3 Low-Tech Cookers Worth The Money

If you have a stovetop you're all set, so why buy extra cookers? 

Well, because the following 3 appliances do their jobs of cooking their specific food better than pots and pans on top of a stove. Plus they're low-tech and super cheap, which makes their respective ease and efficiency worth considering. Let's take a look:

1) An Egg Cooker - When I first saw egg cookers on the market I thought how ridiculous to buy a special gadget to boil eggs, but I've changed my mind! The reason is you can cook either hard, medium, or soft boiled eggs perfectly every time. Not so in a pan of boiling water on a stovetop, where the results of getting the eggs cooked just right can be mixed. Cooking time is less using the egg cooker also because you use far less water. You pour a small amount of water into the egg cooker which quickly brings the water to a boil. A see-through cover lets the eggs steam until the water disappears which activates an alarm telling you the eggs are done. To clean, just raise the parts with tap water as they get steamed, not dirty. 

Egg cookers come in mini, small, medium, and double-decker sizes corresponding to how many eggs you need to cook at once. They'll also make a custard, though I don't plan to utilize this function.

2) Rice Cooker - Again initially I thought what's wrong with just simmering rice in a pan on a stovetop? Nothing ... but a rice cooker steams the rice perfectly every single time and you can serve it in the very same cooker. I selected the Progressive Prep Solutions Microwave Rice Cooker over a pug-in-a-wall option. It makes up to 6 cups of tender flawless rice and can be tossed in a dishwasher. The rice is as fluffy as using plug-in models. Six cups of rice is enough for many recipes, but if you need to cook more rice, bigger units are also sold.

3) Mainstays 12" Nonstick Electric Skillet - I made Salisbury Steak with mushroom and onion gravy for 4 people in the skillet and it turned out just like it does on a stovetop. I let our dinner keep warm by lowering the pan's setting to 150 degrees F while we ate our 1st serving. You can sauté, sear, roast, braise, and steam family-sized meals in the 4 1/2 quarts pan. The skillet is ideal for entertaining as it sits on a countertop and is easy for guests to help themselves to seconds. Best of all, the electric skillet and its tempered glass cover top are dishwasher safe minus its easily removable temperature control component.

After a neighbor's fire in 2019 left our entire NYC apartment building without cooking gas for 8 months, an electric skillet would have come in handy for making one-pan dinners. We got tired of snacks, cold cuts, and eating out, which also got costly.

Wow, 3 economical simple cookers to make home-cooked meals better and more convenient. From cooking to serving dish to dishwasher!

🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪🍔🥖🥪

👺Just for fun, here are 3 gadgets that tend to be a complete waste of money: 1) a George Foreman grill, 2) a sandwich maker, and 3) a breadmaker as you'll rarely reach for them. Tasty hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a loaf of bread can be made as easily or consistently on a stovetop or inside an oven without special gadgets -- the reason you'll stop using them. I had a small George Forman grill. It grilled burgers no better than a frying pan on a stovetop, but I had to wash a special catch-the-meat-juices tray that is placed under, in front of it, so I gave it away. I never bought a breadmaker as I knew from experience you don't need one, and the devices seem to produce small loaves. When I bake bread I like sandwich-sized slices.

Bon Appetite at home!🍷

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Best Dollar Store Investment Buys

Sometimes you need to buy top-of-the-line household items and sometimes you can settle for good enough for its intended purpose. That's where dollar stores come in!  

For fun I'll share five $1 articles so surprisingly durable -- i.e. I've gotten years of unexpected use out of them -- that each one deserves to fall under the heading of Great $1 Investments: 

1) Microwave anti-splatter cover - There's no need to shop elsewhere where microwave food covers cost more money. The dollar store offers the same quality and it's as durable as any I've encountered. I only need one cover and don't know why more than one is needed, but hey for $1, who can quibble about the expense?

2) Shower comb with huge teeth - I bought a total of 3 combs for 2 teenagers and one for me to hang in my shower. I use it every day to untangle my freshly shampooed and conditioned hair. Also, I like taking it on overnight trips so I can style my hair by combing it through as I blowdryer it -- leaving my hairbrush and straightener at home. It works beautifully!

3) I found these flat stainless steel measuring spoons at an Odd Lot Trading store. 99 cents stores and Walmart also sell them. They are thin and compact, taking up little space in a kitchen drawer. They'll easily bend if abused but will last forever to measure spices, vanilla, and baking powder. They are cheap, but get the job done, so why replace them with a bulky expensive set? Heavier metal doesn't measure more accurately.

4) I needed a shoehorn and was unsure how long plastic would last but was sold on the 24-inch length so I don't have to bend so far down to slide into a pair of shoes! Turns out the plastic is super durable. I've used the shoehorn for years now and especially like the practical loop for hanging ... a feature I didn't even know I needed!

5) I like the flat, multi-sink stopper shown below👇. It's become the only type I buy for a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and bathroom tub. I have one that stays in the kitchen and another for the bathroom. They fit all-size holes and the rubber is thick and flexible. At $1 each a true bargain!

Sometimes the best things in life aren't exactly free, but from a dollar store, they come very close! $5 well spent for 5 lasting buys!

Have you bought anything for $1 and still using it years later?

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Plastic Spray Bottles, Yeah!

Sometimes the most basic home accessories make life sweeter. Extra power circuit breaker strips strategically placed throughout your home are an example. Plastic spray bottles are another. 

To make household cleaning efficient and easy, I have 4 plastic spray bottles, the 32-ounce size, which I bought several years ago at Home Depot. I don't recommend going bigger or smaller in size. Smaller, you'll be refilling your bottle every time you turn around, and bigger gets heavy to lift and less nibble to point and spray as you clean.

I fill my 4 spray bottles with (1) white vinegar and water (keeping bottles in both my kitchen and bathroom; (2) ammonia and water (kept in the kitchen to remove sink and countertop stains like coffee); and since the pandemic began, (3) bleach and water (stashed near the front door and bathroom). 

Before the pandemic, I cleaned my kitchen; bathroom; and apartment floors with white vinegar and water only; and my glass and mirrors with ammonia and water (homemade Windex) ... but the pandemic has given me a newfound respect for bleach -- adding 4 tablespoons to 32-ounces of water is an inexpensive Center For Disease Control (CDC) approved disinfectant of the coronavirus. At the beginning of Covid when we were less sure of how the virus spread, I used the breach and water to spray the soles of my shoes and entryway of my apartment. (If you recall, we couldn't buy alcohol or hydrogen peroxide until the supply chain caught up with demand.)

Spray bottles are the perfect tool to disinfect and clean surfaces, big or small, with a powerful fine mist of household cleaners. You get the surface very wet with a cleanser while using less product. There's no waste of the liquid going everywhere else, nor of leaving spots of surface dry. Instead, it's an even saturation of cleaner/disinfectant ... bullseye, right where you need it!

And during COVID, these spray bottles make disinfecting like crazy easy. Who knew when I bought them they'd get such a workout?!

I'm also a fan of putting spray triggers on the tops of alcohol and hydrogen peroxide bottles in my home. I liked the practice so much when cleaning, I transferred the idea over to wound sanitizing. For an even application of disinfectant on boo-boos without waste, I'll point the trigger: Pscht ... bullseye!🎯🙂

Now, let's discuss when to splurge and save on buying plastic spray bottles:

For home cleaning mixtures, I went to Home Depot to select professional plastic bottles with sturdy spray triggers, but for the smaller job of disinfecting abrasions with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, I simply repurpose the spray triggers from personal care items (like hair heat tamers, etc,) for free - screwing them directly onto their new products! (That way you also keep the original alcohol and hydrogen peroxide bottles with warning labels.) Wash and rinse the spray triggers well before repurposing them. Save a few bucks if they fit and do the job.

However, the plastic spray bottles for your household cleaners need to be bigger and better as they get used on bigger surfaces frequently, so invest in professional durable bottles and triggers for these tasks. Simplify your life further by buying bottles for all the areas of the home where you'll use them. At about $2 each, they're cheap; and convenience is worth every penny.

Truly, you'll wonder why you didn't buy plastic spray bottles to do your chores sooner!

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You Could Win This MZ Wallace Tote

MZ Wallace is a New York company based in Soho that makes bags for people who work, travel, exercise, have small children and spend their days running around the city doing errands. The bags have pockets for organization and style to go from day to evening -- so you don't look like a bag lady carrying your stuff around to get all your chores done. Chic, roomy, organized and compact!

The retailer's website shows several available styles of bags. My favorite is the crossover Metro Quatro Tote. Well-designed and durable, with a heavy-duty zipper, yet it's more than I like to spend on a non-leather tote, if I'm being completely honest. It's the cost of supporting a small business, as opposed to, handbag designers who mass produce their goods. Frankly, if you are on a restricted budget, I don't think saving up for this one bag (with leather trim) is the right move. Nonetheless, if you can easily afford it, it's a fabulous, well-thought-out, quality tote.

And for 15 lucky people, here's a link sponsored by the Today Show to enter a contest to win the bag (the deadline for entering is April 25th). Someone's got to win, and it could be you, Savvy Shopper!

Fashion meets function ... and a bag-maker to keep on our radar!

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Repurpose Food Containers, Jars And Mugs

Repurpose Food Containers, Jars and Mugs

These are the food containers delis use when customers buy potato salad or coleslaw. Mine comes from the health food store when I buy a pound of peanut butter. I find they are the perfect size to portion and store homemade soups, stews, chili and leftover vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer. And you can stack them inside your cupboard with dry goods such as rice and whole grains, candy, or even medicine like packets of Alka-Seltzer. Moreover, you can see right through them! They are available in 3 sizes: 8 oz, 16 oz and 32 oz. Mostly I use the 16 oz size.

I don't know why it took me so long to think of it, but recently I began using them (minus the tops) as organizers for like-things inside the top drawer of my night stand. As much as possible I try to repurpose something I already own to organize things since buying drawer organizers can add up to a fortune. Sometimes it's worth the expense. At times these free plastic food containers make the perfect repository to give necessities inside a nightstand a proper home. If you were to fill an entire drawer with them, they might keep one another from flopping around inside the drawer, or you might need to get creative by stitching, or hot gluing them to hold together.

Now I'm eyeballing other objects I rarely use to repurpose as vessels to hold other loose things. No need to buy special drums, old coffee mugs work for office supplies, such as pens and pencils which you need to grab repeatedly. Food canning jars come in many sizes: I already use large ones to store pasta and medium ones for syrups. Alternately, there's no reason they can't provide a home for desk supplies such as paper clips and tacks, or household tools like nails.

Furthermore, I use an old glass candle holder for my collection of lip balm. Place on a workspace, or somewhere within reach.

Can you get better organized by grabbling a rarely used dish, tank, carrier meant for one thing to repurpose for something else needing a home?


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Buy Used Books

While it's impossible to eliminate all waste we can be kinder to Mother Nature by being mindful; recycling; and embracing minimalism. Let's consider some eco-friendly ways to buy and read books.

As much as possible I try to borrow books from the library. But sometimes libraries comb their shelves of out-of-print history books, so I buy 2nd hand books and have ordered a few e-books (for recent publications) to read on my iPad. Absolutely I understand how thumbing through the pages of a book is favored, yet equally great is taking your ebooks with you anywhere to read. So consider buying a few ebooks.

Buying 2nd hand books saves trees! And, the books I received are in very good condition, often in like-new condition, costing only a few bucks compared to the $25 - $30 for new books.

Two outstanding websites to get used books from are: Discoverybooks and Thriftybooks. I've ordered hardbacks and paperbacks from each place, and you can't go wrong! I hope after I let the cat out of the bag, there will still be good books left for me to buy!🙂

The money raised by Discoverybooks and Thriftybooks goes to support good causes. Another advantage is you can often find hard-to-get out-of-print books on both websites. Moreover, when you must declutter your home, you've only spent a few dollars on the books you are ready to donate to other readers.

Another great place to buy used books, of course, is on Amazon, as the mega retailer also offers used books from various sellers, including far-away libraries (who are combing their shelves.) And speaking of libraries, my local branch accepts book donations, as well as, sells old books. So be sure to check with your branch libaries.

Buying used books is a win, win and THE SAVVY SHOPPER thing to do! Please add any other substainable ways to read books under comments.📚


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An Organized Purse

Although I've never been a slob, recently my organization gene kicked into high gear. Everything I own must have a home, including the things I keep in my purse.

So when the zipper on my crossover bag broke, I bought 2 new crossover bags from Foley & Corinna, a retailer previously featured on THE SAVVY SHOPPER. I selected their man made "liberated" leather, which feels like full-grain leather and endures through rain, show or shine. But perhaps what I like most are the pockets inside and out. There's a place for all my stuff from phone, wallet, makeup and odds and ends. Everything stays put and organized because it has a compartment. A home.

I got the 2 bags on sale, which is the reason I bought 2. Plus the crossovers are the exact size I need, with the same interiors, including the pockets. I plan to use one and save one for later. Occasionally, I do the same when finding a fabulous pair of walking shoes at a sale price.

If you own beautiful bags and desire to keep your contents organized, you can buy purse orgainizers to fit inside of your purses or totes. They cost between $19 - $30 depending on size, but are well worth the price to keep life orderly.

Every year I resolve to make an improvement. This year I hope to get rid of all the things I never use, that either hide behind other things in closets; or I keep just in case I might need them. Moreover, I know: I'll donate an item, then need it the very next week. So what, if I have to buy it again? I still want to hold unto less!


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What Can You Do For Earth Day?

Photo: Playbuzz

An old American spiritual says,"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands,'' and what an interconnected world it is. We, humans, are here to enjoy and take care of our planet. Today on Earth Day, is an excellent time to remember our responsibilities as stewards and ask ourselves can we do anything better to care for Mother Earth?

It turns out that "environmental plastic is a growing disaster." Most plastics are made from "non-renewable resources" of petroleum or natural gas, "extracted and processed by destroying fragile ecosystems." Think about it the next time you buy bottled water! And getting rid of plastic causes other problems. It isn't biodegradable, so plastic bags and bottles pervade landfills and our oceans. Producing and burning plastic pollutes everything on earth: air, land and water.

The concern is so great that New York City plans to ditch plastic grocery bags, bottles (sold in parks), drinking straws and plastic utensils. I use my plastic grocery bags as garbage bags and drinking straws to save my teeth from acids and stains, so the ban will be inconvenient, but a necessary one I'm willing to accept. "Every year 28-billion pounds of plastic ends up in our ocean," and it kills marine life. We can do better!

1) We can switch from plastic to paper straws and wooden utensils to cut down on waste. I need to look for reusable silicon straws to use (and wash) at home.

2) It is time to grab those reusable bags and bottles. Buy one of each today if you don't own them.

Mother Earth is so worth it. What other changes can we make?

3) Recycle electronics and batteries - BestBuy stores have drop off bins for each; Bed, Bath &Beyond accepts old batteries also.

4) Get creative and repurpose things you already own. YouTube tutorials can teach you how. You feel very clever doing so!

5) Enlighten yourself - Learn the ingredients, life cycles and eco-costs of everything you buy. 

Be a Savvy Shopper ... make a change today with Mother Earth in mind!


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A Charging Valet Station

Organization is the key to having a lovely home. Everything we possess needs a place of its own, which saves time, energy, frustration and money. (Have you ever re-bought an item because you couldn’t remember having one, or find it?) Sometimes the cords for all of our devices look sloppy. This faux leather charging valet station from Brouk organizes and hides those unsightly cords.
The cords of up to 4 iPhones feed into one main cord, which pokes out of the back to plug into a wall. Store all the other cords in the drawer. Plus, park a few other essentials such as house and car keys, or sunglasses there as well. The charging station comes with a 4-prong power strip and cord and is available in 6 colors.

Home Depot sells an attractive bamboo charging station ... nice, sturdy and inexpensive to house both iPhones and an iPad.

As you can see here on Amazon, there are a few different looks and price points of valet charging stations to suit every home. Consider it another great holiday gift ideal.



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Psst ... you. Yes, you! Take a look in my cupboard.

Once started, I enjoy organizing my home. In an effort to prevent clutter I: 

• Try not to buy unnecessary things; 
• Get rid of things I don't use; and 
• Make sure every thing has a home.

It can be challenging. Whether we live in a big, or small space, we need an abundance of stuff to cook; clean; groom ourselves; and entertain visitors. If you think about it, even a minimalist uses lots of items, tools and gizmos to maintain person and home.

Especially in a small space, it is important to consider how you will store the things you plan to buy. This seems like common sense, but when walking into a store, there are aisles of beautiful, but impractical (for your space) temptations! Whenever possible I buy compact appliances like a kitchen hand held mixer (not a countertop mixer); a laptop computer (not a desktop); and an upright vacuum cleaner (not a canister model). Sans the mass, compact tools do their jobs like their Cadillac siblings. 

Fortunately in my small Manhattan apartment, I have cupboards (some New Yorkers don't!), but I still have to get everything in there. Shelf helpers do the trick! (Please don't judge. I have not found a way to live without plastic storage food containers: Unlike glass storage containers, plastic is easy to stack in a limited space and doesn't break when falling over. I never, ever microwave food in them. But I digress.) Back to putting things in order ...

Here are a few helpful organizing tips:

1) Take everything out of a cupboard, then return things, placing the stuff you use daily in front at your fingertips.

2) Don't buy expensive organizers. Get rid of stuff instead! Shelf helpers, at $4 - $6 each, are a cheap, unbeatable tool for organizing essentials -- the things you must keep to make your life easier; happier; or better.

3) About size: Medium and small shelf helpers fit better. The large ones take up too much valuable space inside the cupboard. Often they work for outside areas like counter tops.

4) Usually grouping "alikes": cups; plates; wine glasses; or gadgets together is the best system. If you store small footprint items in front, they won't interfere with grabbing bigger items in the back. As much as possible, I try to avoid the need to move things in order to seize other things. It's annoying to have a job (i.e. move stuff) before you do a job (take out a plate). Organize your things in smart ways to save steps!

A shelf helper separates (and stabilizes) dishes and other things, giving them their own home. Not only do shelf helpers organize horizontal space, they let you use vertical space!

In the top photo: The (12) red, goose, china cups and red plate/platter are Christmas dishes. In hindsight, I would not buy once-a-year festive dishes. They take up too much real estate! Moreover, there are a few possessions in the cupboard I never use ... yet am slow to give away as they are gifts. But one day the never-use-articles will have to go!

Extra Tips: Put self helpers (1) in the back of your clothes closet, on the floor to create an extra level for lining up your shoes, as well as, (2) under a bathroom sink to neatly stash a few cleaning supplies. These organizers don't need to stay in your kitchen and will fit tight spaces elsewhere in your house. Finally, (3) be mindful of overconsumption; and try to limit the things you bring into your home. Get into the habit of buying enough. Less is better!

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A Boost of Peppermint

Photo: Shutterstock

Peppermint is a member of the Lamiaceae family. A hybrid mint, it's a cross between watermint and spearmint. It has been used in a myriad of ways for centuries.

My mom made me drink peppermint (also chamomile) tea whenever I stayed home from school with the flu. She said, "I bet you don't know I'm a doctor, do you? Listen to me!" When I felt sooo very baddd, she had the advantage, so I drank up.

As it turns out, peppermint tea does have proprieties that give it a few medical benefits: It seems to soothe an upset stomach, nausea, irritable bowel and bloating. Some studies (lead by Dr. Mark Moss, Robert Jones and Lucy Moss from Northumbria University in the U.K.) also suggest drinking peppermint tea boosts alertness and long term memory.*

Peppermint oil kills bacteria and fungus and can be mixed with a carrier oil (like grapeseed, almond, olive or avocado for skin); or diluted with water to kill germs on household surfaces.

Photo: thepositivespirit.com

Peppermint's high menthol, menthone and menthyl acetate chemical constituents are responsible for its cooling and anti-flammatory powers. Externally, peppermint oil has been used to relieve muscle and nerve pain. Apply it (diluted) to your temples and forehead to treat a tension headache.

Peppermint is also popular as a flavor in toothpaste, mouthwash and chewing gum. Peppermint oil is often an ingredient in shampoo, soap and skin products. It makes your scalp and skin tingle. A few drops in your shampoo can be used to treat dandruff. 

Not only is peppermint a refreshing tea, it is the oldest known flavor of candy: peppermints. Furthermore, it is a popular ice cream favor; can be added to hot chocolate and mixed drinks; and the fresh leaves can be tossed into green or fruit salads to kick up the flavor.

Peppermint is easy to grow indoors in pots, but like any mint, it will take over a garden, so even outdoors, you may want to pot it. Reportedly, insects are repelled by pots of peppermint. They don't like the scent.

Growing peppermint in a windowsill is very doable! You will have a room with pretty green leaves that smell fresh and clean to humans!

*(source) The Epoch Times, September 23-29, 2016

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It Pays To Give Old Things A New Life

Photo: cranberrytownship.org

After reading The Story Of Stuff, I too began to think about the entire life cycle of the things we buy. Can we reduce waste by recycling more of our stuff? Individual efforts make a collective difference in saving our environment. As a bonus, buying less and giving old things a new life can also save you big bucks! So when it makes sense, why not do it? 

Here are a few items I reuse or repurpose, which may sound cheap, as well as, brilliant!:

1) Reuse old (but still good) shoe insoles - Sometimes I luck into a pair of sneakers, all-weather mocs or ballet flats that have the perfect arch support. If I wear the outside shoes out, but the insoles are still good, I remove them (before throwing out the shoes). Later on, I slide the saved, old insoles into brand new shoes. I might also order a half-shoe-size-up so that I can slide one, or two pairs of the old insoles into my new shoes. I slip the old insoles under the new shoes' original (new) insoles. Often this works to absorb shock without making the toe bed too tight and results in turning uncomfortable shoes into very supportive walking shoes! With double (or triple) insoles, you get mighty fine cushion, bounce and shock absorption.

Old drawers turned into toy boxes. How clever!

Along with the saved, old insoles of trashed shoes, I buy Dr. Scholls' insoles. They cushion when there is no extra room in a shoe, as well as, are thin enough to triple up inside shoes for extra cushioning. For example: I turned my LL Bean All Weather Mocs into a super supportive walking shoe (by ordering a size 8 1/2 -- up from my usual size 8) and inserting a Dr. Scholls' insole along with a Nike's sneaker insole underneath the All Weather Moc's leather insole. Now I can walk all over the city in them as if they were sneakers!

2) Repurpose aluminum foil - Instead of buying Brillo pads, simply crumble up a piece of washed, previously used aluminum foil to scrub your pots and pans. It removes food particles, and you have one less product to buy. Naturally, you can tear off a new piece, but if you use aluminum foil to bake a dish or wrap food, wash and reuse it to scrub a pan before throwing it out.

3) Recycle paper/ plastic bags - As mentioned in a previous blog, I have a wire recycler as my kitchen trash can. All the plastic supermarket bags are reused as garbage bags. Paper bags also become garbage bags, as well as, wrapping paper for packages mailed at the post office. Aim to save a tree and use less plastic whenever possible, but reusing them helps too!

4) After making a batch of Kombucha tea, I reuse the paper towels that cover the tops of the brew to spot clean my floor, or to dust. Why not? They aren't dirty.

5) Next I plan to repurpose two empty Kleenex boxes to organize and give my plastic grocery bags and clean, gently used paper towels a home.

6) Repurpose an ugly old file cabinet, or other furniture - I enjoy the show Knock It Off, which is always breathing new life into unsightly old furniture, or metal file cabinets by staining or painting them. The show saves homeowners $1000s for the cost of a can of paint.

7) If I buy beauty products that come in small containers, I wash and save a few for traveling. I have a slender cosmetic bag filled with these empty miniatures. Why buy special containers for trips instead of recycling these perfectly good containers? Let's make one less landfill by washing and reusing what we have. 

Earth Day arrives on April 22nd! Think about all the things you buy. Each of us can lessen our carbon footprint for Mother Earth by reducing, recyling and reusing. Do you give your things a second life? Feel free to share your genius ideas under comments.

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