I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends...

My great friend Marlayna gave me some green living tips from her personal collection. Funny, because we do some of the same things! Read on greenies...

"So i save all of my plastic baggies. the ziploc kind. they are not only expensive, but plastic (of course) and therefore not good. i know they are extremely handy to people and many wont think of finding another alternative so in order to cut back on the expense of buying and throwing away i just suggest people rinse and reuse! i put a drop of soap in them with a little water, seal the top, squish it around and all the gunk comes off! rinse, and dry with a towel, hang dry or air dry on the counter"
~This is something I do as well! Here is the cute, easy to store drying rack I use.

"I save my old glass jars from peanut butter or large apple sauce jars. rinse them, air dry and put grains and beans and sugar and the like in them to store in the pantry out of the plastic bags they come in... "
~Always a great idea! Olive oil or an eco-friendly surface cleaner is a great way to remove the label residue. And here are some sites with other great glass jar ideas: eHow.com & AssociatedContent.com

"I buy local fruits and freeze them in the summer or dehydrate them to preservve them through the winter to keep costs down and enjoy yummy organic local foods year round instead of purchasing from foreign countries out of season"
~I'm in! Here are some freezing and dehydrating methods for all of you newbies.

"When i have old papers that i've printed on one side but im through using (perhaps printed school notes, or emails, etc) i cut them into fours and then put into a drawer with a pen for extra scrap paper for quick reminder notes and such!"
~Another great and easy idea! Who doesn't have extra paper lying around that could be reused?

"I cut down completely on paper towel simply by using old shirts cut into squares and old towels cut up for cleaning rags and spill rags."
~My house is full of these little rags too! Old sweatshirt material makes great dusting rags!

Enjoy the tips!
GB