Recycle | Reuse | Reduce - That's my tri

Use a Plastic Bottle to Save Money

2009-10-27T22:36:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a bottle of something, lotion, soap, shampoo, etc. and that last little bit never comes out? Either the pump doesn't grab it or turning the bottle upside down makes it just tip over. In an effort to get every last drop and not waste, I have tried to teeter one bottle on top of another in hopes a brisk breeze doesn't tip the top bottle over. More often than not I am presented with a mess on the counter and no savings what so ever! But I found a solution that eliminates mess and uses every drop. It is a recycle, reduce double doozie! Just use an empty plastic bottle as a funnel to "connect" two containers. Confused? Below are some quick and easy steps to saving money, product and recycling!

Here's How:
1. Get a plastic bottle out of the recycle with an opening that is smaller than the bottle you want liquid in.
2. Cut the bottom portion of the bottle off.
3. Put the top of the plastic cut bottle inside the container you want the liquid in.
4. Put the bottle with the small amount of liquid upside down into the plastic cut bottle.
5. Watch as the liquid easily goes from one bottle to the next!

Here are the two bottles with the cut plastic bottle in the middle.

From RecycleReuseReduce

Here is a close up of the cut bottle, "funnel".

From RecycleReuseReduce

New Jersey's Clean Energy Leaders Recognized by Board of Public Utilities

2009-10-21T21:06:00.001-05:00

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) announced the winners of the 2009 NJ Clean Energy Leadership Awards in seven categories at a special dinner held during Clean Energy Now, the 2009 Clean Energy Conference & Leadership Awards. These awards honor individuals, local and county governments, businesses, institutions and organizations that have improved New Jersey's economic competitiveness and have demonstrated effective solutions for climate change through the effective and innovative use of energy efficiency and renewable technologies.

Trade Ally Award - Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC
Open to suppliers, retailers, designers and installers, the Trade Ally Award recognizes an organization for its part in driving the growth of green jobs and for supporting the clean energy infrastructure.

Outreach Partner of the Year - HelpLight NJ
The Outreach Award recognizes efforts to build awareness of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures by extending the message of clean energy to a wide audience in the hope of influencing others to make wise energy decisions that reduce our impact on climate change.

Market Innovator of the Year - Petra Solar
The Market Innovator Award provides recognition to the organization demonstrating new opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions with viable solutions for large numbers of residential, business and/or government facilities.

Local Government Partner of the Year - Bergen County Utilities Authority
The Local Government Partner Award recognizes the role the state's local government officials play in promoting the wise use of energy to residents and businesses in their community. These officials' commitment to spread the message of clean energy and build awareness of programs that reduce energy use has been described as "critical" to the success of New Jersey's Clean Energy Program.

Energy Educator of the Year - Rutgers University
The Energy Educator Award recognizes a school, college or university for its efforts to improve the energy efficiency and use of renewable technologies in their facilities and for implementing specific programs and activities to involve students and include energy education in their curricula.

Business Leader of the Year - Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
The Business Leader Award recognizes an organization that sets solid goals and follows through with real solutions to reduce energy consumption. The Business Leader of the Year Award also recognizes the importance of promoting the message of saving energy to workers and driving a corporate culture shift that extends to employees' homes.

Clean Energy Advocate of the Year - Daniel Cohen
This newly established award was created to honor an individual that has pursued an agenda to support the development or utilization of clean energy in New Jersey.

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide - $12.49

Day 10-14: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-21T13:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, I think this will be my last daily post of the ACL fest grass. It seems to be doing well but daily pictures of grass are hard to put in my routine! plus, they are being less interesting by the day, don't you agree?! I missed a few days and you can hardly tell.

I did over water it so it is a bit waterlogged right now. I'm hoping I don't have to do anything to soak up the water. If you have pictures of acl fest grass, I would love to see them!

Day 10

From ACLFestGrass

Day 13

From ACLFestGrass

Day 14

From ACLFestGrass

Day 8-9: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

I started to post Day 8 yesterday and my internet connection was so slow I fell asleep waiting for it to load the pictures! That is somewhat of an indication of how my day went yesterday. So here are today's and yesterday's views of the grass.

Day 8 and 9 of the ACL Fest grass growth. Not all the blades are growing as fast so it is looking a little ragged. I gave it a good trim today. I think it is happier. It has a great smell when you cut the blades, makes me think of being in a field of freshly cut grass in the morning when it is all dewy. I hope I can keep my grass growing all year, I 'm not the best green thumb. If anyone else has the ACL Fest Grass, tell me how it is growing!

Day 8:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 9 Before Haircut:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 9 After Haircut:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 7: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

I decided to not cut the grass today, I'm going to see how it does tomorrow. And I am going to slow down the watering so it doesn't grow like a weed! Here is what it looks like today.

Day 7:

From ACLFestGrass

Top 20 Green Jobs

2009-10-13T17:03:00.001-05:00

Green jobs might be rare these days due to the economy but recent data shows green/eco friendly jobs are on the rise. Varying skill levels are needed as well, from executives to manage green initiatives to auditors to conduct green audits.

"The leading job tiles show the breadth of green positions across the economy," says Rona Fried, Ph.D., CEO of SustainableBusiness.com, which runs Green Dream Jobs. "Most people think of energy auditing and renewable energy as green jobs, but leading non-profit organizations are major employers, and people needed to run projects and analyze data are in demand, as well as those in sales and business development. Engineers are also in demand for renewable energy operations and even in this economy, we're still seeing many job openings in green building."

Top 20 Green Job Titles

Executive Director, Nonprofit
Project Leader/Manager
Sustainability Program Director/Manager
Sales/Business Development Associate or Manager
Marketing Manager/Coordinator
Community Crew Leaders/Supervisors, Conservation Associations
Business/Data Analyst
Research Analyst/Manager
Environmental Educator/Naturalist
Account Executive/Manager, Sales
Professor (various academic fields)
Sustainability Analyst/Consultant
Operations Manager
Wind Energy Engineer
Administrative Assistant
Trainer, Training Specialist or Training Coordinator
Electrical/Design Engineer
Green Architect
Green Building Project Manager
Solar Process Engineer/Process Integration Engineer

About Green Dream Jobs
Green Dream Jobs is the leading green jobs service on the Web, online since 1996. The site hosts green jobs across the spectrum of employers including: multinationals hiring sustainability practitioners, green NGOs, government agencies, renewable energy, green building, green mutual funds, green private equity firms, the organic and recycling industries, etc. Green Dream Jobs is a service of SustainableBusiness.com, the voice of green business on the Web. www.greendreamjobs.com or http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/greendreamjobs.main

Source: PR Newswire

Day 7: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-13T07:07:00.000-05:00

This stuff is amazing! It grows faster than a weed! Here are today's photos, day 7 of the ACL Fest grass growth. My cutting skills are not the best I guess, for some reason the "haircuts" are a little uneven, poor grass...it probably wants a professional straight cut and all it will get is a jagged cut with cheap scissors. Hmmmm, I wonder if Greenie is getting jealous...

Day 7 Before:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 7 After:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 6: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-12T11:43:00.001-05:00

Could this stuff grow any faster?! Wow, I wish this was money!!!

Day 6, grass shot up like it was on a sprint! WOW! I cut it yesterday and it is as tall or taller today! I cut it again, sorry for the uneven cut...bad angle I guess. I trimmed it up after I took this picture. This quick growing experience gives me hope that Zilker will be back to luch green lawns before you know it.

Day 6 before:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 6 after haircut:

From ACLFestGrass

Day 5: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

I decided to give the grass a haircut. Here are photos of the before and after.

Day 5: Before Haircut

From ACLFestGrass

Day 5: After Haircut

From ACLFestGrass

Day 4: ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-10T08:13:00.001-05:00

Wow, this is day 4 of the ACL Fest/Zilker Park grass! I might actually have to cut it with some scissors soon.

Day 4

From ACLFestGrass

ACL Fest Grass Sprouts Up in Just a Day

2009-10-09T09:15:00.001-05:00

ACL Fest, the 3day music festival in Austin, Texas is held at Zilker Park each year. In previous years the festival has had issues with the lawn being dry; one year there was a dust cloud and people came to the festival with medical masks. So last year the folks at C3 Productions who put on ACL Fest and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation folks got together and installed a sprinkler system and new grass in Zilker Park. In honor of this monumental event, ACL Fest gave out to VIP's a canister with dirt and Zilker grass seed, a little memento to take back.

At Threadgills they had free pre festival live music and they were giving the tins out to VIP's. My mom was able to snag me one of the tins that was left behind. So, I planted the seeds and set it on the window sill. Here are the pics from Day 2 and Day 3. It is amazing how much it grew from one day to the next!

Day 2

From ACLFestGrass

Day 3

From ACLFestGrass

No More Business Card Waste! Take a Photo - Add it to Your Contacts

2009-10-06T12:28:00.000-05:00

This is wonderful, I can't wait to use this new product from DYMO Cardscan Mobile. DYMO Cardscan Mobile is lauching today which coincides with Windows (R) launch of Marketplace for Mobile and will allow a person with a smart phone to snap a picture of somone's business card and the information will instantly transfer to the correct fields in a contact list. How cool is that?!Now you can have all your contacts without the hassle and waste of business cards.

How it Works
To use DYMO CardScan Mobile, after a user has taken a picture of any business card with a Windows(® )smartphone camera, CardScan Mobile automatically inserts all information from the card into the proper fields in the phone's contact list. The application works with Windows Mobile OS 6+ smartphones with a 2 mp or higher camera with autofocus. A CardScan business card scanner and software are not required to operate the application.

Learn more here.

National Press Club Increases Sustainability Efforts with Composting

2009-10-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

The National Press Club is composting? It's true! The National Press Club has contracted with EnviRelation of Washington, D.C. and separates all food waste into different containers. Food scraps and post consumer food waste are picked up daily and taken to a nearby composting facility. They expect the program to save two tons of waste from going into the landfills.

The club added this service as the next step in increasing its level of sustainability. By keeping the food waste out of landfills it decreases the greenhouse gasses caused by its operations. Food waste put into landfills permanently takes it out of the life cycle, unnecessarily loads landfills and is a contributor to greenhouse gasses. Food waste in the anaerobic state of a landfill creates methane gas, which, according to the EPA, is 21 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Find out more here.

New Orleans Public Schools get Solar Energy Through Corp "Green" Partnership

2009-09-30T22:25:00.002-05:00

Partners Entergy, Nike, Winrock International, the Louisiana Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and the city of New Orleans are equipping New Orleans public schools with 28-kilowatt solar array that is expected to produce about 37,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. That is enough electricity to power three average residential homes.

"Entergy is committed to helping rebuild our community in a way that is environmentally sustainable," said Rod West, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans, Inc. "We are proud to be the lead sponsor of the New Orleans Solar Schools Initiative, which supports the benefits of clean, alternative energy and energy conservation, and even more importantly teaches those benefits to our children - our future leaders."

The project includes an instructional component that will help educate both students and teachers about conservation and renewable energy. Students will use the solar equipment as a first-hand learning tool to research and report on how energy conservation can integrate with solar power.

The New Orleans Solar School Initiative originated with Entergy's purchase of carbon offsets - registered on Winrock International's American Carbon Registry - from Nike in 2006. The transaction was part of Entergy's long-range plan to stabilize CO2 emissions 20 percent year 2000 levels through 2010. Nike donated $150,000 of the proceeds from the sale of the carbon offsets, and Entergy committed up to $1.5 million - part of which is tied to an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - to install solar systems at New Orleans public schools.

Read the full press release here.

Eco Friendly Mower Does more than Cut the Grass

2009-09-30T21:26:00.001-05:00

I have now mowed twice with my new push mower, Glimour. Gilmour is remarkably easy to use and mowing was almost fun, if mowing the yard can be fun. I also purchased a small weed trimmer and THAT was way fun to use. Some parts of the grass though are not so happy, I need more practice trimming.

The mower, fondly named Gilmour(that is the brand), was easy to put together and was almost as easy to use. One thing I did noticed, it is really loud! It is self sharpening so the metal blade rubs against a metal edge on the bottom, to sharpen the blade. This makes a huge amount of noise. I have never used a gas powered mower so I don't know how it compares noise wise but the noise is enough to where I was a little embarrassed using it thinking everyone in the neighborhood could hear it! Of course, that is silly so I got over that fairly quickly, but if you buy a self sharpening mower, expect it to be noisy.

Glimour mows great. The blade is 20 inches long and has 5 different heights. I keep it at 4 to keep the grass somewhat high, it helps keep the weeds from growing. My yard angles down slightly at the edge so I drop one side down to 1 or 2 on the edge side to cut that grass a bit shorter. Works great!

Glimour also came with a clippings basket that attaches to the back of the mower to catch all the grass clippings. This is great, I can add the clippings to my compost pile! The basket comes off fairly easily. The only bad thing might be the depth of the basket. Because of the way it goes on, there isn't much room so you have to unload it several times throughout the mowing.

The trimmer, which has no name yet, is perfect for me. I am short and my arm strength is not so great. This Black and Decker model is light weight and almost looks like a minature weed trimmer. It's really cute! I edged all the grass and trimmed up the jasmine. The yard almost looks like professional landscapers came! Only, if you look closely, the edges aren't exactly even, the trimmer ate the grass more in some places than others. But you, uneven edges add character!

So overall, very pleased. Yard looks decent, compost pile is happy and I got a bit of a workout. If you have a push mower, would love to hear how you like it! Please feel free to comment.

Austin, Texas Listed as Eco Friendly City

2009-09-16T20:21:00.002-05:00

Eco friendly and weird, can Austin get any better?

Go Green Travel listed Austin, Texas as the 10th eco friendly city in the US. Many Austinites have been "green" for a long time, it is part of Austins culture to be "weird". Drive through South Austin and you will see recycling and reusing materials at its finest. Recycled Yard art is very popular in Austin. To celebrate Austins "greenness" here are few Austin Green items you can get to support Austin and its "weird" green lifestyle.

See the full article here.

Austin is GREEN!

Austin is Weird Keep Austin Green by Comfycrafter

Get this great shirt for $30.30

Austin is Weird Keep it Green by Comfycrafter
Get this great tee for $26.25

Green is the new BLACK by Comfycrafter
Get this great tee for $25.75

Go Green Texas Mousepad by ecogreenbags
Go Green for $16.00

Win $5K for Telling Your Eco Story

2009-09-16T12:57:00.000-05:00

Eco Friendly Cat Lovers Can Win $5K and a Years Worth of Yesterday's News Cat Litter.

Do you own a cat? Are you eco friendly? Do you do specific things to help the environment that you can write about? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you can enter yourself in a contest to win $5K cash and $15K for your favorite eco project.

Yesterday's News(R) cat litter is giving away $5K cash and $15K to a eco organization through their "Do-Gooder" Award Contest. They are inviting owners of cats to share the ways they "do-good" by incorporating eco-friendly actions into their everyday lives. This could include eco friendly cat liter, reducing electricity, using reusable shopping bags or recycling mail and other paper products. If you recall in an earlier blog post, I save water in the shower, this would count too!

"Whether it's using an alternative cat litter, turning off the water when brushing their teeth or recycling the daily newspaper, Yesterday's News wants to recognize the good, green choices people are making in their everyday lives," said Renee Loux, author of Easy Green Living, host of "It's Easy Being Green" and spokesperson for the Yesterday's News contest. "We will be awarding three 'Do Gooders' with $5,000 for themselves and awarding $15,000 to a local eco-friendly project to benefit their community."

To enter and get more details, go to http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/dogooder. Contest runs through October 23, 2009.

Yesterday's News is a cat litter made from recycled materials including paper and sawdust. I was amazed to find out it was made by Nestle Purina PetCare Company.

Part if this information was gathered through PRNewswire.

Going Green...Getting Some Exercise...Resolved Small Car Issue

2009-09-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

I recently canceled my landscape contract, not because they were doing a bad job, on the contrary, they were doing an excellent job...but the grass wasn't growing enough to need mowing and I'm trying to save valuable resources, namely "green backs." As I said, the grass hasn't been growing anyway, I don't water really, it has rained here enough I haven't had to used the sprinkler system...and there is a leak in the pipe I need to fix. (By "I" I mean someone else...but that costs money so I am just not using the sprinkler system.)

So far the lawn looks ok. I noticed the other day there were a few weeds in the section between the sidewalk and the street that were growing a little to much to look acceptable. My first thought was I would just take my hand hedge clipper thingies and clip off the parts that were growing too tall. That sounded easy and not too time consuming and it hadn't rained and I haven't been watering so the rest of the yard really looked "ok".

Until today. Today it rained and I know that means the yard will think it received some illegal drug and it will go wild this week and shoot up out of the ground as an excited expression of joy. Just what I need, excited grass that decides to grow 2 inches this week...and me without a landscaper.

I had been toying around with getting a lawnmower but there are a few things that have prevented me from doing so; I am a little scared of gas powered lawn mowers as I have never owned one and gas in general scares me, I also have a small car so getting one home is a concern.

My car holds like two bags of groceries, it is a two seater with a trunk that seriously doesn't hold more than one carry-on piece of luggage, so getting a lawnmower it is seems like an annoying challenge. I did decide to look online at Lowes, I got a no interest deal in the mail from them. Sounded good until I thought of myself buying the mower, rolling it down the two miles to my house and walking back to get the car. (I sent this post in a scaled down format to my familyearlier and my mom wrote back that walking the lawn mower back seemed difficult as I would need to assemble it first. What I thought?! They don't come ASSEMBLED?!)

I checked amazon to see if the Lowes prices were good and found a nice push mower with a grass catcher, almost identical to the one at Lowes, for not too much and a small trimmer for what dinner might cost somewhere. The mower is just a simple push mower, no gas or electricity needed and it comes with a great grass catcher attachment so I can dump the clippings in the compost. The trimmer is electric, so no need for me to worry about blowing something up with the gas. I now only have to worry about shredding the electric cord when I an working in the yard.

And the good news? For just a little more than a months worth of landscaper contract, I have found myself a mower and a trimmer...and they are being mailed to me for free! (love Amazon Prime!) I probably have to assemble the mower still but at least I don't have to assemble, then roll it back to my house, all the while having people driving by wonder what the heck is wrong with me, rolling a lawn mower down the sidewalk....for two miles.

Here are the two items I purchased. I got these mostly based on the Amazon comments and price.

Push mower

Gilmour RM30 20-Inch Reel Mower with Grass Catcher

Electric trimmer

Black & Decker ST1000 9-Inch 1.8-AMP Electric Grass Trimmer

(BTW, my yard hasn't been mowed in several weeks and it looks practically the same as it did two weeks ago. the jasime is creeping out a bit, I was planning on just going around with the clippers I use to trim the bushes and snip the jasmine. Now I will wait for the trimmer. And my compost bin will be so happy with the clippings!)

Do you own one of these? Do you have another push mower or trimmer you like? Feel free to add your comments!

I'll post later about how I like these things after I've used them.

PA Growing 'Green' Economy While Creating Jobs, Helping Consumers Save Money, Gov. Rendell Says

2009-09-11T09:26:00.002-05:00

Commonwealth Finance Authority Approves $18 Million in New Investments for 31 Projects
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced new state investments that will help keep Pennsylvania at the forefront of the new green economy while creating jobs, spurring private economic development, and supporting local school districts that are struggling with energy costs.
The Governor said the Commonwealth Financing Authority approved nearly $18.4 million for 31 projects throughout the state. The investments were made possible through the $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Fund, which he signed in July 2008.
"These new resources are critically important from an economic development and job-creating perspective and also for families and small businesses struggling to cope with energy prices," said Governor Rendell. "These investments will support energy conservation and efficiency, help a number of school districts save precious tax dollars on their energy bills, and spur new private investment from alternative energy companies that create jobs in a rapidly growing economic sector."

Read the full story here.. PA Growing 'Green' Economy While Creating Jobs, Helping Consumers Save Money, Gov. Rendell Says

For more information on the Commonwealth Financing Authority or the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit www.newPA.com or call 1-866-466-3972.

CONTACT:
Steve Weitzman (DCED)
717-783-1132

Michael Smith
717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

E-Coupons Missed the Mark

2009-09-10T22:43:00.000-05:00

E-coupons, good idea? Not sure.
I like the concept of e-coupons but the practicality of them escapes me today. I think companies have shifted the burden from themselves to the consumers, I know have to remember what the coupon is for. Let me explain.

Ton Thumb, a subsidiary of Safeway send me what I thought was a pretty ridiculous mailer with babies all over it. It had three baby product coupons inside. As an aside, I found it ridiculous because I've never bought baby products there and I don't have a baby, very bad target marketing.

But, I do KNOW people with babies and I have a friend that just had a baby so I decided I would just give her the coupons. The inside of the mailer stated there was another $10 off coupon waiting for me online. Great I thought, I can give that to my friend as well. I went online, entered my frequent shopper card info and the code number on the mailer and found out there were other discount offers and indeed there was a $10 off deal... but... the "coupons" were loaded onto my frequent shopper card, not printable coupons. This means I can't give them to my friend! argh.

They do provide an option to get an email or to print the information but this to me just shifts the paper waste and expense to me instead of them. And I didn't choose any of those options and closed out the window so now even if I wanted to use the coupons, I have no idea what the deals were.

In the corner of the page there was also a deal for Lucerne eggs which I added myself to. But of course, it is loaded on the card too and who could possible remember if that was for Grade A Large, Medium or Extra Large eggs?

Good idea for paperless coupons but I think there needs to be a bit more consumer education or company troubleshooting.

Here is the email I received letting me know I can get free eggs.

What do you think? Have you received similar deals? Ever used any?

How To Make a Cheap Compost Bin

2009-09-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Composting Helps Reuse Food Scraps and Yard Debris, Less in Landfills

I see a lot of questions out on the web about how to build a compost pile or what is the best compost bin. I had the same questions three years ago when I built mine so I'd like to share what I built and why I think it is well worth the price.

There are certainly a lot of compost bins you can spend hundreds of dollars but why do that when you can make one for almost nothing? Think you can't do it? It isn't as hard as you think. What I built is simple and doesn't require any major tools. I have seen really nice inexpensive wood structures but I didn't have a saw so I opted for a more simple design. This bin cost less than $40.

Tools Needed:

Mallet
Shovel
Gloves
Weed puller

Materials Needed:

Chicken wire, deer fencing or other small wire mesh stuff
Four stakes that are typically used for chicken wire type fencing
Zip Ties

Steps:

Find a spot that gets sun most of the day and perferrably close to the door you would exit to dump scraps. (This helps motivate you to actually dump scraps!)
I layed the poles on the ground about where I wanted them, my bin is about 3 feet x 4 feet
Now you drive the poles into the ground at all four corners with the mallet. My ground was very dry and hard to get the pole into so I got some water and used the weed puller to poke a deep hole, then stuck the pole in and hammered it in with the mallet. You may need a small piece of wood to protect the mallet from the metal pole.
Secure the wire mesh fencing to one post with the zip ties.
Wrap the fencing around the three other poles, securing it with the zip ties on each pole.
Don't zip tie the whole thing together, leave the last piece loose, it will act like a door of sorts.
I fashioned a ring from the left over zip ties and secured the fencing by looping the zip tie over the pole

Now you are ready to add brown and green materials and watch it compost! Make sure you always cover green materials like kitchen scraps with brown material so it doesn't smell. Keep the pile moist and just continue to layer brown and green materials, they will break down and give you dark, nutrient rich soil to use in your landscape. Don't be surprised if this takes some time, just turn the pile from time to time and you will have compost before you know it.

I love this bin, it was inexpensive, easy to put together and three years later, is in just about the same shape it was when I made it. I've used compost from it and am thrilled to not have to buy it from the store and all my leaves in the fall are put back to good use instead of being bagged and thrown away.

Here are some photos of what I bought and stages of the bin. If you have a bin, homemade or not or make one based on this post, please comment!

Pure Organic Beauty Products in One Easy Spot

2009-09-09T19:30:00.000-05:00

I searched recently for all organic makeup and beauty products. While in Atlanta I found a company, Julirque, that has wonderful products, I feel in love instantly. A few downsides, they aren't in my city so I have to order over the phone and some of their products contain small amounts of questionable ingredients. Are they better than the stuff you get at the grocery store? Absolutely! But if you want completely organic products, these can be a tiny bit misleading.

Then I read in a magazine about Saffron Rouge. They were touted as the Sephora of organic products and boy they were right. Not only do they sell Jurlique products that meet Saffron Rouge's strict criteria, they remove products based on product ingrediants. Started by Kristin Binder, it is simply the best place to go to find organic products. Kristin studied phytotherapy at the University of England and is passionate about testing and researching the product formulas and ingrediants.

It can be a bit pricey to buy organic so here are a few savings for Saffron Rouge:

Free shipping on orders $95 or more.
Free samples with every order.
Lowest price guarantee.

On Sale Right Now: 15% off (use code CELEBPICK)

Dr. Alkaitis Organic Eye Cream as worn by Gisele Bundchen
Living Natural Radiant Oil as worn by Antonia Kidma
Soleo Organics Sunscreen SPF 30 as worm by Christie Brinkley
Dr. Hauschka Regenerating Serum as worn by Martha Stewart
Balm Balm Rose Geranium Face Balm as worn my KT Tunstall
NVEY ECO's Organic Moisturizing Liquid Foundation as worn by Olivia Wilde
Suki's Exfoliating Foaming Cleanser used by Jennifer Garner
Erbaviva's Baby Lotion as used by Debra Messing
Jurlique's Body Oils as used by Kate Moss