Written on
February 6, 2009 by
SusanC
It’s the month of another holiday filled with paper, sugar and imported goodies, also known as: Valentine’s Day.
Personally, I’m of the mindset that the romance and sparkle of Valentine’s faded ago, but I’d be fibbing if I didn’t admit I’d be a smidge disappointed if I ended the day without a token of affection or three.
Then again, if someone shows me the love and doesn’t show Mother Nature the love too, I’ll be even more disappointed than if I’d left the holiday empty handed.
So, what’s a green Valentine to do?
- If you’ve got to go for flowers, go for local.
Continue Reading »
Written on
February 4, 2009 by
SusanC
Once a week we use this space to feature a recycled note or three from some of our favorite online sources. This week I found the perfect card to say congratulations! for pretty much any job or deed well done.
I’m thinking of sending it to the next person who tells me a really great joke.
Great Job On That Thing You Did
“Great job on that thing you did. Really super.”
Designed by Be a Decent Human Being for Sycamore Street Press.
– Letterpress printed in orange and light turquoise soy ink.
– 20% cotton paper gives a nice impression.
Continue Reading »
When my husband and I moved in together in college, we were both going to school full time and working, and so we always ate at least one meal away from home each day. Eating out was getting too expensive, so we started packing our lunches each morning. That took care of a lot of the excess cost, but I was still unhappy with how much we were spending on plastic zipper baggies. I had recently become really involved with the environmental club on campus, and was examining our lifestyle for ways in which we could lessen our impact on the planet.
Continue Reading »
Written on
February 2, 2009 by
SusanC
I am sure some of you would have experienced a moment like this–you look at your overflowing recycling bin full of paper, cardboard, tin cans, glass, and plastic bottles, and think to yourself “what a great job I’m doing to save the environment”. But to the contrary, it is actually a sign that something is wrong.
I myself realised this when looking at our recycling bin over Christmas!
The common saying “reduce, reuse, recycle” is actually a hierarchy expressing the order of importance of these ideas.
Firstly, and most importantly, you must reduce what you consume and reduce your generation of waste.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 28, 2009 by
SusanC
A few years ago I lived my life in 20 minute increments. Then I had to rest. Fibromyalgia and Asthma ruled my life. With 3 children, a husband and all the normal mess that life assures, my brain constantly told me that I wasn’t doing enough. But I simply did NOT have the energy to spare; it needed to go to things that HAD to be done, not things that I wanted to do like living a greener lifestyle.
I’ve since been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and eating a gluten-free diet has improved my quality of life massively. But I still remember the dreams I had, the ones that seemed so far away from my reality.
Continue Reading »
in
Blog,
Conservation,
Eat to Live,
For The Home,
Frugal Living,
Got Energy?,
Great Green Finds,
Green Gardens,
Green Thoughts,
Reduce Reuse Recycle,
The Green Consumer
-
Written on
January 20, 2009 by
SusanC
This week’s Recycled Note Of The Week comes from Small Square Design and features a prominent kitchen appliance.
Exhibit: The Toaster Recycled Letterpress Card:
The only time I ever received a toaster as a gift was after I registered for (an awesome) one for our wedding, but apparently, “the retro toaster is a unique way of saying congratulations to someone, anniversary, graduation, new job, new house…”
Who knew? (Maybe you did!)
The listing above is for one A2 size letterpressed card, which also comes with one kraft color envelope. Both the card and the envelope are recycled, and both come packaged in a biodegradable clear sleeve.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Why is it that beauty products are seldom packaged in recyclable containers?
Even when their containers are plastic, they seldom have recognizable recycling symbols on them. Sometimes they have what I assume are European symbols on them.
Did you know that this symbol:
The German ‘Green Dot’, has no environmental significance at all? It only means that the manufacturer has paid a fee towards the packaging recovery system in Germany.
Is the beauty industry too upmarket to put the little triangle on the bottom of their packaging? Do they think their little packages would make the symbol too tiny to read?
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
I’ve been seemingly bit by the Valentine’s bug early this year, as I’m already finding myself strangely drawn toward hues of pink and red, shapes of all sizes and varieties that resemble hearts (admittedly not typically my favorite shape), or really anything that shouts “Hey! Valentine” with sugary sweet artistic lips.
It’s perhaps no surprise then, that I was smitten with this very romantic sea-dwelling shape, adorning this Heartopus card from Tofu Nutloaf’s Etsy shop:
From the seller:
Thea Heartopus is a rare freshwater cephalopod. It frequents deep, slow-moving rivers and lakes, and seems to prefer living near humans. It has been theorized that at least part of the Heartopus’s sustenance comes from human love vibes, although some scientists consider this theory bunk.
Continue Reading »
The holidays are behind us, and we’re moving into the time of year when lots of people are facing the daunting twin tasks of finding places to put all the Christmas presents and getting ready to do some serious Spring cleaning.
If you’re like me, you may even have made a New Year’s resolution that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now seems a bit daunting: “Take care of the clutter problem.”
I suspect de-cluttering is harder for those of us who hate to add things to the waste stream. The thought of putting something into a landfill that someone else might get use out of is bothersome, but how do we find someone who needs or wants our old stuff?
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 12, 2009 by
SusanC
What better way to start the second full week of the new year than with a great review and giveaway for some helpful green home and beauty products?
This review and giveaway comes courtesy of Ecostore USA, whose eco-friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and their body and baby care products are gentle on your skin, natural, and non-toxic.
From Ecostore’s website:
All of our products are made from plant and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.
Continue Reading »
