Okay, Okay! Here's the Oreo Ball Recipe!

Funny thing, that facebook....post how you're working on something and all the sudden you are bombarded with requests for the recipe/how to.

Luckily, I LOVE to share... I am finished with my bazillion Oreo balls for this season so have at it!

This original recipe comes from the famous http://www.bakerella.com/ so be sure to check out all her cool recipes too. There is also a slide show "how-to" on my website.

Ingredients: Makes apx. 3 dozen balls

1 Package of regular Oreos

6oz. Cream Cheese

1 bag of Chocolate Candy Melts (Hobby Lobby)

Twist the Oreos apart, leaving the cream on the cookies. Put into food processor and grind until they become fine crumbs. You do not want any large pieces. (Surprisingly, the crumbs will be dry even with the cream.)

Put the crumbs in a large bowl and add the softened cream cheese ½ at a time. Mix well WITH YOUR HANDS! Roll gumball sized balls in the palm of your hand and place on wax paper. FYI – These are really rich so if you make them any larger – it’s almost too much of a good thing.

Melt the chocolate melts according to package instructions. Put 4 or 5 balls in the chocolate at a time and roll them around to coat evenly. Using a fork and a spoon, remove the balls individually, tapping the excess chocolate off as you place them back on the wax paper. Before they harden, sprinkle with your favorite topping, if desired.  No need to sprinkle them as soon as you put them on the paper.You can usually dip an entire bag before they dry out. Eat them all yourself or wrap them up and give away as gifts.

Green Tip:

For my teacher gifts, I dove into my clean recycle stash for wrapping ideas. I covered Velveeta cheese boxes with tissue paper, wrapped the Oreo balls in colored saran wrap and placed them in the box. Then I put the box in a gift bag. You can also reuse the original Oreo cookie plastic container (see photo). Just cover them with colored saran wrap and top with a bow. Easy and inexpensive!

For more great receipes visit http://www.thekendalcompanies.com/Recipes---DIY-Projects.html

Thinking Thursday - Reducing Packing Materials

Living Green – Reduce Packing Waste



- Reuse a box instead of purchasing a new one for shipping gifts


- Use the smallest box possible to reduce packing materials


- Reuse bubble wrap and packing peanuts – NEVER throw peanuts away


- Create your own packing materials by using shredded newspaper

Thinking Thursday - Reduce your gift shipping costs

From the Dec. 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens:

Give gifts you don't have to wrap or ship to save money, wrapping paper, postage and transport fuel such as:

Music and Movies from iTunes
Club Memberships
Charitable Contributions
Concert or Theatre Tickets purchased online
Virtual Gift Cards
Kindle Novels

THINKING THURSDAY - Each Drop of Water Counts

Today's Thinking Thursday is short, simple and...shocking. Read on to learn just how each drop of wasted water adds up then take a look around your house to see where you can save a few million drops.

FACT: A faucet that drips once per second wastes up to 3000 gallons of water per year.

FACT: Faucets installed before 1994 flow at the rate of 7 gallons per minute compared to the new high efficiency ones - they can reduce the flow by 30%.
FACT: Before 1994, toilets used as much as 7 gallons per flush. Current toilets can use as little as .9 gallon.
FACT: Current showerheads can be set to flow at a rate of less than 2 gallons per minute without affecting the pressure.

THINKING THURSDAY - Banishing JUNK MAIL

There was a time when I loved a mailbox stuffed full of catalogs, sales papers, magazines and, well, just junk. Now that I am trying to be more "earth-friendly" AND trying to save money, I have banished the junk mail. No more costly magazine subscriptions to magazines I can't find the time to read. No more catalogs full of stuff I used to buy but never really needed. Gone are the piles and piles of credit card offers in the mail just waiting to be plucked by some identity thief! How did I dwindle down my mail? Read on to see the steps you can take to BANISH YOUR JUNK MAIL!

I Opt out – Whenever I join a club, register for a conference, apply for ANYTYING, I always check the “Opt Out” box. This keeps the company I WANT to give my info to from selling or passing it onto someone I DON’T want to contact me. Many companies have “sister” companies they will pass your info onto, creating a new line of junk mail.

I think twice – Before I sign up for any type of newsletter at my gym, event calendar from my daughter’s ballet or the library’s mailing list – I rethink…..Can I check the info on-line instead of getting a mail out? Is there a monthly email newsletter? Anything that will keep my MAILING address off a list – I chose that route! Every piece of paper, every envelope very stamp printed counts. According to 41pounds.org, the average amount of junk mail each American adult receives in a year is, well 41 pounds!

Speaking of Mailing Lists – The Direct Marketing Association will remove the names of everyone in your household for three years for $1 per person. Visit www.dmachoice.org/mps or the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html for more info. The DMA says that doing this will reduce your junk mail by 80%!!!!

Credit Bureau Mailing Lists – All Pre-approved credit offers and insurance offers come from these guys. Visits www.optoutprescreen.com to be removed for 5 years. This not only reduces junk mail but is a good precaution against identity theft.

Valpak coupon Mailings – Rarely do these packets contain coupons you will actually use. www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm will remove you.
Use online catalogs – www.catalogchoice.com lets you search by catalog name and cancel the ones you want to stop. As you get catalogs in the mail, take the time to visit this site and remove your name. Use the online versions instead.

Contact the marketer directly. Sometimes all it takes is an email or phone call to be removed from a mailing list. Ask the company to send you online material instead. You can still get the great offers but not the paper version. If you don’t care about their sales and info, you can always add them to your email “junk” inbox and never know the difference!

You won’t be able to stop every single piece of junk mail from finding its home in your mailbox, but you can significantly reduce the flow. Visit earth911.org for more info.

How have you reduced your paper junk mail?

Thursdays in the Simple Life Series are all about reducing the clutter (mental and physical) you bring into your life in the first place, starting with our “green” tips. I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own life. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together. Hopefully by the end of this process, you will have a better view of your health, your money, your lifestyle, your dreams, your regrets and use these findings to make steps to improving your life overall.

Why Worry Wednesday - Multi Media Mess

Mission Seven:

MULTI-MEDIA - CDs, VHS and DVDs 

 I love movies almost as much as I love books. I grew up without cable and all we had to do was rent and watch movies. They were too expensive to buy back then, so if we did buy one, it had to be one we all loved and could watch over and over. (I can recite every word to Animal House, Caddy Shack and Blue's Brothers!) These days, movies are easy to find and affordable but I still abide by the rule that if I don't love it, I don't buy it. I can rent the same movie about 5 or 6 times for the cost to buy it AND it's not taking up space in my house. I can Tivo movies or check them out from the library for free - all this in for the sake of keeping my home clutter-free.

I can relate to the benefit ownership too. My youngest daughter, now 6, has more than a few DVDS and, I have to admit, I still have close to 75 Disney/kids VHS movies from when my teenagers were kids. What I cannot relate to is those of you who buy every single movie as soon as it comes out so that you have wall-to-wall DVDs in your living room. You can't possibly watch the old ones as fast as you buy new ones. I suggest you pick a dozen of your favorites and eBay the others. Make a small fortune! You can rent the new ones or sign up for Netflix.


TIP: Send the CDs and DVDs to a Children's Shelter or Women's Shelter. They have very little to entertain themselves with and they would appreciate the movies more than you do viewing them on your shelf! Sell them back to Wal-mart! Wal-mart will buy them back AND pay for the shipping to them. Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1


GREEN TIP: Recycle the empty CD and DVD cases. Visit Earth911.org for more info.


EXTRA POINTS and $ TIP: Eliminating Electronics. As with outdated books and movies, you probably have a few walk-mans, pagers and bulky monitors taking up space somewhere. What about cords that you don't know what they power up? Gather them all together, pull the batteries out for separate recycling, and decide what is trash and what still works. Many businesses will give you a rebate for recycled electronics. As for the power cords, try the "single sock" trick from Mission Four. Put them all in one big box. When you need a power cord for something, see if it's there. After a while, you will have pulled the cords you need and can recycle what's left. Don't worry about throwing away a cord you need, most likely it isn't something you use anymore. NEW! Wal-mart has just started a new program that BUYS your used electronics. It's very simple and they pay for the shipping! Check out http://walmart.gazelle.com/?_gzl=1


Next Wednesday - MISSION EIGHT: Deconstructing Your DINNERWARE
 
Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Why Worry Wednesday - Menacing Magazines

Mission Six:

MAGAZINES and CATALOGS

 I am a magazine junkie. One of the few bad habits I admit I possess is buying magazines. Over the years I have learned to cut back because 1) I just can't afford this bad habit 2) I can't actually read them ALL and 3) I have become more earth-friendly.


MY STORY: When my grandmother passed, I had to clean out her house. She had tons of magazines lying around. For every 50, I found one that she had marked with something interesting. It took days to go through them. Just when I thought I had sorted through them all, I opened the attic door to literally 100s of more! She kept every single magazine she ever bought! Magazines are RARELY valuable. If they are, it is because someone else is collecting them and need a particular issue. There is no reason to keep them for years at a time.



When I began to go through my own stacks magazines, I realized I was keeping tons of magazines for no reason. Since my business involves home decor, organizing and catering, I pulled out and few, mainly the holiday ones for reference, and everything else went to the gym or the women's shelter. Since then, every magazine I buy, I read as soon as possible so that it doesn't end up in an unread pile by my desk.


TIP: As you read a new magazine, skim the articles and mark the pages you want to go back and read. On the spot, tear out any article or photo you may want to try later. Go back and take the time to read the articles you marked, then immediately add the magazine to the recycle pile. Put the torn out pictures and pages in a file for later reference.

My own magazine "file" book

Assignment: If you haven't already, go through your house and gather every magazine (this includes catalogs) you own, read or unread. You can keep 12 for future reference. As you get the newest issues, pull the oldest out to recycle - even if you have not read it yet (after three months if you haven't read it, you probably aren't going to.) Don't renew your subscriptions if you find that all three issues are still un-read. Most magazines have on line versions. They cut down on tree harvesting, paper production energy and transport fuel. They also don't make piles in the floor that fall over every time the dog runs by!

Wednesdays in the Simple Life Series are for YOUR CLUTTER (and yes, it multiplies in my home too). I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own home to clear out my clutter. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together.

Thinking Thursday - Simple Green Tips

Thursdays in the Simple Life Series are all about reducing the clutter (mental and physical) you bring into your life in the first place, starting with our “green” tips.  I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own life. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together. Hopefully by the end of this process, you will have a better view of your health, your money, your lifestyle, your dreams, your regrets and use these findings to make steps to improving your life overall.

Light bulbs: If you have not changed over to the recommended ENERGY STAR Compacted Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs), here is a good way to do so. With your trusty notepad, go through EVERY room in your house and count the light bulbs, noting in columns the different sizes you currently use. Include your porch lights, garage areas and even the little light over the kitchen sink. Do not count your bathroom lights as Consumer Reports reports that lights that are constantly turned on and off shorten the life and efficiency of these bulbs. Add how many regular bulbs you need to your list.



Why change? According to www.energystar.gov ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs:

- use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
- save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

- Produce about 75 percent less heat, so they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling



Taking your notes, purchase 1) All the CLF bulbs you need, plus 2 extras and 2) the number of regular bulbs you need for burned out ones plus, ONE pack of each of the other sizes you need for back up.


When you get back home, immediately change out to the new bulbs and put the spares in a safe storage area. Recycle all bulbs, even if they are still good.


GREENTIP: According to www.lightbulbrecycle.com , bulbs, just like batteries, should be recycled at your local recycle center, NOT in the trash. One bulb contains enough mercury to poison 6,000 gallon of water enough that is become undrinkable!

EXTRA CREDIT: While you are up there changing the bulbs, unscrew any globes and run them through the dishwasher to clean the dust and grime off. It's quick, easy and will brighten the room (not to mention get the cobwebs outta there!) If the globes don't unscrew, gently wipe them with a damp cloth to remove the grime. Even if you wait to change the bulb until it blows out, make a habit to clean the globe when you change it out.

Batteries - Designate ONE area for batteries, both new and used. You can purchase a "battery station" on eBay or through the Internet, or just keep them in an office supply tray.

Keep all new batteries here, not scattered in 5 different junk drawers. When you replace a battery from your remote, notice if you need to buy more and recycle the old battery.



REASON TO DO THIS: How many times have you stolen the batteries from one remote to put into another? Case Closed.

EXTRA CREDIT: Gather every single remote in your home. Replace each remote's battery with rechargeable batteries and recycle the old ones, even if they are still good. Buy a charger for the batteries and keep it with the new batteries. By using rechargable batteries you help reduce the waste and possible toxic problems caused by single-use ones PLUS you don't have to run to the store every time you need a new battery!

GREEN TIP: Re-use the stryo containers that fruits and veggies come in for your battery recycle bin. They are small and will hold many batteries. According to Earth911.com, batteries should not be placed in the trash, but recycled at your local center. Batteries that end up in landfills and incinerators eventually end up in our environment and/or the food chain, causing serious health risks to humans and animals.

Think Thursday - Create Your Own Home Recycle Center

Setting up your home recycle center is easy and inexpensive. With a little planning, you can create a user-friendly center in your home. I use a variety of bins, trash cans and laundry baskets. You can find just about any size bins to fit your space. Before you track to the store, measure your space. (Twice I bought too large of bins and had to return to the store becasue I didn't measure first!) I bought my final bins on sale at Staples for about $4 each and the trash cans at Walmart for $1.99. I also bought three extra large trash cans for the garage for $5 each and two plastic laundry baskets for $2 each. That's a total of $35 for my one-time set up.

Our recycle center is two-fold with the first station in our kitchen:
 

 
In the kitchen, one trash can is actual trash and the other is for recycled cans, bottles and plastic (our county recycle center does not require that these be separated.) The bins are labeled "newspapers," "cardboards" - such as cereal boxes and "color papers" - such as catalogs. I took simple card stock paper (found at Hobby Lobby) and printed out the labels from my home computer and taped them on each bin so the kids could keep it all straight.


On the top of the bins, I have recycled vegetable cartons to hold light bulbs and batteries:
 
 

 
I also have a wall-mounted bin for plastic grocery bags (which I return to the store) and a bag for empty cardboard paper towel and t.p. rolls (which go to the art dept. at Grace's school.) All our magazines are taken to my gym for sharing.
 
When the kitchen bins get full, we transfer the contents downstairs to the second station where I have three large trash cans, with secure lids. Make sure you get the lids to keep bugs and animals out of the cans! The recycled cans, etc go into the trash cans and the newspapers, etc go in a plastic laundry basket with handles. We also have a "donation" box and an area for "yard sale" items.

 About once a month, when the cans are full, we track it to the recycle center in our county. I take the paper stuff to the fire station drop off centers, and the donated items to the shelters.

The kids had a hard time remembering to recycle at first, but now it's a habit! Our actual trash went from an average of one full bag per day to one per WEEK! I kid you not! For a family of five!

 Resolve to do your part this year- even if it just using BOTH sides of a sheet of paper! I'm not one to harp, chant and rave, but I do think a little goes a long way, one family at a time.



Thursdays in the Simple Life Series are all about reducing the clutter (mental and physical) you bring into your life in the first place, starting with our “green” tips. I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own life. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together. Hopefully by the end of this process, you will have a better view of your health, your money, your lifestyle, your dreams, your regrets and use these findings to make steps to improving your life overall.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Thursdays in the Simple Life Series are all about reducing the clutter (mental and physical) you bring into your life in the first place, starting with our “green” tips. Below you can find the “Green” schedule. I will let you know what I am doing to make simple changes in my own life. I hope you follow along and try some of these steps yourself. Please let me know how you are coming along by leaving comments at the bottom of each post. Tell me what works, what doesn’t, if you are bored – whatever – we are learning and growing together. Hopefully by the end of this process, you will have a better view of your health, your money, your lifestyle, your dreams, your regrets and use these findings to make steps to improving your life overall.

Kermit may have had it easy, but when it comes to "being green" in the "eco" sense, sometimes it's just plain nasty. Smelly empty milk jugs. Gnats flying around the trash bins. Yucky compost piles. What's the use? You've heard it before - to save our eco-system. Before you hang up your re-usable grocery bag, read through my "Green" series and see how easy it really can be.

Green....What does green mean or signify to you? Does it mean "eco-friendly?" How about fresh spring "green" grass or the ever-eluding "green-backs?" Maybe the word green makes you envision funny little leprechauns and four leaf clovers? Or maybe your "green" thumb starts to itch when warmer weather creeps around? Explore the many ways green is entwined in our daily lives as I encourage you to.....

Be Green - Living a more eco-friendly life - SERIES SCHEDULE

Thursday Jan. 12th – Creating Your Own Home Recycle Center

Thursday Jan. 19th – Great tips for Making Recycling Easier

Thursday Jan. 26th – Review of Garbageland by Elizabeth Royte

Thursday Feb. 2nd – How to get Your Kids’ in the Recycling Habit


Thursday Feb. 9th – How to Get Rid of your Stuff


Thursday Feb. 16th – How to Profit From Recycling

Thursday Feb. 23rd – Businesses with Recyclable Programs


Thursday March 1st – Books – Make Money, Donate, Recycle


Thursday March 8th – Preparing for a Clean House Yard Sale

Thinking Thursdays - What to do with your holiday cards

Recycled Post from December 2009:

RECEIVED HOLIDAY CARDS - Chances are, with this year's economy, you didn't receive as many holiday cards as usual - but what do you do with the ones you did get? St. Jude's Children Ranch accepts used cards until Feb. 28th. The children participate in making the new recycled cards by removing the front and attaching a new back made with recycled paper. The new card is a beautiful, “green” card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive "green" holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of "going green".

                                                                   Send your cards to:

                                                             St. Jude's Ranch for Children

                                                                100 St. Jude's Street

                                                           Boulder City, NV 89005-1681

Host a SWAP PARTY? Sounds right up my alley!

Another great idea from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (Jan. 2010 issue).....

Ever heard of a Swap party? NO, it's not something you do with the couple down the street - get your mind out of the gutter!

Its a fun, free and green way to get rid of things you no longer want and take something you do home. Kinda like a yard sale with no money exchanged.

Here's how it works:

Invite a few friends and ask them to bring items to swap. Everyone will lay out their items (kinda like a flea market booth). Allow browsing time, then take turns choosing one new item for each item you brought. The  only rule is that everything for the swap is clean and in good condition.

Tips:
 - Invite five friends to bring 10 items.
 - Send ten tags to your friends for them to use to tag each item. They can write sentimental
    values of t each item, little stories about the item, "selling points", anything they wish, and
    attach it to each item.
 - When guests arrive, give them 10 clothespins with their names written on them. They will
    use these to "tag" the items they wish to chose. If multiple people "tag" an item, put the
    pins in a bowl and draw a winner.You can also play the "white elephant" game with your 
    items.
- Have  progressive swap. Each person will have their items at their own homes. The group
   moves from home to home to view items and have a different snack. Great for
   neighborhoods with close neighbors!
 - Have boxes and recycled grocery sacks for your guests to take their new treasures home
   in.
 - For anything that is left over, instead of your guests taking them back home, arrange for a
   local charity to pick everything up the next morning.

Thinking Thursday - Green Holiday Crafts for Kids

This is a great craft for small groups of children such as church youth groups and small classrooms:

Make garland out of paper you would normally toss in the recycle bin:

Use a circle punch or trace the top of a jar to make circular cutouts out of last years holiday cards. Glue layers of circles, placing twice in between the layers for hangers.

Cut cardboard tubes from paper towels and gift wrap rolls into 1-inch sections, then fit the rings together to form a ball. Poke a hole in the top and run a string through it for a hanger.

Cut pages from magazines into 1 1/2 wide strips. Spread glue on one side, place a straw lengthwise along one edge and roll the paper around the straw. When dry, cut the straw into 1 inch pieces and thread onto ribbon.

*Taken from the Dec. 09 issue of Better Homes and Gardens

Thinking Thursdays - What to do with your holiday cards

RECEIVED HOLIDAY CARDS - Chances are, with this year's economy, you didn't receive as many holiday cards as usual - but what do you do with the ones you did get? St. Jude's Children Ranch accepts used cards until Feb. 28th. The children participate in making the new recycled cards by removing the front and attaching a new back made with recycled paper. The new card is a beautiful, “green” card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive "green" holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of "going green".

I like to host Creative Days and after the holidays I ask all the ladies to bring in their cards. We box them up and send them to the kids. What a great and easy way to "give back."

Send your cards to:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children

100 St. Jude's Street

Boulder City, NV 89005-1681

Check Out Our Guest Blog Post on EADFL!

Thanks to Jamie over at Engineer A Debt Free Life for allowing me to "guest blog." Click over to read my first published article on How To Make Money While Being Green!

Keep America Beautiful Recycle Day NOVEMBER 15th

"America Recycles Day (ARD), Nov. 15, is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products. Celebrating its 12th year, it has grown to include millions of Americans pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work and to buy products made with recycled materials.


Through America Recycles Day, Keep America Beautiful and the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) support local communities and raises awareness by educating citizens about the benefits of recycling. Volunteer America Recycles Day coordinators are positioned throughout the country and work to organize recycling awareness events in their schools and communities, and in conjunction with their local municipalities."