What to do with a deadbeat stroller?

Ah. Becky has a conundrum:

Hi. I have a question about getting rid of old strollers. I know that everyone first trys to sell them on craigslist or give them away. I have one such stroller that a friend gave to me. To be honest this stroller sucks. Its not worth selling and I can't even think of giving it away. I already know that the goodwill will not take strollers. (I tried to give them a umbrella stroller in great condition and they said no)  I looked all over hoping that I am not asking a repeat question. Who will take the old and dead strollers?! I hate to think that the trash/landfill is our only choice.
Thanks for your help.

My first thought is if the stroller is still in working condition, try to give it away on CraigsList or FreeCycle. A crummy stroller is better than no stroller for many people. But if it's unsafe or broken and you really want to avoid the landfill, you could take it apart and put any metal parts in your curbside bin. (Considered "scrap" metal.) If the plastic parts have numbers on them, you could save them for the next Master Recycle Round-up and see if they'll take them. Does anyone have any other ideas for Becky?

Three Rivers land restoration/work party on June 2

Here's a great invitation from Three Rivers Land Conservancy for National Family Recreation Day (June 2):

"Hey Enviromoms - My name is Melanie and I am the volunteer coordinator for Three Rivers Land Conservancy.  I heard about your group through a variety of people here at our offices.  I don't know the age of most of you kids, but I am putting together an event for June 2nd at our Keller Woodlands location.  June 2nd is National Family Recreation Day and I thought it would be great to get families to come out and help us restore some land.  Why not clean up the areas your family plays! The forests of Portland are places for families to hike, run, walk and teach each other about the importance of nature, keep them healthy for future generations!   The work parties run from 9am-12pm and the site is located .6 miles north of the Chart House on Terwilliger Blvd.  There are pull outs on both sides of the street for parking, look for the West Willamette Restoration banner and the Three Rivers Land Conservancy banner.  Let me know if anyone from your group would be interested in helping us out.  The weather should be good, and it is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning."

Please contact Melanie if you'd be interested in helping out!

The greening of computers and electronics

I kid you not. On the first day of the Master Recycler course I asked what eWaste is. I honestly did not know. If you're in that same boat, it's short for electronic waste, or unwanted, obsolete, or unusable electronic products such as computers. eWaste is a particularly tricky waste stream because electronics are made up of a diverse mix of materials (some precious and some toxic) put together in complex ways.

So have you got eWaste sitting in a closet at home somewhere? Understandable. It's hard to part with computers or electronics that you paid big bills for and were considered "top of the line" not so long ago. It's best if you can find someone to reuse it. We've found new homes for some of our old computers via Craigslist. Free Geek may be your solution if you don't want to sell it. They rebuild and adopt out good computers, and they break down truly obsolete machines into recyclable parts using volunteer labor. Volunteers can work toward earning their own computer once they've put in a certain amount of hours.

Now Oregon is one of several states on the cusp of eWaste legislation. The measure would require electronics manufacturers to open recycling sites or to help pay for collective sites where electronic devices could be returned free of charge. Amen to that!

There's also a few other organizations we should be aware of as electronics consumers. There's a voluntary program for electronics manufacturers called EPEAT that helps consumers pick products based on their environmental attributes. There's also MyGreenElectronics to help us make greener choices when we are buying electronics. We are a pretty hard-core Mac family, so I was pleased to see Steve Jobs' letter about a "greener apple".

I could go on and on, but let me finish by tying in a discussion of the power of consumer opinions in our final Master Recycler class this week (so, yes, indeed, Heather and I are newly ordained "Master Recylers" now). Use the 800 numbers. Write letters. Tell manufacturers what you think about excessive packaging and environmental impact. The green choir is growing and getting louder. Hallelujah! Vote with your dollar! OK, someone make me step away from the keyboard now!

Greenbuilding, fairy-style

A couple years ago during a summertime park playdate, a then-5-year old taught my then-3-year old daughter about fairy houses. Fairy houses, as told by author Tracy Kane in the book by the same name, are tiny shelters built in natural settings out of natural materials that are found on the ground. The story goes that if you build it, the fairies will come. The book, which we finally read last week, offers tips for building these little structures, which can be as primitive or elaborate as your child wants. The idea is to encourage exploration and respect of nature: the fairies won't come to any houses if leaves or branches have been pulled off trees in order to make it. It's also a great exercise in creativity and problem-solving: how can we set up these little twigs to support a roof? Can we make a hammock out of a fallen leaf and two twigs?

So for the past two summers, we've built numerous fairy houses around our yard. For the most part they've been very simple and easily toppled in a light wind. But it's been great to watch my daughter, and now my son, scavenging for twigs, getting their fingers dirty and imagining how delighted the fairies will be when they find their new house. Check out the fairy house Web site and see what other kids are building (some of them are pretty amazing). Building fairy houses is a great substitute for watching Bob the Builder on a sweet, summer day.

(The above photo was borrowed from www.fairyhouses.com)

Rates are rising, so how do you keep the electricity costs down?

Not too long ago we were talking about gas prices rising to record high levels in Oregon. Now the Oregonian reports a big expected rise in electricity costs for 75% of residential electricity users. Heather had a great KidTip to share about encouraging your kids to turn the lights off. So what are you going to do to keep your electricity bill low when the rates go up?

Hasta la vista, Drano

Our shower/tub was draining s-l-o-w-l-y, so I rolled up my sleeves and went to work on it today. After fishing out copious amounts of hair (mine) and trying not to gag, the drain was still running slow. So I consulted my handy booklet, Green Cleaners: Simple cleaning recipes for a safer home, published by Metro. Their recipe:

Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1/2 cup vinegar. To create pressure, immediately cover the drain and let it sit for 15 minutes. Follow with a kettle of boiling water (about 2 quarts). Use this treatment regularly to prevent clogged drains and keep them smelling fresh.

Now, this recipe was actually in the "kitchen" section, so I had a little trouble pouring that much baking soda down the tub drain (I ended up pushing it down with a Q-Tip, and when I poured in the vinegar it started dissolving). I don't think I achieved the "pressure" effect either, but ultimately I ended up with a clear drain. The Drano is headed to Metro's Hazardous Waste Facility!

Have you had luck with any home-brewed drain cleaners?

Where do you buy glycerine and essential oils?

I'm in the market for some glycerine. It's a common ingredient in Metro's home-brewed green cleaners, and I also want some for making non-toxic hair detangler (my daughter's long curly hair requires detangler on a daily basis and I've promised not to buy yucky "no more tears"-type formulas any more). So where do you buy glycerine, or for that matter essential oils? And not break the bank? 

How does one adult bike with two kids?

I used to have a bike. In my twenties when I was too poor to afford a car, the bike was my main means of transportation. I also lived in SE Portland, where the terrain is a lot flatter. Now I'm in the SW hills, and up until recently the thought of riding a bike around here sounded horrible. Too many hills! (Though don't tell that to the devoted bike commuters who huff up Terwilliger every day.) So I gave my bike away. Now I'm thinking about biking again as a way to cut back on car usage, but there's another issue: the kids. During the day when my husband is at work, is it possible for one adult to bike with two kids? My 5.5 year old is still on training wheels and can't possibly handle going down (or up) hills on her own. The almost 3-year old is too small for a tag-along. Is it possible to do? Do I need to wait one more year until my daughter is a confident cyclist? She does great on the tag-along, but then what do I do with my son?

The Oregonian had a great story about a family with three little kids who'd traded in their van for a Bakfiets bike -- a bike with a big cart in front. All three of the kids ride in the cart. It works for them, though I wonder if they ever go up big hills. It also costs $2,500, which is not in my price range (but, it's a great price for a car-substitute!) So I'm looking for stories! Do you bike with your kids? How do you do it?

KidTips: Teaching your kids to turn off the lights

There have been days in our house where it seems every light is burning. "Why are all of these lights on?" we'd ask the kids. "Because we needed to see." "Why didn't you turn them off." "Because we didn't." Alright then. Well this was really driving my husband crazy, so one night he and I sat down to figure out how to teach them (well, really just the 5.5 year old) to turn off the lights. He came up with a brilliant idea: our daughter, the oldest, loves to be in charge, so why not make her in charge of turning off the lights? Give it a catchy name, like Light Bulb Leader, and make her understand how everyone has important jobs around the house, and one of her jobs, as Light Bulb Leader, is to make sure that the lights are off whenever someone leaves a room. Well, let me tell you, it worked! She was thrilled with the title (Light Bulb Princess, Light Bulb Chief, Light Bulb Warrior would also work, depending on your child's interests) and took the job very seriously. Now, whenever she leaves the playroom or her bedroom, the lights go off without me having to tell her. She understands that it's wasting electricity to leave on the lights and that it costs a lot of money. As she gets older, she will learn more about electricity and how it works, but for now we're just trying to teach her some good habits. And it's actually made my husband and I more aware of unnecessary light bulb usage around the house. If someone does leave the lights on, we'll ask, "Where is our Light Bulb Leader?" and she'll come racing to switch off the lights. I'm hoping our son is learning by watching (since he's still too short to turn off most of the lights) and will pick up good habits as he gets older.

Have you had success getting your kids to turn off the lights? Any good tips and techniques to share?

Holy Lamb Organics: great products that are worth the price

We got a product recommendation from our Master Recycler friend Julie today that we're pleased to pass along:

"I wanted to tell you about a fabulous company that makes organic wool and cotton bedding:  Holy Lamb Organics. I've been dreaming over their website for weeks now, and saw that they would have a booth at the Greener Homes and Garden expo. So that's really why I headed over there.  I've been fretting about my boys sleeping on their waterproof mattress pads: the offgassing, the lack of breathability, the dust-mites, the vinyl, the flame retardant chemicals...the list goes on and on. I've been searching for a natural alternative and was very dismayed not to find anything to buy locally. (I did find Cotton Cloud Futon sells 100% cotton options, instead of polyester fill.) I really wanted to make a purchase that I would feel good about, that was healthy, that would last, and it would be a huge bonus to make it a local purchase, too.  I have to say, the products she had on display her booth are gorgeous.  Pillows, crib bedding, comforters, sheets, towels, and baby products. So soft and comfortable! So I did it. Made the huge plunge and bought organic cotton/wool mattress toppers for both the boys. Yes, it was expensive! Probably more than we paid for their mattresses. But I feel so good about the purchase. I also feel good about putting my money where my values are. Sometimes making the organic or sustainable or local choice costs more money. And that often means those choices are not accessible to all. But when your money goes to small companies like this, you allow them to stay in business, to keep doing what they love, and in this case, to bring a healthy nights sleep to your kids! By the way, if you can't make it out to the expo, Mirador sells this bedding by special order."

Thanks, Julie, for this great product recommendation and for sharing your thought process with us. As we talked about at MR class last week, sometimes we really have to vote with our dollar. Kudos to you for doing just that!!