greenUPGRADER » Living

Make Your Own Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Becky Striepe — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:25 +0000

I was at the grocery store the other day shopping for the week and I popped into the pet aisle to grab a can of wet food for our pup who's being a little finicky about eating lately. It was right there that I spotted them: organic cans of pureed pumpkin and sweet potato for dogs!

This is something I'd never seen before, so I did a little research. Apparently, sweet potato and pumpkin in moderation can be good for dogs who have unpredictable tummies. My dog tends to get car sick and she also barfs when she's stressed, so working a little sweet potato into her diet sounded like a great idea! If you do feed sweet potato to your dog, there are two things to keep in mind:

It's fattening. This should be a treat, not a major food source. For a small dog, a couple of tablespoons of sweet potato will do the trick. If your dog is larger, you can feed her 1/4 cup or maybe even 6 tablespoons a day.
Skin your sweet potatoes. The skin is full of fiber, and the idea here is to settle their tummies. Plus, if there's any mold at all on the skin, it can be bad for your pup.

A quick peek at the ingredients revealed that there was nothing particularly special about this food. All that's in them is the pureed veggie. And they were charging almost $3 per can for the stuff! That seems crazy to me. Instead of shelling out big bucks for a dog on the label, try these simple alternatives to expensive store-bought sweet potato treats:

Organic canned sweet potato or pumpkin. The kind you'd get to make pie is basically the same as the kind I saw in the pet aisle, but it costs over $1 less per can. Just make sure it's unseasoned and not salted. You want 100% sweet potato or pumpkin.
Cooked sweet potato. Microwave or bake a sweet potato, remove the skin, cut into cubes, and cool. My dog wasn't interested in eating the plain sweet potato, but you can also mash some up with their regular food to make it more appealing.
Dried organic sweet potato. Use your food dehydrator or your oven to dry strips of sweet potato. Need a recipe? This dog treats site has some great info on how to make your own, natural, dried sweet potato treats.

Do you guys make your own dog treats? I'd love to hear what homemade goodies your pups love best!

Craft Recycled: Upcycled Lamp from a Wire Waste Basket

Becky Striepe — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:43 +0000

For folks who are into cross-stitch or weaving, the texture of a wire waste basket begs to be fancied up with stitched or woven fiber, and Poppytalk did an awesome job transforming a wire waste basket into a lamp! They used strips of fabric, but you could also use yarn or grouped strands of embroidery thread - this is a great project for busting that fiber stash. You can check out the full instructions on how to do it over on Poppytalk!

The folks at Poppytalk used a new waste basket, but you can hunt at thrift stores for a second hand one to make this an upcycled project! The trick is cleaning that waste basket well because, well...it's a waste basket!

How to Clean Your Waste Basket

Wire mesh is not a joy to clean, but with the right tools on hand, you can make it easier on yourself. Here's how!

Get scrubby. Use a scrubby brush and hot, soapy water to get any gunk off of your basket.
Rinse. Rinse it out under running water. Your bathtub is a good place to do this, if you don't have a hose in your back yard.
Soak that sucker (optional). If you feel like it's still not totally clean, grab a bucket that's larger than your basket, fill it up with water, add a generous squirt of dish soap, and submerge. If your basket wants to float, use a brick to weigh it down. Soak for around 30 minutes, then rinse.
Dry. Set your basket out to dry. You can dry it in the sun, if it's warm and clear out or just set it upside down on a clean towel to drip dry on the bathroom or kitchen counter.

Ta-da! Easy peasy, and you're ready to make an upcycled lamp!

Make Your Printer Ink Last Longer

Becky Striepe — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:35 +0000

If you're trying to live a greener lifestyle, chances are you avoid printing at all costs. Between the energy, the paper, and the ink, printing is not the most eco-friendly thing you can do. Sometimes, though, there are things we have to print out. Maybe it's paperwork for our taxes or something for work where an electronic document just won't do the trick.

If you do have to print, stretching your resources is a great way to green up that process. You probably already know to print on both sides of your paper or maybe you even fish junk mail out of the bin and print on the back of that. But what about the printer ink?

PC World did a study back in 2008 showing that when the "low ink" light comes on on most printers, between 8% and 45% of the ink is still in the cartridge. If people all replace the cartridge when the light comes on, that adds up to a lot of wasted ink! There are a couple of ways that you can waste less and make that printer ink last longer:

Just wait. Head to the store and pick up an ink refill when the "low ink" light comes on, but don't actually replace the cartridge until your print quality starts to suffer.
Shake it up. No, for real. I used to work at a...let's say "frugal"... office, and when our printers would run low on ink, they'd always tell us to shake the cartridge and try again before they'd order a refill. Just be careful - some cartridges will leak if you shake them, so best to do this over a sink or wrap it in a small rag before you shake.

One word of caution: it can be bad for your printer to let it run totally dry of ink, and it would really cancel out your efforts if you had to replace your printer! Once print quality starts to go down, replace the cartridge to avoid damaging your printer.

What do you guys do to conserve at the office? I'd love to hear your tips in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by freestockimages

A Greener Surfboard

Becky Striepe — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:31 +0000

The typical surfboard is far from eco-friendly, but a small company on the Oregon coast creates a greener surfboard by using lower impact materials and reclaimed wood.

To understand what makes a surfboard greener, you have to understand how to make a surfboard. The board has a few different parts:

The Blank - This is the core of the board. When you're building a board, you carve your shape out of your blank, which is typically polyurethane.
Fins - These are the pieces mounted on the back of the board. These are normally made from fiberglass, which isn't too bad from an environmental standpoint. Fiberglass becomes problematic when it breaks down, because those fibers are no good for your lungs, eyes, and skin.
Deck and Glass - This isn't actually glass. Conventional boards use polyester resin, which is a high VOC material. Board makers cover the blank with a layer of fiberglass, then seal the whole deal with lots of polyester resin.

So, how do you make a greener board? We've covered some green surfboards in the paste. Check out these wooden boards from Rayskin or Gary Linden's board made from agave. There's a new company on the scene specializing in a greener board: Tilley. Here's owner Jason Tilley shared a bit about how he makes his boards:

The core is EPS, rather than polyurethane. I did a little bit of research on EPS, and it gets mixed reviews from an environmental standpoint. It's hard to find places to recycle it, and EPS is a type of Styrofoam. What makes it better than polyurethane is that it doesn't contains CFCs or HCFCs, which are harmful to our atmosphere. Some even say that it improves landfill stability. While EPS doesn't strike me as a green material, it's got polyurethane beat.
Reclaimed wood. Instead of fiberglass to cover the board and make the fins, Tilley uses reclaimed local wood. This one's a no-brainer, right? Reclaimed wood for the win!
Epoxy. Since the boards are wood, they require less fiberglass over the deck than standard boards, and he seals his boards with epoxy which is lower-VOC than polyester resin. There's still an impact there, but it's definitely an improvement.

What really makes Tilley's boards a greener option is their durability. As Jason explains:

One of the main reasons in my mind that they are more eco-friendly is durability. They will not easily snap or ding like standard boards (because of the wood and the way it is used in a composite sandwich). They are gorgeous so they are very likely to end up hanging on a wall or re-purposed into a shelf or coffee table, not in a landfill. I wish I could tell you how many Polyester surfboards snap and end up in a landfill, some less than a year old. I got into building these boards because my own backyard was filling up with old polyester boards, and I was frustrated with the endless ding repairs and disappointed when a board I liked was a soggy dead mess after a few years.

You can check out Tilley's boards on their website. He's got some standard boards that you can order, or he'll do custom work to make a board that's just right for your style.

Etsy Finds for Valentine’s Day

Becky Striepe — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:43 +0000

Can you believe that Valentine's Day is less than a month off? We spend upwards of $15 billion on Valentine's Day gifts and getaways. Imagine the impact we could make if we channeled some of that money to independent artisans who use eco-friendly materials instead of blowing it at the big box store?

As a former Etsy seller, I can tell you that when you make a living from selling your crafts, there's nothing like seeing those new transaction emails in your inbox. It means that you can keep the lights on, and every sale takes a bit of the stress out of making ends meet. Not only do you get to bring a bit of joy to a crafter when you shop handmade for Valentine's Day, but if you choose goods from eco-friendly crafters, you do your bit for the planet, too!

On the hunt for just the right Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie? We've got a few romantic finds from Etsy that should do the trick.

This handmade lingerie set from Conscious Clothing is as cute as it is eco-friendly! She creates each set custom from a soy and organic cotton jersey blend fabric with sweet lace details. Choose the color you like, and she'll whip you up a custom set. It says it takes 3-4 weeks to deliver, so best to order now!

Keep your sweetie warm and cozy with a beautiful infinity scarf. Infinity scarves are super hip right now, and this one from Econica just screams romance to me. Way better than a dozen roses!

This customizable ring from One Loom Studio is another one that you should order now, if you want it in time for Valentine's Day. You can get this sweet faux bois ring engraved with any sweet message you like, but it does take 2-3 weeks to get to you. Instead of new materials, she uses a silver clay, which is made out of recycled silver and "organic binders." When she fires the sculpted ring, the binder cook away leaving a metal piece, like any other piece of jewelry.

Not feeling the shopping vibe? You can make your own gift instead! Try whipping up a batch of forever flowers or a romantic, organic coctail.

Wine to Water Winner

Becky Striepe — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway for a copy of Wine to Water! We used a random number generator to choose a winner, and the winner is....

Bonnie who's awesome water-saving tip was:

If it’s brown flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.

We'll get in touch with you ASAP, so that you can claim your prize!

Wine to Water: Book Review and Giveaway!

Becky Striepe — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:00:11 +0000

Doc Hendley was more into drinking beers than in water security, but an evening of Googling changed his life.

We talk quite a bit about water conservation here at Green Upgrader, but what we don't talk about as much is the fact that in many developing countries access to clean water is not a given. Wine to Water tells the story of one fellow who's helping increase access to clean water in areas where that vital resource is scarce.

What really struck me about this book is that Hendley doesn't hesitate for a moment. Before learning about the world water crisis, he was content to coast through college, partying in the evenings and doing the minimum to get by, but when he found a cause that he was passionate about, he pretty much leapt into action. I really look up to folks who skip the deliberating and complaining and just do.

The book was a great read, and it takes you through Hendley's journey from a college student in Raleigh, North Carolina to founding and running Wine to Water. The publishers of Wine to Water were kind enough to offer up a copy of the book to one lucky Green Upgrader reader! Here's how you can enter:

Share your favorite way to conserve water at home.
Follow Wine to Water on Twitter, and let us know with a comment on this post.
Follow Green Upgrader on Twitter, and let us know with a comment on this post.
Follow Green Upgrader on Facebook, and let us know with a comment on this post.

For each thing you do, you can get an extra "name in the hat." Just make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do, so that we can count all of your entries. We'll announce the winner on Monday the 23rd. That's in just a few days, so hurry up and enter!

They do ask that we choose a winner in the U.S. or Canada only and that the address not be a PO Box.