Eco-ornaments

Need some last minute quick gifts? Get some citrus and get cracking. One of the first ever eco-gifts I made was a scented ball for my mom's closet. Grab an orange. Poke it with cloves - free-form or in a pattern of your choosing. Wrap with a ribbon and leave a tail to make a loop. Hang over a hanger and the scent will permeate the clothes in your closet.

Another favorite of mine is to take the skin of citrus fruit and cut it into shapes of stars, suns, moons, whatever you fancy. Let the skin naturally dry. Coat with watered down white glues to keep the stirring critters away. Wrap with jute or raffia and hang on the tree. You could add cranberries and popcorn as well, or even beads.

These make great hostess gifts and stocking stuffers too - so get your vitamin C and your gift giving going. Good for your body and good for the environment.

--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew

Green shopping is Local shopping

As we turn our attention to holiday shopping (one for me, one for you in my world) let's consider the benefits of shopping local. Of course we save on energy and we support the businesses in our own community. Whether you shop a large or small company your local community will benefit from taxes, but the best local shopping supports your local small businesses. Many small shops will offer a unique selection and will help you find the perfect gift for those on your list. I bet many will offer other personalized services too - professional gift. Wrap, shipping arranged while you wait, gift certificates, etc. The big boys often offer these too, but not with the level of attention that small businesses do.

Remember - It's Black Friday because that is when many retailers start to go into the Black. Your purchases can help a small business have a profitable year. Good for you. Good for your local economy. Good for the environment.

Saturday, November 27,2010 is Small Business Saturday. Get out of your turkey coma and feel good about your shopping investment all at once.

--till next week Restore, Refresh, Recycle & Renew

Green Clean with Steam

With the weather starting to get a bit more Fall like, I have been working on changing over my closet from summer to winter. This annual event is filled with a great deal of shifting of shoes (as you may have guessed, I have many shoes). Into the closet go the sandals and out of the closet come the boots. I also use this transition to review my clothing and clear out items I no longer use. Some are put aside for clothing swaps. Professional items are separated out for donation to the Career Wardrobe and the final pile goes to Planet Aid or Goodwill.

All this cleaning got me thinking about new ways to clean my house which has mainly tile and some hardwood flooring. I have been using the Method mop and cleaner with reusable microfiber pads. I prefer this solution to a mop and water, but I wanted to get a deeper clean, remove the cleaning product and see if I could find an easier solution. 

Enter Steam Cleaners. I recently saw an ad for the Shark Vac-Then-Steam that piqued my interest. I investigated my options online and there are several products for under $100 that will steam clean tile, hardwood, etc. Many got good user reviews and I did consider them, but you have to sweep or vacuum before you use them - 2 steps with 2 appliances and not much difference from my current program. 

The Shark Vac-Then-Steam performs both steps with one machine. It retails for a bit more - $149 at a local Target. It comes with several washable microfiber pads. I added a little white vinegar to the water for a little boost. It did a great job in my kitchen in a few minutes and utilized less than a full tank of water. 

Is it greener? Maybe not. It does use water and electricity, while my Method system relies on "green" cleaner and muscle power. But it does perform 2 functions with one appliance, will reduce the use of my monster Dyson and does get a deeper clean while cutting my cleaning time in half.

Maybe the compromise is to use the steamer for the heavy cleans and the Method system in between. Either way, steam cleaning is coming to home near you.

--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew

Oh Mexico I'd sure like to go

When I think of Mexico I think of chilis, margaritas, beer - all the wonderful, edible delights that come from a vast country of culinary styles. I do not think of contemporary, sustainable furniture design - at least not until now.

According to the website, Pirwi is a Mexico-based home furniture brand committed to high quality, green manufacturing and good design. Founded by industrial designers, Emiliano Godoy and Alejandro Castro in 2007, today's collection includes over 70 objects by 12 designers and features cutting-edge pieces as well as award-winning designs now considered classics of contemporary Mexican design. 

With a set of Cubos modular bookcases (flash site *sigh* go to Pirwi and click the product selection) made of Birch plywood who needs a closet at all? I'm seeing a sustainable display case for my shoes!

--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew

Aqua Accessory

Tired of carrying that clunky water bottle around - especially when it is empty? Enter an elegant solution to your aqua arsenal - the Vapur. This freezable, dishwasher-safe and BPA free, foldable-when-empty bottle is da bomb! Packing .5L of water the Vapur is available in 6 fashion colors with an additional special Halloween edition in orange/green. At $8.95 each you can get one to clip on to each of your purses without breaking the bank.

Fashionable, eco-friendly and light weight. Thumbs up for the Vapur.

--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew

Crowdsourcing to get green

Crowdsourcing is a great way to get input and collaboration on all sorts of things from design, user experience and sustainability from all sorts of people world wide. On October 10, 2010 Springwise newsletter reported on 2 crowdsourcing solutions for those looking for sustainable ideas - Global Forum and Myoo Create.


Global Forum discussed in Springwise on June 25, 2010. According to the site post, Global Forum is a Stokholm based company that matches supply and demand for sustainable solutions. Myoo Create focuses on putting people together to solve social and environmental challenges.


Now if they could just clean and organize my closet and get my cast offs to the Goodwill!


--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh, Renew

Waterless Wash?

We've discussed washing our clothes numerous times on this blog. The water and energy use is staggering and we won't even discuss drying and ironing! 

Enter the Xeros Waterless Washing Machine(currently in rapid prototype stage). Using a similar theory to washing balls, the Xeros system uses detergent in tandem with nylon beads that work their way into your clothes and absorb stains. When the cycle is over the beads drain away, leaving your clothes  clean. Xeros claims to use 90% less water than traditional washing machines and estimate a 30% reduction in laundry costs over a traditional system. Other benefits include a faster cycle, no need to use a dryer and less nasty soap run off in the environment.

Xeros is currently working with the commercial sector, but they plan to roll out home models as well. Thumbs up for Xeros, but the jury is out till we see the cold, hard facts and the bright, clean results;)

--till next week Restore, Recycle, Refresh & Renew