BlogGreen

My recycled office

Tracy Stokes — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:43:12 +0000

I’m so impressed at the volume of recycled office products available, so if you’re office isn’t green yet, pay attention.

Meetings and training sessions become greener with NOBO ReCycled Flip Chart Pads.

Keep your project notes neat and together while you’re on the go with the Elba Touareg Folder.

File your important documents in your (hopefully second hand) filing cabinet with these Elba Vertic file Suspension Files.

Take notes in meetings in one of these Black n Red Wirebound Professional Notebooks with recycled paper.

Use recycled stationery.

Organise your stationery with this Fellowes Earth Organiser Tray made of recycled compressed fibre board.

Put your recycling into a recycled bin.

Calculate how much money you save by buying recycled on a recycled solar powered calculator.

Address mailshots with recycled address labels.

And finally, print on recycled paper, but only when you have to.

Reclaim, reduce, recycle

Tracy Stokes — Sat, 30 May 2009 07:17:15 +0000

As we get ready to renovate our new home, my husband and I are spending more and more time trawling around reclamation yards looking for materials for our green masterpiece, and getting really excited about reclaimed and recycled products available for both the building work, and the work of decorating and furnishing our house.

This reclaimed wine rack caught my eye, I think it’s pretty groovy, quite unusual in the way it holds the bottles, and just the perfect place to store our organic wine collection. It’s double sided, taking 30 bottles, and made from recycled reclaimed wood. It stores the bottles at a slight upturn to ensure corks are kept wet for good keeping. It’s 70cm high x 40cm x 15cm deep when closed.

Farm vertically

Tracy Stokes — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:56:32 +0000

Every now again you’ll read about vertical urban farming, but as far as I know these designs are all still designs and none of these vertical farms have been built yet. Here’s one example of a vertical farm idea, for New York City, from the EcoFuss blog.

Being as we’re not there yet with the vertical farm idea, it can all seem a bit far fetched, a bit sci-fi, or even unlikely, regardless of the fact that we’re need to grow more in our neighbourhoods rather than out in the country, and that we’re running out of space as we spread ourselves across the face of the planet.

Here’s a suggestion for getting used to the idea. Start your own vertical garden, because you can do it whether you have a garden or not, outdoors or indoors, on a balcony or in a tiny courtyard. Check out this idea by Suzanne Forsling who lives in Alaska and grows her vegetables in gutters on the wall of her house.

Really, why not get some of your own food growing on the walls? You’ll save money, eat locally, seasonally and lower your carbon footprint. Looks like those vertical farms are closer that we thought.

Clean cool organic summer bedding

Tracy Stokes — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:22:21 +0000

I’m loving these organic duvet covers and associated bedding from Marks and Sparks for the summer. Clean, cool, crisp and in gorgeous calming colours. Perfect for the hot nights, and the cooler ones too. Organic cotton is the healthy choice for you, cotton farmer and the environment.

For the kids, these organic single duvet sets are so cute with applique elephant detail.

Babywearing is good for you (and your baby… and the planet…)

Tracy Stokes — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:29:26 +0000

My babies are getting big now, aged 13 and 5 years old, and I don’t carry them around much anymore. But I did once carry them around most of the time, in a fashion so popular in less “Westernised” societies (in parts of Asia, Africa and South America). The reasons why I chose to carry my babies around instead of putting them into a stroller was because we both preferred it that way. When I carried my babies they rarely cried, were easy to breastfeed (the greenest way to feed your baby and the best for them) - even while I was doing other things, and I could get on with the important work of growing food and writing my blog while they were perfectly content.

There’s also the fact that these little slings almost certainly have a smaller carbon footprint than a stroller. These Babaslings look super comfy and come in lovely colours.

If you eat organic, shouldn’t your dog eat organic too?

Tracy Stokes — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:02:56 +0000

There are plenty of reasons for us to eat organic food. It’s better for our health, it often tastes better, it’s better for the environment, it preserves the fertility of the soil, it improves water quality, and the list goes on and on. If you’ve been convinced by the organic argument and are eating organic yourself, whenever possible, then shouldn’t you be giving this same health and wellbeing benefit to your dog? Dog’s are very susceptible to toxins in their food, so give your best friend the very best by choosing organic food for him or her.

Have you got green fingers?

Tracy Stokes — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:00:19 +0000

We’ve all heard about food miles, right? The miles that your food has to travel to get to your dinner plate. The fewer miles your food has travelled, the better it is for the environment and the lower your carbon footprint. So it follows that growing your own vegetables, in your own garden, is the eco-friendliest way to eat. But it doesn’t stop at growing your own food, because you can be even greener by growing organically. Not using pesticides and fertilisers that will harm the earth, get into the water table or poison the earth’s creatures will boost your green lifestyle credentials in a big way.

Here are some alternatives to the harmful chemical fertilisers that are so widely used, these are fabulous products that you can trust to deliver the goods without harming your environment.

Organic cotton roll-up bed

Tracy Stokes — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:32:51 +0000

It’s camping season and camping green is the way to go. If you’re in the market for a camp bed for this year’s camping trip, or if you’re having visitors and need somewhere for them to sleep, how about going the organic route and supporting the move to a better world. Cotton farmers benefit greatly from going organic, but they can only do so if we as consumers are prepared to buy organic. It’s better for us too.

This compact and comfortable organic cotton roll-up bed is great for camping, picnics or just when you have visitors. The outer is hand made from high-quality hand woven organically grown cotton and dyed with only natural colourfast dyes. The size is approximately 183cm long x 63cm wide x 5 cm thick. £70.00

Cuddle baby dry

Tracy Stokes — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:21:55 +0000

Parents with babies are going to love this product. It’s a tricky business getting a wet baby out of the bath and onto the towel without getting yourself soaking wet in the process. I also found that it was that few seconds between the bath, your arms and the towel when my babies would start to protest at being taken out of the bath water into the cool air.

This clever, organic cotton cuddle dry apron will keep you dry while you’re bathing your little one, and then you just need to lift them out of the bath and cuddle them to you with the organic towelling apron. Fewer protestations, dry parent, everyone’s happy.

Perfect for swimming too. £24.95 from John Lewis. 100% organic bleached cotton.

Healthier decorating

Tracy Stokes — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:01:57 +0000

The smell of a freshly painted room may give the impression of it being “clean”, or give you the satisfaction of a job well done, but with the paint smell you’re breathing in a blend of carcinogens and toxins. For some of us who are particularly sensitive to these chemicals, a freshly painted room can result in a headache that lasts for as long as the smell does, and a strange metallic taste in our mouths.

Fortunately that doesn’t mean that we can’t repaint and brighten things up a bit, it just means we need to be more careful about the products that we use. For the sake of your health, and those around you, seek out low-VOC or even better, no-VOC paint options for your decorating.