Save $$ don't by Scrubbies! UPCYCLE

Up-cycle idea for Scrubbies!

Use vegetable bags to create scrubbies

!

Make Sure to Get your Hands on the Following Books before they are BANNED.

Natural Liberty
1984


I will list more soon.  RESIST.  

Seattle Stands with Standing Rock! NO DAPL Wednesday 2/1/ 9:30AM City Hall

Compost THIS! Supports Standing ROCK and is ANTI-Cheato Head in Washington DC.

Seattle put your money where your mouth is! 

 GET OUR MONEY out of the big banks and put it into LOCAL Credit Unions!  WE NEED TO KEEP OUR MONEY IN WASHINGTON STATE!  and OUT of the DAPL pipeline.

SEATTLE STANDS WITH STANDING ROCK 
tonight's rally at Westlake/Wells Fargo

WATER IS LIFE!

WATER IS LIFE.  Mni Wiconi!

Can I compost this?

Wilted lettuce...yes
Carrot and potato peelings.....yes
Shredded paper ...... yes
Orange peels.....yes

What about meat.....eggs.....cheese ?
It depends......does your city collect your compost?  It not it is best not to compost meat products.

You need really HOT compost to kill the bacteria and decompose these items. 

For more details on composting...in the city of Seattle,Washington.......check out this site.....

The Orikaso Memorial Project---Plastic Becomes Precious

Check out this great idea! 

The Orikaso Memorial Project

Orikaso Memorial Project 

is an ongoing collaborative art project to collect over one million orikaso as a memorial for the 1,000,000 sea birds and 100,000 marine animals estimated to die each year from plastic ingestion. 

Learn how to create cranes out of non-recyclable plastic!  Participate in a collaborative art project!  Check it out!

If you would like to donate to this project check out the GoFundMe Fundraiser.

We can make a difference!

STOP the FLOW of JUNK MAIL!

Do you HATE junk mail? Me too.  Today a Redplum coupon mailer managed to find its way into my mailbox.  Has it really been five years?  It appears that every few years you need to tell the folks over at Redplum that you are really NOT interested in getting their mailers.  GO to THIS   website.

to remove your address from the list!

and check out these sources for more ideas!  

How to Stop Getting Junk Mail FOREVER. by CBS.com

Stopping Unsolicited Mail by the Federal Trade Commission

and don't forget wikihow! "Get Rid of Junk Mail!"

In Search of Solar.-Spray Paint/Plug it into the Window/Get off the Grid!

Seattle is the rainy city. With only 80 or so days of sun each year you would think that of all the places on earth this would be one of the last to have a way with solar power.  You couldn’t be more wrong.  Seattle has plenty of sun to create solar energy, and the city is working how to get citizens to go solar!  Check out the City of Seattle Community Solar Project.  Are you a home owner or do you own business property?  You can get in on the project and provide solar power for yourself and the city!

Want some other ideas for going solar? 

Plug a solar panel into your wall!  Check out the article by Plugged Solar “Is itPossible to Plug Solar Panels into the Wall?”  According to the article, “When the entire solar kit system is plugged into the wall, it is connected and interacts seamlessly with the existing power grid. The PluggedSolar system will feed energy into your home electrical wiring. . . . When nobody is home and no appliances are running, the energy being produced by your solar panels but is not being used will be fed back into the power grid, spinning your meter BACKWARDS!” 

How about Solar Energy Spray Paint?  Believe it or not engineers at Nanoflex are working out the details on this product which would make it possible to create photovoltaic paint which would allow just about any surface to produce solar energy.

Window socket by Yanko Design

Window outlets  

Window socket, Yanko Design. 

Cling Bling Window Solar Charger

  

Sunflower 2500 mAh Phone Charger

Balcony Solar Panels: Check out this video about how to install a solar panel on an apartment balcony.  You will want to get permission from your apartment manager first.  

Say NO to Plastic. Say YES to Returnable Glass! FLYING COW Creamery! Fresh Breeze. Seattle

Plastic=LEAD Plastic=LEAD Plastic=LEAD

Say YES to returnable GLASS!

I am on the search for products produced in returnable glass containers!  Since I live in Seattle I will start here.  If you have glass products available where you are please leave a comment and I will post it.  Later I will be posting other cities and their options.

Seattle, Washington

YOGURT!!  The folks at Flying Cow Creamery focus their attention on making awesome yogurt and they only produce their product WHOLE MILK OLD FASHIONED YOGURT in glass, returnable containers!  Their yogurt is currently available at the Central Co-op!

Conventional Milk:  TwinBrook Creamery, Lynden, WA:  2%, 1%, Skim, Whole, Cream, Chocolate, Half-n-half, and EGG NOG (seasonal) .  Available at most Seattle-area QFC grocery stores.

ORGANIC Milk:  Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy, Lynden, WA: 2%, 1%, Skim, Whole, Cream, Chocolate, Half-n-half,  Available for sale at the following stores: Central Co-op; Ballard Market; Eat Local.  See the Fresh Breeze website for more info on other locations!

Thinking Spring! Seeds from Renee's Garden ideas

Just got my catalog from Renee Seeds and am having fun looking at all the new choices!  GARDENS GARDENS EVERYWHERE! is my motto.  I'm thinking of having yellow wax POLE beans and the little fire birds would make a great border and bring in the pollinators!  So exciting to think about SPRING SPRING SPRING!
Here are some links!


French Gold Filet (Organic)! 
Little Firebirds Nasturtiums ---These are great for containers and since my apartment garden is ALL ON CEMENT I am so looking forward to having them in my garden this year!

URBANITE BIRDHOUSE! Keep an eye out for photos!

What to do!

I Found 6 obsolete VCR tapes in my apartment today.  I had squirreled them away thinking SOMEDAY I would do something with them!  Well, that day has come.  When I searched VCR tape I found several suggestions:  You can make a shelf, a box, and other great ideas.  Check out this link from google when I did a search for "upcycle VCR tapes".

My favorite was the BIRDHOUSE!  The hole in the tape casing was the perfect size!  The designs I saw online used the whole tape, but I found out (through my awesome little sister) that the actual 'tape' in a VCR tape was highly toxic. Check out this forum for details on the toxic nature of video and other media tape.

A VCR tape is the perfect size for a Chickadee or Wren birdhouse!
For details on how to make a wooden birdhouse check out Coverside BirdHousees

To make a birdhouse out of VCR tapes you will need to handle the magnetic black vinyl tape carefully.  I would suggest wearing gloves and if possible go outside.  You will need to remove the tape from the plastic reels.  If you cannot go outside be careful.  Don't stretch or crush the tape....it is the dust that is toxic.  You shouldn't place the tape in the trash.  It needs to be given to your hazardous waste disposal company.  Or you can send it to Greendisk for a fee. Read about it via Stanford's website.

What do you need to make an URBANITE birdhouse?

Glue gun/glue sticks (you can use other glue, just make sure it is non toxic and weatherproof.

small screwdriver (to deconstruct the tape)

2.5 vcr tapes  (I made three bird houses out of 6 tapes).  

1.5 CD cases *or one CD case with the extra plastic insert

extra flat piece of plastic from something (maybe you have a file folder)

Paint (non-toxic outside/ best to use paint you would use to paint toys)

This is what the inside looks  like. You will want to collect all the little pieces of plastic. You will want to remove the metal piece (on the left).  It is very easy to remove. 

Instructions

1.  Take out the 5 screws that hold the tape together

2.  Carefully separate the tape case

3.  Collect all the little plastic and metal pieces--you may need to fiddle around with the corners to make sure you have everything.  You don't want to leave anything that could be swallowed by a bird.

4.  Put aside the plastic reels

Each side of the tape can become the four sides and the bottom of the bird house.  For the 3rd birdhouse I used the pieces of plastic that holds the tape together and glued them together for one side of one bird house.

I wanted to make sure that the birds had a smooth interior for their house.  With that in mind I glued the box together with the interior of the tape facing outward.  

The holes in the tape case are the perfect size for a bird (chickadee/wren size) but you only need one!

After you carefully remove the tape from the reels you can glue the reels over the holes.

For the roof you need 1.5 cd cases and some extra plastic to fill in the gap in front.

Open one CD case to make a triangle (you want one with a working hinge so that you can open the bird house to clean it).  The other half is glued to this.  Then you can glue it to the house.  This can take some work because the back may not be flush.  I used some of the metal pieces to make it flush and then the glue worked.

I intend to add to this post once I've painted and embellished this birdhouse.

Good Luck!  Please let me know if you create birdhouses this way!  Would love to see your creations!