December 2008 | 5 Minutes For Going Green

Monthly Archives: December 2008

Greener Holiday Party Tips

Written on December 31, 2008 by SusanC

When entertaining for the holidays – or any occasion – consider using your regular dishes or reusable dishes bought to last through years of parties. We host large gatherings of friends a few times throughout the year, and always use our everyday plates and silverware. The aunt who hosts our huge family Christmas Eve meal has a special set of snowman-themed dishes that she breaks out each December 24^th. Nary a paper plate is wasted, and it’s a very good (and green) feeling.

For cups, we do use plastic Solo party-ware, but our friends write their names on the cups with a Sharpie, and we wash them after each gathering and put them away to use next time.

in Blog, Conservation, Eco-Friends, For The Home, Green Holidays, Green Thoughts, Reduce Reuse Recycle

- 4 Comments

Recycled Note Of The Week: Handmade Flower Thank You Cards

Written on December 30, 2008 by SusanC

1 Comment

Just in time for all of the post-holiday thank you cards you’ll no doubt be sending, this week’s Recycled Note O’ The Week will help you say thank you in style while using handmade recycled materials, too.

Thank you notes with flowers of handmade paper, from PulpArt:

The listing is for 5 thank you notes in a pack, and in the set featured above the seller used “calendula flower petals, angle wings (a botanical from Thailand) as well as all different colors of recycled but high-quality junk mail.”

A note from the seller on her process for making the handmade paper:

I make handmade paper the old-fashioned way, by combining recycled paper with water in a blender.

in Blog, Eco-Friends, For The Home, For The Office, Great Green Finds, Green Holidays, Recycled Note Of The Week, Reduce Reuse Recycle

- 1 Comment

Holiday Card Wreath

Written on December 29, 2008 by Guest Contributor

1 Comment

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.

in Blog, For The Home, Frugal Living, Green Holidays, Green Parenting, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 1 Comment

Repurpose Old Cards Into Something Great

Written on December 26, 2008 by SusanC

7 Comments

Today’s guest post comes to us from VelociBadgerGirl, a great writer with a passion for green issues and overall awesome human being.

If you’re anything like me, every year at the end of the holiday season, you’re left with a pile of greeting cards from family and friends, and no idea what to do with them.

Some people throw them out or toss them in the recycling bin, but I always feel too guilty.

It’s a problem, I know, but in the meantime, I really don’t want to collect boxes upon boxes of used X-mas cards. Luckily, there are a few solutions for those of us too sentimental to throw our cards out, but too practical to store them in the attic.

in Blog, Conservation, Eco-Friends, For The Home, Frugal Living, Green Holidays, Reduce Reuse Recycle

- 7 Comments

Although It’s Been Said Many Times, Many Ways

Written on December 25, 2008 by SusanC

2 Comments

Merry Christmas, to you.

Photo by Chris Jernigan.

Warm holiday wishes to you and yours from the team here at 5 Minutes For Going Green.

May the upcoming days be filled with copious amounts of family, friends, and a toasty beverage of your choosing.

in Blog, Eco-Friends, Green Holidays

- 2 Comments

Holiday Recycling Resources, Wrapped Up With A (Recycled) Bow

Written on December 24, 2008 by SusanC

1 Comment

Recycle, recycle, recycle. It’s a mantra of sorts for so many of us here at 5 Minutes for Going Green, and as festive celebrating with family and friends has most likely already begun, you are about to become busier than ever.

But don’t worry, we’ve got all your post-holiday recycling needs covered, so you can spend less time worrying how to recycle and more time circled around that last cheese log. (Don’t worry about that cheese log, either; remember, resolutions start next year.)

Step One: No recyclable left behind.

In other words, figure out what, exactly, you have to recycle and if it can be recycled.

in Blog, Conservation, For The Home, Frugal Living, Got Energy?, Green Holidays, Reduce Reuse Recycle

- 1 Comment

Last Minute Green Gift Ideas

Written on December 23, 2008 by SusanC

3 Comments

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?

in Blog, Eco-Friends, For The Home, Great Green Finds, Green Holidays, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 3 Comments

Reflecting On The Best Of 2008

Written on December 22, 2008 by Guest Contributor

2 Comments

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!

in Activism, Conservation, For The Home, Frugal Living, Got Energy?, Green Holidays, Green Outreach, Green Parenting, Green Thoughts, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 2 Comments

Around The Greenosphere: Weekly Link Roundup

Written on December 19, 2008 by SusanC

0 Comments

For all of our Southern California readers: to celebrate Stremick’s Heritage Foods “#1 Tasting Organic Milk in America” Award by American Masters of Taste, Heritage Foods is offering a coupon of $1.00 off a gallon of Heritage Foods Organic Milk. Visit this link to print out the coupon. Heritage Organic Milk is “certified organic,” which means that a third-party agency inspects the milk and guarantees the cows are fed only naturally grown corn and grain, and graze on pastures that are free from synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. The Real California Seal certifies that Heritage Organic Milk is 100% from California dairy farms and meets standards that offer improved taste and nutritional benefits.

in Around the Greenosphere, Eco-Friends, Frugal Living, The Green Consumer

- 0 Comments

Recycled Note Of The Week: Smock Paper

Written on December 17, 2008 by SusanC

1 Comment

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.”

If elephants don’t float your proverbial notecard boat, SmockPaper also has a website.

in Conservation, Eco-Friends, For The Home, For The Office, Great Green Finds, Green Holidays, Recycled Note Of The Week, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 1 Comment