Remembering, Conserving and Preserving on Memorial Day

May 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Picture taken by Tiffany Coggins

Memorial Day we typically spend with family and friends. We go camping or have cookouts. Let’s all make sure we remember why we have Memorial Day.

In between our hamburgers and smores, thank and honor all the people who served our country. Let’s not waste the bounty we have. The bounty we have because of soldiers who gave up so much for our country.

Patriotism is more than waving a flag. It means preserving our lands and natural resources. While we celebrate and honor today, also reduce the waste that burdens the countries landfills. Keep plastic out of our beautiful landscape and waterways. Work to reduce toxic chemicals that pollute our amazing land, water and sky.

We owe it to the men and women that defended this country, and gave their lives for this country. We owe it to our children and grandchildren. Be patriotic and reduce, reuse and recycle.

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Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have a Happy Earth Day! I hope each of you learns one new idea on going green that you can incorporate into your life. Every day should be Earth Day and we should use Earth Day to highlight what more we can do to make our planet and our lives better. As you travel through your day, think about each decision you make and try to make a greener choice.

1. Walk or bike instead of driving.

2. Take advantage of mass transportation.

3. Remember your reusable water bottle or travel coffee mug.

4. Switch out five of your most used light bulbs for a CFL, LED or ESL bulbs.

5. Hang your reusable bags on the doorknob, then remember the bags for all your shopping trips.

6. Refuse straws in restaurants and bring your own reusable straw like the Dharma Straw

7. If you do have to drive, bundle all your errands into one trip.

8. Slow down and do not speed.

9. Put flow restrictors on all your faucets.

10.Reduce your use of plastic packaging by buying in bulk and not buying single serve items.

11. Buy second-hand when you can.

12. Reuse what you already have.

12. Always, always, always recycle!

13. Pick up plastic trash that you find.

14. Use less plastic in every aspect of your life.

15. Buy local!

16. Buy organic.

17. Support your local restaurants that also buy local.

18. Start a garden.

19. Or, go to the your local farmers market.

20. Remember, we all share this planet. It is the only one we have, and if we destroy it, we destroy ourselves.

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Holiday, Local, Organic, Plastic, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Reusable Bags Are For More Than Just Groceries

February 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Image courtesy of Reuseit

Image courtesy of Reuseit

This is a reminder that you can take those wonderful reusable bags to the mall or any stores you like; liquor stores, auto parts stores, department stores, home improvement stores, discount department stores and your local stores.

That is why I especially love the Reuseit Workhorse bags.  The bag tucks into its own little pouch that can fit in you pocket or purse.  I usually have about 3 or so of these little gems tucked into my purse, and no, I do not have one of those purses the size of a piece of luggage.  Baggu, ChicoBag, Reisenthel, Flip & Tumble, Freak-O-Bags and Envirosax all have ultra compact bag options.  There are endless shapes, colors and styles to choose from.

For the trip to the liquor and/or wine store I particularly love my Reisenthel bottle bag.  I get compliments on it every time I take it to the store.  It is also nice for the smaller glass bottles of milk and cream from your local dairy.  So, remember those reusable bags for everything, not just groceries.

Image courtesy of Reuseit and Reisenthel

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Hand Soap Refills

January 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of Mrs. Meyer's

A simple step to save money and reduce waste is to refill your hand soap bottles from refill bottles or pouches.  Mrs. Meyers, Method, EO, Dr. Bronner’s and Kiss My Face are five that I know carry refill sizes.  I’ve used them all, but my two favorites are Mrs. Meyers and EO.  I’ve got the Mrs. Meyer’s basil scent at my kitchen sink right now.

Ask your favorite local store to carry the refill size, if they don’t already.  If you can’t find the refill size locally, you can get them online at stores like Amazon, Mother Nature, and Pristine Planet.

The best part about refilling is that you are not throwing the pump out each time.  The bottles are usually easily recyclable, but the pumps are not.  Refills are less money per ounce (about 7 cents) than the pump bottles.  You will also have fewer trips to the store for soap.  I cannot think of a downside to using refill sizes.

Filed Under: Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Green Your Toilet Paper Use

January 15, 2011 by 2 Comments

Image courtesy of Earth 911

The quickest and easiest way to green your toilet paper use is by switching to recycled content paper.  I know, I’ve harped on this many times, and I’ll keep doing it until everyone is using recycled toilet paper.  It is not the hardship everyone thinks it is.  There are some very cushy, recycled content papers available.

Another idea that came to me sounds really silly, but I think it could cut down on toilet paper waste.  Move your toilet paper holder closer to where you need it.  If your household is predominantly right-handed move the toilet paper holder to the right of the toilet, and vise versa if your household is predominantly left-handed.  Pay attention to how much more you take when you really have to reach for the TP.

The last paragraph leads me to my next tip: try to use less.  I know, that is sometimes difficult.  Obviously, there are times when you just need more TP.  That can’t be helped, unless you install a bidet or bidet seat.  But, when you need less, try to take less.

Image courtesy of Lenilucho

Speaking of bidets, there is a reason why they are so popular around the world.  They work.  Americans have not embraced the bidet, but maybe they should.  Yes, it is true, bidets increase water usage, but making paper is a water heavy process.  The amount of TP saved by using a bidet may be a greener trade-off when you consider the energy and water used to make TP, even recycled TP.

According to Toilet Paper History, the average tree yields about 810 rolls of toilet paper.  The average person used about 100 rolls a year.  Only 25 to 30 percent of the worlds population uses toilet paper.  Most of the world uses water.  According to Simple Ecology, Americans use 17 more pounds of TP per person per year than Western Europe and Japanese individuals.

I wrote a satirical paper on toilet paper and old growth forests last spring. It was a humorous way to address a serious matter.  I hope you’ll read it.

Finally, here are some recycled TP options.  Please consider rethinking your toilet paper of choice.

Green Forest

365

April Soft

Earth Friendly

Fiesta and Fiesta Green

Natural Value

Seventh Generation

Trader Joe’s

CVS Earth Essentials

Cascades

Sustainable Earth

Marcal Small Steps

Bum Boosa

Green Peace has a fantastic pocket paper guide.  Please take a look and download it.

Filed Under: Environment, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Reduce Your Plastic Use

August 2, 2010 by 1 Comment

Image by Life Without Plastic

There are companies that can help you use less plastic in your daily life than you are currently using.  There are the obvious places to ditch the plastic like switching from disposable plastic bags to quality reusable bags.  Switching from disposable plastic water bottles to reusable water bottles in glass, stainless steel, aluminum or food-safe and BPA-free plastics (my personal favorite is stainless).  If you don’t have perfect water, there are water purifiers on the market that can make almost any water potable.  Now, here’s where it gets interesting; how do you get plastic out of those daily mundane chores.  Believe it or not people used to clean without plastic.  A company in Germany is making things like toilet and dish brushes without plastic.  I have found an Internet company called Life Without Plastic that carries these brushes, plus stainless steel ice-cube trays, stainless steel drink ware and tableware, plastic-free toys, even a plastic-free fly swatter.  Then there are the places outside your home where using a reusable instead of disposable plastic.  Getting into this habit is hard, but oh-so-worthwhile.  Our family loves Dharma Glass Straws and Endurance Stainless Steel Straws.  My new favorite to replace a disposable is the Sanctus Mundo Airtight Watertight Takeout Containers.  These containers range in size from 3″ diameter to 6.25″ diameter.

Look around your life.  Every time you are about to buy another plastic thing, consider if you could find that product in a plastic-free form.  You might be surprised.  These items will most likely cost more initially, but they will probably last longer.  At the end of their useful life, these products are recyclable or biodegradable.

This is a short list of resources, I could go on and on, challenge yourself to do so.

Reuseit

Dharma Glass Straws

Eco Baby Steps

Plastic Free Pledge

Terra Trendz

TerraCycle

Posh Pouches

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Reuseit Is Live!

July 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

One of my favorite online stores has changed from ReusableBags.com to Reuseit.com.  I am a Reuseit Ambassador, so this company has a special place in my heart.  I believe in Reuseit, and I’ve shopped there for years.  The name change occurred because they carry so much more than reusable bags now.  Reuseit has “reusables for every part of your life”.  Check out their new site and new products.  Reuseit can truly help you reduce waste in your home and life.

Reuseit

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Tipping Point Near

May 24, 2010 by 2 Comments

Are we near an environmental tipping point?  From the classes I’ve taken, and from the articles and books I’ve read, the answer is yes.  The tipping point is not just about climate change; it’s about species extinction, resource depletion and too many toxins in the environment effecting water, air and soil.  The thing that so many people miss when this is discussed is that we as a species are at risk as well.  It is not just about the frogs or the giant mountain gorillas disappearing; it’s about humans disappearing.  We live in a closed loop system.  What we put into the atmosphere doesn’t dissipate into space.  It’s in our Earth system until the system can break it down.  Things like plastic are in the system, essentially, forever.  We have to see the big picture and the long-term.  We need to stop focusing on the millisecond, and focus on the millennium.  Here are some  articles about the tipping point.

Tipping Point

Science Daily

OK, so that’s the bad news.  There is good news.  We can change the direction we’re going.  We can all make small changes that can help.  We can also make big changes that can help.  Many of these steps can save us money too.

1) Switch to reusable bags instead of plastic or paper

2) Switch to reusable bottles for water.  Maybe that means a filter pitcher for your kitchen or a filter attachment for your faucet.

3) Switch to fluorescent or LED light bulbs.  Especially in the summer, stop heating your home with your lighting.

4) Switch to cloth napkins and rags instead of paper products that you throw away.

5) If you HAVE to have paper napkins or paper towels then at least use recycled paper.

6) Oh, yeah, stopping using virgin fiber old-growth trees to wipe your derriere!

7) Ditch the gas guzzler.  If you need a larger vehicle, then save it for when you really need the space or towing strength.  Stop running little errands with one person in the car with a vehicle that gets pathetic MPGs.

8 ) Eat locally.  Grow your own food, join a CSA (community supported agriculture) and shop you local farmers market.  A very large amount of energy goes into shipping food.

9) Eat as much organic food as you can afford.  Please refer back to my blog on Pesticides and ADHD.  I have a list of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 when it comes to pesticides and organics.

10) Think about EVERY purchase.  Do you need that thing?  Can you find that thing in a renewable or recycled material?  Can you find that thing used?

11) Set your thermostat to a higher temp in the summer and a lower temp in the winter.

12) Replace old, inefficient windows and doors.

13) Seal up cracks around your home.

14) Use window treatments to keep your house more comfortable in any season.

15) Plant trees strategically.

16) Recycle, let me repeat, recycle.

17) Invest in renewable energy.

18) Reuse; before you toss something, ask yourself if you could somehow reuse that item.

19) Compost; indoor or outdoor, traditional or worm.

20) Walk, bike, carpool, and combine car trips when you can.

There, 20 things you can do.  You don’t have to do all of them to make a difference.  There are many more, and I bet you can think of some pretty quickly.  We just have to stop thinking like we have unlimited resources and unlimited places to throw stuff.  We live on one planet, and have finite space.  We have finite water resources.  There is a finite amount of fossil fuels left.

Here is a list of resources to find some of the items to help you live more sustainably.  You’re children and grandchildren will thank you.

Reuseit

www.composters.com

Earth Easy

Earth 911

TerraCycle

Arbor Day Foundation

Green Chip Stocks

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A Stapless Stapler

May 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

You’ve just written a paper that is due in an hour.  You go to staple the three sheets together, and voila!  Nothing happens.  Click, click, click.  You are out of staples.  Digging in your junk drawers turns into a fruitless endeavor, because your last box of staples is empty.  What if you never needed staples again?  Well, I can’t promise that, but if you only need to staple four sheets, or less, at a time you won’t need staples.  There is actually a staple-free stapler by a company called Made by Humans.  It is genius.  I’ve used mine this last semester for smaller papers I’ve written, and it’s great.  My son has used one as well.  It’s very helpful if you are shredding papers since you do not have to remove staples.  It cuts down on waste in the creating, shipping and disposal of staples.  Now, if you have a paper longer than four (maybe 5) pages you will need to use a traditional stapler or you could use a binder clip that is reusable.  But for small jobs, this does the trick, plus it comes in fun colors, and has eco-friendly packaging.  Reuseit carries it on their website.  I’ve included a picture of what the paper “stitch” looks like and the Staple Free Stapler in its packaging.  A link to Reuseit is below.
Staple free stapler at Reuseit

Photo Credit: Reuseit

Filed Under: Reduce and Reuse, Reviews Tagged With: , ,