My goal is to reduce the use of plastics in 2011.  I have researched ways in which I can reduce the use of plastics at home and came up with the following:
- use glass reusable food containers for leftovers
- purchase large economical size of dishwasher liquid
- purchase laundry detergent that comes in paper packaging that is recycable


Also, I have found great ways to reduce the use of disposable plastics by using reusable cloth sandwich bags instead of the plastic storage bags.  Think about it, when you pack a sandwich for lunch, you literally use that bag for about 3-4 hours and then it is discarded.  It is such a waste of money and resources.  There are a number of great cloth sandwich bags available and sold at the www.etsy.com website where local boutique vendors post their wares.  You can also make your own eco-friendly reusable cloth sandwich bags, too!  The challenge of using such cloth bags is when you have sandwiches with condiments.  You can avoid packing a sandwich with condiments (e.g. mayo, mustard or ketchup) by having an economical size bottle stored in your office pantry refrigerator.  Just add the condiments when you are ready to eat the sandwich.

As my family prepares our Thanksgiving dinner, we usually snack on various treats throughout the day.  This year, we will be snacking on Newman's Own Organic Licorice.  These treats remind me of my childhood days growing up and sharing candy with friends.  They come in various fruity flavors.  I love the pomegranate flavor.

It's hard to take time away from the hectic holiday season to enjoy nature or even to get away from the city.  We made an extra effort to go hiking in the Fred G. Bond Park.  Here is a nice photo of the park trail near the lake.  Spending time in nature keeps us healthy and happy, more importantly, we are reminded that we need to respect nature.

I love bringing my kids to the bookstore especially during the holidays.  There is usually seasonal music playing in the background.  The aromatic smell of coffee from the cafe permeates throughout the store.  I love browsing through books and finding out what novelty items are offered.  I came across recycled newspaper pencils from TreeSmart.  These cool pencils are made from recycled newspaper.  The pencils are easily sharpened like regular pencils.  It's great to see how innovative eco-friendly companies are leveraging commonly recycled goods such as newspaper and turning them to functional and practical goods.


I am trying to teach my kids to appreciate daily items, like pencils, that we often take for granted.  When I was growing up, I remember using pencils down until they were little stubs (partially because I was obsessed with using only finely sharpened pencils).  Fortunately, the price of pencils have been drastically reduced over the years (If you calculate the costs adjusted for inflation).  I take a permanent marker and label each pencil with my name or my kids' initials so we learn to keep track of them.



For more information about recycled newspaper pencils and other products, please visit www.treesmart.com.

Being more eco-conscious has made me more aware of the various efforts that contribute to a more eco-friendly world from conservation (use less of what we already have) to reusing and recycling what we already have.  An area that I have been focusing alot of my efforts these days is new materials made from recycled goods.  There needs to be a greater demand of recycled goods in order to ensure that these goods do not wind up in landfills.  Therefore, I will be covering a number of items that are made from recycled goods in my blog as much as possible.

One great company, www.reusejeans.com offers great eco-friendly products such as jeans, shorts and skirts.  Their fashionable products are made from 80% of recycled fabric.  I love their jeans.  They look and feel great.  It's exciting to see high end fashion companies dedicated to eco-friendly efforts.  By taking eco-friendly initiatives mainstream, people have more eco-friendly choices to choose from.  

With the end of Halloween, the end of year holiday season has just begun.  I'm looking forward to celebrating the holidays this year.  However, it is so easy for me to get caught up in accumulating stuff that I always have to list my priorities in order to stay focused.  As a family, we came up with a holiday priority list which did not include the need to buy any more stuff, instead it focused on our family priority of exploring as many national parks and trails as possible.  We recently rode our bikes on the American Tobacco Trail and absolutely love the experience!  

It is like riding through an enchanted forest with nothing but magnificent trees surrounding you.  For more information about the trail, please visit www.triangletrails.org.  The trail is free and open to the public.  On a good day, you can also see people riding their horses next to the bike riders.