New Recycling - CFL and Bottle Caps

This subject isn't necessarily glamorous or design worthy, but it does add to a conscientious home philosophy.

I feel so fortunate to live in an area with great advancements in recycling and composting. Through the efforts of our city and within our home, our weekly garbage pick-up is minimal.  And as is typical in our home, it's become a competition to lessen the amount of trash each week. We are able to compost kitchen scraps, pizza boxes, meat and fish bones, and more in the yard waste container. Cardboard, plastics, paper, glass, etc. all go in our recycling bin.

Recently I've found 2 more ways to recycle:

1. Many Bartell locations have free CFL (compact flourescents) recycling. CFL bulbs should not be placed in your regular trash due to the mercury in the bulbs. My bulb bin in the garage usually awaits the quarterly "hazardous waste dump days". Now these items can be taken directly to Bartells.  For more info:

http://www.bartelldrugs.com/press/CFLRecycling.html

Or google "CFL recycling in your area".

2. Aveda will recycle plastic caps!  Now I know it seems that we need a set of instructions for mindful recycling these days. And one of the rules of recycling is that plastic lids on items need to be removed. Many of those lids now have a place to go:  AVEDA!

For more info:

http://www.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.tmpl?ngextredir=1

Be sure to print the cap collection guide for easy reference.

And if competitiveness doesn't inspire you to ramp up your recycling, simply envision "THE VORTEX":

Do you have any other recycling tips? Does your community offer great ways to recycle? I would love to hear more!  Thanks for stopping by.

The Vortex

Plastic Vortex in Pacific
As a mother of teens, there are many things that keep me up at night. And though I am known as a bit of a worry wart, you might not expect that I worry about the "plastic vortex", that swirling mass of plastic, roughly the size of Texas, assembled in the Pacific Ocean. My walking friend can attest to my obsessive litter pick-up as I mutter about the vortex.

We can all pat ourselves on the back for our great habits regarding reusable canvas bags for shopping trips. Now it is time to take our habits to another level. As my plastic consumption awareness has grown, I look for more alternatives, most recently these durable (and reusable) polyester bags for produce.

While my local PCC Natural Market sells these bags in various sizes in their produce section, they are not available in most mainstream grocery stores. At ReusableBags.com, a set of 5 bags will cost you $10.95, keeping countless produce bags from landfills and possibly the "vortex".

If you have other tips regarding reduction of using plastic items, please share! Thanks so much for reading this post. I hope this inspires you to adapt and change another habit and pass it on to others.

Salvage Yard Finds

In a previous post: Salvage Scavenger, I discussed my favorite salvage yard. As a follow up on that post, I decided to share some of the many items I have found and used throughout my home, all salvage yard items from 2nd Use in Seattle.


Additional front door that has a screen or storm insert to change with the seasons. This was my husbands pick. While the storm door option doesn't offer much draft protection the look and sound of a good old screen door nods to his Kentucky upbringing.


This purple locker isn't pretty but it sure is useful. Housed in the garage it holds lots of running shoes. I remember buying this 14 years ago for $30! They currently charge up to $150 for lockers as they have become a popular item.


I love this cute little mailbox. I spray painted it and hung it in the entry way. There isn't anything in it and I don't use it at all, but couldn't resist the scalloped edges!



The yellow magazine rack was found just when the kids were going to elementary school. It has always been the perfect spot to place all of those school forms and projects for safekeeping. I didn't even paint the rack, just cleaned it and added the metal hardware.


For $10, metal gym baskets are endlessly useful and usually available. I keep gym supplies, cleaning supplies, towels or reusable grocery bags in some of my baskets.

Hope you enjoyed viewing some items I have saved from the salvage yard. I hope to have more to post about 2nd use soon.

Thanks again for taking a look!

Community Supported Agriculture

Photo Courtesy of Seattle Farmers Market Examiner

Today, my sister-in-law, Wendy, blogged about volunteering: SimplyBrookes.blogspot.com. Her post had me thinking about the volunteer time I spend each summer at Root Connection in Redmond.

Root Connection is a 14 acre CSA farm located near the Sammamish river, just a few miles from my home. CSA members purchase "shares" in the farm's bounty from June to October, and get the satisfaction of reconnecting to the land by eating local, chemical-free food. Members are also able to harvest herbs, greens and flowers on their pick up days.

On my first visit to Root Connection, I was drawn to volunteer. Beautiful produce growing in a river valley so close to home with flowers, herbs and greens (swiss chard, mustard and collard greens) to harvest, meshed with my homesteading nature.

Field work at Root Connection isn't easy, you are harvesting, hauling, weeding, and cleaning, all while trying to keep up with experienced employees. My goals in volunteering were to learn about organic farming, be introduced to different seasonal produce and of course, meet new people.

Look for the opportunity to volunteer or become a member of a CSA in your area. You will be helping to protect farmlands from development, supporting small farms and providing your family with delicious fresh produce. And, as I have, you will come away with a bounty of knowledge, discovery and new found appreciation for real food.

Salvage Scavenger

Today the kids have a track meet way over in West Seattle. I am happy to head out on that long journey because we will drive right by one of my favorite salvage yards along the way: Second Use.

I have been scavenging my way through 2nd Use for close to 15 years now, we are so lucky to have this salvage yard in Seattle. They salvage materials from construction sites throughout the area and place them for sale in their giant warehouse. In the past, it was necessary to show up and hunt through their thousands of items to find a gem. A couple of years ago some genius employed by Second Use, has revamped their website and you can now search for items prior to leaving your home. It's so useful to view items online as photos and measurements are included in the description. Also the warehouse is cold, damp and filled to the rafters with materials...overwhelming. Entering with a list in mind makes the experience more enjoyable.

I am redoing a guest/office bedroom and thought the finds in the photos might make great additions to the room:

• A giant chalkboard above the computer desk - I would probably repaint with magnetic chalkboard paint for multi-use. It is only $55!
  
• As a closet cubby, the $10 yellow shelf might be a steal (I am pondering a gray, yellow, white color theme).
• There are a lot of useful looking school cabinets inventoried, this one stood out because of the perfectly sized drawers for storing photos, paper, kids art, etc.
• And finally, the bamboo cafe table looks promising, a small side table is always in need in any room. It may need a fresh coat of stain, but I love the proportions. ($45)

Off to the salvage yard and then the races, I will bring my camera and let you know what I find!

Finishing Touch

While I don't tend to stock up on seemingly unnecessary cleaning supplies, I can't live without a scented countertop spray. Nothing seems to say "the kitchen is sparkling clean", more than a spray and wipe down of the counter tops. Most sprays are all-purpose and safe to use on non-porous surfaces. Method, Williams & Sonoma and Caldrea sprays are earth friendly and come in a number of scents. My current favorite is pink grapefruit.

Method - Target: $2.99

Willams & Sonoma - $9.99

Recycle

Ceramic Compost Pail, Williams&Sonoma
When it comes to recycling, we live in a great city. It's is made easy by city efforts, it gets done because they make it doable. Curbside recycling has been a way of life in our household for years. Last year the city upped the ante by adding food scrap recycling. Food scraps are collected right from our yard waste bins and are then composted with yard debris. I probably should be making my own compost, recycling scraps in a compost pile. I tried, it didn't work for me. I hated the giant black container, I could never figure out what they were referring to regarding the correct ratio of organic materials. Oh and I could never "stir" it.

Curbside scrap recycling works for our family, it has reduced our trash by 30-40%. We are now used to throwing scraps in our container, not in the trash or garbage disposal. Recycling this way has a huge impact on our environment, it is simple and practically free. (Though not necessary, I purchase the biodegradable bags -$4 for 25 bags, the process is less messy with the bags).

Most cities have or will be implementing mandatory scrap recycling laws. San Francisco boasts a self-imposed goal of a 75 percent recycling rate in 2010, with zero waste by 2020! Be wise about waste and join in now.