Leftover rice? Great for cleaning pans.

What do you do with a bowl of dried up leftover rice?



I used it to clean up my cooking pan when I am cooking this dish.



The sauce from it tend to stick all over the pan because of the corn starch I used to thicken the sauce. Instead of washing the sauce off to cook the next dish, I put a bowl of leftover rice into the pan and stir the grains all over the pan, then I add some water and stir again to clear up the sauce.

Now the leftover rice is all puff up...



...and ready to eat.



And of course, the pan is clean enough for cooking the next dish.



So, before you wash off that highly flavorful sauces and browned bits of meat or fish stuck to the bottom of a pan after cooking, read what Christopher Allen has to say about his fondness for fond.

I cannot find a better explanation to save time, water and energy from not washing pans before cooking each dish and not being labeled lazy by... my mother-in-law?

Useful wares. Save time and money.

Here is another "1 More Need Less" kitchen ware to look out for.

This is a grating tool that came with a cook pot my husband bought me.



It is also supplied with a ring that is large enough to sit on top of the cooking pot.



Place the grating tool onto the ring and you have incorporated a steaming function for the pot.



This is great for steaming, fish or meat or heating up leftover rice or dishes when I am stewing a dish or brewing my soup in the pot. I also like to use it to boil my eggs. To do that, place the eggs in an empty bowl and put that on top of the steaming rack. And no, you do not pour water into the bowl. Steaming the eggs this way, they will not crack and you do not have to worry about water boiling out of the pot.



This is one of the covers for this pot. It has a suction handle for its top that can be removed. With the handle removed, I can use it as a mixing bowl. It is also large enough for me to use it as a container for washing my vegetables or serve food in it.



I am able to keep my food warm by placing it on top of the cover. Of course, your food must be in a covered container to prevent flies from getting to them before you do.



So, the next time my friends ask me how I managed to find time to write blogs, I think I will send this link to them. That way, we can do the "1 More Need Less" together.

It's a nice day for...

"It's a nice day for weeding".

That did not get me the response I have expected from my children as they went off to see their weekend kids' programme on TV.

I should have said, "Let's build a secret hiding place". With "The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian", still fresh in my daughter's mind, she was keen to be involved when she saw me digging a hole in the garden.

I told her to dig it big enough for a plastic pot that came with a plant I bought and went off to do my indoor chores. Not too long after, the older brother joined in the fun.

"It's ready! It's ready!", they shouted, very keen to see the outcome of this project.

I put the pot into the hole and decided that the hole is not deep enough and it's top will show above the ground surface. So, I placed garden stones around the hole.



So, what is the purpose of this hiding place? They wanted to know.



"Now, Mummy, has a place to dump dried leaves and weeds removed from the garden."



And to make it less of an eye sore, I placed a pot of plant over the pot.



It is a mini compost bin for a mini garden.



I have a lot more of these plastic pots and I am sure I will not have any problem getting them to dig more secret hiding spots. It should be fun for the kids, when it's time to count the worms.

Give me a plastic makeover

I am so miserable. All I get is bad publicity. So, I take a very long time to disintegrate but, hey, who has to tolerate that stench in the landfill? I am not looking forward to that! I wish you can perk me up.



That is exactly what I need. A breath of life. Fresh air. I wish you can do the same for my pals.



Right on! You put me in the mood for a Samba.



I wish I can have someone to Samba with.



Have you realised that we have cheered you up just as much while you work in your kitchen?



I wish you can put all my friends to use and tell your friends about it.



Do you know that there is a process to make plastic lumbar product out of us which is 10 times harder? Cambridge Resource Recovery Centre is working on the process. In fact, a Professor Alka Zadgaonkar has managed to make cheap fuel out of us.

We could make you rich one day. Just hang on to us. The time will come when we will be more sought after than our paper friends.

Note: Place your bottle of sauces in cut off bottoms of mineral water bottle or unwanted covers. This way, when the sauces dripped out, it will not stain your kitchen table. Less cleaning = save time and water.

Veneers? Can make you an artist.

Veneers are often glued onto the surfaces of doors, tops and panels for cabinets or parquet floors. This is to give the product a better finish, especially when plywood or inferior timbers are used to form its carcass. So, you can easily find veneers cutoffs in woodworking or carpentry shops, work sites or factories.

While you can make money with leftover wood product by creating mulch out of them, don't waste these veneers if you can get them.

Check out this book, "Decorative Straw Craft: Swiss Straw Work, Embroidery and Marquetry" by Barbara Fitch which I came across in the National Library.



When I look at the photos of marquetry creations, it reminded me of a handcrafted picture of a village scene that I bought when I visited St Paul's Hill in Malacca years ago. Marquetry is actually created out of cut strips of wood veneer, in different shades of colour, glued side by side to form a design.

And this is part of what Swiss Straw Work is about. I see a possibility of using drinking straws from packet drinks in this creation.



If you can find this book, you will read in one of its pages that the author allows photocopies to be made of her instructions if your intention is to use them to help others in some manner.

So, are you interested in making us of leftover veneers? If you cannot find the book, following are some websites you can go to:

Marquetry Organization on how it is done

Library at Leeds Marquetry

Art Marquetry

Techniques posted on Marquetry Society

American Marquetry Society Beginners Guide

So, are there people in the business of recycling wood to produce veneers? Onlyone Products Inc managed to patent and produce Tennâge, the thinnest flexible veneer sheet, out of remnants from wood processing. A handbag or briefcase made out of natural recycled wood veneer sheets; how does that sound to you? At Onlyone, you will be able to pick up more ideas on how veneers can be used.

And while we are still talking about wood waste, check out this hand crafted basket. It is made up of tree barks and strips of rattans.



This is made in China.

Hey! Did you throw this?

I found 6 steel hangers in the recycling bins of a kindergarten in my neighbourhood a few years back. They were a little tarnished from use. As I was on a recycling project with the school, I decided to bring them back to see what I can do with them. Here is a picture of one of them.



I took a plastic bag and cut it into strips. I then wrapped the strips around the hanger and hold them in place with the help of double sided tape. This is how it turned out after I have added a little bow to it.



I have showcased them during exhibitions and I always get a good response for the idea.

If you go to AllFreeCrafts Blog, you can learn how to braid your hangers or incorporate lacy material to them so that they can hold some potpourri. At Free Craft Unlimited you can even learn to crochet a hanger cover.

Other than that, you can also use clothes hangers for arts & crafts projects for children. Debbie Noah who wrote about her hanger arts & crafts idea calls her creations "Happy Hangers".

You do not have to be arty to be able to save things from landing in the trash can. For example, you can turn a broken wineglass into a cheap phone alarm amplifier. So, before you throw anything, take a look at it again to see if you can do something about it.

Now, what can I do with this broken toy? Maybe my husband should take a look at it first. After all, he was able to convert a broken garden lamp into a night lamp for our children's room.

Cheap and broken? Before you trash it....

What do you do with something cheap that is broken? Pick up this idea from me. I decided to use it to teach my little girl the art of craft and saving.

This is a hanger I bought with a bundle of 2 other items at a total cost of RM10.00. It is broken near where the hook is. If I do not do anything about it, the other end of the plastic will break anytime soon, rendering it useless.



By looping a chopstick that I no longer use with some raffia strings under the broken frame,...



I managed to craft it back to shape and action.



As my daughter watched me do it, she asked me why I do not want to buy a new one to replace it. I replied that I would rather use the money saved to buy her latest request aka demand, for a CJ7 plush toy.

I cannot think of a better way to inspire my daughter to think before she trash what is cheap and broken. Can you?

When zero waste is not acceptable.

Rubber hair bands and hair ties found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province are selling very well because they are colourful and cheap.

How are they able to produce them at such low cost to sell ten pieces at 25 fen? Let us take a look at the material used.

Can you figure what the centre piece of pink material is?

It is actually used condoms that could still contain bacteria and viruses, such, as, AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases! You definitely do not want to hold such hair bands or ties in your mouth, which is what we normally do while tying our hair.

This is not the kind of abundance from abandoned that I would encourage. It does amaze me that there are people who are willing to put someone's life in danger to make a quick buck.

Lights off Earth Hour

Earth Hour started with the idea to get 2 million residents in Sydney to turn off all the lights in their homes for one hour on 31 March 2007. The objective is to inspire people to take action on climate change. So, what was the response to this request?

Shankar Vedantam of Washington Post reported that the "Lights-Out Event More Showy Than Practical" because the energy saved was small.

But Earth Hour is not giving up on their aspirations to create an awareness on climate change. If you would like to be part of this action during the next "Lights Off Earth Hour", sign up and tell your friends about it.

This is how Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities spread the message in Canada.

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I believe that every action to create an awareness counts no matter how mundane it may be. It does not matter that it begets negative responses. Debates from participants and spectators will create a stream of reactions that could well lead to a solution for a greener world.

When zero waste to landfill is not good enough

What is the right definition of Zero Waste? Isn't "0% Landfill E-waste Policy" or "100% landfill-free Recycling Policy" good enough? By the standards of Zero Waste International Alliance it is not good enough if some of the waste end up in the incinerator.

They said that the right policy should be "Don't burn or bury" your resources thus eliminating all discharges to land, water or air that may be a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.

This means

1) designing and managing of products that are sustainable.
2) developing manufacturing processes that will reduce the volume and toxicity of waste.
3) making full use of discarded materials.

TerraCycle Plant Food was on Planet Green: Eco-Tech: Zero Waste.



I am sure that this company made the Zero Waste grade by all standards.

Ugly container and useful strings

What can I do to this container cut out from a mineral water bottle, a plastic cover from a food can and some raffia strings I have been collecting?



I can use the container to store my keys but it looks awful and it is difficult for me to reach into the bottle to get the keys without hurting myself as the opening is sharp edged.



I decided to store the strings in the container. Then I placed the plastic cover over the strings before I placed the bunch of keys in.



That's more like a designer container in the making to keep for good.

Green Efforts = Green Kids

I have just discovered a new incentive to continue with my efforts on writing about keeping the environment green. It has influenced my children to go green and here is their idea for saving bath water to wash their school shoes.

Before you take your shower, place a stool with holes on it over a small pail in your bathroom. Position them so that the sprays of water from the shower will hit it when you turn the water on.



Stand on top of the stool before turning the water on to bathe. Once the little pail of water is full, pour it into a bigger container.



For children who would like to try this at home, test the idea out with one of your parents around to ensure safety. Find a stool with a larger surface area and make sure that it can withstand your weight. The surface must not be smooth and slippery. It must also not be too high that you will hurt yourself should you slip and fall. Stand on the stool only when you are ready to shower and not when you are applying soap.

I would like to see this idea commercially incorporated into floors of bathroom in future homes. The water saved can also be used for washing floors.

Zero waste. Is that possible?

I used to say that zero waste is not possible but after watching Planet Green: Eco-Tech: Zero Waste, I just have to change my mind about it. Through technology, waste is no longer a dirty word. In fact, Science has made it the in thing to work on.

When I heard that eWaste can be recycled 100%, I did a search and discovered that there are indeed companies that observe the "0% Landfill E-waste Policy" or "100% landfill-free Recycling Policy".

Down in Australia, we have IT Liquidators. In New Zealand there is Telecom New Zealand Limited through their take back programme. However, their eWaste are recycled in India by Allied Electronic Recovery Worldwide (AER Worldwide). The woes of eWaste I have posted about may soon be a history.

If you would like to learn new business ideas for reducing waste and live a greener lifestyle, Planet Green: Eco-Tech, is definitely a trendy programme to watch. And if for some reasons you cannot watch it, Darryl Duffe will be sharing his notes on each episode and post them on Sustainable WNC.

If you would like to know more, Earthwatch Institute has listed the non-profit environmental organizations and advocacy groups involved in this project. I am sure that you will be able to find more useful tips for a greener environment from the links to their partners' websites.

And if you would like to be involved in some manner, there are activities and expeditions for Earthwatch Volunteers that you can participate in. This will not give you an opportunity to appear on "Planet Green: Eco-Tech" but a write up on "National Geographic" is a possibility.

The World's Refrigerator

Will the future generation be able to see the Antarctica as it is in these slides?

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Connecting a million hearts

This movie was created by HeartMath in celebration of Earth Day.



If you like watching this, learn how to live your life positively by downloading "Applied Appreciation", their free eBook.