Earth Day: Aveda: Light the Way Candle

An easy way to commemorate Earth Day today is to purchase an Aveda candle.

light the way candle

100% of the $12 purchase price will go to protecting clean water.  The candle glass is made from reclaimed beverage bottles.  The 100% organic candle ingredients have the fragrance of vanilla, cinnamon and ylang ylang.  

Recycle Ideas

Earth Day was Sunday, a good reminder to recycle whenever possible.  I found some clever ideas to share.  

                               Source: Uploaded by user via Raffaella on Pinterest

Recycle those light bulbs we aren't supposed to be using anymore.

                                          Source: img3.etsystatic.com via One on Pinterest

Chenille bedspreads made into sea creature shapes.

Egg carton sewing kit  Country Living

Mason jar soap dispenser  Country Living

Reuse shirts and buttons.  Country Living

Teacup candles  Martha Stewart

Recycled shutters headboard  

           Source: bit.ly via Katherine on Pinterest

Recycled ladder bookshelf.  "As is" or paint a bright color.

Read, Recycle, Remuneration

I love to read and I love my books but sometimes enough is too much.

my library

My brother recently graduated from college and had textbooks he knew that he would never use.  He set up a seller account on Amazon.com and immediately began selling his used books.  Not only did he get them out of the house, he recycled and made some cash.  

With some gentle prodding, I decided to try it for myself.  It takes less than 10 minutes to set up the count and start selling.  Amazon does all the hard work, you just have to take the books to the post office.  I sold 2 books priced at $75 each and on Monday I sold 3 more books.  

Consider an Amazon.com seller account  to rid yourself of books (you don't want to be a hoarder!) and make some cash.

Wine and What To Do With The Bottles

Yesterday I was lucky enough to tour the Alexander Valley Vineyards winery.  My cousin is married to a son of the founder of the winery.  The wedding took place at the vineyard several years ago and let me tell you it was an amazing venue and celebration.  

It's harvest time 

Lots of winners.  My favorite is Cyrus, a luscious red.

With the popularity of wine, what do you do with all the empty bottles?  My cousin, Lauren,  suggested a post with some ideas for the empties.  

A Plant Nanny and a wine bottle will water your plants while you are on vacation.  Lauren's outdoor plants survived her 2 week vacation with the Plant Nanny.  That's her lemon tree.

Wine Bottle Candelabra

Buy a Hummingbird Feeder Tube and create your own hummingbird nectar feeder.  I saw this example outside a shop in Healdsburg.

Cut the top off of a wine bottle to make a drinking glass.  

Build a bookcase.

I posted this last year...lights in an empty bottle for a holiday decoration. 

How do you recycle empty bottles?

Green Idea for the Refrigerator

I'm embarrassed to think of all the plastic bags I've sent to the landfill that have held half used portions of fruit and vegetables.  I was delighted to find Fresh Pods by MSC International Jo!e.

I picked up a set of these colorful pods at Marshall's for about $2.99/each.  The tops twists into the base for a tight fit.  The fruit and veggies stay fresh and keep the frig odor-free.  

You can buy the pepper pod here for $5.97

Good Looking Bags to Feel Good About

Chained-to-Me Clutch - Silver $31.50

I saw this bag on msnglo so I checked out the website Rebagz and was delighted to find some very cool bags and accessories made from recycled materials under fair labor conditions. 

Cozy Coin Purses $15

Mini Bag - Red $24

Limited Edition Messenger Bag - "Sazi" $68

Large Tie Totes $90

3bbags - Reusable Produce Bags

photos from 3bbags

We're taking our reusable totes to the grocery store, saving trees by reading newspapers online, and remembering to use our travel mugs for coffee to go.  BUT how about those dozens of plastic produce bags we use every month?  I try to reuse mine at home but I never remember to take them back to the grocery store for reuse.  

 A Great Find in the Martha Stewart Magazine (August 2010) was these reusable produce bags from 3bbags.com.   These reusable mesh bags have a drawstring and they are machine or hand washable.  These sturdy bags would be great to take to the farmers market as well as the grocery store.  

A pack of three bags contains 2 bags, 11x14 and 1 bag, 14.5x18.5

Click here to be taken to the website order page.  I may take advantage of the order 4 packs and only pay for 3 offer.

Drink Responsibly

So by now you probably carry a reusable bag for groceries and other shopping.  Have you started to carry a mug or reusable cup for your coffee or other beverages?  carryyourcup.org invites you to take a pledge to do just that.

I found this porcelain cup that mimics the appearance of a paper hot beverage cup.  The silicone band protects your hand from the heat.  The cap is a silicone imitation of the disposable top.  I'll be making an effort to keep this in the car for those routine stops at my favorite coffee house.

Have a wonderful weekend.

 Happy Mother's Day to all the moms.  Enjoy your day.

Save the Planet

I've been lucky to travel to some beautiful place.  

I hope we preserve pristine beauty like this for many generations to come. 

Have a great weekend.  Hope you get to be outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.  

lululemon Love

I love my lululemon workout clothes as much as the reusable shopping bag they generously give when you make a purchase.

I carry mine to the gym every day with my gym essentials.

How cute it this little zip pouch that comes with gift cards?  I'd get myself a gift card just to have the pouch!

Vintage Reuse

I picked up this coffee table at the Antique Market on Saturday.  I'm not sure what the metal frame was in it's first life.  I know the glass top is new.  The frame is old with a nice patina and it folds flat if I choose to store it away.  It works great in my small living room space.  It's fun to find vintage pieces.  The chair is an antique and the upright suitcase next to it is vintage Louis Vuitton (hard to see) that we found several years ago at the Antique Market.  

Gardening for "Green" Pleasure

I'm so excited to start planting a garden.  Today begins the sign-up for garden plots in my town.   Last year I snagged 2 plots and grew most of my lettuces and veggies for the entire summer.  I love watching the little seedling poke through the ground and mature into edible bounty.  

one of my plots last year

If you've never gardened before and want some ideas of what to do, click here for lots of helpful information from the Martha Stewart website.  

annuals on the railing and pots with herbs

If you don't have access to a traditional garden or raised bed, try container gardening with some colorful annuals or herbs. 

Rewards for Recycling

Kiehl's is my favorite company for skin and haircare products.  They have a wonderful recycling program.  The graphic above illustrates the rewards.  You must recycle at a free-standing Kiehl's store.  

Back to M A C is a program that encourages recycling with a lipstick of choice in exchange for 6 MAC primary packaging containers.  You may recycle at any MAC counter or online.

Origins will accept empty containers of any cosmetic brand for recycling. They’ll treat you to a FREE sample of your choice of one of Origins high-performance skincare products.

If you know of other recycle - reward programs I'd love it if you'll leave a comment.  Thanks!

Earth Week

Earth Day celebrates it's 40 anniversary this April 22 so I'm going to focus on the environment this week.  My favorite store, Target, handed out free reusable bags on Sunday, the 18th. 

   

Target launched recycling stations last week at all 1,740 U.S. stores and at the front of each store, Target's recycling bins accept aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers as well as plastic bags, MP3 players, cell phones and ink cartridges.  Click here to see view Target
Recycle = Reward programs.

Whole Foods is a store that seems to practice it's golden rule of  environmental stewardship, THE 3 R'S: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE  

This is how they suggest to do the green thing

GO "GREEN" WHEN YOU CLEAN

AVOID PRODUCTS WITH A LOT OF PACKAGING

BUY RECYCLED PRODUCTS

SWITCH TO ORGANICS

BUY IN BULK

QUENCH WITH RESPECT

SUPPORT ECO-SMART PACKAGING

CHOOSE YOUR FOOD LIKE IT MATTERS

REUSE YOUR BAGS