Reducing (Part 1)

 Cheap ‘green’ cleaner ~ Orange vinegar

I am sure you like oranges. I do and I used to discard peels, then I learned I could make an all-purpose cleaner using them.

Put the orange peels in a container (I use a plastic bottle) and then cover them with white vinegar. Make sure the liquid covers the peels and close the lid. Leave the mixture for at least two weeks. The vinegar will take the color and smell of oranges. Strain the orange peels out of the vinegar and store the orange vinegar in a container (try using a spray bottle with pump atomizer to avoid wasting the product).

If you do not have enough peels to fill the container, you may add more later. Just make sure you also add vinegar to cover them all.

Orange peels contain oil glands, which nourish wood so you can use this cleaner to polish wooden furniture. It is also an excellent degreasing cleaner.

We use the orange vinegar as a multi-purpose cleaner.

Reusing ~ do not throw food scraps into the trash bin! (part 4)

 For plant lovers

Do you have coffee or tea for breakfast? What do you do with the remains? Do not discard them! Let them dry and add them to the soil you use for your plants.

Coffee grinds are good as fertilizers as they contain many nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium. They also better soil structure and help to aerate it.

Tea leaves (or the content of tea bags) are acidic, so they do not work for any plant. Use them with roses and ferns.

Reusing ~ do not throw food scraps into the trash bin! (part 2)

 For plant lovers – You can use some of your food scraps to fertilize your plants.

Take banana peels, for example. They are rich in potassium, iron, various vitamins, nitrogen, phosphorous, manganese and copper. Plants love it! And earth worms, too!

You can make banana tea by boiling three or four banana peels in water (make sure you are using water that does not contain chlorine, tap water usually does. You have to let it in the sun for a day and it is ready to use) for fifteen minutes. Let it cool, filter using a strainer and a piece of cloth and use it in 50/50 mixture with water (remember not to use tap water directly) to water your succulents. I store the banana tea in bottles to use when I need it. You can also water your veggies and flowers. Banana peels favor the formation of flowers and fruits. I water my succulents once a week using it. The string of hearts flowers all year round.

You can also put the peels in the oven and roast them until burnt. Then, you have to crush them until they are dust-like. I use the food processor. I mix the banana powder with soil I use to pot plants and in the cans where I have earthworms. They say it is aphrodisiac for them.

Reusing ~ do not throw food scraps into the trash bin! (part 1)

 Did you know you could reuse most of your food scraps to produce things you usually buy ready-made? It sounds too good, does not it? I will show you some tricks I have learned in the last few years.

Do you have plants? Either flowers, succulents or veggies, you can get some of their favorite soil free, using food scraps. Does any food serve this purpose? The answer is NO. Only vegetable scraps. Animal and byproducts from animal origin are not used and you must discard them separately.

As a rule, everything from vegetable origin can go into the compost pile. You can arrange it in your backyard by making a hole and putting all scraps there or you may use bricks or wooden boxes to contain the scraps. Even if you live in a flat, you may use a wooden or plastic box (they are selling plastic containers, which are far more elaborated). In case you use a plastic recipient, it must have some holes at the bottom to let the liquid get out. If not, the compost will smell terribly and will go bad. You can collect the liquid and use it as a fertilizer. After about three-four months, the food scraps have turned into compost, a soil-like matter. How does this happen? By the action of microorganisms. These little beings decompose the food scraps and turn them into the nutritious soil you buy in garden centers. You will save money and resources, recycle the waste you produce, enrich your soil and have beautiful and healthy plants.

TOWARDS WASTE ZERO ~ HOW TO START AT HOME

 We all know that we are producing more waste than ever before and it is becoming a HUGE problem. If you are one of those people who think big companies should start doing something, read on.

Three years ago, we started recycling food scraps instead of throwing them into the garbage bin. We pile all the veggies and fruit scraps and make compost. It is great for plants, a rich spongy soil full of nutrients. We dry eggshells and crush them to add to soil; make banana tea (to water succulents); roast banana peels in the oven, once roasted, I crush them, earthworms love it! We have greatly reduced waste. With citric peels, we prepare a cleaner we use to clean windows and furniture. We stopped using fabric conditioner and replaced it with vinegar (white vinegar). That is our little contribution to a better life. 

And you? Have you already started composting?

This is how food scraps looks like after 3-4 months

See the earthworms? They decompose the scraps and enrich the future compost

This is how compost looks like once strained

And those were the hard workers that made it possible (together with pill bugs and other insects)