for a while. For example, have you tried to go back back a year in your Google calendar from your phone or tablet and find that your schedule has disappeared? Or how about trying to find the freaking "print black only" button on your HP PSC 1200 printer?  Instead of being nagged each time I come across the issue, I finally decided to look it up. It took about 10 minutes on each issue, but I have the answer. I found out that the devices, my phone and tablet, don't sync up that far my on my calendar. In actuality, all of my events in the past are still stored safely online. HP PSC 1200 printer doesn't have a print black only function. Who knew that I had to ask that question before I bought the printer? (I do... now)

Through the practice of finding out the answers to my questions, I noticed that the pursuit to find the solution isn't as common as it was once before. The habit is to put up with it, to deal with it and to work around it. Even though it will have us waste time, energy and money. 

What's different now that I know the answers to my questions, is that the questions never come up anymore. I get to use my brain to answer a different question. I get to ask "What's next?" If you're always stuck on one question, you're unable to explore other questions that may lead you to expand your business, fulfill your dreams or even be happy for the day. What's the question that you're putting up with? What's the question you can answer right now?

When you're in the mood to clean, where does it all go?

It's Spring and along with that comes Spring Cleaning! I've been in the process of cleaning things out on a consistent basis. I've rummaged through my books from college that I thought I would use again and listed them online to see. I've donated our 20 year old set Encyclopedia to the local library for their annual book sale. And there's the hamper full of clothes waiting to be donated to good will. 


I would assume, that just like me, there are things that we haven't used and we would like to get rid of. However, the idea of just throwing it out seems preposterous! Giving it a second life sounds more appealing, but where do we do that! Upon educating myself on being a conscious consumer I've come across a list from earth911.com on where you can donate your stuff. I hope this list helps and keep it book marked for future reference. Because all of our material things deserve a second life.

Furniture

• Operation Homefront: Choose military families to benefit from your donation.
• National Furniture Bank Association: Your local Furniture Bank chapter will take your old furniture and donate it to families in need, particularly previously homeless people who are trying to get back on their feet financially.
• Vietnam Veterans of America: VVA sells furniture and other donated items to fund their programs for veterans.
• Donation Town: Donation Town operates a database of local charities that pick up unwanted furniture for free, taking all the hassle out of your donation.
• In your neighborhood: Use your unwanted furniture to directly benefit your community by donating it to a local homeless or battered women’s shelter.

Books

• Operation Paperback: Donate your books to troops overseas.
• Books for Africa: As its name implies, this Minnesota-based nonprofit works to build libraries in Africa and uses your donated books to stock them.
• Reading Tree: This national nonprofit distributes donated books to underfunded libraries and schools – both in the U.S. and overseas – and has drop-off locations all over the country.
• In your neighborhood: Help a neighbor with your old books by donating them to a local school, public library, community center or prison.

Electronics

• Verizon HopeLine: Through its HopeLine program, Verizon collects unwanted cell phones and distributes them to domestic violence victims so they can call for help in case of emergency.
• Computers with Causes: Computers with Causes accepts donated electronics and finds them new homes in underfunded schools.
• Recycling for Charities: Recycling for Charities offers a Web-based take-back program that accepts and recycles all forms of electronics and gives a value donation to your charity of choice.
• In your neighborhood: Make a difference with your old gadgets by donating them to a local school, after-school program or community center.

Clothes and shoes

• American Red Cross: Clothing you donate to the Red Cross benefits natural disaster victims around the world, from the Gulf Coast to Japan.
• Soles4Souls: Nashville-based Soles4Souls collects all types of shoes in any age range, from children’s to adult sizes, and distributes them to people in need in more than 127 countries.
• Career Gear and Dress for Success: Both groups provide your used business attire and toiletries to unemployed, low-income men and women for job interviews. Dress for Success accepts women’s clothing, while Career Gear serves men.
• In your neighborhood: Keep someone warm right in your own community by donating your used clothing to a local homeless shelter, church, community outreach program or thrift store.

Appliances

• St. Vincent de Paul: A worldwide Catholic charity that provides aid, disaster relief and programs for low-income and homeless people.
• American Council for the Blind: The ACB is the leading U.S. provider of services for the visually impaired, and they have thrift stores in almost every major city in the nation. Call (800) 866-3242 to schedule a pick-up.
• In your neighborhood: Many community outreach centers will accept your working but unwanted appliances to distribute to low-income families in your neighborhood.

Everything else

• Goodwill: Goodwill helps unemployed and under-employed people find full-time work. Additionally, the organization sells donations at affordable prices to help low-income families furnish their homes, all proceeds benefiting Goodwill charities.
• Salvation Army: Salvation Army uses donations to stock their homeless shelters and also sells them in their resale stores at low prices to benefit communities in need. They will also pick up your donations for you.
• Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity accepts everything except clothing and also provides pick-up services.
• In your neighborhood: Use Earth911′s recycling database to find local recycling and donation solutions for your spring cleaning leftovers, whether they’re usable or broken.