A few months ago, Sreenivasulu.M.R, a software professional in Bangalore, India, emailed me out of the blue to let me know about his project building intricate miniatures of world-renowned architecture out of used plastic pen refills. These days, a lot of my emails go unanswered and even unread because my time is consumed with caring for […]
When I left my home in California last month to care for my dad in Maryland, I struggled to figure out how to do it plastic-free.  Moving across the country can involve a lot of disposable plastic if you’re not careful: plastic bubble wrap inside your boxes, plastic tape to close the boxes, and plastic […]
Have you ever considered your checkbook cover? If you’re like me, you might be so accustomed to paying bills online that you don’t even remember where your checkbook is. But I’m thinking about mine today because of an article I just read in Environmental Health News. Apparently, Deluxe, the main provider of personal checks for […]
I felt like I was back in kindergarten yesterday… cutting and pasting with paste you could eat if you wanted to. Â I’m taking my plastics information display to the ReUseConex in Portland tomorrow and wanted to make it sturdier. Taping paper pages directly to the wooden board was not working well. Â The paper curled […]
Before companies send me products to review, I always request that they not use any plastic packaging, including tape. Some comply. Others have a hard time with it, and their packaging ends up in my tally. I’m writing this post not only to help my readers make plastic-free packaging choices, but also to have a web page to […]
When it’s coated with plastic. Like the kind I have to hide from Arya because things like this happen… Two years ago, in my post about plastic-free kitting, I mentioned I was knitting slippers out of Superwash wool from Lorna’s Laces. I assumed that Superwash meant the yarn had already been washed and wouldn’t shrink […]
You wouldn’t think that 3-ring binders would be the topic of intense debate within the green blogging community, but it turns out they have become a symbol of a much bigger discussion: the pros and cons of buying new “green” products vs. re-using older products that might not be as green. It’s a debate I […]
So here’s the deal. I promised to write a post on BlogHer.com about plastic-free organizing tips next week. But I have no business writing any such thing. Just take a look at my desk: I’ve been trying to organize my office space ever since we moved here in 2005, and it’s just not happening. Paper, […]
I’ve become an honorary member of the Green Moms monthly blog carnival, which was great last month when the topic was global warming and I had to learn all about how waste is related to climate change. This month, however, the topic is “Back To School,” and I almost decided to bow out. I don’t […]
August 22, 2008 Financial West Group 4510 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Westlake Village, CA 91362 Re: Account #[omitted] Dear FWG: In January of this year, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to move my retirement savings into socially and environmentally responsible investments. To that end, I signed up with The Social Equity Group in […]