Some Green Ideas
Today is Earth Day and I like to recognize it by taking another look at how I can lessen my footprint while I’m here. Living green also save us money. I thought I would just list a few green things that I do with my computer that also save time and money:
- Online banking – it’s free at many banks, you save on postage and envelopes, you can pay your bills anywhere that you can access a computer, payments don’t get lost in the mail, you can save time by setting up payments that are recurring to be automatic and set up future dates, its easy to have automatic transfers from your checking account into your savings.
- Sign up for credit card and bank statements to come to your e-mail inbox, rather than your mailbox. This saves paper coming through the mail, neighbors don’t know your personal business (unless you choose to tell them), it helps lessen the chance for identity theft because others don’t receive your account information.
- Sign up to get sales ads in your e-mail inbox rather than in the mail. Stores will also send coupons this way, and you can print out only the ones you will use.
- When making a major purchase, do your research online before going out to shop. You can find product reviews, pricing, and details about the product. You can do comparisons of different brands and options, depending upon what you are shopping for, before actually going out to buy. This can save you hundreds of dollars on major appliances, you can even research the availability of service for the product.
- Download books, patterns, recipes, newspapers, and tax forms on your computer and save them. You can access them when you need them so you aren’t using storage space, or using paper and ink for printing unless you need them. I know that I will gather a lot of recipes that I may not use, and they’re in the cupboard taking up space. It’s been pretty convenient for me to locate a recipe in a file I keep on my computer and its easy to search to find what I am looking for.
These are just a few of hundreds of things you can use your computer for to lessen the amount of paper use and storage space for that paper.
Take a bag with you to the store today, and have a wonderful Earth Day!
Apple Cake
I received a recipe from a friend at work to make this fabulous apple cake! So I made it for Easter Brunch.
The recipe is quick and easy, and it is very moist too. Here is the recipe:
2c. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp, cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. oil
3 lg. eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. chopped apple (granny smith works great. Don’t peel, and chop very small)
1 c. chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 350°.
Beat sugar and eggs. Add the oil and vanilla and mix until well blended. Mix together the dry ingredients and add to the sugar, egg, oil and vanilla mixture.
Add dry ingredients
Mix in the apples and walnuts last. The batter will be thick.
Fold in apples & walnuts
Pour into a bundt cake pan that has been greased (do not flour). Bake 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Pour batter into pan
Cool in the pan then invert onto a plate. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired, or heat slightly and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
On the cake plate
I store my on a covered cake plate to keep it fresh and moist. It will last several days this way (unless everyone eats it first!) Enjoy!
Easter Bunny Tutorial
Just a note, I don’t know if you know that I post things that I make over at my sewing blog, The Stitchin Chicken? Well, if you are looking for a quick Easter craft to do with the kids, or just to make your holiday get together more festive, I have a No Sew Easter Bunny tutorial posted there. Just click here to see it. It is quick and easy to make, and it is so cute! (I know, a plug for me!)
No Sew Bunnies
I will be adding more tutorials over there as I go along. I may add the links in my sidebar here, so they are easy to access, if you’re interested.
Thanks for stopping by!
Who Moved My Cheese?
Well, we had a meeting at work last week about the company’s financial condition. These days most of us are not too thrilled when we hear about these meetings, especially with the economy the way it has been and so many companies laying off. But our company is doing fine, no worry about layoffs here.
After our meeting, we were handed a book. “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, M.D. Many of you may have heard of the book. It’s not very large, only 94 pages. But the message is large. And I think (this is my opinion) that it works well in the present state of the economy.
The story is very simple, there are two mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry” and two little people named “Hem” and “Haw”. Basically the book is about the four facets of the personalities that we all have. The “cheese” is a metaphor for what we want to have in life..whether it is a good job, good relationships, money, health, any number of things. The “maze” is where you are going to look for those things (the cheese) whether it is work, home, community etc.
Then there is the “handwriting on the wall” that you can discover for yourself to help you deal with change. This little book can help you realize what you need to do to cope with change. A pretty powerful message told in a cute and easy to read story.
Frugal Hacks
I Pledge to Buy Handmade
The Stitchin Chicken Etsy Shop- Large Floral Pink and Blue Fabric Bucket-Basket
- Spring Fabric Panel from Moda Fabrics
- Rustic Tea Dyed Flag Fabric
- Striped Ticking Shoulder Bag
- On the Go Handbag w/Shell-like Handles
- Pillow Cover - Blue, Turquoise and Brown Square
- Rustic Girl with her Cat Embroidered Picture
- Pillow from Burlap Coffee Sack and Ticking
- Large Pastel Pink and White Fabric Bucket
- Red Dotted Needle Keeper
Frugal Plus!
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