Pumpkin Inspired Recipes to Try!

It's Fall Ya'll!

With that the start of toasty smelling foods and pumpkin spice everything!

Here are a couple of pumpkin inspired recipes to get you started for this season.

Pumpkin Muffins. These pumpkin muffins are made with oats instead of flour and real maple syrup instead of refined sugars!

Ingredients: 2 cups of rolled oats

1 cup of pumpkin puree

6 ounces plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of cinnamon and salt

chocolate chips

Pumpkin Walnut Chili. Yummy vegan instant pot chili featuring red lentils, fire-roasted tomatoes, walnuts, black beans, pumpkin, chipotles, and all the good toppings!

Ingredients: 1 28 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

half an onion, minced

3 cloves of garlic

2 poblano peppers, chopped

1-3 chipotle peppers, chopped 

2 cups of walnuts, chopped 

1 cup red lentils

1 cup bulgur

1 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon salt

6 cups water or broth 

1 14 ounce can pumpkin puree

2 or 3 14-ounce cans black beans

Pumpkin Coffee Creamer. Make homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer with incredible flavor thanks to the real pumpkin feel!

Ingredients: 1 and 1/2 cup heavy cream, half-and-half or whole milk

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree

1 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/2-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 cinnamon sticks 

Are you excited for pumpkin season? Try out one of these recipes today! 

Grady's GreenLiving Tips was created in 2014 by Grady Management, Inc.  Grady Management was founded in 1965 and continues to provide a full service residential, commercial, and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area.  Learn more from our website or Facebook page.

#GreenLivingTips: Bike Storage 101 for Apartment Living!

#GreenLiving is a major tool for families who are choosing to create a sustainable lifestyle! Lets face it. Whether you ride your bike to work or school or just for fun in the neighborhood, storing it can be tricky! Here are a list of ideas to help you when storing your bicycle for apartment living:

In your closet.  Keeping your bike out of sight and in your closet is a great idea. You can allow your clothes to hang while the bike is tucked under. If you don't have a main closet in your apartment, utilizing the laundry room space or a separate coat closet will work as well.

Garage or bike rails.  If your apartment community offers garage parking; ask your leasing center if you can store your bikes there. Some communities also have bike rails in which you can store your bikes on. Make sure you buy a lock.

Behind large furniture. Consider the storage method of having your bike in a main room, behind a large couch or television. This might be beneficial to someone who utilizes their bike for the majority of the week and needs easy access to take it on the go with them everyday. And it is also a great conversation piece for your guest to see! This method really takes advantage of making the best out of unused spaces.

A-Stand, Clips, DIY. If you and your family own multiple bikes, installing a bike stand and placing it in your bedroom would be a great idea. These stands do not require you to drill holes in your wall. Vertical bike clips are an inexpensive alternative while creating a stylish and minimalist look. And since this method requires the bikes to be elevated, it takes up minimal floor space.

Always remember: Bikes, scooters, skateboards etc are not to be left laying around in the breezeways, parking lots, playground etc. This is a major trip hazard. When not riding your bike you a required to put it away properly. When at a playground or pool house place your bike properly to the side to not impede on the pathway or bike trail.

Grady's GreenLiving Tips was created in 2014 by Grady Management, Inc.  Grady Management was founded in 1965 and continues to provide a full service residential, commercial, and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area.  Learn more from our website or Facebook page.

Three Steps to Make a Recycled Fall Ghost

Five Green Ideas for Old Books

Transform Books Into Decor, Art, Projects, and More

With the fall season beginning in just a few days, it is time to plan for seasonal activities and events!  Trips to pumpkin patches and haunted houses are always fun, but some days, it is just as enticing to curl up at home with a good book.  

For voracious readers, with stacks of novels at home, it may be a good time to comb through bookshelves and decide if any books are no longer needed.  Instead of throwing unused and unwanted books away, books can be "upcycled" and/ or re-purposed in creative, and green, ways.  Learn some methods for "recycling" books here:

1. Donate books to a new home: A great way to "recycle" old books is to donate them!  Many organizations, like non profit organizations/ charities, accept gently used books.  In addition, local libraries often accept book donations.  In the Montgomery County Public Library system, many branches accept book donations.  Learn more about MCPL here. 

2. Identify academic texts and old school books: Academic books like old course books can also be donated or even sold.  Sometimes, universities will buy back old academic texts.  In addition, local school systems will sometimes accept donations of gently used textbooks and academic texts.

3. Start a book swap with friends: While this method will not help in an effort to get rid of excess books, this is a great way to connect with friends both near and far and experience new novels and texts.  Contact friends, coworkers, and acquaintances to form a book swap, and send books to each member on a monthly (or routine) basis.  

Five DIY Home Remedies for Summer Insect Bites

Summer 2018 is here!  Spending a lot of time swimming in the community pool, attending barbecues, and enjoying the outdoors?  If so, it is easy to experience an unpleasant aspect of the summer season: bugs.  There is often an uptick in the amount of bug bites people receive in the summer.  

Trying to avoid excess chemicals this summer in an attempt to live a greener life?  If so, instead of purchasing ointment or medicine from a store, try to use these eco friendly bug bite remedies.  These supplies are natural and are commonly found in pantries and cabinets at home:

1) Oatmeal: Oatmeal is often used to soothe the skin.  Oatmeal is an anti irritant and is very healthy for the skin.  For relief with one or two bug bites, mix oatmeal with some cold water until the mixture has the consistency of paste and apply the mixture to the bite with a washcloth.  For numerous bites, try mixing oatmeal in with a bath.  It is important to note that it is better to use cold water because cold temperatures reduce inflammation.  

2) Ice: As stated above, cold temperatures help to reduce inflammation.  For itch relief from mosquito bites, use an ice pack and apply on the skin for several minutes.  For a longer application, wrap ice cubes in a cloth or paper towel.

3) Aloe: Not just for sunburns, aloe is great for the skin.  Apply directly to bug bites for itch relief.  Aloe also can help small cuts and abrasions heal.

Olive Oil in the Winter: 2018 Edition

Olive Oil as a Natural Moisturizer

Last year, Grady's GreenLiving Tips posted about creative, DIY, ways to use olive oil.  This post was so popular, the Grady's GreenLiving Tips team wanted to share it again! 

Olive oil is commonly found in the home and has numerous moisturizing and cleaning qualities.  Several ways to use olive oil include:

1) Applying to hair and skin: Olive oil can be very useful in cold or windy weather because it restores a lot of natural moisture.  Try using olive oil as a pre-shampoo treatment for hair, in the bathtub, or even on cuticles to make the skin softer.

Three Art Crafts for Autumn Leaves

Seasonal Crafts Perfect for the Entire Family!

This autumn, try to turn some common natural resources into beautiful crafts or creative projects the whole family will enjoy.  In an earlier October blog post, Grady's GreenLiving Tips detailed how to use excess pumpkins for crafts or DIY projects.  This week, learn how to utilize another natural, autumn staple, fallen leaves, in art projects.  Below are three different type of craft ideas for autumn leaves:

1) Wall Decor: Once collected, leaves can be added to photo frames to create seasonal decor inside any home.  Additionally, leaves can act as a stencil for paintings or an addition to drawings to create a more realistic look for any autumnal scene.  Leaves can also be painted, dipped in wax, or brushed with glitter and then hung on walls and/ or doorways as another type of seasonal decor.

2) Unique Centerpieces: Leaves can be used to decorate seasonal paper lanterns (perfect for Halloween or harvest festivities!).  In addition, if leaves are place outside a bowl and glued together, the leaves can form a bowl shape that would create a memorable centerpiece.  

#FallDIY: Five Creative Ways to Recycle a Pumpkin

Autumnal Themed GreenLiving Tips

Pumpkins are a staple of the fall season, especially in the days leading up to and including Halloween.  But what are ways to utilize leftover pumpkins after this season?  In this blog post, Grady's GreenLiving Tips explores five ways to use a leftover pumpkin:

1) Utilize pumpkins for food and baked goods: Leftover pumpkins can be cut up and made into pies, cakes, and/ or jams.  Pumpkin seeds can also be scooped out and baked as well.

Learn more pumpkin recipes in the All Recipes article "19 Healthy Pumpkin Recipes".

2) Compost old and/ or leftover pumpkins: Pumpkins are primarily made of water and, because of this, are easily broken down into compost.

Five Steps to Create an On-The-Go Green Kit

Traveling?  Heading to the Office?  Simple Steps to Easily Promote GreenLiving

For those who live a green life, practicing eco-friendly habits can be challenging outside of the home.  For individuals who like to be more prepared, compiling a Green Kit can be a great way to enjoy eco-friendly practices when on-the-go for work, trips, hobbies, and beyond.

What are five items to pack in a Green Kit?  Read more here:

1) A durable water bottle: Purchasing plastic water bottles are fine as long as they are recycled afterwards.  But, sometimes, when traveling, it is not always easy to find a recycling bin nearby.  Pack a reusable water bottle in the green kit to refill with water whenever needed.

2) A fork, knife, and spoon: Plastic cutlery is not green and is designed to be thrown away after single, individual, use.  Try to pack one set of durable silverware in the Green Kit that can be used for on-the-go snacks.  This way, it won't be necessary to waste plastic cutlery.

Five Ways to Reuse Tea Bags

A Green Way to Make the Most of All Resources

Few things can be more refreshing than a large glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.  But what can be done with the tea bags after?  Instead of throwing away tea bags, they can actually be re-purposed for a variety of DIY personal and household crafts, projects, and uses.

What are some ways to re-purpose used tea bags?  Learn a few methods here:

1) Plants: Keep indoor plants?  Tea improves soil quality that will help plant growth.  Break open a few used tea bags and sprinkle the tea into the soil of the plant and/ or plants.  

2) Sunburns: Outside a lot this summer?  Ease the pain of small sun burns by applying cooled tea bags to the burned skin.  Tea bags will help take away the sting and irritation of the burn.

3) Hair and skin: Tea has many natural, positive advantages for the body.  Sprinkle some tea into baths for smooth skin.  Tea added to shampoo and conditioner will improve hair growth.  Green tea is particularly helpful to temporarily relieve skin irritants like bug bites.  

4) DIY odor eliminator: Tea is a natural odor eliminator.  Dry out old tea bags and leave them around the house to neutralize any odors.  Sprinkle tea into rugs or carpets to help remove any dirt or grime.  Tea sprinkled into litter boxes eliminate odors as well.

5) Around the house: Tea bags can help remove caked on grease on pots and pans.  In addition, tea bags can help polish wood.  Tea can also be sprinkled into compost bins.

Do you have other uses for tea bags?  Comment below to let us know!

Grady Management was founded in 1965 and continues to provide a full service residential, commercial, and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area.  Learn more about Grady Management on our website or Facebook page.

DIY: Three Ways to Create Green Bug Spray

Instructions for Homemade Insect Repellent

It's summertime and it's easy to spend a lot of time outside: by the grill, park, or pool.  With all of this time outside, it is common to attract attention from some unwanted visitors: bugs.  Mosquitoes and bees are also out, and numerous, during the summer.  In order to avoid bug bites, try making some homemade bug spray.  Unlike traditional insect repellent, homemade bug spray can be made with few or no harmful chemicals.  Making homemade bug spray can help protect the environment.

Five Easy Ways To Create Crafts from Recycled Materials

Reuse and "Upcycle" These Common, Household Materials

Using tape, glue, scissors, and a few other craft supplies, you can easily turn the following materials into decor, art projects, and other items, such as... 

1) Books and Magazines:  Turn book and/ or magazine pages into wall decor, gift tags, magnets, and/ or even jewelry.  Use the bindings of books and magazines, or stack the books on top of one another, to create shelves, jewelry boxes, shadow boxes, and other small containers.

Five Simple, Green, Household Changes

Easily Make These Changes to Live a Green(er) Life

Olive Oil in the Winter: Three DIY Tips

Olive Oil as a Natural Moisturizer

Last year, Grady's GreenLiving Tips focused on the cleaning power of three common, natural household products: baking soda, lemon, and vinegar.  This week, learn about some natural, DIY ways to take care of the mind, body, and home using only one product: olive oil.  Olive oil is also commonly found in the home and has numerous moisturizing and cleaning qualities.  Several ways to use olive oil include:

1) Applying to hair and skin: Olive oil can be very useful in cold or windy weather because it restores a lot of natural moisture.  Try using olive oil as a pre-shampoo treatment for hair, in the bathtub, or even on cuticles to make the skin softer.

Five Useful GreenLiving Apps

Phone Apps Perfect for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

Read the original article, "5 Apps to Help You Live a More Sustainable Life," posted on www.huffingtonpost.com.

Grady Management, Inc. was founded in 1965 and continues to provide full service residential, commercial and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area. Learn more about Grady Management on our website or Facebook page.

Five Green Ways to Participate in Random Acts of Kindness Week

GreenLiving Aspects to #RAKWeek2017

 Random Acts of Kindness Week, a holiday dedicated to people giving back in their local community, began this past Sunday and continues until Sunday, February 19.  The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation encourages people to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Week, known as RAK Week, at home, in the workplace, and through hobbies and activities.  What are some ways to participate in RAK Week that simultaneously promotes a green and eco-friendly lifestyle?  Some tips are included below:

Take out a neighbor's recycling: Want to promote GreenLiving while being kind?  Volunteer to recycle for a neighbor or even a nearby friend.  Share green tips: help sort through the recycling to determine if everything can be recycled (remember, products like Styrofoam and contaminated paper products cannot be recycled).

Eat green this week: Help the environment and also help a local business.  "Eat green" by buying food from a local farmers market or a small, local business.  Not only is this often better for the environment, but it helps the local community.

Five Tips for a Sustainable Super Bowl Party

Celebrate the Super Bowl the Green Way

Want to host a Super Bowl party this Sunday?  Before inviting friends, setting out snacks, and turning on the game- read several tips for how to host a sustainable, green Super Bowl party everyone can enjoy:

Send green(er) invites: Still in the process of inviting friends and family over to watch the Super Bowl?  This year, try sending invitations via email or even through Facebook event/ message.  This will save paper, stamps, and time- all valuable resources.

Create a green environment: A great way to promote green initiatives during the Super Bowl is to create a green environment inside the home.  Instead of using paper or disposable plates, cups, napkins, etc. for food, use permanent silverware and items that can be washed and used again.

Encourage carpooling: Are multiple guests arriving from the same or nearby locations?  Encourage your guests to consolidate travel and carpool together to save on gas.  If possible, also encourage guests to access public transportation to attend the party, such as a nearby Metro stop or bus route.

Everything You Can Recycle

Recycling: Donating and Re-purposing

Last week's blog post detailed how Grady Management recycled computers to the local organization RecycleMyComputer.  Recycling is not just about placing plastic, paper, and glass in a green bin once a week. Many household products can be "recycled" and re-purposed, including:

1) Tech equipment: Similar to RecycleMyComputer, many organizations will accept donations of computers, printers, mice, and other technical equipment.  These donations will be cleaned and refurbished, and then given to people or families in need.  Companies that make the computers, such as Dell or Apple, will often take back your computers as well if the equipment is simply old and in need to be disposed of properly.

Simple and Fun Recycled Crafts

Transform Your Home Into a Green Sanctuary!

Recycling is an easy and great way to live a green lifestyle, but there are other ways of reducing and reusing without getting out the recycle bin!

Instead of tossing recyclables in the green or blue bin, you can also use many recycled materials for crafts or home decorations.  Some ideas include:

- Plastic Bottles: Plastic bottles can easily be cut with a pair of scissors to make: planters, vases, flower pots, watering cans, organizers, and pencil holders.