Living like an Ant in a Grasshopper world

Earth Day Coupons & Freebies

April 22, 2009 By 6 Comments

Happy Earth Day! I’ve gathered together some great coupons and freebies from around the web. Some are valid today only, others are offered for several days. Enjoy!

In Canada:

In USA:

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Green Your Shopping Canada! Free President's Choice Green Bin!

April 21, 2009 By 6 Comments

President's Choice Green Bin We all know by now that using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags reduces environmental waste signifcantly. Here in Canada, President’s Choice, a line of products offered by many grocery stores operated by Loblaws, has some great green options to replace your shopping bags.

My favourite, the PC Green Bin, is a plastic bin that fits easily into shopping carts, has sturdy handles, and holds the equivelent of 3 to 5 plastic bags worth of groceries. It’s super easy to load from cart to car to house and the bins are inexpensive to buy at around $4.99 each.

As part of it’s efforts to promote the use of reusable bins, Loblaws grocery stores in Canada are offering  a coupon for a free PC Green bin with a purchase of $60 or more from April 22 to April 30. Please see coupon for details of which grocery chains are particpating.

PC Reusable BagThis week Fortino’s grocery stores in Ontario have been offering the President’s Choice reusable shopping bags for half price. Made with 85% post-consumer recycled plastic, our revolutionary shopping bag is twice the size of a standard plastic grocery bag and strong enough to withstand 50 trips to the store (about 1 full year).

With weekly use of just one bag, each person can divert approximately 100 plastic bags from ending up in landfill sites each year.

President's Choice Green CartNew from President’s Choice is their new PC Green cart. With the same capacity as three standard plastic grocery bags, this handy shopping bag on wheels does more than just carry a lot of groceries; it actually helps you do your part to protect the environment. The material used to make the fabric for this the bag comes from 100 % post-consumer recycled plastic.

By using this bag on wheels on a weekly basis, you will need approximately 300 fewer plastic bags per year – that’s less clutter in your cupboard and less plastic for you to throw out. The PC Green Cart will be available in stores beginning May 11, 2009 and is just one of the new Green shopping options that will be available on May 11th from President’s Choice.

For more information about these items and others offered by the President’s Choice brand in Canada take a look at the President’s Choice Green Insider’s Report.

And don’t forget to get your coupon for a FREE President’s Choice Green bin!

And you’ll want to enter to win the Earth Day Gift Package I’m giving away.  Contest is open until April 29, 2009 and anyone living in Canada and the United States is eligible (subject to contest rules). Good luck!

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Win an Earth Day Gift Package!

April 21, 2009 By

Tomorrow is Earth Day but that doesn’t mean you can’t observe Earth Day every day and Frugal Family Life and Walmart ElevenMoms have an Earth Day Gift Package to help get  one of you started on the right foot. Worth an estimated $130 retail the package includes a selection of Clorox “Green Works” cleaning supplies, White Cloud “Green Earth” paper products, and Tide Coldwater laundry liquid, a Brita water filtration pitcher and a Bissell Little Green carpet and upholstery cleaner.

The Green Works cleanering products are 99% plant and mineral based but can take on tough cleaning jobs with ease, they smell great, and are less harmful to the environment.

Tide Coldwater laundry liquid was designed to allow you to get all of your laundry clean without wasting energy using hot water. Depending on what statics you look at 70 to 90% of the energy used to wash a load of laundry is spent on heating the water. By washing everything in cold water you save energy and save money.

The White Cloud “Green Earth” toilet paper and paper towels are made from 100% recycled fibre but feels soft and cushiony like regular premuim paper products do. In the words of my teenage son “finally you got toilet paper that doesn’t feel like sandpaper!”

The Brita pitcher is something we’ve used in my home for years. Instead of buying cases of bottled water we use the Brita water filtration pitcher to filter tap water for drinking water. This saves us money (we estimate over $200 in yearly savings over buying bottled water) and it means a lot fewer plastic bottles that need to be recycled or worse, that would end up in a landfill.

Used with a portable stainless steel reusable drinking bottle (we have several sized from 500ml to 1 litre) we always have fresh filtered water on hand to drink at home or to take with us. The pitcher itself is dishwasher safe (top rack) and fits easily into the refrigerator without taking up a lot of space.

Last and certainly not least is the Bissell Little Green carpet and upholstery cleaner. The Bissell Little Green is made with PVC free tanks and hose, parts manufactured from 100% post consumer recycled materials  and the carton contains a minimum of 75% recycled materials. The cleaning formulas contain no heavy metals or optical brighteners and are phosphate and dye free.

Part of living Earth Day every day is taking care of the things you own so they’ll last longer. Using a product like Bissell’s Little Green to clean spots and spills from carpets, rugs and upholstery is a great way to do that. We’ve used older versions of the Bissell carpet and upholstery cleaners over the years and consider them a must in any home that has pets, children or clumsy people like me who are constanty spilling coffee!

So now to the good part – the giveaway! One lucky Frugal Family Life reader will get a chance to win this Earth Day Gift Package. The contest is open to residents of Canada and the United States and you have until April 29th to enter. The rules are simple:

  1. You must be subscribed to the Frugal Family Life newsletter with a valid email address. The sign up form is on the top right of this page.
  2. You must follow me, @merlene, on Twitter.com
  3. Tweet the following on twitter: Win an Earth Day Gift Package – Including Bissell Little Green carpet/upholstery cleaner & much more http://bit.ly/NAhWm #11momsgreen
  4. You must comment on this post with a way you live Earth Day every day. Please make sure to let me know your twitter name and the name you signed up for the newsletter with so I can validate your entry. That’s it! Good luck!

This giveaway is sponsored by Walmart and the various manufacterers listed above and is subject to Frugal Family Life’s disclosure and giveaway policy. Some of the other ElevenMoms are running Earth Day giveaways too. Check out each of their blogs for more chances to win!

Update: The contest is now closed. The winner will be selected through Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner will be announced on May 1, 2009.

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Frugal Gadgets – the iPhone or the Blackberry Pearl?

April 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

About 6 weeks ago Walmart gave me the opportunity to buy and review a smart phone. I was to consider the buying experience through Walmart as well as the phone itself. I will admit, I tend to be a bit anti-Apple and I wasn’t exactly keen to get an iPhone but through my local Walmart Canada stores my smart phone options were limited to the Apple iPhone, the Nokia N95 or the Blackberry Pearl 8120. I was under contract with Rogers (with over a year left) so I knew going in that my phone upgrade would require me to sign on for another 2 or 3 years.

After looking over the features of each phone online I went to the Walmart Canada store located in Ancaster, Ontario. I had my 19 year old daughter along with me as we looked at the phones on display. This store didn’t have a Nokia N95 in stock so now my choice was between the Blackberry Pearl 8120 and the iPhone 3G. The sales rep in the electronics area was friendly and seemed knowledgeable – explaining a bit about each phone’s features as well as what sort of fees I would incur with each. Canada is notorious for pricey data rates.

While I was learning more and more toward the iPhone (after all… it has so many apps!), my daughter was getting quite excited about the Blackberry Pearl. I loved the slim, sleek lines of the iPhone and she loved the qwerty keyboard on the Blackberry. And somehow… she managed to talk me into buy both. iPhone for myself and Blackberry for her.

Not exactly the frugal choice. In addition to the cost of each phone we had to buy data plans to add to our regular cellphone plans which worked out to an extra $25 for the iPhone and an extra $35 for the Blackberry. Ugh.

We’ve had our phones for 6 weeks now and we both are happy with our choices. My daughter does a lot of text messaging so the qwerty keypad is ideal for her. I’ve found the iPhone’s built in camera to be easy to use and I find I’m taking more photos with it than my digital camera these days. More and more I don’t even bother to bring a camera but rely on the iPhone. It’s simple, no zoom or options, but it works well and it’s easy to send photos in an email, text message, or to create photo stories using apps like Whrrl.

In fact it’s not just my camera that it’s replaced.

  • It’s replaced my alarm clock and watch. It has a great built in alarm clock and you can set multiple alarms.
  • It’s replaced my daytimer. It’s calendar feature syncs easily with Google Calendar so my calendar is always with me.
  • It’s replaced my mp3 player. I have the 8gb iPhone but it has lots of room for mp3s and it has iTunes built in making it easy to sync podcasts, audio books and mp3 music.
  • It’s replaced my pocket address book. It syncs with my Gmail contact list and is easy to search with.

I’ve only started to look beyond the apps it comes with but I think I’ll be finding that the iPhone will replace more and more tools and gadgets for me. So while it’s a bit pricier than other options (especially with the Canadian data rates), it’s already saved me time and hassle – and cleared a bunch of things out of my purse and off my desk.

The verdict? Love it!

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6 Non-Toxic Metal Cleaners You Can Make From Everyday Items

April 16, 2009 By 2 Comments

Clean Brass and Tarnished Brass

With a little time and/or elbow grease and a few items found in your kitchen you can clean most metals without using harsh, toxic and pricey metal polishes:

  1. For Brass – soak brass in equal parts warm water and milk.
  2. For Copper – cut a lemon in half, sprinkle with salt and rub over copper.
  3. For Pewter – rub with wet cabbage leaves.
  4. For Silver – soak silver pieces in an aluminum foil pan filled with water with 2-3 tablespoons cream of tartar sprinkled into it. Let soak for an hour or until pieces are tarnish free.
  5. For Gold – gently rub a paste made of 1 teaspoon liquid castile soap and 1 tablespoon of baking soda over the pieces to be cleaned. Rinse well.
  6. For Aluminum – place 1 cup of canned or fresh tomato slices and 2 cups of water into a pot making sure to cover aluminum pieces.  Simmer for 30 minutes, rinse with cool water and dry.
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Cutting Out Caffeine

April 2, 2009 By 6 Comments
Coffee Love

Coffee Love

I love coffee. I mean I LOVE coffee. Really. Beginning my freshman year of high school I have been a die-hard fan and total addict to the Goddess of Caffeine.

The smell.

The warmth in your hand as you clutch the cup.

The rich, strong flavour of a cup of strong black coffee. Mmm….

And yet…

I know that it’s not the best thing for me. Oh sure there are reports and studies that say caffeine is good for you. And there are studies and reports that say caffeine is bad for you. Either way, it’s time to break the chains of addiction once and for all.

I’ve become, over the years, a slave to addiction. I got to the point where I was making my coffee really strong, drinking it black, an average of two full pots per day. I was using coffee (and have been for 20 years) as a substitute for food, water, nutrition. It was nothing for me to be awake for the first 10-12 hours of my day existing on nothing but cup after cup of strong black coffee. I’d eat my first (and often only) meal of the day at supper time with the kids. My body has been in a constant state of famine as a result and I don’t eat much and when I do it’s not usually anything healthy.

Oh and you don’t want to be the man, woman, child or cat that stood between me and my and coffee. Trust me on that. Hell hath no fury like a woman who’s not had her coffee! Except…

Well, I’m the one coming between me and my beloved coffee. Once and for all.

So how does a twenty year, two pot a day, “jet fuel” strong coffee addict let go? Slowly. Carefully. And with a plan.

I can’t do the “cut out a cup a day” sort of thing. When you drink 2 pots a day you never really pay attention to how many cups you drink… just whether your cup is empty or full.  So here you have it…

Merlene’s Caffeine Addiction Solution:

  1. Start gradually cutting back your “allowed” hours for caffeine. Today maybe say.. No caffeine after 8pm. Tomorrow will be … No caffeine after 7pm. And so on. Get it so that you stop your caffeine intake one hour earlier each day until you are within 2 hours of your usual first cup of coffee. Once you’ve reached your quitting hour switch to water for the rest of the day. Every time you have an urge to pour yourself a coffee (or a Coke or whatever caffeine beverage is your downfall) replace it with a glass of water.
  2. Now you can take note of how many cups of coffee you have your first hour or two of the day. At this point you are going to cut back half a cup a day.  Until you reach the half cup per day point.
  3. If you’re anything like me… that “cup” you’re drinking from is HUGE. Now you’re going to move to a smaller cup. And half a cup of that.
  4. The next day you should finally just quit once and for all. If you think you need one more day  fine… but you’re at 1/4 cup today. That’s 1/4 of the small cup, kiddo… not the huge mug you’ve been used to.
  5. That’s it. You’re done with daily coffee. With daily caffeine.

Once you’ve been caffeine free for a week or two you can start having it again in very limited quantities. Consider it a reward. Have a cappuccino with friends on the weekend once in a while. Have an espresso and biscotti after Sunday brunch. Just don’t’ fall back into those old habits of daily caffeine. Keep substituting water for you daily caffeine and you’ll be healthier and happier in the long run.

And don’t ever suggest I switch to decaf. I might have to stab you in the throat with a stir stick. Just kidding. Sorta.
(Up until last week I was averaging a can of ground coffee or a pound of coffee beans per week. This is also a frugal post – I’m going to save at least $20/month on coffee and filters!)

Filed Under: food, green living, health, review Tagged With: , , , ,

How Green Are You?

April 2, 2009 By 1 Comment
Water

Water

Earth Day is April 22 and I’ll be featuring some ideas on how to live a more frugal, more environmentally friendly life. Sometimes it’s the small actions that can make the biggest difference.

  • Turn if off. Is your TV turned off? Guess again. Even when turned off most electronics use power. To save energy (and money!) unplug electronics when not in use or plug into a power bar and turn the bar off.
  • Adust the temperature on your thermostat. Adjusting the temperature just 4 degrees will save you money and reduce wasted energy. Adjust as you leave the house for the day or better yet install a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature automatically based on the time of day.
  • Recycle aluminum cans. Recycling cans only uses 5% of the energy needed to manufacture an aluminum can from scratch!
  • Wash clothing with cold water. About 90% of the energy used to wash clothes goes to heating the water. Look for laundry detergents designed for cold water washes.
  • Hang your clothes to dry. For those of you, like me, who can’t hang laundry on a line to dry (I live in an apartment building) you can still use drying racks or hang clothes on hangers on the shower rod. I take most of our clothing out of the washer, hang on hangers and hang them on the shower rod and the clothes are dry within hours. Just be careful not to overcrowd them. Works like a charm :)
  • Say No! to bottled water. Invest $30 and buy a Brita filter water pitcher. Not only will you save money on bottled water purchases but you’ll stop hundreds of plastic bottles from hitting landfills and reduce the energy used recycling plastic – not to mention the toxis released.

These are just a few of the quick and easy small ways we can reduce our environmental impact while saving some money along the way. Makes cents to me.

What small actions have you taken to be a little greener?

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