Holiday Aftermath

Did your friends and family go nuts this holiday season? Did you end up with a bunch of gift cards that you're getting around to spending?

Did you know that these cards can't go into many curbside recycling programs, but they can in fact be recycled? Most gift cards are made out of PVC (#3 plastic), and if your town is like mine, the recycling program only accepts certain #s of plastic and in certain shapes (like bottles or tubs).

Not only did I have an awesome holiday (I love the "experience" aspect of gift cards) but also, my company likes to give us little gift cards as rewards. So these puppies are stacking up.

Possible options?

1) If you haven't exposed the code on the back, like I have on the cards below, you may as well reload them for gifting to others. If you've exposed the code, skip to option 2. :)

2) Recycle at the store. Some stores will take back their own gift cards for recycling. Otherwise, seek out bins at entrances of stores like Best Buy.

I love Best Buy's recycling station, because not only do they accept gift cards, they also accept other items that seem odd to dispose of: CD jewel cases, toner cartridges, outdated cables, and more.

Happy Spending!

Having Fun While Thrifting (Reuse #12)

Usually when I go shopping, I am on. a. mission. I need new jeans, or a dress for a certain occasion. My closet's pretty packed, so it's hard to justify shopping just because.

But every once in a while, you need to stop and smell the roses. Or in this case, stop to try on an amazing fluffy bunny hat.

And work it.

And hey, if you have a theme party coming up, or just really love furry hats, then you take that bunny hat home. You do you.

You can always get back on your mission after enjoying the fun merch, and head home with the practical pair of versatile, low heel Mary Janes for just $6.99.

With awesome trim detail:

One pair of Mary Janes: $6.99
New cost: $50
Savings: $43
About 20 minutes of dress-up time: priceless.

Getting Creative About Recycling

I haven't been able to stop thinking about recycling since China decided to dramatically reduce their intake of foreign recycling. A couple articles with more information here from Forbes and The Seattle Times. While short term this means more of our recyclables will end up in landfills, and long term this presents an opportunity for innovation, we should take a moment to remember "refuse", "reduce", "reuse", "repurpose", and "upcycle". I'll work to focus my 2018 posts on these concepts.

Another option is companies that will specifically take back their waste products and recycle them. And these are often products that you don't think of as traditionally recyclable. Last year, I wrote about Terracycle, a company who facilitates relationships between individuals, companies, and municipalities and the companies that will take back waste.

I see their boxes often at the entrances of stores to take back odd products like batteries and wine corks.

But for the first time ever on Friday, I saw a municipal partnership! Here I am, at a bus stop in Seattle, and see a Terracycle cigarette butt collector. (No comments about smoking, please, we all have our vices.)

What this reminds me is: think outside the box for what might be able to recycle or re-purpose, and think outside the box against traditional curbside recycling. For the city, this is pretty straightforward - they have ashtrays on many of their trash receptacles anyway. And this little box is really non-obtrusive with a roughly 9" footprint. 

Ways you can participate: 

(Beginner) Participate in Terracycle "brigades" and mail in your own items. Or, drop of your items in bins at participating businesses. 

(Intermediate) Talk to your local businesses about putting boxes in their entryways. 

(Advanced) Talk to your local administrations or community associations about installing more permanent fixtures publicly. The cigarette canisters above were a partnership with Seattle's Metropolitan Improvement District, a non-profit funded by downtown business memberships.

2017 - A Year in Review

 As we move into the new year, let's reflect on the awesome things we've discovered this past year. Thanks for hanging out with me through 37 posts in 2017!

Travel: 

• The Costa Ricans show that Pura Vida extends to their view on waste.
• The Container Park is a sustainable gem in the heart of Sin City.
• My hotel in Tempe saved on packaging by providing full sized, refillable toiletries and saved $5 per night by declining housekeeping.
• A Detroit restaurant uses reclaimed materials for its furniture!

 Clothes: 

• I saved $37 by thrifting a top and using the Buy Nothing gifting community for some jeans.
• I saved $100 by scoring an awesome peacoat as a hand-me-down.
• I saved $60 thrifting a bold patterned top.
• We discovered that going green is even trendy with the celebs!
• I found online thrift stores make thrifting as easy as any online shopping.
• I saved about $100 and added months of life to my pants with some quick mending.
• I saved $32.55 on brand name digs at a consignment shop in Portland. 
• I saved $41.24 by DIYing my own crazy Halloween costume from thrifted materials.

Non-clothing Thrift: 

• We recognized Half Price Books as a way to both save money on books and earn money selling books for others to enjoy.
• We discovered stores that focus on "creative re-use" where you can get craft supplies for about 80% off!

Health, Bath, and Body: 

• We reduced packaging and saved 22% ($1.96) by buying bathroom products in bulk.
• I saved $18 by investing in period panties. 
• High end nail polish comes with friendlier ingredients at no extra cost.
• We saved packaging materials and transport costs by buying concentrated bath products.
• We sent the year out with a sparkle, by recommending eco friendly glitter.

Home and Garden: 

• We grew vegetables for free from our scraps. Free food and fun hobby! I saved $2 after a couple small rounds of harvesting. :) 
• Reusable flatware saves on plastic utensils, and bamboo doesn't add weight to your bag.
• Wool dryer balls save you dryer sheets and significant drying time!
• I saved $4 by regrowing my store-bought basil.
• We saved on plastic produce bags by getting reusable mesh bags - and also discovered a tag on Etsy for more eco shopping: "teamecoetsy".
• We recovered rare earth elements by recycling our old phones.
• We reduced food waste by purchasing imperfect produce.
• We substantially reduced our paper mail by signing up for 2 services.

Around town: 

• Community dog parks save money and resources by collecting users' grocery bags for waste pickup and collecting rainwater for doggy drinking water.
• We reduced fuel use by shopping local small businesses for Christmas.

Cool eco projects:

• The Washed Ashore Project makes giant sculptures creates beauty and educational pieces from collected ocean debris.
• We discovered 3D Printing and Knitting as options to upcycle plastic.

And finally, we forgave ourselves when we could be perfect greenies all the time. :)

Overall, we saved about $401.75 by making some smart choices, and made a huge dent in our environmental impact! Way to go Thoughtful Consumers!