Ok, New Years is over. If your tree is still up, you’re looking pretty pathetic right about now. Curbside tree recycling started yesterday, January 5th and runs until the 16th. Go to the Department of Sanitation website to see guidelines.

On January 10th and 11th, the Parks Department will hold the 2009 Mulchfest. You can bring your tree to a designated park in any of the five boros. Bring bags for your free mulch!

Tekserve and the Lower East Side Ecology Center are hosting a Recycling Technology Drive this Saturday, the 10th. Bring all non-working electronics over to Tekserve. For all you non-Mac folks, that’s 119 W. 23rd. All participants will receive coupons for Mac products and may register for a raffle.

The site lists acceptable items for recycling. If you have working electronics, here’s a donation list.

If you’re sprucing up your place and getting rid of old furniture, the Department of Sanitation will collect up to six items from one address. All you have to do is put it out the night before. However! We’re talking recycling here, correct? Easiest thing to do is post a curb alert on Craigs. That sh*t will be gone before you know it and it will make someone very happy. And don’t forget about NYC Stuff Exchange or any other used material donation center. Great list at Wastele$$.

I should add that after all my research, I see that Sustainable Flatbush has a handy recycling calendar. Note to self: Bookmark it.

 

I dunno. I used to enjoy the consumerism of the holiday season. I’ve outgrown that now. Some people never do. Take my in-laws for instance. We tried to get out of the whole gift giving thing last year. We managed to get out of the birthday thing, but they wouldn’t budge on Christmas.

Why am I all Bah Humbug this year? Well, here’s the thing… Ok, there are a few reasons, so I’m gonna go list form on ya since I love my lists.

1. It’s all about ME. I never get the gifts I want. Nobody asks me what I’d like to get. They just give me shit I don’t use. Clothes that are SO not my taste, artwork that I wouldn’t hang on my unfinished basement wall, CDs from crap bands (and hello: 2008-iPod!), books that I’m like WTF….I’d be embarrassed to regift these things! I know you’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

2. Why new? It’s just bad for the environment. Period. Why is it not acceptable to buy used gifts? Refurbished electronics. Vintage clothing. Second hand books or CDs (Good ones, hopefully). Antique tschotchkes. Think about all the wasted material and packaging that goes into this new shite that will be used for one year at best.

3. Time. Do you think I enjoy hitting crowded stores looking for useless items? I can think of better things to do with my time.

4. Money. It’s a lose/lose situation. Most of us have been lucky enough to buy what we want as adults and not have to wait for Santa to bring it once a year. We’re not kids! We need something, we buy it. On the other hand, if one is broke, they shouldn’t feel obligated to buy gifts for their 29 nieces and nephews.

I’ve gotta give my people some kudos here. Jews always give cash. Whether it’s a wedding, birthday or Hanukkah. Or Grandma stuffing a couple of dollars into your pocket. It’s cash. And it’s the way to go. Impersonal? Maybe. Practical? Hell, yeah!

But it doesn’t have to be cash. There are creative gift giving ideas if you have friends and family who are willing to play along. Another list, if I may:

1. Charity. Screw it. Give to a non profit organization in the gift recipient’s name. Surely there is someone else who needs it more than your friend/family member.

2. Gift Certificates. Let them get what they want! It doesn’t have to be a store, it could be a restaurant, a massage, a weekend trip, even money towards a dental bill if that’s what they need.

3. Hand Made. If you’re gonna do it, do it right. Shop Etsy or local crafts shows. Support small businesses and artists (like me).

4. Used. As I mentioned earlier, if you can get away with it, you can save the environment and your wallet by getting gently used or refurbished items.

5. Just say no. We tried and failed. But it’s always worth a try!

At any rate, enjoy your bourgeois capitalism this season!

 

What makes a wine green? Organic grapes for one. But what about the packaging? Would we ever think of drinking wine from a box without having a good chuckle? Well, I did just that. The Yellow + Blue boxed wine at my local Beacon Artisan Wine Shop kept calling to me. Finally, I had to try it just for the goof.

Guess what? It was pretty good! Before I purchased the $12.99 bottle, er… Tetra Pak, I asked Mr. Wine Shop Owner “Why boxed?”. He said he had been looking for a good wine with alternative packaging. And no, the box isn’t a gimmick. I should mention that for the $12.99 you get a whole liter.

One could argue the green argument doesn’t hold up with Yellow + Blue because the wine comes from Argentina. Also, the Tetra Pak isn’t recyclable in many areas as bottles are. Sure, your wine could be greener. If you made it yourself. Think about the weight of those bottles being packaged and shipped. This seems like a pretty good option. Better if more wine producers followed suit and started boxing locally.

Hey, look. Weren’t we all a bit shocked when good wineries started using alternatives to cork? Well, mark my words….First the cork. Next the bottle!

 

Have ye checked out the Treehugger holiday gift guide? Very cool. Easily navigated. They direct you to the product’s website, you don’t buy through Treehugger. There’s something for yer foodie, for animal lovers, for pop culture fans and so on and so on.

Just in case you were thinking of getting your favorite blogger a gift, here’s some stuff I wouldn’t regift.

Ready Made’s DIY Primer: How To Make (Almost) Anything. $16.50

Spa Gift Certificates. Yeah, I could really use this one right about now, kids.

Terra Green Chair. OMG, OMG, OMG….I think I have to have one! Would my pets totally destroy it or thoroughly enjoy it? Oh snap! The chair kit is no longer available for sale. Guess you have to make your own. : (

Ok, you get the idea. I’d do my own gift guide if I wasn’t so brain dead at the moment. Next week….

 

Open Green Map is an interactive mapmaking resource for all things green. Google Maps are mashed with Green Map Icons and mashed once more with local knowledge. You can research the site all you want, but you should register to add businesses and create your own maps. The international site is still a work in progress, but already features some local maps including Manhattan compost and Rockland County.

Go play.

 

It’s been awhile since I raved about Green Demolitions. But guess what? They are having another sale! And this time it seems like they’re loaded up with inventory. So if you’re doing a kitchen or bath or in the market for upscale appliances at discount prices, check it out!

 

1. White Vinegar. Everyone knows about this one. I use it for windows, brass and cat pee. But did you know that you can pour it down drains once a week for antibacterial cleaning? It’s also a mold and mildew killer. Just add water and spray.

2. Potatoes. I’ve mentioned the tin foil trick to remove rust from chrome, but here’s another rusty FYI: Potatoes can remove rust from baking pans or tinware. Dip a halved potato into salt and scrub. No need to cook it.

3. Lemon Juice. Removes grease from stoves and counter tops. Mix 2 Tbsp lemon juice with 10 drops of lemon oil and a few drops of jojoba oil to make a wood furniture polish.

4. Olive Oil. Now here’s something I always have in the house even though I refuse to cook. May as well do something with it. Add three parts olive oil to one part vinegar or two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice and viola (!): It’s a wood polish. Pour the leftover batch on your salad.

5. Baking Soda. Like vinegar, baking soda is a cure all. Even for the common cold! It can remove red-wine and tea stains, shine stainless steel and silver. Heck, my dentist uses it to clean my teeth. (Which reminds me, I have to make an appointment). Anyway,  use baking soda mixed with castile or vegetable-based liquid soap plus a drop of essential oil (tea tree or lavender) to clean kitchen and bath. To unclog a drain, pour 1 cup down followed by 3 cups of boiling water. To strip paint off antique hardware: Boil and add some baking soda.

6. Don’t forget the Bronner’s.

Most of these tips came from Dr. Weil.

 

Last week I received an email that started out “Imagine the eco-consiousness of Lisa Simpson and the sheer laziness of Homer Simpson.” The Simpsons? Lazy meets eco-friendly? I was intrigued.

Husqvarna will launch its fully robotic solar hybrid mower in the U.S. this coming March. The Solar Hybrid is designed for lawns up to 1/2 acre and offers automatic shut-off, an intuitive keypad with a back-lit display, a pin code lock feature and alarm for security. Plus it is practically silent.

The hubby keeps nagging me to help with lawn maintenance. Well, if he coughs up the dough for this $2999.95  fun little gadget, I just might start mowing the lawn. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, yeah, I’m the Homer in the relationship.

 

There was a NY Times article last week on how to keep your computer green. They had some obvious tips, such as, unplug the darn thing when it’s not in use. But we all know to do that with every electrical appliance, right?

Here are some other fun facts and pointers:

According to the EPA, a standard PC and monitor left on all the time consumes 1,109 kilowatt-hours a year. Energy efficient refrigerators use about 514 kilowatt-hours a year. 

Your computer should be set to go to sleep. Check. But FYI, screensavers may use your hard drive to power up, and photo screensavers may require use of a graphics card. The article says screensavers are a no no.

Google has a free power-management tool you can download. It will show you how much energy you can save by adjusting various settings and will make those adjustments for you in a few clicks. 

Laptops are greener than desktops because they have been designed as such. But since desktops are easier to upgrade, they last longer.

According to Greenpeace, Nokia is the frontrunner in green computers.

Finally, when your computer dies, as mine is doing now, check out Computer Take Back for info on recycling. 

I still prefer to shop locally and pick up things in person, but if I choose to shop online, Amazon the place to go. They just seem to have EVERYTHING and the prices can’t be beat (well, usually).

Smart cookies that they are, Amazon has launched Amazon Green, a cross-category program that includes a list of products that customers have selected as the best green products offered by them.

Top five at the moment includes:

1. 5 pack tote bags: $9.95 (Ok, so they’re $.99 apiece at Shoprite)

2. 13 watt fluorescent

3. 23 watt fluorescent

4. Push lawn mower

5. 48 pack of 7th Generation toilet paper: $47.99

Number nine on the list is a solar charging kit.

The quaint town of Marburg, Germany is on the cutting edge of the green building movement. So cutting edge, in fact, that they are forcing all homeowners currently undergoing renovations and heating upgrades to install solar systems.

Sounds like a good idea until you consider all of the historic buildings in the town. And the cost to homeowners who may not be able to afford it. With the added expense, some homeowners are opting out of reinsulating their homes altogether.

Those caught not doing the solar panels will be fined 1,000 euros. Here’s what gets my goat: Why not offer incentives instead of dictating what people must do? The town of Marburg is a great model for renewable energy. They have windmills and solar and use hydroelectric power. It all seems like the perfect town until you consider that their residents don’t have free will.

Via NY Times