Green Cupboards

It seems I have been slacking on my hunting down green businesses. I have been a bad beagle! I didn’t want to continue to disappoint so I have found GreenCupboards.com. I have written a few articles on items I have found at their store. GreenCupboards.com offers a wide variety of items such as toys, grocery items, outdoor, office and even electronics. I know many green retailers may sell green products but their values are lacking. GreenCupboards.comgoes out of their way to assure their customers that they are as legitimate as their products.

About GreenCupboards.com: Green Cupboards is a leading online retailer of eco-friendly products for homes and businesses. Based in Spokane, Washington, the company was the winner of a regional university business plan competition and was subsequently co-founded in 2008 by Gonzaga University graduates Josh Neblett, Sarah Wollnick and their Adjunct Professor, Tom Simpson.
Struck by the lack of one-stop shopping alternatives for eco-friendly merchandise, the co-founders set out to create a customer-centric brand and streamline the way people buy green. Greencupboards targets consumers who strive to do the right things to sustain the planet, yet are challenged to find a broad selection of eco-friendly products that work and cost about the same as a their non-green counterparts.
GreenCupboards offers the vastest array of thoroughly vetted eco-friendly products of any e-retailer in our market. We currently provide approximately 15,000 unique items from over 600 suppliers. Critical to our mission, we endeavor to provide an easy, fun and educational shopping experience, over-the-top customer service and competitive prices. To date, we have satisfied the purchasing needs of over 100,000 consumers.
GreenCupboards employs over 50 youthful, zany and eco-friendly minds. Our culture is as dynamic as the shopping experience we deliver.

Lotus Teen Batik Skirt

I am swooning over the patterns of this skirt! Very much my style. Lotus Jayne never disappoints! The Batik Skirt can be worn almost all year round with either leggings or tights! It’s great!  The skirt is Fair Trade made and sewn in a workshop run by women! Another plus that can’t be ignored is it is only $20!! You can be styling and conscious at the same time.  Supporting women’s businesses globally is so important.  We need to keep this type of Fair Trade practice thriving. Companies like Lotus Jayne are extremely important to our green economy. Every purchase we make isn’t only an economic decision but a social one as well which most people refuse to think about. I understand the importance of looking good but it is of greater importance to support businesses that support our global good like Lotus Jayne.

Product Description: The Batik Skirt is Jayne’s original design, sewn in medium-weight cotton, a fabric with lots of body that won’t go limp after one washing. The cloth was made in small Indonesian Batik workshops and is authentic.

This skirt is free-sized with an elastic waistband which can be worn on waist or hips and can accommodate many body types, so please check measurements before ordering.

All fair trade, sewn in a workshop run by women with HIV/AIDS
Elastic 1 3/4″ wide waistband fits 21 to 30 inch waist
Skirt is 17 3/4 inches long from top of waistband
Bottom of skirt measures 40″ around
100% cotton. Wash in cold water, dry on medium to light cycle
fair trade

Organic Homemade Coleslaw

I love coleslaw in the summer! It is a crisp, refreshing and delish salad that goes well with a large variety of summer meals. Keeping coleslaw around is a good idea as long as you are not using an over abundance of mayo. I found this simple & quick recipe that I really want to try, it sounds mucho delish!

Ingredients:

5 cups shredded organic cabbage
1 1/2 cups dried organic cranberries
1/2 cup organic celery, diced
1/4 cup chopped organic green onions, white and green parts
1/2 cups chopped organic green bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded organic red cabbage

Dressing:
1/4 cup organic mayo
1 tablespoon sweet organic pickle relish
1 tablespoon organic honey mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine cabbages, cranberries, celery, green onions, and green pepper in a large plastic bowl with a snap-on lid.
Combine all dressing ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Pour dressing over slaw just before serving. Stir well.

Eco Nuts

Since I have a zoo living in my house (bf included) laundry builds up fast and although we try to stick to doing our laundry once a week to save water sometimes that just isn’t possible. I am a huge proponent of using biodegradable, organic and chemical free detergents and softeners. I don’t like detergents that smell too much. They never smell natural and I feel like if a detergent needs that much fragrance it is doing so because the laundry probably isn’t as clean as it should be. I’d rather have a fresh clean smell then some made up smell that doesn’t even exist in nature. What really gets my goat is some of these eco-detergents cost an arm and a leg. I never really understand that if the product is supposed to be natural have no harmful chemicals and whatever other attributes the product boasts why should it costs more than the harmful crap detergents. I always hear the excuse well to process it right or package it appropriately it is more costly. I really think that is a load of rubbish personally. Either way on my hunt for eco-awesome laundry solutions I stumbled upon EcoNuts. If you don’t know what a soap nut is click here, I didn’t know either but I will say they are quite an interesting little nut!
EcoNuts have hit my personal trifecta of green awesomeness 1. They package responsibly and don’t try to trick the consumer. 2. EcoNuts are found in nature and are a reasonable alternative to using harmful products without having to be manipulated to become a suitable green product. 3. The price is right! EcoNuts do not over charge their merchandise and because their packaging is so responsible they can’t even use it as an excuse for the high prices.  If you haven’t tried them yet you should!! If you have let me know how you liked Pure Citizen” target=”_blank”>EcoNuts!!

I never like to get rid of glass bottles and jars at home because I know they could be used for something else. Last night I was going through and organizing all of my crafting supplies and thought why not decorate some of them for funzies. I have been looking to do more crafting and send some gifts out anyway so this is a great way to reuse things I have around the house. This is also an excellent way to make a dent in my glass collection sitting in my basement. I used some ribbon, buttons, paper flowers and hot glue to attach everything and I think it looks pretty cute! If you don’t have a craft collection at home or don’t stock pile odds and ends like i do you want to decorate your own below are some links to where I got some of the stuff you see on my bottle:

Old broken or unused jewelry and hair accessories
Rags that are clean
Wrapping Paper or paper you have at home
Paper Flower Assortment
Buttons
Old Pins and Brooches
Bottle Caps
Ribbon
Glitter
Die cuts

The possibilities are endless! This is a great party craft for kids or scouting. You can even go natural and get leaves, twigs rocks, sea shells, sand anything! The Shabby Chic bottles make for great gifts or even something new to spruce up your house!

Owl Kitchen Art

As usual Pinterest has blown my mind! In my quest to find crafts for items that would otherwise be recycled or thrown out I found these crafts that use jar lids, pot tops,strainers, forks, spoons, bottle caps, whatever!! I am in love with this! The Kitchen Owl makes for a great housewarming gift or rainy day craft for students. The Kitchen Owl is the perfect way to really implement the ideas of Reduce, Recycle, & Reuse.  Think of all of the things that would have otherwise been thrown out. Talk about another man’s trash is another mans treasure!  This just goes to show that you really can reuse almost anything if you put your mind to it creatively. 
I found this at the perfect time because while reorganizing my kitchen I put aside a bunch of kitchen items that really aren’t so usable anymore and should be recycled or things we had a bunch of that we didn’t need. I cannot wait to break open that box and get started on all the fun animals that can be made. You can probably do bunnies, kittens even dogs. Get creative you can add other things to the kitchen craft they don’t have to all be metal. Use glitter or paint and make them colorful. Add stickers or jewels to them.

Preserve Toothbrush

This is basically the awesomest thing I have seen in a really long time. This toothbrush was made from recycled yogurt cups, they come in multiple colors and sizes. Stonyfield has partnered with Preserve to take their plastic scraps and plastic products to make the razors, tongue cleaners and toothbrushes. Preserve Jr. donates a portion of their proceeds to the National Wildlife Federation. Preserve does all recycling and manufacturing in the USA. The package that the tooth brush comes in is a no postage necessary mailable package to send back your toothbrush when you are done. The colors of the toothbrushes I bought are super cute too. My toothbrush is bright pink and the bf’s is a super cute blue. The brushes feel just like any you would buy in the store. I’m not sure why but I thought the brushes might feel different but they don’t which makes them even cooler.
I went to www.preserveproducts.com to see what else they have to offer and I am excited! They make razors, kitchen supplies, table ware and even to go products. The website is neat and clean and most of all colorful! I am soo in love right now. Preserves tableware is dishwasher safe which I think for moderate greenies/families is a definite plus.
You can also sign up for Gimme5 and Recyclebank on the Preserve website where you an earn rewards for recycling! If that isn’t incentive for doing the right thing I don’t know what is. There are all kinds of ways to earn points on both sites. I am extremely excited I found these sites and cannot wait to start earning points. The fun part is I already use most of the products that earn you points as well as have been recycling them! If only I knew about this sooner. Are you a member of Gimme5 or Recyclebank? If not you can log on with your Facebook account and show other people what you are doing.

Don't Throw Away Your Old CD's

I have been cleaning out my house alot lately trying to organize and possibly upcycle things in my house I never use anymore. The other day I found a huge binder full of old CD’s I haven’t used in forever since I put all the music on my iPod. I didn’t want to throw them away as I had literally hundreds but I wasn’t sure how to make the best use of them. No one wanted them of course so I had to figure out something awesome to do with them. You see upcycled CD’s online and in stores often so I figured why can’ t I do the same. Here are some things I found online that I thought were cute.

1. The obvious use them as coasters. Glue either felt or some other cute fabric to it and you have automatic free coasters for your home. They make a super cute house warming gift and you can even decorate them if you want to add some personal flare.

2. Party decoration. Make flashy garland out of them for an event or even as permanent decor for your home. If you or maybe your child is a music lover why not string together some of their fave CD’s together and hang them from the ceiling or around the room as a border.

3. Make it art! Have unused frames at home? Take some CDs that are special to you and decorate them and hang them on the wall. This is also a perfect gift to give to someone that appreciates music and maybe a certain CD is special to them.

4. Use it as a party craft. Have no idea how to entertain a bunch of kids at a party. Hand out old CD’s and tell them to decorate them as they wish. Find cheap frames and some backing and let them make their own fun. Even go with the above and make their own coaster.

5. Bird Deterrent. Do you have birds that are always running into your glass doors or windows? Help them avoid hurting them selves by hanging a few on you doors and window so they can avoid flying head first into your house.

6. Are you a painter? Use them as pallets to mix your paint. There is already a hole in the middle for holding. You can keep clean them off easily and reuse them or keep them for mixing the same colors.

Do you have any fun uses for old CD’s? Let me know and I will post them on the Beagle!

Baked Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips

Kale is actually one of my fave leafy greens. I am not sure why but I think it has to do with the fact that I can throw a bunch into a boiling pot of water and then just snack away. It goes well with other veggie mixtures and stirfrys. I don’t think it has any particular taste but either way I am down with it. In an effort to creatively snack I decided to attempt some homemade kale chips since they are all the rage. They came out super delish I must say!

Ingredients:
1 bunch organic kale
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp seasoned sea salt
1 tbs organic white balsamic vinegar
1 plastic freezer bag

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces.
3. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner or paper towel. 4. Put kale pieces in a large Ziploc bag and add half of the oil first. Massage the kale gently to make sure the leaves are covered then add the rest of the oil.
5. Add the vinegar and sea salt. Massage the leaves gently until they are covered with the mixture.
6.Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 15 to 25 minutes or until desired crispiness.

Valentine's Day Pencil Toppers

These Valentine’s Day Pencil Toppers are a quick and cute way to show someone you care about them! The pencil toppers go great with a cute card or little sweet treat. This craft is great for kids you have large classes or Valentine’s parties to go to! This way no one is left out and everyone gets to feel a little special.

Materials:
Scissors
Craft foam
Permanent markers
Pipe cleaner
Pencils

Instructions:

1.Cut a 1- to 2-inch heart from craft foam. With a permanent marker, print a short message on the front and the name of the giver on back.

2.Poke an inch of the pipe cleaner through the bottom of the heart, bend it down, and twist it back around the remaining length of pipe cleaner.

3.Coil the pipe cleaner tightly around the pencil. Then gently pull up on the heart so that part of the coil bobs freely above the pencil, with several loops anchored around the eraser end.

4. Add any of your own decorations you want. If you have glitter, stickers, buttons, left over material use it! Go crazy and make these pencil toppers original! You can do whatever you want to them!