Do You Carbon Offset Your Travel?

As we wrap up the biggest travel week/weekend of the year in the U.S., it reminds me about what we do to "offset" the environmental costs of our travel.

We are very nontraditional in the way we do this.  We typically donate to a charity that plants trees like The Nature Conservancy's Plant A Billion Trees program or Heifer International's Trees Are A Treasure program.  The Plant A Billion Trees campaign is planting trees in Brazil's Atlantic Forest in order to restore/preserve 30 million acres of rainforest in the next 2 years.  How awesome is that?!?  And The Trees Are A Treasure program often plants fruit trees not only to preserve topsoil but also give nutritious food to families providing for themselves.  (The vegetarian in me loves this part!)

If you'd like to go a more traditional route to offset greenhouse gases produced through travel, you may prefer The Conservation Fund.  It even provides a "Go Zero" calculator.  (Very eye-opening!)  Another one that I've heard great things about (but never used) is Carbon Fund.  I love that it has a whole section devoted to reducing our impacts listed before the offset section.

Which others am I missing?

Peace,

Stacey

Give Experiences Rather Than Things

While having lunch with a couple of friends this week, the topic of Black Friday came up. (Cue the dark music here.) One of them said I would "hate" the experience of a true Black Friday experience.  And, yes, I visibly cringed when she explained how people not only wait for hours to get into the store but then (naturally) wait for almost equally long amounts of time just to get someone to take their money! O.K. so I knew this happened.  I'm not that naive.  I just didn't know that it happened at every single Wal-Mart and every single Target and every single Home Depot and every single Macy's and every single Old Navy in Every Single Town!  

And, yeah, she's totally right.  I would not enjoy it.  As a teenager, my mom and I used to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving (I don't even remember it being called Black Friday back then) but we never set our alarms or waited outside locked doors.  It was still overwhelmingly crowded when we showed up at noon though!

Don't do it... or at least don't make me.

Anyway, our lunch conversation veered toward what kind of gifts we truly enjoy giving and receiving.  We all agreed that experiences and thoughtfully homemade gifts outweighed anything from the mall.  

One friend makes gourmet kitchen items (think vanilla extract, spice mixes, and flavored olive oils) that she packages in reused glass jars.  People save baby food jars for her so she can reuse them.  The other friend said she usually gives donations in honor of each of her family members.  She asks each person about their favorite charities in advance so everyone is happy.  (I love this idea so nobody feels "ripped off" when it's not the charity of his/her choice.)

We've done each of these kinds of things but we've yet to find our "signature" gift.  Some of our biggest successes has been "adopting" an endangered species which comes with a stuffed animal or purchasing animals for a family in need plus a book about that particular animal for the birthday boy.

The thing we all seemed to like the most was giving or receiving an experience gift.  

There are a lot of ways to do this.  Is your husband's favorite band coming to town soon?  Get him tickets to the show.  Have a foodie friend or just someone who would rather not wash dishes every night?  A gift card to a local restaurant would probably be appreciated. If your recipient lives near a great botanical garden, you could give an annual pass.  Near a favorite theme park? Try giving a couple single day tickets. These types of gifts seem especially popular when bought for a child because then the parent (your friend, sister, cousin) or the giver (you) gets to make memories with the child when the gift is "cashed in."  

My best friend and I started giving these kinds of gifts when we were in college.  It worked out great.  She would buy me something like "a facial with a friend" package and I'd get her two tickets to a Broadway show or something similar.  No strings attached.  It worked out nicely that we usually didn't want to go with anyone else so we also ended up treating ourselves to a luxury and fun with a friend.  Win. Win.

Reuse a gift bag when needed but
experiences don't need wrapped!

Do you have anyone on your list that would appreciate an experience?  
Go greener; give less stuff but more fun this year!

Peace,

Stacey

How We Installed Our Reclaimed Floors

Last weekend was quite productive around here.  Check, check, check it out:

The finished reclaimed tobacco barn wood floor

I know!  They're beautiful... but they took a lot of work.  It all started late Friday night.  Mr. Green Stuff and I put on our work gloves and jumped right in to our pile of splintery wood.  For us the real beauty of this wood is that it came from those old barns in Pennsylvania but that also gave us our own set of problems.  The splinters were the worst for me.  (And by "the worst for me" I don't mean to imply that I ended up with the most splinters because I didn't. I am the only one still whining about them though.)  I just mean the other issues like a few warped boards and figuring out the layout were easier to work around.

When the flooring came from Olde Wood Limited we received four different widths of boards.  I didn't really think it was a big deal because we had roughly (pun intended) 25% of each of the 3", 4", 5", and 6" widths.  I figured we would pick out the boards as we worked our way across the room and it would be fine.  I'm not sure what I was thinking!  I should have known that Mr. Green Stuff would never go for that.  But I digress.... back to Friday night!  We laid out our floor.  There is no particular pattern but we did arrange it so our favorite boards are in the middle of the room. 

Hmm... decisions, decisions

After we had our design arranged, we wanted a "map" of where each board would go.  With this plan Saturday could be all about installing rather than about thinking or planning.  We labeled the back of each piece of wood with a permanent marker.  I wanted this to be as simple as possible (remember I originally wanted to "wing" it) so I naturally called the first row "Row 1" and then each board was given a letter with A being the one to the far left of the room, then B, C, etc.  On the boards that needed trimmed to fit, I put an "X" on the end that I wanted removed.  Confused?  Here's an example: the eighteenth row needed four boards to span the room so we had boards labeled 18A, 18B, 18C, and 18D. 18C needed the right end cut in order to fit so there was an X on the back of it where it would be shortened. We also wrote down (on the map) that they were 3" wide.

As we labeled them, I stacked them on the far side of the room with the last row (28 if you're curious) on the bottom. Once they were in the correct order all we really needed to do during installation was to grab the ones on top and make sure we used A first. (O.K., maybe I'm totally into organization, too.)

All stacked up and ready to go.

Saturday morning while I was teaching yoga, Mr. Green (with a little help) began installing the floor.  Other than being so loud that we had to open the windows and wear ear plugs, it went remarkably well... aside from a few more splinters.  It worked out well.  From our Friday night design, we only needed to substitute one board because the original was warped and replace another one due to a miss-cut.  The whole floor was installed in time for a late lunch.

Ask around before purchasing tools. My brother-in-law let us borrow this "gun."

After our break, the treads were installed on the stairs and the landing was redesigned (we stole our replacement boards from here) and installed.

I love the look of the white paint with the natural floors.

Some friends stopped by to see our progress, which led to some Dark and Stormies, which in turn led to a later-than-anticipated night.  We didn't want them to leave because we knew something else that was "dark and stormy" was looming; the polyurethane was calling our names.  I was dreading this because my mom had warned me about how stinky polyurethane is.  I tried to find one with very few VOCs but it's not easy.  I found a water-based one (rather than oil) but it still had "less than 275 grams per liter."

Guess what?  It turns out that it's not that hard to seal a floor and the polyurethane we found wasn't stinky.  In fact, the smell was almost unnoticeable.  We wanted to get two coats on before we went to bed so around midnight we watched the documentary Bag It while we waited for the first coat to dry.  (I'm pretty sure I saw about 90% of it. From what I saw, I think it is definitely worth a watch!  Plus, the friend I borrowed it from highly recommends it.) Then we applied the second coat.

What?  Everyone else doesn't scavenge for danger tape?

Sunday morning we loved the way the floors looked but some of the really big scratches and knotholes were still rough, which made me fear splinters.  In order to avoid them, we decided to apply another coat.  I sanded the floors with an orbital sander using 220 grit paper.  This barely even dulled the sheen but it was enough to get the next coat to adhere.   And the next coat!  After the fourth coat, we were ready to call it quits.  And not just because the polyurethane was starting to stink.  The floor looked great but there were two spots that were still a bit raised.  It wasn't enough for me to notice with my hand but I could feel my socks snagging on it SO we sanded one more time and applied our final coat of poly!  (We're officially on a nickname basis, poly and I, after all the time we've spent together.)

Now they look and feel gorgeous.  I'm loving our "new" floor.  I'm going to need to keep an eye one Mr. Green Stuff though.  He crazily mentioned how great it would look in the dining room.  I'm just going to ignore that comment for now.

Have you ever started a project like this where you assumed you could figure it out but had no real knowledge about the process when you started?  I didn't even know what an orbital sander was before this!

Peace,

Stacey

Zero VOC Paint

Today is another painting day in our kitchen.  The floors are being installed tomorrow and the risers on the stairs coming from the back door needed to be painted first. How did those get overlooked?!?  

It's like one of those M.C. Escher optical illusion pictures.

Anyway, I thought I should say something about VOCs.

What are VOCs, you ask?  The short answer is that volatile organic compounds are what make new paint smell.  Stinky things are usually high in VOCs. (A high "chemically" smell is often a good indication but not always.)  The problem with those smells is that they lead to potentially dangerous indoor air pollution.  

If you want to really delve in deep, here's a great article from the Minnesota Department of Health about VOCs.  It covers common types of VOCs (like formaldehyde), where they come from (couches, carpets, cosmetics, etc.), health effects (anything from headaches to cancer), and most importantly how to reduce our exposure (removal or containment) and more.  I think it's worth the read if you have a few minutes.

So like I mentioned before, we picked a (very affordable) paint with zero VOCs.

This is one of my favorite songs that talks about VOCs. Thanks, Train, for this line:
I wanna buy you everything except cologne 'cause it's poison.

Have a non-stinky day!

Peace,

Stacey

America Recycles Day

Today is America Recycles Day.  

  
It also happens to be my normal curbside pick-up day for recycling but I didn't put it out.  What?!?  On America Recycles Day?!?  You can find out why here.  (Hint: our bin was less than half full.) But I did do something.  As I was walking through the  Lowe's parking lot, I picked up (and recycled) someone's McDonald's cup and lid.

Happy Recycling Day!
Peace,

Stacey

The Coolest Light in My House

Mr. Green Stuff made my day when I walked in to see this.  Obviously, it was my evening that he made but there's no catchy cliche about making someone's evening.

My "new" mid-century light!

I already introduced you to this light and its sister, which will hang in the dining room over our table, but now that one of them is out of the box, I wanted to show it off.

Seriously, I knew the new walls (made in the U.S.A. drywall!) and ceiling needed painted before the light when up, but I was still surprised to see this go up almost as soon as that made in the U.S.A., VOC-free paint dried.

I was also pleasantly surprised about how well it lights the room.  I was starting to worry.  Now I feel better.

The wrinkle to this beauty is in the switch.  I bought some of those motion sensor light switches.  (You know the kind. If you leave the room and forget to turn off the light it does it for you after a couple of minutes.)  Well, apparently, the ones I bought are specific to incandescent light bulbs.  

Do you know what happens when you use an energy efficient light bulb with those babies?  Well, let me tell you.  Discos!  Discos happen.  The light was constantly flickering... even when it was turned off.  It was enough to drive a girl mad!  I was starting to doubt my 50ish year old light fixture could be on a motion sensor but it was the 2 year old light bulb I took out of the replaced fixture that was the problem. 

Yes, the website clearly indicates that it is not a switch for CFL or LED light bulbs but the packaging doesn't make it as obvious.  I was totally perplexed when we discovered the problem.  An energy efficient light switch that only works with light bulbs that are energy hogs!  The irony.

Oh, and I failed to mention the smell...

Those switches are going back to the store.  And I'm back to the drawing board.  

Have you ever had a problem like that?  Please, tell me I'm not the only one... especially since this isn't my first time with a similar problem.
Peace,

Stacey

Barn Wood Kitchen Floors Have Arrived

Look what was delivered yesterday!!

Our "new" kitchen floors!! I know!  I'm so excited!  (You can tell from all the exclamation marks, right?)

Our "new" kitchen floors are reclaimed from an old barn.  A tobacco drying barn from Pennsylvania to be exact.  I know.  Awesome, right?  Don't worry; the irony of its first life is not lost on me, the non-smoker.

They're knicked, scratched, knotty, and full of holes.  As promised, there's no smell just those beautiful (ugly?) stains left behind from the drying process.

Want to see what my steps are going to look like?

And, yes, I did check to see how the flooring would be packaged.  (Thanks to the suggestions in this book.)  I didn't want a lot of wasted packaging like boxes or shrink-wrap.  I was reassured to find out that the packaging would be very minimal.  (I guess they figured it wouldn't matter if it was jostled around in the semi since the scratches are part of the beauty.)  See those little binding strips in the first pictures?  Besides the pallet they were stacked on, that's all there was.  It's almost like buying in bulk.
 
Now we just have to wait 2 weeks to let the wood acclimated to our house and the local weather before we can install them.  I hope the fact that it's been drizzly for a couple days doesn't matter.

Peace,

Stacey

31 Days of Green Little Things: The Conclusion

Well, there you go!  31 tips in 31 days.  

It was was fun... and not-so-fun.  It created a spark in me.  It motivated me. (uh hmm, mending!)  It inspired me.  And it exhausted me... the writing not the little things.

But I made it... because you were reading.

So what's next? I'm thinking about doing a series about "What I Did for the Planet Today" but first I'm going to recover from this one. In the meantime, I plan to blog 3 times a week but I'll still stick to the concept of little green things.

One of my friends asked me to do a "green" food diary/post every day but without a kitchen it would be ugly.  (I assume you don't want to read about all the improvised meals around here.) My original plan for October's 31 Days had been to post one of my favorite recipes every Friday but that only lasted 2 weeks.  I bet you can guess when we lost use of our range. ;)


Here's a recap of all the posts:
October 1: Avoid Automatic Doors
October 2: Turn Off That Light
October 3: Buy Natural Clothes
October 4: Check Out The Library
October 5: My Hot Salsa Recipe
October 6: Turn Off The TV
October 7: Print on the Back
October 8: Read an Eco-Book
October 9: Driftwood Table
October 10: Make Fewer Trips
October 11: Halloween Costumes Can Be Real
October 12: Make Your Own Yogurt
October 13: Give Up Bottled Water
October 14: Make a Bottle Cooler
October 15: Buy the Most Local – Even When It’s Not Very Local
October 16: Small Change Adds Up!
October 17: Beauty Without Plastic
October 18: Buy in Bulk
October 19: Share
October 20: Use It Up or Wear It Out
October 21: Laundry Day (The Cold Water Cycle)
October 22: Say Goodbye to Plastic Food Storage
October 23: Bring Your Own Bag
October 24: Be Straw Free
October 25: Mend It
October 26: Buy Used
October 27: Bring Your Own To-Go Container
October 28: Laundry Day Part 2 (Drying Rack)
October 29: Cloth Napkins Aren't Just For Special Occasions
October 30: Dump An Incandescent
October 31: Phantom Loads Are No Treat 

What would you like to see next?

Peace,
Stacey  
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