The biggest thing we accomplished Memorial Day weekend was planting our garden. It doesn't look like it bu there are veggies nestled in there. We also planted our window boxes and other flowers.
Aaron also installed a fancy shmancy irrigation system with automatic timer for when we go on vacation. It drips instead of spraying which is much more green as the water does not evaporate into the air. I need to get off my duff and order a rain barrel to hook it up to.
Here is my new old school watering system. I love this watering can! It looks so nice and it works really well.
I have been very good about remembering my reusable shopping bags lately and plastic bags hardly ever make their way into our house. I was still collecting the occasonal plastic produce bag though, so I ordered these reusable produce bags from ecobags.
They are super light so they don't affect the total weight of your produce. I used to only have to remember my shopping list when I went to the grocery store. I am accumilating more and more things I have take with me!
When I was in San Francisco a restaurant gave me biodegradable cutlery. I read that most are supposed to break down in about 100 days, so I am running a little experiment. I dated each piece and put them in a pot of dirt. I will let you know when they are decomposed.
Aaron and I both have Sigg bottles for work. But when we were packing for our camping trip we realized we needed water bottles for home. We both picked up second bottles at Wegmans. Looks like they just came out with some new designs. I think they both look really cool. Thank goodness we had them. Oscar drank a lot of water when we were hiking.
I am a pretty huge Method fan. So you can imagine how bummed I was when I found out they had an advocate program and NO ONE ASKED ME TO BE IN IT! *sniff*
Lucky Tiffanie is in it and got samples of their newest products.
Kid 3-in-1 shampoo and body wash. How cute are these containers?
Things to make your baby very clean. Bubble bath, body lotion, hair + body watch and diaper cream.
Toilet bowl cleaner and bathroom scrub. I love how the Le Scrub container had a notch in it to hold the scrubby. Great design!
I don't have a need to scrub any dirty kids or babies, but I am definitely getting some of the Lil' Bowl Blu and Le Scrub.
It all started when I was listening to NPR. I heard a report that Bisphenol A, which is found in number 7 plastics might cause cancer, early puberty and other nasty things.
I kept finding more and more articles on the hazards of number 7 plastic and then I looked up what the story was on other kinds of plastic.
Well, I had heard enough. I've got enough to worry about without thinking my plastic containers are poisoning me. I already had a Sigg Bottle, but I still had a cupboard of plastic food containers.
I cleared them out of the cupboard for other uses like holding water for paintbrushes and went to Kmart and bought a set of Martha Stewart glass food storage containers.
We use a lot of containers for leftovers and for taking our lunches to work so I got a bunch of different shapes and sizes.
They are kinda heavy but the lids (made of "generally safe" number 4 plastic) seal well. Once again, thank you Martha.
By the end of summer we had a nice batch of compost
cooking away in our backyard. But now that it is winter, the compost is frozen.
I just read about this indoor
composter
that doesn't use worms, attract flies or smell bad. Plus you can add
meat, fish or dairy. (we can't do that with our backyard composter)
We don't have a spot for one of these in our little kitchen,
but if I
was refinishing a kitchen I would definitely think about one of these.
Recycline, the company that makes the Preserve recycled
plastic toothbrushes, is now making Preserve
kitchen products. The products are made from 100% recycled #5
plastic just like their toothbrushes. They don't have a lot of info on
their site but looks like they have cutting boards, storage containers
and colanders.
The line is only available at Whole Foods, which we don't have
in town, but hopefully the products will be in other stores soon.
Tina and I decided bamboo was the new black awhile ago. I just
spotted these bambu
disposable plates and utensils and other pieces at Parkleigh. The
plates seem pricey for something you throw away, (I have been getting
the corn
ones) but they look so nice. I did get the reusable little
"sporks" though. They also have lots of trays, bowls and other
products.
I never really thought about my spices being organic or not, so I have
to confess that my real attraction to the Simply Organic
Spices
is the packaging. There, I said it. They look cute in my cupboard and
on the counter next to my freshly baked pumpkin pie. And the fact that
they don't have pesticide or chemicals in them... well that's just a
plus.
I saw these Euro Cloths in an Ideal Bite
newsletter. They are "superabsorbent, reusable, biodegradable cloths
you can throw in the dishwasher." When I went to the Twist website I
found that they also had Euro Sponges for wiping and Loofah Sponges for
scrubbing... both biodegradable. And they are cute too!
I am also digging these Nellie's
Dryerballs. They "soften fabrics
naturally without using chemical fabric softeners." Now that
line-drying season is over, I could really use these.
When we went to see Guster, they made a point of showing that
they no longer drank from plastic bottles, but they all used recyclable
aluminum water bottles. I meant to look into them but forgot about it
until I saw these Sigg
bottles at Wegmans.
I have read things about plastic water bottles like they are
made from PET (petroleum based plastic) and only 14% of them end up
being recycled. Of the ones that are recycled they are just reduced to
a lower level plastic that is then not recycled. 30 million PET water
bottles go into US landfills EVERYDAY.
Reusable water bottles sense. Especially the fact that bottled
water isn't any different than tap water. Why pay for it?
I used to have a Nalgene bottle at work... but someone TOOK
it! Yuck! Who does that? Well, it is gone now and I am looking at these
cool Sigg bottles. I had a few questions like, is the aluminum harmful?
The website
fact page says that the bottles have liners that ensure 0%
leaching.
When I saw the front of this shirt at a Coca
Cola store in Atlanta, I didn't get what it meant. A tagline
"5 inside" on the sleeve didn't help much either but it prompted me to
look inside the shirt. That's when I saw the diagram where a tag
usually is.
Turns out the shirt is 50% recycled plastic bottles! Amazing!
It didn't feel any different from a typical t-shirt. I
googled till my eyes burned but I couldn't find any information online
about them. That's too bad... 'cause what a cool way to recycle!
Method
can't go a few months without coming out with more cool products. This
one looks really strange but it is an aroma ring. Supposed to put off
an aroma like cut grass or vanilla apple without batteries, an outlet
or fire. Magic!
If you don't like smelliness, you could go with the new go
naked line which has no dyes or perfumes.
This is their new line of shower products, bloq. There is body
wash, soap, lotion and shave cream. I am curious about one of the
scents these products come in... beach sage. Do they mean sage the herb
or a wise old man that lives on the beach? Hmmmmm.
And since I am clearly a Method nut... I really should have
this t-shirt.
I have been riding the bus for a month now and I was excited to hear that they are adding hybrid electric buses to their fleet this week as part of their Clean and Green program.
And here I thought the Clean and Green program just referred to the plastic bags they had at the front of the bus for dropping your trash in.
Maybe they could have the McDonald's wrapped buses run on biodiesel and use the french fry oil from all the local McDonald's. Like Willie Nelson. I usually don't like riding on the wrapped buses because I can't see out very well, but a big sausage mcmuffin bus that smelled like french fries would be funny.
I was at scooter club on wednesday when I noticed cards for a
South Wedge Farmers Market on thursdays.
The card said it was Rochester's only local sustainable
farmers' market, so after work today we headed over to check it
out.
Being so early in the season, it was mostly lettuce, lettuce
and more lettuce, but I think it will be really nice this summer. We
bought two heads of lettuce and will definitely be back to check it out
again.
This saturday is our first veggie pick up at the CSA farm and
we are pretty excited.
When I got my latest issue of Martha Stewart Living, I
discovered they included a free issue of her new Martha
Stewart Newletter. At first I thought "I so don't need another
subscription to something... but then I read it and I was hooked. It
comes with "behind-the-scenes news, exclusive photos, product pics,
Martha's calendar..." basically a more in depth peek into Martha's
life. I found myself talking like I had been chatting with her over a
cup of tea... "Martha doesn't need a lot of sleep... but she lets her
dogs sleep in her bed." "Martha really likes those Orka silicone oven
mitts." "Martha was just in China." Just what Aaron needs to hear all
day long.
I also find her magazine body
+ soul more and more interesting. It has lots of information
about green, sustainable living. This month's issue has tips
for a cooler, greener home, natural remedies and the best organic ice
creams. I also love the cover with sea shells and starfish. (Reminds me of my vacation... *sigh*)
For years I meant to take the bus, but I aways had an excuse. It wasn't convenient, it took too long, blah blah blah. But gas has hit an all time high and the earth is heating up... I am out of excuses. I left the bug at home and rode the bus.
It was actually really great. I greeted my neighbors walking their dogs while I waited, boarded the bus, popped on the new Maroon 5 on my iPod, sat back and enjoyed the ride. It was actually quite relaxing.
I want a pin or something that says "I took the bus!".
I was stumbling around this morning when I heard on the local news that GM's new Chevy Sequel was heading out on a 300 mile drive. This is great because the Chevy Sequel is the first fuel cell powered vehicle to travel 300 miles on one tank of hydrogen. The Sequel is like an electric car, with no transmisison and zero emissions. The only byproduct is water.
I think this is really exciting. The semi-secret GM Fuel Cell Center is in Honeoye Falls and I have read a lot about the EV1's that I used to see driving around that area.
If you live in NYC, Wash DC or Southern California you can sign up to test drive a Sequel Fall 2007. I am really bummed they aren't doing it in Rochester... with the Fuel Cell Center nearby wouldn't it make sense? Pooh.
Aaron and I went to see Guster
tonight and we got to meet them after the show. (Looking at these
pictures I feel bad because I realize I forgot to take my picture with
Joe, their newest band member. Whups.)
It was a super concert and it was great to learn more about
their Campus
Conciousness Tour
where they are trying to lessen their impact on the environment and
spread the word about renewable energy and alternative fuels. (I wrote
more about it on Rocha-chatter)
Lookit me grinning like a nut and clutching my post-consumer recycled
paper environmental pamphlets. It was all I could do to refrain from
loudly informing each of them..."I have reusable grocery bags! I love
your new album! Sign my sticker?"
I love the new reusable
grocery bags they have at Wegmans. At
only $1 a bag we were able to get three for each of our cars so we
always have them when we stop for groceries. (that is three for my bug and three for Aaron's truck... oooh.. maybe I should get some for Aaron's scooter)
When Tina and I were in San Francisco we each bought these reusable ChicoBags. They
aren't as cute as the ones featured on delight.com
(found via NotMartha),
but I like how small they roll up. The ChicoBags are perfect
for shopping trips... I just need to get better at remembering to carry
them with me.
After reading sites like No Impact Man
and Sew Green,
I am glad I got these... a person uses an average of 500 plastic bags
a year!
