Come On People, JUST DO IT! 2

A few posts ago, I expressed my thoughts about recycling and how important it is to me. Well, I'm going to discuss washing and reusing items this time. Reusing plastic zip-top bags in particular. What got me started on washing plastic bags and reusing them was when the Debbie Meyer Green Bags were given to me as a gift. I LOVE THESE BAGS! And YES, they really DO work. I've preserved many a piece of fruit or vegetable with them. And they help keep everything nice, fresh, and plump. You can rinse and reuse each bag up to 8 times. Something to do with their effectiveness of squashing the gases that rot food.

In addition to rinsing the green bags, I decided that I needed to step it up a notch and wash with soap and rinse the plastic zip-top bags that we use everyday and tend to throw away without thinking. Think about it, you throw the plastic baggie away inside a plastic trash bag, and NEITHER of those decompose at a fast rate. So, it's just filler in those ever growing landfills. Just take a look at these facts on Oprah.com. Shocking, huh? Makes you think twice about that bag that you just threw away. So, all you have to do is be diligent about rinsing them out and letting them dry. Now, diligent is the key word here my friends. So you don't want to be like I have been by just letting the bags pile up on the counter because I was too lazy to wash them as soon as I was finished. So, if you're going to give these green bags a try or washing zip-top bags, get yourself a Munchkin bottle drying rack or a plastic bag drying rack and go to town. Wash the bags out (the green bags only require water, no soap), give them a good shake like you're fluffing a trash bag, and hang them up. You'll be surprised how easy it is to form the habit of washing and rinsing bags out. And it won't seem like such a chore if you do a little at a time. And you'll be saving money too! And you know we all need to save money right now.

Ode to the Kitchen Television

I've been waiting for this day since we heard of the digital TV switch. The television in the kitchen has always been a sort of eye sore to me, but it was nice to be able to zone out on the TV while doing dishes or simmering a pot of tomato sauce. Needless to say, I have wanted it gone for awhile. It was just taking up so much space on my counter top. Made everything on that side seem so closed in and claustrophobic. It was just this big, ugly robot-like machine that just needed to go! And FINALLY it's gone! And I am so happy. Now I can enjoy more space for chopping, mixing, and prepping the delicious meals that I cook. Maybe it will even motivate me to stick better to my points (Weight Watchers term). And maybe it will help excite me to cook meals after all our Let's Dish meals are gone (Food Stamps doesn't pay for Let's Dish, bummer!). So, it's a new day in the Cook Kitchen. Well, at least until the day comes that a small appliance finds it's home on that new found counter space. I'm going to try to avoid doing that as along as possible. Praise to the digital TV switch!