The air is balmy, the ground is thawing, the temperature is rising. It’s spring cleaning time and if you’re anything like Enviro Girl, you’ll probably find all kinds of junk in your basement, attic and garage. Stuff like aerosol cans. Old paint. Dead batteries. Motor oil. Rodent baits. Empty gasoline containers. Florescent light bulbs. Cooking oil. Computers. Driveway sealant. Mercury.
What do these items have in common? Continue reading
Now that Easter is over, it’s time to deal with all those plastic eggs. In Recycla’s house, they get washed and are then stored until the next year when they’re used again. They’ve been using the same eggs for a decade now.
Here are some other ideas for you:
It’s a new season at Enviro Girl’s house. The basketballs have been put aside, the baseball gloves and soccer balls are out of storage. Because she’s got 3 growing boys, Enviro Girl is used to shelling out for sporting gear as her kids play on a variety of teams. But she’s also thrifty and environmentally-conscious. Instead of buying her kids’ (or her own) gloves, cleats, clothes and other sporting equipment brand new from a local Big Box store like Dick’s or Scheels or even Target, she recommends the following: Continue reading
The other day Enviro-Girl’s BFF asked her to do a post on this topic. “I have gobs of newspapers every week–between that and regular paper, we recycle two to three grocery sacks of paper every week. Is there a way to reuse it instead of just recycling it?”
Excellent question, Sarah! Here are several ways to reuse that newspaper and keep it out of your recycle bin: Continue reading
Enviro-Girl loves her some beer–specifically a nice stout or a rich ale. The darker, the better. As an eco-warrior, she’s asked herself what beer choices the best choices for the planet? While lads and lassies sipped their Guinness and green Bud Light over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, she mused about Beer Miles and wondered how far her drink traveled to reach her lips. She’s quick to rant about eating locally grown food, but do her drinking habits make her a bit of a hypocrite? Continue reading
As the Easter Bunny gears up to hop through and deliver baskets in a few weeks, Enviro Girl’s busy giving free advice on how to make those egg hunt/basket traditions a bit more environmentally friendly. Continue reading
Enviro Girl was at a party the other night and again found herself explaining Habitat ReStore to someone. It blows her mind that everyone living in her area isn’t already aware of this awesome shop. When a Dunkin’ Donuts opens up, people line up around the block. But Habitat ReStore, a place twice as fabulous as any donut shop, still seems to fly under everyone’s radar.
It’s no surprise to learn that food prices are on the rise. Severe weather prevented many farmers from planting and harvesting as usual, most of the U.S. has experienced drought conditions affecting crop and cattle production, and rising fuel costs and demand all combine to make it more expensive than ever to feed our families. Continue reading
Enviro Girl has little patience for manufactured holidays because they stand for everything bad for the environment: waste, consumerism, pollution and packaging. She despises the aisles full of Valentine’s Day crap pitched at people–perfumes, stuffed animals, candy and heart-shaped trinkets. Her family only celebrates Valentine’s Day by default. Enviro Girl’s sons bring cards to their classmates and send cards to the grandparents. That’s it. But IF Enviro Girl’s husband were to suddenly get struck by Cupid’s arrow, here are ten loving gestures that she wouldn’t snub: Continue reading
Enviro Girl has written before about how her family tries to reduce their household waste. Her household (5 people, 1 dog) produces roughly one tall kitchen garbage bag of garbage each week. She pushes her family’s dumpster to the end of their driveway once a month. Managing their waste means not dumping it in the county landfill. Enviro Girl often imagines how her taxes might fall if everyone in her area managed waste the same way: Continue reading
