Locker Clean-out

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, it's locker clean-out time!

So this is just a list of a few recyclable items commonly found in lockers:

-Water bottles

-Random worksheets, tests, and home papers

-Unused looseleaf and binders

-locker shelves and organizers--they're durable and can probably be used again in the fall

-old textbooks

-highlights, pens, and pencils--if they haven't run out, save them for next school year

-extra clothes--don't just throw them out because you let rot in your locker for a year! One round in the washer and they'll be good as new.

Light the way to a GREENer Future

Hey readers!

Did you know that lighting accounts for nearly 20% of the average home's electric bill?

With Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs--more commonly known as CLFs--you can back some of that cost. CLFs last TEN times longer than incandescent lightbulbs, and pay for themselves in a little over six months.

PLUS, they're great for the environment because they uses 75% less energy which reduces the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere. In fact, ENERGY STAR qualified CLF bulbs release no mercury at all when they are in proper use!

So have your parents look into fluorescent bulbs. Save the planet, and your money too!

For more info, go to Energystar.gov

Go Green :)

POP!

Hey eco-friends,

Just reminding you to keep recycling!

Today's topic: Soda can pop tops.

Instead of twisting them off and tossing them out, collect those babys. As much soda as teens drink, you can even make it a competition between friends to see who can collect the most. And then, when you've accumulated a decent amount, check in with your local hospital. Many of them have programs where civilians can bring in their collected pop-tops and the hospital will recycle them for you, using the money they recieve to support different charities and causes.

Save your poptops, save your planet, love your Earth :)

Seventeen

Hey, readers, in case you didn't know, it was my birthday yesterday.

Thanks a million D&P for the CyberCake, btw. It was utterly gorgeous and delicious looking.

Anyway, I turned seventeen, so for my post this week I'm going to show you seven of Earth's most beautiful sights in honor of my seventeen years on this amazing planet.

(Originally I thought I'd show you seventeen but that's such a large number I figured it might seem a bit eccentric.)

Remember to recycle.

Enjoy :)

Birthdays

Hey Readers!

Today's my mom's birthday and I made her the coolest eco-friendly gift, so I just wanted to tell you guys about out.

It was a few gifts actually:

1. A picture frame. Painted by Yours Truly.

2. Flowers. Order from a sight that grows their produce in organic soil.

3. Chocolate Cake. I guess there's nothing particularly "green" about that except the icing. But it's the thought that counts. And it was delicious.

4. A card (on already recycled paper. Nice right?)

And #5--the best one--a reusable workbag that folds up to be the size of an index card.

Plus it was all wrapped in easily-recycled newspaper. I was quite proud of myself this morning when I put it all together.

Okay, that's all I have for you this week.
Remember to recycle!
Save your planet :)

The Norm

Hey Readers.
I'm sorry to report that I don't have any fun, new recycling facts for you today. I have strep throat (Terrible, I know. It feels like someone ran a razor-blade over my vocal cords. Ugh.) so I've been down for the count since Sunday evening.

Anyway, I just wanted to hit you up with your regular weekly reminder to:

REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE :)

Another cool recycling website

Recycle Bank

I found another fantastic website. It rewards "Greenies" (people who recycle or have 'gone green').

Recycle Bank is a company that rewards households in over 12 states for recycling with a program that is similar to how airlines give you rewards miles. I strongly encourage all of you to check out their website to see if their service is offered in your area.

They have a running tab in the top right corner of how many trees and gallons of oil they have saved so far.

As of five minutes ago it was:
Trees saved: 1,320,866
Gallons of oil saved: 88,233,893

Oh the Plastic!

Okay readers, we're back on plastic. Bags to be specific. I was thinking about it the other day when I came home from Target. I was unloading groceries, and I decided I would count the number of plastic bags I had used on my trip.

Final Tally: 19

Nineteen. NINETEEN! For a week’s worth of groceries! If my mother gets the exact same number of items for the next year, that’s 988 bags a year.

Thinking about that many plastic bags sitting in landfills made my head hurt. And plastic bags aren’t even biodegradable. They photodegrade, meaning they break down slowly into smaller toxins. I don't want to be responsible for the release of 988 toxins!

How icky.

So we have to recycle them, peeps. Or at least re-use them.

Plastic bags serve many purposes, so get your full use out of them instead of just throwing them away.

On the side of the Target back alone you have ten suggestions:

1. Tiny Trash Can Liner
2. Doggy Duty
3. Water Balloon
4. Road Trip Rubbish
5. Soggy Laundry
6. Ice Pack
7. Toiletry Tote
8. Kitty Litter Liner
9. Tomorrow Lunch Bag
10. Care Package Padding

Save your planet. Be the change :)

The Ins and Outs of 2009: Greening our World

In--
electronic e-vites

saving and then recycling catologs (that you don't want and won't use)

cameras with rechargable batteries

donating gently used and unabused clothing

shorter showers

reusable lunchboxes

monitoring your electronics and unplugging them when they're finished charging

edible birthday gifts

washable cutlery

Out--
paper invitations

tossing catologs in the TRASH as soon as you get them in the mail

cameras that run on Double or Triple A's. Give that energizer bunny a rest!

throwing away gently used or unabused clothing

wasting water on washing

paper lunchbags

leaving your wall charger plugged in after your electronic device is completely charged

inexpensive but poor-quality birthday gifts (that will most likely be tossed in the TRASH when they break)

plastic cutlery

**small but SHOCKING fact: 99% of the products purchased by Americans are thrown away within six months of their purchase.

Sources: The Story of Stuff, Mama's Rant

Vroom, Vroom!

I know now that we're at that driving age, we're all super eager to get behind the wheel. But we can't forget to conserve our fossil fuels! So a few ideas on how to cut back on gas:

1. Carpool--is cool.

Ride with a friend who lives in your area and go Dutch on the gas money.

2. Public transportation--

It's a beautiful thing. Buses and trains are cheaper than cars anyway and make plenty of stops.

3. You talk the Talk--Now walk the Walk

Use those legs! Walk when your destination is close enough. Excercise is good for you, great for your body and your health.

4. Multi-Task

Instead of making a dozen trips back adn forth, try and get as much done in one outing as possible.

5. Hang at home

Who needs cars anyway? If you're going to end up driving aimlessly, wasting precious gas and time, why not just chill at home?

Save your money, save your fossil fuels, save your planet :)

Eco-Sexy Intro

Hey, Hi, and Hello D&P Readers!

My name is Shannon and I’m one of the new column writers at Deko and Posh. Beginning next week I’m going to be starting writing to you about the oh-so hot topic of “Going Green”. Now that we’ve realized our ozone layer is rapidly depleting, the subject of recycling has done a complete 180 and topped the popularity charts. I’ve been a diehard recycler since birth so I’m incredibly excited about this newfound fame. Each week I’ll be bringing you info on how you can contribute to greening our environment—after all, green is the new black.

But before I get into that, I wanted to tell you a little bit about myself.
Besides being super enthusiastic about the environment, I’m really into word games. My all-time favorite is Bananagrams. It’s a game similar to Scrabble that involves brains, speed, and cat-like reflexes when it comes to flipping letter tiles. I’m also a big fan of libraries. I mean, what could be better than free books? When it comes to coordination, I’m often quite awkward and can even be a bit spastic at times, but thankfully I don’t trip over my words nearly as much as I do my feet. And I lovelovelove the Jonas Brothers— Nick especially. I think they are absolutely adorable and am dying to interview them. They make me swoooon :)

That’s about it for now. I’m so looking forward to writing for all of you and can’t wait to get started next week!

Until then,
Shannon