9/24/13

For environmentally friendly and money-saving reasons, using bulk bins at the grocery store is a smart idea. According to the Bulk is Green Council, buying ingredients like nuts, flour, pasta and dried fruit from bulk bins costs about 89 percent less than buying packaged goods. Plus, with bulk bins you can buy as much or as little as you need, so there is less waste. And instead of tearing through layers of packaging when buying food, you can see exactly what you’re buying. What you see is what you get! Bulk bin food is also fresh: The dispensers use gravity-fed systems that automatically rotate product to ensure freshness.

9/23/13

If you’ve got kids, this is bound to happen: dried out markers end up being tossed into the trash. Before tossing them out, try soaking them in warm water. Just remove the caps and place the felt tip part of the marker submerged in warm water in a cup for about two hours. Remove the marker and try it on paper; it should be revived and rehydrated. If not, soak for another two hours. This trick also works for highlighters.

9/22/13

Most of us bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store in lieu of using disposable paper or plastic bags. Do this one thing to make sure your groceries are safe to eat: Separate what you buy into different bags. Keep meat products in one bag so any drips can be self-contained. Fruits and vegetables should get their own bag, as should canned and boxed goods and eggs and milk. You can place frozen items with perishables so they act double duty to keep food that needs to be chilled cooler longer. And remember to launder your reusable bags once in a while so any germs and bacteria can be washed away.