Share the Warmth

'Tis the time of year when T Shirts are packed away to make room for sweaters! This is also a great time to pass along your gently used clothing to those who are in great need of warm clothing.

An unfortunate irony of our society is that while some are lamenting not having enough closet space for all of their clothes, there are a large number of people facing the reality of not having any warm clothes to wear! Many of these people are families with children who end up without a warm clothes to wear to school.

However, by passing along your gently used clothing everyone wins: closet space is no longer limited, there might even be room for new purchases; and someone who had been shivering in the cold now has warm clothing! Furthermore, there are lots of organizations in almost every community that will gladly take in your used clothing and redistribute it to those in need. Some will even come to your door to pick it up!

A partial list of organizations that can give your used clothes, as well was other items, a new life include:

Canadian Diabetes Association
Goodwill
Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy
Salvation Army

Boxed in by Packaging

As Madonna once said, "we live in a material world". One of the byproducts of the majority of stuff we buy or use is packaging. While much of this packaging is necessary, there are alot of products that have excessive packaging, or there are 'less packaging alternatives'.

To identify ways that you might be able to tackle the issue of packaging and thereby lighten the load landfill sites and decrease the energy and materials associated with manufacturing consider the '3Rs' approach.

Reduce: Of all the 'Rs' reduce is the most favourable. Some ways to reduce packaging include:

• Buying some items in bulk and then breaking them out into smaller portions at home. On the upside, items bought in bulk should be less expensive; on the downside it might require additional storage space, especially in terms of freezer space.
• When faced with two similar products, choose the item with less packaging. Hopefully, eventually manufacturer will respond to the consumer demand for less packaging.
• Use reusable bags to carry your purchases rather then the store provided new bag.

Reuse: Reusing sometimes takes creativity.

When purchasing items consider if the container it comes in can be used for something else later. For example, margarine containers make great tupperware substitutes. If an immediate use is not known, but you think an item might come in handy, save it until the space is needed. You never know when that package would be 'just perfect' for something.

Recycle: While this is the easiest of the Rs, it is also the weakest option as energy is required for recycling.

One step that is sometimes forgotten with recycling is the handling of materials such as Styrofoam that are not usually accepted in the standard municipal waste programs. However, municipalities often have alternative depots that will accept these materials if you are willing to drop them off. Rather than throw out these types packaging materials, try to save them until there is a 'load' worthy of a trip to the depot. By just diverting the Styrofoam alone will make a significant dent in the waste sent to landfill.

Green = Doing the Same With Less, Not Without

NBC has launched a green awareness campaign. As the 'kick off' to this campaign just before the start of the Sunday Night Football game they turned off all the lights on the set for the pre-game commentators, and vowed to keep them off for the duration of the game. Apparently such an action would save enough energy to power a large number of homes for a considerable time [I really did not pay much attention]

While the intention might be honourable, the result probably did more damage then good. The commentators immediately began whimpering about how difficult it would be do to their job without the lights. Flashlights were clicked on and by the half time show they had illuminated the set with candles, which just looked silly and further emphasised a the negative message.

I fear that for the average viewer the message received would have been that conserving energy is very difficult and full of hassles.

However, if rather then turning off all the lights, they had turned off a half or two thirds of the lights, not only would they be able to show "NBC going green", but more importantly they would have been able to demonstrate that living green and energy conservation does not necessarily require going without, just using less to achieve the same result.

With this approach in mind, when looking at how to live a greener lifestyle, try to avoid the concept of sacrifice or doing without. Instead try to find ways to live smarter, achieving the same quality of life, just using less energy, as this is a more realistic way of living a greener life.

Increase Home Comfort AND Save Money

In the colder months of the year, one of the easiest ways to save money and increase the comfort of your home is to draft proof around windows and doors. Not only will this prevent the heat from escaping, but you will not have to suffer through sitting near a window with a cold blast of air piercing your neck.

Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to draft proof your home.

Doors: Place a towel across the bottom of outside doors to block the common air gap at the bottom seam. If the door is used infrequently, consider a more solid block perhaps by putting a strip of duct tape along the bottom [and sides if it is not too ugly]. If there is an outer screen door put a towel inbetween the two doors for an additional layer of protection.

Windows: Available at most hardware stores is draftproofing tape which is a clear, low tack tape that can be applied around the seams of the window. Another option is seal the window with a sheet of clear plastic. There is draftproofing plastic specifically made for windows that is inexpensive, easy to apply and readily available. The downside with this is that for some it can register on the 'ugly scale'

By spending just a few dollars and a little bit of time, it is amazing how much more comfortable you can make both your home and your pocketbook.

Nuts. Proof of Consumer Power

If you ever wonder if your 'conscious consumer' purchasing choices have any impact on manufacturers and the market place just take a look at the peanut.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons and theories, the number of children severely allergic to nuts has risen dramatically over the past few decades. As a result, most schools and child centred gatherings are nut free. This has affected every one's purchasing and consumption habits. Even though my son is not allergic to nuts, I do not put nut products in his school lunches.

An identifiable result of this shift in consumer behaviour is the emergence and promotion of 'nut free' products. To do this has required not only a potential alteration of ingredients, but even more significantly a shift in the manufacturing process itself where there is a product line exclusively for nut free production.

The motivation and justification for this expense was not government grants or the desire to be environmentally friendly, but the hard core reality of economics. It had to be done to sell the product. The power of the consumer.

Now, imagine if a similar shift in consumer behaviour occurred in response to items with excessive packaging or poor working conditions or environmentally corrosive manufacturing processes. I expect that within a relatively short time, the manufacturers would alter their practices to match the consumer demand.

The challenge is that unlike the nut issue, where the problem is clear and singular, the conscious consumer base is more disparate. I might purchase product A because of their fair trade practices, whereas another consumer might purchase the competitive product B because of their environmentally friendly manufacturing process.

As a result of this disparate consumer base, it might take longer for the manufacturers to be sufficiently motivated to justify the expense of the change. However if you look, you will begin to see the impact of the conscious consumer in the form of products with a fair trade logo; the response from GAP about the questionable working conditions of one of their suppliers; the growth of alternative materials such as bamboo and organic cotton.

The key to keep this momentum growing is to reward manufacturers and suppliers in the only way that really counts, by choosing their product over the competition. Consumers have the ultimate power, the proof is in the peanut!

Reach For The Blankie First

Regardless of what the thermostat might indicate I think that this time of year is the coldest, or at least feels the coldest. After months of summer heat, the chill of fall and approach of winter takes some getting used to. Ironically, temperatures today that send us shivering will feel like a welcome taste of spring in March.

While the reflex reaction to the first sight of frost might be to crank up the furnace, I would encourage you to crank up the blanket and sweater supply instead. While this approach might not score high fashion points, it does score points in the pocket book.

Other tips to help you keep warm in the 'bitter days of fall' include:

- Keep your feet warm. The warmer your feet are, the more comfortable you feel. To this end, consider investing in a warm pair of slippers and giving your feet extra blanket.

- Eat warm foods. Obvious I know, but sometimes we forget that the easiest way to warm up is with a bowl of soup or a hot drink.

- Exercise. Beat the chills by going for a walk, raking the leaves or doing housework - nothing really works up a sweat like battling dust bunnies!

Gradually, as happens each year, we will become used to the cooler temperatures. Getting into the habit now of finding ways to keep warm other than cranking up the furnace will make handling the upcoming winter months even easier.

The Art of De Cluttering

I am on a mission to thin out the 'stuff' that is in my house. My husband and I are both pack rats by nature. We will hold onto items anticipating the need for just that item in the 'near future'. However, there are large items in my small house that have been waiting 10+ years for just that particular need to surface. Enough! Not only have I declared a moratorium on accepting new stuff to add to the collection I am now actively thinning out the existing pile.

But what to do with it?! The one options is to simply drag it to the front curb on the next junk day and to be transported to landfill. Unfortunately I am too environmentally conscious to see this as a solution instead of merely compounding the problem.

Furthermore, most of this stuff is 'good stuff' that quite conceivably others could use. After all, that is why we saved it in the first place. With this in mind, really what I am trying to do is to find new homes for the stuff, not just 'throw it out'.

Here are a couple of my favourite places that can help find new homes for stuff [please note, this is not a complete list]:

Habitat for Humanity

Goodwill

Salvation Army

Diabetes Association

Not only will donating your stuff to organizations such as these help to declutter your living space with out filling up the land fill, but others can directly and immediately benefit from your stuff!