Plastic Bag Solutions

So, the other day I wrote about how bad plastic bags are. And granted, that was a bit preachy, and I try not to take anyone to church in this blog. It's supposed to be about solutions. So here are some solutions:

• Of course, the obvious one is this: bring your own bags to the store. (Upcoming will be a product review of the brand I like best).
• A lot of stores will give you a 5 cent discount for every bag of your own that you bring in and use. Target and Whole Foods are two chains that I know do this. (If you know of others, you could post them in the comments section). I also like how some stores (Borders comes to mind) ask if you want a bag at all. Carrying two books out of the store without a bag is not problem, which brings me to my next point ...
• If you're not buying much, why do you need a bag at all? If you carry your purchases out, however, I recommend holding your receipt like a flag, just in case anyone wonders why you're walking out of Safeway with your hands full of groceries.
• Granted, plastic bags can be handy for things like in-car trash bags and scooping cat litter. Re-using is definitely better than throwing away. My friend Sarah says you can get biodegradable bags for animal waste - I haven't looked into this yet, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know how it goes.
• Zip-loc type bags can be washed out and re-used. I had a friend who did this, and I thought she was crizazy. It seemed like going just a bit far with the whole save the world thing, right? But, I admit I've become a convert to this practice. Zip-locs are expensive, so re-using just seems to make sense (I resisted the urge to write "makes cents" there, but didn't resist it enough, apparently). Turn the bag inside out and wash it with dish soap and water. Then let it dry -- it will dry faster if you open it up and place the mouth over a glass to keep the bag open.

So go forth, and keep a sea turtle from choking to death on a drug store bag.

Coming up tomorrow: DIY Sunday

Paper, plastic, or neither?

This post is under a

p Preachiness Alert p

because I just may begin ranting ...

So, as part of my job, I sometimes have to write little stories for second and third graders. Yesterday, I was trying to think of a topic for a short expository piece, I hit National Geographic for Kids on the web. There were a bunch of videos about weird science topics. One video featured Edward Norton talking about plastic bags. Now, that sounded boring to me, and I didn't think any second or third graders would be interested in it, but Edward Norton has been one of my celebrity boyfriends for many years now, and so I decided to watch the video.

It turns out, plastic bags are both evil and fascinating. My colleague and I ended up writing our story about them, and here's what we learned:

• As you probably know, plastic grocery bags can kill marine animals that become tangled in them or choke on them.
• In some places, the ocean floor is completely covered with bags which have filled with water and sunk to the bottom.
• Plastic bags photodegrade into tiny toxic pieces. There are parts of the oceans where there are more of these toxic bits than food for marine life.
• Off the coast of California, a swirling mass of plastic bags has converged where several currents come together. This mass is TWICE THE SIZE OF TEXAS.
• In Africa, so many plastic bags are flying around in the wind that people "harvest" them and turn them into baskets and ... more bags (which at least recycles them!)

Now, those cute re-usable bags that have been popping up everywhere seem more urgent than before.

Coming up: Some other things you can do to reduce dependence on these "insidious tumbleweeds" (as Mr. Edward Norton referred to plastic garbage bags.) Also, a product review of the type of bag I use, guaranteed to put the chic back in "eco-chic" - if that's even a term. I'm not sure it is.

Bad News, Good News

There's been lots of news about the environment this week, even though it's only Tuesday. I'm of the opinion that bad news should always be given first. So here goes ...

GLOBAL WARMING IS IRREVERSIBLE.

Apparently, a new study is showing that we can't go back when it comes to CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide becomes trapped in the oceans and even if we freeze emissions, it will take hundreds of years for a cool down, created dust bowls and glacier melting.

Bummer.

It seems like we'd better move fast, then, to curb emissions. Luckily, we have some good news ...

PRESIDENT OBAMA LIKES THE ENVIRONMENT

Our new president has already signed a memorandum allowing states to apply for tougher emissions standards. Its a small change, but I like the idea that Obama is making a statement, early on, that it's not going to be business as usual when it comes to global warming.

DIY Sunday, Part Deux

DIY Wall Art

While doing some research for another post, I came across this post on a cool blog called This Young House, in which the authors created some wall art with a color copier and some attitude. It made me think of some of the wall art in my own home, so I thought I'd share with y'all.

I have a teeny apartment (though Houston-teeny would seem giganto compared to New York-teeny) and I'm happy to say that almost all of the furniture is second-hand. The artwork is mostly re-purposed as well. Here's how I made some of it:

The Michelangelo Canvas

As a teenager, I was pretty dorky and I had a favorite T-shirt (as art it might seem kickass, but picture it on a teen's chest). One year at camp I tie-dyed it. As many of us do with our favorite tees, I hung onto it past the point of usefulness. I stopped wearing it when I developed a modicum of fashion sense, but it still cluttered up my closet. So I turned it into art.

Step 1: I found an old bulletin board that was about the same size as the T-shirt graphics.

Step 2: I cut out the artwork on the T-shirt to fit the bulletin board, with some overlap.

Step 3: I stapled/ tacked the tee to the bulletin board.

Here's the back of the bulletin board. As you can see, I was not too exacting in my cutting/tacking.

Voila! Art!

The French-Inspired Bulletin Boards

Similar to the Michelangelo canvas, the French-inspired bulletin boards transformed regular bulletin boards into something higher and finer (or at the very least, they were transformed into something purple). The project began when I saw some canvas-and-ribbon-covered bulletin boards for sale at ridiculous prices. They were justifying the prices with some reference to French chateaus. It was one of those, "Why would I buy that? - I could make it!" moments.

Step 1: I bought enough fabric to cover the two bulletin boards I'd had since high school (so, I guess, pre-step 1, I measured the bulleting boards).

Step 2: I covered the bulletin boards with the fabric and stapled/ tacked it down.

Step 3: I criss-crossed the covered bulletin board with the accent ribbon and tacked it down.

Step 4: I covered the whole thing with pictures and mementos, because that's what a

good bulletin board is for.

The Japanese Cartoon Wall

Next to my desk, I wanted some art that would help me write (never underestimate the benevolent muse that might be conjured by a happy work area). I found a couple of pictures in magazines that I liked, but since I'm trying to be an adult I decided they should be framed. I'm a cheap adult, however, so I picked these cheap box frames from Target which basically just cover the picture with lucite. They turned out unexpectedly cool. I used one Adrian Tomine cover from The New Yorker (I subsribe, but I spent about 4 bucks for a magazine without an address sticker). The other is a page from the magazine Giant Robot, an awesome magazine about Asian-American pop culture.

I hope this post has inspired you to see the artistic possibilities in old T-shirts, random fabric, and magazine pages. Go forth and re-use and re-purpose with joy!

DIY Sunday

Why I DIY

Well, mostly I DIY because it's fun.

But there's another side to it too. I think this quote from environmental/community activist Van Jones, sets it up nicely:

"We could see underneath all of it [politics, American culture, etc.] was the idea of disposability. The idea that you've got disposable people, a disposable planet."

The DIY movement is a reaction against that disposability. If you made your own sweater, you're less likely to toss it when it gets threadbare. If your kid made your coffee mug, you might still drink out of it when the handle breaks off.

When I DIY I feel connected to the community of others who make stuff - the internet being an amazing boon to those of us who might need to know in the middle of the night how to do the kitchener stitch and want to find someone who can tell us (I also feel connected to the history of women, in particular, but you know ... discussing that could turn into a lengthy diatribe, so I'll just leave it at that).

Hence, the existence of DIY Sunday on an environmental blog. When sisters and brothers do it for themselves, the world gets a little bit better.

Chemicals Between Us

Chemicals have been on my mind this week, primarily because one of my best friends accidently (?) served cookies that had been laced with an air freshener oil refill. (I know it was an accident - I'm just teasing). After I politely tried to choke down the cookie, then threw away the rest, my friend figured out what the gross, perfumey taste was. Chemicals.

So, I jumped on the internet to find out how long I had to live.

When you want to find out about the chemical contents of general household items, you want to seek out the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for that product. I feel like this is such important information it should be taught on Sesame Street, but I never knew about MSDSes until I became a teacher and we had to find the MSDSes for all of the chemical products (including highlighter pens and hand soap) in our classrooms.

Chemical companies are required to have an MSDS for all of their products, but finding the MSDS is not always easy -- companies that make chemicals don't seem to like to advertise even the remote possibility that there might be a safety concern. You can't usually go to a product website and find a link.

Instead, Google "MSDS + the name of the product." You will sometimes find a pdf of an old typed sheet, which is quaint. The MSDS will display possible health risks for eyes, inhalation, and ingestion; plus the first aid for those various exposures (this is good for parents to know, as often it is recommended that vomiting not be induced). You can also find out about any known chronic health risks, or which organs will go first with prolonged exposure.

The MSDS tell you the LD50, which is the toxicity level. The LD50 is the level of the chemical that will kill 50% of test animals (usually rats). Gross, right?

Anyway, I discovered that it took over 3000 milligrams of the air freshener to kill 50% of the rats, so I felt safe. And, you know, I'm still alive a few days later. It did make me stop and think, however, about all of the chemicals in our lives. I'm glad that we can find information; I'm frustrated that corporations try to hide it from us.

Chemicals (in particular, pesticides) have also been on the mind of fellow eco-bloggers over at 2000 Dollar Wedding so check it out. It's a great site for DIY and green types, not just those planning weddings.

Cute Cat Picture

Re-Purpose

The Many Uses of ...
Baking Soda

Use #1: Scrubbing Stuff

Perhaps the most versatile all-around eco-friendly household product, baking soda is well known for deodorizing refrigerators and being and ingredient in various yummy baked goods. It is, however, also an awesome lightly abrasive scrubber for sinks, counters, tubs ... pretty much anything you can think of. Just sprinkle it liberally on the surface you want to scrub and apply elbow grease with a wet sponge or rag.

Baking soda not harsh chemically or as an abrasive, so it doesn't poison you or scratch surfaces. There's not warning about using in a well-ventilated area, because it won't choke you when you use it.

Living in Houston, land of humidity, I've always had a problem trying to keep my sponges from mildewing. Since I've been using baking soda to scrub the sinks, however - voila! the problem is gone. No commercial cleanser has ever been able to compare.

New Day Dawning

p PREACHINESS ALERT p

I was going to write a post about baking soda. But then I realized that can wait (look for it in the next few days, however; I do love baking soda). Today is an amazing day, and it's time to stop and take stock for a moment.

I'm glad that the Inauguration takes place in January, ushering in a new year and a new era. No matter who you are, or who you voted for, you've just experienced something historic.

But what does that mean for the environment?

Well, here's what I hope:

In his address, President Obama (just got goosebumps typing that!) asked us to sacrifice. I hope that means folks will sacrifice in little ways, by recycling a bit more, by walking more often, by buying less (okay, maybe that's not a small sacrifice, but I hope it happens).

I hope that the economic stimulus results in more green industry, that we can jump start the economy not by reviving out-of-date industries, like predatory lending and auto manufacturing, but that the conversion to greener technologies can provide jobs for many.

And I hope that a government that believes in the environmental dangers we face will imbue these changes with a sense of urgency, and will value the small steps that people take on a day-to-day basis.

As they say to end all those political speeches: God bless America.

DIY Sunday

Blood Orange Martinis

Note: DIY Sunday will be a semi-regular feature about the craftiness (or entertaininess) that lies within us.

Recently, I read somewhere that because of the recession more people will be skipping the bars and drinking at home. So why not hold an economic stimulus happy-hour and serve these blood orange martinis? With one of these in hand, your friends will forget they're not paying for their drinks, and you'll have the satisfaction of being a DIY bartender extraordinaire.

I'm not obsessive about local/organic produce; I buy it when I can afford it. I do, however, try to choose fruits in season. To make a vast generalization, they should have a lower carbon footprint (if they're in season, they don't have to travel as far ... theoretically) and should be tastier, and grown under more natural conditions. Apples and pears in the fall, berries in summer, citrus fruits in winter ... I anxiously await late winter for blood oranges. You can usually find them at natural markets (Whole Foods, Central Market, Huckleberry's, or farmers' markets if you're in southern climes) during January and February. And then poof! they're gone. That's why I try to make this recipe as often as possible during that brief period.

Blood oranges have a slightly-perfumey, almost strawberry-like flavor. Lime adds a tang. The cocktail is so delicious, you might want to warn your guests of the punch it packs.

Ingredients (for 2 large or 3 medium cocktails):

3-4 oz. vodka (depending upon how strong you like your cocktails)
2-3 blood oranges
1 lime
Splash triple sec
Ice
You'll also need a cocktail shaker or some facsimile (pub glass and spoon would work fine)

Step 1: Slice the oranges in half. Before you squeeze them, use a small paring knife to slice off a twist of rind. Set this aside. Using a juicer, or your own strength, squeeze the blood oranges. You want about 2 oz. of juice. Set aside the blood orange juice and squeeze the lime in the same manner.

Step 2: Pour the vodka, fruit juices, and a splash triple sec into the shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake.

Step 3: Place the twist of orange rind into a martini glass, and pour the cocktail in. Happy pink drinking to follow!

Enjoy!Note: You can make all kinds of fun, fruity, and surprisingly-potent vodka cocktails using this same formula and any fruit you choose in place of the vodka.

Thanks to my friend Kelly who provided the photo styling (and the shaker, kitchen, and glassware) for this post.

Product Review

method hand wash

Cleaning Power: ***** (out of 5)

Scent and Appearance: ***** (except green tea + aloe. It rates a ** for its irradiated algae color and sinus-clearing scent) Available in scents such as sweet water, sea minerals, and pink grapefruit.

Recyclable Packaging?: Yes, Code 1

I found it at: Target, Kroger, Randall's (Safeway)

Other stuff: Packaging states that it is biodegradable and never tested on animals. You can buy re-fills to cut down on packaging

See below for the scoop.

Let's face it: You probably already own this product. If folks have one biodegradable, earth-friendly product in their homes, method hand wash is it. Which just goes to show where green marketing can go - create a beautifully-packaged (I mean, doesn't the teardrop-shaped bottle make you smile?), great-smelling product that actually works and makes people feel virtuous at the same time, and it will become ubiquitous on the edge of American sinks.

Method hand wash comes in a variety of appealing scents. My personal favorite is french lavender, but I have a thing for lavender. The green tea + aloe smells cloyingly chemical; I don't recommend it. The holiday scents which you see above in the red and green bottles, are a must-have in November/December. The frosted fir, in particular, smells like you're walking through a snow-laced forest in your organic wool cap, talking to the white rabbits as you go. I've had more than one person tell me that they wash their hands with it just so they can sniff their fingers.

On-line, you can find some folks questioning the composition of the fragrance ingredients, so if you're super-cautious, or have a scent-sensitivity, this might not be the product for you. I'm fairly scent-sensitive, and I have never had an issue with it, but you might want to check it out before investing.

Now, method hand wash is not an anti-bacterial. I know that's a plus for most folks -- better for the environment, better for the future of humanity, non-drying to the skin, possibly lets kids get sick occasionally, thus reducing their susceptibility to asthma and allergies. As a former teacher, I know that anti-bacterial is sometimes a necessity. This is probably not your best bet, then, for your classroom sink (though it would make the kids smell pretty). For home use, however, it can't be beat.

Cute Cat Picture

Re-Purpose

The Many Uses of ...

VINEGAR

Use #1
Cleaning mineralization from your sink drain

During Hurricane Ike, I stayed with friends for about two weeks. When I returned home, Houston's hard water had formed a rusty ring in the sink. Because that is my cat's very favorite place to get water, and I don't want to poison him with rust removers, I hit the web to look for alternatives.

What I ended up trying was distilled white vinegar. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Plug the drain in your sink.

Step 2: Pour vinegar in to cover the hard water stain.

Step 3: Let it sit. My drain doesn't seal well, so I just let it sit until it had all drained out, probably about 30 minutes. I think longer would have worked better.

Step 4: Drain the sink. Using a lightly-abrasive sponge or towel (or baking soda, but more about baking soda in another post) scrub the remaining stain.

As I've said before, once you move into green cleaning territory, you need to re-adjust your idea of what "clean" is. The stain was not 100% gone, but it was MUCH better. I will probably need to use a more heavy-duty cleaner at some point, but this was a great non-toxic alternative.

If this was a Facebook status update, it would say ...

Catlin forgot her re-usable grocery bags at home today, and karma paid her back with broken plastic bags and chicken all over the place.

No-Buy Month

Tempted

And lo, verily, though I walk through the Simon Malls Galleria during No-Buy Month, and gazeth upon an outfit that would be perfect when I present in front of 150 people tomorrow, the Lord giveth me strength, and I avoideth temptation!

Actually, I'm not so strong. If I didn't have a raging sinus cold, I probably would have gone in and tried on the outfit and if it fit, I probably would have justified buying it, despite the fact that it is decidedly non-consumable and No-Buy Month is about not buying non-consumables ("It's for work!"). Luckily, I was feeling crappy, and didn't have the energy to walk inside.

I did cheat the other day at the grocery store, buying a spray bottle that cost $2.59. It is NOT consumable. I am, however, going to use it to spray vinegar instead of bleach, so at least it's a bit greenie.

DIY Sunday

Altered* Clipboards

Note: DIY Sunday will be a semi-regular feature about the craftiness that lies within us.

Altered clipboards are an easy project that I adapted for Christmas gifts for my teacher friends this year. Aside from being functional as actual clipboards, they can be used to display photos or other mementos (New Pornographers concert tickets, love letters, college acceptance letters ... the list of flat, paper-like items is nearly endless).

Here are the (easy) directions -- which as I said, I adapted after trolling through several craft books and websites.


Materials needed:

• Clipboard (not plastic)
• Acrylic paints
• Stamps, ink, beads, baubles, craft paper, and other mostly-2-dimensional decorative items
• Mod Podge and glue sticks
• Paint brushes
• Penny

Pre-step 1: It might help to plan a color scheme or theme that you're going to use. Alternatively, let the creative juices simply flow, depending upon your personality. I'm a planner, so I planned.

Step 1: Using the acrylic paint, paint the clipboard front and back. You can use a penny, propped on its side, to hold the clip open so you can paint under it. Let the paint dry (this is a good craft to do in stages).

Step 2: If you're using stamps, stamp a design on the painted surface. Regular stamping ink will work perfectly. If you make a mistake, it's cool. Just dab some of the acrylic paint over it and you're good to go.

Step 3: Cut the craft paper to fit the clipboard. Use the glue stick to glue it to the clipboard. Don't worry that the glue doesn't seem firm. You're going to cover it with Mod Podge in a couple of steps. I also used a printed craft tape in the example below, to make the edges look more square. Like I said, I'm a planner. Which is the nice way of saying, a little anal sometimes.

Step 4: Decorate the clip in any way you see fit. Lots of websters used profusions of ribbon. I used these beads which are meant for pendants; I found them at the craft store. I hot-glued them. I think glitter and fake rhinestones would also be rad.

Step 5: Paint Mod Podge (or other sealant) all over the flat parts. Use the penny again to prop open the clip. Let it all dry. You're done!

Look! Even Wily likes the altered clipboards!

* If you're wondering why they are called "altered" it's because crafters use that term to indicate that they glued stuff all over other stuff.

Cute Cat Picture

Green Adventure

Appetite for Destruction

This week, I haven't been feeling my best, with a migraine that's been bothering me on and off, and a cold that seems to be trying to gather strength. This Saturday morning, still feeling under the weather, I thought, what could cheer me up?

The answer, of course: Breaking glass!

I have an 8-year-old boy's love of random destruction, and so the Center Street Recycling Depository was the place to be. (3602 Center St., Houston, TX - accepting newspaper, magazines, office paper; glass food & beverage bottles and jars; #1 -5, and 7 plastics; tin & aluminum food cans; cardboard boxes-broken down)

The Center St. depository combines two of my favorite things - industrial landscapes and throwing bottles and listening to them break. Situated next to the train tracks and several warehouses, it's not a place that you could find without help. I discovered it because I frequently whined about how curbside recycling here doesn't pick up glass. Enough whining, and someone said, "Well, you can drop it off on Center St."

I don't know why curbside doesn't pick up glass; I think that's strange, but it does mean I get to go to the recycling depository. It's a happy place fore a few reasons: the aforementioned train tracks and warehouses (I don't know, I just love them); the sight of good folks recycling (mostly graying ex-hippie do-gooder types, but it warms my heart that there are always people there); but mostly the fact that I get to throw my bottles into huge dumpsters where they crash into a heap of broken glass, creating a cathartic feeling of happy destructiveness.

Here's what you can look forward to at the recycling depository ...

At the depository, a Whole Foods bag filled with microbrew bottles is the de rigeur accessory. Luckily, I was prepared.

Here's where you get to throw your bottles! It makes a pretty noise of breaking! You can bring green, amber, and clear glass.

See? Industrial landscapes!

I do sometimes wonder, however, if recycling my bottles is worth the carbon emissions it takes to get to the depository (which today were compounded by the fact that I spent about 5 minutes idling in the Starbucks drive-thru on the way home). That's the kind of question you just can't answer easily. Oh well! Breaking glass!

Product Review

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap - Lavender Scent

Basic Cleaning Power: **** (out of 5)

Deep Cleaning Power:**

Scent and Appearance:*****

Recyclable Packaging?: Yes, Code 2

I found it at: Spec's

Other stuff: Packaging states that it is biodegradable and cruelty-free

See below for the scoop.


I bought this because I was at Spec's, which is a gourmet-food-wine & liquor utopia, when I realized that I was out of dish soap. Spec's doesn't carry a lot of household goods, but they did have this dish soap. So ... what's the verdict?

First of all, the lavender scent is amazing -- like running through a field of lavender in a white dress, seen through a soft-focus lens, hair blowing in the wind. I don't like sweet smells, being dorkily scent-sensitive and migraine-prone, but this has the astringent tang of actual lavender.

However, we don't buy dish soap to sniff (at least, I don't). We buy it to wash dishes. I have no dishwasher and only a single sink, and so use a dish tub to do the washing up. I found that Meyer's Clean Day was pretty good with the basic clean up. I soaked my silverware in it, and washed up the plates and cups. All clean and happy. There were a couple of plates that had been dusted with flour during a bread-baking episode, and they felt a bit gritty when I put them away.

For deep cleaning, I found Meyer's Clean Day didn't cut the mustard. Or the grease, as the case may be. Cookie sheets that had been sprayed with cooking spray felt sticky, even after a second wash with maximum elbow grease.

Would I buy it again? Despite its limitations, I have to admit, I might. That lavender scent is just so addicting ...

Green Clean - This is my Story

I'd like to say that my journey into the world of green cleaning products began because I'm so darn environmentally-conscious, but that would be, you know, a lie.

The truth is, I love bleach.

I like the way it burns all of your nostril hairs when you breathe it in. I like the way it clings to your skin and seeps out of your pores when you've been swimming all day. I like how scary it is. Those who know me, know that I secretly hope that our modern exposure to chemicals and radiation will lead us to develop super-powers.

So, it wasn't virtue that made me clean my sink with vinegar and baking soda last weekend.

It was this guy:

This is my cat, Wily.

When he was a kitten he fell into the toilet and got Vanish all over himself, requiring a 2:00 a.m. bath in the punch bowl. As he grew, he became more like a dog than a cat, chewing on everything he could. He is now particularly fond of licking the faucets and around the drains. These factoids led me to believe that I should start looking for cleaning products that wouldn't poison a small animal. It's become a bit of a project for me, trying out different combinations.

I can't say, however, that I'm always happy about it.

When using green cleaning products, one has to accept a different standard of clean. That sparkling, bleachy goodness is no longer to be found. I know it's better for Wily and for me (no super powers for me, damn it!) but it definitely takes a mental adjustment. I'll be updating the blog with product reviews in the future.

No-Buy Month

This month, I'll be celebrating No-Buy Month. I read about it last year somewhere on the interwebs, and thought I'd try it out to save some cash. The idea, as you can imagine, is: you don't buy anything for a month.

Some people get really crazy with it and don't buy ANYTHING. They stock up in the days before on everything they might possibly need, filling their freezers and cupboards with non-perishables. I, however, really like fresh food, and so I don't go that far. I simply don't buy anything that's not consumable. Food, coffee, wine, movie tickets -- I'll buy all of these things. But I won't purchase anything that will still exist in a closet or on a shelf ten years from now.

Last year, I tried three no-buy months, and I hearted it hard-core. I certainly wasn't perfect; I fell off the wagon a few times. In general, however, it wasn't so much the cash savings that added up as much as the time savings. I have a chronic habit of stopping off somewhere on my way home from work and running errands. I'll get it into my head, say, that I must have a dark gray sweater with a V-neck, and I'll look ten different places to find the right one. During No-Buy Month, there was none of that. I got home from work by 4:15 and could read, walk, knit, whatever.

Also,

p PREACHINESS ALERT p

during No-Buy Months, I felt like consumer society didn't have so much of a hold over me. I figured out how little we actually need to purchase, and how shopping is such a social/ emotional event in our culture. Don't get me wrong, I like to shop. It seems, however, that we identify ourselves these days almost completely by what we own. Finding those identifying objects (talismans, one might say) has become a major time-sucker. And now, with the economy going bust, we're being told it's our patriotic duty to shop.

PREACHINESS ENDED

So this year, I'm going to try to make every third month a no-boy month, starting with January. Trust me, I'll still be contributing to the economy the rest of the time. Nobody can claim I don't love America enough to buy shoes.

What's the Point?

So, what's the point of this new, 2009-flavored endeavour?

There are lots of green-themed, sustainability-related blogs and websites out there. But frankly, I find them a little off-putting. I try to live green (or, at least, light green!). In Houston, TX, it's not always easy. The city is just finding its footing in terms of supporting ecologically-friendly lifestyles. We're building light rail, we're recycling more and more. I make mistakes. I have reusable grocery sacks - but I forget them all the time. Sometimes I throw away something I could have recycled. When I read a lot of books or websites about green living, I feel overwhelmed and guilty.

If green-minded folks take a holier-than-thou attitude, we're not going to convince busy people to join the cause. My personal opinion is that it's better for everyone to do their best at living sustainably, than for 1% of the population to have a size-zero carbon footprint while 99% of the population walks around in Bigfoot's carbon boots.

So here's what I plan to feature here:

1. Honest product reviews of green/organic products. Just because it says organic/vegetarian/ cruelty-free/ energy-saving doesn't mean it works or tastes good. And vice versa. I'm only going to review things I've actually used myself in my daily life.

2. Links and info about DIY projects and crafts. I think that when we create things ourselves, we appreciate them more.

3. Chronicles of things I've tried, mistakes and missteps, etc.

4. News about Houston's attempts at greenihood.

And if I get preachy, I'll alert you, with a:

pPREACHINESS ALERTp