- It's a wrap baby Jan 12
- It's a wrap baby Jan 12
- Buy Portland-made reclaimed wooden "dominos" Jan 12
- Not a bright idea Jan 11
- Green goal 2010: Join (or start!) a community farm Dec 28
- See all posts
The GreenYour Blog
Jan 12, 2010
It's a wrap baby
We love this tiny company. Not only are their products created to maximize respect for the earth, but they have not sacrificed one stitch of style. The blankets and burp clothes are very simple in design and have almost a Japanese aestheic. The lines are clean, the colors soothing, and the prices highly affordable.
The only question remaining for us is -- what does Ja-lu mean?? Surprisingly there does not seem to be mention of it on the website. But we're going to go with something like, "Beautiful blanket. Beautiful Earth" :)
Jan 12, 2010
It's a wrap baby
We love this tiny company. Not only are their products created to maximize respect for the earth, but they have not sacrificed one stitch of style. The blankets and burp clothes are very simple in design and have almost a Japanese aesthetic. The lines are clean, the colors soothing, and the prices highly affordable.
The only question remaining for us is -- what does Ja-lu mean?? Surprisingly there does not seem to be mention of it on the website. But we're going to go with something like, "Beautiful blanket. Beautiful Earth" :)
Jan 12, 2010
Buy Portland-made reclaimed wooden "dominos"
Now that buying handmade, eco kids toys is trendy, the costs have soared as high as CO2 emissions. Germany has long been known to manufacture quality wooden kids toy, but Portland?! Well yes.
We came across these beatifully hand cut and sanded, children's wooden blocks that are both a visual delight and created with conservation in mind. They are made in Portland and appear to be every bit as authentic and pure as you'd expect.
So go ahead ... line 'em up and topple them over. Play with your kids, or just do it for the hell of it all by yourself because the joy of seeing how high you can pile up blocks, well, never really stops being fun :)
$25 for a set of 80. Try and find those prices in Deutchland!
Jan 11, 2010
Not a bright idea
To be more specific, dimming incandescent light bulbs (the old fashinined round ones that scorch your fingers when you unscrew them) will help a bit, but not as much as you'd think. That's because the ratio of wattage to lumen (energy to light output) is not 1:1. Incandescents are highly inefficient - with 80% of the wattage going to heat the light bulb rather than give off light - so when you dim one, you're not cutting the energy by nearly as much as you're cutting the light output. ( For example, if you dim it by 50%, you'll only be cutting wattage by about 30%.)
A better route: buy dimmable CFLs (the package needs to specifically state that they are dimmable, else they're not). Also be sure your dimmer is the newer model as the older resistor style can not accomodate CFLs. If you are not able to go that route but want low light, opt for as low a wattage incandescent as you can find. Better still - light a candle.
Dec 28, 2009
Green goal 2010: Join (or start!) a community farm
Across America, there has been a surge in urban farming projects with the goal being to bring the farm to the city. But few are bringing the city dweller to the farm. Enter Ananda Harvest.
Ananda was founded by a group of young professionals in Brooklyn and old-school farmers in Monroe, NY. For those interested in local and organic farming, the farm offers an opportunity to escape the city, reconnect with the land, learn about food production, and even do a little yoga on the side.
Over the past couple of months, the group has been applauded by Planet Green, Brooklyn Based, and now GreenYour.
According to one of Ananda's Founding Farmers, Dave Gottlieb, Ananda is much more than a farm. "We really want to create a new experience for people and build a community where we can build stronger ties with one another and with the land."
So, how can you get involved?
1. Go up to Ananda! Come spring time, Ananda will be accepting volunteers to "camp-n-farm". People who volunteer on the farm can camp for free and pay a small fee for meals and yoga classes.
2. Help fund a cabin at Ananda where you can stay. The group is currently raising $10K to build a cabin so you don't have to camp every time you go up!
3. Spread the word! If you don't live near New York City, maybe you know someone who does. If you have friends who could use some farming meditation - let them know about it!
Happy Farming and Happy 2010!
Dec 27, 2009
Frozen Assets
Hear the word freezer and we think ice cubes, frozen peas and ice cream. But it's time to give your freezer more serious work! Let it do its part in saving you big bucks by avoiding the rotten food toss.
Some foods that freeze magnificently:
- Milk (Just stick the container in the freezer. To thaw it qiuckly, either leave it out on the counter or put it in a bowl of hot water.)
- Eggs (crack them first, whisk them and freeze)
- Wine (not good for drinking again but excellent for cooking with)
- Tomatoes and other veggies (they'll be soft when you thaw them so won't be so good for a salad but excellent for a pasta sauce)
- Fruit ( also not so good for eating alone post thaw, but excellent for smoothies. If freezing berries, try to separate them in freezer and THEN toss them together in a bag, else they'll clump together and you'll have to thaw the whole clump.)
Dec 27, 2009
School cafeterias don't get graded
US Today recently concluded a study showing that 26, 500 school cateterias lack proper inspections. Fast food restaurants are more rigidly inspected than school cafeterias. Yet another reason to skip the school cafeteria and brown bag it.
Think your kids prefer school lunches? Unlikely, but if so try these guaranteed, super easy, kid pleasers ....
- sandwhiches made with hummos and grilled zuccini strips
- greek style yogurt with honey and fruit
- chicken cubes with peanut sauce (or keep it on the stick for a satay)
- homemade sweet pickles (soak cucumber slices in wine vinegar, water and sugar for about one hour)
- carrot/zuccini muffins
Take THAT e-coli!
Dec 02, 2009
Holiday decorations that celebrate the Earth !
Coming up with creative ways to decorate your home, not only saves you money but gives a much homier feel to the season. Everyone of the ideas listed can be executed at a kindergarten level or a Masters in Fine Arts level, so get crafting !
- String popcorn or cranberries on your tree. The trick to string popcorn is to soften it first by putting it into a plastic bag with a half apple, overnight. Otherwise the popcorn kernals will break when push the needle through. Another option is to add beads along with the popcorn or cranberries.
- Bake sugar cookies in holiday shapes and then paint them. Best to overcook them so they wont be too soft and chewey.
- Use last years holiday cards to either hang from the tree or make a garland to hang over a doorway. Cut the cards into smaller squares or circles, punch a hole and string them.
- Paint old CDs or DCDs and hang them from the tree.
- Collect pine cones and put them on the branches of the tree.
- Do away with scented holiday candles and instead stick cloves into an orange and let this infuse the room.
- Make you own Xmas crackers. Follow the link at the bottom to see how.
Dec 02, 2009
Ten (no cost) gift wrapping ideas
1. Tissue paper that's accumulated in your home over the year. Don't think of tissue paper as only the "inside layer" of wrapping, use it on the outisde.
2. Fabric. Wrap it like regular wrapping or tie it up like a satchel. Old sheets cut-up work great as well.
3. Twine. Forget store-bought ribbons, twine is so cheap it's almost free (get it at your local hardware store) and it's naturally grown.
4. Beads. To add extra flourish or color to your twine-ribbon, thread a bead onto either end of the twine and tie a know at the end to keep the bead secure. No need to have them match, any random bead you might find will do.
5. Brown paper bags. Even better than recycling them is re-using them.
6. Newspaper. Choose their favorite section of the paper and add some further decorations with markers.
7. Tins or glass bottles. If the package itself is attractive enough, there's no need to wrap it. Get naked this year and forgo the wrapping altogether!
8. Magazines. Paste together a bunch of pages that incorporate the recipient's interests.
9. Gift within a gift. If one of the gifts can be used as wrapping, then do so! For example an apron wrapped around cooking utensils.
10. Print out an image online. If the gift is small enough to be wrapped in one sheet of printer paper, then find a fun image online, print it out and use this as the wrapping.
Dec 02, 2009
Your chimney is sucking up your money
Of all the warm air that escapes from your home in the winter (or cool air that escapes in summer) 15% is through the chimney (52%, is through walls, floors, doors and windows). About 46% of your energy cost is heating and cooling (say $46/month on your $100 bill), so lets assume you could save maybe $20 if there was NO air loss, and 15% of that savings would be due to no chimney air loss which is $3/month or $36/year. Got all that?
Easiest way to keep the warm air in -- buy an inflatable balloon that you stick up the chimney to stop heat loss. They come in all sizes and costs. The one linked to below is about $48 which means with the cost savings from heat loss, it would pay for itself in just over a year.
Warning: don't forget to remove the balloon before you light a fire. Else this heat-loss technique could get very expensive...
Latest Comments Across the Site