The Latest in Green

Here are my latest and greatest strides in Green...

• My new SIGG reusable drink bottles! Thanks to Greenstylemom for picking me for the giveaway.
• My new reusable produce bags. While I've gotten pretty good at using my own bags at the grocery store and other stores, I hadn't found a solution to the produce plastic bags. I buy a LOT of fruit and veggies and while I do reuse those bags, it's still making me feel guilty. I went to Reusable bags and ordered their produce bags. Tomorrow will be my first time using them...they aren't see-through, which kind of bummed me out, but hopefully they will still work out okay at checkout.
• I'm recycling my old printer. Instead of chucking it, I'm sending it to Dell. They said to ship my old printer back in my new printer box. It's not a Dell, so I have to make sure they accept other brands. It's on my mental to-do list for tomorrow. I keep stubbing my toe on the huge box in the middle of my kitchen so I'd like to actually accomplish this one.
• In a recent Amazon box, I got a return envelope to send in old cell phones to be recycled to the troops in Iraq so they can call home. My kids don't need all 4 of our old cells, so I'll pop 1 in the mail tomorrow.
• I scolded my friend at work for using Styrofoam cups for his coffee. It was obnoxious of me, but I don't think he cared that I did it - he's used to me making fun of him. He's probably reading this too and quietly laughing at me :) His point that the kitchen area, specifically the dishwasher and sink areas, are disgusting was well taken...I do use the community cups though. I'm rethinking that. I used to wash and reuse my own cup, but I tend to leave old coffee in it for a few days and then it's hard to clean out without touching the NASTY sponge. (Seriously, why can't people just wring it out??? It wouldn't be so smelly if that small step was taken).
• Instead of chucking my massive magazine collection each month, I bring them to the gym.
• I've tried to unsubscribe from the majority of the catalogs I receive thanks to CatalogChoice. This is a great site you can use as a central location from which to look up catalogs you receive and unsubscribe. You can register multiple names in your household and their directory has everything you can think of. I know this b/c I was getting my grandmothers mail after she passed away and she was subscribed to some random publications. It says it can take up to 2 months for the requests to be processed by the individual companies. I think most of mine have stopped. This should slightly curb my online ordering habit. You'd never know that I actually work in marketing and that while not directly responsible for direct mail and catalogs, the work I do starts that process. Bad me. Bad me.
• It may be too late at this point, but I'm going to try to research and select a CSA where I can get most of my fruits and veggies for the Spring into the Fall. Usually you have to buy your shares around Jan-Feb. I tried this last year and while the produce was organic, it was shipped from all over the place and that defeated half the purpose. This time I'm going to try to find more local and at least organic in spirit if not certified.
• Last, but not least, my goal for this Spring is to start a compost. I grow herbs and some veggies and I produce A LOT of plant waste that I could use for the garden. I'm researching now and will update once I decide upon my course of action.