redheadeb's Profile

Or use washable, reusable pads, such as Pooch pads.

I've been using glass jars (someone leaves their empty Tostitos salsa jars in my office break room free for the taking -- they eat a lot of salsa so I have a lot of jars). I'm careful to leave enough head space for expansion when freezing and I've never had one break. I cook large batches of dried beans and these are the perfect size, one jar holds about the same amount as a can of beans.

For slow cooker recipes, try

Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson (
http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Vegetarian-Slow-Cooker-Recipes/dp/1558322558/ref=sr_1_1ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271207494&sr=1-1)

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker by Hensperger and Kaufmann (http://www.amazon.com/Your-Mothers-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1558322442/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271207536&sr=1-1)

A Year of Slow Cooking (the blog) (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/) and Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (the book) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401310044?ie=UTF8&tag=totatogejour-)

I can't stand the thought of using sponges, either. I knit and crochet and test out stitch patterns with inexpensive cotton yarn and use them to clean and do dishes -- I've got lots so use a clean one every time. They go in with my regular laundry so extra environmental impact is minimal.

I also have a supply of "unpaper towels" made from birdseye cotton -- they're the approximate size and weight of paper towels and, again, are laundered between uses.

Our housekeepers only empty the trash cans in our cubicles once every two weeks (we have a strict no-food in the cans policy and we can bag our own and leave it in the aisle for them to pick up). I don't us "my" trash can at all, I just carry my trash to the large communal trash can near the door.

Shelf supports: <A HREF="http://www.instructables.com/id/Ten-Green---modular-shelving/">here</A> and <A HREF="http://www.instructables.com/id/Ten-Green---kitchen-shelving-unit/">here</A>
<A HREF="http://www.instructables.com/id/Sturdy_Beer_Bottle_Table/">[Ugly] furniture</A>
<A HREF="http://www.instructables.com/id/Drinking-Glasses-from-Wine-Bottles/">Drinking glasses</A>

I agree with dierdre -- use vinegar. I scrounged an abandoned Downy ball from my apartment building's laundry room and use about a gallon of white vinegar a year (I don't use it for everything, I'm only really interested in reducing the amount of clingy pet hairs, not "softening" anything (why??). Vinegar's cheap, easy, and works well. (I make my own laundry soap, too, as dierdre suggests.)

I can't see how the lavender would do anything but make your laundry smell like lavender, until the smell fades and then it's just (hopefully) compost.

I've had a lot of luck finding the vintage Pyrex ones AddiPi describes at thrift stores -- usually individually and mostly the small ones. The lids don't really fit so snugly that they're air tight, but the glass lids are heavy enough it does fine for a few days.

I agree, the aesthetics aren't there. Dorm room indeed.