My sister Diane is an idea person. She wrote me the other day suggesting that I put a spot on the Blog where people can share their recycle/conservation/environmentally conscious ideas. So sis, here it is. I believe her comments were generated by the Plastic Bag power point presentation I have posted on my web site. I am reminded when watching this video that it is not the "bag" that is the problem, but the way in which the consumer uses or "misuses" the bag. I'm sure this statement could be used to reference many things.
So this spot on the Blog can be used to post your ideas. How do you participate in keeping Mother Earth beautiful? What ideas have you implemented that make a difference in our environment? There are so many ways we can support a healthy, conscious planet. The more we share, the more we support one another. Also check out the "Go Green" page on my website for more links and ideas. http://bodymindsoulutions.com/go_green
Here is a great link to "Real Simple" ideas:
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1692674,00.html
Here are a few You tube videos you might find interesting. They are about the garbara in the North Pacific Gyre... commonly known now as "The Garbage Patch". Thank You Anthony, for bringing this to my attention so that we can educate others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9N9uCI2dgs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnUjTHB1lvM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqzAHGXvs&NR=1
Monday, July 28, 2008
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4 comments:
Hi Barb! I'm glad you've made this a place to share ideas - and let expand on that one about using those cloth bags when shopping.
Some years ago when I lived in Laguna Beach, I got the idea for artists to put some of their works onto cloth tote-bags; the kind you can easily use for shopping.
It was a great success in our area - some of your artist friends might start doing this and selling them for a reasonable fee; and make 'totable art' for a nominal sum while helping our earth.
Another thing would be to take those great photos all of us take of our family and friends, and 'wear our art' on our totes (as well as those shirts we often make up).
This can be a do it yourself project; finding a source for the totes is the only difficulty as I see it.
Possibly setting up a source where those who supply the totes (and usually expect a minimum order before they'll ship directly to you), has to be accomplished.
Finding a t-shirt supplier who'll add totes to his inventory, and then for a fee (usually they require a minimum run of 25), would be the next step.
Totes could be given as family gifts. Considering a family where there's mother's and father's; grandparents - aunts/uncles/cousins, and the children, it would not be hard to generate a total of 25 totes, and give those as Christmas gifts instead of those expensive useless gifts we often give when we can't think of what to buy, that would be truly useful as well as attractive.
As part of your seminar program, you might start integrating some of the 'go green' policies and suggestions - you could act as the contact point for coordinating some of these types of projects, and I believe you'd do an excellent job of creating more awareness at your local level.
In fact, if we put photos on those shirts and on those totes, we'd save paper from printing them on cards. We'd save money on postage when we send those cards. We wouldn't have to find a place to put those photo cards; we wouldn't have to shop for an expensive frame (which most are), and we could sport those pretty faces on our bodies.
I made up photos shirts for Tom and Kevin back in 1981; they still have those shirts as memories (even though they can't wear them), and Kevin even uses one as a shirt for one of his cherished stuffed cats that he simply won't part with.
I had one made for my husband; when it became too worn for him to wear, he put it over the back of his computer chair.
Large and extra large shirts can fit over the back of the seat of your car or SUV.
Again, these shirts don't have to be 'trashed' either - and of course, we can always reduce them to dusting cloths, but - hey - a smiling face of a loved one might make us even 'dust better'.
Finding an extended 'life' for those things we too often discard, is very key to ending the build up of trash in this world.
The only good thing I can say about 'trash', is I recently read an article that they're looking into turning trash into gas; using up the land-fill garbage and even the plastic bags, as they believe they convert them into a type of fuel for use in our cars.
When I get time, I'll see if I can locate that web-site where I read this story on. Until then; until the time they actually do have a way of recycling all this rubbish, we have to minimize our contribution to the garbage pile.
Most who grow gardens, know how to composte - this is a wonderful way to reduce garbage, and make it useful for growing foods.
Reusing shipping boxes - either sending gifts and items to a new recipient by putting on a new label, is something I've done for 45 years. Storing items in shipping boxes, rather than buying plastic storage containers, is something I've also done.
You can put items in plastic bags that you buy; then into cartons, and they stay water-proof. The high cost of plastic storage containers and bins is only bringing a profit to the manufacturer, and it costs much more to produce that sturdy plastic box, than it does to product a box of plastic bags that are adequate for 90% of your storage requirements.
I think the good thing about this current economy problem is we're all going to be less wasteful; we'll buy less 'stuff' that we don't really need, and as we think about our earth and become clever at reusing and recycling more and more, not having money to spend and waste, is going to be a positive result of a tighter personal budget.
As you know, our mother has taught us well in how to recycle; to conserve - to make 'good', what others see as useless.
We've all benefited from being poor as kids; we've benefited from seeing our father be resourceful; creative, and frugal. We've benefited from both our parents and been witness to their ability to create a good life from using their heads, and not resorting to their pocket-books that have never been filled with money.
Mom and dad were almost forced to find another way, and in so doing, they became fine citizens of this planet because they've not been careless about how they've added to the litter and problems we're experiencing today.
I know mother will be happy to learn of your newest 'action item' - keep the torch burning. Love, Diane
Hi - I'm back again! I was just over to our storage locker, and there was another 'use for plastic bags', that I see I used a few years back.
We had lots of boots and old shoes that we wanted to store - we didn't want to take up floor space in the storage locker.
We ran a 2x4 (actually a 2x8) up the side of the locker; put in large nails (aka spikes), and spaced each spike to allow a plastic grocery bag to be hung from them. We put each pair of shoes/boots into each bag; hung them up vertically, and the majority of the dust is kept off them, as wellas no floor-space is taken up (which we badly needed).
I'm thinking you could do this in your garage to hold cords; hoses, miscellaneous items that could be stored vertically, and those plastic shopping bags are strong enough to hold quite a bit of weight.
I also keep on in my purse as a 'rain hat' - we don't get much rain here, but sometimes when we go to the mountains, we get a down-pour, and it works great as a mini-umbrella.
I keep another one in the car as a trash bag. I even roll one up and keep it in my purse so I have an extra bag when I shop for small items; get a prescription in a tiny bag - then maybe some lipstick, and another tiny bag (usually little paper sacks). Again, if I didn't carry my tote with me, I've got one of these bags in my purse to use; another for that rain hat, and neither take up any space in the purse.
They can be great dust caps for stored items; just plop them over the top of an electric fan (ours are all those tower types), and it keeps dust off.
You can use them to cover your hands when painting - just grip the brush with the sack over your hand; or when you spray-paint (I just did that when I did some touch-ups on the motor-home). The bags are so thin, you can easily work your fingers around for many tasks, and you don't get spatters or paint that comes back onto you if you're spraying out-doors.
I've also used them to band things together. I elongate the bag; it will wrap around old newspapers, and I sort the papers by month - band them with a bag - one or two ties, and it holds them nicely. Of course you can further put the banded items inside another grocery bag and stack.
They act as rain shoes if needed; tie over your regular shoes if you get caught in a down-pour; keeps most of the water off your shoes.
Just thought I'd add these ideas after seeing all the ways I'd used them in our locker - quite a stockpile of uses, and at no cost to you; not being thrown into the trash and landfill = seems like a good thing to me. Diane
Hey, here's the link for the various videos that are showing how they'll pontentially be able to turn the TRASH INTO GAS.
I think you'll enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r2_6U9g4jw
Back to visit - to say have a good week-end, Barb, and also mention something else that I do to reuse and save.
I've been using dryer sheets, and saving them after they tumble a few times in the dryer.
I leave the sheet in with the first load; add another sheet with the next load - always leaving the previous sheet so I get the most out of it.
When I get about 10 sheets that are used, I put them into a quart glass canning jar that has white vinegar and water for cleaning. I fill the glass jar up 2/3; then 1/3 water. I usually put the dryer sheets in first, because they displace the liquid.
I use the dryer sheets (now wet with the mixture) as little cleaning towelettes. If the area I'm cleaning isn't terribly soiled, I can rinse that dryer sheet, and put it right back in the solution.
Vinegar has been used to sterilize a cutting board as an example, so you can wipe the cutting surface with a sheet - rinse, and return to the jar.
I like the sheets for polishing the fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen - wiping around the tiny places such as the buttons on my microwave; stove, and other appliances where I need a small wipe to get into the corners.
I also use the wipes to clean my reading glasses - it shines them up, and back into the jar the wipe goes.
Because I accumulate about 20 wipes each week from the laundry, I have jars in the bathrooms and in the kitchen area - I change the wipes at the end of the month, and put them back into the dryer - once dried with the clothes, I put them in my stored shoes to help keep the dust out and they also help keep the toes of the shoes 'shaped' for when I do wear them.
I even used one in place of a gauze pad, when we were out of those pads, and I did a major cut on my finger. When you've used the dryer sheet up; soaked in vinegar, and then dried out again, it becomes much softer and more absorbant.
While it wasn't as good as the gauze pad, it was plenty good at the time.
I'm also thinking you could transfer 10 to 20 of these sheets that have been soaking in the vinegar/water mixture, into a zip bag, and use them as traveling toilettes for your hands and face. As I write this, since this idea struck me, I'm going to transfer some now. They could also wipe off the rear-view mirror in your car; the outside mirrors, and clean off some bird-poo on your windshield.
That's it - love you. Diane
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