random green tip #7

Whenever possible, do not use overnight shipping. Overnight shipping usually involves airplanes, which uses 6 times more energy than ground shipping. Also, planes release their exhaust higher up in the atmosphere, so they do more damage with global warming than gases emitted at ground level.

random green tip #6

In Seattle, you can recycle plastic...

• planting pots
• berry trays larger than 3"
• lids larger than 3"
• cups
• clam-shells
• non-prescription medicine containers like aspirin and vitimins

the paper is dry!

The paper that T.Y. and I made is (finally) dry. I think it took so long because a. it was sitting on a cold basement floor, b. it was sitting on wet paper on a cold basement floor, and c. the paper is very thick.

Anyway, despite all that, the paper looks great. the best pieces were the ones where we used regular (though found in the recycling bin) printer paper. The covered-in-adds junk mail still looks fine, though the color isn't quite as nice as the others.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

random giving

Do any of you L-Dub people remember how at the end of last year we were going to randomly place a book somewhere were it would be found with a note that said something like,"You found this book. You can read it, and when you're done, put the book back for someone else to find". Or something. So, in honor of thanksgiving and the holidays, put something somewhere someone can find it. It doesn't have to be a book, as books don't tend to be waterproof. Or you could do sort of a chain mail version: "This (insert name of object) is for you! Now it is your turn to put something somewhere. Just include a note similar to this one!" Or you could just have a note that just says, "this is for you. keep it and cherish this random act of kindness". Or you could say, "go to girls-go-green.blogspot.com" actually maybe that would be kind of weird. so don't do that.
Just give a gift.

the results are in

Ok, I kind of forgot to draw the name for the giveaway yesterday, but never fear, I remembered today. The winner will receive a wallet made from candy wrappers. I wrote all of the names down (on scratch paper of course), cut them out, and put them in a hat made from recycled materials. I then asked mi madre to do the honors.
The winner is (drumroll please)...

how to make paper

with the holidays coming up, it's time to start making or buying gifts. Especially green gifts! In this tutorial, T.Y. and I show you how to make paper. You can also add seeds and give the gift as a plantable one!

Materials:

• blender
• 2 tubs
• water
• measuring cup
• white glue
• scissors
• some kind of screen(we actually used a silverware divider that was made out of a screen-like material)
• PAPER
  

Unfortunately, I can only upload 100mb to blogger at a time, and the video is slightly bigger than that. I just thought you might like to know why there are two parts:)

recycled costume

does anybody have any blue plastic bags that they don't want? if so, I would love them. Also, remember that giveaway from a long time ago? Well I am going to draw the winning name on friday. If you commented on that post you will be entered, but you can also comment on this one if you have not.

Random Green Tip # 5

Before printing anything off the computer, think carefully about whether you need to print it. And definitely don't print multiple copies! (Unless necessary) Also, try to print on scratch paper.

Also, when shopping for paper, look for recycled brands.

random green tip #4

When not using your computer, unplug it or attach the cords to a powerstrip and turn off the powerstrip. Even when they're not on, computers use huge amounts of electricity each year.

random green tip #3

Yes, this may sound obvious, but I'm writing it anyway: Turn off lights when you're not using them. That also goes for appliances.

Hey peeps,
My dad was featured in the Campain for America's Wilderness newsletter, and I just thought I'd share it with you. You can find it here. I love hyperlinks!

random green tip #2

When making flashcards, cut your note card in half. One whole note card has plenty of paper in it for at least two words, especially if you are making the flashcards for a translation of a language to another language, because each side only needs room for one word.

ironing plastic

I was ironing candy wrappers and chip bags, and I have a few tips for you if you want to make your own.

1. Try to stay away from twixes and other candy wrappers with metalic insides. They take a lot of time to fuse corectly, using up electricity with the iron
2. thin wrappers work the best. You just have to fold them several times.
3. when ironing chip bags, don't fold them at all, and just sweep the iron over both sides
4. avoid cheetos. they melt and buckle up.
5. Always, always, always put a peice of wax paper between the plastic and the iron; if you don't, you will have a BIG mess.
6. don't take too much time with each peice of plastic. You don't want to waste energy with the iron. Also, you don't want to realese too many plastic fumes.

That's pretty much all! Just be creative with your recycled material.

Napkins

Random green tip: At resturants, only take one paper napkin. People tend to grab a handfull of them, which usually are then thrown away.

I'm soooo nervous about my audition.
Deepika