first of december: green goal

My final green goal of the year is to be as green as possible around the holidays.  This time of year has a tendency to be so wasteful - wrapping paper, left-overs, Christmas trees, etc.  In the spirit of the holidays, I challenge you to re-imagine what you have into something beautiful.  I have collected a few ideas to inspire you to join me.  

First up, economic and environmentally friendly ways to trim the tree and then what you could do with the darn thing afterwards!

recycled ribbon chain

map ornaments

recycled christmas tree clothing rack

Next - ways to reduce your "wrapping paper footprint" (yes, I just coined that term). 

wrapping with Trader Joe's bags

repurpose newspaper for wrapping and bows

Finally, using natural elements in your decor is a great way to bring nature inside, save some money, and reduce your plastic consumption.  Bonus points if you compost these elements after the holiday season or save them (the ones that wouldn't rot only, please) to use again next year! 

cranberry ice luminaries (okay these need to be outside)

pine cone garland

driftwood christmas tree

I hope these images have inspired you to use natural elements in your decor and to reuse some of the things that we normally throw away without a second thought this holiday season.

first of november: green goal

Today is/was the first day of my new job.  It is also the first of the month, which means it's time for another green goal.  My job is in an office, a setting that is somewhat foreign to the ski instructor in me, so I decided to dedicate this post to being green in the work place.  I know there are many things you can do to make a work place really green: buying eco-friendly furniture, using recycled paper or no paper at all, etc, but I am not (yet!) important enough to make these decisions.  So instead, I will stick to the little things I can do to make an impact.

Klean Kanteen

1.  Bring a reusable water bottle.  No need to buy a water from the vending machine! I'll save money and the environment. This one is the most obvious.

2.  Bring a reusable coffee cup.  See #1.

Vintage Metal Frogs from MySeriousSide

3.  Buy green or thrifted items for my desk if I find I need something that is not available to me in the supply closet.  This is really just an excuse for me to buy fun office antiques, but really there's no need to buy something new.

4.  Re-use any paper if possible.  I'll try to write on the back of papers I printed/received that I no longer need.  Even if I can't use these for official purposes, I can use them for writing lists - something I have been known to do from time to time.

To-Go Ware Lunch Kit

5.  Bring my lunch in reusable containers.  All of that packaging that comes with fast foods/cafeteria items is totally unnecessary and such a waste.  Plus making lunch at home (or better yet, eating left-overs from the night before) is an easy way to reduce both food and packaging waste AND save money.  It's a no brainer, really.

6.  Carpool to work.  I won't start doing this right away, since I'm in training and don't really understand my schedule yet, but as soon as I do Dan and I plan to try carpooling as much as possible.  He lives a bit farther away than I do, but there's no reason why we can't do this.

That's all I can come up with so far.  I'll let you know if I think of something else.  Is there anything you guys do to be green at work?

first of october: green goal

This month's green goal is directly tied to the goals of a company I love.  Patagonia, at the risk of losing profit, encourages its customers to join in their Common Threads Initiative, which asks Patagonia wearers to reduce their consumption by repairing, reusing, and finally recycling their clothing.

Patagonia promotes a more sustainable outlook towards clothing and human consumption in general.  So while I might REALLLLY like a new fleece pullover (in bougainvillea), Patagonia actually wants me to keep using my old fleece from 1990 that I bought at a thrift store (bonus points for me) instead of buying a new one.  They actually write on their website, "we ask our customers not to buy from us what you don’t need or can’t really use. " How philanthropic of them! Can you think of any other company asking its customers NOT to buy its products?  How often are we bombarded with media telling us we need more, more, more?  How much do we really need? The whole need vs want thing is a constant struggle for me.

Patagonia promises to do their part by producing long-lasting clothes and offering to repair those clothes that do need it within 10 business days.  Furthermore, clothes that you no longer need, like if you gave up skiing for example (gasp!), you should sell or donate to those who do need them.  Instead of throwing away that astounding SIXTY-EIGHT pounds of clothing (see image above)!  And if you really have made good on your promise and worn your Patagonia gear down to its very last thread?  Send it into Patagonia and they will turn it into new fabric or fiber for future use.

The statistics given on the website are astounding.  It's honestly disgusting how much clothing (not to mention food and everything else) Americans throw away without any thought to the consequences of their actions.  I have been thinking about cleaning out my closets and getting rid of whatever I really don't wear.  These statistics have made me think twice about what I will do with that clothing when I'm done - whether I repurpose it (remember these reusable produce bags?) or donate it to a Salvation Army - I'm certainly not going to just throw it away.  I applaud Patagonia for encouraging its customers to think about their actions, even if these policies could cause a drop in their sales.

I joined the Initiative.  And you should, too.

All images via Patagonia

make your home green with plants

Another post I am dying to tell you about from A Cup of Jo gives advice on how to successfully buy (and keep!) houseplants.  I am afraid I'm one of those people who would probably kill a plant pretty quickly.  But these tips from Joanna Goddard and Amy Merrick are very helpful.  These inspirationally gorgeous images don't hurt either:

Image credits: Amy Merrick and HipHipGinGin, LonnyMag, SF Girl by Bay  all found via A Cup of Jo

first of september: green goal

photo by Jean-Marc Wullschlege  via

Coming on the heels of a post about fall temperatures, this green goal is especially difficult for me to face. I need to start taking colder showers. Ugh, I cringe just thinking about it.  I happen to l-o-v-e taking absurdly (think near-scalding) hot showers.  But I know that it is neither good for my skin, nor the environment.

made in maine: ktaadn

The textiles and notebooks of Ktaadn caught my eye, while I was wandering around Portland shops.  Their Scandinavia meets coastal Maine prints are right up my alley.  And when I saw the name Ktaadn and sounded it out (in my head! I'm not crazy!), I was so excited to find they are a local company!  Ktaadn is pronounced just like Katahdin - the highest mountain in Maine.

Ktaadn sells pillows, tea towels, and notebooks that they design and produce in their studio just outside Portland.  And as if that wasn't enough to make me love them, they use high-quality organic cottons, natural linen, recycled paper and environmentally-safe, water-based inks.

The designers behind Ktaadn, Olan Boardman and Rollin Leonard, moved from Brooklyn to Maine in 2010 to start their textile printing company.  And I couldn't be happier about it.  

first of august: green goal

My green goal this month is simple.  It's to not let the water run while I brush my teeth.  I have a really bad habit of doing this, for some reason it is comforting for me to hear the running water.  But I know it's bad and I shouldn't do it.  To inspire me to turn off the water, I found pictures of some faucets that I find to be extra beautiful.  Of course, I don't know if that would actually help me turn them off - I think I'd want to use them all the time!

vintage-feel faucet. love that toothbrush holder

such a beautiful faucet.  it reminds me of paris

industrial faucet

And some pictures of water in Maine from my iPhone to remind me of all that water I'm saving:

lobster boats in Freeport harbor as seen from the Harraseeket Lobster Pound

Crescent Beach State Park in my hometown of Cape Elizabeth

the most beautiful lighthouse in the world (I'm not biased or anything)
Portland Head Light, deceptively located in Cape Elizabeth

Maybe I should print out this post and hang it above my sink? Also, can you tell I'm excited for my trip to Maine?? We leave on Thursday! I'm notoriously bad at countdowns, so I'm not sure how many days that is -  3? 4? Either way, I can't wait!

first of july: green goal

Yikes! It's that time again.  But, first, an update: I recently purchased new green bath products per my March goal.  I got Dr. Bronner's soap as body wash (the peppermint one!) and I tried to use it as shampoo too, as I had read on numerous blogs that it's supposed to be better for your hair than regular shampoos, which contain sodium laurel sulfate.  However, while I really enjoy Dr. Bronner's as a body wash, I felt like it didn't wash out of my hair well and left my hair feeling oily and tangled.  I think when we run out of shampoo, I will try natural products made specifically for use as shampoo and conditioner instead of Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 soap.

I also bought Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day hand soap in lemon verbena scent. I should have bought a less kitchen-y scent, like lavender or apple. And finally, because my skin doesn't really like the humidity that is Kansas City in the summertime, I also purchased Yes to Blueberries face wipes and Burt's Bee's toner. So far, so good on the face front.

Annnnyyyywayyy, for July's green goal I am quite inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  I had been wanting to read this novel (I am quite a fan of Ms. Kinsolver) since its release in 2007 and was delighted to find it on Dan's sister's bookshelf.  I am not far enough into it yet to completely determine my new food goals, but so far the information in the book is inspiring me to really re-evaluate where I get my food from and when I get it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle describes a year in the life of Kingsolver's family, when they decide to leave barren, arid Arizona for greener, more bountiful pastures in Virginia.  As a family, they vow to eat only things that are locally grown, either by their neighbors or themselves, for an entire year.  If they can't get something locally, they simply can't get it.  The novel truly is a family affair as both Kingsolver's husband, Steven L. Hopp, and her daugher, Camille Kingsolver, author columns for the book.

In describing part of the motivation behind their decision, Kingsolver talks about how the Colorado River is now being rerouted to Tuscon to supply the city with water.  "If it crosses your mind that water running through hundreds of miles of open ditch in a desert will evaporate and end up full of concentrated salt and muck, then let me just tell you, that kind of negative thinking will never get you elected to public office in the state of Arizona. When this giant new tap turned on, developers drew up plans to roll pink stucco subdivisions across the desert in all directions.  The rest of us were supposed to rejoice as the new flow rushed into our pipes, even as the city warned us this water was kind of special.  They said it was okay to drink, but don't put it in an aquarium because it would kill the fish." (Kingsolver, p. 4)

I am appalled at how poorly we, as a country, treat the earth.  This novel has forced me to open my eyes to how Americans (myself included) view their food and how we/I should probably change those views.  It's not that I didn't already know there are problems, I just wasn't aware of how deep-seeded our food to table disconnect is.  Reading it in black and white really forces me to think about my choices and how I can improve them.  For example, while I love being able to eat red peppers every month of the year, does it really make sense to do that?  Especially when I consider that, "[w]e're consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen...for agriculture.  Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles.  In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing, and refrigeration." (Hopp, p.5)

There will be more on this to come.  While I would love to completely change my eating habits immediately, I don't think that's reasonable.  Kingsolver and her family spent years planning out how they would do this.  So, while I'm not going to ban trips to the Price Chopper immediately, I am vowing to cook at least one meal a week that comes entirely from local sources.

first of june: green goal

I am all about using reusable shopping bags when you go to the grocery store.  In fact, I even remember to bring my bags into the store with me now!  But what about those pesky produce bags?  Dan tries to get me to leave everything unbagged...I am okay with it sometimes, but when you're buying 8 apples at a time, it just makes more sense to put them in a bag....not to mention what my mom has told me about the germs that like to live on the conveyor belt at the checkout.  

Reuseit.com offers a variety of reusable produce bags for sale.   The colorful tags on this first set (5 for $10.95) calls to me.  The description says that these Flip & Tumble Reusable Bags are made of breathable polyester and therefore are more durable and less likely to get stains than bags made of other materials.

What are these other materials? They're recycled or organic.  And therein lies the problem.  If you're trying to be green, should you go all the way? These SmartCycle Recycled PET Produce Bags (2 for $6.95) are made of 100% recycled plastic bottles and each bag saves a 1 liter bottle from going into a landfill.  They also claim to resist the stains that must be common to organic fiber bags and are available in two sizes small and large (which is pictured below).

Then there's the organic bag. I really like the mesh look for some reason.  This reusit Produce and Snack bag  (1 for $3.95) is made with certified organic cotton.  It just feels looks clean and organic and breezy.  Can you describe a bag as breezy?  Maybe it wouldn't feel that way after it got all stained though, huh? 

Now, for the ultimate in budget saving reusable bags, make your own!  The bags pictured below were made by Delia of Delia Creates (free!) by cutting up old t-shirts that she wasn't going to wear anymore! Such a good idea! Especially since this week I plan on going through all of my old college t-shirts that I just had to buy for every event Colby ever had.  For a tutorial, click on the above link to the Delia Creates blog.

So, this month's challenge is to go all the way on the reusable bag front.  Why am I bringing reusable bags for the rest of my groceries just to get plastic bags for my produce? No more! 

fifteenth of may: green goal

In all of the excitement of the big move, I completely neglected May's Green Goal.  Whoops!  So May's Green Goal is to buy myself a reusable water bottle.  Ah! Stop! Don't hate me yet!  I had one.  I swear. It was a beautiful turquoise SIGG.  And I loved it.  (Well, except that the water always tasted a little bit like grass (???) no matter how much I cleaned it...)  And I broke it.  You'd think you couldn't break one of those things...except it turns out you can.  I left it, filled with water, in my car in freezing temperatures and it cracked.  Sigh.  SO, while I don't usually drink water from plastic bottles, I do think that in the hot Kansas City summer, I'm going to want to bring some water around with me.  Especially if I'm exercising.  Let's investigate some options, shall we?

I did love my SIGG, so maybe I should get another one?  I like this Scanning the Globe design ($21.99) and had no idea they did custom designs (starts at $17- $22 depending on size and gets more expensive as you customize) too!  It's so smart of them to capitalize on the personalization trend.

I am also tempted by sleek, clean designs of the Klean Kanteen brand.  I love that they offer insulated bottles ($25.95 with cap shown, or $29.95 with an additional coffee cup cap) not only for things like tea and coffee, but also to keep water cooler for longer in super hot temps.  Plus, forget plastic caps: their new Reflect bottle ($32.95) offers the ultimate in green reusable bottles with a cap made of sustainably harvested bamboo.  

I think I am most tempted by the CamelBak designs.  I love the ease of the drinking straws and how they tuck away so you won't spill.  For the utmost luxury in reusable water bottles, the Groove ($25, new filters are $20 each) filters your water for you on the go.  I, however, am not adverse to drinking water straight from the tap and was pleasantly surprised to find that CamelBak offers a stainless steel bottle ($30).

I guess the purchase of a FuelBelt ($39.95) would have to be in addition to another bottle, but if I start running a lot here, I think it might be a nice thing to have.  (Can you tell I'm nervous about the summer heat yet?) 

Perhaps the most ascetically pleasing, trend-forward bottle I've found is the bkr ($28), pronounced "beaker."  It's made of glass and comes with a colorful silicone sleeve to protect it.  The only problem with it is that it's, well, made of glass.  And that means you have to be careful with it.  However, the company does say that they will replace your broken bkr if you return it to them with all of the pieces and a note saying why you loved it and why you want another one.  That seems pretty fair to me.  I'm going to call this the Apple-esque product of the reusable bottle world.

What's your vote? Which one should I get?

first of april: green goal

I must admit: I have quasi failed at my March goal.  I haven't purchased any green cleaning supplies.  However, I also haven't done much cleaning at all (whoops?), so I haven't had to purchase any green cleaning supplies.  I'm going ahead with a new April Green Goal anyway, because I should.

And April's Green Goal is...drumroll please....to purposefully eat vegetarian at least two days of the week AND to try to buy my meat from local sources as much as possible.  I was inspired to do this when I happened upon a horrible video about how meat is produced.  The practices at some big farms/slaughter houses are despicable and I don't want to support them.  You can see the video here if you like.  Warning: it's quite disturbing, so don't watch it if, say, you're already sensitive to animal cruelty or are about to eat chicken salad for lunch.

polluted runoff

The video promotes veganism.  I don't have any desire to give up meat completely.  Nor could I survive without cheese.  Seriously.  But I do understand that much of the way we produce our meat is bad for us, the animals, and the environment.  One way to get around the animal cruelty problem is to buy meat from local farms where you know the animals are treated properly.  When Dan and I bought meat from the Aldermere Farm in Rockport it was a bit more expensive than at the grocery store.  At first, I was nervous that I would feel weird eating the meat, knowing it had come from the cute "oreo cookie cows," but I actually felt good about knowing exactly where the meat had come from.

Belted Galloways at Aldermere Farm

So why not just buy local meat instead of trying to eat vegetarian?  Well, I read somewhere (really wish I could remember where) that giving up meat completely one day a week is actually better for the environment than eating only local meat for a much longer period of time.   For more information on the environmental reasons not to eat meat, go here.  I really love vegetables, so I'm sure this wont be very hard for me. 

colorful vegetable platter

When vegetables look this delicious, who wouldn't want to eat them?  The only problem is going to be heading to Kansas City, arguably the best place in the world to get barbeque.  Mmmm...I can taste the brisket and pulled pork already.  Haha, uh-oh.

first (now 8th--whoops!) of march: green goal

My new green goal is to buy environmentally friendly products whenever possible.  I know, it sounds wimpy, but I have been working really hard at my February goal of turning off the lights and have really been succeeding!  I know it's not just because of my efforts (like warmer weather might really have more to do with it), but our electricity bill went down by $45 last month!  That's pretty awesome, right?

So, here's the deal.  Finances willing (I'm sorry, but when you're perpetually poor, sometimes you just can't afford to buy the expensive stuff), I am going to start replacing my toiletry and cleaning products with environmentally friendly ones.   I figure, if I do this as I run out, instead of some intense purge, it wont be so hard on my wallet.

I really love Burt's Bees, products, although they are quite expensive.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to find slightly more affordable shampoo lines in Kansas City.  Maybe at Whole Foods?  Of course, they have to actually work too...I am still quite skeptical of natural deodorant and toothpaste....eek!  I am all about going green, but I don't want my efforts to prevent me from making friends because I smell bad!

Mrs. Meyer's earth-friendly cleaning products are great.  They smell wonderful!  One of my roommates in Boston cleaned with this stuff every weekend.  She was always mopping the floor...yikes!  But anyway, it always smelled great in our house!  Why have a house that smells like chemicals, when it could smell like lavender?  I mean, really. 

Kiehl's and Origins also make great, albeit expensive, natural beauty products.  Again, I know the cost is greater, but I just feel so much better about myself when I'm not surrounding my body with harsh chemicals.  I can't actually feel a difference physically (although I have never "quit" chemical products entirely), but mentally it makes me feel good.  Whenever I use my origins face wash, I feel awesome. My friend in college took an environmental science course about the chemicals found in our daily lives and she informed me that my favorite exfoliating apricot face wash is one of the worst things on the market.  (I must admit, I have bought it since....sorry, Cait.) She also told me all about the horrors of BPAs in Nalgenes before it hit mainstream media. 

If only everyone would start buying greener products.  Not only would it multiply the benefits to the environment, but it would help to drop the costs of these products too!  (At least some of them...I feel like Kiehl's will always be expensive.)  So, new goal:  to replace current products with their natural versions when they run out.  Wish me luck! 

Okay, update:  I wrote this just before March first, but have been too busy to post.  Turns out on March 1st, I went shopping with some friends and bought new face cream that is definitely NOT environmentally friendly.  Whoops.  But, wrinkles (or trying not to have wrinkles) might be right up there with clean teeth and not smelling bad on my list of things that are worth the chemicals.

first of february

My visits to the holistic doctor are making me want to integrate more environmentally friendly practices into my life.  I know that holistic doctor doesn't necessarily equal green, just like a regular doctor doesn't necessarily not equal green.  But my success there (more to come on this later) is inspiring to live a more whole life in general.

I want to try to take baby steps towards making my life both more eco-friendly and healthy.   My goal (do I have enough goals yet??) is to integrate a new "green practice" into my life every month.  This month, I'm starting simple: being better about turning off lights.  I am normally pretty good about this, but, admittedly, have gotten worse this winter.  I think it's because subconsciously I remember that utilities are included in our rent.  I don't feel so much pressure to save money.  But it's not just about saving money, it's about not wasting energy.  So tonight, I made a very conscious effort to turn off every light that I didn't absolutely need on.  There were plenty of times where I realized I'd left the light on in the entry way or in the kitchen.  And while I didn't want to get back up and out from under my blanket to turn them off, I did.

So, yes, baby steps.  Maybe my steps are too little.  But this is one thing I know I can do right away.