Archive for November, 2009

Notes on a Plastic-Free, Shopping-Free Holiday

Have you ever had so much fun that you completely forgot to take pictures? That’s what happens when the day is all about great food, friends, and silly games. Our friends Red & Jen (that’s them on the left) hosted a Thanksgiving potluck, and you know what? I didn’t see a lick of plastic. Okay, [...]

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Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day, & My Travel Mug

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This post is not really about today but tomorrow:  the day the media insists on calling “Black Friday.”  I’m choosing instead to honor “Buy Nothing Day.” And to celebrate Buy Nothing Day, I am not going to replace my lost travel mug. And I’m not just going to wait until Saturday to [...]

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You’ve Got Your Reusable Bottle. Now What?

Filling up your bottle from the kitchen sink is easy. But how about when you’re out in the world and need a drink? With water fountains disappearing and restaurants reluctant to fill bottles without a purchase, it’s sometimes frustrating to find drinking water for free. Enter a couple of web sites that can help. TapIt [...]

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Okay, So It’s Not the Cover of the Rolling Stone, But Still…

Have you ever written a letter to the editor? It’s something each of us could do, and with the Internet, it’s easier than ever.   So why was last month the first time I ever tried it? Oh sure, I leave comments on blogs and online newspaper web sites, but I had never sent a letter [...]

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Graze Organic Reusable Lunch and Snack Baggies

11/26/09: The winner of the Graze organic lunch bags is: school teacher Cynthia. I’ll have another lunch-related give-away next week, so stay tuned. Another day; another give-away. I told you there would be more from the SF Green Festival. As my roommate at the BlogHer conference this past summer, Mindful Momma Micaela Preston brought me [...]

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Year 3, Month 5 Results: 8.9 oz of Plastic Waste

In the past month, I have given up more than plastic. I actually have not had a sip of any alcoholic beverage in 31 days. And I haven’t had coffee in that length of time either. I stopped drinking black tea 2 weeks ago. At this point, the only caffeine in my life comes from [...]

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Say No to Fake Plastic Wishbones & Other Thanksgiving Waste

Fake plastic wishbones?  Around Thanksgiving time last year, I read a post by blogger Rejin from Urban Botany blasting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for promoting plastic Lucky Break Wishbones .  She wrote: Hasn’t PETA ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? They claim these wishbones and their packages are recyclable, [...]

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How to Survive the Green Festival

The Green Festival… this weekend was my third and probably best experience attending. I’ve read negative reviews of the Green Festival from green bloggers bemoaning that the vendor floor is so consumption-oriented and there is still so much plastic packaging and plastic products. Those comments may be valid. But you know what? The experience of [...]

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Practically Green Book Give-Away & DIY Challenge

11/20/09 Update: The winner of the Practically Green book is… (see below.) I first met Micaela Preston through the Green Moms Carnival. Her blog, Mindful Momma, is full of practical advice and Do-It-Yourself projects for living a more sustainable life. She was also my roommate at the BlogHer conference this summer, where she impressed everyone [...]

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HP Ink Cartridge Hack: Save plastic and ink

This will be a short post. More of a rant, actually. And hopefully useful to at least one person out there. Last night I discovered Hewlett Packard’s scheme to get printer owners to spend more money on ink cartridges: cartridge expiration dates. I have an HP Officejet 9110 that uses ink cartridges with expiration dates [...]

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