Written on
January 9, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are some favorite posts from elsewhere that had us thinking this week, to help start your weekend a bit greener.
Monday Doreen at Mom Goes Green posted on ridding our respective mailboxes of copious amounts of junk mail, and her post features multiple organizations who will help you do that easily and affordably.
Tuesday EcoGeek published an article on a new and unusual use for cocunut husks.
Is this really practical on a large scale? For those of us living in parts of the world where coconuts are limited to the grocery store, it’s hard to imagine. But in more equatorially located countries, coconuts are everywhere.
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Written on
January 5, 2009 by
SusanC
The perfect size for a notepad to carry in your backpack, purse or back pocket, these recycled floppy disk notepads from It’s Our Earth totally have me embracing my inner geek.
Made from a pair of recycled 3.5″ floppy disks and filled with 80 sheets of 100% recycled acid free paper, the seller has listings for individual notepads or packs of three in various colors you can choose yourself.
Per the seller, as these are recycled floppy disks, some of them may include original labels or a hand written note made by previous owner as to the content on the disk.
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Written on
January 2, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are 5 posts from elsewhere that had us thinking this week, to help start your new year off a bit greener. Happy! 2009.
Monday CNN ran an article discussing the business and potential profit (both economically and for the planet) of sustainable farming and green industry. Here’s an excerpt from the article, though the full length version is definitely worth a read:
But a complex mix of push and pull factors are making environmental business practices increasingly attractive to investors and with that, some say, providing fresh hope for a planet in trouble.
Not only are the emerging markets for alternative power booming — and corporate efficiency initiatives looking more attractive — as fossil fuel prices rise, but many companies are also increasingly aware that there are real costs associated with doing nothing.
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Undeniably one of my favorite things about the holiday season is the holiday cards.
Despite switching to YouTube to send our video holiday greetings, I still adore the old school holiday card sent via mail. Being the organizer that I am, I started to wonder how to display and then store the cards in a way that was space efficient, chic and functional.
What better than a wreath made of your holiday cards?
Involve the whole family and you’ll have a fun and simple craft that will create a holiday keepsake to enjoy year after year. Create one per season or, like we did, one for the family and one for the kids comprised of cards from their favorite classmates.
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Written on
December 23, 2008 by
SusanC
It’s the festival of the last minute for all holiday gift-giving, and we here at 5 Minutes For Going Green have definitely been there. This year we want to help you battle those gift giving stresses of Christmases past, and so we’ve put together a last minute Green Gift Guide to help you check each name of your list just in time to relax and enjoy the upcoming festivities.
1. Night Owl Paper Goods has a plethora of unique and 100% recycled gift ideas, from tote bags to cards and calendars comprised of sustainably harvested Birch wood:
2. Still need something for the avid coffee drinker on your list?
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As the end of the year draws near, we all get inundated with the “Best of 2008” programs, lists and commentaries.
Well, as I am a junkie for montages that reflect on what happened over the past year, and how it impacted one’s daily life, I thought I would share my own!
The Best Eco Friendly Changes I Made In 2008:
1. Used Miracle Mulch (eco-friendly coconut)
2. Added weather stripping to conserve energy.
3. Used motion sensors for outdoor lights to save energy. Turned off the porch light whenever we could.
4. Installed ceiling fans throughout the house. Never turned on the AC in 2008!
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in
Activism,
Conservation,
For The Home,
Frugal Living,
Got Energy?,
Green Holidays,
Green Outreach,
Green Parenting,
Green Thoughts,
Reduce Reuse Recycle,
The Green Consumer
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Written on
December 17, 2008 by
SusanC
This week’s Recycled Note Of The Week was found in SmockPaper’s Etsy shop.
Meet Ellie, the sustainably letterpressed “petite card”:
This particular listing is for a set of 8 blank letterpress petite note cards with hand-lined envelopes, which the seller notes are perfect as gift tags or place cards.
Each wee note is sustainably letterpressed on bamboo paper is 2-1/2 x 3-7/16 folded.
But, wait, there’s more.
As if adorable elephants on bamboo paper isn’t great enough, SmockPaper is also a wind-powered business that donates 1% of sales to environmental causes via 1% For the Planet.
Each set of cards comes packaged from Syracuse, New York in a clear sleeve that is “petroleum-free, tree-free, and certified biodegradable by the Biodegradable Products Institute.”
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Written on
December 15, 2008 by
SusanC
There has been buzz all around the handmade corners of the internet about the recently approved Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), passed in August of this year in large part because the United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US.
Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys, and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.
All of these changes are great for children and will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with.
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Written on
December 11, 2008 by
SusanC
The Holidays can be a tricky time of year to navigate while staying green and not going over-budget. Here at 5 Minutes for Going Green we’re here to help you think outside the box this gift-giving season. We want to help keep you and your family green this holiday season, while also keeping more green in your pocketbooks, too. Keep reading for our customized How-To Holiday Guide.
(Keep in mind, too, that nearly all of these How-To tips are not holiday-centric and can themselves be recycled for birthdays, anniversaries, group social events, and just day-to-day green living.)
How To…
Wrap Recycled:
- My new favorite recycled wrapping trend that I’ve seen suggested and modeled everywhere from Etsy to Martha Stewart Living is wrapping with maps and pages from atlases and other travel-related paperie.
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