No... Plastic... Hangers

I paraphrase, of course. It's wire hangers that are the evil things.

Why again? We pretty much used them all the time. I cannot even recall when plastic hangers came into being. Or why. Oh - because they are convenient, probably. I don't notice them to give that "Hanger Shoulder" nub-thing any less than metal. How about wood? Wooden hangers seemed fairly kind to clothes, if not trees. Don't like to sacrifice the trees? Well, how about bamboo?

The problem is, it doesn't matter if we phase out those stupid plastic things right now (though we should anyway), all those billions will still be right here. Going nowhere. Useful for nothing.

When a plastic hanger breaks, that's pretty much it. Trash. Landfill. Ocean.

Wire hangers are at least useful for other things. You can still open some locked cars with them. You can make things with them. I saw an awesome website where they were making beautiful skeleton keys with wire hanger pieces. Wire hangers can be recycled. Plastic hangers do not have any marking and therefore are not going to get recycled. (Face it, it's true.) Wooden hangers have the decency to break down over time. Plastic hangers are going to be around long after the clothes they held are dust. That's kind of sad in my book.

Cedar hangers. Those were nice.

I, like most people, have that closet full of these. I'm changing over as I can. I'll give them away so at least whomever receives them doesn't have to buy new ones. Maybe someday we'll find a use for them. I mean, I doubt it, but maybe.

When you think about all the homes across the country with all the people and all the clothes and then all the stores with all the clothes... it's kid of staggering.

Think about it.

Make the Switch, It's Easy!

More often than not, I stumble across a product that just makes me see red. But then again, you knew that about me already. Imagine my delight when I ran across something that made me happy!

We already use VERY few paper towels, very very few, but with this product, we never have to use a tree-paper towel again! Bambooee. I'm still checking in with them with a few more questions, but so far I like what I see. Bamboo is almost as good in my book as hemp! So why not make these out of bamboo? According to their site, you can wash them around 25 times before they need to go away. Yes. You can throw them in your washer. I'm just bummed I didn't see them at an expo I attended  where they apparently were one of the best new products.

They've ingeniously made them so that you can make the switch with minimal fuss. It's almost... convenient! They put these towels in a roll so you can put them on your existing paper towel holder (something I don't even have, come to think of it). I can't think of a down side.

I am curious as to if the spent sheet is compostable. I'm sure it has to be biodegradable. I wonder what process it takes to make the bamboo into sheets. Are there many chemicals involved? I have an inquiry out to the company, so when I hear, so will you! I have my PeopleTowel in my purse so I don't use paper towels in public restrooms, and now we can completely avoid paper towels in the kitchen.

Of course, I have to think people will find a downside and say it's too much to wash them, what a bother, not convenient to throw them in the wash, or they cost too much, and won't take into account the money they AREN'T spending on paper towels... but as wise people always say, ya can't fix stupid.

Meanwhile, I will await the reply from the company and hope that I am not disappointed in any of their answers. I'll give them a positive for now.

Look Around

Look around your kitchen. How much plastic surrounds you? I can't help but look around my kitchen and wonder what I can replace with something that's NOT plastic. Some things are easier than others. Some things maybe only came into being with plastic. What did we use before we HAD plastic stuff to use? Let's think about it.

Toaster... plastic. Let me get a metal one next time. I'm so tired of buying a cheap plastic thing, only for it to break after just a few years. Give me a sturdy toaster that will last decades, with someone to repair it, too, when it does break. Hand beater? Plastic crap! They are terrible. I mix by hand when I can, and maybe a big old KitchenAid mixer is the way to go... with counter space, of course. Those things used to last forever. Pay a little more? It lasts longer and you aren't laying out the money all over again in 2 years. Didn't vacuum cleaners used to be metal? And repairable? Now they are all plastic pieces of crap, and when something breaks, go get a new one. 'Cuz plastic can't be repaired.

Sure, those are the big things. What I really meant to get into was all those little things that add up. I'm slowly but surely coming out of my plastic ways and replacing with better materials. Big spoons, stirring spoons and spatulas etc? We do NOT need plastic. For cast iron, a metal spatula is great. For enameled wares, bamboo is perfect. For how much sauce I cook? Bamboo doesn't stain! Repeat that: Bamboo does not stain. And it's durable. And inexpensive. And biodegradable. And it grows plentifully and without pesticides. Measuring cups? Why are those plastic? Metal, for sure. And Pyrex. Measuring spoons? Metal. Why did we start buying these things as plastic? Cheaper? Fun colors? I don't know. These are things we can keep around the kitchen for a LONG time; there is no need to go cheap plastic. Plastic stains. Plastic holds odors. Plastic melts. Case in point: you have a turkey baster in there, don't you? Most of us do. What do you squeeze all up into that? Boiling hot oils, right? What do we know about plastic now? Hot liquids leach chemicals out of it. We've been serving our gravies with chemicals. How do you feel about that? Did you know you can find inexpensive glass basters? Of course the squeeze past is still silicone or rubber, but the tube is much better. Scared of glass in your kitchen? Get out. Now. Remember those metal ice cube trays? Remember they were kind of a giant pain in the ass? But remember we still used them? And we survived, and we still had ice, and we didn't die? Many people have ice makers on the fridge anyway, but really, those plastic trays? They break, they get to smelling... they are convenient but not necessary. Pause for a moment to think how many of them have ended up in the trash over the years...

We're phasing out all our plastic containers and replacing them with Pyrex. Or jars that I save. I can't wait to have a big old pantry just filled with jars. I can't wait to have no more plastic in my kitchen where there is a better product to use. Salt & pepper shakers.... pepper mill... all these little things... they add up. What can you phase out of your kitchen to make it a better, healthier room?

Quick and Easy, No Purchase Necessary

File this one under Major Duh.

I've been fretting over my water bottles. They were getting grungy inside. My lovely Libre Tea bottle, as well... I just couldn't get my hand down in there to scrub them and I didn't have any bottle scrubbers. They got grungier and grungier. Surely, I would have to go buy a stupid plastic thing to get down in there. Wait,t hey make good, eco-friendly,, well-made ones too. Just have to get to that store... Nope, still getting grungy. And damn those fancy eco-scrubbers are pricey. I hate having to pay a lot for green. It's such a pet peeve of mine. But what else to do? I'm not going to buy plastic junk just because it's convenient...

Finally, I looked at my scrubby sponge and I looked at the bamboo spoon in the dish drainer. Um, wait, I can just do this. Uh huh, yeah, just stuffed the sponge into the WaterGeeks bottle I love, and smoosh it around with the handle of the spoon. Wow, that worked so well that it might just get the tea stains off the inside of my Libre. Sure enough...

I don't know what's worse: that it took me so long to come up with that, or that I even pondered buying something to scrub out my bottles. I mean come on. I'm smarter than this. I'm embarrassed for my own brain.

But happy that I have clean bottles now. Tee hee. I guess we all have a long way to go.

How Can Fruit be Bad?

I'll be frank. (Well, that's my dad, actually.) These things confuse me. I think they are delicious, and they're fresh good healthy fruit, right? There can't be anything wrong with that, can there?

I'm talking about Edible Arrangements. A great and novel alternative to sending boring old flowers. Nice! But then, I see all the silly plastic sticks we have to throw away. So, um, good healthy fresh fruit, dozens and dozens of plastic sticks. I'm so torn!!! What to think? Good, but bad. Can the company take the sticks back to re-use them? Is that illegal because of some health code? Would people largely not return them anyway? Why can't they use something else, like bamboo? It's not like the fruit is meant to stay on the skewers for very long. Is there a splinter issue? Is the plastic just plain cheaper? Have they tried other things? Is it a focus group thing?

It's kind of sad how a fun delicious little gift can cause such angst in my life. Pathetic, actually. It doesn't help that I know certain fruit juices can leech chemicals out of the plastic, not that they are on there very long, but still.

It seems like a good idea and a good company, if they would only ditch the plastic sticks. I mean, I could make a helluva green smoothie after receiving one of these, especially if they use kale for accent. And those chocolate-covered bananas? SOOO yummy. But then the guilt of all those sticks. Sure, I can find some good way to re-use them, but what about everyone else out there who doesn't?

I want to give this two brooms' up, but I think it has to get thrown in the cauldron as a fail. What say you? Too harsh? Simmer down? I'd feel better if there was some kind of exchange program. You know, return the sticks, get a discount on your next delivery...

No, I stand by the bad. Fruit good. Fruit on plastic sticks bad. Easy.

Green Gifts: Day 2

The cool part about green gifts is you can get really creative. Your family and friends are cool like 'dat, and already have water bottles. What then? Well, step it up a bit! Let's go for the whole serving package in today's gift idea!

Create a green basket full of things for in the kitchen, at work, or on the go. Start with a great re-used basket from a thrift store or your garage or closet, or find a beautiful fair trade, locally crafted basket. (Green gifts are also all about local and fair trade!) You can even dress up a box if you are feeling creative. Then, fill it with cool reusable products that encourage your gift recipient to use fewer disposable products. My best and favorite product for this is To-Go Ware, utensils made from bamboo that come in a great carrying case. With these in the desk at work or tossed in the purse or backpack, we can avoid using plastic forks and spoons and knives completely! They make a great gift even by themselves. Learn more about them here: http://www.to-goware.com/ Add some bamboo plates and bowls. Toss in a cool coffee to-go cup for the hot beverage fans. Find pretty cloth napkins to dress the whole thing up a little more.

Voila! A nice addition would be some organic wine or some homemade treats, or fair-trade chocolate. I'd like to say it needs to be bigger and more complicated than that, but it really is this easy.

Let's bring back a little more of the meaning to the holiday. Use this time to care, and to help the Earth, and to help your loved ones help the Earth.