Have a string of broken Christmass Tree lights?  Here's a place that recycles them!  Also a great resource for LED lights.

www.holidayleds.com

If you know me, you know I love to do bead work.  I just discovered Bead for Life.  I love it!  I'm thinking of hosting a bead party to help support them.

 www.beadforlifestore.org

I just found this cool shoe compoany that donates a pair of shoes for every pair sold.  I've been looking for some simple canvas shoes... I just might get a pair.

Check it out:

 Tom's Shoes

Shopping “green” is not always an easy task. It only takes one trip to the supermarket to realize that companies—now more than ever—are making green marketing claims to sell their products. Phrases like “all natural,” “less packaging,” and “No GMOs” seem to take up more space on the supermarket displays than the products themselves. But it’s not always easy to tell which companies behind these products are “talking the talk” versus “walking the walk.” Truth be told, there’s probably a whole lot more talking out there than we’d like, but the good news is that many companies are starting the walk too. And for the environmentally-oriented mom, there’s a tool to help determine which ones are truly making a difference.

Climate Counts, a non-profit campaign that scores companies annually on their efforts to reverse climate change, is uncovering which companies are working to address their climate footprint. The Climate Counts Company Scorecard -- launched in June 2007 -- helps moms vote with their dollars by making climate-conscious purchasing choices in their everyday lives. What’s the goal? To put pressure on the world's most well-known companies to take the issue of climate change seriously. Climate Counts has currently evaluated 122 companies -- representing over 3000 different brands -- in fourteen major consumer sectors. Recently, Climate Counts scored the Toys & Kids Equipment sector to help you know what the makers of your children’s strollers, dollhouses, and diapers are doing to protect the long-term health of the planet your kid’s will someday inherit.

We know that you care about living sustainably. Check out their Company Scorecard to help make your purchasing decisions consistent with that goal. Download their free Pocket Shopping Guide for quick and easy information on-the-go.

 I heard about this on NPR and thought I would pass it on.....

I am happy to hear that "green" is going mainstream. There are some down sides to greening mass production that's done overseas ( as you will hear when you listen to this story), but I am still happy to hear about the direction we are slowly heading in.

  Zoe&Zac, the new "green" shoe collection from Payless Shoes, hit shelves last week on Monday, April 13. The collection offers shoes featuring organic cotton canvas, hemp, linen, EVA (non-PVC) foam beds, recycled rubber and water-based glues.

The entire collection for women and girls is offered at a budget friendly price of under $30. The packaging is also eco-smart and uses 100 percent recycled shoe boxes printed with soy-based inks.

Also, for every Zoe&Zac item bought, Payless will contribute $1 to The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Campaign.

I came across this website, thought you might want to check it out. 

http://www.ecostiletto.com/

For all you moms who love going to the movies but have a hard time finding the time or the opportunity to do so because of your children, Rohnert Park Reading Cinema presents "Crybaby Matinee"

You can bring children and  infants ( tantrums and feedings are ok : )

Every Wednesday at 1 pm . Adults pay matinee price and chidlren under 5 are free.

Heres a sample of this months movies..... 

Rohnert Park 16 - Wednesdays at 1:00pm:

• January 07The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• January 14Gran Torino
• January 21Defiance
• January 28Rachel Getting Married

Alice Walker Designs has put out an eco-friendly lunch tote that I think is great. It's stylish and durable and allows you to pack a lunch that will leave no waste behind. The lunch box is insulated to help keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. It includes full size cutlery (fork, knife and spoon) and a cloth reusable napkin which all attach securely to one side of the inside of the lunch tote. The tote also includes three food containers with leak proof lids sizes small, medium and large. these containers could easily hold 1-2 adult meals or 2-3 kid meals inside. A stainless steel water bottle is  provided with an insulated bottle holder and strap/ carabiner if you wanted to take it somewhere separately, for instance on a walk or hike.

 The lunch tote is lead free and vinyl free and comes with a removable shoulder strap that is great for parents who are carrying arm loads of "stuff" everywhere. It allows one to sling the lunch box strap around the shoulder or across the chest for easy carrying. 

Chic, cute, and hip all describe the look and design of this lunch tote. The tote I received has a bright green interior on one side with a zebra print on the other. The water bottle is zebra print and the cloth napkin has a bright green and white polka dot design. The outside can be monogrammed in your / your child's initials for a customized look. The outside front of the lunch tote also has a small plastic window for you to include your address or phone number in case you leave it somewhere, which if you are anything like me, happens on a regular basis : ). 

I highly recommend this product for adults use in taking their lunch to work,  and kids to use for school lunches. It's purpose and design are appropriate for use by all ages and it's style and function make it a great buy for oneself or as a nice gift idea for a child or friend/family member. 

This eco-tote makes packing lunch and caring for the Earth fun! 

For more information on the Eco-Tote, please visit their website on the link above. 

So, we've had ants in our pantry. The ants disappeared while we were in Oregon and then came back a few days later after we got home.  So, yesterday while at Costco I found a company that makes food storage containers in the USA!!!!

http://www.snapware.com/index.asp

So I bought the 12-piece set for our cereals and other misc food that I don't want the ants getting into.  Mind you I also have ant stakes set out that they are going after, but still, I need something to keep them out of the food.

It feels so good to buy something Made in the USA!

I thought about posting a "Buy Nothing Day" post on Black Friday, which some people do in protest of our culture's consumerism which is symbolized in the biggest shopping day of the year (the day after Thanksgiving). But than I thought twice about it because I know these are very tough financial times for many people and maybe Black Friday  deals offer some people the only chance to afford Christmas gifts  this year.

 However, when I heard about the Walmart stampede and security guard's death on Long Island last Friday I was so saddened. Tens of people must have walked over this person without looking back to have something like this happen. Is a good deal really worth a life? Is our culture's pull toward consumerism so strong that we would trample a fellow human being to get a great deal on a TV, or a Barbie?

Starting our nations holiday season with a death like this should be a national embarrassment and  gives me even more reason to celebrate "Buy Nothing Day" every Friday after Thanksgiving.

Due to the economic down turn this year as well as just wanting to focus on family and friends and not gifts this year, our extended family has decided to fore go all gift giving this year. What used to be hours of opening gifts until near boredom and wasting reams of wrapping paper, we will spend this Christmas decorating cookies and filling out cards about what we are most thankful for and then read each others aloud. This was the perfect year to begin this (what I hope to be) tradition with the economy being so bad, it hasn't been hard to convince anyone to eliminate gift giving this year. And I think after the enjoyment and stress free Christmas we have this year with the focus being not on gifts but on one another, no one will want to go back to the "traditional" Christmas. 

The primary purpose of a Buy Nothing Day (in addition to having a terrific neighborly time out in the street) is to see what we can do as activists to urge and provide people with a period of respite, a pause for reflection from the incessant rigors of the consumption economy, which is the main thing that dominates the media and perhaps a few too many of our daily life choices and aspirations.

The Planet Green Channel.

I've been watching, "Living with Ed" - It's kind of funny, but cool to watch how he green's his home.  Another one is "Stuff Happens". Very educational.

I discovered a new one today "G-Word"

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/g-word/ 

I learned that they are taking old tires and recycling them to make new tires or doormats, etc....

I also found out about these guys:

http://www.greengurus.net/index.html 

http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=75142#post75142

I need some green gift giving ideas that would be under $15 for a family gift exchange at Christmas. I was thinking a reusable bag and fill it with green, eco-friendly things totaling $15 or under.

With the holiday season fast approaching, your mailbox is likely to get stuffed with catalogs from companies you have never heard of before let alone the usual suspects, most of which you will likely not open or not be interested in. 

If you are interested in reducing the amount  of paper wasted by way of catalogs mailed to your home, here's a website I found that will help you  do that.