Friday, February 27, 2009

Ban the Plastic Bag

We were recently watching "Long Way Down", Ewan McGregor's motorcycle adventure show where he and a buddy bike from Scotland to South Africa, and noticed that not only is Africa more than lions and elephants, it's littered with plastic bags. Yes, the obnoxious plastic sacks that you bring home every time money leaves your pocket. 

It was sad. Beautiful African landscapes, exotic plants and breathtaking views, blighted with awful, ugly plastic bags. Ugh.

How many plastic bags are in your home right now? Do you take them back to the store for recycling or do you stuff them in the trash can, out of sight, out of mind? We return ours to the store, but I'll admit the pile grows huge before we take them back. But, at least we take them back. 

PLEASE don't stuff these bags in the trash! They won't go away, they don't biodegrade, and chances are they will end up clinging to a tree or bush somewhere, choking an animal who mistakes them for food, or even worse, end up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The trash in the patch doesn't just float around out there; animals mistake it for food and it ends up back in the food chain, which means we end up eating plastic, too. Plastic lives forever.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Boycott Plastic Bags: Simply say "no thanks" when you check out. Hand carry your purchase, tuck it in your purse.

Take your own bags to the store: I have a whole batch of mismatched canvas bags that we haul to the store - they work great (and never split or tear).

Write to the stores to ask them to stop using plastic: Most stores offer bags for sale (usually $1 or less) and they will give you a credit when you bring your own bags in for them to use for your purchase.

Drop me a note and let me know how you are Banning The Bag. I'd love to hear how you are making the world a better place for everyone.

Monday, February 16, 2009

THANK YOU!

Thanks to our awesome KUDL listeners we delivered over 20,000 handmade Valentine's to the kids at Children's Mercy Hospital for our 16th Annual Valentine's Card Shower. Check out the video HERE . Thanks to Fox4 for the great video!

What did you do for Valentine's Day?

Friday, February 13, 2009

3-Day Weekend

Friday the 13th, Valentine's Day AND President's Day all rolled into one weekend? WOW! It's a holiday extravaganza! And the stores are going full tilt with sales. But, before you rush out and buy things you hadn't planned on buying, stop and ask yourself "do I really NEED this?"

I've been working on that query a lot lately, the whole "needs" versus "wants" quandry. I WANT another pair of Converse (purple), but I certainly don't need them. Bummer. I WANT new sheets and a bigger TV and cuter dishes and the list goes on. But, I don't truly NEED anything. I'm truly blessed, and for that I'm very thankful. Besides, replacing any of those things will only force me to get transition something that still has plenty of life left in it. Did you know that the majority of items in landfills are CLOTHING ITEMS? Not trash, not toxic waste, not back issues of magazines, but clothing and shoes! Ugh - think how those could be put to reuse or recycled instead. Great reason NOT TO SHOP in this article (my husband will be so proud of me for posting that!)

So, when the siren song of sales beckons this weekend, pause, and make a good decision. And don't forget to recycle or donate what you decide to jettison. And have a Happy 3-Day Weekend!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Date My Brother in Law

Tanna does a great feature called Bachelor Degree. This week's hottie is my awesome brother-in-law, Jim (he's pretty casual in this pic 'cause he just took his beagle, Harvey out for a walk - I wanted to catch him in his natural state). Check him out! or send him an e-mail to let him know how brave he is for doing this - lol.