Consignment Store Review: Once Upon a Child

I've always been a huge fan of consignment stores.  I grew up shopping in them and they make so much sense for kids clothes, both from a budget and a green living perspective.  I general, I don't think there is anything greener than reusing things that already exist!

The particular consignment store I usually go to is called Once Upon a Child  It is located in Hazardville CT (Just south of Enfield).  It is my understanding that they have other locations, but this is the only one I have been to.  It is a little bit hard to find, and is located in a huge strip mall complex off of route 190.  They have no shortage of cloths, toys, equipment and even some new stuff for sale.

Unfortunately, because of the sheer volume of stuff they accept, it is sometimes necessary to hunt through racks of clothing before you find the decent pieces among the junk. Still, if you persevere you can find Baby Gap, Old Navy, Oshkosh and lots of other name brand clothes for very cheap.  I can usually buy an entire season's wardrobe for my son for about $60 (The price of maybe two shirts at Baby gap!).  My only real complaint about the place is that it is a bit of a factory... and you can forget about putting things on consignment there... they seem to only accept consignment clothes on the weekends (even though their website claims they accept items everyday, I was told at the store that I had to bring it back on the weekend), and the couple of times I tried to bring stuff in, I was told there was a 45 minute wait until they could get to my basket (impossible when you have a 2 year old with you!).

Overall rating:
A-: for selection and price
C+: for location and ease of the consignment process

Fruit Fly Deterrent

So it is that time of year again.  I found some fruit flies flying around my bananas and tomatoes today.  It reminded me of the best tip/recipe I have ever found.  Fruit Fly Deterrent.  So simple, so effective, and it kills those annoying pests very efficiently.  Simply pour 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap into a pretty bowl or mug and leave out on your counter wherever you see fruit flies.  Presto! They are attracted to the vinegar, which is in essence rotten fruit, and get sucked into the soap and drown.  An unpleasant way to go for sure, but it keeps your fruit and veggies from rotting and being eaten by the little buggers.  So there you have it, homemade cheap fruit fly deterrent!

Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

1 cup whole milk
6 oz semisweet chocolate (I used organic chocolate chips)
2 cups vanilla yogurt (lowfat or fat free works)
1/4 cup sugar

Combine milk and chocolate in a food processor with a metal blade and blend until smooth.  Add yogurt and sugar, blend until well mixed in.  Pour into ice cream maker and let it go for about 25-30 mins.  (I liked this recipe more when I served it right from the maker, it got a little too hard in the freezer...

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

So I have been on a homemade kick lately.  I am trying to make as many of our daily use products as safe and environmentally friendly as possible.  So I researched making dishwasher detergent.  Apparently it is not safe to have any soap that suds in a dishwasher but baking soda and vinegar are quite effective, so I tweaked until I came up with this effective and super cheap liquid dishwasher detergent.

1 part baking soda
1 part salt
1 part borax
20 drops orange or lemon essential oil
optional some citric acid, or true orange or true lemon from grocery store

I mix these together and add 1 to 2 parts water, shaking.  Add enough water that everything can be shaken into a liquid without leaving powder residue on the container.  Shake before using.

I also use straight white vinegar in the rinse aid part of the dishwasher, and all my dishes are cleaner than they have been using store bought detergent and rinse aid.  In addition we are saving a lot of money on dish cleaner. 

If you prefer powdered dish detergent use the powdered citric acid or true lemon and skip the water.  Use a few teaspoons dry mix in the detergent dispenser.  I always add the water because I prefer liquid.  I keep this in a plasticware beverage pitcher with a tight fitting lid.  This works great for us.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup cane sugar
2 tbs molasses
3 tbs applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
(1 egg - optional, works just as well without it, although a bit more crumbly)
1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter and molasses with electric mixer until light and fluffy  Add applesauce and vanilla, beat for one more minute (add egg in this step also if desired).  Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and add to creamed mixture.  Mix until flour is blended.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 mins (I sometimes find 12 is needed with my oven).  Let cool completely.

Hello World

Just trying this whole thing out... will have recipes and such to share sometime soon!