Today is the last day of the Household Waste Reduction Challenge. Thanks to everyone for participating! Now that it’s over, take some time to have a discussion with your household members about ways to start or continue reducing household waste. I’ve gathered this week’s posts below as a reference:
Day One: Reduce Household Consumption
Two: Food is for Eating Giveaway: Kootsacs Butterfly Bags
Recycling is another step towards reducing household waste. As I mentioned earlier this week, recycling shouldn’t be touted as the answer to our household waste problems. First, households need to reduce consumption and reuse stuff. People will find that if they work on reducing and reusing, recycling won’t be as overwhelming.
Some people don’t recycle because they honestly don’t know how. If this is you, start by making a spot in your home solely for the purpose of recycling. A box in the corner, a bin under the kitchen sink or a garbage can in the carport all work well. It won’t take long to figure out a system that works. Next find out what kind of recycling program your city offers. Use a search engine, like Google, and type in recycling and the name of your city (i.e. recycling Vancouver). The what-where-how? information for recycling in your area should pop up – easy-peasy!
If you are blessed with access to a great recycling program take advantage of it, if you aren’t, recycle what you can and then focus on the reducing and reusing waste.
One more thing on about recycling. Sometimes we use recycling as an excuse for being wasteful. Recycling isn’t magic. Resources and energy are needed to make recycled material into something useful. Try not to use the option to recycle as an excuse for purchasing wasteful products like flats of bottled water. Remember: Reduce, Reuse and then Recycle.
Final Giveaways
The first giveaway is from The Green Sheep a Canadian online store sells organic mattresses and bedding, natural baby products and stuff for mom and family. For Earth Week, until April 25th, all of their products are 20% off! Today I’m offering a pair of their wool dryer balls.
These felted wool dryer balls are to be used in place of fabric softener, and to shorten the time needed to dry your laundry. Their “not quite round” shape breaks through static better than a round ball does. They are handmade in BC and have a 100% wool exterior, with a core of terry towelling.
The second giveaway is made by kreenZart. kreenZart makes fun and good quality items from new and recycled material. K’reen makes funky training pants, bags, reusable lunch and snack baggies, hairclips and other things too. If you live locally you should definitely check out kreenZart at the Farmers’ Market! Today I’m offering a set of three reusable baggies perfect for snacks and school lunches.
These cool baggies have a cotton exterior and a foodsafe PVC interior.
Enter the Giveaways:
1) Leave a comment about the Household Waste Reduction Challenge. Thoughts? Suggestions? Please leave an email address if you do not have a link on your name so I can contact you if you win.
2) Visit The Green Sheep or the kreenZart Facebook page and then come back here and comment by telling me that you checked it out.
3) Facebook, blog or tweet about this giveaway and link back to this blog. Leave a separate comment for each thing you’ve done telling me you’ve done so.
4) Become a follower of my blog.
So there are multiple ways of entering this giveaway with a potential of six entries per person!
All the giveaways this week will be open for entry until Sunday, April 24, 2011 at midnight. The winners will be announced on April 25, 2011.
14 comments
I have checked out the kreenZart facebook page. I love the idea of her reusable snack/sandwich bags. My sons idea for this week was to just stop throwing stuff out, he wants us to be a zero waste household apparently. While i don't see that happening we try our best. In fact I must go as off to the great cloth diaper change to try and get into Guinness!!
taraleagauthier@gmail.com
I think the household reduction challenge is great. We think very consciously about what we'll bring into our home (buying in bulk, organic, and locally — repurposing when we can), and also do our best to reduce through-put (less in and less out).
lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
The Green Sheep's wool mattress pad looks like a great way to keep baby dry and comfy
lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
I follow on gfc
lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
Living out in the country and on a lagoon system I stopped using liquid downey and using bounce for the dryer and would really like to try the yarn balls for static. And those smack baggies are neat too. Helen
I like the reusable sandwich and snack bags from zreenKart and will definitely purchase some when we go to the farmers market.
As we looked over our Household Waste Chart, we realized most of our waste is coming from….DIAPERS ! So I went and booked a Diaper Discovery session with CozyBums last night. I think that will make a huge differene for us. Also, knowing more about plastics in general, we will reduce the amount we buy in toys, food storage etc.
I think the Household Waste Reduction Challenge is great! I try to do our part by purchasing second hand toys and clothes and buying organic as much as possible.
amandaanderson1@gmail.com
Already a fan of the Green Sheep! Love the customer service. I purchased some dryer balls awhile ago when I switched to cloth diapering 😀
amandaanderson1@gmail.com
Already a blog follower 😀
amandaanderson1@gmail.com
Taking part in the challenge made me realize how much plastic there is to "throw away" if I'm not careful. I will be taking much more care to buy less plastic and to watch for the "4,5 and 2".
I like the bamboo nursing pads. I tried reusable ones (from Walmart) for awhile and found that they didn't have enough absorption. (I still used them regardless and they got better as time went on) These ones look great to use 🙂
I facebooked about you 🙂
Officially a follower of your blog as well.