With Holidaymas coming up, there is a very important subject that I feel needs to be touched upon regarding a common tradition that nearly every religious OR secular person participates in at some point -- sending greeting cards. Birthdays, holidays, sympathies, congratulations, thinking-of-yous, there's a greeting card for just about every situation.
I have a love/hate relationship with greeting cards. From an etiquette standpoint, they are a very excellent way to show your sympathy, love, thoughts, prayers, or whatever's on your mind for another person. A greeting card is a VERY excellent way to get back in touch with someone, and even if you can't afford to send gifts to everyone in your family (I group 'friends' with family; 'relatives' are your blood relations) I can guarantee that any family worth having will appreciate getting a greeting card.
There's just one problem ... they're mostly made of trees.
From a granola-eater's perspective, they're a bit sad. I always get a batch of them every year, and I know that no matter how strong my sentiment is for my family and how touched I am by their thoughts of me, I won't really look at them past the holiday season. Once the sentiment has faded and a few years go by with them sitting in a box, what's to do with them then?
The first step is, of course, RECYCLE THEM. If your area doesn't recycle paper by now, you should be having a talk with the city/county about at least arranging a once-a-week pickup outside the local grocery store. Recycling paper is ridiculously easy, and even if it only gets reused once as toilet paper, that's still an improvement (and better the TP be recycled than brand new -- you can't reuse toilet paper...) over just throwing it away.
You can let your family know that you would prefer NOT to receive greeting cards, for the aforementioned reasons of wastefulness. They may look at you a little funny, but that's part of the life of a granola-eater. You get used to it, I promise. Offer alternative suggestions -- have them make a donation to a good charity (no-kill animal sanctuary, food banks, homeless/women's shelters are a start), electronic cards (although I'm not a huge fan of them myself, for some reason), or at least ask them to use RECYCLED paper cards or alternative fibers. A partner I had in a knitting swap sent me a card made with kenaf -- I was SO HAPPY to learn of a company that uses alternative fiber to make their paper!!
If you still want to receive greeting cards, and can't quite bear to actually toss Aunt Martha's adorable snowman Holidaymas cards she sends you every year, here's an alternative I remember my own Aunt Vivian getting me into when I was little: Instead of recycling them, REUSE THEM and make greeting card boxes.
I found a nice tutorial here: Art Lesson Sixteen from kid-at-art.com. I think the HTML could use a little work, but then I code basic HTML in my sleep. (No, seriously ... I've had HTML dreams. It's bizarre and a little frightening.) The instructions are fairly sound. As they're a bit fiddly to figure out, if you want to get some practice in first, try using the cover of an old phone book or a cereal box (so you get something closer to the right thickness), or maybe one of those pamphlets people keep leaving on your doorstep and in your mailbox for one cause or another, reasonable or no.
Once you have the boxes made, you have wonderful boxes that you can do all kinds of things with. REUSE some of your leftover yarn or thread from another project (or find a local crafter who's willing to part with some), poke a hole in one corner of the box, and turn it into an ornament. Or if you have small gifts to give, use them in place of wrapping paper (horrid, awful stuff, and I'll be touching on that too) and give your family a REUSABLE container! Your Aunt Martha may well recognize the design on the box you gave her, and you can include a message that you loved getting the card, and instead of just tossing it you turned it into something that can be used again and again. Just be prepared for her to start sniffling into your shoulder when she hugs you.
On to the matter of giving greeting cards.
Again, we touch on the idea of etiquette vs conservation. It shows you care about them, but it can be considered wasteful. When you give a greeting card, look to see what it is made of. Aim for at least recycled paper, if not the alternative fiber I mentioned earlier. By now you should know about the slightly higher cost of alternatives to mass-consumer products, but such is the price (literally) of taking the higher moral ground.
If you want to get fancy, include a piece of scrap paper with written instructions on how to turn the greeting card into a box themselves -- and encourage them to practice on the piece of paper so they don't accidentally ruin the card! On the chance they may not be interested in making the card into a box, mention that it can be recycled.
Don't be afraid to talk to your family about the idea of greeting cards. Some of them may only send them out because 'That's how things are done!' and haven't thought of alternatives before. Some of them may welcome the idea of alternative uses for cards, and would enjoy the idea of reusing the boxes. It never hurts to be vocal about it.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Whole Foods Savings
There's a new Whole Foods store in Ann Arbor, located in the Cranbrook shopping center right near Best Buy. I don't think it's as large as the Washtenaw store, but it's got its own merits. Chief among them is the coupons good at that store! It sometimes pays to visit a new store, as the first time my husband and I went in we got a coupon booklet for a different item you can get each week with a couple $/$$ thrown in the mix. If you see a store opening, check it out even if you're not sure you're interested.
Here's what I picked up when I went in yesterday.
Wellness cat food bag: $8.99 (sale $10.99, $2/1 Any Wellness purchase)
Small caramel gelato: Free (coupon booklet for AAC WF store)
Two Numi teas (Earl Grey and Golden Chai): $6.98 (sale $3.99 each, $1/2 Numi teas)
Four Rachel's yogurt (lavender and some kind of mango): $2 (sale $.50 each -- THIS IS A REALLY GOOD DEAL)
Two boxes Kashi Sesame crack(ers): $.78 (everyday $2.39 each, 2 $2/1 Kashi IP)
Four Muir Glen tomato sauces: $.96 (everyday $.99 each, 4 $.75/1 any Muir Glen)
Fifteen ZP bars, various kinds: $2.68 (everyday $1.19-$1.29 each, 15 $1/1 ZP bars)
I also used one of the awesome $5/$25 coupons that you can print up from www.wholefoodsmarket.com.
With the weird way Michigan stores calculate sales tax, I ended up swiping the card for $16.97 instead of almost $50.
Knowing WHY I bought something is almost as important as what I saved, so here we go:
My five cats pretty much exclusively eat Wellness cat food these days. We're very happy with the ingredients and the cats aren't snobbish about eating it.
If you haven't tried the gelato, you should. It's fantastic. You may not want to stop eating it though, just to warn you. You'll eat yourself sick and lick the bowl clean.
Numi teas are great. We love chai teas, so this makes the fifth box we have in the cupboard right now. We didn't have any Earl Grey in the house, so that had to be fixed to ensure my husband could have his morning caffeine dose without actually drinking coffee.
Rachel's yogurt is so, so very good. It sounds a bit unusual to think of -lavender- as an ingredient for yogurt, but it works remarkably well. The yogurt is on sale for FIFTY CENTS APIECE most of the rest of October. I should point out here that the normal price is $1.19 each -- that's seventy cents off. At that price, I don't care if I don't have a coupon. I'll get it anyway. (Now that I look, there's a printable on their website. Bah!)
There is a reason I call them Kashi crack(ers). They're crack. Once you eat some, all you can do is think about how you want to shove your face into the box and chew until there's nothing left. They are -dangerously- good, and I blame my father for introducing me to them. Whole Foods has a VERY affordable price for some flavors, and with the $2/1 Kashi IP you can get from their website, they're nearly free. My husband gave me crap for eating half a box, until he got his paws on the other half ... and ate it. Plus, he can't really say much when I pay at MOST a dollar for them.
Muir Glen makes good tomato products. Canned goods last nearly forever, and only having to pay $.24 for each can means I can store it until I find a good use for them.
We eat a lot of snacks in this house, salty and sweet both. I'm trying to move away from the junk food type snacks (movie-watching aside, I will not watch a movie without true junk food) and on to more healthful things, which includes these. They're not half bad, come in many flavors, and if you're lucky enough to find the $1/1 Zone Perfect coupon from one of the sunday papers a few weeks back you can still get them for next to nothing. Combining handfuls of them with a $/$$ coupon can even possibly turn them into a moneymaker if you play your cards right.
Here's what I picked up when I went in yesterday.
Wellness cat food bag: $8.99 (sale $10.99, $2/1 Any Wellness purchase)
Small caramel gelato: Free (coupon booklet for AAC WF store)
Two Numi teas (Earl Grey and Golden Chai): $6.98 (sale $3.99 each, $1/2 Numi teas)
Four Rachel's yogurt (lavender and some kind of mango): $2 (sale $.50 each -- THIS IS A REALLY GOOD DEAL)
Two boxes Kashi Sesame crack(ers): $.78 (everyday $2.39 each, 2 $2/1 Kashi IP)
Four Muir Glen tomato sauces: $.96 (everyday $.99 each, 4 $.75/1 any Muir Glen)
Fifteen ZP bars, various kinds: $2.68 (everyday $1.19-$1.29 each, 15 $1/1 ZP bars)
I also used one of the awesome $5/$25 coupons that you can print up from www.wholefoodsmarket.com.
With the weird way Michigan stores calculate sales tax, I ended up swiping the card for $16.97 instead of almost $50.
Knowing WHY I bought something is almost as important as what I saved, so here we go:
My five cats pretty much exclusively eat Wellness cat food these days. We're very happy with the ingredients and the cats aren't snobbish about eating it.
If you haven't tried the gelato, you should. It's fantastic. You may not want to stop eating it though, just to warn you. You'll eat yourself sick and lick the bowl clean.
Numi teas are great. We love chai teas, so this makes the fifth box we have in the cupboard right now. We didn't have any Earl Grey in the house, so that had to be fixed to ensure my husband could have his morning caffeine dose without actually drinking coffee.
Rachel's yogurt is so, so very good. It sounds a bit unusual to think of -lavender- as an ingredient for yogurt, but it works remarkably well. The yogurt is on sale for FIFTY CENTS APIECE most of the rest of October. I should point out here that the normal price is $1.19 each -- that's seventy cents off. At that price, I don't care if I don't have a coupon. I'll get it anyway. (Now that I look, there's a printable on their website. Bah!)
There is a reason I call them Kashi crack(ers). They're crack. Once you eat some, all you can do is think about how you want to shove your face into the box and chew until there's nothing left. They are -dangerously- good, and I blame my father for introducing me to them. Whole Foods has a VERY affordable price for some flavors, and with the $2/1 Kashi IP you can get from their website, they're nearly free. My husband gave me crap for eating half a box, until he got his paws on the other half ... and ate it. Plus, he can't really say much when I pay at MOST a dollar for them.
Muir Glen makes good tomato products. Canned goods last nearly forever, and only having to pay $.24 for each can means I can store it until I find a good use for them.
We eat a lot of snacks in this house, salty and sweet both. I'm trying to move away from the junk food type snacks (movie-watching aside, I will not watch a movie without true junk food) and on to more healthful things, which includes these. They're not half bad, come in many flavors, and if you're lucky enough to find the $1/1 Zone Perfect coupon from one of the sunday papers a few weeks back you can still get them for next to nothing. Combining handfuls of them with a $/$$ coupon can even possibly turn them into a moneymaker if you play your cards right.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Preserve recycled products
www.recycline.com
These guys use recycled plastic in their products. They have toothbrushes, razors, plasticware in the form of utensils, cups, and plates, and some kitchenware too. They even have a deal with Stonyfield Farm (an organic dairy-product company I love, and it was THEIR idea!) to recycle their production leftovers!
I can't stress the awesomeness of recycled plastic enough. We all know plastic is a very useful ingredient in many products, but recycling it can be a pain in the butt. THAT JUST GOT EASIER. http://www.recycline.com/gimme5.html -- You can now ship #5 plastic directly to them! They want the shipment to be at least five pounds, and shipped by ground. You don't even have to buy their stuff to do this. (A 5-lb package shipped UPS ground would cost roughly $9.30.)
If you do happen to use their products, you can print out a prepaid shipping label to return the products when they're no longer usable. They recycle THAT plastic and use it to make park benches and other things.
But are they any good?
Their utensils are of pretty good quality. There are eight sets of forks, spoons, and knives; they're very sturdy, dishwasher safe, and work well. They come in a cylinder you can use as storage. A cylinder of utensils costs around $6. The folks we had over today thought they were very nice, and really liked the cylinder as well.
My husband says the cut of the razors is about the same as the 'mainstream' brand he was using before. He is impressed with how well each razor is holding up and lasting through him shaving every day. The razor handles come in quite a few colors, which is handy if you have several people using them. The triple-blade razor and 4-pack refills both cost around $7.50 -- that's cheaper than paying for the razors my husband was using before!
I'm really impressed with this company, in how their products look and feel. They're definitely worth buying -- and you can find printable coupons for them as well :)
These guys use recycled plastic in their products. They have toothbrushes, razors, plasticware in the form of utensils, cups, and plates, and some kitchenware too. They even have a deal with Stonyfield Farm (an organic dairy-product company I love, and it was THEIR idea!) to recycle their production leftovers!
I can't stress the awesomeness of recycled plastic enough. We all know plastic is a very useful ingredient in many products, but recycling it can be a pain in the butt. THAT JUST GOT EASIER. http://www.recycline.com/gimme5.html -- You can now ship #5 plastic directly to them! They want the shipment to be at least five pounds, and shipped by ground. You don't even have to buy their stuff to do this. (A 5-lb package shipped UPS ground would cost roughly $9.30.)
If you do happen to use their products, you can print out a prepaid shipping label to return the products when they're no longer usable. They recycle THAT plastic and use it to make park benches and other things.
But are they any good?
Their utensils are of pretty good quality. There are eight sets of forks, spoons, and knives; they're very sturdy, dishwasher safe, and work well. They come in a cylinder you can use as storage. A cylinder of utensils costs around $6. The folks we had over today thought they were very nice, and really liked the cylinder as well.
My husband says the cut of the razors is about the same as the 'mainstream' brand he was using before. He is impressed with how well each razor is holding up and lasting through him shaving every day. The razor handles come in quite a few colors, which is handy if you have several people using them. The triple-blade razor and 4-pack refills both cost around $7.50 -- that's cheaper than paying for the razors my husband was using before!
I'm really impressed with this company, in how their products look and feel. They're definitely worth buying -- and you can find printable coupons for them as well :)
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dove Deodorant and AZT
(All external links will pop a new window. If you use a modern browser -- which if you're not, you should! -- I'd suggest opening it in a new tab.)
Dove Deodorant (dove.us)
I ordered a sample of Dove deodorant one time, and I really liked it. My pits stayed dry, I didn't smell hideous at the end of the day. I don't like a lot of overpowering scent due to allergies (plus who wants to sniff my armpits?) but a subtle scent isn't too bad and that's what this stuff is. I've been using it for months and months and months now. I don't get the huge pill-clumps in my pits I got with some other deodorants and the kind I use is an invisible solid so I don't usually end up with gobs of the stuff showing on my shirts. (this is the specific kind I'm using now -- Invisible Solid Powder (dove.us).)
I recently started looking into the presence of aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex (wikipedia) in deodorant. The way it works is by forming a gel to literally clog the pores in your pits so you don't sweat. It also absorbs some of the sweat that gets out anyway. I find this idea slightly disturbing -- okay, I find it really disgusting. Supposedly the AZT used in deodorant is not as toxic (wtf) as other forms of aluminum, but the jury's still out. Plus, when your pores get clogged you get acne, and who wants zits in their armpits? I hate it when that happens, so very much.
Next up: Butylated hydroxytoluene -- BHT (wikipedia). It's used in varoius cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Not too bad, right? Weeeeell, it's also used in petroleum, jet fuel, and embalming fluid. I'm not going to go on a scare-tactic bender and say that if you use something with BHT you're putting jet fuel on your pits, but still. If I have trouble pronouncing it, it makes me a little nervous.
Unfortunately, the active ingredient in Dove deodorant is AZT, and BHT is listed as well. I'm very disappointed by this. I like the stuff. It works, my pits don't feel gross at the end of the day (unless I haven't taken a shower in a couple days, but then my pits feel much like the rest of my body), and I don't smell either macho or totally froofy. But ... AZT. Ew. The more I read about it, the less I like it. I'm not going to throw away what I still have, because I'm not swimming in cash, but I'm definitely going to be looking for an alternative.
Dove Deodorant (dove.us)
I ordered a sample of Dove deodorant one time, and I really liked it. My pits stayed dry, I didn't smell hideous at the end of the day. I don't like a lot of overpowering scent due to allergies (plus who wants to sniff my armpits?) but a subtle scent isn't too bad and that's what this stuff is. I've been using it for months and months and months now. I don't get the huge pill-clumps in my pits I got with some other deodorants and the kind I use is an invisible solid so I don't usually end up with gobs of the stuff showing on my shirts. (this is the specific kind I'm using now -- Invisible Solid Powder (dove.us).)
I recently started looking into the presence of aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex (wikipedia) in deodorant. The way it works is by forming a gel to literally clog the pores in your pits so you don't sweat. It also absorbs some of the sweat that gets out anyway. I find this idea slightly disturbing -- okay, I find it really disgusting. Supposedly the AZT used in deodorant is not as toxic (wtf) as other forms of aluminum, but the jury's still out. Plus, when your pores get clogged you get acne, and who wants zits in their armpits? I hate it when that happens, so very much.
Next up: Butylated hydroxytoluene -- BHT (wikipedia). It's used in varoius cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Not too bad, right? Weeeeell, it's also used in petroleum, jet fuel, and embalming fluid. I'm not going to go on a scare-tactic bender and say that if you use something with BHT you're putting jet fuel on your pits, but still. If I have trouble pronouncing it, it makes me a little nervous.
Unfortunately, the active ingredient in Dove deodorant is AZT, and BHT is listed as well. I'm very disappointed by this. I like the stuff. It works, my pits don't feel gross at the end of the day (unless I haven't taken a shower in a couple days, but then my pits feel much like the rest of my body), and I don't smell either macho or totally froofy. But ... AZT. Ew. The more I read about it, the less I like it. I'm not going to throw away what I still have, because I'm not swimming in cash, but I'm definitely going to be looking for an alternative.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Post Ideas
List of things I want to post about -- they're in no order at all. I'm quite willing to take ideas and suggestions into consideration, but if I haven't tried something yet I'm less inclined to write about it. It seems hypocritical to blog about something I haven't tried (although I will touch on that a bit).
-Ecos laundry detergent
-Seventh Generation products
-Sunrise TP
-Store-brand organics
-Swheat scoop cat litter
-Preserve razors, tableware, etc
-Kashi crackers and cereal
-Recycling -- #s, where to, awareness
-Clorox green (I have beef with this)
-CFL bulbs -- pros, cons
-Homegrown organics
-Ecos laundry detergent
-Seventh Generation products
-Sunrise TP
-Store-brand organics
-Swheat scoop cat litter
-Preserve razors, tableware, etc
-Kashi crackers and cereal
-Recycling -- #s, where to, awareness
-Clorox green (I have beef with this)
-CFL bulbs -- pros, cons
-Homegrown organics
Introduction
This may seem slightly rambling. I just came up with this idea, so I don't know how well it'll go over and I really don't have a clue yet what I'm going to do with it. I don't know how often it will be updated or what most of the content will be, but I will try my best to give my honest opinion of things.
I want to tell people about natural and organic products that I use. I don't work for an organic products company -- heck, I just don't work -- I'm just a girl who likes organic stuff. The best way to get people informed is to make sure there are resources out there for folks to learn what's out there, what works (for me) and what doesn't (for me). What everyone chooses to do with that information is entirely up to them -- I can bring the horse to the water, but for all I know he'll just poop in it. I'd prefer that not happen, but oh well.
If you happen across the blog and you like it, let folks know. I have no idea how it works -- though I've been doing online journals for years, I don't really participate much in the great wide world of blogging and have no idea how such things work. Suggestions and ideas on what to add/do to make this better are always welcome, though I can't guarantee I'll follow through with all of them.
When I buy something in a store, I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off. Organic products are all fine and great, but I'm not working on an unlimited budget. Part of the entries I make will be devoted to the price, and how feasible they are based on a limited budget. I want to show that ordinary people who don't have lots of money can still buy some organic products without breaking the bank -- and I'm not afraid to say when I think it's not reasonable to spend ten bucks on Organic Product X when Regular Product X is three times cheaper.
Some of this will simply be my personal opinion. From long standing experience, I know I will piss off someone with what I have to say. After twenty-nine years, I am very used to this. I will try to keep things as civil as possible, but I don't like sugar-coating things (unless what's on my mind is really socially inappropriate, in which case I'll swallow my pride and ease off a bit).
Above all, I hope you come out of this learning something good.
I want to tell people about natural and organic products that I use. I don't work for an organic products company -- heck, I just don't work -- I'm just a girl who likes organic stuff. The best way to get people informed is to make sure there are resources out there for folks to learn what's out there, what works (for me) and what doesn't (for me). What everyone chooses to do with that information is entirely up to them -- I can bring the horse to the water, but for all I know he'll just poop in it. I'd prefer that not happen, but oh well.
If you happen across the blog and you like it, let folks know. I have no idea how it works -- though I've been doing online journals for years, I don't really participate much in the great wide world of blogging and have no idea how such things work. Suggestions and ideas on what to add/do to make this better are always welcome, though I can't guarantee I'll follow through with all of them.
When I buy something in a store, I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off. Organic products are all fine and great, but I'm not working on an unlimited budget. Part of the entries I make will be devoted to the price, and how feasible they are based on a limited budget. I want to show that ordinary people who don't have lots of money can still buy some organic products without breaking the bank -- and I'm not afraid to say when I think it's not reasonable to spend ten bucks on Organic Product X when Regular Product X is three times cheaper.
Some of this will simply be my personal opinion. From long standing experience, I know I will piss off someone with what I have to say. After twenty-nine years, I am very used to this. I will try to keep things as civil as possible, but I don't like sugar-coating things (unless what's on my mind is really socially inappropriate, in which case I'll swallow my pride and ease off a bit).
Above all, I hope you come out of this learning something good.
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