Happy April to you all! March was filled with lots of inspiration, and thanks, and was so fun! We're switiching gears this month to a very popular, yet very important, theme.
"Love Our Earth"
Going green is the all the rage, but some have been building into their lifestyles ways to be eco friendly for a long time. Now, we're not trying to be political whatsoever, I'm talking about the things you and I can do to help take care of this beautiful earth we've been given.
Since being green is already probably a part of many of our lives, we'll try this month to find ways to stretch beyond what we already do, to become even greener. It's good (and easy) to be green, right Kermit?
Pretty please, leave your comments or your suggestions on living an eco-friendly right here so we can encourage all the lovely readers to "Love Our Earth!" And remember to give yourself extra entries into the giveaways too!
We're excited to showcase some pretty awesome shops this month, but also bring some light to ways that we can reduce, reuse, and recycle, and the newest craze, upcycling. Ready to jump in?
Weekly Challenges:
Week One: Reuse something in your house. Whether it is furniture you're about to take to the dump, plastic baby food containers, old boxes, take something and give it a new purpose!
Week Two: Reduce your garbage output. Be creative! Whether it is recycling more, composting, reusing, upcycling, just find a new way to reduce how much you throw out!
Week Three: Check out this article here, and choose 1 idea to incorporate something new into your green lifestyle. While you'll probably see many ideas that you may already use, try implementing a new one!
Alright, so I used a mailing box and decorated it for use as an Easter basket. And I forgot to take a picture!!! DUH! But it was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Amy
I reuse those small crates clementines are sold in. They are great for holding nail polish and beauty products. They stack up nicely in closets.
ReplyDeleteChristina - xristya@rock.com - Inspired by the contest, I made my own fabric cuffs, using material from a old dress! I gave one to my niece Sarah and she loved it too!
ReplyDeleteI reused an old roll-up window shade (the matchstick kind made of thin sticks? wood?) by hot glueing a bunch of colorful ribbons I had in my craft box to the top, and then weaving them down through the spaces between the sticks. Now it's a lovely piece of wall art!
ReplyDeleteI repurposed part of my old linen skirt into the bodice of my daughter's Easter dress last week, and a few weeks before that my daughter's old jeans became shorts for my son. I'm really trying to upcycle older clothing!
ReplyDeleteHa, I'm a freelance writer and just wrote a column for a magazine on DIY composting! It'll be out in May though. :-(
ReplyDeleteI save the plastic lids from coffee containers to mix my art paints, also in my collage art I save the printed material I don't use to cover the back of the canvas
ReplyDeleteTo reduce my garbage output I recycle cans etc., and have started upcycling a lot of clothes.
ReplyDeleteI reuse cloth and use it in my artwork.
ReplyDeleteI have a compost that I visit every day with new add-ins.
I recycle my cans, raising money for Youth group.
earthdancedaph@yahoo.com
I reduce my garbage by reusing...(oh, dear! That's also week one!) my paper towels. My husband hates to see them hanging and drying on the rack. (No one else uses them so I know germs aren't transferring to them!)
ReplyDeleteI also reuse (week one again!) any plastic bags at least once or twice more to pick up doggie doo!
cspmom at gmail dot com
We just started composting a couple months ago, and it's actually a lot of fun! We're a lot more conscious of products we buy now, too (i.e., compostable laundry dryer sheets, paper towel rolls, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI've started upcycling, adding handmade applique to old clothes, i used an old silk tie today as the ribbon on a pomander!
ReplyDeleteto see the tie pomander go to my etsy
http://www.abespoketouch.etsy.com
I have been re-using the boxes I receive from giveaways for several months now. :)
ReplyDeleteOh that's an easy one! :) I recycle anything and everything, including my family's stuff since they do not have the luxury of pick up service.
ReplyDeleteWe just gave some of our older furniture when we moved to my husband's sister and the Goodwill!
ReplyDeleteGlad it kept the furniture out of
the landfills.
Thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I recycle everything possible!
ReplyDeleteI do wish our area excepted more than
just number 1 and number 2 items
for recycling! Thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I am so glad I read the article. I will now unplug appliances that aren't being used. I had no idea simply plugging them in without using them wastes energy!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the link!
I'll switch from liquid soap to bar soap; I didn't realize the packaging made such a difference!
ReplyDeleteurchiken at gmail dot com
The article was a great tip giver to read for going green. We have started using canvas bags at the grocery store and are going to make a point to bring them to more like Target.
ReplyDeleteThat article was fantastic. I do almost all of those things, naturally in my course of life. I will be supporting more Green shops when our first farmers market starts up May 5 I am so excited!!
ReplyDeleteearthdancedaph@yahoo.com
I reuse cardboard tubes (tunnels for hamsters), glass jars (storage containers) and reprint on the back of used paper.
ReplyDeletegrossman_stacy at yahoo dot com
I am going to start checking my tire pressure. This week I donated as well.
ReplyDeletegrossman_stacy at yahoo dot com
I'm not seeing the week 4 challenge? And the kidorable giveaway asks to do week 4?
ReplyDeleteTotally going to stop running the water when I brush my teeth!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to check out budget and see if we can get an appliance replaced (our ac unit is over 10 yrs old)
ReplyDeleteI use cold water to wash my clothes and then hang them all on the line to dry.
ReplyDeletegr8kidsgr8fam at yahoo dot com
I make my own bags out of the boy's old t-shirts to take to the market.
ReplyDeletegr8kidsgr8fam at yahoo dot com
I joined freecycle and switched to all-cold laundry.
ReplyDeleteI got rid of my papertowels and ziplock bags and now only use reusable
ReplyDeletedaunfamily@yahoo.com
i reuse my sons baby wipes tubs for crayons and other craft items, and i always heat up what i can for dinner in the microwave like veggies to conserve energy
ReplyDeleteGreat article- I signed up for freecycle. I'm about to clear clutter from my apartment this month so this is a great time to start giving away stuff I don't need to someone who can actually use it.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! I didn't know there was such a thing as recycled pens! I'm going to look into that :)
ReplyDeleteI'm being even more careful about recycling! Great post :)
ReplyDeletewe are setting up a compost bin with worms!
ReplyDeleteshen
divertida(at)fastmail(dot)fm
I am re-using yogurt cups to plant seeds with my K-1 class at school.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
I use cold water to wash my clothing in and I also freecycle all the time!
ReplyDeleteAngie
one 4 earth at aol dot com
I already do 1. Freecycle, 2. Re-Use, 4. "Green" your laundry, 5. Adjust your Thermostat, and many many more on this list; however, microwaving meals is one thing that I am doing more of because of reading this! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteScott
nynekats at aol dot com