Mindful Momma

How to Choose an Indoor Compost Bucket

It was time. The trusty, green, plastic compost bucket that lived under my sink for many years had to go. For months, I dealt with the cracked top rim but when the handle snapped off completely (showering my legs with compost - thankfully outside!), I knew that its days were numbered. Even though my plastic bucket held up for many years, I wasn't so sure I wanted another one of the same model. So I took to the internet to do some research on what type of compost container to buy:

Factors to Consider

Assuming that you have a place to compost food scraps outside, you will need some type of container to store them temporarily in the house. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Will the container be kept under the sink or on the counter? If it's sitting out on the counter you will probably want something that looks nice. If not, butt ugly might be just fine.
• What material is the container made of? Popular choices are stainless steel, plastic and ceramic.
• How much does the container hold? If you create a lot of food scraps, you will want to lean towards something larger. If not, a smaller size will suit you just fine. Most containers hold between 1 gallon and 2.5 gallons.
• What type of filter does it use? Most compost buckets use a charcoal filter but the key question is - are they readily available? If not, you might want to consider a different model.

5 Craft Kits That Boys Will Dig

All this talk about fostering imagination in your kids has got me thinking about arts & crafts projects. My youngest son is 8 years old and still loves to do crafts (see him proudly holding up a dragon puppet he made in school?) At almost 13, my oldest son is less enthusiastic about making crafts but more inclined to do a science project or two.

Over the years we have dabbled in many types of crafts, from junk sculptures (made out of whatever recycled materials you have on hand) to felted sweater coasters to homemade yarn pom-poms. We keep a bin of supplies in the basement for whenever boredom strikes.

Craft Kits to the Rescue!

When the creative inspiration (or stash of supplies) is not all there, it's nice to simply pull out a box with a craft idea ready to go. In the past few years, a number of new craft kits have come onto the scene and many of them have projects geared toward boys. I don't typically emphasize gender differences but there are plenty of crafts that my boys are not interested in and having grown up in a household full of girls, I know the opposite can be true as well.

DIY Felted Sweater Coasters

Still looking for a sweet little something to give to a friend for Valentine's Day? I've got a tutorial for coasters made with felted sweaters over on Green Your Way this week. It's a great way to give old sweaters a new life and create something new that you can use!

It's a fun craft to do with adults or kids any time of the year!

 

Reformulated Tide and Other Changemaker Stories

Lori's Tide Petition Brings Change

Last February my friend Lori who blogs at Groovy Green Livin started a petition asking Proctor & Gamble, the makers of Tide to remove the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane from its laundry detergents. The petition went viral and garnered almost 80,000 signatures. Less than a year later, Proctor & Gamble has agreed to reformulate Tide products to reduce levels of 1,4 dioxane to below 25 parts per million!

This is such an excellent example of how a regular person can be a changemaker by simply reaching out and sharing an idea with their community. It can be as easy as starting a petition or organizing a group in your neighborhood. It can be as simple as educating your friends through Facebook and Twitter. It can be as big or as small as you want it to be.

DIY Eco Glass Pendant Tutorial

Eco Craft: Glass Pendant Made with Repurposed Paper

As promised, I'm excited to share my first post over at Green Your Way (a channel of the Life Your Way ezine). It's a tutorial to make a glass pendant necklace using repurposed paper. The pretty paper I used for my necklace came from my Yuzen Box (a monthly goodie box filled with natural and organic products). See the full tutorial over at Green Your Way!

Do you have any eco crafts on the agenda this week?

 

Eco Friendly Nursery, Detox Diet and Eco Craft of the Week

Eco Friendly Nursery Ideas

Are you pregnant or know someone who is? I've got some tips for putting together an eco friendly baby nursery over at Zenoobi. I'll be writing a monthly blog post for them so check it out if you have a chance! And while you're there, check out their web store too. Zenoobi is a great resource for eco friendly baby furniture, gear and clothing!

A Special Gift Made with Repurposed Neckties

My mother gave me a very special gift for Christmas. A wall hanging made from repurposed neckties. But these weren't just any neckties - they were my dad's.

My father passed away in March of 2011. He was a university professor and I'm pretty sure he wore a necktie every single day that he taught a class. He was traditional that way.

How to Make a Yarn Pom-Pom

We've been having fun with yarn around here. Fluffy pom-pom kind of fun! When our friends at MightyNest gave us a sewing & knitting kit to try out, I figured it was about time to teach Liam how to make this fun craft activity that I remember making as a kid.

Yarn pom-poms are very simple to make. An older child can make them by themselves. A younger child may need some help but they still get the satisfaction of doing a lot themselves.

What you need:

Yarn (any kind, any color)

Cardboard (we used an old shipping box)

Scissors

How to make a pom-pom:

Start out by cutting out 2 circles of cardboard - with a notch in each for getting the yarn through.

Begin winding the yarn around the circle. Wrap over the loose end of the yarn to keep it in place. Keep wrapping until the whole circle is full. The more yarn you use, the fluffier the pom-pom. Use more than one color yarn if you would like. Better yet, wrap 3 colors at once for really fast pom-pom making!

Once the circle is fully wrapped, trim the end of the yarn. Using a scissors, carefully cut between the 2 cardboard circles. Be sure to hold on to the yarn as you cut to keep it from falling off the circle.

Next, pull a new piece of yarn through the 2 cardboard circles and tie it in a tight knot. I typically tie it a few times to make sure it is secure.

Now you can pull off the cardboard circles. Trim the pom-pom as desired. You can leave a long string on it if you are planning to attach the pom-pom to something.

Liam came up with a whole bunch of uses for pom-poms:

• play catch with it
• put it on your ice skates
• use it as a Christmas tree ornament
• attach it to a headband
• use it as a cat toy
• put it on top of a gift

Have you ever made pom-poms? What is your favorite thing to do with them?

The Time is NOW for Reusable Bags

 

Why Use Reusable Bags?

With 40% of annual retail sales happening between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my guess is that a similar percentage of disposable plastic bags are being let loose into our system during that time as well. That makes it a good time of year to get on my reusable bag bandwagon. If you need convincing, here are a few hard facts about plastic bags from the folks at Factory Direct Promos:

• An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed each year worldwide – this works out to over 1 million bags per minute.
• A million sea birds and 100,000 animals such as whales, dolphins, turtles and seals die from plastic bags and other waste each year.
• Americans throw away about 1 billion plastic bags a year, which is equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.
• Retail businesses spend about $4 billion each year on plastic bags.
• In the United States only 8 percent of the total plastic waste generated in 2010 was recycled.
• The United Nations Environment Program estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.

Maybe your city or community is ahead of the game and has already instituted a plastic bag ban or bag fees (check this interactive Plastic Bag Ban Map for ban activity in your area). Here in Minnesota plastic bags are still going strong (except for yard waste where we have to use compostable bags). 

A Few Favorite Reusable Bags

My reusable bags have been out in full swing lately for gift shopping, grocery shopping and everything in between. Here are a few in my rotation:

Baggu - These super roomy, workhorse bags (shown in photo at top of post) fold up nice and small. Buy the set of 3 which comes with a zippered pouch to store them in.

Esse - I've been praising their Carry All Tote for years but the new handy Clip It bag made from recycled bottles can be clipped to a keychain, backpack or stroller so it's with you whenever you need it.

BB Begonia - Big enough to hold 2 grocery bags but stylish enough to carry around town. Empty bag rolls up easily to fit in your purse.

What's your favorite reusable bag?

This post is part of the Give the gift of a Plastic-Free World This Holiday and Join the Plastic Bag Ban Movement! blog carnival, hosted by Factory Direct Promos. Check it out for more info about banning plastic bags.

(Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. Any purchase you make contributes a small amount to this blog. Thank you!)

(Top photo credit: andrewarchy via flickr)

Unplug Your Kids with Gifts from MightyNest

One of the biggest challenges I find in this gift giving season is finding gifts that my two boys (ages 8 and 12) will love but that do not lead to endless hours sitting in front of a TV or computer screen. Rather than encouraging them to be couch potatoes, I would much rather give them the gift of creativity and imagination.

My blog sponsor MightyNest has done an especially good job of curating a selection of gifts that engage kids in creative and imaginative play - or what they call gifts that are unplugged.

Sewing & Knitting Kit

This adorable sewing & knitting kit from French company Moulin Roty has everything you need for hours of sewing and knitting projects, all packed up in a cute suitcase box.

Yesterday 8 year old Liam and I dug in to this kit to see what inspired us. Since neither of us know how to knit (we plan to get a lesson from my mom when we visit her over Christmas), we decided to make yarn pom-poms. Have you ever made them? They are so fun and easy! Look for a tutorial on pom-pom making coming soon on my blog!

The fun part about this kit is that the child has their very own sewing supplies including metal sewing scissors, a thimble, a tape measure, a French knitting dolly and more! The easy to hold wooden knitting needles look like the perfect way for a child (or grownup!) to start learning how to knit.

Artterro Craft Kits

Artterro kits contain everything you need to make a fun craft using natural and recycled materials. I love that the company was founded by a couple of art enthusiasts in my home town of Madison, Wisconsin!

Liam and I have made the Bubble Wand kit - something that MightyNest does not carry right now but this Wire & Bead Art Kit is similar and even cooler! This type of free-form crafting is the type that my boys seem to like best. Bend the copper wire (available in 3 gauges), then add glass or wooden beads, shells or marbles to make whatever creation (or creature!) you want!

Tool Kit

This wooden tool box complete with tools is very tempting. It comes with 6 real tools sized for smaller hands - a ruler, saw, hammer, philips screwdriver, regular screwdriver and pencil. Everything is packed in a sturdy wooden box to keep everything safe for years to come.

If you want to really go all out, spring for the 14 piece tool set that has a Square Ruler, Ruler, C-Clamp, Philip Screwdriver, Regular Screwdriver, Chisel, Mallet, Plier, Plane, Sanding Block, Gimlet, Hammer, Hand Saw and a Spirit Level.

To make your holiday shopping a little easier MightyNest is offering 10% off to all Mindful Momma readers. Just use code MINDFUL10 at checkout.

What are your favorite ways to encourage your kids to unplug?

(Disclosure: I received a free kit from MightyNest in exchange for my honest opinion.)