Garbage or Recyclable?

A lot of times we have trouble deciding what is actually garbage versus recyclable products. And when I start accumulating lots of what I think are recyclable, I begin to wonder if I'm just becoming a little pack rat or if I'm making a difference (even if it's in a small way). So I thought I'd put up a link to sort of cheat sheet, if you will, of some things we can recycle. If you're like me then hopefully it'll help you sort through the mess...

http://www.cafemom.com/group/15443/boards/read.php?post_id=920286&email_id=225739449

*21 Things We CAN Recycle:

1. Appliances
2. Batteries
3. Cardboard Boxes
4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks
5. Clothes
6. Compact fluorescent bulbs
7. Compostable bio-plastics
8. Computers & Electronics
9. Exercise Videos
10. Eyeglasses
11. Foam packing peanuts
12. Ink/toner Cartridges
13. Miscellaneous
14. Oil
15. Phones
16. Sports equipment
17. "Technotrash"
18. Tennis Shoes
19. Toothbrushes and razors
20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke,
Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231,
Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.
21. Stuff you just can't recycle:
Maybe we can't recycle everything right now, but one option is to send these "non-recyclables" back to the manufacturer and ask them to consider making a more "Earth-friendly" product to end the excess waste.

Hop on the Bus

Today the boys and I took some non-perishables to the "Stuff the Bus" event. Seb ran back and forth on the bus and Shan got stickers and we all felt some satisfaction about giving food to those in need.

I guess we take it for granted because, although I don't ever want my kids to worry about us providing for them, I do want them to be aware that there are other people in the world less fortunate than us. That we should reach out to someone with a need. That we can forgo those little "wants" to provide for someone else's "needs". And I hope we do make a difference in someone's life!

In on the Action...

Okay, so a lot of people probably, but I didn't know there was a wicked awesome recycle center (with respect to improvement, of course) at the landfill.

Sunday after church, Jason and I and the boys went out to his parents house to help clean up the property...They've been making a huge effort to make their property look nice, and over the last 6 years there have been major changes.

So we all got bundled up and went out to help (sorry no pics, I forgot the camera). Jason and his dad took turns running the skid steer, my MIL ran the compactor, J's brother ran back and forth helping everyone and the boys (when they weren't watering down the driveway or helping Jason on the John Deere) helped me move wood pallets.

My main motivation, aside from helping clean up, was to get all the pallets pulled apart and cut down. Then I, with the boys' help, loaded them all in the back of my car (we filled the entire back half) and now I have a ginormous "load of lumber" in my garage. --Which is making it smell like a fabulous lumber yard, by the way. All that wood is going to be made into Christmas presents and such, more on that later.

Jason and I took Seb with us to make one of the trips to the dump. I was feeling a little guilty about "dumping" wood when it's obviously something that can be recycled, so imagine how excited I was to learn that there's a big ol' recycling section where they took all my in-laws' yard waste & wood pallets and recycled them! What a great example for Seb to see the process for himself! So we grabbed a pamphlet and I gave a quick, kid-friendly explanation of recycling yard waste into compost and all the great stuff we can do with it!

I had a great sense of accomplishment for my in-laws & their property and also for being able to show Seb just how important being Eco-friendly is to everyone and how awesome it is to be a part of it!

Global Awareness!

It was brought to my attention at a MOPS meeting the other day that my family really doesn't know much about any other countries, including those of our own heritage! So I'm proposing a weekly, or even bi-weekly, study of the world!

We're going to pick a location, either by spinning a globe, playing pin the flag on the country, or something else to keep the boys entertained. Then we'll take the next week or two learning about the culture, food, climate, what animals live there, how the kids dress, anything and everything to do with that country.

Seeing as the boys are still fairly young, we'll probably utilize our more convenient resources like the local library, Internet, educational TV programs, etc. And maybe with a little luck, we'll even make some new friends through an organization.

There is just so much more than our simple lives here in Bend and I want our family to learn about our World and the different cultures so they might be called to a mission trip someday. And maybe meet those friends they made while learning about the world.

Compost your pumpkins!

So, your pumpkins are probably looking a little "down" these days and maybe you don't know what to do with them. How about giving some thought to composting?

If you'd like to do a little research, check out HowToCompost.org for some helpful hints!