Shopping Green (and loving it)

In between mountain biking and attending an outdoor play last weekend, I happened upon an estate sale, and well, let's just say I exited with more than I entered.

I'm a big fan of garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. Most of my favorite outfits are either half or entirely from Goodwill stores. In addition to finding cool stuff, buying used clothing and housewares is just another way I can reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Since the estate sale, I now have 24 beautiful glasses that match and cover all the sizes, as well as 10 gorgeous plates with floral designs. Although found in different parts of the house, the glasses and plates make stunning partners because they both have clear glass structures and frosted accents. I walked out of that house about $15 poorer, and now I'm ready to set up my own kitchen!

In addition to thrift shopping, another way of shopping green is to buy recycled housewares, like goblets and tumblers made of recycled glass bottles. In fact, I found an eco-focused site that has suggestions and products to make practically every room in the house "greener." It's called GreenHome.com. If you're decking out a new apartment or home, I suggest the Cobalt Collection for serving cool drinks in the summer. They're so sleek and contemporary, it's hard to believe they're made of recycled glass. I guess that's the beauty of shopping green.

National Park Hopping

Sometimes it's hard to appreciate a landscape you've never seen or don't know anything about. For one thing, pictures can only do so much, and for another, there's something more meaningful about watching grizzly cubs climb on their mom from a couple hundred yards away than watching them on the Discovery Channel. (Believe me. I know.)

I'm a firm believer in the idea of appreciation leading to stewardship. The desire to save nature's masterpieces comes from a personal love for them. For example, it's easier to want to recycle to save trees when you've gazed over acres and acres of Ponderosa pines spreading across Yellowstone's winding hills and mountains.

I know my appreciation for nature stems, in large part, from trips taken to the United States' national parks. One of my favorites is Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Just the mere juxtaposition of bright blue sky, dark gray mountain peaks, and light sage green grasses captured my eyes and has never let go since.

The Tetons are very rugged mountains, and so they tend to be steep and rocky as opposed to rounded and worn. Having seen them and met them up close while hiking, these mountains are to me a tribute to the powerful forces that created (and are still creating) them. And they're a reminder of what the terrain looks like without cities and highways. Although I appreciate a good highway to get there, I'm really glad to have a park to hide within once I arrive.

A Greener Office

Well, it's another Friday. As always, I'm anxiously awaiting the weekend - precisely for the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Like many people out there, I work in an indoor office environment all week long, and as I type along and attend meetings, I quietly crave the sunshine and warm breezes experienced on the other side of the window.

Eventually there comes a point when I can't be quiet about it anymore! Hence, this blog post. I've gotta have my "nature," and so I'm here to gather ideas about making the work place more friendly for naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts like me.

Here's a few suggestions on making the office a little more "green":

• Bring fresh flowers or potted plants into your office or cubical. Cleaner air = clearer minds.
  
• Decorate your walls (Beautiful Mind-style) with images of landscapes and wildlife.
• Use dry-erase marker boards instead of paper for temporary notes.
• Buy an office mat made of eco-friendly materials, such as this mat made out of 100% Anji Mountain bamboo. This durable wood mat will bring the beauty of natural bamboo into your cubical. The best part is that this one and other bamboo mats like it are made from a sustainable wood resource, so you're doing something good for the environment.
• Take those few extra steps to the recycling bin instead of tossing that pop can into the trash. If your company doesn't have a recycling program, start one.
• Take a walk outside - alone or with co-workers - to soak in a little vitamin D and a cheerful attitude.
  

These are my thoughts so far on making the office more green. I'd love to hear yours.

Happy Outdoor Weekend!

Natural Bamboo Roll-Up Office Chair Mat

After tornadoes - what to do

Tornadoes have been racking the West and Midwest in recent weeks, along with treacherous winds, hail, and lightning. Lots of people and businesses have suffered property damage, including tree damage. Fortunately, my home has remained untouched, but I know others haven't been so lucky.

The place where I work, NetShops, did get hit with some damage, though, as my friend Tim describes in his most recent blog post. At NetShops and elsewhere, downed tree limbs are the most common sight after major storms tear through a neighborhood - especially older neighborhoods with mature trees.

With all this wood source lying disheveled on the ground, I'm wondering how we can make something good out of something that looks/seems/is so bad. One option is to stuff the branches into trash cans labeled "yard waste" or into large paper bags designed for leaves and other plant clean-up projects. Then, according to your city's yard waste policies and practices, your twigs and such are transformed into mulch for landscaping use or perhaps even wood chip products.

If you've run out of sacks or trash can space, consider doing some of your own mulching or composting to make use of what's left. The US Environmental Protection Agency offers some tips about creating a compost in your yard. Composting is one way to reduce the amount of waste that enters landfills, and it's a great way to improve the health and vitality of your vegetable or flower garden.

Need a wagon for hauling branches and garden tools? There's some good wheelbarrows to choose from at CartsAndWagons.com. Having a good wagon or garden cart can really reduce the post-yard-work muscle aches!

You mean they're not all pines?

No, they're not all pines - pine trees, that is. Pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees, cedar trees, and so many more "needled" trees fall under the category of evergreen. But did you know that they're all very different as far as needle and bark formation goes? Not to mention size and habit (shape) and preferable habitat.

To make a quick distinction between spruces and firs (these are trees with shorter needles in branches and clusters as opposed to long and slender pine needles that hang) try this little field test. Take a needle or two off the suspect tree. Attempt to roll one needle between two fingers. If it rolls, you know it's a spruce. The fir needle will not roll because it only has two flat sides, but the spruce has 4, so it rolls.

Next time you're enjoying a picnic outdoors beside an evergreen, impress your date with this easy tree test. Suddenly the natural world will be wonder-filled, and you will be wonderful.

What are you sitting on?

Imagine acres and acres of plastic bottles and milk jugs. Now picture a bunch of these bottles and jugs melted and morphed into a completely maintenance-free Adirondack-style glider on your patio. While browsing patio furniture at the NetShops store, PatioFurnitureUSA.com, I came across a glider made out of recycled plastic. It may seem like some scheme to get you to buy cheaper furniture, but I think they've got something right here.

The product I'm speaking of is the Recycled Plastic Adirondack Glider Bench made by PolyWood. It'll never warp, crack, splinter or fade like some wooden patio furniture. By choosing a recycled plastic chair, glider, or bench, I'm technically encouraging somebody out there to keep recycling instead of throwing plastic away. Now, I think that would make me a little more peaceful as I lounge on my patio this summer.