Earth Day Wishes

* A very quick note: You have until noon today to enter the Laundry Tree SoapNuts Giveaway. It takes two seconds and is so worth it!

Of all the secular holidays that there are; Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, and on & on, is there any one that can be as meaningful to all people as Earth Day? No matter your color, creed, gender, age, orientation, class or political persuasion, we all share a single home. The health of the planet affects all of us and we can all celebrate our small patch of this world and find ways to preserve and improve it. We are all environmentalists, even if we don't know it yet. It's difficult not be cynical. For some reason, my passion for the planet is the one place that skepticism has yet to infiltrate.

Giveaways! - Endings and Beginnings

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter to win one of two Kids Vegetable Gardening Kits from Terracycle. Contest closes at midnight tonight and the winner will be announced tomorrow. And don't forget to head over to your local Walmart to see the Terracycle products available only through the end of this month.
In the vein of "when one window closes, another door opens" I am pleased to announce another awesome giveaway. You may recall my recent post about my new love affair with Laundry Tree Soap Nuts and since then I have continued to use Soap Nuts in every room of the house. The solution I made from water, vinegar, and the Soap Nut Soak is my new all purpose cleaner and I love it.

Spreading the Love - Terracycle Updates

When I was at Walmart to pick up a prescription yesterday, I took a minute to check out the Terracycle display and was both saddened and pleased to see that it was slim pickings. They were out of the Kids Vegetable Gardening kits and I was bummed because I wanted one. I decided I am going to buy each of the kids something from Terracycle for Earth Day so I had them all show me which things they liked best and I will go back another day without them.
The displays actually looked great and each product was either featured beside the the packaging it was made from (Capri Sun Lunch Bags next to Capri Sun drinks, etc.) or next to other "green" items that are being featured for Earth Day. Next to where the gardening kits should have been there were lots of recycled rubber mulches and organic plant foods.
Apparently it's not just my Walmart because I got this message from one of my oldest and dearest BF's:
"Hi Heather! I am happy to report that I went to Wally World today to make my Terracycle purchase, and the racks were nearly empty. Seems they have been popular here! I bought a little Starburst bag that Libby can use as a diaper/snack bag when we go out. Not only that, but I told two different people about the products while I was in the store. Should I be getting paid for this? And finally, did you know that the products have tags on them with a card to send in and get a free gift. So it's two for one! Yay!"
The love has reached Iowa! Go mid west!
There are also lots of other blogs having giveaways this month so be sure to check out the Terracycle Facebook Page where many are being listed. I would tell you to go to the Terracycle Twitter page, but I might get you lost. Twitter has got me on the mental run.
There is an great giveaway going on at a blog I just fell in serious L-O-V-E with, Green Lifestyle Consulting. As I was reading through some of their posts, I was like "Yes. YES. YES!!!!" Just a quick scan through revealed discussions about everything from energy efficiency to greener birthday parties. They are totally speaking my language!
And of course, don't forget to enter the Simple Butta giveaway which ends Monday night. Kick your Earth Day celebrations off right!
Well, I'm off to curse the rain and daydream about planting.

Some Earth Day love. A Terracycle Giveaway!

You may have heard me say it before - I am not artistic and I am not crafty. When I am called upon to whip up a homemade project or party favor, I utilize the one medium that I feel truly comfortable working in - garbage. Whether it's juice lid Christmas ornaments (in the hectic holiday season that post didn't make it up) or milk carton bird feeders, if a craft project can be made out of materials that would have otherwise ended up in the trashcan, I am far more likely to give it a go.

So you can see why seeing a single episode of "Big Ideas For a Small Planet" that featured Terracycle was a transformative experience for me. Although it was several years back, I distinctly remember the thrill I got when I saw their worm poop fertilizer which was packaged in reused plastic bottles. Not recycled, reused. Better. No process needed. Feed the worms some organic waste, put the resulting liquid in old bottles. In fact, this was the world's first product "to be made from and packaged entirely in waste!". David and I were all "Why didn't we think of that?" and knew that Terracycle was on to something.
Since then, Terracycle has expanded their line to include everything from backpacks to Skunk Odor Remover and they are one of the world's fastest growing environmentally friendly companies. Masters of upcycling, they sponsor brigades where you can collect specific types of trash and earn money for your school or organization in the process. I love how they are involving the masses to transform the way we think about how products are made and where our grabage goes.