Terracycle Cutting Board from Ecosmart

Ooooo cool! A sparkly cutting board. Fancy eh? This eco-friendly board is made from 100% recycled materials. The sparkles come from recycled Capri Sun pouches  woven into the fibers. This might make one groovy gift for an eco conscience friend that loves to chop and dice. You can buy this cutting board by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of One Bag at a Time

I have become oh so good at reusing my own bags. I would rather walk out with my hands full of stuff then use a plastic bag. Anyway enough about me and how great I am at using my own bags Did you know that reusable bags are also a perfect host for E.coli and other nasty microbes? Yep, seems that a little research was done by the American Chemistry Council and out of 84 bags tested, 12% tested positive for E.coli. A couple of tips for keeping these germies away?

• Dedicate bags to certain items such as meat. As you would a cutting board.
• Wash your bags with laundry soap and allow them to air dry.

Remember though, using these bags even with this added risk is still a much better bet as far as saving our planet — one bag at a time. On this same note, I just saw a sign at WalMart that said they would no longer be using plastic bags. They will offer their reusable totes for a small fee.

Are you good at remembering your reusable totes? How about washing them?

I love little tips on how to recycle something that is used often {this particular item is used VERY often by some of us }. Do you drink wine? {guilty} If so, you probably have noticed that some wineries have switched to screw top. But still, many are still bottled with a cork. I have taken to saving my corks. They make a fun display in a clear vase. Did you know that you can also recycle them? Yep. CorkReharvest.org is a nonprofit organization that is collecting used corks and working with recycling centers to re-purpose  them into things such as floor tiles and coasters. Are you wondering where you can “recycle” your used corks? Whole Foods Market has a drop box. Click here for a location near you.

Do you have a recycling tip to share?

I recently went on a little shopping spree courtesy of a gift card that I received from my girlfriends for my birthday {say that five times fast!}. Anyway, I was on a bit of a mission for some new shoes. My winter shoes wardrobe goes something like this: Uggs and tennis shoes. Really. So it was time for something else. I love Converse but they do not fit my feet right. I settled on a simple pair of sneakers by, well Simple! This brand really strives to be 100%  sustainable which just makes me feel like hugging a tree.  Among the resources used for creating their funky, stylish and comfy shoes are recycled carpet padding/ inner tubes/ car tires,  plastic {think water bottles, etc.}, hemp, silk, wool and bamboo. Even their packaging is Eco Friendly.

What are Simple Shoes made from?

Images courtesy of Simple Shoes

Why not wear a shoe that is comfy and good for our Planet Earth? I think these shoes might even make me walk a little taller

Places to buy: Nugget Market, Nordstrom and Journeys.

I have this lovely friend that I have known for a very long time {no need for numbers as that might just date me!!}. She is a cheerleader for The Local Honey and keeps me informed of new and worthwhile products. So a great big thanks to Michelle for sending me links of great products that I can share with you!  I do appreciate it Last week she sent me a link to these super cool reusable bags. She is a mama of 2 young boys also on a quest to be more “green”. So check out this great little site, Graze Organic. They make bags that are made from 100% certified organic cotton. You can wash them and reuse them. Pretty cool uh? Think about how much waste our daily lunch creates when you include a plastic baggie for every snack. No good. So check out Graze Organic and see if you can make a difference if our landfills.