If there is one disposable kitchen item worth keeping, it is certainly tinfoil over plastic wrap. Aluminum foil has oh-so-many uses, doesn’t it? So many, in fact, that we are actually out of it right now, after crafting my youngest’s tin woodman hat for Halloween (but I digress). The point is, in terms of food […]
Last winter we had a washer/dryer maintenance man out to our house about four times before we realized that we had a sneakily-wedged Elsa sock stuck in our washer’s drain. Over the course of those visits, I spent some time talking with the man disassembling our washing machine. I learned a handful of really useful
Ditch dryer sheets Read More »
The Christmas tree light people might have been the first to popularize the LED light on a consumer level–highlighting the low energy usage and low heat output by the thousands of little twinkle lights with which we decorate each December. And they’re on to something for the rest of the year, too. There are a
I just finished reading Brene’ Brown’s new book, Braving the Wilderness by Brene’ Brown. Admittedly, I love her wisdom, her voice and her challenges. She dedicates an entire chapter of her book to the idea that it’s near impossible to get angry with a person with a different worldview, whom you know close-up. I guess
Do you notice how the smell of the grocery store changes when you get to the cleaning product aisle? The scents alone that accompany our cleaning products have a long reach. Interestingly no cleaner is required to smell good–they’re only required to clean. Most of the active ingredients in cleaners are treated in wastewater treatment
Consider the cleaners Read More »
Perhaps the most mundane and efficient way to reduce waste, is not to pick it up in the first place. Plastic bags accompany nearly every shopping trip we take–some stores who take their work especially seriously, will double bag all of your bags. Leaving you with a quickly-mulitiplying load of bags that aren’t good for
Man, is this a challenge pointed at me! Admittedly this whole #green31 project was inspired in part to assuage my own guilt for driving (& not a hybrid) everywhere and anywhere I need to go. I do try to give myself at least a day a week where (other than school) I’m not going anywhere.
walk, ride, carpool Read More »
Air-drying. We are faced with this choice in nearly every public bathroom there is. Choosing to implement the hand dryer rather than the paper towel dispenser is a simple step you can take any day–especially outside of your home. And, we’ve already talked about eliminating paper towels/napkins from the home. According to one website: “If
Who doesn’t love to read labels?! Right. The good news is that companies who produce their food/clothing/products ethically tend not to make it hard for you to see that. It’s generally loud, proud and stamped on the front for the world to see. Which also means, if you’re struggling to find any indication of the
I am that old woman in the room who save tissue paper, ribbons & gift bags (I draw the line at wrapping paper–I have standards, you know!). It will probably embarrass my children and family for decades to come that their gifts and the gifts we give their friends, come wrapped in newspaper, grocery bags