Need a reusable bag?

Need a resuable bag? Check out these hip bags made from recycled sails, seatbelts and bike inner tubes! They are locally made in Lake Country and come in many sizes that could be used for a purse, sports, diaper bag, or shopping. Like Courtney said, no one looks good carrying a plastic grocery bag!

www.Stelluca.com

March - Reusable Container Challenge

February we purged, this month we take steps to make sure our houses don't once again become overrun with stuff. Enter the Reusable Container Challenge. This challenge asks us to take a look at the way we shop, the way we dine, and the way we tote the stuff of our everyday lives from here to there. The American way has led us down a path where we find ourselves carrying our purchases around in plastic bags and carrying our leftover dinners out in Styrofoam boxes. This is, aside from being totally uncool (no one looks hip carrying around a plastic bag, no one), a miserable way to treat our planet. What are plastic bags made from? Oil! Which, last time I checked, is sort of a big deal, the whole oil issue. Consider for a moment a few facts from the reusablebags.com website:

• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.

• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

• Each high quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. The bag will pay for itself if your grocery store offers a $.05 or $.10 credit per bag for bringing your own bags.

For the month of March we ask you to challenge yourself to take a look at the bags and containers you use to tote around your purchases and see if there is a way to make a change. Can you start bringing your own reusable bags to the grocery store? Can you remember to bring your own reusable containers to the restaurant to bring home your leftovers? Can you start packing your lunch in a reusable lunch box? Can you start buying items in bulk in containers you brought with you to the store to prevent the tide of plastic packaging coming into your house? What step are you ready to commit to this month?

Over the course of the month we will share local resources to help with the challenge (as well as tips that are universal). But we also want to hear from you fellow Lake Country residents!! In order to encourage participation on our little green blog we are doing our very first contest. So exciting! One lucky Lake Country commenter will win the two reusable bags in the photo above, just by leaving a tip or a question or a comment in our comment section anytime this month. While we love to receive comments from anyone, in order to be eligible to win you must live in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The winner will be drawn from all the eligible commenters at the end of the month.

A bit more info on the bags: they are made from old curtains, upholstery and clothing scraps and were sewn in a solar-powered studio right here in Hartland, WI. So, not only will they help you live a more eco-friendly life, they were also made with the earth in mind.

Egg Cartons, Part 2

Suddenly the purpose of this blog is coming into focus!! Remember my little post about reusing egg cartons a few weeks back? (Of course you do!) I lamented the fact that the 'good' eggs (hee, hee) came in non-recyclable packaging. But get this: I just learned from a recycling specialist at the county that they are recyclable!! This blows my mind in two ways, one humbling, one mildly irritating. First, I used to work for the county's recycling program as one of their recycling educators, so, my job was to educate people on what could be recycled, what couldn't, whatever. And while I worked there (I left that job a mere 18 months ago) our mantra was you can recycle plastics with a #1 or #2 on the bottom, but only if they were bottles. #1s and #2s. Bottles. Got it. No other shaped things, no yogurt cups, no toys, only bottles. And now I learn that things have changed and I didn't know. That's the humbling part. Second, the irritating part. This has nothing to do with the county, by the way, I have nothing but love and respect for the women who work in the recycling department at the county, seriously some of the finest women I have ever had the honor of knowing. They do a great job handling an ever-changing landscape of recycling rules. My irritation lies with the plastic industry and the plastic recycling industry. First, why the numbers with the recycling symbol on the bottom of all plastics, when only #1s and #2s can be recycled? This only confuses people. People who mean well. People who want to recycle. People who feel it is their civic duty. Second, why the different rules in different places about recycling plastics? I know the answer, it has to do with markets for recyclable materials and collection processes, but, again, hello!!! Different recycling rules in Waukesha County vs. Jefferson County vs. Dane County only causes confusion among, once again, those people who really do want to recycle, and want to recycle correctly. This was a source of irritation when I worked as a recycling educator and it still bugs me. Get it together plastic recycling companies!! Make it easy, simple, no brainer-ish for people to recycle and recycling rates will go up. Aluminum, steel, paper... easy! Now, we just need to get the plastic recyclers to heed the memo.

Apparently I am a bit worked up this morning. The simple message you really need here is this: at this point in time you can recycle any plastic item that has a #1 on the bottom. So, egg cartons, bottles, oddly shaped thing-a-ma-jigs, whatever, so long as it has a #1 on the bottom. But, until later notice, you can only recycle a #2 that is a bottle, as in the neck is smaller than the body. #1 - anything. #2 - bottles only. Oh yeah, and all those other plastic numbers (3,4,5,6,7) still do not belong in your recycling bin. Just don't talk to your friends in Lake Mills about it, because their system is totally different. Wait, did I say simple message?

The T.V. Should it Stay or Should it Go?

In early December, halfway through an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, I announced to my husband that I would watch the rest of the show, but then I would be turning off the tv for good. I told him he, of course, could continue to indulge in a bit of tv goodness now and then, but me and tv were done. What caused the break-up? Was it just the fact that I couldn’t stand to watch Meredith and Derek go through yet another hard time? While that has caused me irrational sadness in my heart (They’re perfect together! Beautiful people! Smarts! Doctors! Why can’t they figure a simple thing like a relationship out? How hard is this?!!!), the real reason behind the break up was two-fold. First, the ads had begun to cause me actual, feel-able nausea. I couldn’t take another cell phone ad or Macy’s ad or Target jingle. We don’t have TiVo, so the commercials just came with the package. Second, I didn’t like the ability the tv had of sucking me in for an entire evening of pointless entertainment. It was the brink of winter and I knew if I didn’t pull the plug, I would succumb to the usual winter pattern of sitting down to ‘just watch one show’ and find myself still watching a couple hours later. This despite the fact that I only actually liked two shows, the Office and Grey’s. (Jill has told me that this whole turning off the tv thing is awfully convenient what with the Writer’s Strike and all. She may have a point.)

So, that brings me to today. Last night I tuned into the Oscars for a bit, mostly to see if "Juno" got the props it deserved (it didn't), but that was the first time I had turned on the tv since the big shut off in December. I also wanted to see if, by turning off the tv, I was missing something. As it turns out, I really don’t miss it and after last night's lapse I feel even stronger about my tv blackout. I like my evenings full of reading or knitting or, gasp, talking with my husband. Which begs the question, should the tv stay or should it go? Our tv is a little 13-inch thing that my parents used to have in their motor home. It was a side-grade from our black and white tv. I say side-grade because it wasn’t exactly an upgrade (the black and white had better reception, though you had to tune in channels with a needle nose pliers) and it wasn’t really a downgrade (after all, this tv has a remote, so we can quickly and easily surf the 3 channels we get in our cable-less house). It’s not like the tv takes up a lot of space, but, still, a cubic foot of space in a small house is nothing to dismiss. So, I ask you, fellow purgers, if a tv isn’t being watched, does it still deserve a space in my house?

Host a Book Swap

Are books breeding on your bookshelves and bedside table? With so many good books to read and inexpensive second-hand options, our household seems to attract books with magnetic force. A few years ago, I made a rule that we could only own as many books as would fit on our shelves.  The selection process is difficult-what gets to stay, what must go. Since I tend not to re-read novels, most of them go. I do keep a few if they are likely ones I want to share with friends or family or if they simply make me happy by glancing at the title on the binding as I walk by (book lovers know what I mean). I realize this last rule is cheating. I also keep reference books that we use over and over. My daughter thinks it is silly to even own a dictionary with the internet, but I still like snuggling up on the couch with my gardening books in February in a way that my laptop just can't replace. This past year, we added two shelves and still the books are spilling across the bedroom floors. 

Time to purge. I know for many avid readers, this advice will be on par with tooth extraction, but think of all the new "yet-to-be-read" books that you will be making room to invite in! In addition, if you love a book, share with others! Here are a few ideas for your books:

1. Host a book swap party. A group of women friends and I do this each year. We pile all our books on a table and take home whatever looks good (not a 1-for-1 trade necessarily). It is like Half-Price-Books with live book reviews! We donate what is left to charity. 

2. Host a children's book swap. We do this at my children's school. The kids bring in books to donate ahead of time and the moms organize them by reading level and genre. The kids can then come by class to choose as many books as they brought in. We make sure that we have enough so that every child gets at least one, even if they didn't bring on in. It is wonderful to see their eyes light up at the surprise of getting a free book for summer reading. The teachers get to take any leftovers for the classroom, which is especially nice for new teachers who are building up their library. If you have 4-6th grade books to donate, we are always in need of these for the swap since most families donate books their kids have outgrown. Contact Hartland North Elementary at www.hartlake.org

3. Donate your children's books to an organization that gets them in the hands of children. Children's hospitals often give books to children who are hospitalized or can use them for their playrooms or waiting rooms. Our local library has a summer reading incentive program where books are given as prizes. Daycares or homeless shelters are other options.

4. Consider sharing a book through Book Crossing. This hobby shares books by leaving ("releasing") an internet registered book in a public place for someone to find. The finder can then let the placer know it was found online, read it, and leave it for another lucky finder. Check out www.bookcrossing.com

5.  Swap your magazines. Hartland public library has a magazine swap shelf. We also do this at our church. Consider starting a swap in your community. 

Share your ideas for local book/magazine swaps, donations and sharing on this blog. 

Have your read this book?

On the way to work this AM, I heard part of an interview with author David Wann (also of Affluenza) on his book Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle. I really liked what he had to say about the fact that living a more sustainable lifestyle can give us MORE time, MORE meaning, MORE connections in our community. This concept was one of the ideals for this blog. So often our culture seems to be stuck on the 1970's idea that being eco-friendly means doing without or sacrifice. 

 You can listen to the interview at http://wpr.org/ideas/programnotes.cfm

This book and others by the same author are available through the Waukesha County Library system so you can enjoy in a sustainable way!

Clothes Purge

I once had a roommate who had the perfect clothes closet. I don't mean a walk-in or California closet. I mean what was in it. She had only 20 or so items of clothing. When I asked her how she did this, she replied, "I love everything in it and most of it goes together, I never have to think about what to wear". She was right-I loved (and borrowed) everything in it too! She didn't keep (or buy) clothes she wasn't going to feel good in on a day to day basis. My closet if far from this. I have clothes that no longer fit, that don't really go with anything, that just don't feel like me, etc. 

I have a tendency to hang on to clothes for all sorts of reasons. There are the pair of "skinny jeans", you know the ones that represent hope and possibility. No one should purge those! There are also clothes that have memories (like that itchy bulky sweater I bought in college) that really should go. When it comes to kids, the thrifty and environmental choice can be to hold on to clothes to hand down to the younger siblings. I buy unisex snow boots, rain jackets and other gear for that reason. However, I did learn my lesson that hanging on to too much stuff can also be wasteful. I have two daughters, 7 years apart. I saved all the older one's baby clothes out of nostalgia and thrift. When the younger one was born, I was shocked to open those boxes and see that baby clothes really do go out of style and I didn't like a lot of what was in there. For seven years I was hostess to these boxes when those clothes could have served several other babies while the styles were still cute and in good shape. Now I try to pass clothes on to someone who can use them right away and find other's second hand clothes for the kids.

Here is a closet purge idea I recently heard about that you can try. Hang all your clothes backwards on their hangers. As you wear them, turn them around. By the end of the season, whatever you haven't worn goes. See our links for local donation options or make some extra cash by taking them to a consignment store.