Green Closet De-Cluttering…that is, without Landfill Cluttering

Out with the old, make room for the new.  I picked a few new peices of clothes last week, alas with no free hangers in my closet with which to hang them.  I remembered what Matt Lauer said once regarding his wardrobe – for every new item that goes into the closet, one must come out.  Maybe I’ll get there, but to make up for the past, lots must come out!  It was time for the dreaded closet de-cluttering. Ahhh!

Really some peices in my bureau were over 10 years old – not that there is anything wrong with that – but they were in what I call “stay-at-home” condition.  That is, overstretched, outdated, out-grown (age-wise, that is, thank you very much), stained, bleached-spotted, bare-threaded, or some other unsightly condition.  Apparantly this stack had been somehow multiplying in my drawers.

In the end, two very large bags of clothes and shoes moved out!  Normally I would schedule a garage sale and enjoy a little extra cash while knowing someone is getting something new to them.  But this time around, I feel like these really are mostly discards.

Discards, as in, probably my usual donation center of choice, Frisco Resale, would also not try to resale.  And from their website, they would prefer you bring your unsellable items directly to the Custer Transfer Station.  What I couldn’t tell is if they bundle and sell textile for recycling.  I did call the transfer station and learned that clothes that end up there go straight to the landfill.

Of course, lots of clothes are made with natural fibers, and as such will decompose.  So while the landfill is not such a horrible things for clothing, I still want every last bit of life gotten out of what some cotton farmer either here or in India worked hard to turn into cloth.  Researching, I found there are salvage companies that deal in used textiles, selling them off to become insulation for homes, polishing cloths, and mattress fill.

So, much Internet search continued – finding just a few places around the metroplex that want such discards, and they are Goodwill Industries of Dallas, City of Plano, and City of Irving. (Hey, if you know of other, please share by commenting, thanks!)

• Goodwill Industries of Dallas includes locations around the metroplex.  They state that unsellable clothing is baled and sold to salvage companies.  This money will help support their mission.  The attended drop-off location in Frisco is behind the ALDI grocery store (the old Albertsons store) on Preston Road.
• The City of Plano accepts textiles and works with Metro Community Service which supplies such clothing to those in need locally as well as sending it to third world countries.  They accept donations at the following locations: Parkway Service Center – 4120 W. Plano Parkway, Davis Library – 7501 N. Independence Parkway, Haggard Library – 2501 Coit Road, Harrington Library – 1501 E 18th Street.
• In Irving, old textiles can be dropped off an attended service center, located at: 3000 Rock Island Road (west side of parking lot) or 8555 Home Depot Drive (east corner of the Home Depot parking lot).

Ok, well I hope you don’t think I’m too crazy in my quest to be green.  It’s important to me.  And I hope that you will consider this food for thought the next time that you have clothing to clear out of your closet.

No Bad Stuff Brand: Back to Nature

My favorite spot in Frisco to find new brands is Sprouts…their aisles have the best selection of packaged organics foods and make it easy to avoid hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.  But sometimes their prices are higher than say Target or Wal-Mart.  I was quite pleased to find the brand Back to Nature in the cookie/cracker section with an in-store coupon for buy a cookie package, get a cracker package free.

Tried it and loved it!  The Ore0-style cookies were good, and the Sunflower Basil crackers were very flavorful.  I then found that Target also carries the brand and tried their peanut butter and cream cookies.  As my kids say, “its way better than Nutter Butter.”  I realize that the cookies still have plenty of fat and calories, but NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP and NO HYDROGENATED OILS.

The brand uses 100% recycled cardboard for its boxes (55% post consumer) and they support the Rainforest Alliance and the Nature Conservatory.

The lines they offer are Cookies, Crackers, Nuts, Trail Mix, Granola, Juice, and Pastas.  They can be found at most major grocery stores, as well as Target and Wal-Mart.  Or you can buy through Amazon.

Environmental Reading

This past weekend, I was at one of my favorite spots – the Frisco library.  To some that may be a bit geeky, but hey, where else can you get some quiet (you parents know what I’m talking about) and a place to learn about anything you want – for FREE!

I was quite pleased to see how the library’s collection on environmentalism has grown!  So much that I could be selective in getting a stack of books all published in just the last couple of years.

Here’s my current reading list:

• Farewell, My Subaru by Doug Fine (So far, a funny and engaging read by a seasoned journalist/traveler who is taking on living Wal-Mart-free with his goats on a New Mexico farm.)
• Ecological Intelligence by Daniel Coleman (An in-depth look at how every choice/purchase we make has environmental, ecological, and social impacts, and how greenwashing contributes to our troubles.)
• Climate Change by DiMento and Doughman
• Now or Never by Tim Flannery (I’ve heard of this scientist/professor/author referrenced in a number of other books and want to know what this Australian of the Year 2007 has to say.)
• Hands on Environmentalism by Haglund and Still
• Whole Earth Discipline by Steward Brand
• Our Choice by Al Gore (This is a great nuts-and-bolts look at inputs to global warming and alternatives to move America into safer CO2 emission levels)

Don’t worry – I’ve left some books for you.  If you are interested in these topics, check out the following non-fictions sections at your library:

• 333.7
• 363.7
• 550
• 577

Happy Learning!

“Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and them blaming others for inadequate results.” Quote from Scott Adams

Poem on American Oil Dependence

A Poem on American Oil Dependence

BP’s giant blunder!

Pelicans going under!

Who’s to blame?

We got game!

Americans still we wonder.

© 2010 Gretchen Day

Seeing Green at Frisco Elementary Schools

At Curtsinger Elementary in Frisco, the PTA Environment Committee and the student-based Green Team have made some great improvements in the past year.

Most recently, my youngster has informed me they’ve implemented recycling for lunch milk jugs.  And over the past year or so, I’ve seen grocery bag recycling, juice pouch recycling through Terracycle, cell phones recycling, and phone book recycling to name a few.

Curtsinger is not alone in its efforts.  Other Frisco ISD schools are getting greener.  For example, at Fowler Middle School, the Green Team monitors cafeteria discards for placement in recycling and composting.  Sem Elementary 3rd grade teacher, Michelle Siegle, was selected the Texas Teacher of the Year for Project Learning Tree by the Texas Forestry Association for her work in classroom environmental education.

My hope is that notes are shared among school Green Teams so that can all employ best practices.  Does your kid’s school have any great practices that you’d like to share (whether you are in Frisco or elsewhere).  Please leave a comment and let me know about it.

May is National Bike Month + Today (May 13) is San Francisco/Bay Area Bike to Work Day

The League of American Bicyclists has proclaimed May as National Bike Month.  They are promoting:

• Bike-to-Work Week 2010 from May 17-21
• Bike-to-Work Day 2010 on Friday, May 21.

You can check out their site to see what events are going all around the county.  Here in Texas, there are only events in Austin, San Antonio, and New Braunfels.  But hey, why not hop on a bike to get where you are going, provided you have a safe place to ride.  Good for you = good for the earth.

California (you know-that place that takes alternative energy seriously) has a nine counties in the San Francisco Bay area participating in its 16th Annual Bike to Work Day today, Thursday, May 13th, 2010.  Watch out motorist!

FREE Mulch – Dallas area

I just found this website on an Dallas organic tree care company, Preservation Tree Service.  They are offering FREE mulch.  See attached information quoted directly from their website:

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT FREE MULCH: Preservation Tree Service once again has rough-cut tree mulch available (YEA!) for area gardeners at our Dallas location – 2222 Empire Central 75235 (near Love Field Airport). Please call Kelly at 214-528-2266 before arriving to check on availability. Just check in with her when you arrive – she’s at our front desk – and she’ll direct you to our back bins for the mulch. Plan on bringing a shovel and a container (or just your pick-up bed) to get the mulch you need, as we may not have crew on site to lend a hand. Thank you for helping us put the mulch to good use!

What a great service!  Of course, they also offer a lot of tree care services, if you are in the market.

Green Living…for your North Texas Lawn

As bermuda and St. Augustine are greening up, getting taller, and hopefully choking out most of those remaining “weeds” (at our house, fescue), North Texans are ramping up the spring mowing.

For about 10 of the last 12 years that we’ve had a lawn, we’ve done our own mowing – with our original cheapy gas mower we bought around 1998.  I hate to think about the gross emissions put into the air  - there are whole pages on the EPA website dedicated to the ill-effects of these gas guzzlers.

Anyway, we’ve been waiting for it to die and had considered a self-propelled type .  That is, until we give the lawn its first spring cut and realize this type will double the energy level we’d need to get through the lawn.   Not that we’re lazy, but it would be a big commitment that we’re not ready to make.  Not to mention the time it takes to properly take care of the lawn no matter what type of mower used.

So now we are getting a quote from a GREEN lawn care company.  They use electric equipment powered by renewable energy. They literally have solar panels mounted to their trucks.  Plus they use wind energy for their office and recycle all the grass clippings.  We had met this company at the Plano Live Green Expo, and they assured us their prices are comparable (maybe just a little higher) that traditional lawn companies.

We’ll see how they compare.

Getting a rainbarrel

I’m still hoping to get a rainbarrel for my backyard before all our big spring rains hit…assuming we are getting them this strange season.

I have been keeping my eyes open for some time now on the best way to obtain one.  I’ve seen a lot of ways out there to get one – from retail (Home Depot) to online garden sites to the businessman at the green expo.  And even on Frisco’s Green Living website, they’ve advertised past classes on how to make your own.  Now I know that me making one isn’t going to happen…I’m just not that handy, plus you still have to procure the right kind of barrel.  While I’m sure making one for about $40 will in time pay itself off with the water bill, going retail on $150 – $300 is going to take a crazy amount of time to get payback.  Of course, installing a rain barrel for more that just monetary savings is commendable too!

So, you ask, where am I going to get one?  Well, I may give a try to the guy I found on “rainbarrel” search on craigslist…fairly cheap and fairly local!  I just need to get out to his area (Garland) to pick one up.  Will it be as pretty as those $300 one, no I don’t think so.  As functional?  Let’s hope so.

Restaurant Review: Cowboy Chicken

My husband for a while had wanted me to eat with him at Cowboy Chicken in Carrollton.  And I’m thinking greasy chicken served with a bunch of starchy foods like corn and mashed potatoes.  I must have been in an agreeable mood that day, as we did go.

It’s an order-at-the-counter style restaurant with a very pleasant atmosphere, with very friendly service.  And, to my pleasant surprise, the menu had quite a few healthy, colorful options.  And the chicken on the rotisserie in open-view was tantalizing.

But, I guess I really was not in a meat-mood, because I ordered the veggie platter.  Of course, I know my husband is wonderful about always letting me sample his meal, and his chicken enchiladas were great!  I had the garden salad, black beans, and sweet potato.  The salad was OK, definitely not great…heavy on the celery, cucumbers, and dressing, but not so many tomatoes and “greens,” which I believe was just one style of lettuce – green leaf?  The black beans and sweet potato (actually a half), were very tasty.  I also sampled my husbands pan-seared campfire veggies (squashes) – excellent!

Given the healthy sides available, I’m sure I’ll be back with soon (my husband is somewhat of a regular already), and next time, I’ll have that irrestible-looking chicken!