Skoy Happy Holidays Give-Away

After finding yet another PVC baby toy with a toxic chemical smell my new year's resolution is to continue my quest to make my home safer for my daughter...even if it means calling every manufacturer and hounding them til they tell me what is in their products...We have tried to go plastic free and will continue to do so...We have given up using plastic shopping bags and we will continue to take our canvas bags with us when we shop.We have only used glass baby bottles and plan to use stainless sippy cups.I would love to try these towels to cut down on our consumption of paper towels...you use to many of those not to care.I also want to see if there is a way to store cereal/grains in glass containers or ceramic rather than plastic tupperware.

I plan on making cheese in the coming year. Eventually moving on to really stinky cheese which is the best kind after all.

I have purchased enough second hand utensils and dishes that we should be able to have any sized gathering we want without needing any disposable dishes.

I'm going to make my own powdered HE laundry detergent - no more plastic bottles or scoops! Although I do plan on reusing the plastic scoop & box that came w/ my current box of detergent for my homemade stuff.For Christmas I gave my MIL 2 sets of stainless steel utensels (sp) that she can use for our large summer family gathering picnics instead of plastic. At least in the past she started washing and using the plastic utensils for the 14 people who attended.

I resolve to bring a reusable bag whenever i go grocery shopping. katch05(at)gmail(dot)com

Hey Beth!Already take my own utensils, though I use the bamboo ones, I would kind of like to switch to vintage silver, or stainless. Plus already do some of the others. Am going to start requesting anything I order in the mail be sent without plastic. And trying to find/make/buy shrink-wrap/clamshell free kid gifts.These cloths seem fab.sarah

I'm looking forward to ditching the Brita in the New Year. (And recycling the last filter, thanks to you!)I'm also ditching the credit card, a small but destructive piece of plastic.As an extra challenge, I'd like to try buying in bulk from a new store, and bringing juice in to work so I can avoid the little plastic bottles. I'd love to try out the cloths.Keep up the great work!Megan

My new baby step toward being plastic free is that I bought ( as my christmas present to myself), To-Go ware's bamboo utensils and wrap and a glass straw.That way when the nice waitress at our otherwise eco-conscious restaurant offers me plasticware I can say...."No thanks..I brought my own".

Hi, I just found your blog from Crunchy Chicken's Extreme Eco Throwdown page. I like your ideas!!!My big plastic-free change has been buying all of my milk from a local dairy, which I started doing about a month ago. I've noticed that my 'container' recycling has decreased by over half! (where I am, plastic containers, metal containers, aluminum foil, etc - essentially all recyclables that aren't paper, go together) I get my milk now in half gallon Mason jars, which I can reuse indefinitely (unless I drop one, that is!)I'd love to try these cloths you're touting!Cheers,Michelle (gardengirl)

I'm going to bring my home tap water to work instead of drinking out of the water cooler. I tried the work tap water for a week last month, but I couldn't get used to it. Our home tap water is fine, though.

Hi there and Happy New Year!I've been planning to make some additional changes this year, and here they are:Reduce the amount of garbage that we use by reducing the plastic wraps, baggies, childrens toys that are plastic or having plastic wrapping (that's going to be hard for my kids, but they will survive).Thanks for your inspiration!Jyotsna

2008 was a year of many changes for my husband and I. We started off small (switching to reusable grocery and produce bags and using reusable water and coffee containers), and are now in an intermediate stage of plastic consumption reduction. We've switched to bar shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant from Lush...I switched to cake mascara that comes in a metal tin (from T.W.I.N.K Beauty at Etsy)...we wrapped all of our Christmas presents this year in dishtowels (no plastic tape or bows!)...and we've just made an effort to put more thought into every single material item that comes into our lives in order to figure out how to make that item as sustainable as possible. Plans for 2009 include: growing our own produce (we just bought a house, so this will be my first gardening attempt since I was a kid--wish me luck!), cultivating our own mushrooms (to avoid the styrofoam/shrinkwrapped ones at the store), and experiments in making our own cheese. Beth, you are an inspiration and I point people to your blog all the time. Keep up the good work!

I would like to stop buying those silly HUGE plastic clamshells that croissants and grapes come in. Those are totally ridiculous. I already bring my own bags everywhere, but I want to sew some nice, lightweight bags for my produce. The grocery checker gives me "the look" when she sees my apples rolling down the conveyor belt not in a bag! I would love to know what you all are going to do in lieu of trash bags. Cheers! JenK

I have already made many changes, thanks in large part to your excellent suggestions! Here's some of what I plan for 2009:1. No more bottled juice. I will drink more water and squeeze my own juice when I want it.2. I will sew a bunch of draw-string bags to use for produce and bulk items.3. Bring my own plate, utensils, and water bottle wherever I go to avoid disposables for take out.

I'd love to try some Skoy cloths. I've been trying to move away from paper towels, especially the individually wrapped ones, and these will help a ton in that effort.

I hope that I am able to do more than this, but one definite on the horizon is making my own produce bags so that I don't have to take what the stores offer. I saw the Skoy cloths reviewed on another site, but hadn't realized they were biodegradable. I'd definitely love to get rid of the sponges that I use!

considering my hands haven't succumb to arthritis and the world is still drowning in plastic, i will continue what i have done for the past two years: creating art/fashion and reusable everything out of people's plastic trash. me, the nearest dumpster and my iron are still busy every day creating one of a kind wearable eco art. i would love to send you a free wallet or zippy, your site inspires me daily. www.lousupcycles.etsy.comviva la plastic revolution!!-cheers, lou

Just found you blog and am excited about the plastic issue. I have been carrying my cloth bag for years, however, not as conscious of all the other things I buy in plastic. I just finished a challenge of not spending any money for a week and now will challenge myself to limit my plastic. Would also love to try the Skoy cloths as my rags have seen better days! I am also going to try no more poo. Thanks for sharing your insights.sandy

I was inspired by a friend to purchase a reusable bamboo utensil set. I used to use plastic spoons and forks when eating lunch at work. Also, since I no longer use plastic bags from the grocery store, I use only biodegradable bags to scoop litter and dog waste. So this, along with the recycled plastic bottle grocery bags I purchased earlier this year, will definitely help me reduce my plastic use in 2009! Thanks for the great blog, my pets and I appreciate it.-Rochelle

I plan to make my own laundry detergent and fabric softner....so no more bottles. Also, when purchasing anything, I plan to guy items stored in paper rather than plastic.Cindy

I've been wondering how you liked the cloths since your original post about them. I'm glad they work as well as advertised and will have to finally buy some if I don't win any. One of the best plastic reducing changes we've made this year was to purchase a Sigg for myself and my stepmom and Klean Kanteens for my husband and my Dad. We all like them so far and they made great Christmas gifts. We started using ours a few weeks ago and are very happy with the results. No more reusing Powerade bottles around here - that really grossed me out!

Second attempt to post the full url for yesterday's Chicago Tribune article:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-plastic-free-satdec27,0,5147886.story

Hi from Chicago! I'm a fan of your blog and was tickled pink to see you quoted in the Trib yesterday. In an article that started on Page One--above the fold no less! Link to online version: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-plastic-free-satdec27,0,5147886.storyYou rock!Rochelle

I think one of the easiest changes to reduce the plastic in our lives has been my tote bags that I use instead of the plastic grocery bags from the store.But my new favorite change is my fabric produce bags that I friend made me for Christmas. I was plotting with her my idea for them, because the plastic produce bags were driving me crazy, thinking she would like to help me make a batch of them after Christmas and instead she made them for me as a gift. She even made a special one out of a fun asian print with french seams for my bulk rice and flour purchases.We also replaced the water bottles and thermoses with stainless steel ones.We have gone from plastic disposable baggies to plastic reusable boxes for lunches and I have since found one stainless steel box for lunches that came from Japan. Now I just need to find 2 more stainless steel bento boxes for the other 2 folks I pack lunches for.

I've been trying to phase out use of ziploc bags and plastic food containers and replacing them with glass containers, as well as trying to remember to bring them with me to store leftovers when I go out to eat. We bring cloth bags to the market and reuse plastic produce ones. Thanks for the chance to win and happy holidays! ccmailnc at yahoo dot com

Last year we decided to give up grocery sacks and we have done ok (not amazing, but we are really trying. This year I am hoping to find ways to purchase less plastic packaging at the grocery store.I grew up in a place where produce was unpackaged. Want apples? take them off the shelf andput then in a plastic bag or just in your cart. Now I live in a place where you buy artichokes all packaged up in styrofoam covered with plastic wrap. I am hoping to avoid purchasing produce packaged inthis manner, that is where I think I can make the biggest difference right now.

I am going to try and stop using plastic food storage containers. Last week I bought wide mouth ball canning jars and they are working well. When I can't use them I will continue to just put a saucer or dessert plate over a ceramic bowl. Still working it out... but refusing hubbies request to buy more plasticware!Jo

Thanks for prompting us to keep thinking about the stuff we use.about SKOY cloths - oh, I still have some lightweight diapers. That's what my mom used while cooking and camping, because they dry so easily (for those that didn't grow up folding diapers for infants, I'll tell you that you missed a chore and yes, we folded them differently for boys and for girls).

Hi,Since I started reading your blog I am even more committed to changing the way I buy things. I have already given up the plastic water bottles and use a reusable one. I am noew fully committed to always, I mean it, using a reusable bag when shopping. I am going choose items without plastic whenever posiable. Barbara

Paper towels and bulk food bags. My daughter and I gave each other reuseable bulk food bags for Christmas so my main challenge will be eliminating paper towels.

I'm going to stop bringing things in plastic bags in my lunch -- got some cloth bags that can be used for chips or fruit.

dear beth,we've made many changes already thanks to your education and inspiration filled blog! some new ones for 2009 include- using our new to-go-ware utensils instead of plasticware which i gave as gifts this year. also, we'll be trying out your chocolate syrup. the search for a hubby pleasing homemade granola is another project. also, i plan to try using bar soap rather than liquid dish soap for washing dishes by hand. (i already make my own detergent for the dishwasher.) looking forward to trying the skoy cloth as well. best wishes for the new year!becky

Its overwhelming the amount of plastic items there are out there that everyone uses on a daily basis :/ It'll be nice to once day be completely plastic free but for now I'm switching to metal water bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles. I'm making my whole family and I cloth produce bags to take to the grocery instead of using all those plastic bags people put their fruits and veggies in and I'm also switching to wheat litter for my kitties which is flushable so I am no longer using plastic bags to throw their "stuff" away in.

Greetings from Akron, a place that is infinitely more difficult to live plastic free than on the left coast, but we keep trying anyway. I'm buying recycled TP by the roll instead of by the plastic wrapped four packs from now on, although it is a longer drive to get to it.

Hi Beth--I think it was Maya Angelou who said that when we knew better, we did better. Your blog is helping me and my family know better, and hopefully we will do better. I have several green resolutions for 2009 but the biggest one is to resolve to never, ever take a plastic bag from a store, even if it means juggling my groceries out the door and into the car. I have all sorts of totes but they don't always make it back into the car.My writing partner makes beautiful reusable totes and she just added matching key rings. When I grab the keys hopefully it will jog my 47 year old brain into grabbing the bags as well. If not, well I'll be the woman looking ridiculous with an armful of groceries....Thanks for your blog and your amazing efforts. Suzanne

I plan on making my own shampoo and conditioner so that I don't have to purchase new shampoo/conditioner bottles. I've recently switched to using The Rock for deodorant and will also no longer be purchasing deodorant in a plastic holder.I'd love to try out the skoy cloths and see how well they work compared to another biodegradable-sponge product that works okay.

This coming year I'm swapping out my kitchen rags and scrubbers for biodegradeable. I'm also going to make some cotten bags for all the fruits/veggies and bulk items I buy at the health food store. I hate using those bags. I'm also going to start reusing the plastic bins I get the bulk peanut butter in. I'm washing them and taking them back in (when I get home the pb goes into glass). I like Tricia am also switching cat litter, from the stuff that come in big plastic buckets (although I reuse those buckets everywhere inside and in the garden). I'm switching to the World's Best Cat litter then I can also compost it.

I plan on not using plastic bags to buy small bulk foods like popcorn and granola.It took me a little while to figure out how to find a lightweight, reusable bag without holes. But I found a great bag and have ordered a couple.My fingers are crossed!

My change for next year will be to never take plastic-ware from fast food restaurants again. I'll do that with the help of my brand new to-go-ware dinnerware kit which I'm going to take along with me in my purse!

I'm getting rid of all my plastic food storage containers and going with glass and stainless steel. We even ditched out plastic electric kettle in favor of a glass one with a stainless steel heating element! We're also going to find alternatives to using plastic bags in our garbage can...but I don't want to use paper either. Any suggestions?

I would love to give them a try!

Hi,I am an Indian living in USA now.I am reading your blog for a queit some time now. I just want to share our way of living earth-friendly life.We don't use paper napikins, plastic bags. we give home made gifts to friends and family. Mostly every day is but nothing day for us as we rarely buy.Even my 4 year old son also loves simple living. His birthday is just a month away. For that he simply wants 2 candies. He says he doen't need more than that. For Christmas all he asked was tooth paste (becasue toothpaste is over) and tooth brush as gifts.

We long ago gave up paper towels so I am always in need of good towels :-) We have been reducing our plastic dependence slowly for the past few years-- milk in glass, using our own shopping bags, toilet paper wrapped in paper, make our own bread and yogurt, homemade cleaning supplies, re-usable water and coffee containers. Last year, I made produce bags/ bulk bags out of cheesecloth. Interestingly, this garbage reduction started six years ago when we decided to have a second child and cloth diaper her. I was completely appalled by how much garbage was generated by disposable diapers of our first, and my sis had mentioned cloth diapering-- something I thought had gone extinct with the dinosaurs.-Beth

Hi there! I've been reading your blog for quite a while. A friend linked you on her blog and I got intrigued because I've been trying to reduce our dependency on plastic. It's neat seeing what other people are doing! My biggest plastic "sin" is buying cereal which are encased in plastic and cardboard. The goal for next year is to buy cereal in bulk from the bins at our natural food store. The second goal is to figure out a way to get day-old bagels from a local bagel store without picking up what they have in plastic bags. We plan to ask them if we can leave a few cloth bags with them and they could stuff the day-olds in them for us to pick up every week or so. The plastic bags for these bagels pile up so quickly! Or we will learn to make our own bagels! =D

My kids (12 and 15) and I ate at a Chik-Fil-A the other night, when we got hungry while going some shopping. I looked at our tray and thought of your blog, which I recently started reading. I told the kids about the Pacific Gyre, and how the plastic elements on the tray in front of us had been useful to us for only a few minutes, but would exist in the environment and in the ocean for centuries. DD12 talked about the trash generated in her public school's lunchroom, where 87% of the kids qualify for free lunches, and all of the food comes in plastic and tinfoil. We calculated that they throw away 72,000 plastic sporks each year. One school.In that one conversation, the kids became more aware, and DD15 is working on an article to post to her hundreds of friends on FaceBook. She encountered a little resistance when she could not find a satellite photo of the Trash Vortex - but she is assembling reliable reports from various sources to overcome disbelief.We agreed that when we need to eat out in the future, we will only buy the parts of meals that don't come in plastic, and avoid restaurants that use styrofoam containers. Sandwiches and fries tend to come in paper. We already carry reusable bottles that don't require straws.

I plan to take our own takeout containers when we go out to eat, This is a big one for us. Thanks for all of your inspiring thoughts.

We have a whole list of changes we are going to make this year. Small things first. We are going to stop buying beverages in plastic water bottles, and learn to make our own electrolyte replacement for working out. Also, make a very conscious effort to buy products with less plastic packaging.

Very cool giveaway! Next year, I'm going to be pushing hemp yoga mats on new yoga peeps instead of the traditional rubber/plastic ones. I'm going to be more aware of packaging in general, and focus on cutting down, the REDUCING part of reduce, reuse and recycle. I'm planning on continuing to blog about challenges, ideas and processes of reducing plastic in the hopes of helping others do the same.Thanks for everything Beth! Happy Holidays to all.....

Hi Beth,I'd really like the Skoy cloths because I haven't seen these here. This coming year, I am planning on making my own non plastic bottle washers out of copper wire and rags fabrics. I have a lot of bottles and graduated cyclinders to wash, and I'd like to wash them without so much alcohol and rinsing, which I have to do because my *ugh* plastic bottle brush doesn't reach. My bottle brush is reaching the end of its tragic life after 14 years, so a set of graduated non plastic bottle brushes is in order.Keep on inspiring!Love & RRRevolution, Tracey

I'm going to grow my vegetable garden from seeds this year rather than buying small plans which generally come in plastic pots.Jenn