Join The Reuser

Where will The Reuser be this weekend? 

I have a big Saturday planned and this is your official invite to come along!

First, I'll be visiting the Capitol Tree when it makes a brief stop in Vancouver. Did you know this year's tree comes from Washington State? Also, some of my clients and Check 'Em Off, Green vendors will be at this event with their wonderful products.

That's a big tree! 88ft big.
photo credit: Young Kwak, Inlander.com

Next, I'll be heading over to the Empower Up Warehouse blow-out sale. There's a ton of great stuff and some really unbelievable low prices at this sale. There's just some really fun stuff there, too. 

These aren't money boxes,
but you could certainly reuse them as that!

Nuthin' like a little vinyl polka...

Finally, I'll be heading south to check out the premier of my friend's beer. It's beer-with a twist! It's meant for horses! Well, people can drink it too (It's perfectly safe for human consumption.) But her horse (the beer is named after him) will also be there. Should be a great Saturday! 

So...will I see you this weekend? What are your big plans?



By the way, this is a nifty little article about some research being done on the tree. 

Green gifts-what my family got this year

First of all, yes, I know this post is ridiculously late. I hope to some day write for a living (and thus, you can expect regular content updates) but that day is not today. If you think this post is late, you should know I've been sitting on a post since August of this year and I'm thoroughly embarrassed by it, because it's a virtual home tour and the lovely people that let me in to their home were so excited about it. But...I'll get to all of these things eventually!!!

I blog fairly frequently about lessening your environmental impact around the holidays. I wanted to share with you the gifts that my family got this holiday. Everyone got at least one gift from me that had some kind of green "cred." It might have been handmade by me or by someone else or it might have been reused-come from a thrift store. Here they are:

Mom: My mom loves blue. She loves lapis, so gifts for her often are pieces of lapis jewelry. This year, when I was in Spokane on business, I stayed an extra day (had a fabulous day!) and found an artist's cooperative shop. I bought handmade lapis earrings and a blue glass pendant for Mom.

Not-husband: NH and I invested in a new bed this year as our Xmas present to each other. So, we didn't do much else in the way of gifts. I did, however, make him some handwarmers (he's always too cold and me too warm.) out of some of the fleece left over from the scarf I made (see below.)

Brother 1: I found these nerd propaganda posters from a local artist for NH and decided to get my bro one, too. He also works on cars fairly frequently, so I made him a citrus scrub as well.

The carriage that transported us around the
Wade House-a living history site in Wisconsin.

SIL 1: I found green beaded earrings that made me think of L when I was on vacation in August, in Wisconsin at a little local handmade vendor fair. She also got a scented candle that she admired while we were shopping at Check 'Em Off, Green

Brother 2: J got a handmade wooden bottle opener, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some handmade seasoning blends (made by a colleague and I-we made enough for secret santa gifts and some for my bro, too.)

SIL 2: V loves foxes and I often find things for her that are fox themed. (a handmade custom hat from Etsy one year, framed fox prints the next.) Earlier this year, in one of my favorite local thrift shops, I found a fox T-shirt that I thought she might like but it was not her size. I went ahead and bought it anyway and then used a fleece sweatshirt that I gathered at the clothing swap to make the pictured scarf.

cut t-shirt panels. Was trying to decide
white vs. brown fleece.

went with the white fleece in the end.
Finished scarf

Nephew 1: C often asks for video games, so I helped buy a game but also found one of Matt Groening's books for him at a local book shop.

I decided to give the potions some names.

Nephew 2: Since my youngest nephew and niece are a bit younger, I was able to create some things for them. J got a handmade Harry Potter wand (inspired by this, but I decided to use large gauge knitting needles instead of chopsticks-bought them from aforementioned thrift shop) and also made him some "potions" in reused bottles. (I glued the lids shut, so J&L wouldn't have to worry about the bottles ever spilling.) These potions are much more interesting in real life and I was pleasantly surprised by how much J seemed to enjoy them.

J loved this hat when he saw
it at Check 'Em Off, Green

J also got a handmade alien hat made from old sweaters, purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green and some honey sticks from a local beekeeper (he loves those-also purchased at Check 'Em Off, Green.)

The wig in-process

Niece: Earlier in the year, J had received a handmade Rapunzel wig from me (for her birthday) and I also made her a tutu in pink and purple. I also had an extra "potion" on hand for her in pink and it was a good idea, since J&J are thick as thieves and when he was "mixing potions" and "saying spells" on them, she wanted in on the action.














Cousin's kid: I also made hair bows for all the little girls in my life. They were inspired by this post. R got some of these, as did 4 other little girls.

some of my first hair bows (and some
rosettes I made out of scraps)

more hair clips-the pic on the right shows them all ready to go. I used some vellum map material
to cut out tag shapes and then wrote on them with Sharpie.

So, there you have it. I bought some of these items as early as this time last year. I use an iPhone application to keep track of my Xmas list and this helps me save money by not only buying things when I see them but also by buying me time to prepare thrifted items for gift-giving.

I'm very lucky to have a family that not only accepts reused/thrifted gifts, but who also buys them for me. We also use fabric bags in our family to cut down on wrapping paper waste and it's become somewhat of a "thing" to have the bags reused year after year.

Here's hoping you had a fantastic holiday season and you got some fun gifts this year. Anything you're particularly excited about? Leave a little note in the comments-I'd love to hear what you and your family do to save money or reduce waste in the holiday season.

Doggy poo-Are you being "green" by paying extra for so-called "biodegradable" plastic poo bags?

The very short answer is, "No. Don't waste your money." Use whatever you have on hand (pardon the pun) to clean up after your dog when you take her out for a walk.

I've mentioned before some of the worst things that a recycling specialist can hear. (I should do a separate post on that!) but one that crops up fairly regularly for me is, "I buy those special biodegradable doggy poo bags!" I added the exclamation point because people are usually so proud of themselves for this purchase. The truth of the matter is that the doggy poo is likely going to the landfill, correct? If it goes to the landfill, not a lot is going to happen. Landfills are created specifically for safety first and that means not a lot gets in or out of them. In other words, the conditions you need for decomposition (light, moisture, oxygen) are simply not present in landfills. So, what is Fido's poo doing in the landfill in that special bag? Much the same thing it would be doing in a plastic sack. Or a paper one. Or a plastic glove. Or grandma's china. It's just sitting there.

So, don't waste your money on biodegradable doggy poo bags. Or anything that has a claim of biodegradability that will ultimately end up in a landfill, for that matter.

Waste-less holiday ideas

Did you know waste generation sky rockets around the holidays? We make about 1/4 more waste in these short cold months.

Perhaps you're already down with getting and giving presents that create less waste. After the holiday season, I plan to share some of my ideas with you of what I did this year. (Can't show you now, or the recipients on my list would know what they're getting!) but... I will share with you a whole list of ideas:

From the Natural Resources Defense Council

From World Wildlife Fund

From Changing the Present

Treehugger has their guides broken into type of gift-recipient (geek, foodie, kids, etc.)

Buy carbon offsets from TerraPass

The Daily Green has a great list of lists.

If you're wondering what I'm making this holiday season, my Pinterest board of handmade gift ideas might be a good place to start.

Happy Environmentally Friendly Holidays to you and yours!

-The Reuser

Refashioning: XS skirt to XL

There are 3 blogs that I follow that aim to take old, ripped, torn, stained, unfashionable and/or thrifted clothes and "refashion" them into new wardrobe pieces. I've been creating a number of headbands for myself (another post...I'll get to it...eventually...) but this skirt project was one of my first forays into refashioning an actual item of clothing.

Most of the headbands I've been creating are made from t-shirts. I stopped at a rummage sale a few months ago and the clothes were a buck a bag. (My favorite find was a vintage apron. I LOVE aprons, but I digress...) They didn't have a ton of fun t-shirts, but I found enough shirts to make a dollar bag of clothes totally worth it. A lot of the other items I picked were much too small for me. I picked up 2-3 shirts that I loved the fabric and figured if they didn't fit my colleague, I would make headbands out of them. (They fit Melissa, so she kept them-yay!) This skirt was originally an Extra Small. There's no way it was ever going to fit me, but it was a little long and I hoped that I would be able to chop off the top panel and make it fit. After some false starts, I'm happy to say I have successfully refashioned my first garment.

Enjoy the progression:

To see if this project might work and to gauge where to cut the small skirt, I used a skirt that currently fit and laid them together. After much fretting, I basically decided to just cut off the entire top panel.

The blue skirt is the one that fits.

You can see the size labels in this photo.
I'm not making this up! ;)

Checking the size/length

Removing the lining.
I had originally planned to try to replace
the lining, but it proved too difficult
for my amateur sewing skills.
Instead, I just wear bloomers with the skirt
as it is quite transparent.

Making the chop!

checking color of jersey material to mend lining
(didn't end up using) This T was too white!

Here, you can see the jersey that I ended up
using. It's a much nicer color match.
The piece that was cut from the top of the skirt
is shown here. That section was eventually made
into a headband. 

repairing the lining (where I had to cut around the zipper)

Too bad I didn't actually end up using the lining...

After I cut the top section off, I tried the skirt on
to check it would go around me and to check the length.

repairing a side rip. (The skirt
was fine, but I was a little rough
on it and accidentally ripped near the side seam.)

inside view of the repair

Here's where the process kinda jumps ahead. I'm not sure why I have a serious lack of photos here. It's probably because I took the project to work with me for a few days. I tried to do way too much at once and ended up badly mis-sewing it. I got LOTS of seam ripping practice on this project. I decided to add a panel of jersey and then used elastic from a pair of not-hubby's old boxers for the waist band. I have to say, up until the point of threading the elastic, I was really dubious about how this would turn out.

Once I threaded the elastic, this project really looked promising.  

Sewed up the elastic and then hand-sewed the casing.

Finally, here's a pic of me wearing the skirt and headband, from earlier today.

I can't believe I changed the size of a skirt from an XS to an XL!!!

Waste Reduction segments (video)

To see videos of my recent waste reduction segments online, click on the links below:

I recently realized that not everyone has access to Facebook and that's where I was doing an ok job of posting my recent waste reduction segments. So, I decided to add them all here. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/suggestions. 

An antique camera in the front lobby of the KPTV studios

November (talking about the then-upcoming Check ‘Em Off, Green event) 

Mark your calendars, now! Check 'Em Off, Green will be December 1st this year.

December (talking about reducing holiday waste associated with gift-giving via buying local, reusing, etc.)

January (talking about waste reduction through swapping unwanted items online) 

We also have been having an issue with extraneous amounts of needles found in the recycling stream, so I did a news segment on that as well. (One note: the # of needle sticks quoted in the segment is incorrect unfortunately (or, fortunately depending on how you look at it) The # of people getting stuck by needles is more like 1 per month.)

Special thanks to KPTV for helping us get out the waste reduction message.

Post-holiday swapping of unwanted items

So, the holidays are over (Hope you had fantastic ones this year!) and I bet you might have received some new games, clothes, books, DVDs? If your home is bursting at the seams like mine, you might be considering what to do with items you no longer want/need/use. Consider swapping them! This Wednesday, I'll be going on the KPTV Good Day Oregon MORE program to talk about swap sites. In preparation for that, I've updated my list of swap sites for you. There's 25 sites on my list-I've made sure they're all active.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to vet them all for you, but you can easily click on whichever ones you think sound interesting and check them out for yourself. I'd recommend looking at the total number of items available, what type of feedback system they have, etc. Also, it's probably a good idea to decide what types of items you'll be swapping most often before picking a swap site or two. I'm a long time member of Goozex and it works great for me to swap my movies and video games, but it would not work for me if the majority of what I had to swap was clothing or kids' items. There are other more appropriate sites for that.

Here's an article with some great common sense tips to keep swapping safe.

So, how about you? Have you ever tried swap sites? What are your favorites? I haven't found any that really dazzle me in terms of handling "all" items. You?

Happy swapping (waste reduction) in 2012!

P.S. My list of swap sites is always available under the Resources link to the right.

Waste less this holiday season

Using these tips/tricks:


For me, the time of year when I buy the most "stuff" is, hands down, the holiday season. I'm sure most of you can probably relate. I remember when I first started really "getting into" waste reduction thinking to myself, "Yeah, but to purchase sustainably around the holiday season is going to be near impossible." Fast forward to this season and I can honestly say that every one of my gifts has some (or a lot of) green cred. Most of my wrapping will also sport that claim. In the spirit of giving, I want to share some tips/tricks that have been helpful to me. (And invite you to share your own in the comments section below.)


You've heard me talk about the waste reduction hierarchy before. We're going to use that hierarchy to look at our gift-giving choices. 


REDUCE:
To reduce is to not buy stuff or make waste in the first place. 

A giraffe relaxes in the sun at Oregon Zoo

• For the person who is impossible to buy for, instead of buying stuff, give money to their favorite charity in their name. Are they an animal lover? Perhaps the Humane Society would be a good choice. If they or a loved one have been affected by an illness, donating to research for a cure is a nice way to say you care about them. 
• One of the best ways to reduce our consumption of "stuff" is to give experiences. Giving a membership to the zoo or OMSI not only eliminates material goods, but encourages families to spend more time together. Or, you could give babysitting for a night to a family with a new baby or offer to take your nephew to a football game. Whatever your family members enjoy, try to find a way to allow them to enjoy that experience.
• If you're looking to reduce packaging or the environmental cost of buying something produced out of your area, Etsy can be a great option. Etsy is an online marketplace of handmade products. Often, these products are made with recycled or reused materials. They also allow vintage items, which fall into the category of reuse.
• Buy durable: The better built a product in the first place, the less likely it will be to break down. If it doesn't break down, you eliminate the need to buy a new one. Often, spending more initially for quality will pay for itself down the line when you still have the product years later. (and you don't have to relearn how to use that new toaster!) When something does break, consider repairing instead of throwing away. For that matter, do you have someone in your life that loves shoes? (I think most of us do....) a gift idea for them would be to find a local cobbler and purchase a gift certificate. Keeping their favorite shoes walking another day will eliminate the resources associated with a new pair.
• When wrapping presents, consider reusing comics or other paper. (and thus reducing the need for new wrapping paper.) With a little sewing skill, you can also create some reusable fabric bags. I'm very surprised by how well my family has taken to this idea. Now, the bags are usually considered a part of the present and they make an appearance the following year. 

REUSE:

When we purchase or gift a reused item, we're automatically cutting the environmental footprint of that item in half. (by eliminating a new item from being manufactured, transported, etc.) The more an item is reused, the lighter the load on our planet's limited resources.

• Give the gift of thrift. Shopping at local thrift stores can be an adventure and can result in significant money savings. If you know someone who is a thrift store junkie, many stores have gift cards. 
• Ebay: Lots of the items on Ebay are actually "new" and the site can also be a great place to find something like that scent that your mom loves but they stopped making or that last glass that completes the set your sister loves, but Uncle Stewart broke last season. 
• Craigslist: What's better than reusing *and* keeping it local. If you're concerned about the safety of Craigslist, there are lots of common sense tips/tricks to avoid being taken advantage of. 
• Swap sites: One of my favorite swap sites is Goozex. You send movies and video games that you're no longer using to other members and receive points based on the value of the sent items. Then, you're able to use those points to get used items from other members. Many swap sites work in this same way and there are lots of different sites out there (for things such as books, clothes, children's items, jewelry, etc.) I have a list (unfortunately, has not been updated in quite some time) of many swap sites. But, if you're wondering if something can be swapped, just do a simple search for an appropriate swap site. If it has value, chances are you'll find a site on which you can swap it.

RECYCLE:

Lastly, recycling is always important. We have two duties as consumers. The first (and most obvious) is to recycle everything that is acceptable in our recycling systems. The second, though, is to close the recycling loop by buying products with recycled content. If no one values recycled content, the market for those products dies and recycling (and all the associated savings in water, energy and pollution) die with them.

• As mentioned earlier, many products on Etsy (or at a local bazaar or artists market) will have recycled content. This keeps these items (that may not have a strong traditional recycling market) out of the landfill. 
• Purchasing recycled content can be tricky, but is not impossible. One company that I think has a strong environmental ethic and has many options for purchasing recycled fibers is Patagonia. They also have a fairly new (launched Black Friday, 2011) intiative in which they encourage all steps of the waste reduction hierarchy. 

So, what about you? What waste reduction ideas have you implemented that you're particularly proud of? What would you like to try next season? What are your concerns about waste reduction in gift giving? What are some barriers that you think have kept you or others from implementing waste reduction techniques around the holidays? 

#PurJuly day 5

I picked up sewing for a few reasons. It's a good skill to have in order to be able to repair your own clothing and other textile items. I'm able to make my own reuse projects, like a pillow for the dogs made from a ripped blanket or a drawstring bag from the leg of old boxer shorts. I'm also able to make reusable fabric gift bags (hat tip to my Green Drinks cohort, Laura for the idea.) which my family covets in a strange yet satisfying way. Special thanks to friends Amanda and Sister Diane for helping me get started with sewing.

Today, I purged half of this basket of sewing goodies that I bought at an estate sale. The whole basket cost me .75 (I know!) but I hadn't ever put the time forth to go through the basket and find out what I got for my large investment. I knew there were enough things in it to make it worth the purchase and I also knew there was some stuff I'll never use, so this was a nice excuse to go through it and separate everything.


When I'm faced with large amounts of items that I need to go through, I like to make 3 piles-keep, purge and maybe. Then, I count the maybes and split them down the middle. For me, it's an efficient set of rules that helps me make the decisions.

In this case, I only had 2 items that fell into the maybe pile and everything else was pretty straightforward. I have no idea what those little green things with animals woven into them are, though. Anyone recognize these?  I thought they might be kinda nifty as a quilt addition (In the picture, they're folded into thirds, but they're all actually squares) but I'm not a quilter, so I ultimately had to just purge them. Hopefully they'll find love in someone else's hands.

The final purge:

#PurJuly day 3

I just got some totally awesome PurJuly stories from Josy (see below)

My item today is: A Stitch doll. I have just a few stuffed animals in my home. I kept my Grimm and Lorax* stuffed animals, but I decided I could probably give up Stitch. I honestly don't remember why I have a Stitch in the first place. The only thing I can come up with is that it might have been a gift from a family member who went to Disneyland. If that is the case, I hope they'll understand that I have way too many things. Plus, to me, a stuffed animal should be loved (ala Toy Story) Hopefully, now Stitch will find a new home and be loved. 


*If you are an environmental educator and you haven't read The Lorax, I highly recommend it. I find the book a really easy way to talk about complex concepts like pollution, consumerism, activism, habitat, etc.


Here are the pics and stories behind Josy's purged items:

Item 1: I finally pulled the dryer out of my basement, previous owners left it. I put it by street for scrappers not sure if it worked.  My neighbors across street saw it and asked if they could have it.  Turns out they haven't had a working dryer in 2 years!!!  I helped get it over there and it totally works and they were so happy which made me very happy. 

Item 2: Treadmill went fast 

I guess sometimes getting rid of unwanted items is as easy as purging them from your home and letting others know you've got some items to give away. 


I'm not sure how Josy's going to get weights on those items for the tracking spreadsheet. Crazy! I'm feeling a little bit of that glow-after-purging vicariously. Way to go, Josy! 

Why Recycle?

Curbside recycling is
simple and convenient

Recently, I presented at a series of recycling classes put on by the City and County. Part of the class requires the participants to include a recycling article in their neighborhood newsletter. I thought this one did a good job of capturing a lot of the reasons for recycling that we discussed at the beginning of the class. Enjoy!

So What’s the Big Deal About Recycling?

A lot of us in Hough {Neighborhood} are good and diligent recyclers, toting our big blue carts and glass bins to the curb every collection day.  Most of the time we don’t think about doing it because we know it’s the right thing to do.  During my recent attendance at the Recyclingest Neighborhood Workshop, I was asked the question, “Why do you recycle?”  “For my child’s future,” I replied, but after I answered I was wondering where the concrete evidence was to prove I was doing the right thing.  Luckily, our trainer for the day, Terra, had the answers and they were pretty impressive.

Many of the products found in
the landfill could have
been recycled, if
separated properly.

First, let’s talk conservation since that’s often the moral grounds for recycling.  According to the British Metals Recycling Association, we save approx. 60% in energy costs when we recycle steel and a whopping 95% when recycling aluminum.  When you think about the process it makes sense.  Instead of mining iron or bauxite ore then refining it to get the virgin base metal, we’re simply melting down material that’s already been processed and reforming it.  Recycling most paper products saves approximately 40% and glass 30% in energy costs.  For those a generation older than myself or those from other countries, you may recall sending bottles back to the bottling company to sanitize and reuse.  Guess how much that saved in energy costs compared to making new glass bottles: Over 300%!  Glass bottles can be reused an industry average of 12 times before they are recycled.  

Glass is accepted in
most recycling programs.

So there’s a lot of energy to be conserved by recycling, what about the other major pitfall for our future generations, the environment?  How much does recycling really help us here?  When we can’t eliminate the need for paper completely, recycling it will reduce air pollution by 74% and water pollution by 50% compared to making it from virgin material.  Steel mills using recycled scrap instead of new iron reduce air pollution, water, pollution, and mining wastes by 70%.  Recycling glass and other metals also has substantial environmental benefits in the reductions of pollutants. 

Not enough of a reason you say?  You wanna get down to recyclable brass tacks?  Well here’s where you can put your money where your mouth is.  In Clark County, residents who’ve reduced the size of trash containers from 96 gallons to 64 gallons (because they are recycling so much more in the big blue carts) save an average of nearly $200 per year. (Figure calculated by Waste Connections Waste Reduction Specialist.)  Businesses with robust recycling programs are saving money as well by reducing their trash container sizes and, in some cases, are even creating revenue from their recyclable material.  And the recycling and reuse industry is big.  How big?  Roughly the same size as the US auto manufacturing industry!  And talk about job creation, for each 10,000 tons per year of trash, 1 job is created in the waste industry.  However for each 10,000 tons per year recycled material produced these many jobs are created:  Composting – 4, materials recovery – 10, recycling-based manufacturing – 25, plastics – 93, and computer reuse – 296!

 
All of these reasons are substantial in their own to start recycling today and I encourage folks to take it a step further.  Organize with your neighbors to combine trips to the West Van Materials Recovery Center when you need to get rid of Household Hazardous Wastes or other recyclables that they don’t collect curbside.  Offer to take your neighbor’s collection of plastic bags to the store next time you’re planning a trip.  There are so many ways we can create a more sustainable community and recycling is a key element.  I’m doing it for my child’s future, why are you?


Article reprinted with permission from Brian Boothe

Waste Reduction Tips for the holidays

I get a weekly "tip" email from Clean Scapes and I particularly liked this one. I couldn't find it online* so I reposted it here. Happy Waste Reduction to you this holiday season!

During the holiday season there are many opportunities to go green. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans throw away 25% more thrash between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day than any other time of year, which translates into an extra one million tons of waste generated nationwide each week!

What can you do to reduce waste during the holidays?

Give Experiences. Support the local economy by purchasing gift certificates for experiences.  Look no further than local restaurants, museums, sporting events, concert halls, theater shows, and classes for everything from yoga to guitar lessons for a unique and special gift for every interest and age group. Or, give the gift of a shared experience and make a date to do something special together. 

Shop Sustainably. With local and regional holiday craft fairs, it’s easy to support local artists, farmers and merchants. Other ways to shop green include purchasing items made from recycled content or items made from renewable resources, such as bamboo. And when you shop, don’t forget your reusable shopping bags!

Re-Gift! Make it a white (elephant) holiday! The easiest 'shopping' can be done at home. “Re-gift” things that have gone unused or unopened and find these items a new home.

Re-Charge. When you purchase gifts that require batteries, consider purchasing rechargeable batteries and a charger. Each rechargeable battery replaces up to 1,500 single-use batteries.

Give Homemade. Get crafty! Save money this holiday season by making your own gifts and cards. No matter your skill level, the sky is the limit for do-it-yourself projects.

Donate. Instead of a gift, donate to a charity in a frien! d or family member’s name.  Holiday donations are a great way to support local non-profits and help the community.

Reduce Packaging. While shopping for holiday meals, consider buying in bulk, or purchase items with the least amount of packaging.

Bring Your Own. It's easy to reduce waste when you bring your own travel mug to the coffee shop, take your refillable water bottle with you for on-the-go hydration, and stash your reusable shopping and grocery bags in the car to carry your holiday purchases. Reusable bags also make wonderful gift bags, and provide an eco-extra for your special someone.

Around the Table. Before stocking up on single-use plates and cups, save money by using reusable and washable plates, cups, silverware, napkins, table clothes and serving dishes. For larger parties and a festive table, combine resources by borrowing tableware from friends. If you are looking to save money, purchase gently-used durable serviceware at local second-hand retailers.

Holiday Recycling! Encourage your guests to pitch in. Set out and clearly mark your recycling bins, and if you have food scraps collection service, help guests keep food waste out of the garbage by using a collection container for food scraps

*Clean Scapes-if there's a way to view your weekly emails online, please let me know!

Fill Minds, Not Landfills

S.C.R.A.P. has launched a new program that I love, called Fill Minds, Not Landfills. This program encourages reuse by diverting even more materials from landfills through direct capture at the business. Check it out!

Reuse binder clips to organize your cables

While reading this article on ways to de-clutter your digital life, I was struck by the alternative use of simple binder clips. (See #1)