Check out my Fun From Scratch post on MIFS today. We've spent many cold, windy days inside this month making some fun of our own.
I'll be hosting the Make it From Scratch blog carnival right here on Tuesday.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
If you can't beat 'em, upcycle 'em.
Mr. Greenhab (aka Cheapest Man on the Planet) cannot pass up a good deal when he sees one (because he rarely thinks anything is a good deal). So when he found hot cocoa on sale for a dollar-something today he came home with two big cans.
We have something of a hot cocoa addiction in the Greenhab household, so I immediately dumped both cans into the official hot cocoa canister then stood looking at the empty, unrecycleable, foil-lined cardboard cans. This is exactly the type of packaging we are trying to avoid these days. We choose glass first since it can be recycled easily and back on the shelf quickly. And, if our only choices are plastic v. something that can't be recycled, we will take plastic so that we're at least not adding to the landfill (not that plastic is a wonderful alternative).
So there I stood staring at these cans that couldn't be recycled debating throwing them away (and feeling really guilty about it) v. keeping them for some use down the road. That's when it came to me. With Valentine's Day coming up, I've had gifty-type projects on my mind lately. And this adorable scrap booking paper has been sitting in my stash for some time now just waiting for the right project.
With the boys napping, I made a mad dash to the craft room for supplies: paper, paper cutter, mod podge, ribbon, and a hot glue gun. (I keep turning this pic around, but it keeps uploading like this...)
Take your cans - you can use any size - and remove the paper. I started with these two, then added a 3rd, smaller can at the last minute.
Measure how long and tall your paper needs to be, then cut it.
On the first try, I put mod podge directly on the can, then pressed the paper onto it. On the 2nd one, I applied the mod podge to the back of the paper and then put applied the paper to the can. Either way seemed to work just fine. Once you have the paper on, you will need to smooth out any air bubbles.
I thought they looked sweet just like this, but decided to add some ribbon for a more finished look.
Use a hot glue gun to affix the ribbon to top and/or bottom of the cans. I chose colors that complimented the paper.
Aren't they sweet? These will go in our art area for the kids' crayons, markers, paint brushes, etc. but I thought they would also be a nice gift to go on a teacher's desk.
~*~
This post is my contribution to tomorrow's MIFS blog carnival. It is the 100th edition of the Make it From Scratch carnival and will be hosted on the MIFS blog. Be sure to check back here on Tuesday, February 2nd when I'll be hosting the MIFS carnival right here at Greenhab. Check here for directions on entering a submission (I hope you will!).
Friday, January 23, 2009
Heat Therapy Bags Tutorial
Check out the Make it From Scratch blog for my Friday post about a No Crap Valentine's Day and a tutorial on these Heat Therapy Bags.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Yellow Pages Go Green
We received our annual unwanted, unrequested phone book a few weeks ago. It promptly snowed that night and the phone book was covered for a week or so, then it was muddy and wet. And I may have left it sitting there by the mailbox in protest for a few extra days before deciding that it probably wasn't going to spontaneously self-compost.
Now I know there are people out there who still use them and I'd just like to say: The 80's called. They want their phonebook back. :@)
There are so many other options out there these days:
Now I know there are people out there who still use them and I'd just like to say: The 80's called. They want their phonebook back. :@)
There are so many other options out there these days:
- The internet.
- Google provides information via text message. Just text the business name and zip code or city and state to 466453 ("google")(and actually you only have to put 46645, but I guess it's easier to remember "google") and they'll send you the number and address. Easy-peasy! We use it all the time.
- And then there's 1-800-Free-411.
Between all of those, you should pretty much be covered. So swing by Yellow Pages Go Green and OPT OUT of receiving future phonebooks. You can also opt out of the white pages there.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
It's Friday somewhere, right?
So catch me today over on the Make it From Scratch blog where I will now be writing every Friday...or until they kick me off.
Loose ends...
There were a few things leftover from Christmas that I wanted to post here and never quite got around to. In one of my Green the Season posts I told you about Happy Camper's homemade Organic Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub. Fletcher and I ended up making it for his teachers at school and it was a hit!
After striking out at the thrift stores for suitable, yet attractive, and properly sized jars I ended up buying these little glass jars shaped like apples at Hobby Lobby. They were on clearance for just over $2 each. I printed up ingredients and instructions on the computer and used some scrap book paper and ribbon from my stash to make tags. Voila!
I also made us some new Christmas stockings for next year. The three we have now were hand-me-down from my mom (thanks mom!) but they're sort of Victorian looking with "doilies and lace and stuff" as my husband says. And since we're adding two new kidlets to the household this year, I decided to make a new batch. I found some pretty Debbie Mumm (sp?) Christmas fleece on sale at JoAnn Fabric after the holiday for 70% off and used some ribbon and buttons that I had in my stash.
I think they turned out pretty cute! I guess they look a little busy in this photo. The colors are much darker and warmer in person - so just believe me that they're sweet in person. ;) They're very soft and fuzzy.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
APLS Carnival - Mind Games?
The topic of this month's APLS (Affluent Persons Living Sustainably) Blog Carnival is "mind games". More specifically, our host Cath of VWXYNot wants to know what kind of mind games other green beans play to force (trick? make?) themselves do the right thing - the GREEN thing - day in and day out.
I have a few obvious tricks: if you want to stop using paper napkins and towels, then don't buy any. You'll be forced to use cloth, right? Can't get away from those pesky, yet super convenient, plastic baggies? Stop buying them and you'll be sure to come up with another option.
I've made deals with myself like "If you don't bring your travel mug, you can't stop at Starbucks!" Oh wait, I think that trick was to save money and wean myself from the IV caffeine drip. Never mind that.
It's days like today though - bitterly cold, snow on the ground, gusty wind - that I pull out the big motivation. You see, as a result of my refusal to go outside in such weather, the little waste basket for compost in our bathroom got full and the food scrap bucket under our sink overflowed into a second bucket until, finally, I convinced myself to take it out today.
These are the times, when logic and reasoning and willing myself to do something don't work, that I think of the quote by Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson~
I have a few obvious tricks: if you want to stop using paper napkins and towels, then don't buy any. You'll be forced to use cloth, right? Can't get away from those pesky, yet super convenient, plastic baggies? Stop buying them and you'll be sure to come up with another option.
I've made deals with myself like "If you don't bring your travel mug, you can't stop at Starbucks!" Oh wait, I think that trick was to save money and wean myself from the IV caffeine drip. Never mind that.
It's days like today though - bitterly cold, snow on the ground, gusty wind - that I pull out the big motivation. You see, as a result of my refusal to go outside in such weather, the little waste basket for compost in our bathroom got full and the food scrap bucket under our sink overflowed into a second bucket until, finally, I convinced myself to take it out today.
These are the times, when logic and reasoning and willing myself to do something don't work, that I think of the quote by Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson~
"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."
With that in mind, I pulled on my snow boots and heavy coat to brave the elements. I walked up the hill to end of our driveway to check the mail and bring in the trash cans, then across our property to dump the compost.
I thought of my great grandma who passed away not to long ago. She left the hustle and bustle of Miami in the 60's to move to the mountains of North Carolina. She reduced, reused, recycled, composted, threw her bath water on the garden vegetables, and burned any trash that was left (I guess that wasn't a bad idea at the time). When that wasn't enough, she moved to a farm in Tennessee where she raised cattle on 200 acres - grass fed, free-range, healthy cattle. She had a garden for her food and a goat for her milk. She went out and did her farm chores in rain or snow and loved every minute of it. She was madly in love with her husband and had to be pryed from the farm years after he passed.
Thinking about her today made me smile. I felt like I was transported into her world and it made me happy that I was out turning compost in the freezing cold, living the way she had once lived. Even though she'll never hear my words of thanks, she did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. And that's all the motivation I need.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
State of the Greenhab Union Address
When the Browns first decided that something had to change in our lives, we took this little quiz online about our environmental impact. It said that, if everyone lived the way we did, that we would need 6.5 earths to sustain us all.
We made some immediate changes and cut that number down to 5.1 earths in just a few months. Those were the easy changes - we started recycling more, changed to wind power (from our utility company, we didn't build a wind turbine in the back yard or anything). After months of a few harder changes, we had decreased to 4.2 earths.
Today, if everyone lived just like we do, we would need 3.6 earths to sustain our lifestyles. We're heading in the right direction. A few things have changed in our lives. I now work at home 90% of the time, so there's a lot less driving on my part. Unfortunately our new electric company only offers "dirty" energy - no wind power, like our old one did. I find this astonishing in this day and age, but it's a small coop out in the sticks, not a huge corporation.
Here's how we fared (small numbers = good, large numbers = bad):
Waste - 0
This is always our lowest category. We don't have curbside recycling anymore. Instead our recycling center is behind our grocery store now. While it was much more convenient to have someone come and pick it up at our house, the center does take just about everything - steel & aluminum cans, tin foil, all plastic except for plastic bags, office paper, junk mail, paper board, cardboard, all colors of glass. I think it's a good trade off. We can recycle just about everything. Most food scraps still go into our compost, except for meat and dairy. So we make about one bag of trash each week, sometimes more.
Transportation - 1
Working from home helps a lot in this area. When I do go somewhere it's usually with my son and hubby, so they give you points for that!
Impact of Your Home - 3
This means, are you living in a space that's too big for you, have you made any improvements to it, etc. We live in a mountain house, which is built with lots and lots of huge windows to allow for natural solar heating in the long winter months. This is great in that we rarely turn any lights on, but bad because the home is 35 years old and starting to get pretty drafty. New windows would be a terrific energy saver and we hope to be able to afford it one day.
Impact of Your Use of Goods & Services - 3
Meaning, do we shop a lot, do we try to use items until they're no longer usable, do we buy second hand, etc. The short answer is yes. We've gone a little astray from the buy-nothing compact we participated in last year, but we do still try to buy only what we need (with a few new pieces of clothing here and there). We buy many things second hand and use Craigslist and Freecycle a lot. This is probably an area in which we need to refocus though.
Food - 7
Yes, 7. We knew it would be our weakest area for a few reasons. Marc has never been a fruit or veggie eater. He's more of a meat and side-dish-from-a-box kind of guy. Meat obviously has a huge environmental impact. I'm able to eat local, organic fruit and veggies in the summer months but, come fall, the options decrease sharply and we have to start to stretch our version of "local". I hope to combat this this year by growing more of our own food, freezing and canning it and, hopefully looking into purchasing locally raised meat. Meat is meat and it all has a huge impact but the reality is that we eat it and will continue to do so, so we might as well get grass fed, humanely raised meat, right? I'd also like to start making things that we tend to buy prepackaged like granola bars.
So there you have it. We are moving in the right direction for the most part, but we would like to continue to push and improve and see our impact drop further.
We made some immediate changes and cut that number down to 5.1 earths in just a few months. Those were the easy changes - we started recycling more, changed to wind power (from our utility company, we didn't build a wind turbine in the back yard or anything). After months of a few harder changes, we had decreased to 4.2 earths.
Today, if everyone lived just like we do, we would need 3.6 earths to sustain our lifestyles. We're heading in the right direction. A few things have changed in our lives. I now work at home 90% of the time, so there's a lot less driving on my part. Unfortunately our new electric company only offers "dirty" energy - no wind power, like our old one did. I find this astonishing in this day and age, but it's a small coop out in the sticks, not a huge corporation.
Here's how we fared (small numbers = good, large numbers = bad):
Waste - 0
This is always our lowest category. We don't have curbside recycling anymore. Instead our recycling center is behind our grocery store now. While it was much more convenient to have someone come and pick it up at our house, the center does take just about everything - steel & aluminum cans, tin foil, all plastic except for plastic bags, office paper, junk mail, paper board, cardboard, all colors of glass. I think it's a good trade off. We can recycle just about everything. Most food scraps still go into our compost, except for meat and dairy. So we make about one bag of trash each week, sometimes more.
Transportation - 1
Working from home helps a lot in this area. When I do go somewhere it's usually with my son and hubby, so they give you points for that!
Impact of Your Home - 3
This means, are you living in a space that's too big for you, have you made any improvements to it, etc. We live in a mountain house, which is built with lots and lots of huge windows to allow for natural solar heating in the long winter months. This is great in that we rarely turn any lights on, but bad because the home is 35 years old and starting to get pretty drafty. New windows would be a terrific energy saver and we hope to be able to afford it one day.
Impact of Your Use of Goods & Services - 3
Meaning, do we shop a lot, do we try to use items until they're no longer usable, do we buy second hand, etc. The short answer is yes. We've gone a little astray from the buy-nothing compact we participated in last year, but we do still try to buy only what we need (with a few new pieces of clothing here and there). We buy many things second hand and use Craigslist and Freecycle a lot. This is probably an area in which we need to refocus though.
Food - 7
Yes, 7. We knew it would be our weakest area for a few reasons. Marc has never been a fruit or veggie eater. He's more of a meat and side-dish-from-a-box kind of guy. Meat obviously has a huge environmental impact. I'm able to eat local, organic fruit and veggies in the summer months but, come fall, the options decrease sharply and we have to start to stretch our version of "local". I hope to combat this this year by growing more of our own food, freezing and canning it and, hopefully looking into purchasing locally raised meat. Meat is meat and it all has a huge impact but the reality is that we eat it and will continue to do so, so we might as well get grass fed, humanely raised meat, right? I'd also like to start making things that we tend to buy prepackaged like granola bars.
So there you have it. We are moving in the right direction for the most part, but we would like to continue to push and improve and see our impact drop further.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
National Bankruptcy Day just got smaller!
I've been remiss in posting this, so maybe you've already heard, but the CPSC has exempted resellers from having to test used merchandise for lead:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html
But I still have to wonder what will happen to crafters, etsy and ebay sellers. If these types of people buy supplies like fabric, then turn it into a blanket, or dress or doll for a small child, are they required to test it?
From what I've read at the link above, I think that the exemptions were only for resellers (thrift stores, consignment shops) and that small business owners would still have to test their products. While I think it's a good idea for all children's products to be tested, I know that it's not feasible for these indy crafter types. Maybe that's just a chance that we have to take as consumers and parents. I don't think I really know the answer there.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html
But I still have to wonder what will happen to crafters, etsy and ebay sellers. If these types of people buy supplies like fabric, then turn it into a blanket, or dress or doll for a small child, are they required to test it?
From what I've read at the link above, I think that the exemptions were only for resellers (thrift stores, consignment shops) and that small business owners would still have to test their products. While I think it's a good idea for all children's products to be tested, I know that it's not feasible for these indy crafter types. Maybe that's just a chance that we have to take as consumers and parents. I don't think I really know the answer there.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Browns are still going green
Wow, so my "I need a few days off from blogging" turned into a month off from blogging. (And didn'tcha miss me? No? Whaaaaat??) So here's a little run down of the past month.
The best news of the month came on December 11th, when we unexpectedly got "the call". Yes, our adoption referral! We are now (almost) the proud parents of two new babes - a little girl who is almost 5 and her brother who is just over one year old. We expect to travel to Ethiopia some time in late March / early April to bring them home.
So it was a lovely holiday indeed!
No matter how much I tried to prepare though, it was still sheer madness. How does that always happen? The good news is that we did, as promised, cut back a lot on gifts. We spent time with friends and family and gave many handmade gifts that came from the heart. And they were very well-received (or they're all good fakers I suppose). This is the first January in a long time when I haven't had that post-holiday "what-the-heck-happened???" feeling of impending doom when opening my credit card bill. In fact, it was just like any other month.
I also made pretty good on my promise to Beth of Fake Plastic Fish and Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess to not buy plastic this year. The handmade gifts helped a lot in that area, almost all of the others were quite eco-friendly. We did somehow end up with a Big Wheel for our 3 year old. I know, I know. We tried to offset the insanity of that ginormous piece of plastic with several puzzles and toys from the thrift store.
So now here we are, beginning a new year already. I'm busy still doing recruiting part time and working for iVillage part time as well. In addition to my job there, I also am still volunteering to lead some of their green boards. It's a busy life these days, only to get busier with the addition of two new kids in the near future. But I will try to get back here on a more regular basis to bore you all with my ramblings.
Cheers & Happy New Year!
The best news of the month came on December 11th, when we unexpectedly got "the call". Yes, our adoption referral! We are now (almost) the proud parents of two new babes - a little girl who is almost 5 and her brother who is just over one year old. We expect to travel to Ethiopia some time in late March / early April to bring them home.
So it was a lovely holiday indeed!
No matter how much I tried to prepare though, it was still sheer madness. How does that always happen? The good news is that we did, as promised, cut back a lot on gifts. We spent time with friends and family and gave many handmade gifts that came from the heart. And they were very well-received (or they're all good fakers I suppose). This is the first January in a long time when I haven't had that post-holiday "what-the-heck-happened???" feeling of impending doom when opening my credit card bill. In fact, it was just like any other month.
I also made pretty good on my promise to Beth of Fake Plastic Fish and Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess to not buy plastic this year. The handmade gifts helped a lot in that area, almost all of the others were quite eco-friendly. We did somehow end up with a Big Wheel for our 3 year old. I know, I know. We tried to offset the insanity of that ginormous piece of plastic with several puzzles and toys from the thrift store.
So now here we are, beginning a new year already. I'm busy still doing recruiting part time and working for iVillage part time as well. In addition to my job there, I also am still volunteering to lead some of their green boards. It's a busy life these days, only to get busier with the addition of two new kids in the near future. But I will try to get back here on a more regular basis to bore you all with my ramblings.
Cheers & Happy New Year!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
National Bankruptcy Day - February 10, 2009
I'm back from my (unintentional) blogging hiatus and promise to post some updates on us, the adoption, the holidays, etc. very soon. This issue was too important to postpone though...
National Bankruptcy Day - 2/10/2009
In a nutshell, from February 10th, 2009 going forward, all products (clothes, toys, etc.) that are meant for children 12 and under must be tested for lead and pthalates. Now, there have been dozens of interpretations of this, naturally. Everyone reads the law differently, and it seems that the experts even give different answers from day to day, so I urge you to read about it and make your own decision. I just want to bring it to your attention. It seems (and I've been known to be wrong, lol) that thrift stores, Etsy seller, independent "mom & pop" type businesses, etc. will all have to perform this testing as well.
I agree 110% that we do need a law that protects our kids from lead and pthalates. This really is a huge step in protecting them. It seems though as if this was thrown together hastily without thinking about all of the effects.
If anyone is interested in reading about this, you can find some good info here:
http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2009/01/end-of-kiddie-consignment-shops.html
http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/
*Edited to add: http://www.thesmartmama.com/bg/ is a very good, understandable resource as well. Smart Mama indeed.
The problem is that the testing is expensive and time consuming. Thrift stores are saying they would just have to send all those items to the landfill (um, so these contraband, toxic chemicals can leach in our groundwater??). These items are a huge portion of their sales...not to mention that a lot of people depend on being able to buy items at a lower cost at thrift stores. Smaller businesses, consignment shops, ebay and Etsy sellers simply can't afford to do this testing and will be forced out of business.
I can't imagine that this law will stand without some sort of provisions for small business owners and nonprofits. Especially with the economy the way it is now. The government is promoting economic recovery through spending. This would be disastrous. Which is why 2/10 is being called "National Bankruptcy Day".
Consider signing the petition. Or writing a letter to the CSPC or your congressional representatives.
You can sign a petition to the CPSC here.
Write them a letter here.
Or write your representatives here.
Here's the letter that I wrote. You can use the text provided on the websites, or write your own.
Dear CPSC,
I am, first and foremost, a parent dedicated to the safety of my children. I am also a small business owner. I commend you for being concerned about lead and pthalates in products made for children 12 and under. It is a huge concern of mine as well. I do, however, believe that the restrictions that go into effect on February 10th, 2009 regarding testing of these products will do greater harm than good.
I don't have an answer to this problem, but I urge you to investigate one.
You see, if owners of small businesses like consignment shops, Etsy sites, eBay businesses, and "mom and pop" retail stores have to test all of their items, well, they won't be able to. They'll have to close down. Non profit thrift stores can't afford to test their items either, so they'll be forced to send all of these items to the landfill. Then what will the people do who depend on buying clothes and toys for their children at thrift-store prices?
I want children to be safe. I want MY children to be safe. But this law needs to be changed so that it doesn't put tens of thousands of small businesses and non-profits out of business at the same time. This would be catastrophic to our already struggling economy.
Sincerely,
Kellie Brown
National Bankruptcy Day - 2/10/2009
In a nutshell, from February 10th, 2009 going forward, all products (clothes, toys, etc.) that are meant for children 12 and under must be tested for lead and pthalates. Now, there have been dozens of interpretations of this, naturally. Everyone reads the law differently, and it seems that the experts even give different answers from day to day, so I urge you to read about it and make your own decision. I just want to bring it to your attention. It seems (and I've been known to be wrong, lol) that thrift stores, Etsy seller, independent "mom & pop" type businesses, etc. will all have to perform this testing as well.
I agree 110% that we do need a law that protects our kids from lead and pthalates. This really is a huge step in protecting them. It seems though as if this was thrown together hastily without thinking about all of the effects.
If anyone is interested in reading about this, you can find some good info here:
http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2009/01/end-of-kiddie-consignment-shops.html
http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/
*Edited to add: http://www.thesmartmama.com/bg/ is a very good, understandable resource as well. Smart Mama indeed.
The problem is that the testing is expensive and time consuming. Thrift stores are saying they would just have to send all those items to the landfill (um, so these contraband, toxic chemicals can leach in our groundwater??). These items are a huge portion of their sales...not to mention that a lot of people depend on being able to buy items at a lower cost at thrift stores. Smaller businesses, consignment shops, ebay and Etsy sellers simply can't afford to do this testing and will be forced out of business.
I can't imagine that this law will stand without some sort of provisions for small business owners and nonprofits. Especially with the economy the way it is now. The government is promoting economic recovery through spending. This would be disastrous. Which is why 2/10 is being called "National Bankruptcy Day".
Consider signing the petition. Or writing a letter to the CSPC or your congressional representatives.
You can sign a petition to the CPSC here.
Write them a letter here.
Or write your representatives here.
Here's the letter that I wrote. You can use the text provided on the websites, or write your own.
Dear CPSC,
I am, first and foremost, a parent dedicated to the safety of my children. I am also a small business owner. I commend you for being concerned about lead and pthalates in products made for children 12 and under. It is a huge concern of mine as well. I do, however, believe that the restrictions that go into effect on February 10th, 2009 regarding testing of these products will do greater harm than good.
I don't have an answer to this problem, but I urge you to investigate one.
You see, if owners of small businesses like consignment shops, Etsy sites, eBay businesses, and "mom and pop" retail stores have to test all of their items, well, they won't be able to. They'll have to close down. Non profit thrift stores can't afford to test their items either, so they'll be forced to send all of these items to the landfill. Then what will the people do who depend on buying clothes and toys for their children at thrift-store prices?
I want children to be safe. I want MY children to be safe. But this law needs to be changed so that it doesn't put tens of thousands of small businesses and non-profits out of business at the same time. This would be catastrophic to our already struggling economy.
Sincerely,
Kellie Brown
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