Waste
« Previous EntriesRepurpose! Jars Edition!
Friday, January 27th, 2012Let’s take a quick internet tour of some interesting repurpose projects. Maybe y’all will find some weekend project inspiration! We love JARS. glass jars! they’re hefty and heavy, sure, but they are super durable and you can be positive that the jar itself (though perhaps not the cap) is chemical-free. How can we keep showing [...]
Easy Peasy Tip: Remake It
Saturday, January 21st, 2012Sometimes by changing something small, we can get a second life out of things we already own: Love the pendant but hate the necklace? Buy new cord and restring it… Love the yarn but hate the sweater? Unravel it, find a pattern you love, and knit up something new… Perfectly good greens and beans but [...]
Mexican Water Bottle Gourds
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012It’s been awhile since we’ve had a water bottle post here at Tiny Choices, but some of you may remember that we used to write them fairly often- trying to avoid disposable plastic water bottles meant there was some thought going in to which option worked best for our lifestyles. Well, I was recently told [...]
Bottled Water Making A Comeback?
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011Something strange has happened in the past few weeks, and it’s so odd that it’s made me take notice. While dining in restaurants (which, as you know, I do an awful lot) and asking for water to drink, I’m brought a bottle of water instead of a glass of tap water. Which is very troubling. [...]
My Vegetable Soup
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011I haven’t always been the best at cooking my own meals; having been a lifelong New Yorker, I grew accustomed to being able to grab food on the go- a slice of pizza, a burrito, a bagel sandwich, were all foods found acceptable to eat while walking down the street. Many evenings found me munching [...]
A new holiday gifting tradition
Monday, November 14th, 2011I got a really wonderful email from my dad and stepmom last week - it was a mass email, and it went like this: We have been thinking – you have been very generous in the past and we have appreciated your gifts. We would like to request that you NOT give us any special [...]
Soda Bottles Into Lightbulbs
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011We’re all about tiny choices here at Tiny Choices… and to me, this is a perfect example of an elegant solution to a global issue: using empty plastic soda bottles filled with water and a little chlorine to funnel light into the dark homes of people living without electricity. These bottle lights shine up to [...]
Recycling fail?
Monday, September 19th, 2011So, I was happy to take my family to the Maker Faire in Queens this weekend - it has so many of our common values - making and fixing things, avoiding lots of buying, and building a community of people who *do things* together - I mean, did you see the awesome sculpture used from [...]
Packing Waste-Free Lunches
Monday, September 12th, 2011I recently read this really interesting article in the NYTimes about schools that require kids to pack their lunches in reusable or compostable materials. Wow! I have no idea how prevalent this is - and the article doesn’t have much in hard facts - but it does have neat quotes like these: In school years [...]
No Dumping!
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011I’m on vacation with my family this week, and we’re staying in a cute family-friendly beach town in New Jersey. This means giant rental houses and lots of people from other places coming and going constantly during the summer season. I think that if you live in a place such as this, you’d have an [...]
Talking Eco-Choices With Kids
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011I spent an incredible day with a young niece and nephew yesterday, which culminated with us laying on my bed, talking about yoga and older brothers and other assorted important topics. My niece noticed my little Chico bag sticking out of my purse, and asked what it was. I thought I had shown them Team [...]
Greening Mail
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011Remember sending actual letters, in actual envelopes, through the actual mail? I’ve still got boxes of old correspondence in storage, and I just can’t let go of them. They remind me of a time when I took real time to sit with pen and paper and write- by hand- my thoughts to a dear friend [...]
Aluminum Can Flowers For Me
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011Aren’t these flowers beautiful?? They’re not real. I was in a bar the other night, and there were some travellers at a nearby table with their aluminum can creations set out for everyone to admire (and hopefully purchase). So of course I bought one- firstly, because I was once a young free spirit travelling around [...]
Picking the product that can be repaired
Monday, August 8th, 2011This weekend we had a busy drive up to the Capitol District (of NY) to visit family and drop Twelve off at his week of Environmental Conservation camp - and we made a special trip to stop by Tough Traveler of Schenectady. I’ve got three bags from them - all of them are over 15 [...]
Wrapping Paper Win!
Monday, August 1st, 2011We had a dual birthday party to attend on Sunday for the little dudes - the older one was away with his mom for his birthday, so on the occasion of the younger ones birthday, both celebrated. And of course we left the present wrapping until the very last minute! But luckily I have got [...]
Bio-digesters
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011My local grocery store has got a new toy - it’s a biodigester! And it’s designed to “turn food waste to water” according to this article. I am a little fuzzy on how it works - it uses bacteria to digest the food, and water, and the machine churns. This is a simplified explanation. But [...]
Wheaty Kitty Litter
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011We’ve got a temporary cat right now - a friend and colleague of mine is traveling for the summer, and we agreed to look out for fuzzy little Book while she was gone. It’s so fun! Book is a fairly self-contained individual - no fussy eating habits, but he will take a swipe at your [...]
Reusing Acupuncture Needles?
Thursday, June 9th, 2011At the end of a recent visit to a possibly under-the-radar acupuncturist, the needles were plucked from my arm, dropped into a little screw-top container, and handed to me. I was instructed to bring the needles back for my next visit the following week. I looked at this surprising-to-me event in two ways: first, as [...]
Reading the NY Times Online
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011I’m sure that, by this time, everyone’s heard the discussion on how it’s really difficult for media outlets to actually make any money from their online offerings, and that’s always stuck in my head while I browse newspapers and magazines online. For the print versions, it’s the ads (not the subscriptions) which turn a profit [...]
Clothing Swaps Are Awesome
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011I recently moved to a different part of town, and after sorting out all of my stuff I discovered two seemingly contradictory facts: I have too many things I need more things You know how it goes- “wow, what was I thinking when I bought this red skirt??” which is often followed by, “Gosh, I [...]
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