Feeling a little cheesehead love...

What seems like a million years ago, I lived in Wisconsin. My family moved there when I was in middle school. I remained through university (go Badgers!). At one point in my adulthood, I suggested to my husband that we move there. His response: "Doesn't it snow there???" Please forgive him, as he spent too many of his formative years in warm places like Florida, Louisiana and California.

I'm not planning to visit Wisconsin anytime soon, but once in a while, there's seems to be a conspiracy about a place, and I keep running into reference after reference about the Dairy State:

• I don't know how this happened, but we never read any of the Kevin Henkes books before this fall. We recently read Chrysanthemum and Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. Hilarious. And bless that funny author's heart, he is from Madison, Wisconsin.
• I ran across Oompa Toys during the recall scares. They specialize in toys with no batteries, no blinking lights, no character endorsements, made from natural things like wood, in places with high safety standards like Europe. There are great toy stores like this all over the country, but this one jumped out at me. Why? Because they are based in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Then there was my dilemma over buying a down comforter for our guest bedroom. We keep our house cold at night in the winter. It's bearable because there are down comforters in all the bedrooms, except the guest room, but I've been wanting to get one for ages. I was highly tempted by all the post-Thanksgiving sales fliers flaunting rock-bottom prices on down and down-alternative comforters. I resisted temptation. I went with one that is made in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, by The Company Store. It has a lifetime guarantee. I have a similar one made by this company on my own bed, and I've had it for about 18 years. It will last forever. Again. Don't want to suggest you can't find a great down comforter made here or in your neck of the woods, but I felt this was tried and true and worth a few extra bucks and shipping.

OK. That's it for now. Does anyone else want to share a little cheesehead love?

Win a set of fabulous Fabkins!

If you've been wanting to reduce your usage of paper napkins, here's a good incentive: enter to win a set of five Fabkins! Fabkins are kid-sized, kid-themed cloth napkins that are perfect for lunchboxes and little laps. They are made of 100% cotton, measure 13 inches square and have a little label for writing in your child's name. The company was started by two moms and best friends (gotta love that), and they manufacture the napkins in San Francisco.

So, how do you win? Send us an email -- enviromompdx [at] gmail [dot] com -- and give us a KidTip! Something you do (big or small) to help teach your kids about caring for the environment. It could be something we've already talked about here, or something different that others could benefit from learning about. We'll share all of these ideas in a future post. The deadline is this Friday, November 2 at noon, and we'll pick the winner at random! The winner gets to choose which Fabkins designs they want. Good luck!

Time for a little hanky-panky!

So here's another of my loopy ideas... the return of the handkerchief. Hanky, for short. I forgot that was even a word. It's on my mind since every member of my family, myself included, has been attacked by some fierce drippy-nose, exploding sinuses, croup-cough, pinkeye goober eyes bug of mass mucus production over the last several weeks. As I type, I have the attention span of a gnat because my head continues to be filled with so much congestion I swear it could explode at any moment (so stand back, you only get one warning). So forgive me if I'm a bit disjointed. Lately it's been hard to keep track of where the boxes of tissues are. And every time I see them I'm bugged that I can't find a bulk vendor of recycled fiber content tissues. So maybe what I need to do is avoid the whole issue of new fibers vs. recycled fibers. And go back to using cloth handkerchiefs. It wasn't so long ago that I was a teenager. I remember folding handkerchiefs from my laundry chores. It got me to wondering if they still even make them, and lo and behold Amazon has only 171 styles available for your perusal (although some seem more like the ones Liberace would put in his breast pocket, so probably not the best choice for the kind of sinus clearing action I need right now). I do like that the classic bandana is featured. Although I would not want to be mistaken for a Blood or a Cripp, so color choice here is important. And thank you to Wikipedia for validating for me that use of a handkerchief in North America does have an old-fashioned connotation, yet in Japan and Sri Lanka use of a handkerchief gives the impression that one is well-educated. And here's another funny little historical note:

"The Kleenex company hadn't initially imagined that people would want a disposable handkerchief, so they initially marketed their product exclusively as a make-up removal tool. It was only later after they discovered that people were blowing their noses into the tissue that they began marketing it for this purpose."

I guess those Kleenex people would be laughing all the way to the bank if they could look into my garbage can this week. But I'm thinking it's time for a change. Perhaps some tie-dye hankies made out of old t-shirts are in this family's future? Do you use cloth handkerchiefs? Do you find it polishes your well-educated image? Or do you fear it's unhygienic and hopelessly old-fashioned?

Spreadable butter without the plastic container

I duly gathered up all my "hard-to-recycle" plastics and took them to the Westside Master Recycler Plastics Roundup today. One of the things I noticed we had a lot of were those plastic butter containers. Not the tubs, per se, but the ones that spreadable butter come in (made by Challenge or Land-o-Lakes with a little bit of added canola oil to soften it up). Just came across a recipe thanks to SusieJ that spells out how to make my own spreadable butter.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for spreadable butter:

One stick (8 oz) of real butter (softened)
1/2 cup grapeseed, canola or mild extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

Mix until completely creamy (in a food processor). Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate.  It keeps for several weeks.

I do not have a food processor. I do have a KitchenAid stand mixer. I think I'll try that, and will let you know how it goes. And I just bought about 8 sticks of butter, so I am really ready to try this!!

Another option is a French butter keeper. They claim it needs no refrigeration, stays soft and doesn't spoil when kept in this dish at room temp. Either way, you avoid the dreaded hard-to-recycle plastic butter containers!

I like big butts. And I don't know why.

Oh, those wacky Britons. They went and designed an outdoor water catcher in the form of a butt. The bummer is that you can only get them in the UK. Sigh. I wonder what those HOA-abiding residents down in Bend would think about an ass in the grass. Oh, stop me, please.

That's a spigot down there, in case you were wondering.

(via Grist)

Greenwashing? biodegradeable doggie-doo bags

So, a friend came over the other day with his dog. My kids were looking at the dog's fancy leash: it had a little built-in holder for doggie-doo bags. I love it when dog owners are responsible and pick up after their pets. With a bit of pride, my friend announced that the doggie doo bags are biodegradable.

Apparently, we're all supposed to ooh-and-aah at that point. It's Biodegradable! The magic word. Right up there with: natural! photodegradable! recyclable! environmentally friendly! green! earth-friendly!

But being the smarty-pants Master Recycler that I am, I asked "So, does that mean you're composting the poop?" He gave me a look like I was utterly insane. He's not a real nature guy, and spends a lot of time shopping in the Pearl District. No, you guessed it. He tosses them in the garbage, and the bag of poop goes to the landfill where it sure doesn't biodegrade.

So here's what I wanted to say: "Dude, you just spent good money on biodegradable plastic bags that you're not even composting? In case you haven't noticed, you can get plastic bags for free. I guess the bright side of it is you at least got a matching dog leash to go with your expensive bags."

Apologies for my fixation on excrement this week. I can't seem to move past it.

Easy peasy

Sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest impact. I've been wanting to put recycling pails in our two bathrooms for months! It's amazing the amount of recyclables that come out of a bathroom: toilet paper rolls, empty shampoo bottles, empty toothpaste boxes, the list goes on. In the past we've just set this stuff on the vanity, thinking we'll remember to take it to the recycle bin in the garage, and of course it just sits there and accumulates and looks messy and sometimes ends up in the trash (and then I have to pick through the snotty tissues, hair and used Q-tips to dig it out again -- lovely!). Not anymore! I picked up these galvanized aluminum pails at IKEA and made labels on my printer that read: "Recycle, please! Paper, cardboard, plastic containers and bags, metal, glass." This way, my kids start to learn what can be recycled, and my guests think twice before tossing something in the trash. The pails also have handles, which makes them easy to take out on garbage day. Gotta love a simple, low-cost solution!

Did you know you could recycle crayons?

Here's a great tip emailed to us from Betty about recycling crayons:

"Upon my first trip out to Far West Fibers last month (the SE location), I was pleasantly surprised to see a bin for recycling crayons there!  I had never heard of recycling crayons before, and thought it might be a good idea to let other people know about it too since it may be a new idea for them as well. I don't know how many times I've thrown stubby bits of crayons out into the garbage.

"I recently ran across the program below called Crazy Crayons that also promotes the idea of recycling crayons.  They also wanted to call to our attention that many restaurants/eating places that hand out crayons for the kids will actually throw away all of the crayons after they have only been used that one time!   So many crayons unnecessarily piling up in the landfill!  Maybe if they knew they had other green options available to them, these could be diverted from the landfill?"

Bamboo clothing

I had the pleasure of touching some bamboo clothing at the Muddy Boot festival this past weekend. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was surprised at how soft the fabric is. I had read about bamboo towels and fabric. I figured that with bamboo being a grass, it would be coarse and stiff. Not so. Milwaukie-based Buchic was the company with bamboo clothing on display that kindly allowed me to fondle their wares. I had to force myself not to buy anything (I'm in a personal non-spending zone), as I was greatly tempted to add to my wardrobe on the spot.

I was aware that cotton is a terribly labor and pesticide intensive crop, accounting for a quarter of the world's fertilizer and chemical use. Yikes! Bamboo, on the other hand, uses no fertilizers or chemicals. Bamboo clothing is hypoallergenic, and contains a natural anti-bacterial that wicks moisture from the body and keeps the fabric odor free. I cannot say the same about the one organic cotton t-shirt I own. It seems to absorb every single armpit odor my body has ever emitted, and hangs onto them even after washing! Sorry, TMI.

Although I'm very dedicated to reusing clothing and buying second-hand where possible, I realize that not every item can be acquired this way. So I am pre-sold on the idea of bamboo for my next purchase of that type.

I hear bamboo towels also dry nice and soft on a clothesline (something cotton towels can't compete with).

Do you wear bamboo?

Repelling yellow jackets with (gulp) Bounce dryer sheets

Bounce dryer sheets are not exactly environmentally-friendly. They are chock-full of chemicals and disposable. That said, I've had a jumbo box from Costco sitting on the laundry room shelf mocking me for months now. Well, somewhere on the Internet I read that you can repel yellow jackets with Bounce dryer sheets. Just lay 'em around. This time of year we can't eat on our deck due to yellow jackets buzzing about, so I tried the Bounce technique by placing a couple on our table. Believe it or not, it works. We can now spend hours on our deck undisturbed by yellow jackets. And if one comes near us, we just wave a dryer sheet around, and off they go. I'm not sure what category this falls into -- perhaps 'reuse' -- but I'm feeling good that we don't have to resort to spraying chemicals to keep the yellow jackets at bay -- though is Bounce any better?