Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

subscribe to our feed

Recycle Inkjet Cartridges

There's nothing worse than having my inkjet cartridge poop out on me in the middle of printing my final manuscript. I want to throw it into the garbage in anger. Then I get mad at myself for not keeping 3 or 4 on hand, but I can't do that because I hate buying in bulk. I'm afraid that if I do, I'll die, and my tiny condo closets will be filled with rolls of toilet paper, inkjet cartridges from all the printers I had to get rid of because they didn't work so I never even opened the cartridges, all the inkjet cartridges for my current printer, and dozens of bars of Dr. Bronner's soap. And can I trust my survivors to use these items? Yes, if my friends find me. No way if the people in my building find me -- they'll just toss it all in the garbage. I could never rest in peace knowing that my death contributed to my local landfill (or worse, my garbage gets transported to an out of state landfill).

So, back on topic. I hate when that happens. So does my boyfriend because when we have to circle the Office Depot store five times before we can find a place to park, I yell at him for telling me how to drive. Then I pull over and yell at him some more.

Anyway, long story short -- don't just toss your spent cartridges. Visit our web site to find where you can drop them off or mail them in to be recycled. If you have more ideas than we do, please share!

subscribe to our feed

Beanie La Femme, part deux

Not too long ago, I wrote about my favorite beanie, Beanie La Femme, made my Indigenous Designs. I've been wearing mine around all day, every day. On walks, to the store, out with friends. (I save my second BLF for BLF club meetings.) I've been spreading the BLF love to my friends on Facebook, too, and have started new chapters of my BLF club in South Dakota and Minnesota. Get yours now, send me a photo, and I'll post it here. Hurry, they may run out soon.

Check out the site for reviews of more beanies and hats.....we're posting more every two weeks!

subscribe to our feed

What's Your Water Footprint?

So just how much water do you waste? We don't have an endless supply, you know!

I read in Body & Soul that "according to the Food & Water Watch, the average American uses 1,190.5 gallons of water a day." A DAY. We all need to stop that. Drink your 8 glasses for health, then find some better ways to clean. For starters, get a front loading, Energy Star rated washing machine. I have a small, European model that uses almost no water and about 1/2 the electricity of a top loader. It also spins my clothes almost dry so that I can simply hang them on a line in my basement or on a folding rack in my living room. Line drying saves energy and prolongs the life of your clothes. Also, don't run a load unless it's full.

Another good idea -- collect rain water with a rain barrel. Use that water to water plants and to wash your car (I use just a drop of Dr. Bronner's soap in a bucket--it's biodegradable).

What else... go to H20 Conserve for more water-saving tips. Every drop counts.

Keep track of U.S. stream flows at http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/

subscribe to our feed

Share on Facebook