I don’t have a lemon tree in my yard, but I did have a bunch of oranges in my refrigerator. After enjoying the oranges, I looked at the peels and thought about that long ago conversation with my Grandmother. I can’t compost orange peels but I figured that they had to be useful. I put the orange peels in a container the freezer and did some research. Here are 10 ways I found that you can put those old orange peels to good reuse.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
10 Ways to Use Orange Peels
I remember standing in my Grandmother’s Florida kitchen and as we chatted, she was squeezing lemons. She said that a neighbor gave her a bunch of lemons from her lemon tree and since they were getting soft she was going to squeeze the juice out of them, freeze it in one-cup containers to use whenever she needed a cup of lemon juice for cooking. That little instance was one of many, “We didn’t get where we are in this life by wasting things” lessons she taught me.
I don’t have a lemon tree in my yard, but I did have a bunch of oranges in my refrigerator. After enjoying the oranges, I looked at the peels and thought about that long ago conversation with my Grandmother. I can’t compost orange peels but I figured that they had to be useful. I put the orange peels in a container the freezer and did some research. Here are 10 ways I found that you can put those old orange peels to good reuse.
I don’t have a lemon tree in my yard, but I did have a bunch of oranges in my refrigerator. After enjoying the oranges, I looked at the peels and thought about that long ago conversation with my Grandmother. I can’t compost orange peels but I figured that they had to be useful. I put the orange peels in a container the freezer and did some research. Here are 10 ways I found that you can put those old orange peels to good reuse.
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/22/2009 12:00:00 AM
24
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How to
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zero
Friday, February 20, 2009
I’m Going to BlogHer ’09!
Going to BlogHer
Wrangling mics, greening conferences
Will I see you there?
Wrangling mics, greening conferences
Will I see you there?
That’s right kids, this July I’m packing up my bags and going to BlogHer ‘09. But me being me, I can’t just attend a conference. Oh no. I have to get involved in some way. So, I volunteered to use my mad podcasting skillz and will be a Mic Wrangler during the conference. What does that mean? Well, it means that if you want to ask a question or make a comment during one of conference sessions some woman who is fleet of foot is going to sidle up to you and thrust a microphone into your face so you can make your voice heard during the conference and be recorded for the conference sessions’ podcasts. And one of those fleet of foot women might just be me! So make sure you say a big “Hi Lisa!” or “Hi Condo!” to me during the conference!
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/20/2009 12:00:00 AM
6
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Tags:
blogging conference
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green
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haiku friday
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How to Make a Gas Fireplace Chimney Balloon/Chimney Pillow
Even after caulking the windows and adding draft strips to the outside doors of The Condo the living room was chilly during the winter. No matter how high I set the thermostat, there was a mighty draft coming from somewhere in my living room. I set out to find it. I didn’t have to go very far, because according to the US Department of Energy 15% of the heat loss in a home is through an open fireplace damper when the fireplace is not in use.
I put a hand in front of the gas fireplace grill and felt a cold breeze. Caught ya you little energy napper!
You can easily solve this problem if you have a wood burning fireplace by just closing the damper. Boom. Problem solved. Unfortunately, I have a gas burning fireplace and the dampers on a gas burning fireplace are permanently kept open.
Since we only use the fireplace during power outages and for entertaining, I wondered if there was a way that I could close the damper when it wasn’t in use to keep the heated air from escaping up the chimney, and save money on my utility bills, and reduce my natural gas usage.
Fortunately, you can stop drafts in a gas fireplace with a Chimney Balloon, or Chimney Pillow . It looks like a Mylar balloon that that you stuff up your chimney when it’s not in use. You can buy one of those or make your own version.
Do I have to even have to tell you that I made my own DIY version? Of course not.
Keep Heat and Utility Bills from Going Up the Chimney
I put a hand in front of the gas fireplace grill and felt a cold breeze. Caught ya you little energy napper!
You can easily solve this problem if you have a wood burning fireplace by just closing the damper. Boom. Problem solved. Unfortunately, I have a gas burning fireplace and the dampers on a gas burning fireplace are permanently kept open.
Since we only use the fireplace during power outages and for entertaining, I wondered if there was a way that I could close the damper when it wasn’t in use to keep the heated air from escaping up the chimney, and save money on my utility bills, and reduce my natural gas usage.
Fortunately, you can stop drafts in a gas fireplace with a Chimney Balloon, or Chimney Pillow . It looks like a Mylar balloon that that you stuff up your chimney when it’s not in use. You can buy one of those or make your own version.
Do I have to even have to tell you that I made my own DIY version? Of course not.
Keep Heat and Utility Bills from Going Up the Chimney
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/17/2009 11:22:00 PM
12
comments
Tags:
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,
home improvement
,
How to
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reuse/recycle
,
saving energy
,
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,
tutorial
Monday, February 16, 2009
How to Hang a Yellow Ribbon
I have a family member who is in the military and deployed to Iraq. I dug out the yellow ribbon from the box of front porch decorations and hung it on the small tree in my front yard.
Traditionally people hang yellow ribbons to symbolize that they are waiting for the safe return of a loved one or of military troops who are unable to come home due to an overseas assignment.
Since my tree is small, I chained two cable ties together and used those to attach it to my tree. Yes, the whole thing is plastic, but I wanted something that wouldn’t fade, was reusable, and could survive the crazy Ohio weather since it’s going to be up for at least a year.
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/16/2009 11:54:00 AM
4
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Tags:
gardening
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How to
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
How to Keep a Shower Curtain Rod from Falling
Scene: Night. The Condo residents are nestled all snug in their beds.
SFX:Silence except for Blitzkrieg, the 12 pound Pekingese who is snoring louder than a 300 pound man in desperate need of adenoid surgery.
“Klang!”
“Thumpa! Thumpa!”
“Bow-rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr-!”
"Plink! Plink! Plink!”
Groggily I shuffle to the bathroom. The supposed stay up spring loaded shower curtain rod fell down. I raise my hands to the heavens and wonder how I pissed off the home improvement gods this time? Why must these things always happen in the middle of the night? Why can’t I get a good night’s sleep?
I though I took care of this problem months ago. Once I realized that the el cheapo nontension plastic shower curtain rod that came with the house was held up with nothing more than good intentions, I replaced it with a this exact metal tension shower curtain rod like this one with grippy rubber tips that are supposed to stay in place no matter what. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience. )
Apparently I was wrong about the long term stay uppidness. Time to break out the power tools.
Save this easy and stylish bathroom hack to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!
SFX:Silence except for Blitzkrieg, the 12 pound Pekingese who is snoring louder than a 300 pound man in desperate need of adenoid surgery.
“Klang!”
“Thumpa! Thumpa!”
“Bow-rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr- -rowr-!”
"Plink! Plink! Plink!”
Groggily I shuffle to the bathroom. The supposed stay up spring loaded shower curtain rod fell down. I raise my hands to the heavens and wonder how I pissed off the home improvement gods this time? Why must these things always happen in the middle of the night? Why can’t I get a good night’s sleep?
I though I took care of this problem months ago. Once I realized that the el cheapo nontension plastic shower curtain rod that came with the house was held up with nothing more than good intentions, I replaced it with a this exact metal tension shower curtain rod like this one with grippy rubber tips that are supposed to stay in place no matter what. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience. )
Apparently I was wrong about the long term stay uppidness. Time to break out the power tools.
Save this easy and stylish bathroom hack to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!
How I Made a Sturdy Stay Up Shower Curtain Rod
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/11/2009 12:00:00 AM
9
comments
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,
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,
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Fabkins – Cute Cloth Napkins for Kids!
While I don’t have kids full time, I am lucky enough to have a whole host of nieces and nephews of various ages to
run experiments on
help me test children’s products. One of these products was Fabkins children’s napkins. Fabkins are cotton cloth napkins that are a little smaller than a full size dinner napkin and made to fit on kid’s laps and in kid’s lunchboxes.
Fabkins founders Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers wanted to pack waste free school lunches for their children. The moms had a hard time finding reusable cloth napkins that weren’t too big for a lunch box and that were, well, fun. They decided to make their own and Fabkins was born.
run experiments on
help me test children’s products. One of these products was Fabkins children’s napkins. Fabkins are cotton cloth napkins that are a little smaller than a full size dinner napkin and made to fit on kid’s laps and in kid’s lunchboxes.
Fabkins founders Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers wanted to pack waste free school lunches for their children. The moms had a hard time finding reusable cloth napkins that weren’t too big for a lunch box and that were, well, fun. They decided to make their own and Fabkins was born.
Posted by
Lisa Nelsen-Woods
at
2/10/2009 12:00:00 AM
1
comments
Tags:
green
,
kids
,
reuse/recycle
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reviews
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