Green Your Travel: Carry Local Foods in Wrap-N-Mat & snackTAXIs!

Wrap-N-Mat

snackTAXIs

Recently Eddy and I went to Charleston, South Carolina. Our flight had a layover just in time for dinner, but instead of eating unhealthy food at the airport, we ate Arkansas grown cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and apples. Our main course was peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with homemade bread and jelly.

Eddy and I are frugal people. We hate to spend money on expensive airport food. We are also very committed to reducing our environmental footprint. We believe airport food creates A LOT of trash.

So, we carry locally grown and/or homemade foods in reusable containers. On our trip to Charleston, we carried our dinner in Wrap-N-Mats and snackTAXIs. I discovered Wrap-N-Mats and snackTAXIs after Eddy’s sister gave them to me for Christmas. They are basically reusable Ziplocks. Wrap-N-Mat holds your sandwich and becomes your place mat when you eat. snackTAXI holds everything from chips to sugar snap peas. After you eat, clean your Wrap-N-Mats and snackTAXIs, and they are ready for the next day.

On my recent trip to DC, I forgot to take my own food and ended up eating at the airport. The food didn’t taste great, and I felt bad about all the trash and eating unhealthy. Fortunately, I had an Arkansas black apple in my purse. I felt so much better after I bit into it.

So, do your best to green your travel! Carry local foods in Wrap-N-Mats and snackTAXIs!

For more information about Wrap-N-Mats, visit www.wrap-n-mat.com. For more information about snackTAXIs, visit www.snacktaxi.com.

Green Travel: To-Go Wares

Some posts are worth repeating.

When travelling, forget disposable utensils. Green your travel with To-Go Wares!

Disturbed by being served her ice cream “for-here” in “to-go” plastic, Stephanie Bernstein founded To-Go Ware in 2004 to encourage people to bring and use their own utensils when eating at a restaurant. Her line of reusable cutlery is made of bamboo, which is highly durable and can be grown and harvested sustainably. “Throwaway” plastic cutlery, on the other hand, consists of petrochemicals harmful to the environment and contributes to a wasteful habit. To-Go Ware Utensil Set comes with flatware, chopsticks, and a holder. You can choose either a cotton utensil holder made by WEAVE, a women’s cooperative on the Thai-Burma border, or a recycled plastic holder produced by CONSERVE, an NGO project in Delhi. CONSERVE employs ragpickers to collect discarded plastic bags and repurposes them into other products. And the Newsprint style actually contains recycled newspaper as well. How about that? By purchasing To-Go Ware Utensil Set, you will have contributed to the advancement and empowerment of those who participate in WEAVE and CONSERVE.

Eddy and I each bought a set a couple of years ago, and we love them! They’ve come in handy so many times, including during my recent trip to DC. When eating homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the airport, I whipped out my knife to slice the sandwich. When eating at a Korean restaurant, I said no thank you to disposable chopsticks and ate with my own. When drinking cappuccino, I used my spoon to scoop up the foam. Nowadays I don’t leave home without my To-Go Ware.

Wanna own a set or give one to someone special for Christmas? Head to Heifer Gift Shop inside Heifer Village.

For more information about To-Go Ware, visit the website, www.to-goware.com.

Guest Post: Eddy Moore – Faster Dry with Laundry Spinner

An online store called the Laundry Alternative sells a spin-based clothes dryer that cuts clothes drying time and energy use by about half.

It works like a salad spinner for clothes.  Drop in about 1/3 of a load for two minutes and the spinner revs up much faster than your usual washing machine spin cycle.  Out comes about 1.5 quarts of water that was left in your clothes (unless you already have a high-speed horizontal washer).  Then, you can either hang your clothes or toss them in a regular dryer.

The spin dryer uses only as much energy as fifteen seconds of a regular dryer, but extracts about half the water.  That means your clothes don’t erode into lint as fast either.  It is especially great for slow-drying items like jeans and towels.

Cost is about $120, which is reportedly paid back in under two years from energy savings, if you normally use a dryer instead of hang-drying.  Yes, a clothes line is better for the planet, but sometimes you want speed.

Note from Nao: I love our laundry spinner. We hang dry our clothes most of the time, but our spinner comes in very handy on rainy days when we can’t hang our clothes outside. It also comes in handy when we need to quickly dry large items such as bed sheets and blankets. After the spinner spins out the water left in our clothes, I use it to water my flower beds. It’s a win-win!

Power Down with a Hand Crank Blender!

One way I try to reduce my energy use is with a hand crank food processor. Another way is with a hand crank blender. I love my hand crank blender. It does the job, and it uses no energy. It even comes with two speeds! An added bonus – my arms get a workout.

I bought my hand crank blender from a sporting goods store. Search Vortex blender on Internet, and you should be able to find one.

Stop subsidizing SWEPCO and Entergy! Reduce your energy use by switching to hand crank appliances!

Power Your Cell Phone with Solar Power!

After I overheard a lobbyist for a utility company call environmentalists hypocrites for wanting to kill power plants but using electricity to charge their cell phones, I bought a solar electric device charger. My $20 solar electric device charger powers almost all models of cell phones, PDA’s, mp3 players, digital cameras, and even camcorders. It uses solar power to charge during the day, and I power my electric devices at night.

I bought my charger from Solar Style, but search the Internet to compare different models of solar electric device chargers.

Stop subsidizing SWEPCO and Entergy! Power your electric devices with solar electric device chargers!

Saturday To-Do: Sun Oven Demonstration in Hot Springs

Interested in solar ovens? Then, attend Sun Oven Demonstration, tomorrow between 12-2 p.m. at Good Earth Natural Foods in Hot Springs. Denise Marion will demonstrate how to cook foods in a solar oven and answer any questions. For more information, contact Denise at (501)318-6095.

Power Down with a Hand Crank Food Processor!

During the 2009 Arkansas legislature, my partner Eddy worked tirelessly to pass several energy efficiency bills. I often attended the committee meetings with him. At one of the meetings, I overheard a lobbyist for a utility company call environmentalists hypocrites. “What’s the first thing those environmentalists do when they get home? They plug their charger and power their cell phones.” Well, after the legislature failed to pass the bills, I bought a solar electric device charger, hand crank blender, and hand crank food processor as a protest. Take that, Entergy and SWEPCO! My use of electric devices and appliances will no longer pay for your lobbyists! (Well, at least some of my use won’t pay for them.)

Ever since I got it, I’ve been in love with my hand crank food processor! It does the job, and it uses no energy. An added bonus – my arms get a workout.

I bought my hand crank food processor from Peddler’s Wagon, but I don’t think the store sells it anymore. Search on Internet, and you should be able to find one.

Stop subsidizing Entergy and SWEPCO lobbyists! Power down with a hand crank food processor!

P.S. I plan to write about my solar electric device charger and hand crank blender in the near future, so stay tuned!

Pics from Hot Springs E-Day

Eddy manning GreenAR by the Day booth at the Hot Springs E-Day.

An attendee holds a baby raccoon. Tommy Young, a federally licensed wildlife rescuer, holds Otto the Baby Otter in the background. I plan to visit Tommy very soon, so stay tuned for his story!

Briana Johnson Moore, the woman behind the Nest Handmade Soap as well as my soapmaking mentor.

Arkansas Earth Institute shares a table with Lisa James of the Golden Muses. Lisa makes recycled paper journals and sells them through Etsy. I plan to interview her shortly, so stay tuned for her story as well!

Karen Holcomb of the Spa City Co-op talks to people.

A display hive at the booth for Greater Hot Springs Beekeepers' Association.

Hot Springs E-Day was fun for everybody including kids!

Twike, a zero emissions vehicle, made an appearance at the festival.

Michelle Sestili and Courtney Butler, two of many brains behind the Hot Springs E-Day. You guys ROCK!!!

Hot Springs E-Day was AWESOME!!! Gorgeous weather, great booths, and wonderful people!

Adam Roberts, another brain behind the Hot Springs E-Day, cleans up after the festival. Thanks, Adam, for all that you did!

Sunday To-Do: Hot Springs E-Day

Hot Springs/ Garland County Beautification Commission invites you to the Hot Springs E-Day, held this Sunday, May 17th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Transportation Plaza in downtown Hot Springs. This eco-education event will feature information on preserving and enhancing out environment as well as businesses and organizations that offer green products or services such as organics, recycled materials, alternative energy, energy efficiency, energy education, etc. GreenAR by the Day will have a booth at Hot Springs E-Day. The booth will be filled with eco-friendly tools and gadgets such as:

• Solar oven
• Hand-crank appliances
• Homemade cleaning supplies
• Soap nuts
• Happy Sacks & Wrap-N-Mats
• Plastic bag dryer
• Solar electric device charger

Paris and Nicky the Chickens will help man the booth, so come and visit us!

For more information, email contact@hsgcbc.com or call (501)623-7871.

Saturday To-Do: AR Earth Day Festival

Come be one of 20,000 people expected for this year’s 6th Annual Arkansas Earth Day Festival, held this Saturday, April 25, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at North Little Rock’s Riverfront Park.

Arkansas Earth Day Festival (AEDF) is a collaboration of eco-friendly individuals, businesses, and organizations for a day of free education and networking. AEDF explores critical local and national environmental issues and actions and celebrate America’s most prominent ecological occasion, Earth Day. The estimated attendance for the 2009 Arkansas Earth Day Festival is upwards of 20,000 people! Join thousands of Arkansas greenies for green shopping, entertainment, education and tours.

GreenAR by the Day will have a booth at AEDF with a good friend, Citizens’ Daily Lobby. Our booth will be filled with eco-friendly tools and gadgets such as:

• Solar oven
• Hand-crank appliances
• Soap nuts
• Solar electric device charger
• Homemade cleaning supplies
• Plastic bag dryer
• Bamboo clothes drying rack

Paris and Nicky the Chickens will help man the booth, so come and visit us!

For more information about the Arkansas Earth Day Festival, visit www.arkansasearthday.org.

Green Your Office: Refill Printer Ink Cartridge!

I hate paying for new ink cartridges. They’re so expensive. Fortunately, you can refill them. There are two ways to do it. First, you can buy a refill kit and do it yourself. A refill kit costs about $10 depending on what type of printer you have.  I have never used it, but a friend of mine swears that it works, although it’s a tad messy.

The other option is to have a store refill the cartridge for you.  I recently had my printer ink cartridges refilled at Walgreens and was pleased with the process.  The cost is $10 for black ink and $15 for color ink. Supposedly it takes about 10-30 minutes to refill them, but since I had other errands to run, I just dropped them off. After my errands, I went back to Walgreens, and the cartridges were ready to be used again.

What about the quality, you ask? I popped one of them back in the printer, and it’s been printing fine with no problem.

Cartridge World also refills ink cartridges, but I chose Walgreens because Cartridge World sponsors The Rush Limbaugh Show. This was a tough decision for me since I normally refuse to support corporations. In the end, I decided to support a corporation that does not sponsor Rush over a corporation that does. I’m not sure if I made the right choice, but alas, those were the only options. If anyone knows a local business that refills ink cartridges, please share by leaving a comment.

As for now I’ll go to Walgreens to refill my ink cartridges. Saves me  LOTS of money, and I get to reuse the cartridges. Try it today!

Green Your Office: Hand Crank Paper Shredder

One of the ways Eddy and I reduce our energy use is by using hand crank appliances whenever possible. We love our hand crank ice cream maker that was passed down from Eddy’s parents! The newest addition to our collection of hand crank appliances is a hand crank paper shredder from the Colonial Medical Assisted Devices. I shred LOTS of newspaper to make newspaper mulch so that I can conserve water in the garden. This nifty device helps me do that without using electricity. In fact, it helps me burn some calories! And it’s cheap, costing only $19.95.

If you have a heavy amount of shredding to do in a short time, this shredder might not be for you–but for making newspaper mulch, this machine works like magic! So if you are in the market to buy a paper shredder, consider Colonial’s hand-crank paper shredder and reduce your energy usage!