Paper Jewels

Yes, clean kitty litter, all right? The guys in the back can stop snickering.

(I thought a pic of one of our cats would be a little more interesting than a picture of kitty litter.
You know what kitty litter looks like.)

This may sound silly, but I ran across a couple articles about “alternative uses for kitty litter” and I thought, you know, there’s probably a lot of people like me who wouldn’t have thought of these – and they’re pretty smart. So here’s some I thought were the most useful:

1. If you get motor oil on your driveway or the floor of your garage, sprinkle on some litter. It’ll absorb the oil.

2. This is one of the first ones I ever used: Keep a big bag (this can be the cheapest non-clumping stuff) in your car all winter (or all year, depending on where you drive). It’s great for adding weight when you need it on icy roads – and sprinkled in front of your tires can help you get traction if you get stuck!

3. Treat it almost like vermiculite when you’re planting your garden. Sprinkle in amongst your compost before you plant your veggies or flowers. It’ll help the soil retain water and it’s safe for the plants.

4. Not surprisingly, it’s a pretty effective “odor eater”. Slip it into a small muslin bag (or old socks!) and insert into your smelly sneakers. It’ll act like charcoal and draw out the odor.

5. Same kind of a deal – odor eater – fill a small bowl or other container with litter and place it in the back of your fridge. It’ll help absorb odors.

6. And one more on that line – sprinkle an inch of kitty litter in the bottom of a diaper pail. You get the idea

7. This one I haven’t tried but it makes sense to me: sprinkle it in the bottom of your grill (outside grill that is!) It’ll help prevent grease fires.

See? Even non-cat people find it handy to have some kitty litter. It’s cheap, it’s useful, and hey, you might get a cat!

I’m trying to learn more about indoor gardening. Partly because plants add a terrific graphic beauty to your home – and partly because it’s healthy. We really do live in a symbiotic ecosystem, you know. Plants remove toxins from the air, and that’s got to be good!

And esthetically, they add a natural beauty that we can probably all use a little more of. Case in point:

Snake Plant
and

Golden Pothos

I found these in a terrific article, “10 Super Easy to Grow Indoor House Plants” over at Garden Mandy. She’s got lots of great tips there for indoor gardening – and a lot of eco friendly tips and news. Go over there and check, it’s totally worth your time.

Did you know that the golden pothos – while bad for your pets, don’t let them eat it – removes formaldahyde from the air? Can we say “poison in new carpeting”?

Get some plants!

PS I’ve actually been able to grow pothos (my “fail safe” plant) and snake plant. And I totally don’t have a green thumb. If I can do it, believe me, you can too!

A bucket, you say? Now wait, it is MUCH cooler than you’re thinking.

If you’re like me, you always need places to PUT things. You need to get more organized. You don’t want to spend a lot of money but you want whatever it is that’s doing the organizing, to look good. And you’d be thrilled to do it yourself – if you just knew how.

So take a look at this absolutely terrific burlap “bucket” – container – catchall – magazine holder – tote – you name it:

DIY Burlap Bucket or Tote – PDF Instructions from Designsmayamde on Etsy

Think how many ways you could use this. In every room – in colors made to coordinate and look good with what you’ve already got. You can do it yourself. You could use all kind of great recycled fabrics!

And she offers online help if you need it!

I was so tickled to learn that the Obamas (or somebody on their team, I guess) have decided that it’s a good idea to do some organic gardening at their new house This is the kind of thing that’s only a symbol, I suppose, but it’s a pretty terrific symbol.

Together with a bunch of school kids (I know, I know, what a photo op) Mrs. Obama’s going to start an organic garden at the White House. Read more about it here and here.

And somebody’s got a sense of humor about it (photo mock-up courtesy of Eat The View).

I saw a very interesting post today about growing tomatoes from seeds – I’m going to include a link below. The author is Margaret Roach. Among her many interesting comments, she noted:

“Brush the tops of the seedlings daily with your hand to provide the “mechanical conditioning” that creates sturdy, not spindly seedlings. Not just once, but gently for a half-minute or minute. (Yes, go ahead, talk to them while you do it. I probably do without even realizing it.)”

Talk about “hands on” gardening! But she said a lot of things that make sense. Here’s the link to the full article:

In a word – coffee grounds. Most plants love them – I’ll do some checking to find out what *doesn’t* like the acid in coffee. But most do.

Scatter the grounds as mulch. Dig them into your soil to both lighten and enrich it.

add coffee grounds to your garden - as mulch, as food, as compost - it's all good