Happy Earth Day

Does it seem like Earth Day doesn't get as much recognition as it used to? I am still going strong however and did a little tour of my sustainable living efforts using the cute filter Snapchat put out.

That pretty much covers our backyard.

Inside, I am trying something new to help reduce the number of paper towels we go through. I was staring to feel like we were eating paper towels we used up the rolls so quickly.

I bought a big pack of plain white flour sack cloth dish towels. They can be used for spills and and sort of clean up. I'm hoping this cuts down on the number of paper towel rolls we come home from the grocery store with.

Recycle Smart! Use the Cart! We love you big blue.

I got really excited when I got a letter from the Mayor of Rochester in the mail telling us that we were going to be part of a single stream recycling program. I really hope this trial program will be a success for the City.

Even though I have made an Olympic sport out of sorting recycling, the idea of tossing everything - paper, glass, plastic and metal into one bin is delightful. It's pretty cool how all the different materials are separated at the recycling center using magnets, air jets, manual sorting and other methods.

No more cramming everything into the small green bins and crossing my fingers that the wind won't blow cereal boxes into the neighbors yard. The new 96 gallon container will hold eight times the volume of the old 12 gallon box. And the carts only need to be brought out when they are more than half full or full, so we can bring it out every other week or once a month.

The only person more excited than me would have to be Aaron. He actually sent me a picture of the lovely blue bin the city dropped off when he found it in our driveway.

Preserve Toothbrushes

I am a big fan of Preserve toothbrushes. They are made from recycled yogurt cups and you can send them back to be recycled and turned into plastic lumber for use in new picnic tables, park benches, and boardwalks. They started packaging them in wrappers that you can save and ship them right back to Preserve with pre-paid postage.

While I was looking at their site, I found they have a toothbrush subscription program! What a great idea! You are suppose to change your toothbrush every three months and this way, you don't forget! Get a new toothbrush and then ship the old one right back!

I recently spotted some of their kitchen storage containers on store shelves. They are made from 100% recycled #5 plastic and are 100% recyclable!