Happy Holiday Month!

Over the weekend we will be posting some tips about minimizing waste during the holiday season, the greenest decorations and holiday card re-purposing. In the meantime, check out the littlest Eco-Goat in her holiday sweater!

File Under: Re-Purposed

Sure, it needs more soil and may very well raise a few eyebrows among HOA officers, but I'm pretty excited about this recycled/re-purposed container garden. The former cooler has a built-in drain, can be moved in and out of shade depending on what's planted, easily rolls to and from a water source, and is currently home to some tomato and pepper plants.

Now THIS is Brilliant

Have you ever walked by an old gumball machine and thought: Why is that machine filled up with useless cr*p made in factories in China instead of little seed and compost grenades that I could toss into that vacant lot over there to diversify the plants around here??

Me neither. But I wish I had. Am and thrilled that someone did.

Greenaid, a landscape beautification project started by the Commonstudio design firm, is doing it. They call the little eco-grenades "Seedbombs." They are packed with compost and regionally tailored seeds for wildflowers and grasses. Creators suggest chucking them into a vacant lot or cramming them into a crack in the sidewalk. Learn more here.

(Thnx again, Singleton)

Love Terracycle

When I broke into a bag of peanut MnMs this morning, I noticed a familiar logo on the back of the package, Terracycle, and was reminded that I have not been sending much material their way lately nor have I plugged them enough on the blog. 

So... In case you haven't heard of them, Terracycle is a fantastic, award-winning small business which specializes in "up-cycling," that is, making consumer products from post-consumer materials. Founded by a few guys from Princeton and headquartered in New Jersey, the company that used to produce natural plant products (worm waste products) has diversified to collecting millions of waste units to be transformed into useful products - all while collecting a ton of money for charity. You've probably seen their logo on various back-to-school items on sale at major retailers like Target and Walmart or possibly recognize the name from the Terra-Team's reality show "Garbage Moguls" that premiered Earth Day of 2009 on National Geographic. All this even after the company founder, Tom Szaky, turned down a million dollar prize from the Carrot Capital Business Plan contest because he didn't like the direction Carrot Capital wanted to take the company. Love it. Donate, shop, and learn all about Terracycle here.

My Little Composter

Before sending empty cardboard six-pack cartons to the recycling bin, I've been letting my littlest critter (who already nests in bedding made from recycled material) have some fun climbing, chewing and digesting them. Calling Agent Juarez a composter is a stretch but... c'mon... is she cute, or what?!? Too bad they don't make "silent spinner" wheels out of recycled metal or BPA-free plastic.

Recycling is so cool

If you think the recycled tire park at Patapsco Valley State Park is cool, check out the super-sized version I just found out about (via mental_floss) that has been providing fun for Tokyo residents and tourists since 1982. The 3,000 spares donated by the Kawasaki motorcycle company have been reincarnated as tire robots, dinosaurs, bridges, tunnels, dragons, slides, mountains and of course swings for the Nishi-Rokugo park. Love it.

Check out some more pics here.

Love Little Green Books

I had the pleasure of gifting and reading The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle to my little niece over the weekend and let me tell you, folks: it is adorably educational. The story about recycling follows the bottle from his beginnings as a blob of crude oil, through polymerization, construction, use, reuse, recycling and to his final form (spoiler alert) as a fleece sweatshirt. I mean, seriously... what's cuter than a spirited plastic bottle with googley eyes teaching our littlest generation important lessons about the processes that have become a huge part of our existence?

As you would expect, the books are printed on recycled paper and The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle is one of many in Simon & Schuster's Little Green Books series.

Other titles include:

I Can Save the Ocean: The Little Green Monster Cleans Up the Beach

This is Our World: A Story About Taking Care of the Earth

Don't Throw That Away: A Lift-the-Flap Book About Recycling and Reusing

What Do You See? A Lift-the-Flap Book abuot Endangered Species

The Adventures of an Aluminum Can: A Story About Recycling

Easy to be Green: Simple Activities You Can Do to Save the Earth

My First Garden

I Can Save the Earth: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

The Polar Bears' Home: A Story About Global Warming

Little Panda

Little Monkey

Simon & Schuster have even created the Little Green Blog: Where Your Green Ideas Grow. The most current post of theirs talks about Earth Hour 2010 which is only a few short days away and another great, green activity to do with the kiddies!

somewhat topical...

Apparently the sales of CJ Corporation's snack sausages are on the rise in South Korea because they are close approximations of the human finger and therefore make for a great stylus for iPhone users unwilling to remove their gloves in cold weather. Ew. Real all about it on kottke.org

On Break...

Happy Holidays, folks. We here at JustSaying are busily breaking down cardboard boxes and sorting through paper for recycling and re-use and therefore on a bit of a seasonal break from the blog but just wanted let everyone know to stay tuned later this week for some great post-holiday tips.

Topics to include:

- Eco-friendly gifts received and now endorsed by JS
- Re-purposing our holiday trees
- Doggie DNA tests
- Memorable holiday tags

In the meantime, if you have holiday cards that you would like to send in for re-purposing next year please email for our mailing address.

'Tis the season...

...for JustSaying to remind you about our favorite simple ideas to help make the holidays more green than red. Save money. Save carbon emissions. Win win!

• Get a real tree. Not only will your home smell like lovely pine without any artificial sprays or candles, but you are contributing to a business that is actually great for the planet. I know, I know: Instinct dictates that cutting down trees = bad. But that isn't the case in the business of Christmas. Of course, purchasing the tree - roots and all - to be replanted after the holidays is the absolute greenest of the green. But getting a recently cut tree is still better than artificial. Christmas tree farms are a big business. 56 million trees each year that, without demand, wouldn't be planted and grown for 5-16 carbon dioxide-absorbing years before their sale. Read all about it in last years post, purchase the pine, people. (By golly gosh, those are some cute sisters in that picture!)
  
  
• Make your own gift tags from last years Christmas cards. Or email me to receive a bag full of them for free in exchange for donating your old cards. JustSaying did this last year but on a much smaller scale. Tags were given to friends and family and we were working with less than a hundred discarded cards. Since then, volunteers have popped up to help make the tags and tons of cards have been donated to the re-use/re-purposing cause.
  
  
• Consider purchasing gifts through organizations like the World Wildlife Fund. Not only will you be donating to an important cause, you'll get on the mailing lists for similar organizations that send out holiday-themed return address labels and wrapping paper made from recycled materials (and a request for a small donation).
  
  
• About online shopping. Amazon is one of my favorites because of their eco-friendly frustration-free packaging. If you can't find what you are looking for on there, be sure and sign up for an account on your favorite sites so that you can save items in your cart until all your purchasing is complete and can be sent in a single shipment. Save yourself the shipping fees and save the packing materials and shipping miles.

Please feel free to share any green holiday tips of your own in the comment section.

Dan Phillips is way cool

Not only does the man have "syndicated cryptogram puzzle maker" on his resume - he has been busily building low-income housing out of rather unusual materials,that the less-eco-minded folks out there call (gulp) trash, down in Texas since 1997.

You've gotta admit this house looks pretty darn cool. And the mortgage is less than $300 a month! Read all about Mr. Phillips and his company, Phoenix Commotion, here.

More Holiday Re-Purposing

While giving gifts adorned with re-purposed gift tags, I was introduced to the thoughtful practice of using the plastic zipper bags that enclose blankets, sheets, or comforters as perfectly practical ways to store your reusable holiday ribbons.


Collecting and saving ribbons is, of course, a longstanding tradition in my Polish family. In fact, I can picture my Babci carefully sliding a box out of the wrapping paper so even that can be reused. I digress...

As with many things in life, out-of-sight can mean out-of-mind. A paper bag or box filled with ribbons and bows can get lost in a closet, its contents unknown, but a clear bag that lets the sparkle of its contents shine through is a sure way to remind you there plenty of ribbons left from last year.

(thnx Momma D)

My Holiday Project

Reduce. Reuse. Re-purpose. Recycle.

First and foremost I have to thank my mom, LM, for this inspired idea. Without her keen ability to recognize creative and unique ideas and share them with me, these old holiday cards would have been headed towards the recycling plant having served the single purpose of sending a merry wish to a friends or family members. Thanks to LM, they are enjoying a longer, multipurpose life not only as gift tags, but as handmade eco-friendly gifts-that-then-keep-on-giving to my family, co-workers, and blog-supporters; as a fun and hopefully annual holiday project inspiring creative cutting and pasting in even the most macho member of my household; as useful items during tough economic times; and as environmental conversation (and maybe conservation?) starters with recipients.