Project Genesis II




 SUZAN of Old Grey Mare, started this project, it happens the first day of every month.  You sign up to link ,exchange ideas and share recycling tips.  She has some amazing tips on her blog; You should check them out, not only green, but practical and will save you $ome green.  Thank you, Suzan!  It is a wonderful idea~


My Mom practiced reusing, recycling methods, before it was ever called Green.  She use to cut up old pantyhose and use the rings in her garden to support stalks n' vines.  I have seen Martha Stewart do this as well, but Mom was using this method, years before Martha appeared on TV.   I do think Mom and Martha do share a passion,  in using green living techniques and having a green thumb.


I use tea towels to wash n' wipe my produce. It saves a lot of paper towel, which saves you money and saves  a few trees. (Thanks Mom)~  Yes, I went to the Farmer's Market, yesterday...which Sherry Blue Sky reminds us helps.



After you shower at my house, the water runs back down the pipes and there is about 2cups of water that runs off.  I collect it and use it on my plants. It seems like such a small act, but it does save.  I also collect the water left in glasses...usually I have two quarts of water for my window boxes.  It all adds up...


After I make Iced tea, I save my tea bags.  They are great for cold compresses for your puffy eyes or the tannin acid can help heal canker sores. I have seen these tips for years, so I don't know where credit is due. I let them cool and toss them in a mini ziplock bag, throw them in the fridge. Green tea used on your face can tighten pores. Natural Health magazine deserves, credit for this tip.  You can also use tea bags, after making tea to dye silk flowers to give them a vintage look. You can pour your tea and add more hot water to the bags and reuse them for dye.


  My daughter has a lot of friends; it seems like I'm always wrapping a gift.   Sometimes we use old calendar pages, for wrapping paper.  I have done this for years;It is an unique look.   I add my tea dyed vintage looking flowers for a summery look.   I cut onion bags up into strips, then stretch  it; it makes a cool looking ribbon.   I am known as the onion bag lady.  I have used them to put gifts in and tied with ribbon for Christmas.  I will show you when that time comes.  My family on occasion will cut out produce bag hearts and mail them to me.  I love it;~(I started doing this years ago; but not sure who to give credit to Mom?)




You can go check out the tips and meet some new friends.  I think you might discover some money $aving tips and creative ways to reuse, recycle what you have. Help change your world...


I want to thank Sherry  for pointing me in this direction! Thanxs~   Also here is a link to my other post, with many inspiring, upcycled ideas.

Thank you so much SUZAN, for doing this. Your awareness and passion will make changes. I have read some amazing posts and can see a shift in the way I think, even more than before.   




Comments

unnamed lad said…
didn't know the fact about old tea bags. of course it wouldn't help in this house because tea is made the Asian way. loose tea leaves in boiling water. old coffee grounds are great for deoderizers though. but God help you if you spill'm in the pantry:)
Ella said…
Oh, Bud-You always make me smile! Loose tea could work if you collected the leaves and make them into a poultice. I suppose you could wrap the leaves in a dark wash cloth and chill for your eyes. I would knot or tie it up, so you wouldn't end up, with tea leaves all over your face. I know that would happen to me! lol
Coffee grounds...Yes, you are right! I threw coffee beans in a terra cotta plant bottom, broke the pot. I then added vanilla candles; The scent was wonderful... I like your idea! Yes, spilling them would be bad unless you wanted to restain your floor. Yikes~
oldgreymare said…
Oh Ellie, this is great! I'm so happy to have you here.

I love the Produce bag hearts idea. How sweet is that?

All you guys are so terrific with your ideas. I am a happy girl!

xxx

z
Lynette Killam said…
Great ideas, Ellie! I particularly like the onion bag tip..I keep those because they're so neat, but didn't think of making ribbon or wrap. I'm set for a recycled Christmas now! And I know the tea bags for puffy eyes work...as one who sits up late reading, I have put them to use on many blurry mornings!

Thanks for the great post...

Lynette
Imagination Lane
Lynette Killam said…
Hi again, Ellie.

I came back to share a funny tea story. When we emigrated from Northern Ireland, we would include tea bags in the parcels we sent home for Christmas...loose tea was all we'd ever known. We had a great laugh when my Gran finally wrote back to say, thank you very much, but it's an awful lot of trouble to open all those silly wee bags to get at the tea!

Isn't that cute..still makes me smile after fifty years...

Lynette
My mother-in-law recycles everything! Every item on the planet has a second or third use. If not, she'll save it until she finds one.
Ella said…
Alex-Your MIL and my Mom, must be related~ I went home last summer, I was amazed, how many glass jars, berry baskets,and old cards she has,etc. She is clever; I'll give her that, but she keeps way to much!

Lynette-Thanks so much for sharing your sweet story of your Gran; I love it! It is cute; I can see my Grammie struggle with something like that. Actually, I made her a fake cake once. I frosted sponges and she never forgot it. She tried n' tried to cut it. I told her, it isn't
the real cake. We had her fav, homemade hidden.
She finally laughed, but it took awhile...
Yes, I am known for my skills with produce bags...tee,hee. Thanks Lynette for stopping by~

SuZan-I'm happy;you're happy! It is a great projection to be part of! I really love the vibe. Thanks for doing this~
Anonymous said…
Hi Ellie,

Great ideas!!!

So many of my 'green' ideas are simply what my parents (now 85) have done all along. :)

Wishing you a lovely day,
Zuzu
Ella said…
Hi Zuzu-My Mom is 70; a lot of her ways are instilled in me. She was "green", before it was cool to be. I love your name~ Hope you have a lovely day, too!
Jules said…
I save jars for produce storage, they work better than plastic and cheaper than baggies. If you connect a hose to your AC condensate you can collect that water for plants.

I love being green :) Do you have any good idea's for plastic containers? I hate just putting them in the recycle bin.

I loved the info, thanks :)
Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Ella said…
Hi Jules-Great ideas, why don't you join the linky over at Grey Mare?! I have taken plastic containers and painted the inside of them...or you could use big stamps with paint or celery cut off in a clump...makes a neat rose stamp. Stamp the inside,let dry then paint over it...solid color. The Roses will pop; Now you have a container to put a gift in. I will try to find one and post it. It is unique, but works! I mailed one to my Mom, it was previously a candy container. She loved it...
Thank you for sharing your ideas~
Sherry Blue Sky said…
Great post, Ellie, and I love the tip about the green tea and the pores........will let you know if I see any improvement:) Lynette, LOVE the story of your Gran!!!!!!!
Hi Ellie!
Sorry to be so long in stopping by! My husband is a teacher and off for two months in the summer and time is just wooshing (spelling?!) by. Your banner is new, isn't it? Wonderful photo of your grandparents! Looking forward to catching up with you in a few weeks.
Happy week to you,
Sally
Julie@beingRUBY said…
HI Ellie
You know you are right.. most of the eco saving things we do.. we learned as children from our mums!!! Your onion bag ideas are fabulous. can't wait to see more.. so glad you joined in this month!! xxx Julie
Unknown said…
These are some really cool ideas. Love the water saving idea in the shower. Yes, it is a small thing to do. But it does make a huge difference in long term. The onion bag idea was just great. It looks lovely.
Wanda said…
Cool ideas Ellie. I like the onion bag ribbon.
Unknown said…
How pretty you made that package look. Great imagination!
lori vliegen said…
thanks for the great tips, ellie! i love your onion bag ribbon!!! xox, :))
Razmataz said…
Love the onion bag idea...and all of your others.

Thank you.

Chania
Dawn Ius said…
Ellie, there are some really amazing ideas here! Thank you so much for this post. Awesome.
Pixie said…
Oh I love this, so many great ideas. I've switched light bulbs and cleaning supplies, no longer use paper towels or bottled water but I still feel that I produce way too much garbage, even with all the recycling that I do: all paper, glass, metal and plastic that my area takes. I'm tryingn to waste less food and use ALL the food. I never realized what I waste cutting the tops off of carrots or celery. It's all edible! I've started saving some of the veggie scraps in my freezer to make veggie stock. We shall see how that goes.
Shellbelle said…
What great ideas! I've heard a few before, but the onion bag ribbon is brilliant! These are just the types of things that can make a HUGE difference if everyone would get on board.

Project Genesis is giving me some great ideas! I was too late to link up, but I hope you'll drop by and read today's post if you get a moment.
Hi Ellie! Great green ideas! Thanks for sharing! Love how you wrap your gifts. :)
Ella said…
Thanks everyone; I have been knee deep in a craft project purge! Thank you for all the sweet comments; I will stop by soon! Pixie and Shellbelle...YOU should really try to be part of
Project Genesis II, next month, Sept. 1st...
I bet all of you have ideas of things you do...please join in!!! ;-D
Yes, those are my grandparents, Winona n' Clifford. Pixie great tips... Be by soon~
Arlee Bird said…
When I was a kid--back in the early 60s--I used to wrap my Christmas presents with the Sunday newspaper comics sections. My family teased me about it, but even though I wasn't aware of it at the time, I was recycling.

Lee
Tossing It Out
Ella said…
Lee-I did this, too for birthdays! I also started using fabric and left over ribbons and yarn. Make do with what you have! You were ahead of your time~ ;-D