Tag Archive: For The Home

My Eco-Friendly Valentine

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.

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Recycled Note Of The Week: Small Square Design

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.

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Freecycling Into 2009

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?

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Don’t Let Handmade Toys Become Extinct

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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Programmable Thermostat Giveaway!

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when slippers become a daily staple, hot tea seems to pour itself in your mug, and heating bills begin to climb to sometimes uncomfortable levels. The Home Depot wants to help you save energy and money this brisk winter season (and all year round), but we’ll get to that in just a moment.

First, let’s talk for a few minutes about programmable thermostats and what they can do for you and your home.

A programmable thermostat monitors the temperature of your home while you’re asleep or away. For example, the Rite Temp 7 Day Programmable Thermostat, an ENERGY STAR-qualified thermostat available at The Home Depot, offers temperature programming for every day of the week.

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Recycled Note Of The Week: Plantable! Cards

This week’s Recycled Note Of The Week comes via Round Robin Press, and their “playfully modern plantable cards.”

I’m quite smitten with plantable cards of all genres and varieties, mostly because what’s better than sending a note that after being enjoyed can ultimately be recycled into something lovely and organic?

Round Robin Press has some of the best designed of all plantable cards I have ever seen online or otherwise, and the two below were two of my favorites from the shop.

Plantable Card, The First: Thank You

This gracious-themed card is printed on plantable handmade paper embedded with wildflower seeds, and comes with a coordinating papaya-colored envelope.

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