Mindful Momma

Cool Eco Crafts on Pinterest

Are you a Pinterest fanatic yet? It's hard not to be when there are so many cool things to discover.

I've been getting a lot of visitors to my blog via Pinterest so I thought it would be nice to return the favor and share some of the blogs behind some of my favorite pins. These are from my Eco Crafts Pinterest board:

Zakka Life shares a fun coin purse made out of a yogurt lid. I have tons of fabric scraps and plenty of yogurt lids just waiting for a project like this. Wouldn't this be a fun gift for the kids to make for Grandma?

If this isn't the sweetest homemade craft ever, I don't know what is! Kristen from Bloesem Kids used stamps made from okra to create these hand-stamped gift tags. Now if I could only get my kids to eat the okra too!

This soda bottle jewelry stand is just brilliant! Jen from EPBOT even provides a tutorial so you can make one yourself! Since I don't typically buy bottles of soda myself, I'd have to go dig through someone else's recycling bin to get the bottles. I'm highly tempted.

Have you found any good eco craft ideas on Pinterest?

 (Images used with permission)

Easy Eco-Tip: Buy Meat from the Butcher

Every time I come home with something in styrofoam I just cringe. Styrofoam (or polystyrene) is one of the worst plastics around. Not only does styrene, the building block of styrofoam, cause brain and nervous system disorders, but the icky material does not biodegrade and is rarely recycled.

One place where styrofoam sometimes creeps into my life is when I buy meat at the grocery store. Ready-to-buy packages of chicken breasts, pork chops or other meats almost always have a styrofoam tray on the bottom.

What can you do to avoid styrofoam in meat packages? Buy meat at your local butcher or the meat counter at your grocery store or food co-op. They will wrap it up in butcher paper instead. Not only do you skip the styro but I'm betting that the meat's fresher too. Win-Win!

I'm trying harder to avoid styrofoam and buy meat packaged in butcher paper - how about you?

(Image credit: cafemom via flickr)

Mumi & Bubi Solids Starter Kit Makes Homemade Baby Food Easy

Back when I was in baby food making mode, I put my concoctions in any old container I could find, from ice cube trays to reused commercial baby food jars. That worked for me but I have to admit it would have been nice to have a smoother system for storing my precious purees.

Enter the Mumi & Bubi Solids Starter Kit™. The Solids Starter Kit™ is a simple but smart system for freezing homemade baby food that makes the whole process just a little bit easier - exactly what what a sleep deprived parent needs!

Each kit includes 2 high-quality freezing trays with lids and a link to a step-by-step eguide with 27 baby food recipes. Here's what makes the Mumi & Bubi's Solids Starter Kit™ better than traditional ice cube trays or random jars:

• Made from non-toxic polypropylene - certified free of BPA, phthalates and PVC. (FYI - lids on conventional baby food jars are often coated with plastic containing BPA)
• Trays have lids to keep food fresh and free of freezer burn - unlike ice cube trays.
• Grooves in top of lid makes trays easy to stack on top of one another.
• Trays are top-rack dishwasher safe.
• Cubes pop out easily without twisting and digging.
• Each tray makes 21 (1-oz) cubes - the perfect serving size for baby!
• When baby food stage is over, use for freezing homemade pesto, soup stocks or smoothie treats!

I'm thinking this would make a perfect baby shower gift for a new parent. The Mumi & Bubi Solids Starter Kit™ is available online for a special price of $25.

Did you make homemade baby food for your child? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

(Full Disclosure: I received a free Mumi & Bubi Solids Starter Kit in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Eco-Crafty Roundup

I've been finding so many wonderful eco-craft ideas around the blogosphere lately! I just have to share....

Julie from Julie Ann Art compiled a bunch of ideas for recycling old t-shirts - ranging from beautiful t-shirt scarves to a pretty pillows and some handy dishcloths.

EcoMomical Me shares a very smart repurposing idea: How to turn a plastic clip hanger into a chip clip. So smart!

Tiffany from Nature Moms gives us some ideas for Halloween crafts made from recycled metal cans. Also check out some of my past posts about homemade Halloween costumes, green Halloween parties and craft ideas.

Jennie from My Sweet Greens and Inhabitots shows us 5 Easy Craft Projects that Reuse Orange Juice Containers. Such fun and creative ideas!

Have you made any eco-crafts lately?

(Hey crafters - I've linked this up to the Do Something Crafty Friday roundup over at The Crafty Nest. Stop by to see even more cool, crafty ideas!)

BlogHer Faves

Once again, I had a fantastic time at the annual BlogHer conference. Thanks to my sponsor Juice Beauty for helping me out with expenses this year. It's easy to promote a brand that I use and truly believe in!

I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite things from my trip:

Fav Connections - The wonderful green blogging pals that I got to hang out with. Many of them I met for the very first time!

Standing: Amber - Strocel.com, Micaela - Me!, Mary - In Women We Trust, Lori - Groovy Green Livin

Sitting: Katy - Non-Toxic Kids, Beth - My Plastic-Free Life, Harriet - Climate Mama

Fav Session - Connecting with Brands from the Inside Out with Susan Getgood, Amie Valpone and Maya Bisineer. It helped me to frame the way I want to work with brands in the future. Promoting small, sustainable brands is a true passion - now to make a living at it! :)

Fav Party - I have to say it's a tie: the Haute Green party put on by Calley of The Eco Chic was full of friendly green-minded folks and the official BlogHer party Sparklecorn - where we danced to 80's tunes into the wee hours!

Fav Expo Booth - Paper Culture - This wonderful card and invitation company prints everything on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. And the designs are crazy cute!

Fav Swag - Dr. Weil's Orthaheel Sandals - Who am I to pass up a free pair of sandals that help improve balance and posture?

Fav Advice - "Find the intersection of what people want/need and what you are passionate about and make that the focus of your blog." Such smart advice. You may even see a survey or two coming your way so I can find out what you, dear readers, really want from this blog....

Fav Food - riceworks gourmet brown rice chips. Now this is my kinda junk food...and the company operates green in many ways!

Fav Perc - Roomie Beth scored a corner hotel room - two walls of windows overlooking the San Diego harbor!

Least Fav Thing - The plastic, disposable plates! Last year we dined on reusable dinnerwear - this year it was plastic. What gives BlogHer? Beth and Amber were true eco-champions - they saved and reused their plastic plates for every meal.

 

Did you go to BlogHer? What were the highlights for you? Was there anything you would like to see change?

A Greener Dry Cleaning and Laundry Service Experience

Long before we got hitched, my husband knew that I wasn't going to be the type of wife who would iron his dress shirts.  Thank goodness, he married me anyway.  So about once a week, my husband hauls his shirts in to be laundered. That plus the occasional dry cleaning, means that we are pretty regular customers at our local environmentally-friendly dry cleaning & laundry business. 

How do we make the whole experience greener?  Here are a few tips:

• Avoid PERC - Traditional dry-cleaning services use a scary sounding chemical called perchloroethylene (commonly known as PERC) to do the job. It's a volatile organic compound (VOC) and a "probable human carcinogen".  Fumes are harmful to inhale and it's an environmental toxin as well.
• Go Green - Opt for a "greener" dry cleaner that uses non-traditional methods such as carbon dioxide (C02), professional wet cleaning or liquid silicone.  For more info, see this helpful chart comparing various dry cleaning methods.
• Skip the Plastic - Invest in a Green Garmento or similar reusable laundry bag.  Use it in duffle-bag mode to carry your clothes to the store.  Then the cleaner will use the Green Garmento as a hanging garment bag to protect your clothes - eliminating the need for plastic!  Most dry cleaners are happy to accept them.  My husband is a convert!
• Recycle hangers - Most dry cleaners take back hangers - so just do it! 
• Hand wash - Even when the label says dry clean, you may be able to carefully wash the item by hand.  Read Annie Bond's excellent tutorial for how to wet-clean silk, wool and rayon.

{Full Disclosure:  We received a free Green Garmento bag for review.  After trying it out, we promptly headed to the store and bought another!}

Mindful Momma Giveaway: SodaStream Penguin

Here's a crazy stat for you:  In 2009, Americans spent over $10 billion on bottled water.  $10 billion!!  And they paid up to 1000 times the cost of tap water.  On top of that, Americans drink roughly 50 gallons of soda per person per year.  Now that's a huge amount of money and a huge amount of plastic bottles and cans ending up in the landfill - because remember, the recycling rate is still only 25 - 30%. 

As daunting as that sounds, most people still aren't willing to give up their water & soda habit completely.  Fortunately there is a way to clean that habit up quite a bit....

Enter the SodaStream. With a SodaStream, you can make your own fizzy water and soda using tap water in reusable bottles. Low cost, no waste....what's not to love?  Sure, there's the initial cost for the machine.  But with the basic model starting at $80 bucks, it wouldn't take long for a regular soda buyer to recoup their cost.

We don't drink much soda around here but hubby and I are big fans of sparkling water.  We typically buy it in cans which we dutifully recycle but still, it's a use of resources that would be nice to avoid.  When SodaStream approached me about doing a review, I was more than happy to oblige - with the goal of kicking my cans for good!!  And my boys were ecstatic about having a soda-maker in their own home!!

The SodaStream is surprisingly simple to use.  Fill a bottle with tap water, screw it into the machine and press the button on top 3 times to carbonate.  Done!  If you want to add flavor you do it after the water is carbonated.  For those not interested in traditional soda flavors, SodaStream developed a new line of Sparkling Naturals flavors - which are free of preservatives and artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners.  They also carry a line of flavor essences which are all-natural and unsweetened (personally, I love these the best!) While we've had a lot of fun making soda - it's still a special occasion thing.  I don't want my kids drinking the stuff every day!

Want to win a SodaStream and give up the cans and bottles?

SodaStream has generously offered to give away a Penguin starter kit to one super lucky Mindful Momma reader (a $200 value)!! The cool thing about the Penguin model is that it comes with glass bottles instead of plastic.  Super-durable glass bottles - so there's very little concern about breakage.  I wish I could say that I've tried the Penguin but the company sent me a regular model by mistake and I didn't want to raise a fuss.  (The plastic bottles in the basic model are BPA-free and I really think they're safe to use - I just would have preferred the glass)

For a chance to win, leave a comment letting me know why you would like your very own SodaStream Penguin.  Extra entries for subscribing to Mindful Momma by RSS feed or email and following me on Twitter (three chances total per person - leave a separate comment for each).  The giveaway will run through midnight, central time on Monday, February 7th.  Good Luck!!

{full disclosure:  I received a free SodaStream machine for review purposes.  The opinions are my own.}

And the winner is....Stacey who said "I would love one - we actually don't drink soda but we fizz up fresh squeezed fruit juice a lot and I have been trying to talk my husband into letting me get one so we don't have to recycle all the water bottles (fizzy - not regular bottled). I feel like next to a water filter this would eliminate about the last of the bottles that come into the house - plus it would be fun to come up with new drinks to try."

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: A Tedx Event

My friend Beth Terry, of Fake Plastic Fish fame, is participating in a TEDx Event called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in Los Angeles TODAY - Saturday, November 6th, 2010.  For those who don't know, TED events are all about Ideas Worth Spreading. The topics are widespread with the joint goal to create world-changing ideas and initiatives.  TEDx events are independently organized events but with the same spirit but smaller groups.

The purpose behind the Great Pacific Garbage Patch event is to start a global conversation about the plastic pollution crisis and the dire need to clean it up.  There are lots of smart speakers participating in the day-long event, including Ed Begley Jr, Sylvia Earle, Van Jones and Beth of course, who will be speaking about living a plastic-free life. 

You can watch the live-streaming video in the player below:

Watch live streaming video from tedxgp2 at livestream.com

 

Beth is quite an inspiration to me.  I've roomed with her twice at BlogHer and through her I know the meaning of dedication. I'm so proud of her for being involved in this important global discussion! 

Even if you don't have time to watch the event, you can sign the REFUSE campaign to refuse single-use and disposable plastics. 

Let me know what YOU do to reduce plastic in your life!

8 Ways to Reduce Waste at Home

Here's a question for you to ponder today: 

How low can you go? 

No, I'm not talking about doing the limbo, I'm talking about garbage here folks!  How low can you get your garbage output to go?  A really obvious way to see the results of your green efforts is to pay attention to the amount of garbage you kick to the curb each week.  Depending on where you live, you might be able to switch to a smaller garbage can or even go down to one garbage pickup a month.  If you pull that off, you'll not only be going green, you'll be saving green!  Even if you don't change your pick-up service, you'll probably save money by trying some of these low-waste ideas:

Buy Reusable, Not Disposable - Invest in durable, reusable products instead of wasteful disposables.

• Microfiber or cotton cloths instead of paper towels and disposable wipes.
• Rechargeable batteries instead of traditional.
• Reusable tableware and utensils instead of the throw-away type.
• A glass straw instead of one-use plastic straw.

Buy Products with Less Packaging - Reduce the amount of packaging waste you throw out by simply not bringing it home in the first place.

• Forget all those mini packages of snacks you see at the store.  Buy a big box or bag and send it to school in reusable snack bags.
• Purchase meat wrapped in butcher paper instead of packed on un-recyclable styrofoam trays.
• Avoid food sold in big plastic clam-shells.  There is usually an alternative way to buy the same product with less packaging.
• Look for concentrated versions of cleaning products that come in smaller bottles.
• Buy food in bulk to reduce packaging waste.

Refill It!! - Fill up an old container instead of buying a new one.

• Bring jars or bags from home to fill with nuts, seeds, beans, flour, granola and more from the bulk bins.
• Pay a deposit on a glass milk jug and bring it back to be refilled when you are finished.
• Purchase cleaning products that offer refill packets (like Green Irene or Simply Neutral)
• Look for refillable beauty products like shampoo, lotion or liquid soap at your local co-op or health food store.
• Refill printer cartridges instead of buying new.

Repurpose - Use something you already have instead of buying something new for the job.

• Old t-shirts and towels become absorbent rags.
• Plastic yogurt tubs are great for holding crayons, paintbrushes, nails etc...
• Keep shoe boxes for storing old papers or favorite mementos.
• Egg cartons are perfect for separating craft supplies.

Compost Food Waste - Turn food scraps into valuable dirt for your garden!

• Start small with a kitchen composter.
• Find an outdoor space for a compost bin or tumbler.
• Let worms do the work!
• Read my post on composting for more info!

Recycle Everything You Can - Go beyond curbside recycling and commit to recycling as much as you can.

• Office supply stores often take printer cartridges and old cell phones.
• Turn in old sports shoes to participating REI and Nike stores
• Fundraising programs like Terracycle.net take used drink pouches, yogurt cups and snack packages and turn them into useful household products.
• Bring dry cleaning bags & hangers back to the dry cleaner.
• Donate old pillows and blankets to the Humane Society.

Be Prepared - Keep reusable items in strategic places to keep you from wasting even more.

• Take a reusable water bottle with you everywhere you go!
• Carry a compact shopping bag in your purse or briefcase.
• Keep reusable grocery bags in your car (no excuse for forgetting them at home!)
• Store reusable utensils and a cloth napkin at your desk or in your car.
• Keep empty food storage containers with you for when the take-out bug strikes.

Be Selective - Don't take it if you don't need it!

• Pass on freebies that you really won't use.
• Think twice before you buy.
• Don't buy it just because it's cheap!

What other ideas do you have for reducing your waste at home?  

Note:  Many of these ideas are expounded upon in my book Practically Green: Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making.  Pick up a copy for yourself to learn more!

(Full disclosure:  there are affliate links in this post.)

 

The Mindful Momma's Guide to Food Storage

Uh, oh.  I smell trouble.  The topic for the Spring Cleaning: Get the Junk Out carnival this week is about getting plastic containers out of your kitchen.  And my friend Beth @Fake Plastic Fish is hosting.  She doesn't have plastic containers in her kitchen. I do.

Not as many as I used to though.  Over time, as my plastic containers have cracked or lost their lids, I have tossed them and replaced them with more environmentally-friendly storage containers.  Here's what you'll find in my kitchen cupboard - keep in mind, there are pros and cons to each of the options:

• Glass - Heavy-duty glass containers like Pyrex are both microwave and freezer-safe but not all glass is that durable.  Be sure to check the label for usage advice. Glass containers are odor-free and clean up easily but can be a bit on the heavy side to carry to and from work or school.  I'm not comfortable sending glass containers in my kids' lunchbox and I notice that my husband doesn't take them to work either.
• Stainless Steel- Lightweight, durable and non-reactive, stainless steel is the superhero of food storage containers. The biggest drawback is that they are comparatively expensive.  My favorite stainless food container costs about $15 and you could buy a boatload of plastic containers for that.  My suggestion is to look for them on sale or put them on your holiday wish list.  My Mom gave my husband one for Christmas last year! 
• Ceramics - Make your dinnerware do double duty by acting as food storage containers too!  A salad plate makes the perfect lid on top of a cereal bowl.  I have a lot of ceramic ramekins that I use to store small amounts of food or sauces in the fridge.
• Plastic- If you already have plastic containers, I say keep on using them until they are cracked or badly scratched.  Just make sure they are BPA-free.  Polycarbonate plastic (the kind that has BPA) is hard, clear plastic that may or may not have a #7 recycling code on the bottom. Plastics #2, #4 and #5 are generally considered safer for food  storage. And remember, don't use plastics in the microwave!  Even though the company may say a container is microwave safe, heat causes chemicals to leach out of plastic and that's not a good thing.

Although I still use some plastic containers in the kitchen, I am inspired by Beth's commitment to live as plastic-free as possible.  Please read her post and other links about the topic as part of the Spring Cleaning: Get the Plastics Out carnival this week! 

Update:  after reading Beth's post I discovered she does still have plastic containers in her kitchen.  She just doesn't use them for food anymore. :)

What kind of containers do you use for food storage?  Are you completely plastic free, stuck on plastic or somewhere in the middle like me?