Category Archives: Household How-Tos

Recycling previously non-recyclable materials

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There are quite a few items that cannot be recycled in our garbage/recycling area. These include things like plastic bags or polystyrene foam cups and containers often used for takeout. It may also not be appropriate to attempt to recycle things like styrofoam packaging and peanuts, or some hard plastics of the type that are often found inside packages.

However, there are options!

London Drugs now takes all these items!

Here’s a list of all the things accepted at London Drugs:

what-can-you-recycle

Don’t forget recycling best practices:

  • Paper and cardboard must be dry and free of food debris.
  • Tissues, paper towels or other paper that has been in contact with food is not acceptable.
  • Make sure food contamination and caps are removed from cans and plastics and all containers are empty.
  • Separate plastic lids from plastic bottles (often made from different materials).
  • Do not place medical waste (needles, catheters or lancets) into the recycling containers.

https://greendeal.ca/keeping-other-flexible-plastic-packaging-out-of-landfill-in-bc-%e2%80%a85-things-you-need-to-know

Organics Recycling Beginning April 1 (no joke!)

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It’s official! We will be starting our Organics Recycling with a two-week trial on April 1.

In preparation for this, you will need to source some kind of a container that you will collect your food scraps in, similar to these ones at London Drugs:

IMG_2352

(you don’t need to go out an purchase something, any plastic container with a lid will be fine)

You can start collecting your organics at any time, and you can store them in the freezer until April 1. Once your suite’s bin is full, take your scraps down to the recycling room, where there will be a new bin (as of April 1) to dump them into. We will have this picked up once a week.

Here’s a list of what you can and cannot put into organic recycling:

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Download this as a .pdf here: ww_stickers_15cmx15,  and print it off to keep in your kitchen for a reminder.

Here are some more tips to live a green lifestyle.

Fix Your Slow-Moving Bathtub Drain

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Ugh. There’s nothing like standing up to your ankles in water and scummy shampoo, because your bathtub is draining so slowly.

All kinds of things, like hair, bits of soap, etc get caught in the bathtub drain, and that stops it up and makes your drain move slowly.

You could use a product like DrainO, but that stuff is chemicals, and bad for the environment. Here’s a tutorial on how to make your bathtub drain properly again, using vinegar and baking soda (which, BTW, is way cheaper than buying DrainO!).

 

Gunk-free Stoves

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Despite trying to keep your stove shiny and white, sometimes boil-overs happen, and there’s a huge, yucky, caked-on mess to contend with.

Before...

Before…

I especially find cleaning the burner guards a challenge!

After!

After!

Here are some DIY methods to keep your stove clean and shiny.

How to Clean Cooked-on Gunk from a  Stovetop

How to Clean a Really Dirty Stove Top

Also, I highly recommend Magic Erasers! They really do work wonders.

DIY Natural Spray Cleaner

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Our rooftop herb garden is supplying us with an abundance of rosemary right now, why not turn it into a great, homemade natural spray cleaner?

You only need three ingredients:

  • vinegar
  • sprigs of rosemary
  • distilled water

You’ll also need a spray bottle. You can recycle one you have already on hand, or buy one from the dollar store.

Click here to find out how.

 

Roast Chicken with Lemon And Rosemary

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Here’s a great recipe that incorporates fresh rosemary.  Here’s the original recipe.

Ingredients:

  • One chicken (small enough to fit inside a large ziploc bag)
  • A ziploc bag
  • One lemon, or the juice of one lemon
  • 2 -sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed and skinned, torn roughly
  • a teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • 2-3 tbsps of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

Wash your chicken thoroughly, inside and out, and salt and pepper the cavity.

In the ziploc bag, add the rest of the ingredients.

Add the chicken to the bag, seal, and then smush it all about to mix up the marinade and massage it into the chicken. Place the bag with the chicken on a plate, and put it in the fridge. Ideally, you want it to be in there for 24 hours, but if you only have a few hours, that’s okay.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken and marinade in a roaster, and roast, uncovered, for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of your bird. You’ll know it’s done when the leg joints are loose and easy to wiggle, or you can prick it with a knife in the leg bone joint and the juices run clear.

Remove the chicken from the oven and tent it with some aluminum foil for about 5-10 minutes. This allows the meat to rest and makes the chicken juicer.

Carve and serve!