Do You Have Your Turkey Yet?

Thanksgiving is less than a week away - are you ready? Have you ordered your turkey or are you hoping to just pick it up in a mad dash next Wednesday?

People in the Seattle area might want to plan ahead more than usual because there is a good chance that our grocers will be on strike within the next 72 hours (they're still negotiating, but 94% have voted in favor of striking).

My turkey is already on order with Silvana Meats, but another possibility is to check out your local farmer's market. I've been getting emails from Tiny's Organic recently and their turkeys will be available at five different farmer's markets this weekend. No farmer's markets for me this weekend since I'm juggling 2 swim meets, 3 soccer games, and houseguests. I'm happy to sit at home and wait for my CSA, Klesick Family Farms, to deliver my holiday box on Monday complete with celery, onions, breadcubes, yams, cranberries, and apples.

Not in the Seattle area? Find a local farmer's market here.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting to Know my Backyard

I've lived in my house for nearly a decade, but there are still parts of my yard that I have never completely embraced. Specifically, that pear tree in the back. When we first moved in, my next-door neighbor remarked on how good our pears were. I don't eat pears so I bagged some up for him in years that I remembered to pick them and didn't give the tree much more thought.


As I've matured (aged?), I've realized that pears are probably not the worst thing in the world. When they started arriving on my doorstep in my CSA delivery box, I had to do something with them so they went into my smoothies. Turns out I'm okay with the taste, just not the texture of whole pears. (My kids take after me and won't go near the pears...)

Now, that I eat this fruit, isn't it great that I have a pear tree? NO!!! For the past two years, I've waited for them to ripen on the tree and it just doesn't happen. Instead, my dear little pug waits for them to fall off the tree and then he brings them back INSIDE through the doggie door and eats them on the CARPET. Finally, I got fed up with this and decided to do some real research on exactly what kind of pears I have and why they never ripen. I learned that I have Bosc pears and they will never ripen on the tree. Who knew? So... I picked the ones I could reach, brought them inside and ripened them (as directed by the OSU Extension Service Garden Hints) in a bag with a banana. This takes advantage of the ethylene gas released by the banana. The other option is cold-storage ripening, but that seems to take much longer.

I did have perfectly ripe pears -- for about a day. They were quickly moving into overripe, so I blended them up and froze them. At least now I know I need to pick them when they are easy to pull off the tree, not when they feel ripe. Hopefully next year, I can save my carpet (and the pug) from the agony of too many pears!

It's taken years, but I'm glad I've finally acquainted myself with my pear tree and actually know what to do with it next year. Is there anything edible lurking in your yard that you have been happily ignoring? Next on my list is that wild mint - I don't even know if it's edible...

Lessons from the Garden

OK, one gardening season under my belt and I learned so much!!

• Planting early really does make a difference. I think about this a lot as I look at my tiny little eggplants and just hope for a few more of these 70+ degree fall days. Next year, I'll be ready!


• Some years, there just isn't enough sun. I harvested TWO red tomatoes. Too bad I'm not hosting a Fried Green Tomatoes movie as I had hundreds of them! I take heart in the fact that I'm not alone after reading a recent local newspaper article dedicated to all us sun-deprived Seattle gardeners.


• When the seed package says, "Plant 3 feet apart," they really mean it. I planted 3 tomato plants and it looked like a jungle.


• Good soil makes a huge difference!



Stake plants before they get unruly. It is not possible to get a bigger tomato cage over the top of a tomato plant that has outgrown its too-small cage!

• Gardens are a natural draw for kids. There's nothing better than hearing my boys show off their garden to friends that come to the house.
• Home grown really does taste better, but... it does not necessarily make picky eaters into overnight vegetable lovers. Sometimes I just have to be happy that they will help grow, harvest, and wash the vegetable!

Dozens of Dirty Dishes...

Ugh... my dishwasher broke 17 days ago (not that I'm counting...) and I'm up to my neck in dirty dishes every day! Don't worry - I am not going to advocate that we all give up our dishwashers. I'm definitely willing to spend some energy on that appliance and, besides, with all the hot water and dish soap I'm using, I'm fairly certain hand-washing is not a better alternative.
What I have learned (other than the fact that it takes a very long time to get a repairman to my house and even longer to order new parts) is that my family uses a lot of dishes! We had been happily humming along at just one dishwasher load each evening, but with the kids back in school (lots of small snack containers for school) and one extra person temporarily added to our family, we were suddenly needing to run the dishwasher more than once a day. Once I started hand-washing those dishes, I really started noticing.

Even if you do have a dishwasher - and, currently, I'm very jealous - who wants all those dishes? So, here are my tips for making less dishes, which makes for less full loads, and less work!

* Consider the containers you send to school with kids. I haven't resorted to plastic baggies, but I am going to invest in some of those cool Bento boxes that let me pack multiple snacks in one dish. Anyone have a good recommendation?

* Stop the flow of glasses - make the kids (and adults!) keep track of their drinking glasses so they don't use 5 separate glasses by the end of the day.

* Use a single dish for mixing, serving, and storing. I've been guilty of making food in one dish, serving it in another, and then storing leftovers in a third dish.

* Serve from the stove, rather than transferring dinner into another dish.

* And, don't forget... kids can wash dishes too!

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The DEA is sponsoring a National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, September 25th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at thousands of sites across the United States. Why should you care?

• Leftover prescription drugs in a medicine cabinet can be dangerous for young children (accidental ingestion) or older children (prescription drug abuse is America's fastest growing drug problem).

• Disposing of the drugs by flushing them down the toilet or tossing them in the garbage can lead to pollution of either the water or the ground.

Image via WikipediaWhile many states have other drug take-back programs, this one is unique because it accepts narcotics. You might think you don't have any of these controlled substances in your house, but many people have half-full bottles leftover from past surgery, injuries, or dental appointments. I just checked my medicine cabinet and discovered a nearly full bottle of liquid Oxycodone (leftover from my son's elbow surgery) that I'll be dropping off on Saturday.

Keeping our Beaches Clean

Saturday, September 25th is International Coastal Cleanup Day. A great day to get out and enjoy the tail end of summer with your kids and keep the beaches clean. If you want to help out in your local area, check Ocean Conservancy's map to find the closest beach in your area.

Of course, if there aren't any local events, you could always create your own or just head down to the nearest beach with a trash bag! A friend of my son's is already signed upImage via Wikipedia and we're going to see if we can head down to Edmonds Beach to help out.

Trash on the beach isn't a pretty sight, but it can be more than just ugly when it floats out to sea. All that trash can one day either ensnare or be consumed by a fish, bird, or other sea creature. And if that happens to be a fish or creature that we eat, we may be one day consuming that same trash that was once on our beach.

Saving a Local Forest

The kids are back in school and I'm hoping to morph back into a semi-regular blogger!

For the past several months, I've been following a local story about the Whidbey Camano Land Trust and their efforts to save 664 acres of forest on Whidbey Island from development. The short story is that the land was sold for development and parceled into 124 plots. It subsequently went into foreclosure and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust secured the right to purchase it if they could raise $4.2 million.

That number seemed far-fetched a few months ago - after all, Whidbey Island has a population of less than 60,000 and a good portion of those people are on a naval base on the other end of the island. Who would donate that kind of money? It turns out many different people and organizations have donated and I'm joining them. They still have to raise $500,000 by Friday, but I'm hopeful that my small donation puts them one step closer to their goal.

I've never set foot on the property so why would I want to help save it? Maybe it's a romantic notion, but this is an island that I can see from son's room (how he ended up with the only view in the house, I'll never quite understand...). It's the island we look out on when we play at the beach.

I like it because it's rural and I'd like to tell my kids that we helped keep it that way. It's also the island where my husband works twice a month so we feel a connection with the community. One day, I hope we can all visit this special forest!

Bubbles in the Water

Bubble baths are great, but what about when you see bubbles in lakes, rivers, and oceans? I know my kids ask questions about how the bubbles get there. I'm not talking about the bubbles that seem to be generated by waves or the wake of the boat. I mean the ones that look like they just got poured out of your dishwasher.

Here's a picture of Fish Lake - the big white spot is a wave, but those long lines are all bubbles. How did they get there?

The big thing I've learned this summer is that the biggest impact of the water quality isn't the soap, detergent, and shampoo that goes down our household drains. This is good news because I remember once talking to a group of preschoolers about what they could do to help the Earth and one of them interpreted what I said as "Don't ever use soap." That's definitely not what I said, but I see how she could have interpreted it that way!

The biggest impact to our waterways comes from things like the fertilizers and pesticides we use on our lawns, the oil that drips from our cars, and the soap bubbles from washing our cars in our driveway. Of course, we also have to think about the businesses that we're supporting that are also doing those same things - for example, the shiny red apples that get that way because of the sprays used to keep the bugs away. One day the chemicals from those sprays eventually wind up in our waterways.

There are many other reasons to think about the products we use inside our house, but don't forget to look beyond the borders of your house to see how you might be contributing to all those bubbles.

Harvest in July!

Yeah!!! In addition to some herbs and lettuce, I actually picked a full-size cucumber from my garden before the end of July!

I know Caprese Salad doesn't normally have cucumbers, but with such a great looking cucumber, I couldn't resist. Fresh cucumber and basil from the garden. Fresh tomato and mozzarella from the store. Yum! Can't wait for my own tomatoes - which are currently a tad small and very green!

All the rest is coming along as well - corn, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans, eggplant, parsnips...

What is Your Auto Weight per Person?

I heard something on the radio last week that made me think about my next vehicle purchase. The person was talking about how much car it takes to haul a relatively small human being around. Specifically, they were commenting on the fact that our cars weigh thousands of pounds each, even though they are frequently used for single passenger use.

Image via Wikipedia

I wish there was some fancy name for this statistic, but I couldn't find one so I'm calling it Auto Weight per Person. If I figure my Honda Pilot weighs 4400 pounds and usually carries 3 people, that means that it's almost 1500 pounds of car to drive each of us around. When you look at it that way, it is shockingly high.

My SUV does frequently have two kids, a dog, swim gear, baseball gear, snacks, etc. but I can't escape the fact that it is BIG. Since it has now passed into six-figure mileage numbers, I know I need to start thinking about future options.

So... what to do? I really don't want to give up the 4WD capabilities of my SUV, but truthfully don't need them on 95% of my driving, so I'm looking more and more closely at the Nissan Leaf for my next (i.e. additional) car. Yes, I'm writing a green blog and contemplating a 3rd car (well, only two for me, but my husband has his own too). I guess I'm trying to convince myself that it's not a bad thing to keep the SUV for when I have either lots of kids or lots of stuff, or drive to the mountains, if I use the Leaf for all the other trips.

My new Auto Weight per Person would be closer to 1000 pounds - still very high, but apparently the Leaf has a 600+ pound battery to carry around. More details to come on the blog on why I'm looking at the Leaf vs. the Volt - the other car frequently mentioned these days.

What's your Auto Weight per Person? Feel free to put it in the comments (after using Bing or Google to look up "curb weight" for your car). Also, what are you contemplating for your next vehicle? Have the electrics or hybrids intrigued you yet?

Crabbing? Grab some Rotten Cotton

I think this is the longest vacation I've ever taken from blogging! I don't even have the excuse of having been on vacation. Just a busy summer with kids...

Image via Wikipedia

A few weeks ago, we stumbled upon a Beach Expo with lots of cool info for keeping our beaches and waters clean. One of the most interesting displays had to do with crabbing.

I've actually not yet taken my own kids crabbing, but I do have great memories of doing it with my husband's brothers when they were young. If you live near water (and crabs!) it's a fun thing to do with kids. Although you can crab from a dock, it's more exciting to actually get out on the water in a little boat and drop the crabpots filled with bait.

This is where we get to the rotten cotton part... It's estimated that over 12,000 crabpots are lost every year (lines cut by boats, dropped too deep, etc.) in Puget Sound alone. These pots will continue to catch crabs for years to come. It's one thing to catch and eat a crab, but an estimated 180,000 crabs are being caught each year and then just starving to death in the pots.

Newer crab pots have an opening in the top for the crabs to climb out. The idea is that you tie cotton string around the metal opening to close it when you're crabbing. This keeps the crabs in for your expedition, but, if by chance you lose your pot, the string will deteriorate and you won't have added to the crab graveyard. Unfortunately, not all pots have these openings and the ones that do are frequently closed with plastic zipties which will last forever underwater.

Check out the Escape Cord website for more info on how to prevent lost pots in the first place and pass the word on to any crabbers you know!

A Full Freezer and A Roomy Fridge

I read this tip the other day and thought it was interesting. The most energy-efficient way to

Image by kayray via Flickr

run your freezer is to keep it packed tightly with food, while a refrigerator runs more efficiently when there is space between the items.

That's good news for families that buy food in large quantities and freeze for later use. Even if your refrigerator is normally quite full, the idea is to try to leave room between items to allow for better circulation of the cooling air.

Now, if only there was someone to come take that food out of the fridge and whip it into dinner!

Check out the Seattle Times article for more energy tips and info on qualifying for a reduced-fee energy audit if you are a Seattle resident.

On a Whale Goose Chase

On Saturday, my boys and I went on an adventure to find a beached grey whale. As large as those grey whales are, it turns out they can be hard to track!

Image via Wikipedia

The grey whale has been languishing in the shallows of Puget Sound around my neighborhood for the past few weeks. Both Thursday and Friday morning, it was found beached with a significant portion of it above the waterline during low tide. People were keeping it wet with buckets of water until the tide could take it back out so we thought we might try to help.

Of course, whales are unpredictable and he ended up in Tulalip Bay which was farther north than we had expected and not an area I know well. We drove around (and around), eventually found Mission Beach, but left when we couldn't find the whale. The good news is that while he was stuck in the bay, he was apparently mostly submerged, which was why we couldn't find him.

Today's update is that the whale is still in the area, but has been seen with orcas recently. Some say the orcas were attacking it, others say they were helping it stay underwater. It's hard to say, but I do know that the Southern Resident orcas that would typically be found in Puget Sound only eat fish, so I would be surprised if they were attacking it.

A whale that has beached itself repeatedly is generally not expected to live, so I don't expect a good outcome, but it's been an interesting story to follow. Several grey whales have died in Puget Sound this year, and it's believed that they generally come so far in to Puget Sound because they are starving after a poor feeding season last year. Grey whales migrate from the Arctic to the southern waters of California and Mexico each fall, but they typically do most of their feeding in the Arctic. We're on the end of their long trip and if they didn't get enough to eat before the migration, they can run into trouble in our area.

We're hoping for the best, but we'll wait and see how nature takes its course...

On My Doorstep This Morning

Not only was it sunny today when I opened the front door (that rare bright spot at the top of my photo), but I also had fresh garlic on my doorstep!

At first, I was a bit puzzled, but then realized this must have been that plant we'd seen growing in our neighbor's front yard the past few months. I had originally guessed they were irises, but later realized they had to be some sort of vegetable. Thanks neighbor Dave - now I get to taste the garlic!

It is a great reminder of how gardens can enhance a community and bring neighbors closer together - whether it is a community P-patch or just sharing some of your own bounty. I can't wait until I have something to share!

What about you? Have you ever grown enough in your garden to feed the neighbors? I remember some bountiful blueberry bushes in my old yard in Oregon and we also have a pear tree that produces a ton of fruit that no one in my family will eat. I've warmed up to pears enough to put them in my smoothies, but my kids unfortunately seem to have inherited my own childhood aversion to mushy fruit. Maybe my pears will show up on your doorstep one day...

Would You Like Your Salmon in XL?

Interesting news this week in the world of genetically modified food. And, if you're thinking, you don't eat genetically modified food, think again. According to the Center for Food Safety, 70-75% of all processed foods (basically anything non-organic you buy in the interior of a grocery store, from soda to soup, crackers to cereal) are genetically modified. 85% of soy is genetically modified, as is 45% of corn. As a mother of a child who was once allergic to soy and corn, I can assure you, there are very few products in a traditional grocery store that don't contain at least one of those ingredients. I once told him he could never eat anything advertised on TV because they all contained corn. At least with the kids shows he watched, that theory was never proven wrong

One day soon, we may have the option to purchase a genetically modified salmon.

Image via Wikipedia

Specifically, it would be farm-raised Atlantic salmon that has been injected with a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon. The practice is currently under consideration by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the company developing the technology, the salmon wouldn't actually be larger, but would grow faster - twice as fast - meaning that a salmon could get to market in 18 months, rather than three years. It sounds similar with what we do with cows today. I don't recall the statistics, but I know The Omnivore's Dilemma talks about the significantly shorter amount of time it takes for a cow to reach the slaughterhouse now versus twenty years ago.

Of course, whether or not you choose to buy this salmon would be your choice, right? Not necessarily, since the FDA does not require the labeling of genetically modified food. I'm not a scientist, so I'm not going to go into details on the pros and cons of genetically modified foods, but I do think, as parents, we owe it to ourselves to be aware of what we are feeding our children. Where is the food coming from? How was it grown? How was it processed? All good things to know - and certainly a good argument for buying from local farmers, frequenting farmers markets and asking questions, buying organic, or starting your own garden.

When to Donate Kids' Equipment

School is out and I am once again trying to tackle the mess in my house that seems to arrive with every end of schoolyear season - the artwork and spelling tests, the emergency kits with expired food, the raincoats and sweatshirts that we hopefully won't need for the next few months (but sadly seem to still have use for).

Image via Wikipedia

Of course, one cleaning project leads to another, and now I am on to the giant pile in the garage that I have been meaning to donate one day. I am fine at moving things out of the house, but getting it from garage to the next step seems to paralyze me. For some reason, my greatest fear is that I'm not donating to the best organization. The clothes go to friends with younger kids, but what about the rest? Shouldn't that recorder go to that organization I once read about that collects musical instruments? And, what was their name? Are these toys good enough to be donated or should I toss them? Why can't I find all the pieces? And, on and on...

Needless to say, sometimes I find myself donating dusty things that don't appear to have fit my children in years. Today, I learned how my indecision may make this equipment go to waste. I took several carseats, bedrails, and other miscellaneous contraptions no longer needed for 8 and 10-year-olds to a local consignment store called Me 'n' Moms. I was surprised to learn that they apparently "expire" after five years. One of mine was four years old so it will be priced lower and another was actually already expired and couldn't be resold.

Apparently, carseat manufacturers give expiration dates because they can't guarantee the plastic after that. Of course, it depends on the conditions and whether it was exposed to a lot of heat and cold, but even I can see that letting it sit around in my garage was probably not ideal.

So, if you have any outgrown baby/kid equipment, make sure you pass it on, donate it, or sell it as soon as you're done! Your garage and basement will thank you too!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I've wanted to post this for about 2 months now, but here it is June 18th and I can officially say I have a garden - YEAH!!!

Obviously, I'm getting a late start, but the problem was I had a jungle gym in the only sunny, flat piece of my property, which added significant time to the project. Once the jungle gym was gone, then I had to deal with the fact that I had an 18" deep gravel pit. After contemplating various options for removing it, I finally just decided it was good drainage and the garden would have to go on top.

Now, I have 2 raised beds built with concrete blocks - nothing bad seeping into the soil and they should last forever. The soil is the special veggie soil from Cedar Grove - as my kids said, "It smells awful" so I figure it must have all the good nutrients. I will confess I didn't build them myself - the blocks are 60 pounds apiece and, as you can see from the picture, it took a lot of them!

I am a complete novice at this, but happy to be experimenting. I have one bed for warm season vegetables and one for cool season vegetables. Altogether, I have corn, snow peas, peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, lettuce, onions, green onions, carrots, parsnips, basil, thyme, and oregano. I also have some zucchini and pumpkins, but they didn't fit into the beds. I figure they both grow well and need lots of space so I planted them where they would have more room.

It was fun planning and planting with the kids and now I'm looking forward to harvesting later this summer. All we need is SUNSHINE!

Plant a Fairy Garden

I went to Sorticulture, a local garden fair, a few days ago in search of some plant starts for my vegetable garden (update coming soon!) and happened up on this cute minature garden done by Two Green Thumbs.

I'm new to miniature gardens, but it seemed like an idea that might be fun for kids. The idea is to plant slow-growing miniature plants and create your own little world. You can complete it with tiny furniture or even small dolls or animal figures. Sort of like an outdoor dollhouse!

I don't know that my boys would be into a "fairy" garden, but maybe a miniature troll garden could pique their interest! Take a look at the Two Green Thumbs website for ideas.

I Don't Get It...

Okay, I'll admit there are a lot of products on the market that I don't quite get. While shopping for a new bride last weekend, I came upon an egg cracker that sold for $14.99. Even my 8-year-old agreed you don't need to pay $15 to crack an egg!

But here is the one that really has me scratching my head. The so-hot-it's-hard-to-find reusable Starbucks cold cup. Looks identical to your regular, disposable cup, but it's not. If you read their website, they pat themselves on the back for listening to customer comments and bringing this "green" cup back by popular demand - and in a new bigger size!

Maybe I'm the only crazy one, but doesn't it seem weird to make a "green" cup that seems to celebrate the millions of other plastic cups being thrown away every day? I do get that these cups will be reused, but somehow the design still just doesn't feel right to me. Feel free to disagree in the Comment section below. I'm fairly certain I'm in the minority here since the bridal shower I went to this past weekend had everyone oohing and aahhing over these when they were opened as part of a gift.

Maybe They Should Ask the Kids

As the Gulf Oil spill spirals from human tragedy to catastrophe to debacle to environmental tragedy, it has become clear that no one knows how to handle the situation. They've called in everyone from James Cameron to Kevin Costner to fix the problem, but based on my conversations at home, they may do just as well by asking the children for ideas.

Image by DigitalGlobe-Imagery via Flickr

My 10-year-0ld initially just wanted to know why they couldn't "turn the oil off". Good question - perhaps that $500,000 backup valve that once seemed to expensive would have helped. Then he moved on to the robot idea. Why aren't there robots that can do these things? Another good question...

My younger son has been a big fan of the straw idea - just keep sucking the oil out until they get the next well built. He also wants to do a giant animal rescue. Specifically, he wants to round up all the fish, dolphins, whales, birds, etc. and move them to Puget Sound. Okay, maybe not doable, but at least his heart is in the right place!

For now, I'll focus on becoming less dependent on all that oil and making sure my kids do well in science so one day they'll be able to solve these problems before they become such disasters.

Green Festival Comes to Seattle

The Green Festival returns to the Washington Convention Center in Seattle this weekend. A joint venture of Global Exchange and Green America, this is just one of its 2010 stops - San Francisco and DC are still to come in the fall.

It's everything green and local all under one roof with 2 days packed with over 100 speakers and over 300 exhibitors. Learn about local farming, sustainable development, bike paths, and more. There's also food, music, and presentations specifically for kids. Do it yourself workshops will teach everything from bike maintenance to how to make worm bins and rain barrels.

Children get in free and adult tickets are $15. Take a bus or ride your bike and you'll get a $5 discount. Free tickets are available at Verizon locations.

I took my kids last year and it was fun and educational for all of us! I'm hoping to go again and get a peek at the new Nissan Leaf - the electric car coming this fall.

Put a Name on It

If you've ever been to an activity with gobs of children, you've probably witnessed this scene:

Children run off to play, come back thirsty, grab a juice box/plastic cup, take one sip, run off to play, come back again thirsty, take a new juice box/plastic cup, take one more sip... By the end of the day, there is a sea of mostly full juice boxes and plastic cups that no one will claim for fear of germs or whatever.



Last weekend we were at Family Camp on Whidbey Island and a simple labeling system solved the problem. Everyone who took a cup put their name on it so they could keep track of it. At the end of the day, the cups were corralled and put back on the table to be claimed and refilled later. No lost cups, no spreading germs. Yes, paper cups could have worked too, but truly this was better than when I went last year and we had enough leftover silver juice pouches to knit everyone their very own space blanket!



Sometimes simple solutions are the best!

A New School Fundraiser

Tired of selling cookie dough, magazines, and wrapping paper?? Here's a new idea...

Image via Wikipedia

Kids can help clean up the neighborhood, keep metal out of landfills, and make some money with a scrap metal recycling event. Things like broken lawnmowers, barbecues, and old hot water heaters can all be scrapped. Even household items like pots and pans, bed frames, doorknobs, and waffle irons have value in the world of scrap metal. One look around your house or garage may yield more than you would expect. Imagine if everyone in the neighborhood were to contribute their scraps?

Schools that have organized these drives have raised upwards of $5000 with a single-day events. The first step is to find a scrap metal recycler in your area. While there isn't any one source to send you to, Google is always a good first step!

For my Greater Puget Sound readers, here's a link to a listing of local metal recyclers if you have anything you're needing to get rid of now.

How Do I Recycle Medicines?

With young kids in the house, we all know how important it is to keep prescription and over-the-counter drugs safely out of reach. But what do you do with the old and expired ones?

Image via Wikipedia

The FDA recommends taking the medicine (pills or liquid) out of its original container and mixing it with an undesirable substance (e.g. coffee grounds or kitty litter) and then sealing it in a container (e.g. bag, 2 liter soda bottle, coffee can). The idea is to deter anyone, including animals, who may happen upon the medication after you dispose of it.

You should not flush them down the toilet because this puts the drugs into our water system.

The National Conference of State Legislatures has a recycling program in most states for unopened, unexpired drugs. The rules are obviously stringent, but for people with unopened boxes of medicine, this can be a great way to get these into the hands of people who need them.

Now... go clean that medicine cabinet! And, while you're there, check to see if you have any of the recently recalled children's medications (Motrin, Tylenol, Zyrtec, and Bendadryl).

How Do I Recycle Styrofoam Peanuts?

I get a lot of questions about styrofoam, and while I don't have any great answers about how to recycle styrofoam cups or take-out containers, I do know what to do with those little packing peanuts that sometimes arrive in boxes.

Actually, it's more re-using than recycle. Take them to your local packaging store and most will gladly take them off your hands for free. One store even offered me a few dollar coupon for my next visit in exchange for a bag of peanuts.

In regards to the rest of the styrofoam dilemma, it looks like some cities may just get rid of it altogether. Edmonds, WA is one city contemplating a ban on styrofoam takeout containers. There are nice, compostable options, but as with everything price is always a factor too.

Sometimes You Just Have to Ask...

For over a year, I have been lamenting the fact that I get 365 plastic bags delivered to my house each year. One for each newspaper. I know I live in Seattle, but it truly doesn't rain here every single day and I'm always frustrated on sunny days looking at one more plastic bag. I recycle them, but still...

The other day I noticed that my local newspaper The Herald had switched to green15 bags which are made with 15% less plastic. OK, it's 15% less plastic, but still at least 50% too many bags in my opinion (surely, it rains less than half the time here). Have I thought of just reading it electronically? Well, yes, but for now I like the idea of sitting at the kitchen table and seeing my kids trade the comics and sports pages.

As much as I have grumbled about the bags, I really don't think I've ever had anyone from The Herald tell me that my newspaper must come in a bag so I picked up the phone and called. A live person answered on the first ring and within 60 seconds, she had sent a note to my delivery person requesting "plastic bags only if necessary." Wow, that was easy! I promise I won't complain if unexpected rain dampens my paper.

What is your environmental pet peeves? Have you tried to change it? Sometimes, just asking politely can yield great results!

But I Don't Want to Compost

Composting seems to be a big deal these days. Gardening season is upon us and wouldn't it be great if we all had some rich compost to mix in with the soil? In my case, it would be great to just have the beginnings of a garden, but I'll save my woes of the gravel-pit-which-won't-morph-into-a-garden-without-me for another day...

I'm no composting expert, but I get so many questions on it, I decided to tackle the three biggest questions - why should I do it, how do I keep it, and what do I do with it.

Why? Composting is better than dumping the food into a landfill because it creates far less methane, which is the 3rd most common greenhouse gas. Composting is better than sending it down the garbage disposal because that requires water usage and chemical treatment at the sewage plant.

If you don't compost, are you responsible for the demise of our planet? No, definitely not. If you honestly can't see yourself in the choices below, move on. Focus your efforts in other areas that seem more natural to you.

Where do I keep the food?

* Under the sink - I keep my food scraps under the sink in a basic Rubbermaid garbage can. We use a paper grocery bag (which we still have from all those trips to the store where I forgot the bag), but truthfully the bag does usually rip because the stuff on the bottom is frequently wet. It doesn't smell, but it doesn't always leave the garbage can looking pretty either.

* In a container in the fridge - This is for the people with super-sensitive noses. The downside would be the space it takes up space in the fridge.

* On the counter - Companies like Williams-Sonoma have all kinds of fancy containers that actually look good on the counter. They also have charcoal filters for the odor issue.

What do I do with it?

* Worm bin - clearly not for the casual composter...

* Compost pile/bin - Here's an earlier blog I wrote about this.

* Curbside yard waste program - Check with your local company to see if this is an option. If not, suggest it!

* Local drop-off sites - Some urban areas have created drop-off sites. Try Googling your city name and "compost drop-off site."

Ok, enough garbage talk for a while!

What to Do with Latex Paint

A blog reader recently asked about how to recycle latex paint. I assumed it fell under the normal Household Hazardous Waste Program, but apparently things have changed and, at least where I live, latex paint is no longer considered a hazardous material.

Image by House Of Sims via Flickr

Still, it is made of chemicals which would be better off not seeping into the ground or water, so what do you do? I got my answers from an informative flyer put out by Charlevoix County in Michigan.

The short story is:

• If it's over 20 years old, it is lead based and should be handled through your local hazardous waste program.
• If the paint can is already dry, you can simply toss it in the garbage.
• If there is still a small amount of paint, take the lid off and let it dry before you throw the can in the garbage.
• If you have a lot of paint, you need to find a way to dry it yourself. The recommended way is to get a box or other container that you can line with plastic (the larger the surface area, the quicker it will dry). Pour in about an inch of paint and wait for it to dry. Repeat the process until your done, making certain that it isn't somewhere that kids or pets can get into while the drying process takes place. Adding dry kitty litter to the paint can speed up the drying process.

The latter option will definitely be time-consuming, which is a good reminder to not over-buy next time you're painting.

I'll keep that in mind when we're painting my son's room this summer. He seems to have outgrown the pastel walls, but we haven't yet agreed on a new palette. His favorite colors are red, black, and metallic gold. I'm open-minded, but can't imagine any of those colors on the walls!

Footie Protection for your Fruit

Do you ever get frustrated with fruit trees that only seem to bear worm-infested fruit at the end of the season?

Image by Steffe via Flickr

I heard an interesting tip on NPR today on the best way to protect your fruit. Go to your local nursery and buy a box of footies - yep, those little nylons women don on their feet before trying on shoes in a store. You just wrap one around each piece of fruit in the beginning of the season and you're done! Does it work? Here's some non-scientific analysis, as well as some advice on how to get the best results, but the verdict seems to be yes. If you want to order online, check out Home Orchard Society.

Now, I suppose if you were super environmentally friendly, you could even recycle your old nylons for this purpose, but I don't think I'm quite that green. Besides, I hardly ever wear nylons anymore!

So sad and frustrated...

As I keep reading the reports about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, my sadness and frustration are growing equally.

So sad for all the fish, dolphins, birds, and shellfish that are getting mired in the oil. So sad for the people whose livelihood depends on the health of the oceans.

So frustrated that we can allow our oil companies to pump oil out of the ocean floor with no plan for what to do in the event of a catastrophe. The oil continues to spill and we're spinning our wheels trying to figure out what to do. It's already washing ashore in the Gulf Coast, and the most recent reports say that it isn't a question of if it will hit the East Coast, but rather when.

Let's hope some smart scientists figure out how to stem the flow -- and fast! Let's also hope we learned something about cleanup from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

So sad to see the Gulf...

What Can Kids Do?

One of the commenters last week for Earth Day was a teacher who asked for some tips on what her students can do to help protect the Earth. Her kids are in high school, but I think action can come from kids of all ages. Great question!

Our children are out and about in the community every day and I think it's a great opportunity for them to look around and see what they would change to make it a better place.

* Start with your own house and look at how environmentally-friendly you are there. Are you recycling everything you can? Take the initiative to go to your local waste company's website and see exactly what options are available. Do they have an easy composting option? Are there other materials that can be easily recycled somewhere other than your curbside program?

* Take a look at the local businesses that you frequent. How environmentally friendly are they? One child I know took Earth Day as an opportunity to talk to his tennis club about alternatives to the styrofoam cups they use at their latte stand. He went armed with some facts about why alternatives might be better. I haven't heard the results of the talk, but maybe that will be a future blog post.

* Think before you buy. Think about how far that product has travelled (how much oil did that use) and how it's packaged. Think about how much you need it. Think about other alternatives that might be more environmentally-friendly.

* Take action publicly. I was recently impressed with a Letter to the Editor regarding climate change and its effect on right whales. It was written by two middle schoolers and published right alongside all the other opinion pieces.

I think the easiest way for kids to get involved is to follow their passions. Whether it is something they love (animals, the ocean, etc.) that needs to be protected or something they see that just doesn't seem right (e.g. pollution generated in their own community), they can have an impact.

What do you think? What have you seen kids doing lately to make a difference?

Thanks!

Wow - all those comments on yesterday's Earth Day post are a blogger's dream! Everyone wins! You've given me motivation - and a lot of ideas to go work on. Now, invite your friends to stop by too. Come back to share your thoughts and keep the conversation going.

Winners:
(Note: PSP stands for Pumpkin Seed Packet! My mom grew some great pumpkins last year so we're passing along some of the seeds)

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss - Becky, Stacey, Aija, and Sally
PSP & World Wildlife Foundation bookmark - Angela
PSP & World Wildlife Foundation bookmark - Gina
PSP & World Wildlife Foundation Bday Calendar - Debbie
PSP & Handcrafted Pewter Oak Tree Lapel Pin - Beth
Flower Bulbs - Camille
The Original Natural Wheat Bag - Cheryl

I'll be getting the prizes out to you next week so be looking in the mail (or on your doorstep!) Thanks for the comments and to Aija who also donated the bulbs!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I thought we should celebrate here at Our Kids' Earth. It's been just over a year since I started this blog so I thought we would celebrate by giving away some presents to YOU, the readers!

I have ~ 10 gifts and I'll draw names randomly from the comments to this post. Of course, my secret motive is to get more people to comment on the blog - I've been doing a lot of the talking so far. Now I want to hear from you - and not just today! You have your choice of answering one of two questions:

Question #1: What would you like to see on this blog? Is there any question you would like answered, any issue you would like to discuss?

Question #2: What one thing would you like to change in your life to help the Earth?

Most of the prizes are small, but I am giving away 4 copies of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss - my all-time favorite Earth-related kids book! I also have seeds, bookmarks, calendars. Who knows what else I can find if I get lots of comments!

I'll post the winners tomorrow and then you can email me your snail mail address. If you are new to posting, you can post under "Anonymous" and still include your name in the text of your post. You can also get a Google account in just a few seconds and post under your name that way.

If you want to know what your community is doing to celebrate Earth Day, click here.

Happy Earth Day!

A Day of Discovery on the Water

I had a chance to join my son's 4th grade class last week on a fabulous field trip. We spent the day on Puget Sound with Pacific Marine Research learning about watersheds, plankton, water sampling (below), marine mammals and the importance of keeping Puget Sound healthy. The scientists did a great job keeping the kids engaged and everyone walked away with a deeper appreciation for all that life teeming in the waters - even if it is too small to see!

This was one of those field trips that was definitely as educational for me as the kids. We learned about the two different kinds of plankton - phytoplankton and zooplankton - and had a chance to see them up close and personal after taking some water samples from the bottom of Puget Sound. Phytoplankton are plants and zooplankton are animals - once you get them under the microscope you can really tell the difference! Many of the phytoplankton (see right) looked like bracelets - no eyes, legs, or claws.

The zooplankton looked much scarier, unless you keep in mind that we were picking them up with an eyedropper. Here is an arrow worm, copepod, and jellyfish.

One of the coolest parts of the trip was when their scuba diver walked on the sea floor with a video camera and showed us his view. It was much brighter down there than I would have expected and we saw sea urchins, sea cucumbers, fish, and starfish. The biggest hit with the kids was when they tried to get some interaction between two starfish - The Death Star and the Sun Star. They cued up the Darth Vader music (this must be a regular occurrence in these waters since they had the music on hand!) and proved that even though the Death Star might eat other starfish, he's usually too slow.

Biggest lesson for the day? It's a beautiful world down there and it's our job to protect it. The kids were told the most important word for the day was "watershed." There are 4 million people living in the Puget Sound watershed, the area between the Cascades and Olympics, and all the water and snow that lands in our midst eventually runs off into Puget Sound. Our actions determine how clean that water is.