More reusing!

So, I posted about how I make lemonade for my husband from jugs of it I get at Costco. But, all those jugs are collecting in my cupboard, so I've tried to find ways to reuse them.

So, I cut the top of one and used it to sprout some pepper plants. It was almost impossible to poke holes in the bottom for drainage though so it wouldn't work for a real planter.

Also, I switched to an eco friendly dishwasher soap. The only problem is that the soap tended to solidify. So, after crumbling it back apart I poured it into an old lemon juice container. This keeps the moisture out and makes it much easier to pour.

So, now I just need to find more uses for the rest of them! Suggestions are welcome! :)

The best carrot muffins ever!

Carrot Muffins

2 apples, peeled and grated
2-3 peeled and grated carrots (about two cups)
2 cups flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 cup toasted wheat germ
1/8 cup ground flax seed
3 large eggs
¾ cup oil (You can replace some of this with applesauce but the muffins won't be as tender)
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, along with the carrot and apple. Stir until ingredients are just moistened. Do not over mix. Divide batter into greased or papered muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. After 10 minutes, remove from muffin tins. Cool completely before frosting.

More reusable bags

The other day, I ran to the grocery store with my resuable bag stuffed in my purses. I needed a few things for dinner- all of them from the produce department. So, I grabbed some green onions, cabbage, sweet onions and bell peppers. But, what was I going to put them in? I had no choice, just the plastic produce bags were there. I didn't put the onions in the plastic, but felt like the cabbage should go in one since it was so tender and I didn't want any dirt from the cart or bag getting on it. So, I ended up taking about three plastic bags home from the store, even though I had my reusable ones!


I had seen some reusable produce bags made out of mesh material with a drawstring online. I knew I could easily make them myself but I would just need to get material. But I would have to buy new material. I would rather reuse than buy new, so I slept on it. And, seriously, as weird as it sounds, in the middle of the night, I thought of some old mesh material that I had.


Two years ago, just before my wedding, I was shopping for veils. And I could not bring myself to pay hundreds of dollars for a piece of netting and a barrette. So, I made my own. I bought a yard of tulle and sewed it onto a barrette I already had. It was perfect and no one could tell I had only spent $2 on it!


Well, that veil has been hanging in my closet with my wedding dress. So, I fished it out, ripped out the stitches holding it onto the barrette (this also means I get that old barrette back) and cut it up!

Here are the finished projects. I used up some neon green thread I bought for a different project and some leftover bright orange cotton yarn from another project. The neon colors really catch the eye, don't they? I think that yard or so of material gave me four large bags and three skinnier, taller ones (the one the celery is in.)

Let's talk about reusing...

Reusable bags were something I put off for awhile. When I did finally get some, I loved them! I just bought the 99 cent ones at Safeway and they worked fine for awhile.

Then, this happened to one of them:

I wasn't very happy about it! But the bags are pretty thin and probably won't stand up for much longer.

So, I made one of my own from some heavy duty fabric I found at Goodwill.

It's a little bigger than the Safeway ones and the straps are thicker. I like it, I just need to get some more material to make more. It works way better than the other bags! I'm pretty proud of it since I made it without a pattern!