Don’t panic, you haven’t missed Mother’s Day. You still have three days to decide what you are going to do before Sunday rolls around.

For the past month there have been constant commercials on TV about what your mom really wants for Mother’s Day — jewelry, flowers, a car and a card with a cliché quote on it. But instead of trying to buy your mom something this year, consider all of the things you could do with your mom, for your mom, or make her that she would love and appreciate even more than things with a price tag on them.

I know we are no longer kindergarteners (even though we still take afternoon naps like we are) who are ecstatic to bring home an indecipherable drawing or a macaroni craft project, but your mom would still love to have something you made, even if it doesn’t look all that great.

We could all learn a little something from our former selves who never hesitated to bring home projects declaring our love for our mothers and demanding it be attached to the fridge.

You can make a beautiful gift that your mom will love from objects lying around your room or things you would have thrown out anyway. Instead of opting for a store-bought card, break out the construction paper and glue. Write a nice note or a letter, not through email or typing it, but actually sit down and write it on nice paper. You can use cardboard that would be recycled and cover it in construction paper, wrapping paper or any other material you have around to spruce it up.

If you are better at making things on a computer, make a short video or slideshow with pictures of your family and some nice music that sets the scene or is a family classic. You can also make a collage of favorite family photos.

If you will be able to be with your mom on Mother’s Day, one of the easiest things to do is to just ask her what she wants to do. There is no guesswork and she’s guaranteed to love it. If you can’t make it home, you can send a picture of your favorite family trip or memory with your mom instead. You can also plant flowers for her, take a walk or do some other activity that your mom enjoys.

Be creative! Look around and think of all of the things you can make out of the objects around you that would make your mom smile. No matter what you do just remember that Mother’s Day isn’t about buying something to prove you love her. It’s about celebrating your mom and your relationship with her.

(This article was originally published in The Santa Clara.)

One of my biggest battles is smelly shoes. I love to wear shoes that don’t require socks (like barefoot running shoes and canvas slip-ons), but in doing so my shoes tend to smell horrible. Even when I toss them in the washing machine and let them air dry, after wearing them a few times they smell again.

I have finally figured out how to keep my shoes (and thus feet) from smelling by using a homemade shoe deodorant spray. This recipe is so incredibly easy.

Homemade Shoe Deodorant Spray

For really smelly shoes, fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray directly on your shoes. Be sure to get the spray all the way down into the toes and inside, along the top of the shoe.

Or for a less intense spray, fill half of your spray bottle with vodka and the other half with water. You can add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice to leave behind a nice scent. Shake and use. I recommend using a finer spray  so your shoes don’t get nearly as soaked and dry in a couple hours.

To be honest I was afraid that my feet would smell like a mixture of a stale bar and B.O., but so far it has worked exceptionally well. It doesn’t smell at all once it dries, and it has been keeping my shoes fresh longer.

My roommates and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day together. I made Meagan (my designated Valentine) a card on a piece of recycled construction paper, but she went all out for me. Meagan and one of my other roommates took sticky notes and led us to their Valentines on our beds. It was by far one of the best Valentine’s I had ever received (or even seen). 

Don’t worry, none of the paper went to waste, I am keeping them : )

Gone are the days where people give homemade cupcakes or cookies and handwritten poems. Now Valentine’s Day is full of candy (especially chocolate) produced unsustainably and under terrible working conditions and store bought cards, stuffed animals, flowers, and trinkets that are either lost or thrown out by the end of the month.


The amount of waste and harm done by Valentine’s Day alone is incredibly depressing. But sending a love note or kind words doesn’t have to be. Instead of going out and buying a card, flowers, or chocolate, why not show the person you love them by making something yourself? 


There are thousands of ideas out there for homemade Valentines, but I have limited the list to sustainable, cheap things you can make last minute (it’s tomorrow if you have forgotten):


1. A love note: Keep it plain and simple. Handwrite your note on a nice piece of paper (preferably recycled). You can cut it into a heart, but the message is really what counts.

2. Create an electronic Valentine: If you are great with computer creation tools, then make something incredible and send it or print it for your Valentine. You can make desktop backgrounds, pictures, messages, whatever you would like.


3. Bake! Who doesn’t like a homemade treat?


4. Entertain: if you are able to sing, dance, or play an instrument, why not do so in the name of love (or friendship)?


5. Do something nice: instead of giving someone something, do something nice for them.


6. Music: if you can’t make your own, you can send them a playlist or a few songs that explain how you feel or that remind you of them.


7. Make dinner or some other meal: What really counts is showing that you care, so even if you aren’t the best cook the effort will be appreciated. 


8. Just say it: Valentines are about saying how you really feel. There is no need for a card as long as you say everything you wanted to and you make the recipient feel special.


9. Leave notes: Leave messages or hints on mirrors or on small slips of paper around the house. A dry erase marker will write on mirrors and come off easily. You can leave your loved one little notes all around.


10. Be creative! Don’t be afraid to do something you have never seen before (or copy what you have seen in your favorite movie). Just remember to know your audience and keep in mind what they like. 

Dorms seem to always be dirty. With so many people living in such small spaces, dirt and grime collect everywhere. In our apartment, the day after we do a serious clean it’s hard to tell we even cleaned up at all. Dorms are also a breading ground for all sorts of germs.

I have collected some cleaning tips that you can use before mom and dad come for a visit, or the cute neighbor stops by to borrow something. Or, if you are like me and you clean when you are procrastinating or stressed, you can use these to scrub your stress away.

People often think that the dirtier something is, the harsher chemicals you need to clean it, but my apartment is proof that eco-friendly cleaners can get the job done just as well. Although there are many products on the market that claim to be environmentally friendly, and many of them might be, I always opt for the simplest solution possible, which is rarely packaged and shipped to me. I also believe in using items that have multiple purposes, which is why you will see that I only use a few products to clean a house or dorm top to bottom.

Mirrors/glass
What you need:
– Warm water
– Microfiber cloth
– Small towel

Simply wet the microfiber cloth in hot or warm water and wash down the mirror or glass surface. Once you have washed it thoroughly, dry it quickly with the small towel. I recommend using a microfiber cloth because it does not hold too much water, and it doesn’t leave lint behind. However, if you are trying to stick to only natural fibers, a cotton cloth would work just fine. I also use an old, small towel to keep it from leaving lint on the surface as well.

Floors
What you need:
– Microfiber cloth
– All-purpose cleaning spray
– Optional: towel to dry

When my floors are really dirty (which is always in the dorm) I prewash them with a microfiber cloth wet with hot water and wrung out. Once the floors dry a bit I spray them down with my all purpose spray and scrub them with a dry cloth. If I have recently cleaned the floors and only need to get the visible dirt off, I will only use the wet microfiber cloth and let it air dry. I figure none of us will be eating off the floor anyways, so having them germ free doesn’t really matter all that much every day. Also, if your floor is incredibly dirty and you have tough spills to get off, create a solution with a little bit of liquid castile soap (such as Dr. Bronners. A little bit goes a long way. I wouldn’t use more than a teaspoon full or two for about a gallon of water, otherwise you will have to rinse multiple times to remove all of the bubbles).

Bathroom surfaces
What you need:
– Microfiber cloth
– Castile soap
– Toilet brush
– Optional: Borax

With four girls sharing a single bathroom, things can get really messy. I can guarantee that these methods will remove makeup from sinks/floors and cut through all of the other grime that builds up with so many people using such a small space.

For the sink and bathtub/shower use a microfiber cloth and some castile soap. For the tub or shower, wet the surface slightly before squirting some castile soap into the bottom. I usually use as little as possible (about a teaspoon full) and squirt more if I need it. Then scrub the tub with the soap and moist cloth (run the water over the cloth and wring it out a bit). If you haven’t cleaned in a while and the castile soap and cloth just can’t cut through all of the built up soap scum, you can shake a little Borax on the surface. It will not only physically scrub the surface, but it will help break the built up soap scum down.

For sinks, wet the cloth and squirt a little soap onto it. Scrub until satisfied.

The reason I keep suggesting the microfiber cloth, even though the fabric is man-made and will not break down easily, is that it does most of the work. Even without the soap the cloth takes out the soap scum and other dried on grime. It also removes hard water marks from chrome or shiny surfaces. The reason I chose to invest in some quality microfiber clothes is because they will last me years to come. My family has been using the same clothes for about 10 years and they still look nearly new. If you are really against microfiber feel free to use a cloth towel or any rag, but be prepared to put more muscle into it.

For the toilet simply squirt a little bit of castile soap into the bowl and scrub. If you have some mold (typically a slightly frightening red or pink color) you can add a bit of Tea Tree Oil into the bowl before you start scrubbing. If you haven’t cleaned the toilet all year and you are about to move out and you need to get it incredibly clean quickly, there are few products you can buy at the store that might do the trick. I would recommend looking into what Ecover or Seventh Generation offer.

For counters and over surfaces, use the all-purpose spray.

After Christmas (and before) I had little inspiration for wrapping a birthday present. Thankfully my mom bought a pair of shoes that came in an amazing box  – it was visually interesting, and it didn’t need anything else. I wonder how many other interesting boxes I have thrown out that could have been reused in one of many ways. 

Last year I got my wisdom teeth removed a week before Christmas. On Christmas day I still could not eat solid food, and I missed the chance to eat all of the amazing holiday treats. To make up for my missed chances last year, we made a lot of cookies and peppermint bark. The snowflake cookies above are drizzled in chocolate and topped with crushed candy cane that was left over from our peppermint bark. We made them on a whim, but they turned out great. 

So you made your gifts, but now what? Traditional wrapping can be expensive and often involves a great deal of waste. If you have ever looked in the trash after Christmas morning the amount of paper, bows, and other wrapping is depressing.

In the past I came up with a few creative ways to wrap gifts, including using old maps, which turned out really well, and plain white paper (which my brother and I may have glued macaroni onto to create a winter wonderland scene… last year). I also really like to use linens as wrapping. This year for my mom’s birthday I used a kitchen towel (that she picked out) to wrap her new pie plate. We have also used baby blankets and wash cloths to wrap a baby shower gift.

But this year I was feeling particularly uninspired, that is until I stumbled across a few ideas. I prefer things that can be reused (like towels and blankets, or pieces of fabric that can be tied into a tote bag), but recylced/upcycled materials are really nice too: