Although I celebrated this holiday without any tree (live or artificial), some of you had.

If you are like most, you’re now ready to get that beautiful “live” tree out of your home to pitch it. Please remember that many local municipalities have programs that allow you to leave the tree at the curb for recycling.

They will then come by on specific dates to shred the tree. Some areas compost where others use it for mulch. It sure beats sending it to a landfill.

One of my friends even likes to submerge them as structure in ponds that have little shelter for aquatic animals.

Happy new year everyone!

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Three Sisters Cereal is a newer cereal I started purchasing during my short treks to the local Whole Foods Market. What intrigued me the most… it comes in a plastic bag.

I know, you may be saying to me… “How is that good for the environment?”  Well, that is a good question and I am glad you are challenging the thought process to make greener choices.

Consider the alternative, boxed cereals have a plastic liner. Three Sisters Cereal eliminates the use of paper altogether and uses the plastic for storage. Plus, each bag comes with a handy zip seal that keeps the cereal fresh (I like that a lot).

I have tried three of the six flavors thus far: Graham Cracker, Marshmallow, and Sweet Wheat – all are yummy. And, yes I have a sweet tooth when it comes to cereal mom (hence my choices in flavors).

Want another reason to opt for this brand…Three Sisters Cereal uses environmentally conscious business practices that include recycling and using wind energy to produce their cereals. Woohoo!

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Are you going to participate in a family move or work at a business that is relocating? There can be a lot of trash generated as part of a move. The key is to separate the usable “material” from the “true trash”.

This can include recycle worthy or reusable paper products, office supplies, books/magazines, furniture, plastic containers, etc.

A friend of mine recently went through a corporate move. A friend of mine stepped into action after noticing the company was creating trash piles in an empty office that included the above examples.

What did they do? They called a few local schools and non-profit organizations to see if they wanted any of the spare office supplies that one would have wasted.  It sounds like the organizations were absolutely tickled to have the opportunity to reuse “material” that folks were just going to throw away.

Kudos to you my friend! That is a great example of taking a proactive choice to help people and the environment.

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I walked to my local convenience store the other day because I had a “sweet tooth”. This time, it was chocolate.

When I approached the checkout counter I noticed that a person (or people) had recently checked their lottery numbers and had discarded the tickets in the trash. There were at least 40 ticket stubs in the trash!

Is this a recycling opportunity? Yes. I have confirmed this a few times in the past for my own benefit and for other folks too. Thought you would like to know.

Lottery tickets printed on paper can be recycled (the ones printed on thermal paper or laminated film cannot).

I normally wouldn’t recommend digging through trash bins. I reached in and grabbed the ones resting on top of a piece of “clean” trash, walked them home, and placed them in my recycling bin.

This message more, or less, gets at the process of opening our minds to recycling opportunities – from sugar sachets/packets, to lottery tickets and everywhere in between.

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No matter what season you are in around this glorious planet, there are always opportunities to give something back to Mother Nature. We often dedicate month’s to focus on specific celebrations or important themes. No reason they can’t carry over into our daily lives…right!

A fiend of mine recently said to her children “…there are enough of your diapers in landfills that it’s time to balance things out a bit!” Way to go!

So, pick up that litter, reuse that paper, plant a tree, adopt a pet. Certainly feel good about the tremendous choice you have to do so. Thanks in advance for helping the planet out folks. You rock!

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