Earlier this year, Recycla talked about switching from toilet paper made from virgin fibers to brands that use recycled content. And a couple weeks ago, Enviro Girl shared how she reuses old t-shirts and socks in her house.
Posted in 3 Rs, house stuff, living green on a budget
Contrary to popular belief, most tree huggers have an inner diva and embrace it. They don’t want to wear baggy sweaters woven out of hemp and long gypsy skirts. They appreciate that in order to be taken seriously (and their message is a serious one), they can’t look like they a) tumbled straight out of bed b) tumbled straight out of a Grateful Dead tour bus or c) tumbled straight out of Haight-Ashbury, circa 1968. Continue reading
Does this look familiar? We’ve all got a garage or basement full of gadgets, tools and appliances used once, twice or maybe only a few times a year. Owning stuff that you only use once or twice a year requires full payment, maintenance costs and storage. Is it really worth it to sacrifice garage space for a rototiller you use one time a year? Continue reading
Enviro Girl lives with boys who play on teams–and each team means a new team t-shirt. Over the years, the family has accumulated boxes of shirts–many no longer worn. We’ve also got bushels of old socks (many without their life partner), towels, undies and blue jeans. Instead of filling a landfill with old clothes unfit for the thrift shop, Enviro Girl cuts them into squares and gives them another life as rags. Old socks slit up the side are the perfect size for polishing wood. Old t-shirts work great on windows and glass. Old towels clean up sinks, tubs and toilets beautifully. And even old tighty-whitey Fruit of the Looms work great for swiping away motor oil or wiping on shoe polish (and then into the trash)! These days the only time Enviro Girl uses paper towels is to absorb bacon grease when making Sunday morning brunch.
The cleaning industry has pushed consumers into using disposable cloths and towels–it’s a huge money-maker for them, but it’s also a huge burden on our planet. The production, packaging and final toss into a county landfill take human “convenience” to a perfectly loathsome level of wasteful and toxic behavior. Rags are free, reusable after washing and most fabric fibers decompose over time when you finally do retire them to your compost pile or the local landfill. Reincarnating old clothes as rags is a step closer to Enlightenment–and a step away from further global devastation.
Love your planet–reuse your old clothes when tackling cleaning chores. Put that “Lakeville Youth Soccer” t-shirt back in the game–it’s got several seasons left in it playing a new position!
Do you ever stop to think about the water you drink and use every day?
World Water Day is tomorrow, Thursday, March 22. Started in 1993 by the United Nations, World Water Day focuses attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Water is probably something you don’t give a lot of thought to on a daily basis…
Recycla has talked about toilet paper before, but it bears repeating: Buying conventional TP made from virgin fibers is a terrible idea. This is an eco sin reserved almost exclusively for Americans, where most toilet paper is not made from any recycled content and, in fact, far too much of it is coming from old-growth forests.
Posted in 3 Rs, green around the world, issues
12 in 2012
The Green Queen thinks this is an easy way to remember your goals for the year: simply set 12 goals for 2012.
Check out this list and pick out a few or make a few of your own.
Plastic
• Buy fewer items in plastic containers.
• At work, purchase a drink glass with a unique design (so you can easily tell which one is yours)
• Bring your own travel coffee mug to your local coffee shop and ask if you can leave it there – some smaller shops will let you do this.
Paper
• Only print documents from the web, if you need to keep them, otherwise hold down your control button and the “print screen” button at the same time. Then simply go to a Word/WordPerfect document and hit your control + the “v” button. This will give you a document you can save on your hard drive with no need to print it out.
• Print on both sides of the paper.
• Use the reverse side of documents such as scrap paper and notepads.
If you’re already recycling, simply step up your efforts. The list of reusable items – from coffee filters to sandwich bags – is growing every day.
The Green Queen uses plastic baggies to store food and then reuses the baggies for walks with the dog.
Recycling at Work:
*Create trash hubs so you make it easier for everyone to participate. Put recycling containers and trash cans in the same area.
*Clearly label all bins with decals/signage of what is acceptable recycling materials. This includes trash cans which should be labeled “trash only—no recyclables.”
*Use different colored bins. Recycling bins should look different from trash cans.
*Use disposable bags only when necessary. If a bin is only collecting clean paper, do not use plastic liners.
*Educate. Tell people exactly what to do and send periodic reminders.
Recycling at Home
*Keep a set place to store recyclables.
*Ask your local trash company if they recycle. Or, once a week take your recycling to the local recycling bank.
*Cancel unwanted mail deliveries and newspapers, or read news and magazines online.
*Reuse paper around the house as scrap paper or packing material. Envelopes can also be reused.
The Green Queen is hoping this list will inspire you to pick one of two goals or maybe you’ll be able to do 12 in 12.
If you have a few ideas, please post them in the comments section to help inspire others.
As you know, the Eco Women are kind of nuts about their gardens. For a while Enviro Girl has really wanted to add some fencing around hers–more to add structure than for any other purpose. Among her favorite gardens in the Whole Wide World is Anne Hathaway’s garden in Stratford-on-Avon, England. It’s rustic and charming, full of pretty flowers and practical vegetables and a small orchard. Sweet little paths wind through the property and occasional benches and trellises provide cozy spots for reading a book or watching the birds. Continue reading
Anyone with children understands that Valentine’s Day is really about the treats, not the declarations of affection. When Enviro Girl was young, she always made a “mailbox” out of an old shoebox covered in glitter and paper doilies to set on her desk. Each child would bring in paper cards to deliver to each of their classmates. Enviro Girl recalls carefully choosing exactly the right Valentine for each of her classmates out of the box her mother bought at the dime store. Occasionally someone would pass out tiny boxes of conversation hearts. Times have definitely changed. Fast forward to today’s school children. Enviro Girl’s tribe comes home from school and DUMPS their bags out, covering the carpet with tiny cards and a heaping pile of treats. Her sons bring home as much candy on Valentine’s Day as they do on Halloween! Is there a way to make this holiday a bit healthier, a little bit greener, but still fun? Continue reading
Posted in 3 Rs, eco holidays, eco kids, living green on a budget, school
Tagged eco friendly valentine treats, eco friendly Valentines Day for kids, environmentally friendly valentines, finding eco friendly kid valentines, green ideas for kids on valentine's day, greener classroom treats for valentine's day, kids and eco friendly valentines, less waste on valentine's day, reduce plastic on valentine's day, reduce waste on valentine's day
Like so many other people this time of year, Recycla has been on a major cleaning, organizing, and decluttering frenzy in the last few weeks. She lives with three people who tend toward packrat tendencies, so decluttering is an ongoing, never-ending task for her.
So far, she has completely worked over her closet, just recently shoveled out her daughters’ toy room, and is plunging into the kitchen today, to be followed afterward by dealing with the mountain of papers in the family’s shared home office.
Posted in 3 Rs, websites & blogs
