Recycle Christmas Lights?

Wow! This week is going to be crazy! It is the last week before my kids get out of school for winter break so my shopping needs to be done by Thursday. I will be going into their classrooms on Friday for parties. I am almost done with my gift shopping. I wish I could go greener but try explaining that to my family. The greenist I can go is bringing my own bag, buying quality gifts and not wasting anything from food to goods for the holidays. Actually this is what I do year round. I wish I could get it all done for $200 or less like Beth.


I did go to the Goodwill last week to look for a used blender for paper making but had no luck. I also went to see if I could find blankets or sweaters I could unravel to make something new from them. No luck there also. I live in a small town so maybe if I headed to a larger city to shop the thrift stores I would find more. I only scored 2 frames for my paper making and they were only .99 each! If I have time this week I will make some paper tags.


I do have a huge dilemma!! We have a ton of Christmas lights that don't work and I really don't want to throw them out but it is looking like I have to. Should I give them to the Salvation Army? Would they really want mostly burnt out lights? They are the little lights that are hard to replace if they are broken or burnt out. I looked online and found no way to recycle them and my husband is being very adamant about getting rid of them to make room for the new ones he bought this year. (I can't control his buying.) What should I do?

Greener Seasons!

Plastic Bags and Crochet

I am trying this soon. Maybe after the holidays!

Green Saves Green-BYOB

Good Day! October is a great month to review what is green that saves you green, money that is. The weather is changing and the stock market is looking pretty bad so let's see what we can do to not only save money but the environment as well.

Robin has started off our journey with a great green term, stewardship. Her post today rings true for all of us in that we need to take care of our earth and our money.

With that in mind I am going to talk about my favorite way to save money and the environment. Back in April 2008 (yes, barely this year) I was tooling around the internet and discovering all these nifty ways to be green. I was amazed at how much more I could do besides just recycle and throw trash in the garbage. Thus I started my new quest in life to be as green as possible to myself and my environment. I started reading bloggers like Life Less Plastic and Fake Plastic Fish and these women inspired me to review my plastic usage. One simple way to curb the use of plastic was to BYOB. No, not your own beer! Your own BAG!

I had been practicing this concept for many years before I read about this with some very sturdy canvas bags I bought for 20 cents when Montgomery Ward went out of business. But I would only use them when I would remember (almost never) or when it was convenient for me (not embarrassing). So I decided to make it convenient and not embarrassing and left them in my car all the time.

Soon it was a no brainer. Safeway, Target, Trader Joes, Goodwill, Farmer's Market, wherever I shop I take my bags. Since then I have expanded my bag army to include ones that fit in my purse (above), Trader Joe bags and my favorite "Plastic Bags Blow" bag (below). Not only that but the kids get reusable lunch bags and I buy the best purse so I only need one for years (there are purses made of seat belts now, awesome!). I have actually had the clerk take my food out of the plastic bag and use mine. So what, he should have listened when I said, " I have my own bags." And the clerk at Kohl's gave me the funniest look when I handed her my bag. But I bet I was the topic of conversation with her friends that day. The word gets out in any way. I have gotten to the point where I don't like the feel of plastic anything-bags, cups etc.

Why should you take your own bag? Duh!? Because plastic bags kill animals. They pollute. They are toxic when breaking down. They are ugly. They produce toxins when made. You can read a little at ReusableBags.com (and buy a bag while you're there.)

So how do plastic bags save you green? One, many grocery stores will give you 3-5 cents back per bag you use. Not much, I know. Two, is an indirect answer. Retailers have to buy those plastic bags that everyone uses. They just pass the cost to you. If everyone started to bring their own bags that cost could be minimized. BYOB saves in clean up costs around the world. And it saves in animals lives. Not to mention, to clean up the animals is not free either. Many times saving animals is run by volunteers but where do they get the tools to clean the animals? They have to buy them or they are donated, both cost money. So you may not see the savings directly in your pocket book but you will see it in a more beautiful world.

P.S. While you are shopping for that perfect bag, look for recycled and organic materials made where labor laws are good and local.

(I do not get any money from ReusableBags.com, I just like them.)

Old Plastic Bag

My friend sells nutritional suppliments. Not long ago I bought some from her and she gave me some plastic bags with my order inside. At the time I was just starting to rid my life of plastic and/or not throwing it away. So I kept the plastic bag with all the others I don't want to throw away waiting for the day I may need them. That day came yesterday.

Summer is here and we camp. Which means we use coolers. Everytime we leave for the campground we have to make a last minute stop for ice at the convenience store. I hate this. Why pay for ice when I can make it at home for cheap and we have an outside freezer. (I know, very ungreen. But this year it will be full of frozen local fruits and veggies.) So I am starting to stockpile it. And in all those darn plastic bags I have left over. Hence the picture above.

I honestly can't think of any other way to store small ice except for in plastic. If there was no plastic I guess we would have to buy large blocks of ice and break it down. Great when you need to let off steam but bad when you are tired or in a hurry.

How do you "recycle" your old plastic bags?

Longs-Recycling

We went into Long's Drugs the other day to buy shoelaces. (Actually that doesn't matter.) Anyway, I noticed they had a battery and plastic bag recycle collection located just inside the doors. I thought I would just share this tidbit of knowledge. So if you live near a Long's Drug store you too can recycle those nasty batteries and plastic bags in one place.
I also noticed they had a huge section of organic beauty protucts like Kiss My Face and Burt's Bees. So when your not making it yourself, check out Long's.

Granola Bars

I am very slowly trying to eliminate plastic from my life. It is very hard. Here are my dilemmas:

• Deli meats and cheeses for our sandwiches come in plastic bags
• The kids' snacks come in plastic-no matter if I buy larger boxes with plastic liners or individually wrapped when I get lazy
• Bread comes in plastic bags
• Fresh fruit and veggies can come in plastic. When I pick out fruit or veggies I avoid the plastic bag but there are times it comes prepackaged like a 5 lb bag of potatoes or 3 lb bag of apples

There are other dillemmas but these are my most pressing. So in order to do my share for the environment I am trying to make my own food from scratch.

Hence, the title above "Granola Bars". I got the easiest recipe at Mother Earth News. I went to the local supermarket and bought the ingredients for granola bars. And they are smelling really good in the oven right now. The kids are hovering but I told them they have to cool.

But buying the ingredients, even in bulk, posed an issue. I still had to put the oats, sesame seeds and wheat germ in plastic bags. I will wash out those plastic bags and use them again for the next bulk purchase. Some of the other ingredients came in plastic bags that I really don't know how to reuse. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it. Will making more from home help the environment?

Putting the environment aside I do know exactly what went into my granola bars. I also know that they surpass the store bought ones in nutritional value. My kids are going to get a healthy dose of fiber and other great vitamins and minerals. I would say that it was worth making them. And my house smells so good!

Later or tomorrow I will let you know how they taste. (I cheated a bit and bought some chocolate chips to melt and drizzle over the top.)

As for my other dillemmas. I am working on making my own bread. I am looking for a higher fiber recipe. And I would like to start the bread in the breadmaker and finish it in the oven. (So I'm lazy, this eco-friendly living can get tough.) I have also made my own tortilla chips, they were good. I want to try to make crackers like Cheez-its or Gold Fish. But I just don't know how to cut down on the deli meat and cheese issue. I can't grow my own chickens and turkeys.

If you have any solutions or suggestions feel free to leave them.

Organic and Plastics

Why are organic foods put in plastic wrap? I know that plastic keeps it clean and germ free but that plastic might end up back in the soil as a toxin which is exactly what organic is avoiding.

The more I try to be a green, eco-friendly mom the harder it seems to be on my brain!!! Argh!

My Follow Up with Plastic Bubble Wrap

In my previous post I mentioned I bought green items in the mail that were wrapped in non-green bubble wrap. I wrote to the company, ReusableBags.com.

Hello Reusable Bags,
I am a first time buyer of your site and I am very pleased with my items-3 Sigg bottles and "Plastic Bags Blow" bag. BUT I was concerned to see that you wrapped the bottles in bubble wrap before sending them off to me. I am fairly new to to recycling so please tell me that the bubble wrap you used is 100% recyclable. Your site teaches to stop using plastic bags yet you are shipping your items in plastic bubble wrap. This confused me. I thought for sure the packaging would be made of recycled paper. I can say that I am very disappointed in the fact you used plastic. I may think twice about purchasing from your site again unless I know for sure I can recycle the bubble wrap.
Thank You, Allison

Their response:

Allison,
Please realize that we are on the same page and as concerned about this issue as you are. We strive as a company to continually reduce our ecoimpact. We try to use minimal packaging, reuse packaging whenever possible, and research other alternatives, such as biodegradable packing peanuts. We've passed along your feedback will continue to work with our suppliers and fulfillment house to identify and use more eco-friendly packaging whenever possible.
Feel free to contact us with any other questions or concern. We really appreciate your feedback and are open to hearing any suggestions you may have for suitable packaging alternatives.
Sincerely,

This response does not help my situation. I don't think I will order from them again. I mean honestly, as a "green" company shouldn't they already have a eco impact plan set in motion and use biodegradable?
On a positive note, they responded within a day. I have dealt with companies that NEVER respond.
A+ Customer service
F Packaging

BYOB

"Bring your own bag" or "bring your own bottle", it doesn't matter. I have been bringing my own bags to shop for a while now but I just received my Sigg drink bottles that are 100% reusable and 100% recyclable. I am so excited to have them. No more plastic bottles!! And the Sigg bottles keep my drink cold longer. You can see the kids have their own also.



On a sad note, when I received my shipment the bottles were wrapped in PLASTIC BUBBLE WRAP! The site I purchased the items from is an advocate for ridding our world of plastic bags. Now tell me that I can at least recycle the bubble wrap! I don't know. I expect a site that is earth friendly to pack there items in recycled paper, not plastic.


I have emailed the company and hopefully they can redeem themselves to me. At this time I will wait to see if I hear from them to reveal the name of the site. But I can say they really disappointed me, I may not shop there again.



ly