Wear the Earth

1. Buy and use only rechargeable batteries.

2. Instead of wrapping paper, try using materials such as paper grocery bags flipped inside out and decorated with soy ink stamps or the comic page of a newspaper for kids. Other great wrapping materials include old maps, sheet music and magazine ads. Try our Vita re-usable tote its a gift & wrap all in one!

3. Try soy or beeswax candles. They are cleaner and gentler on the environment and last longer!

4. Borrow items from nature to set your table and return them when you’re done. Dried leaves or smooth stones make beautiful place cards, and a pinecone lying on its side creates the perfect stand.

5. Be sure to recycle.   Place all paper products, plastic, glass, and metal containers in your recycle bin. Including shopping bags, boxes, wrapping paper and any type of food containers made of plastic, metal or glass.
6. Turn down your thermostat a few notches before your guests arrive. As your guests arrive, the room’s temperature will rise to a comfortable but not stuffy level .  If you are baking remember the oven temp warms the house as well.

7. Recycle your Christmas Tree go to earth911 to find your local recycle center, drop off locations or curb side schedule.

8. If you have leftovers, send guests home with extras in pre-saved glass jars or reusable plastic containers instead of plastic wrap.

9. Too many catalogs.  Before you recycle gift catalogs, take a minute to pick out the ones you don’t want to receive anymore. Call their toll-free
numbers right away and ask to get off their list.
10. If you’re looking for more than a warm and cozy glow, LED (or in some cases, solar) holiday lights for the home, tree and walkway.  If you have old-school lights, enjoy them until they need to be replaced. Recycle your
broken or burned out holiday lights at Christmas Light Source.  The bulbs are recycled and the proceeds are used to aid Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

Be sure to use a timer and keep them on for only 4-6 hours per night.

**Most important; emphasize togetherness and people over things. Create memories and teach our children (and ourselves) that love and friendship are zero-waste & free.

Wishing you health and happiness this holiday season, and prosperity in the New Year. We thank you for your business

All the best to you, your family.

~Tiffany

November Tip

I recently read and article in Natural Home by Gregory Paul Johnson founder of Resources for Life. He spoke of living a lighter life and I found his suggestions worth sharing especially as we head into the hectic Holiday season. Here is an excerpt:

4 Steps To A Lighter Life~

1. Make a list of your priorities & keep it in a visible place to remind you how you want to spend your time and money. Track how you spend your time like you balance your checkbook. A chaotic day is equal to a bounced check.

2. Commit to making and being mindful of small changes. Choose one thing in your life that is getting out of control & decide today what you need to do to get it back on track. The confidence you build by seeing success in one area of life can help you gain victory in others. 3. Find Balance. Consider the areas of your life that consume the most time. Explore more efficient ways to handle these areas. by living a more balanced life you become more effective and help enrich the lives of those around you. 4. Set aside time for important activity in your life. Decide when you are going to do it and black it out in your day planner. If it require an investment of money or space, make it. Your commitment to an activity will result in a higher level of satisfaction.

To put your own life on a diet, begin with one or two of these actions. As you implement more you will SIMPLIFY your life

Happy Holidays~~Tiffany

Read the Article by Gregory Paul Johnson.

OCTOBER TIP

Here are some tips to help make your Halloween Green:

1. E-mail party invites rather than snail-mail them. There are some great ghoulish Free e-mail greetings online.
2. Make your own costume or buy one at a second-hand shop. An old sheet still makes a great ghost.

3. Trick or Treat with a reusable bag.

4. Walk instead of driving. If you must drive try car-pooling.

5. Look for locally grown pumpkins for carving & apples for bobbing and other seasonal fruits and veggies

6. If you don’t already compost, Halloween is a great time to start. You can add post-Halloween jack-o-lanterns to your compost bin, along with fallen leaves, food scraps, and other organic, biodegradable yard and household waste. Compost creates excellent soil for your garden

7. Teach your children to keep candy wrappers in their re-usable trick-or-treat bags until they return home, or to dispose of them in trash cans along their route. Preventing candy wrappers from becoming Halloween litter on the street is the right way to treat the environment. Take along an extra bag when you take the kids out treat-or-treating, and pick up litter along the way to help clean up the neighborhood.

8. Make use of all pumpkin parts. After carving a pumpkin, make sure to save the seeds. Bake them and serve them to party guests or feed them to our fine feathered friends, the birds.

9. Candy…No Halloween is complete without CANDY! There are plenty of healthy candy bars on the market these days. From organic chocolate to organic lollipops—available online and from local organic groceries, health food stores, or consumer cooperatives. Try honey sticks or fruit leather at health food stores or tea shops. These organic candies can satisfy your sweet tooth without compromising your health, and they are produced using methods that don’t damage the environment. Choose treats that use little or no packaging . Whenever possible, buy locally produced treats from local merchants.

10. Experience nature. Visit a pumpkin farm. Pick fresh apples. Talk a long walk outside. Look up at the sky. Notice the moon. Enjoy your planet.

Living an Eco-friendly lifestyle and reducing waste and pollution should be a daily event, not a special occasion. With a little thought, you can apply the strategies you use to have a green Halloween to the way you live every day.

Happy Halloween~~Tiffany

SEPTEMBER TIP

Keepin’ it clean

Removing a stain can be tough. Especially tough on natural fibers. Off the shelf stain remover products can harm natural fibers; some synthetic stain removers are flammable; and many people are allergic or sensitive to their harsh ingredients.

There are 4 basic principles to treating any stain. Of course, the sooner you treat the stain the better:

1. Think twice before just throwing stained clothing in the laundry. The heat of the water and dryer can
set many stains.

2. Scrape, blot or remove as much of the stain as you can. NEVER rub.

3. Determine what the stain is and choose the correct treatment for removal

4. I had always been told to use HOT water to remove a stain. Not the case warm or cool water is the
safest for stain removal. Hot water can set the stain.

Below is a list of some of the most common stains and how to remove them naturally and effectively. Please remember to always test a small area of the fabric before treating the entire garment.

Please vote for us on StartUp Nation,
the contest ends on Sept. 30th.

AUGUST TIP!

Easy Eco-Friendly Tips For the Office

Turn Off the Computer

Save energy and wear and tear on your hardware by shutting down your computer at night. You’ll save an average of $90 of electricity a year. The Department of Energy recommends shutting off your monitor if you aren’t going to use it for more than 20 minutes, and the whole system if you’re not going to use it for more than two hours.

Carpool

If your drive to work is 25 miles each way and at least half is in typical stop-and-go traffic, you’ll save almost 10 percent of your monthly carbon emissions by carpooling. Not to mention the gas dollars you’ll save

Pay Bills online

Save natural resources – as well as late fees – by enrolling in online bill-paying options. Paperless billing not only saves trees; it also eliminates the fossil fuel needed to get all those billing envelopes from them to you and back again. Plus, you’ll save money on stamps.

Cut down on paper use when you can, and choose greener paper supplies, from cups to envelopes.

Print on two-sidesConsider this: the U.S. alone uses 4 million tons of copy paper annually, about 27 pounds per person.

Bag your lunch

Skip the fast food and B.Y.O.B….bagged lunch that is. Pack it in reusable containers, fresh fruit, veggies and your favorite wrap. Better yet organize a weekly or monthly potluck in the office and share favorite recipes.

Get some excercise and do some good for you & the community

Use your lunch hour to take a stroll and pick up trash in your community. Hit the parking lot, the parks, the empty lots. Organize a group and enjoy the weather. You will be pleasantly surprised how good you feel physically and mentally

Looking for more Eco-tips. Find these and others like them at http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/ and http://www.idealbite.com/

Don’t Forget! Join us this Thursday August 6th @ 6:00 PM for our “Summer Sale Event” Live and in person. Click for directions and event information. http://weartheearth.wordpress.com/

June Tip of the Month….Earn Money Recycling!!!!

That’s right….Earn money for your recyclables.  Who couldn’t use a few extra dollars nowadays.

I have found some websites that will actually pay you for various items that you would normally toss or donate.   This is a great thing for kids to do to earn some vacation spending money!

Check these out:

*Not all areas offer the programs listed below.*

TerraCycle.Net Miscellaneous items change often.

RecycleBank.com Trash & recyclable materials.

GreenPhone.com Old Cellular phones.

NextWorth.com Old electronic devices “E” waste.

YouRenew.com “E” waste, games, DVD’s

Cash4Cartridgesusa.com Ink toner cartridges

Sell Old Software Old/Obsolete computer software

BuffaloExchange.com Clothing.  Men & Women

Children’sOrchard.com Children’s clothing, furniture, childcare items.

Earth911.com All things recycled search engine.

Local Used book stores are great for those old paperbacks.  They will usually either pay you in credit or cash depending on their policy. Check Your Local Listings

Know the benefits of recycling cans. Some states pay five to ten cents per can. These states will be listed on the cans to check the cans out. If there is no listing for your state don’t worry. Almost every state pays per lb. for the cans. Although every state is different, the average pay is 35 cents per lb. To get paid for recycling your cans Search Your Local Listings

March 2009

Eco-friendly non-toxic Spring Cleaning

Use pure essential oils as disinfectants and fresheners.

Essential oils are a great natural cleaner/disinfectant, they remove toxic mold, stale air, unpleasant odors, and kill viruses, bacteria and dust mites.

1.Basic Disinfectant: In a spray bottle, put 2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of natural soap such as Bath Gel Base or any dish soap that you may have on hand. Add your favorite antiseptic, anti-bacterial essential oils 20-30 drops (Tea tree, lavender, lemongrass etc.). Shake well before each use.

2. Touch up or spot cleaning: Simply add a drop or two of eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, pine, juniper, thyme, or rosemary to a damp cloth. Wipe down the surfaces and enjoy the wonderful smell and feeling of relaxation you never thought you would get from cleaning.

Note: Use natural cleaning tools (natural sponge, mop, organic cloth) because essential oils can react with plastic.

3. A few drops of oil may be added to the dishwasher or garbage disposal to help disinfect and purify. Some popular oils are pine, orange, tangerine, lemon, and peppermint.

Uses for Vinegar or Lemon Juice

1. Vinegar is great for the Bathroom tile and works well on mildew . Simply spray on and let it sit for a few minutes then scrub with a stiff brush. You may substitute Lemon juice if you dislike the smell of vinegar.

2.For windows and mirrors, mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar or undiluted lemon juice with a gallon of water. Add 10-15 drops of lemon oil to neutralize the vinegar smell. Shake before each use, squirt on, then scrub with newspaper.

3.For Hardwood floors combine a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 30 ounces of warm water. Spray on a cotton rag or towel until lightly damp. Then mop your floors, scrubbing away any grime. You may add a few drops of essential oil to the mix a pine or lemon is nice.

Baking Soda or Kosher salt

1.For your kitchen appliances coat the inside of your dirty appliance with a paste made from water and baking soda. Let stand overnight. Scour off that grime and shine with a moist cloth.

2. Skip the Drain openers they are filled with toxic chemicals. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the problem drain, followed by 2 cups of boiling water. If it is a tough clog than add a 1/2 cup of vinegar and cover tightly, allowing the vigorous fizzing of the chemical reaction to break up the gunk. Flush one gallon of boiling water.

3. Baking soda makes a great abrasive cleaner, sprinkle on counter tops and in sinks, bath tub, shower any surface that needs a little elbow grease. If you need a little more use Kosher salt as an alternative the nature abrasiveness of the salt does wonders to break up dirt and grime.

Cleaning your Copper and Brass

Ketchup works well for Brass & Copper cleaning. The acid in the tomatoes and vinegar works to dissolve the tarnish. Just put ketchup on it let it sit until dry then use a soft cloth and wipe it clean to a shine.

Sparkling Silver

1. Aluminum Foil, Boiling Water, Baking Soda and Salt: Line your sink or a bucket with aluminum foil, and drop in tarnished silver. Pour in boiling water, a cup of baking soda and a dash of salt. Let sit for a few minutes. The tarnish will transfer from the silver to the foil.

2. Toothpaste: If you would rather polish by hand simply rub tarnished silver with toothpaste and a soft cloth. Rinse with warm water and dry.

Februray 2009

This month I thought I would help sort out the confusion that comes with “sorting-out” your plastic recyclables.  Not all plastic is created equal and I was shocked to find out how much I was tossing in my recycle bin that was NOT being recycled at the center.  Here is a break down of the 7 types of plastics, their uses and recycle potential.