Awesome Compost Option

Wow... I must admit I found this cool composter over at the LJ Urban Blog. I am just really impressed with this undersink option. The price is right, and it can handle a good amount of food waste. I was most impressed when I read the Earth Facts. here

Composting has been one of those things I haven't done well, but after reading that information, I am going to make a committment to do it better. They offer discounts on orders of 3 or more, anyone want to join me in my purchase?!

Back on my Plastic Soapbox

A few months back, I went to observe Art from Scrap, and learn about their art reuse program. One of the things they told the children is that you can find the little pieces of plastic (the little beads used in plastic manufacturing - called Nurdles) on any beach in the world. I was appalled at this claim, and wondered if it was true... so when my family and I made a trip to Monterey, we stopped that the beach in Sand City to fly a kite, and sure enough, I found those little beads of plastic where all along the shore.

So, why is this a big deal? Take a look at this. It might make you reconsider accepting a plastic bag or buying a bottle of water.

So, to make ourselves feel a little better about the state of our beaches, my 5 year old son and I gathered up a huge bag (that we found on the beach) full of plastic garbage that others had left, in hopes the high-tide wouldn't add it to the sea debris problem. The lifeguard on-duty told us we got good karma for what we did. Me? I wanted to pass my karma on to the ocean - it needs it.
PLEASE pack out every single piece of plastic with you when you leave the beach.

To learn more about the problem of nurdles - you can click here.

Ways to a Greener Birthday Party

My daughter just had her birthday and we made an effort to green it up as much as possible... here are some of the things I did...

1. Asked a friend to pass on her Princess Decorations after her party - so at least they are used more than once. Now that our party is over, I will offer them up on Freecycle and then at least 3parties got to enjoy the princess decorations.

2. Goodie bags made from recycled paper and reuse ribbon.

3. In the goodie bags - I gave the girls a glass beaded bracelet...one they could wear into adulthood - one that shouldn't break anytime soon.

4. I requested no gifts on the invitation... and while virtually everyone ignored my request, She got hand sewn clothes, and beautiful hand crafted picture wall hangings, and while my friends gave me a hard time for writing that on the invite, they were definitely greener in their gift choices. (keep your gift bags and tissue and use them again.)

5. I emailed the invitation... and I have to admit this didn't work perfectly - so I would encourage you to use Evite or send it as an attachment - not embedded in the email.

Other things you can do? Use real plates,forks and cups, or at least use ones that compost easily. (Chinet works for the plates, there are also choices for the other stuff here... .)
Serve water from a pitcher - not bottles of water. We had a jug of juice - not juice boxes. Forget about getting balloons - or at least just get a few, and give them out to the kids as they leave.

I was really surprised at the lack of eco friendly choices at the party store - there really wasn't a green option there... so save yourself the trip.

The Story of Stuff

Have you watched that video? I have been thinking about one part of it alot. The part where she (Annie Leonard) is talking about going to buy an alarm clock, and it is just too cheap for what she is getting... and bascially realizes that if she isn't paying for it, someone... somewhere is - by providing cheap labor, or maybe the materials were gotten in less than stellar circumstances. I was thinking about this ALOT lately... because our society really doesn't make it easy to buy the "right" product we need. I'm so frustrated by it, that I have started just not buying. I look at my options and say - none of these are a good choice.. .I'm just going to wait. I'm sure it isn't what our stores are hoping we do... but honestly it feels great! For one I realize hat much of what I "need" I really don't.
If you haven't seen the Story of Stuff Yet, you can find it here.

Improve your Vocabulary and Help Feed Others

Have you been to Free Rice? It is a cool site where you play a vocabulary game and for each right answer, 20 grains of rice are donated to those in need. The link is on here, or you can click the banner to the left.

REUSE -outside the box

I am posting this picture because this lamp is made mostly from reuse materials. The Box was given to me as part of the Box Show Fundraiser Placer Arts just had. Everything else was destined for the landfill, and we saved it and used it. The point of this post is REALLY consider what you are throwing away, and examine your habits. They aren't that hard to change. I am also not suggesting to horde things. I am a big fan of clearing out the clutter - but pass it on! We have made drastic changes in our household over the last several months, and it feels good.
I took the reCREATE program to my son's preschool the other day, and the kids really enjoyed looking at the pictures from the MRF (where all trash goes to be sorted). They made some cool art too.
Here is my recent favorite picture of reuse art by a kid.



I will have a post soon on having a green birthday party!

5 Ways to Celebrate the Earth Every Day

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I am focusing all my efforts on reCREATE,and getting it started. I have been getting regular pickups form several local businesses now, and am continually amazed at the great stuff we are getting for reuse.

Here is a copy of a poster we had out at the Celebrate the Earth event we were at a few weeks ago. Click on the picture and it will enlarge.