How Very Pinteresting!

Volume 1

This weekend I tried out several things that I had pinned on Pinterest, and I thought it would be fun to share my results with you fine folks! Also, I am hoping that making this into a new segment will encourage me to stop procrastinating on other pins that I have been wanting to try and not getting around to. So, here goes!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes - Win!

Not too bad for my first try, huh?

www.recipegirl.com

This woman is a pancake genius. If you like cinnamon rolls and pancakes, make these. You won't be sorry. 

I had planned to halve the recipe, since there are only two of us and it says it will make 8 pancakes. However, after halving the cinnamon filling and the cream cheese glaze, I realized that it is difficult to halve an egg... so I made the full amount of pancake batter. It worked out. I guess my pancakes came out a little bigger than hers, even though I used the recommend 1/3rd measuring cup. It probably would have made 6 pancakes for me, but I did four 1/3rd cup and one larger one with the leftover batter. I had to skimp a little with the cinnamon filling on the last big pancake, and there turned out to be extra cream cheese glaze. I may have added a little too much powdered sugar to it, because I had to thin it a little bit with milk to get it to drizzle. Amazing. My favorite fella says these may be the best pancakes he's ever had.

Mom's Super Laundry Sauce - Win! (so far)

Maybe I should call it Laundry Butter, instead?

www.Budget101.com

 

Fairly easy to put together, even though the dust from grating the Fels Naptha made me sneeze. The initial cost was about as much as buying laundry detergent, but the box of borax and washing soda will last through many batches, so it will be very inexpensive from here on out. 
I didn't have anything really grubby to test it out on, but our clothes smell fresh, and I don't see any residue. The reviews were very good, so I have high hopes that we will continue to love this!

Tub Scrub - Win!

Tub Scrubs Scrub Tubs!

 www.marthastewart.com

Our bathtub is terrible. It might be the original from when our house was built in 1950. In any case, it is in dire need of a reglaze. Just days after a good scrub it looks like it hasn't been cleaned in months, since stepping into it with any dirt on your feet guarantees stuck on foot prints. I have tried Comet, scouring pads, Barkeeper's Friend (liquid and powder), various combinations of bleach, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and dish soap recommended by the Internet, and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Some worked better than others, but all required excessive elbow grease to get the tub white again each week. This cheap, non-toxic cleaner blows them all away.

Well, the first round came out better than I expected! Not all of the links I have found through Pinterest have worked out so well for me. Do you have any Pinterest gems or flops to share?  

Milk Jug Watering Can

What a wonderful idea from A Journey to Dream! I had thought to turn an empty milk carton into a watering can by cutting the top. Before getting started, I did a quick search to see if someone had come up with a better method than what I had in mind, and look what I found!

Please visit her blog for instructions on making this very simple recycled milk jug watering can. 

I made my own using a pin, but I think I'll have to dig up a nail or a larger needle to make the holes wider, because I'm not getting water flow as good as hers is in the picture.

What are some creative ways you have recycled common household items in the garden? 

Guiltless Freezing

I just recently discovered that freezer bags are recyclable! I have yet to try it, but it sounds like you can turn clean and dry freezer bags in at grocery stores that recycle plastic shopping bags. 

Washing them can be done inside out in a dishwasher, or by hand. We aren't lucky enough to have a dishwasher in this house, but it's only a matter of seconds to squish some soapy water around in it and hang it in my drying rack on a spatula.

I was looking into alternatives for freezer meal containers that are better for the environment. There are some affordable options out there...

For example:

Wide mouth mason jars

Freezer paper

Plastic freezer containers 

 Plastic wrap and aluminum foil

...but I still feel that zippered freezer bags are the most flexible for most freezer meal applications. They allow you to reduce freezer burn by pushing out air, and can be stacked neatly and tightly together if frozen flat. 

However, I am hardly ever able to reuse them. They develop pinholes and leak when defrosting, get contaminated with raw meat, or sometimes I just get impatient and rip them open to defrost things (like soup stock) in a pan. Now I don't have to feel as wasteful because I can take them in to be recycled!

Ziploc even has a rewards program, which you can check out here (no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way):

I'm still interested in getting some reusable freezer containers eventually. What are your favorite ways to store your freezer meals?