“As Seen On TV” vs. Things That Already Exist
Jan 6, 2010 Green Gift Ideas
I was kind of amused this year seeing some relatives get so excited about receiving Snuggies for Christmas. Those certainly have taken off! But looking at them made me think of how much they and certain other “As Seen On TV” products resemble things you can get elsewhere in better quality or even already have in your home.
The Snuggie
Take a good look at the Snuggie Fleece Blanket
Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planter
Topsy Turvy Upside-Down Tomato Planters
Tomatoes certainly don’t mind growing upside down, but if you have the space they’re generally quite happy growing in the usual manner too. Most years we end up doing a little of each, but I think we’ve had the best results growing them right side up.
Aqua Globes
I’ll certainly agree that Aqua Globes
You can reuse plastic gallon jugs to do this same work. They aren’t pretty, but they do the job and you aren’t sending the plastic off to the trash or to be recycled after just one use. I like the gallon jugs most because they tend to be sturdier and hold a lot of water.
You can use smaller plastic bottles, but some deform pretty easily and just don’t seem to do the job so well for us.
Aqua Globes are best if you really need to be concerned about appearances. It happens. If you’re using them in the front of the house, for example, your neighbors will probably be happier with the look of Aqua Globes over plastic bottles in the garden. But do remember that glass breaks.
Zorbeez Cloths
The reviews on Amazon on Zorbeez Cloths
If you want great cleaning cloths, there’s a reason why microfiber has become so popular. Get some good quality microfiber cleaning cloths
MagneScribe Pens
Oh, how easily you could replace the MagneScribe Pen
Handy Gourmet Vegetable Peeling Gloves
These are just a laugh. To use the Handy Gourmet Vegetable Peeling Gloves
Hmm… that old vegetable peeler in the drawer is looking better and better, isn’t it? Throw it in the dishwasher when you’re done and it gets cleaned with all the other dishes. Throw the peels into the compost and they aren’t a waste. Life’s so much simpler.
Pancake Puffs
I mention the Pancake Puffs
In reality, it’s nothing more than a renamed Aebleskiver pan. If you really want to try this, buy an Aebleskiver Pan
Buying an Aebleskiver pan instead of a Pancake Puffs pan won’t save you money unless you luck into one in an antique shop or thrift shop, but you’ll have the pleasure of denying that hideous “As Seen On TV” industry a little bit of money.
Of course there are many more of these products out there. “As Seen On TV” products are a great example of creating a need where there was none before. Consumerism at its worst for the most part.
Do you have a favorite? Favorite to hate?
Tags: as seen on tv, consumerism, snuggie
Slime – Another Easy Last Minute Gift to Make for Your Kids
Dec 23, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting, Green Gift Ideas
I just posted about making play dough as a Christmas gift for your kids. You can do the same with the ingredients to make slime. I will warn you, however… slime is NOT nontoxic, at least not with the recipe I have.
2 cups water
1-1/4 cup Elmer’s glue
food coloring
1/3 cup hot water
1 tsp Borax
Thoroughly mix 2 cups water with glue. Add food coloring as desired.
Mix hot water and Borax. Stir into glue and water mixture, removing slime as necessary. You may have to make an extra batch of the hot water and Borax to make the entire mixture into slime.
The slime will be rather tacky at first. The more you work it, the less tacky it will be.
To give this as a gift I would suggest giving the kids just the glue and tell them it’s for a special project. Packaging up the rest of the ingredients just wouldn’t work for me.
Slime is rather messy of course, but if you clean up promptly it’s not likely to stain. At least it hasn’t for me. Don’t let it near carpet as it’s not so easy to clean up there. Tile floors are a much better choice for this one.
As with the play dough, keep it sealed up and it will last a while. Your patience with whatever mess they create may be another matter.
Tags: crafts, gift ideas, homemade, slime
Homemade Play Dough – An Easy Last Minute Gift to Make for Your Kids
Dec 23, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting, Green Gift Ideas
Kids want so much for Christmas, especially if they watch much television at all. They see all the cool toys out there. But sometimes one of the best gifts can be one you make yourself.
Homemade play dough is a great choice for kids in the right age group. They love it.
My plan this year is to prepare a couple containers of dry play dough ingredients and have a part of the gift being getting to choose the colors they make while spending time with Mommy. It’s a really inexpensive gift, and the ingredients I need are right on hand. Here’s my recipe:
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tbs cream of tartar (optional but helpful)
1-1/2 cups hot water
3 tbs cooking oil
Food coloring
glitter (optional but pretty)
Mix dry ingredients together. Separate into containers if you want to do multiple colors. Add oil and food coloring to each batch. If you’ve separated colors, estimate the right amount of oil for each. Add hot water slowly and mix until the consistency is right. Too much water makes dough gooey and less fun to play with. But you can always add extra flour to work it out.
We like this recipe because it lasts a long time. Keep it in a sealed container. Refrigeration is helpful.
If you don’t add the glitter this is of course completely nontoxic, which is nice. Especially if you’re like me and have a near toddler to deal with as well as the older children.
Tags: crafts, gift ideas, homemade, play dough
Giving the Gift of Time for Christmas
Nov 24, 2009 Green Gift Ideas
One of the best ways to green up your Christmas gift giving is to give time rather than things. This works for many of the people in your life.
Time for the Kids
It’s easy to let day to day life mess with the time you have available for your children. Make a part of your gift to them be some special times together, doing something they love to do or share one of your interests.
Camping trips can be good for helping kids to really appreciate nature, for example. Winter’s not the best time in many areas perhaps, but it’s not too early to start thinking about where you’d like to go. Even just heading out to a local campground can be an adventure if you don’t camp a lot.
Hiking is another good choice that is rather less time consuming. Find a beautiful, natural place in your area and start hiking. It’s a great time to talk with your kids too.
You can also plan activities around the home. Do a craft, build something together, play a game, just talk.
Time for Your Parents
If your parents are still alive, and reasonably accessible to you, make the most of it. You can give them time with you to just talk, or you can help them with running errands. You can even combine time with your parents with time with your kids and go camping or hiking as an extended family.
Time for Your Friends
If your friends have young children, giving them the gift of time can take the form of offering babysitting for their kids. What parents don’t appreciate the chance to get out without the kids for a bit?
Just Remember… It’s Not All About THINGS
Giving the gift of time is a great way to remind yourself and the people you love that there’s so much more you can give one another than just things. Clutter.
The gift of time can have so much more meaning than almost any other gift you can give.
Tags: chirstmas, green gifts, holidays
Will It Be a Green Christmas?
Nov 19, 2009 Green Gift Ideas
Smiling Green Mom has a cute version of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” done as “I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas” up on her blog. With Christmas not all that far away (eep!), the post also includes some good reminders to be green in your Christmas shopping and places to shop.
This is easier in some families than in others of course. But an awful lot of people do appreciate things such as special self care items, bath salts and the like, and those are pretty easy to find in organic versions.
Others will appreciate gifts of your time or creative skills. Still others may appreciate it if you donate to their favorite cause in their name.
In so many ways I’ve learned to love a simpler Christmas rather than one full of gifts bought to fulfill the giver’s notion of the right number of gifts or dollars spent. The thought really does count for much more.
You can almost always find a green gift even for people who aren’t that into the environment. Just look at what they do enjoy and work from there. It may be challenging but you can do it.
