The EcoChic

Tis’ the season for our children to WANT, WANT, WANT!  I struggle each year around this time to remind my 6 year old that it’s not all about presents and Santa.  He had a homework project this week to talk about the holiday that we celebrate (Christmas) and why it’s important to him.  His teacher is including Winter Holidays in her lesson plan and each child gets to contribute with the holiday that they celebrate.  While working on his project I realized that he still doesn’t ‘get it’ with the reason we celebrate Christmas. 

Christmas of course is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in the Christian religion.  One way that people help celebrate the holiday is with Advent Calendars.  You can find them in most retail stores filled with candy hiding behind little cardboard doors.  The last two years I’ve made our Advent Calendar.  Last year I had a different part of the Christmas Story from the bible to read each day…leading up to the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.  I really enjoyed that version because in addition to counting down to the big day Big B got to learn a little each day. 

This year I finally broke down and purchased an actual Advent Calendar (I fell in love with one shaped like Mickey Mouse from Disney World) but I still want to make it special.  I just caught up reading some of my favorite blogs and I just had to share these ideas with you all.  One of our family friends is Genie who writes a great family and Christian blog The Blazi Gang had a wonderful idea on how to make the Advent Calendar a little more special.  She decided to make a list of 24 activities for her family to complete like 2) Build a fort and have dinner in it, Make a Christmas craft, and 22) Go downtown and look at lights.  You can see the full list on her blog or you can make up your own list.  I’m going to try to start this tomorrow because I think it’s a fabulous idea to show that giving is not only about giving gifts….but also about giving of yourself and your time. 

Another blog I like to skim each day is the Crafty Crowbecause they collect great craft ideas from around the blogosphere and share them.  They always have great holiday ideas and I found one today from a blog called Maya Made on making an Advent Calendar from toilet tissue tubes.  Last year Maya made a similar Advent Calendar and she had a ticket in each tube with a special activity for the family members. 

So then I decided to search the web for some other Advent Calendar ideas using scraps and trash.  How about these:

Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar

Mini Muffin Tin Advent Calendar

Bottle Cap Advent Calendar Magnets

Recycle Bin Advent Calendar

Altoid Tin Advent Calendar

I could probably search all night but the truth is I don’t have a ton of time to make something new for this year AND Lil’ B just woke up with a horrible hacking cough.  I guess I’ll go snuggle up to her before I drift off to sleep.  What are your family traditions around the holidays?  Do you have an Advent Calendar that is unique…I’d love for you to share it with me.

Here are some cute projects that I saw while visiting Epcot’s Flower and Garden festival at Disney World a few weeks ago.  With a little time and imagination you can create some really cute projects for your garden.  I wonder which one will be my first project?

Cute bird feeders from beverage bottle or milk jugs.

Windchimes from old kitchen utensils.

Or the cup and saucer bird baths?

Here is a neat little musical instrument little man and I made for our new friends in Toronto, the Village Mama and family.  We had to go for a nature walk to find just the right sticks for the project.  The only requirement was that they had to form a ‘Y’ shape.  The two sticks we found weren’t that strong so be sure to look for some sturdy sticks. 

The next step was to paint the sticks with your favorite paint (we used acrylic paint from the craft store) and let them dry.  While they are drying we got to go outside and have some fun with the bottle caps.  Since we have someone in the house that drinks beer it’s not hard to find bottle caps lying around.  We took the bottle caps (you can use as many or as few as you like…they make more noise with more caps) outside and hammered a nail into the middle of each one to make the hole for stringing.  Next we sanded each one with a small piece of sandpaper so the paint would adhere well.  Finally we painted each bottle cap and strung them on some thread.  You can use any kind of ribbon, thread or string you have around the house.  Tie the string around each side of the ‘Y’ and you have completed your musical maraca’s from nature!  They actually have a really cool sound when you shake them. 

Since we sent ours to our new friends in Toronto I guess we need to make another set for around the house.  Some additional accessories you can add are feathers and string around the handle.  Have fun and get creative with all that trash around your house!

We did it!  We made time to make our Valentine’s butterflies. 

We started with an empty toilet paper roll and wrapped it with pink paper (you could use scrap paper, envelopes, whatever you have around).  Next we cut out several hearts in different ‘wing’ sizes.  The little guy had fun decorating the wings.  Finally we cut out a circle for the head and added the facial features (eyes, nose, mouth) and attached it to the inside of the roll.  You can add feelers for an extra special touch.  We only spent about 15 minutes on the total project and he’s all ready to go outside and fly his butterfly.  I guess he thinks it will attract other butterflies.  Kids are so cute! 

Have you ever really thought about how much you waste each day?  As I sit here in an airport beginning my travels for the day I decided to track my waste for today.  It’s not even 5am and already I have wasted about half a pound of trash.  When I get home tonight I’ll finish my list but here is what I’ve thrown away (or will before 6am) so far.  I challenge you all to take a look at your waste for just one day and see where you can change.  Here is the deal, anything that goes into a trash can counts.  If you recycle it or compost it or it will be reused, it doesn’t count.  Remember to include your food waste even at restaurants (unless you know the restuarant composts). 

As of 5am:
Two Kleenex tissues
One Q-Tip
One perscription bag and receipt
One paper boarding pass
One parking receipt
One small plastic cup and lid (fruit salad container)
One plastic fork
One Starbucks Tall cup with lid and sleeve
One napkin

I’ll update this list when I get back from my trip tonight.  I’m already shocked that my list is so long already.   

If you are anything like me you have a garage, closet or attic full of stuff that you don’t want anymore.  But what do you do with all that stuff?  My friend was going through her house this week doing some spring cleaning and asked me what she should do with it all.  So here are my environmental ideas on how to get rid of things you don’t want anymore. 

1. If it’s really trash let it go.  This one is hard for me but sometimes it needs to happen.  However, remember that somethings can be recycled. 
2. Have a garage sale.  Don’t forget that one mans trash is another mans treasure. 
3. Buy a booth at your local flea market to sell what you have.
4. Ebay…again another option to make a little money on your stuff.
5. Craigs List.  You can sell or give away on Craigs List.
6. Donate, Donate, Donate.  This is the easiest of all options because you drop it off and let someone else decide what to do with it.  You also get a tax break for donating items. 
7. Hand-Me-Downs.  Don’t forget your friends, neighbors, and family when you are getting rid of things.  This is especially helpful if you have childrens clothes; however as I found out today I am never too old for a few hand-me-downs.  And…as a grown up the hand-me-downs are sometimes brand new!  LOL!
8. Hold a swap shop with friends and family once a year (or more often).
9. Consignment stores.

I didn’t realize until I started making this list how many options there really were to get rid of things you don’t need.  Next time you decide to do a little spring cleaning remember that not everything needs to be trashed; one mans trash really is another mans treasure. 

It’s almost here, 2008!  Looking back at 2007 I have made a good effort to make small changes in my everyday life that will benefit the environment; or at least lessen our impact.  So what are going to be my environmental resolutions for 2008? 

• I’m in need of a new vehicle this year; so I’m going to research hybrid cars and other non-hybrid alternatives to the regular car.  I promise right here to stay with something mid-sized and not but a gas guzzler!
• My first home project for 2008 is to remodel our guest bathroom.  I am going to try to find a reuse for many of the items that I am replacing; at the very least I am going to find a way to recycle things like the tub, toilet, and vanity.  Also when purchasing the replacements I’m going to think green.
• I resolve to use my green bags more often at the grocery store (and other stores as well).
• I want to start a small garden in the back yard.  With that garden I also want to start a compost pile and a rain barrel.  My garden is going to be organic with no pesticides or chemicals used. 
• Continue to replace our incandescent light bulbs with CFLs when they burn out. 

So what small steps can you take in 2008?  I’d like to hear your resolutions for the environment.  Have a great New Years Eve and be safe.

Well Christmas has come and gone!  I am actually quite excited that today was the first trash pick up since then and we only had our average one trash can full.  We only had one bag of wrapping paper trash and the rest of the stuff (packaging) is going to the recycle center in the morning.  I had tried to keep all the wrapping paper and reuse it for my sons craft projects but it was too difficult to take off the tape.  Nevermind the fact that a four year old rips the paper into a million pieces when he opens it. 

I did go shopping the day after and I’m faced with a new dilema…what to do with old ornaments.  I found some great new ornaments that I want to switch to next year but now I have all these old faded, chipped ornaments that need a home.  I’m thinking of giving them to his school so they can use them next year in the classroom.  Other than that I guess my only option is Goodwill.  I refuse to throw them in the trash. 

So how much waste did you have this Christmas?  What could you have done differently to reduce the amount of trash? 

Coming up next…New Years Green Resolutions.  I’m going to make a few resolutions that will help decrease our footprint on this planet. 

Wow, I’ve been quiet for several weeks.  I guess it’s time to give you some ideas for reducing and reusing waste during the holidays.  I was packing up some gifts to be mailed the other day and was trying to reduce the cost at the post office.  I reused an old box to pack up the gifts instead of buying a box…if you are like me your garage is full of boxes.  For packing material I used some plastic grocery bags and newspaper that had been put through a paper shredder.  Another thing we did last Christmas was not wrapping the Santa gifts for our son.  It was really cute to see his face when he walked into the room…he didn’t know what to play with first.  Another reason not to wrap presents, you end up assemblying the gifts ahead of time so the kids can play with them immediately instead of waiting for you to assemble. 

How can you reuse during the holidays?  Gift bags…I love them.  I always save my gift bags and reuse them for other gifts.  What can you do with all that gift wrap, ribbons and bows?  Why not save them and donate them to a school.  I know my sons school would love craft supplies; they can use them for collages, they can draw or paint on the backside of the gift wrap, they can make necklaces from the ribbon.  There are so many uses for kids crafts for these items that normally end up in the trash.  So instead of wadding up that gift wrap on Christmas morning; fold it up and give it to a youth center, day care, school or artist. 

What ways can you think to reduce and reuse waste at the Holidays?  Join me tomorrow for another Trashy Thursday for another craft project with holiday waste.   

With Thanksgiving approaching this week everyone is talking Christmas!  It’s only 36 days until Christmas and that means people will be putting up their Christmas trees this week.  So what kind of tree do you use, real or fake?  Growing up there wasn’t many times that we actually purchased a real tree.  We had the same fake tree for many, many years.  It’s no surprise that when I grew up and started my family we carried on the same tradition.  For me, it really wasn’t a choice about the environment as it was for ease of care.  However, I may reconsider after visiting the National Christmas Tree Association.  I never realized how bad fake trees were.  For starters 85% of fake trees are made in China and shipped to the U.S., think about all the fuel used to transport these trees to the stores across the country.  Secondly, I had no idea that most fake trees contain lead.  Lead is typically used to make the PVC plastic that the tree is made of.  We have enough concerns over lead with our childrens toys, now it’s in our Christmas trees too.  So how can cutting down a real tree be better than reusing an old one for several years?  Did you know that everytime a tree farm cuts down a tree they replace it with three saplings?  Did you know that most Christmas tree farms are in the U.S and Canada?  Tree farms supports farming, which supports our own countries wealth. 

So what do you do with those old fake Christmas trees when you can’t use them any longer?  I know ours is pushing ten years old and some of the branches are starting to come off.  When the time comes, we will probably donate it to a needy organazation since I’m not real sure if they can be recycled.  At least they will continue to be reused for a while.  But then it will probably end up in a landfill.  And just think of all of those new trees that are pre-lighted.  What happens when people throw those away, not only do they have the tree but now they also have the lights. 

With real trees you can take them to your local recycler.  Most hardware stores (like Home Depot) and most cities and counties have a tree recycling program after the holidays.  Trees can be chipped and used for mulch, they can be used to help stop erosion, or decomposed to put nutrients back into the earth.  Just remember not to throw them out with your household garbage and take them to be recycled. 

Coming up later this week, I will talk about greening your holiday shopping.  From different gifts you can buy to how you wrap your gifts.