Cool Stuff

You probably don't need any new "stuff" right now, after the big consumerist explosion that just passed. However, if you still feel the need to do your duty as an American and keep the economy chug-chug-chugging along, here are a few cool things I've found lately:

Starbucks $1 Reusable Cup

Last week, Starbucks introduced this cutie patootie reusable tumbler for only a dollar. They figured that more people would use a reusable cup if it's cheapo.

Pros: Did I mention, it's really cute? And it's recyclable, so if it gets gross (plastic tumblers always do, after a while) you can put it in your bingee (that's what we called recycling bins in the town I'm from. Does anyone else do that?) Of course, the price is right. Starbucks has been advertising the ten-cent discount you get when you bring in your cup, but that's actually not a new thing.
Cons: It's made in China, so, you know, the labor practices may be a little shrug, I'm not sure. It's plastic. And some people don't like Starbucks at all, since they're a corporate giant. I'm a Washingtonian, though, so I support the pumping of money into my home state. At one point, a close friend was teaching at the private school where the founder of Starbucks sent his kids, so I always just assumed my money went straight into her salary.

Nourish Products

One of the girls at work didn't know that I was a greenie blogger when she revealed that her brother is one of the folks behind Nourish Organic Food For Healthy Skin. Without her knowledge, I scampered out to buy some of the lotion - I figured that if it was gross, she never needed to know I'd tried it.

O! me of little faith. I just love Nourish's body lotion. I keep the almond vanilla on my nightstand to smooth my winter hands -- yes, we even get those in Houston. Nourish products are certified USDA Organic, cruelty-free and vegan. Basically, a tiny bunny frolics in the forest whenever you use their products.

I've also tried the body wash, and I loved the fresh fig scent that I tried - but because Nourish products are basically food, and I'm allergic to sunflower seeds, I discovered that I can't use the body wash. (No, I didn't eat it). But if you're NOT allergic to sunflower seeds, then it's awesome. I can't wait to try the rest of their products, which are available at fun places like Ulta and Whole Foods. And come on, don't you want lotion that you could actually eat?

A Priceless Wedding, by Sara Cotner

NO - this is not my way of admitting some crazy, spur-of-the-moment engagement to a crusty ol' sea captain I met down by the docks. I just wanted to share with you that my bloggie friend Sara, of Feeding the Soil, wrote a book! And a real company published it.

Sara's book is about planning a wedding that is meaningful to you and your partner, rather than meaningful to the world of bridal dress designers, your future-mother-in-law, the county clerk, or your cousin Hepzibah. It's also about planning a wedding that is sustainable and affordable. The book is full of fun ideas, personal stories, and checklists you might actually use. I think that it would be helpful in planning any kind of large event in which you don't want to break the bank, or your sanity.

"I like your shoes, miss..."

Right now, these are on my feet.

Yes, TOMS red, rope-sole slip-ons.

You know a shoe is popular when there's a backlash that says they're ugly (Crocs, I'm sorry, but you actually are ugly.)

My mom once mentioned a cool company where the founder was inspired by the children of the developing world, many of whom don't have shoes (wearing shoes is actually an important way to protect against disease), to start a company that would sell shoes and give shoes to children who need them.

I forgot about it until a friend of mine rhapsodized about her incredibly comfortable shoes - they were TOMS. So the next time I saw some TOMS, I tried them on.

I was hooked.

TOMS has a 1-to-1 giving policy. Every time someone buys shoes, they give a pair to a child. That seems so much more open-hearted than giving pennies or having a yearly charity drive. This quote about the importance of shoes really touched my heart, because the child I sponsor*, Barley, lives in Zambia:

“Shoes simply mean everything to a Zambian child. I am called a doctor today because of the shoes my father bought, which motivated me to keep going to school and to work hard. Shoes were and are still a luxury in this country…” – Dr. Fwasa Singogo, Zambia

Plus, OMFG (to quote the CW advertising department) they are seriously the most comfortable shoes on earth. I wish I could wear them all the time.

And they are NOT ugly. At least, seven-year-olds don't think so. Whenever I walk into a classroom - part of my job - and I'm wearing my TOMS, the kids say, "I like your shoes, miss!"

I can't even imagine the excitement that would ensue if I came in wearing these:

If you're stumped on Christmas ideas for someone, I highly recommend a pair of TOMS. One gift, happy feet around the world. What could be better?

*Another great gift: Sponsor a child through World Vision. They rate 4 stars on Charity Navigator, and are currently working intensely to relieve suffering in the Horn of Africa.

Everything's Perfect

I like simple things that do perfectly whatever they are designed to do.

Let's take scissors as an example.

Scissors are my sonic screwdriver. In my house, car, and office, it's rare that I won't have scissors to hand. Scissors in my glove compartment? Check! I need scissors for when Starbucks runs out of the small straws so I can cut the large ones down. Scissors next to the bed? Yes! When I'm knitting I need them to snip some yarn. Scissors in the bathroom? OK! Sometimes a wayward thread needs to be clipped from a sleeve.

Scissors. Small. Inexpensive. Perfect.

A few other little things make my list of perfect inventions: the 2 oz. angled measuring cup, tape, measuring prep bowls. Bobby pins have been climbing the ranks these days.

Add to that list: Everything Clips. My mom got me some for Christmas, and I think that everyone who is trying to be greener should have some on hand, because they make many other products unnecessary, thereby reducing consumption. They can also replace a lot of non-permanent adhesives. Everything Clips are sturdy clips that can clip all kinds of things, and they're good for big or small jobs.

For example, you open a bag. Then you want it closed. Of course, they have special "Chip Clips" for that, but why do you need a special item for that one task of closing a chip bag? And the Chip Clip is too big for closing smaller things. Then people buy small Chip Clips. Instead, Everything Clip can do the job.

Or, let's say you need a clipboard. But you don't have one. So you look in your backpack - and you have the piece of cardboard from the front of a crossword puzzle book, and an Everything Clip. Voila! They become a clipboard... and yes, of course that happened to me.

An Everything Clip can even hold back your hair when you're trying to create a style with your bobby pins.

I know, they might seem just like other clips (paper, binder, hair, Chip) but Everything Clips are all those clips rolled into one.

Favorite Gadget!

This looks:

a) slightly obscene,

b) like a medical device, or

c) all of the above

The answer is ...

d) none of the above!

It's a Kitchen Spritzer from Pampered Chef.

Before I met the Kitchen Spritzer, I thought my favorite kitchen gizmo was my 2 oz. angled measuring cup. And I still love you, 2-oz Angled Measuring Cup.

I just might love the Kitchen Spritzer more.

You see, there's nothing easier than using olive oil spray (PAM, or the equivalent) while cooking. Cooking-oil-in-a-spray-can is one of man's great inventions, along with fire, TV, and electric kettles. It's just ... wasteful.

That's where the Kitchen Spritzer comes in. It's a re-usable gadget that you can fill with the oil of your choice (olive, canola, sunflower, grapeseed, sesame ...), and then spritz to your heart's content! Just like the kind you buy at the store, only

a) real oil has calories and fat. Sorry, kids. Because it's natural.

b) you're not creating a bunch of garbage.

And that is A-Ok! (If this was an ad, a little twinkle would have just shimmered off my incisors)

Sprout Watches

When I was visiting my mom last week, she had the cutest little sport watch. It looked great with everything she wore and has the kind of simple design that doesn't go out of style.

It turns out, the watch is even better - it's a Sprout Watch! Sprout Watches are made out of eco-friendly materials. My mom's was made out of corn

resin. That means that it will compost if she puts it in the compost bin. Cool.

Sprout also uses organic cotton, mercury-free batteries (no neurotoxins!) and other earth-happy products. The fancier watches even have diamonds and mother-of-pearl - but all conflict-free and never from endangered species.

Another added bonus - they are incredibly reasonably-priced. Many are in the $20-30 range.

It's always fun to find a new product (and a good-looking one) from earth-conscious companies.

Weird and Wonderful Dr. Bronner

Does your soap share life lessons with you?

Mine does!

For about the last year, I've been using Dr. Bronner's Organic Castile Soap (in lavender). Castile soap is olive-oil based soap, and greenies everywhere tout the fact that it has few harmful chemicals and can be used to clean almost everything -- you, your hair, your baby, the floor, the bathtub, your laundry. (Click here for more about it's many uses.)

I was anxious to try it, but my first encounter didn't go well. It was a grocery-store brand, and it smelled like death.

I swore off castile soap until I visited my friends Sara and Ron, and they had some Dr. Bronner's in their shower. Yum! It smelled delicious. Not like death at all. When I got home, I got myself some.

You may have seen Dr. Bronner's at Target or the grocery store, and you might have dismissed it. It doesn't exactly jump out at you from the shelves. Dr. Bronner's is known for two things:

1) An incredible lather from only 2-3 drops, meaning that a bottle lasts a lo-o-o-ng time; and

2) The labels are covered with teeny-weeny writing. What does that writing say? Well here's a sample:

Yep. That's Rudyard Kipling's poem, If. Turns out Dr. Bronner was a bit of a kook. He believed in the "All-One-God Faith" and something he called the "Moral ABC". He used his soap labels to spread the word. Now, the labels are as famous as the soap.

All I know is, I love my Dr. Bronner's. The castile soap is great, but almost better is the hand sanitizer. While hand sanitizer isn't necessary for most folks (who really needs to contribute to antibiotic resistance in bacteria?) for someone who goes into random classrooms all the time, "hanitizer" is a necessity. Whenever I bust out the Dr. Bronner's, people say "Oh... that smells good!" as opposed to saying, "Oh... are you squirting gin on your hands?" Knock wood, I haven't gotten sick since I started using it.

Interested in hearing more about Dr. Bronner? Watch below:

Kindle-ing a Love of E-Reading

OK, there's no doubt, the greenest way to read is to go to the library and borrow books.

I'm not gonna lie. I don't do that.

Why? Mostly because I like to write in my books and go back to my favorite passages over and over again. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about how people learn to read and think about what they read, hunkering down with a book I can't write in just seems silly. Most of my books are read, re-read, loaned and loaned again. They get a lot of use.

(Plus I think library books smell weird. Yep. I'm shallow like that.)

On my recent vacation I didn't want to take a whole backpack full of heavy books, and I decided to put some of my birthday money to use by getting a Kindle.

As soon as it arrived, I was instantly smitten. It's light, attractive, and the display is amazing.

See:

Any blurriness is due to the fact that I took this picture with my phone. Still, pretty amazing, no?

A few advantages:

• You can carry around lots of books at once, duh.
• They have "Kindle Active" books (like crossword and puzzle books), so you're not wasting more paper with those. I do a lot of crosswords, so I'm saving paper this way.
• Magazines are available. Of course, the Kindle isn't in color, so some magazines wouldn't be as satisfying in this format. However, for text-heavy magazines like the New Yorker or Atlantic, this seems like a good option.
• The e-ink only uses power when you turn the page, so the battery can last for a LONG time (over 2 weeks). Hooray for using less power. Techie devices usually draw a lot of power (the iPad battery reportedly lasts up to 10 hours).
• The screen has a nice matte finish, and you can read it outside with no glare.
• Since books are downloaded directly to the wifi-enabled device, you're not driving anywhere to pick up books, nor are fossil fuels being used delivering them to your house.

But is an e-reader really greener? It may seem like it at first thought -- I mean, you're not using any trees, so it must be, right? But of course, the manufacture of an e-reader involves a lot more toxic materials than a book. I've read different estimates of how many books you have to read over the life of your Kindle to make an even ecological trade-off with printed books. These estimates vary from 22 to 100. (Here's an article about the greenness of e-readers vs. books if you want to know more).

So the key is, don't buy an e-reader if you're not already someone who likes to read. But if you are, I've found it to be a great option.

(And what am I reading right now, you might wonder? I'm glad you asked. I'm reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell and I LOVE IT. The Kindle doesn't have pages, of course, but there's a little bar at the bottom of the screen that tells you how much you've read so that you can get that satisfying feeling of making headway through a book. In two days I've read 34% of this book. Apparently it's 512 pages long in the printed version, but it flies by. Don't be intimidated by the length and David Mitchell's reputation as a literary trickster.)

Have other questions about the Kindle? Let me know.

Greener Kitty

So, Wily has never taken to green cat litter (like pine or newspaper). He's very picky about what's in his litter box. I use a perfume-free version, but it's still clay. While clay might be natural, extracting it from the earth can be harmful to the environment.

Luckily, I've found some great litter box liners. They are the "Gone For Good" brand (available at Target), and they are biodegradable. The nice thing about them is that they are actually the best, sturdiest brand I've ever found. I love it when greener products are actually better than their non-green counterparts.

Thursday Spa Day

It's Thursday!

Thursday? Why the exclamation point? you might ask.

I've decided that Thursday will be spa day for me. I'm a pretty low-maintenance girl. I wear make-up and comb my hair, but I've never cottoned to the beauty routines that a lot of girls swear by.

Take, for instance, mani-pedis. (No really! Take them! If my dad read this blog he would crack up). I have no desire to get one. I'm too ticklish to get relaxed while someone touches my feet or hands. I get bored easily and don't like to sit around. Hence, mani-pedis don't seem to be my thing.

But I do love nice nails and cuticles, and I do like to have a nice, fresh complexion (one reason to live in Houston, where the humidity acts as a natural anti-aging treatment). So, on Thursdays, when I sit back and watch Project Runway (where Portland's eco-friendly designer, Gretchen Jones , is doing two things to the other contestants: kicking their asses and annoying them) I'll have my own beauty night.

Of course, my spa day, just like a Project Runway dress made out of recycled bottles, must be eco-fabulous.

Nails

I have teeny-tiny little hands with the nails of a second-grader - scuffed and broken. I'm trying to look like an adult professional however, so I'm trying to institute a simple nail routine of filing and buffing. The little buffing block I use (which I bought from an Israeli girl at a mall kiosk) shines up my nails without any chemicals.

My nails, post-filing. Note how freakishly small my hands are.

I don't wear nail polish because I can't keep it unchipped, but I do like the way it looks. However, it's not Mama Earth's best friend. Nail polish, as you can tell by its toxic aroma, often contains weird chemicals. You can download a wallet card to tell you which brands are free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate. Just because a nail polish is free of these chemicals, however, doesn't mean it's toxin free. As always, the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database is a great place to look if you want to know the impact of the products you use.

Wily gets into spa day with some claw-filing.

Clean Face

My go-to facewash is ... Ivory soap! However, sometimes I like a deeper clean, so I go for Burt's Bees Pore-Refining Mask with French Green Clay (ooh la la!).

Burt's Bees ... since I've started this blog, Burt's Bees is my beauty company of choice. No, they aren't "the greenest", but they are the most consistent company I've found in terms of eco-impact, price, and effectiveness. Go Burt!

Moisturized Face

I don't need much moisturizer, due to the fact that the very air in Houston moisturizes my skin. When I do need something (as I did in our peculiarly dry spring) I like Burt's Bees Radiance Night Cream. It has royal jelly, which is something involving bees, and which I don't look into too much, in case I'm grossed out somehow.

Here's me, face completely stripped and clean. Not too bad, Burt's Bees!

What do you do to pamper yourself?

Snap ... Crackle ... Slurp

I don't think my friends would call me a materialistic person, but I do love well-designed stuff. It seems to me that there are few things in the world that really just do exactly what they were designed to do. Here are a few recent favorites:

Snap

I want to say just one word to you. Just one word.

Are you listening?

Plastics.

OK. When have you ever known me to say just one word? About anything?

That little quote from The Graduate expresses the hope that we once had about plastic. And it is a miracle invention. It allows us to make things like cell phones, cheap and clean syringes that save lives, and Barbie dolls (remember those wax dolls they had in the Little House books? Melty). But plastic has a down side. Plastic is usually made with petrochemicals (hello! BP oil spill!) and unfortunately, when heated, many types of plastics leach chemicals which are thought to be carcinogenic.

That's why I love my new Glasslock food storage containers:

They are glass, as you might assume from the name, but have airtight plastic lids that snap on. They are also microwave safe (remove the lid to avoid the plastic leaching) and dishwasher safe, which doesn't matter, since I don't have a dishwasher. They are also quite sturdy, as I've dropped them in the sink numerous times already -- and I've only had them for two weeks.

Crackle

But plastic has its place. Don't you just love the crackling, crinkling sound of a reusable shopping bag made of recycled plastic?

For example, a friend used this giant reusable bag (from Walgreen's) as a gift bag at my birthday.

It's made of 80% post-consumer waste, and it's so big that it makes a great multi-use bag. It can be used for shopping, beaching, or, if you're a cat - diving into.

Slurp

As a child raised in the Pacific Northwest, I was mainlining Starbucks mochas at an early age. You could probably fill a landfill with all of the paper cups I've used. In the last couple of years, I've gotten much better about using my "personal cup" (as the baristas call it), bringing my own coffee tumbler to Starbucks and my local independent coffee shops.

In the summer, however, I don't want a hot cuppa joe. I wanna icy drink to cool me off. And those don't fit into those reusable coffee cups. As the weather warmed up this year, I began to feel guilty because I was ordering iced drinks that come in clear plastic cups.

Then, voila! These appeared at Starbucks:

They are reusable cold cups. They are double-insulated, so your drink stays cold and they don't sweat all over your desk. And, I swear that drinks just taste better in this cup. Unfortunately, I couldn't find them online. You'll have to check out your local Starbucks -- the baristas have twice told me how popular they are.

Shampoo U

Do you remember the classic scene in Little Women when Jo sells her hair to pay for a train ticket and snotty little Amy says something like, "It was your one glory!"? Or do you remember that book - I think it's called The Holy Bible - in which Samson's power resides in his hair, and that crafty Delilah has only to cut it to render him a weakling? Or remember Rapunzel? Or ...

Yes, hair seems to hold a mysterious magic for cultures around the world. And in fact, one of the images of the green movement is a rude dude with a nasty ponytail that reeks of essential oils. For many years, I believed that to use green hair products meant to end up looking like that guy - stringy, dull-looking hair with an oil slick that would put Exxon to shame.

I tried green shampoos. I really did. But every time, it ended up being a waste of a plastic bottle. Here's what happened. Repeatedly.

Day 1: Oh, this new green shampoo might actually work. La, la, I'm happy.

Day 3: Hmm...

Day 5: It's noon. Why does my hair look as if I didn't take a shower? Argh! It's the curse of natural shampoo! I'm getting rid of that stuff!

Finally, I gave up. I just stopped trying. But when I made my "Year of Living Beautifully" resolution (to transition to beauty products that rate a 5 or lower on the Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database, which rates beauty products on a ten-point scale from low to high hazard) I knew I would have to buckle down and give the greener shampoos another try.

In researching, I've found that many "green" shampoos that have been recommended to me aren't actually green at all. For example, they might rack up a "high hazard" rating, or may contain sodium lauryl (or laureth) sulfate, which is known to be a skin irritant, and may have other health implications. SLS, as it's known, is what makes shampoo lather, and most of us feel that without the lather, our shampoo isn't working. So ... most of the green shampoos don't seem to work.

Very unscientifically, I went to the natural foods store, looked at the shampoos, and picked one that added volume and was cheap: Burt's Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate and Soy Shampoo. It's not the greenest shampoo ever produced, but it has a lower hazard (4) than many more expensive brands that are sold in the "natural" aisle (I won't name names, but you can go to Skin Deep yourself - I was pretty appalled to see the ratings on many popular brands) and is sulfate-free.

I actually started using it before the new year, and have now been using it for two months. Out of all the "natural" shampoos I've tried, it leaves my hair looking ... well, like I've actually washed my hair. My hair is exactly as manageable as I would like, and while, perhaps not quite as soft, I'm really happy with the overall result. My one tip, should you choose to try it out, is to make sure your hair is very wet the moment before you slap the shampoo on your head. This creates the lather that SLS would have created.

Now, if only a prince would climb up my hair ...

Eco-Chic ... or Geek?

No matter how important it is to produce less waste and use less energy, I still sometimes feel a bit like an outsider from "normal" society when I'm holding up the line at Starbucks to bust out my re-usable mug (which, let's face it, I forget as often as I remember. But I am trying). Being eco is chic if you're in Hollywood and can afford a Prius, but you can end up getting shot with eye daggers by the person waiting behind you at Safeway as you unroll all of your Envirosax.


Despite this fact, I've found a few great re-usables that I wanted to share with you. I think they're more chic than geek, and if they're not, well - who cares? The geek shall inherit the earth, right? Isn't that how the saying goes?


My friend Jenny gave out these fabulous portable flatware sets by To-Go Ware at her wedding:




The utensils are made of bamboo, which is renewable. I love that the set includes chopsticks, because eating grocery-store sushi with a fork is just no fun. And, even better, the set comes in this handy carrying case:

It includes a mini-carabiner so you can clip it to your backpack and make all the cool kids jealous.

Plus, it is such an awesome idea to give these out at a wedding, upending the tradition of giving the bride and groom flatware.

I have been trying to get into the re-usable mug habit when I go to Starbucks, although I admit, I find it difficult to remember the mug all the time -- I never know when the urge for caffeine will strike. To motivate myself, I got this personalizable mug, made by Aladdin.

Their website includes templates to which you can add your own photos, so you can change your mug with the seasons. It has a no-spill top, which is handy for klutzy types like me. And they have a few sizes, so you have a choice of whether you like your drinks tall or grande.

Now ... I just have to remember to take my re-usables home, so my desk doesn't start to look like my friend Edlyn's ...

Time to take those home and wash them!

MY Favorite Things

Eco-Conscious Gifts for $5 and Under

So, you know how every year, Oprah has her "Favorite Things" show, where she talks about great gifts and everyone goes into a screaming frenzy of commercialism? And since she's a kazillionaire, the things tend to be pricey -- like some Williams-Sonoma cupcakes for $59, even though you can, you know make cupcakes for a couple of dollars.

Well, I thought I would put together my own gift guide, but all of these gifts are eco-friendlier and cost $5 or less. Why so little? Because all of us need to have a few things on hand for hosts and hostesses, co-workers, and White Elephant gifts. And because I would like to get any of these things, even though they are cheap.

First up:

Method holiday hand wash - $2.99 at Target
Mrs. Meyer's hand soap - $4.49 at drugstore.com


People I know get a teeny bit obsessed with method's holiday-scented hand wash -- in fact, my friend Amanda uses it year round. The Mrs. Meyer's version ("Iowa pine") is pretty great as well. Both have extremely intense scents. Any hostess would love one of these with a ribbon around it.

Re-usable WWF Shopping Bag - $1.99 at Half-Price Books


This bag, featuring adorable polar bears, would make great gift wrap. It also does good. $1 from the sale of each of these bags goes to the World Wildlife Fund to help polar bears. They have other polar bear merchandise as well, including a calendar and note cards -- all under $5!

Red Heart Eco-ways Yarn, made from 30% recycled plastics, $3.29 at Amazon.com



Lots of knitters are snobby about acrylics, but since I'm allergic to wool, I can't be so choosy. Acrylic yarns are also getting much, softer, like this Eco-Ways yarn. It comes in a variety of colors, and is partially made from recycled plastic.

Various Organic Lip Balms, $1-5 at drug stores and natural groceries

I like to have chapstick everywhere -- in the car, at my desk, in my backpack. Regular chapsticks, however, often contain alcohol, which can actually dry your lips. These yummy brands are made with beeswax, cocoa butter, or other natural ingredients to keep your smile supple.

A song, $.99 to 1.99, at iTunes

When you give the gift of a song, there's no shipping, no packaging, and no CD's filling up landfills. You can also gift TV shows and movies, though those are more expensive.

And those are a few of my favorite things.

Mask

Halloween's over, but a girl can always use a mask - a clay mask.

My mom was a big fan of the clay mask once a week or so to tighten pores and clarify skin. When I was a teenager with bad skin, she recommended this type of treatement as well. But I have to say that lately it's been hard to find a good affordable mask. I don't know if it's just not the fashion anymore, or everyone now goes to a spa for their facials.

Luckily, I've found Burt's Bees Pore-refining Mask with French clay (ooh la la!). It runs between $8-10, and comes in a delightful little glass jar (perfect for future crafts -- tea=light holder anyone?)

The mask comes in a powder form, so you mix it with water to form a paste - which is a nice ritual - and then slather it all over your face, enjoying the minty smell as you do so. And of course, I love a product that does what it is supposed to -- and this mask does, tightening pores and making your face feel silky smooth.

Best of all, if you check out Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Data Base, this product receives a score of 2 (out of 10) for environmental and health hazards (that means low hazard). As a point of comparison, many of the masks listed on Skin Deep have hazard ratings of 8 or 9. And who wants an environmental hazard on their face?

Sweet Dreams are Made of ...

... my new organic cotton sheets.

It was time to retire the old ones, but I'd been resisting for awhile because they were pretty, purple with a chrysanthemum pattern. When it could not be denied any longer, I hit Target, hoping they would have something environmentally-friendly and affordable.

Finding goods made from friendlier fabrics has proved to be more challenging than converting to greener cleaning products or foods. Not only are they harder to find, they often cost more than I can afford. However, these sheets were around thirty dollars. There was not a huge selection of colors, but they had neutrals and pale colors that should fit with most decorating schemes.

Best of all, these sheets are delightfully soft - and for someone who likes to sleep as much as I do, that's a must-have.

There were also a selection of bamboo fiber sheets, but before switching to bamboo, check out Eco-Yogini's post on why bamboo isn't as green as you think it is.

Product Review: Paper That's Better Than Paper

You know that amazing feeling you get when you find something that so perfectly does what it's meant to do, and you're just amazed and excited by the miracle of human ingenuity? That's how I feel about paper clips and binder clips. They are meant to hold paper together. And they do. They hold paper together. They do it better than anything else (Sorry, staples! Go find something else to do, glue!) Aside from that, they are as aesthetically pleasing as you could ever hope for.

Well. If you love such things, have I got a find for you:


Stone paper.

I'll pause for a moment, while you exclaim "What the hell --!"

I was first introduced to stone paper by a new co-worker, Emilie. I couldn't believe it. Paper made from stone ... it didn't seem a) possible, or; b) practical.

Nevertheless, I had to have some, and I found my notebook at Walgreen's for about 2.99. There are those greenies who are able to go paperless, and I admire them. But I love paper almost more than paper clips. Notebooks, printer paper, newspapers, magazines. I love them all. My thoughts seem to flow better when I write by hand in a notebook.

I've done a little research, and it seems that stone paper is actually more environmentally-friendly than regular paper. I can't say I have every single fact, but here's what I've read (and if it's on the interwebs, it must be true):

• Stone paper doesn't use trees - obviously - and is made from calcium carbonate (limestone) which is one of the most abundant substances on earth, and can be made from limestone that's a by-product from other processes. And yes, it does take energy to produce stone, but regular paper also contains stone. Limestone is used to make paper smooth (who knew?), so regular paper uses trees, stone, lots of water, bleach, and other fun chemicals, while stone paper is limestone and resin.
• Stone paper, theoretically, can be recycled over and over again, though I don't know that there's any place that recycles stone. Regular paper can't be recycled infinitely. After awhile, the good stuff breaks down and it's no longer usable.
• Stone paper is so awesome, it's like the Homecoming Queen vs. Band Geek. Eric the Vampire vs. Vampire Bill. Jon Stewart vs. Rush Limbaugh. Stone paper will be elected student body president, get a full-ride to Dartmouth, and get a job that pays six-figures right out of college. Why? First of all, stone paper does what it is meant to do. It takes ink or pencil like a champ. Its smooth, creamy surface is delightful to write on. Your pencil might have an orgasm, stone paper is so amazing.
• Stone paper does more than it is meant to do. It is really strong:

I was able to stretch this piece of stone paper. It only rips on a certain axis. See? Awesome.

I accidently put my shopping list through the wash, and rather than breaking down and creating little feathers all over my clothes, the stone paper was still readable, write-onable, and perfectly usable. It does rip, but in a nice clean line. And it's pretty.

Anyone else experienced the joy of stone paper? Know some eco-facts that I don't? Let me know.

Apartment Cleaning Smackdown - Rounds 3 & 4

With a week off, I continued my cleaning odyssey, attempting to use as many green cleaning methods as possible, and being honest about how well I fared. Thursday and Friday were my last days at home before my real vacation started, so I had to get the house finished. Here's how it went (I've divided my story up into green, meaning the greenest cleaning methods I know; light green, meaning I used somewhat green, or commercially-prepared "green" products; and red, meaning I used conventional cleaners).

Round 3 - The BedroomHere's my side table. Dust bunnies gone. Dust owls? Hmm ...

The bedroom was really a replay of the living room, so I'm not going to say much about it. Dusting, sweeping, mopping. About a week ago I washed the curtains. And I had a whole rigamarole involving my bedding ... but you will be able to read about that tomorrow. So, without much further ado, let's move on to the bathroom, linen closet.

Round 4 - The Bathroom

This little table was hand-painted by yours truly many years ago, and has traveled hither and thither with me for years, even though it doesn't match anything in my house. Still, it's perfect bathroom storage for your recycled toilet paper (there's a little cubby underneath).

I have a teeny-tiny bathroom that has a lot of issues. The tile is buckling. The floor is painted wood and has cracks in it. The room is unventilated, and so tends to get mildewy. And since Hurricane Ike, when I vacated the premises for a couple of weeks due to lack of power in the 90+ degree September heat, I've had hard water stains in the sink that have been impossible to remove.

Nevertheless, it is a happy place, just perfect for my girly routines. The tile is cute aqua, yellow and pink. The linen closet is within arms reach of the sink, so I can get everything I need. The light is great in the mornings. All in all, I can overlook all of those issues.

See the cute tile? And the cute owl soap dish? Have I mentioned that I like owls?

But it had been awhile since I'd given it a good scrub from floor to ceiling. Here's how it went:

Green:

• I've been treating the mildew stains in the shower with undiluted vinegar (Seriously, I think vinegar can do anything). Each day I spray it on the grout where it is getting mildewed. This does seem to be working, albeit slowly. Because the cat loves to jump in the shower (as long as it's dry!) I'm leery of using more heavy-duty chemicals to get rid of the mildew, even though I know that mildew and mold are also bad for you.
• I dusted with my handy-dandy homemade rags!

Light Green:

• I used Seventh Generation Tub & Tile Cleaner to clean the tub, sink, and outside of the toilet. And yes, I've given Seventh Generation a hard time, from time to time, for putting greener products out there that don't work too well (paper towels, laundry detergent), which I think might deter some consumers from using greener cleaning products (Envision Betty Draper, ca. 2009, saying, "you know what, screw Bounty. I'm going to try this 'green' paper towel," then getting it home, finding it doesn't work, and swearing off "green" for the rest of eternity, believing it to be simply a communist ploy to get everyone in America to have a dirty house and begin the slide into becoming dirty hippies. It could happen). All this, however, is to say that the Tub & Tile Cleaner really works. It uses the ubiquitous "plant-based cleaners," and without more research, I can't tell you more even from the material-safety data sheets (and people are never going to go green if they have to do a lot of research before they buy something. They just aren't). The Tub & Tile Cleaner has a pleasant "emerald cypress and fir" scent, which I love because it isn't checmically, and also sounds like walking in a forest. Thumbs up.
• I used Clorox Green Works to clean the toilet. I know that many in the green community are pretty skeptical about the Clorox Green Works family of products, and some of my loyal readers (Thanks Mom and Melanie!) have disputed the effectiveness of the glass cleaner in particular. Treehugger.com has a very thoughtful article about these products. Click here to read it. I feel better about them knowing that the Sierra Club - of which I am now a member, yay! - has endorsed these products in an effort to make greener cleaning more available to more Americans.

Red:

• Here's where things got tricky. While organizing the linen closet, home to all of the health and beauty products I use rarely/never, I came across a conundrum I didn't know the answer to, and being computer-free for a week, couldn't research easily. There were a few bottles I threw away because, frankly, with my weak, post-sprain hand, I couldn't open them to clean them out and recycle. A few others contained medicine. I was going to just chuck the pills and recycle the bottles, but then my brain went into overdrive, thinking about the possums who eat the garbage in Houston, and how they might die from a mouthful of expired Zoloft. So I just threw the whole bottle away. They'll probably end up in some landfill, and the pills will stay in there until Wall-E comes along and decides to see what they are, and becomes a robot drug addict. However, it's what I did. Flog me now.

So, what are the results of the Apartment Cleaning Smackdown?

Greenest Clean: The kitchen! Cleaned almost entirely with vinegar, baking soda, and reusable towels, the kitchen is now Mother Earth's favorite place to come, hang out, and make martinis with organic herbs.

Reddest Clean: The bathroom! Read above to see why.

I enjoyed my super-clean apartment for one day, and then it was off on my vacation, where I will be hitting Spokane WA, Portland OR, and Long Beach WA. As I venture throughout my homeland, the Pacific Northwest, I'll certainly be taking pictures, looking for green happiness, and enjoying time with family and friends. You'll get to read all about it.