Cool Deal from Nioka

It's hot out there but we have a cool deal for you at Nioka Green Store. Save 20% on our entire selection of water bottles. Personally, I LOVE the insulated ones!! My water stays ice cold for hours. Perfect for the beach, bike rides, the pool basically anywhere you need to stay hydrated.

DITCH those plastic, chemical leaching water bottles and purchase a stainless steel water bottle today. Hurry, sale ends Sunday, August 1, 2010.

Thinkbaby featured in Knox Moms magazine

We are super excited that our Thinkbaby feeding set is featured in Knox Moms magazine this month. These sets are a GREAT alternative to plastic. We hope you love them too.

Never buy jam again...Super EASY Freezer Jam

If time permits, I would highly recommend picking your own berries to get the freshest berries possible. That being said....this year my schedule did not permit me picking my own so I headed off to the local farmers market to make my strawberrry selection.

Truthfully, these berries are a little ripe but since my freezer has an empty space begging to be filled with delicious freezer jam I made them work. Sort through berries and only use the firmest, berries. Make sure they have a solid center. They SHOULD NOT be mushy!



Once you've sorted your berries....cut off the caps and wash berries in cool water. Set aside.

Place a few berries in a pan and begin to mash....I have this one that came with my double boiler and it works great.

If you happen to have a sieve you could use that instead of mashing. You'll get essentially the same result either way. I continue adding berries until I have everything mashed. Caution: don't overfill your pan initially or they will slide out. Only mash a few at a time whichever method you choose.

Above is the consistency of my strawberries after I've mashed everything. Now you can begin to add your ingredients. The recipe I use is from a Ball Blue Book that my mother purchased for me years ago.

Strawberry Jam
2 cups finely mashed or sieved strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 package powdered pectin

3/4 cup water

Combine berries and sugar. Let stand about

20 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Combine pectin and water in a small saucepan.

Bring to a rolling boil;boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add pectin to fruit mixture;stir 3 minutes.

Pour into can or freeze jars, leaving 1/2" head space.

Adjust caps, let stand until set, up to 24 hours.

Freeze. Yield: about 6 pints.

Pouring jam into jars, remember to leave head space.

Finished product.

Don't be alarmed if the jam seems a little thin when you

are pouring it into the jars. It will thicken as it sets.

My family loves this stuff!

Each year I make a little more....this year I experimented with

adding raspberries and blackberries
to the mix....my husbands favorite.... strawberry/raspberry.

Good luck!! Let me know if you have questions.

Big hugs,

Hogskin Valley Girl

Campus Tote

Picked up these great new Campus Totes from Maggie Bags yesterday and I thought I would let my select group of followers be the first to preview them. I love this bag! It is available in the multi-color option as seen here and also comes in dark red, gray, tan, pea-soup green, teal and black. This new, sassier version of the tote of many colors is fully lined and has a zipper enclosure. It comes with a lifetime warranty and the absolute best part.....it

is MACHINE WASHABLE. Talk about style meets functionality! These wallets are new too and they match the new campus tote.
They're so cute!


Inside the wallet

Campus Tote $81.95 and Wallet $51.95.

The bags will be available on our website soon! Currently you can purchase them at our shop

inside the Southern Market at 5400 Homberg Dr. Knoxville, TN 37919

new facebook page

I just changed the facebook page for our business, Nioka Green Store and will be deleting the old page. Please click on the Facebook badge in the bottom right corner and "like" us. We would also LOVE it if you would pass it along to your friends and help us spread the word. I would love to see how quickly we can get to 500 "Likes....maybe we could even do a drawing.



I have lots more to blog about....a homemade jelly tutorial, my chair project, and more. Stay tuned!!

Recycling Styrofoam?

Is it just me or are there others out there that struggle with throwing away all this styrofoam? I try to limit our styrofoam consumption but inevitably we end up with this. It breaks my heart thinking that this stuff will remain in the Earth FOREVER and burning it is NOT the answer! RECYCLING IS....and I am so EXCITED!

There is now a way that you can recycle your #6 Polystyrene aka styrofoam. Its sort of hard to see below (look to the right of the number 3) look for the recycling triangle along with the number 6 inside. You might also see the letters "PS" for polystyrene. If you see #6 or the "PS" letters it CAN be recycled. WOO HOO....great news for my guilty conscience and a huge win for the Earth.

Thank you to the Knoxville Recycling Coalition for bringing this valuable service to the Knoxville area. I purchased a 100 gallon bag from them for $5.00 and as a bonus they educated me on styrofoam recycling. When my bag is full I will return it to be recycled. YEAH!!!

So what are you waiting for? My challenge to you is to go buy yourself a $5.00 bag and get started today....you will feel better and so will the Earth. I will be attending a "master recycler" class in the next couple of weeks. It is a two week class....when I'm finished I'm sure I will have lots more information to share.

Get your rain barrels NOW....

Moby Rain Barrel Sale.....
If you live in the Knoxville area PLEASE pass this along to everyone you know. This is a great buy on a fabulous rain barrel. I plan on getting a couple more myself.

top 5 Reasons to Harvest Rainwater

• Protect our rivers and streams from runoff pollution
• Divert water from the municipal storm drain system
• Conserve this vital natural resource and reduce water bills
• Use the rain water to grow healthy and lush plants
• Control moisture levels around the foundation of your home

An average sized rain barrel will be completely full during a moderate rain shower in about 15-20 minutes so link them together for maximum water storage.

Need something to do this weekend? Visit Earthfest. You can pick up your Moby there and have a great time being outdoors with your family. ADMISSION IS FREE!!!

Not in the Knoxville area? We offer the Palmetto rain barrel and free shipping at Nioka Green Store. This is the first rain barrel we owned. We carry it because it is a great size and ships via UPS.

Other rain barrels, including the Moby have to ship via freight carrier which typically makes the cost prohibitive unless you purchase it through a non profit such as Water Quality Forum. They are able to sell them at a lower cost than I can purchase them wholesale which is why I am HIGHLY recommending to everyone that they get one now.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. Get outside and do SOMETHING!

Big Hugs, Renee'

THANK YOU God

I've been in Hogskin Valley a couple of times this week so I am feeling especially blessed.

We've had a great Spring Break. I've been working on a trash to treasure project (metal chairs), spending extra time with my favorite little four year old, spending time with a couple of dear friends and basking in the serenity of Hogskin Valley. Yay! What a week.

And to top it all off....you know you have been blessed when you come home totally filthy...no make-up, hair a wreck, dust from sanding all over you....excited because you used an angle grinder for the first time and your husband thinks your cute. Not only does he think I'm cute....he did the laundry too! Seriously! Thank you God for putting an amazing man in my life!

Heres a preview of the beginning phase of one of my trash to treasure projects. This is a metal chair that was headed to the dump (GASP!) until I rescued it. YAY!!!! I warned you I see beauty in some of the strangest things. I can't wait to show you the finished product.

Sorry I only have one pic to show you. This would be soooo much easier if I actually knew an easier way to post pics. Bear with me as I figure all this stuff out.

I'm sure my friend Jessica can help me.

Start SMALL

OK.....so you want to begin incorporating some green into your life but you aren't sure where to start....my suggestion is to START SMALL. I haven't read every green book out there but I have read alot and the majority of them encourage simple changes. Small changes made everyday can have a HUGE impact over the course of a lifetime.

Here are a few small changes to help you get started:

1. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth-you could conserve up to 5 gallons of water per day.
2. Recycle-We've found the easiest way to do this is set up bins and sort as you go. Mine are plain but you could make them pretty. We have bins for plastic, mixed paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard, and one for metal/glass that we sort when we drop off. Once your bins are full make a trip to your local "convenience center" and drop them off. We are very fortunate here in Knox County; we have fabulous, easy to use centers. Check with your local area if you are outside of Knox County.
3. Use less of everything-soap, shampoo, laundry detergent,etc...-I have found that I can use 1/2 the amount of recommended laundry detergent and my clothes still come out clean and 1/4 of a pump of soap gets my hands just as clean as a whole pump. You're helping to decrease the toxic load we put on the Earth and the added benefit is it saves you money.
4. Use glass instead of plastic to store your food- Many plastics have harmful chemicals that can leach into your food. Protect your health by choosing a safer alternative.
5. BYOB....Bring your own bag-Plastic bags are made from oil and the US goes through 380 billion of them a year. Conserve our natural resources by bringing your own bag to the grocery store. Any bag will work or find cute, compact ones at Nioka Green Store.
6. Skip paper towels-use old t-shirts and newspaper for cleaning. At mealtime, choose reusable cloth napkins-I usually pick mine up from garage sales, thrift stores or estate sales for about 25 cents each.
7. Conserve energy-Swith incadescent bulbs to CFL's as the old ones burn out for a significant energy savings. You might also consider installing motion sensors to lights, especially in areas like your kids room or bathroom. We have these in our garage (an area where we often forgot to turn the lights off)
8. Shop second hand- This is one of my favorite ways to "go green". It's like a big scavenger hunt and you're the winner. I can usually find just what I'm looking for by shopping local yard sales, thrift stores and consignment sales. It also helps to divert items from landfills. One persons trash can be another ones treasure. Stay tuned for a couple of projects that have become treasures.

So, what are some of the ways that you're going green. I would love to hear from you. Please let me know if you have questions. I am always happy to try to answer them.

Big Hugs,

Hogskin Valley Girl

Hogskin Valley Girl

What did that say....the title of the blog and the post....did that really say....HOGSKIN VALLEY GIRL???? Yes, it did!

AND PROUD OF IT....be forewarned...I make no apologies about who I am or where I came from. If I am nothing else, I am real and honest to a fault! I absolutely love where I grew up and love to return there as often as possible.

A little about me...I am a wife to a fabulous husband, mother of the sweetest little boy in the world (though many of you moms out there may argue with me that yours is the sweetest) I am a daughter, sister, soon to be aunt, niece, cousin (roots run deep here in the South), Christian, friend and lover of the Earth. I eat WAY too many sweets, love to play softball when the opportunity presents itself, enjoy getting my hands and feet dirty and I love to play "dress-up", especially with thrift store finds. I drive my husband crazy constantly bringing home stuff that others (including my husband) consider junk but I can't seem to help myself, I see the beauty in them. Actually, I try to see the beauty in most things surrounding me, I love being outdoors and Hogskin Valley just happens to be one of my preferred destinations, there and my in-laws place in rural Pennsylvania. Aaaahhhh....just thinking about those two places puts me in a great, relaxed mood. Basically, I am happy anywhere I can be surrounded by lots of land or water. I guess my love affair with the outdoors is what sparked my intro into green living, that and the birth of my son.

So what do I believe? I believe we are all given the opportunity to make a difference as we pass through this life. One of the ways I hope to make a difference is by doing my best to both respect and protect our natural resources; they are afterall, just on lean to us from future generations. We should do our best to preserve them for our children/grandchildren/great grandchildren and beyond. They will be thankful, just as I am thankful to my ancestors that preserved Hogskin Valley for me.

I hope you will come along with me on my journey (green and otherwise). Leave comments and tell me about your own journey. Hopefully, we will be able to provide each other with inspiration along the way.

Big Hugs,
Hogskin Valley Girl