Green Glasses

While Recycling is definitely a great thing, it's easy to forget the order of the three R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. They are in this specific order for a very good reason - the less you use, the less waste and energy it takes to create something. Reusing an item allows that energy to be more efficient. Recycling an item that has lost its usefulness ensures that it can be useful again.

So... onto our kitchen cabinet. Our glasses collection is a combination of novelty glasses (Bull and Bush Pub in Colorado, Freddie Flintstone from a fast food chain) , some regular glasses, and our reused glasses.

From left to right --

- Curious George makes pancakes on a jelly jar.

- POM pomegranate juice came in this modern, tall glass.

-Another type of jam, Queenie the Cow goes skiing and builds a snowman.

-A mini mason jar from Green Mountain Gringo Salsa (of Vermont). Mmmm... I will collect more of those!

So next time you break a glass or need more for guests coming over, have fun collecting your own personalized set of glasses. Drink up!

The Hanky Dilemma

I have a cold. I was in denial about it last Thursday (calling my runny nose "allergies" and hoping I could trick my body into thinking it was just that), but on Friday my head started to feel like it was in a bubble, and by Saturday I was popping Tylenol Severe Cold meds and drinking Emergen-C by the liter.

Thankfully, things are starting to look up today and I'm feeling a little bit better. However, I think I've gone through at least a full box of tissues in the past seventy-two hours. As someone who is trying to "green" herself, that's bad news. Plus, I don't recycle tissues; they are definitely a "trash" item. There must be a better way...?

Enter the handkerchief. This seems like a no-brainer: just like reusable shopping bags, if you remember to bring it with you when you have a stuffy nose, you should be in good shape. The problem is, you then have to carry around a snotty rag with cold germs all over it in your purse all day long. That thought grosses me out. Plus, at the rate my nose is dripping, I could see myself going through several (like, five to ten) hankies in a day... and I don't have that much room in my purse. So am I justified in using disposable tissues over a hanky? How about if I buy tissues made from recycled material... is that just a little bit better? I'm not sure... I feel guilty about it, but I just don't know if I'm dedicated enough at this point to make the jump to the hanky. What are your thoughts?

A Reverence for the Tub

Well now, Maine may have a lot of recycling for small items, but what about larger appliances and such? Yankee Yards collect large items, but are they functional?

Down here around Boston and Providence, old bathtubs take on a much more spiritual meaning.

Chilly Idea #1

So the other day I am food shopping for an overnight trip and thinking "Gee, i still don't have any of those ice packs to put in my cooler."  Regular ice in a re-sealable sandwich bag is way too messy (tried it).  I didn't end up finding a plastic ice pack on my shopping trip, which is good cuz I kind of would have felt guilty about buying something like that.

Enter Chilly Idea #1 - reusing plastic water bottles as ice packs. This gets another one of Carolyn's "Duh!'s"  Why this did not occur to me sooner... Don't fill them up the entire way (since the ice will expand) but, just freeze and go!

Yes, bottled water is evil, but let's face it, sometimes necessary if there is not another alternative. turning the bottle into a useful item...bonus!  This will come in very handy on next summer's camping trips! Yeehaw!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a great time to reuse and recycle old clothing and fabrics into a homemade costume! This year, I've combined a bunch of old stuff from the basement (including my bright blue heels from prom, which haven't been worn in 10 years!), along with some purchases from Goodwill (costume jewelry and a trendy purse) to put together a sweet costume this year. I'm going as... Tori Spelling! Seriously! :o) What are you going to be this year?

Reuseable Bags

I totally agree sistah! It is hard to remember them at first, but determination (and feeling guilty when you forget them) in time will make you think more often about bringing them. And if you do remember to bring one to a non-supermarket store, you get weird looks sometimes! Yes, as if that's SO way out there that it deserves a weird look. I have done way weirder things and not gotten such weird looks from people.

When I was in Ireland a few years ago, the supermarket charged 17 cent euro for any plastic bag you might use - now THAT is incentive to remember to bring your own bags! They also put out extra boxes that products came in for customers to use for their groceries for free. And they call shopping carts trolleys. Isn't that cute? Ireland was awesome by the way.

I have almost gotten in fights with people at stores when I tell them I don't want a bag for the one small item I just bought. They look at me weird. One guy at Home Cheapo put my item in a bag anyway and was like "Oh Well, here you go." Really buddy, you want to take this outside? 'Cuz I really don't need another plastic bag stuffed under my kitchen sink, and I have been wanting to kick someone's butt all day. Just try me.

I used to get mad at the store when baggers would not even ask "Paper or plastic?" Their training was pretty much just to use as many plastic bags as possible. But I feel even in just the last year, that has changed dramatically. We use the ones we do get as garbage bags. I have been thinking about saving the thin plastic produce bags, and bringing them back to the store to reuse as well.

Next up - sewing my own reuseable gift bags for Christmas! Or... wrapping gifts in a reuseable shopping bag - functional and fun!