Eco-Cupscious » Reusable

Wool Dryer Balls

Cups — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:00:12 +0000

I just came across these in Whole Living Magazine. These wool dryer balls are made from recycled sweaters and will help to cut drying time and keep your laundry soft and fluffy. I currently have plastic/rubber dryer balls but these are awesome! I normally wouldn’t buy wool but since they’re made out of old sweaters that would otherwise be tossed I wouldn’t feel so bad purchasing them. I love the various patterns and colors – they add some fun to an otherwise boring job of laundry. Check them out at Ela’s Idea on Etsy.

ReUseIt Coupon Code

Cups — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:50:30 +0000

Pin It

ReUseIt.com is a great resource for reusable bags, food containers, water bottles – basically they have loads of great things to make your life more eco-friendly. I’ve gotten some great things from them over time and now they gave me this coupon code to share with you – use it for $5 off a purchase of $50 or more: rca7z3l

The Flip & Tumble from them is definitely one of my favs…

Pin It

Second Life For Used Halloween Candy Wrappers

Cups — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:00:27 +0000

Pin It

Since I know not all of you lovely readers are vegetarian or vegan like I am, the chances of you partaking in some Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury Halloween candy is high so I figured I’d pass this along to you. If you’re going to indulge in the sugary goodness, why not do some good for the environment at the same time. Instead of tossing those wrappers you can send them off to TerraCycle to be transformed into purses, backpacks, coolers and more! Even better is that for each approved wrapper (I’m assuming that means usable – so not torn to bits) they’ll donate $0.02 to a non-profit organization or school or YOUR choice!

Here’s how to do this…

Participation in the Candy Wrapper Brigade is simple and it’s completely FREE – all costs and shipping are covered by Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury. Sign–up online today and the rest is easy:
1. Once you sign–up to participate in the Candy Wrapper Brigade you will receive prepaid postage labels and collection materials from TerraCycle.
2. Collect enough wrappers to fill a box (no larger than the size of a copy paper box).
3. Affix the pre–paid postage label and drop it off at a UPS location

and just in case you’re not into this type of Halloween candy this year, or you’ve already eaten yours and tossed the wrappers, here are some other Brigades you could consider joining…

Drink Pouch Brigade	Yogurt Brigade	Candy Wrapper Brigade
Cookie Wrapper Brigade	Flavia Fresh Pack Brigade	Chip Bag Brigade
Energy Bar Wrapper Brigade	Bear Naked Brigade	Kashi Package Brigade
Cell Phone Brigade	Scott Brand Brigade	Huggies Brand Brigade
AVEENO Beauty Brigade	Scotch Tape Brigade	Cork Brigade
Cereal Bag Brigade	Gum Package Brigade	Writing Instruments Brigade
Elmer’s Glue Crew Brigade	NEOSPORIN® Tube Brigade	Coffee Bag Brigade
Lunch Kit Brigade	Colgate Oral Care Brigade	Sprout Brigade
Spreads Brigade	Home Storage Brigade	CORE Wrapper Brigade
Tortilla and Tostada Bag Brigade™	Inkjet Brigade™	Brigada de Empaques de Tortillas y Tostadas™ / Tortillas and Tostadas Bags Brigade™
Revolution Foods Brigade™

Home Made Shipping Envelope

Cups — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:00:45 +0000

Pin It

I LOVE this idea from Eco Etsy! What a great way to use up things you have around the house! I rarely have paper or plastic bags as if I don’t have my reusable bags then I opt not to shop, but I do live with someone else who isn’t quite as disciplined as I

Pin It

Cute Tote – Great For Work

Cups — Tue, 25 May 2010 20:30:37 +0000

One of my girlfriends recently purchased this adorable bag by Rampage in black to use as a work bag - stylish and fun but still professional

Pin It

$59.99 from Overstock.com

it’s a little hard to see here but click on the bags to get a larger image and even order one!

and of course this bag is non-leather – it even comes with a cute tag that says something about it being animal friendly and better for the environment

Pin It

Cloth Napkins

Cups — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:59:00 +0000

Pin It

Four 16 Inch Reversible Napkins in Turquoise and Green $18 from Jennifer Sews on Etsy

I love using cloth napkins. I grew up using them so it really isn’t anything new to me. They’re better for the environment and they just feel a little more special than a paper napkin. I love the napkin idea I stole from my host family from when I studied in Spain in college. Each person in the house has their own distinct napkin ring. After using the napkin, it goes back in your own ring so you can reuse it later. Most cloth napkins don’t really need to be washed after each use so it’s a great way to re-use it without having to worry about getting it mixed up with someone elses napkin. Keep the same one for a few days or until you decide it needs washing and then pull out a new one and keep it in your special ring! This not only saves trees, but it saves water!

I love the napkins pictured above – super cute but if you have a sewing machine you could get crafty and make your own!

The Perfect Beverage Bottles

Cups — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:00:18 +0000

Pin It

I’m in LOVE with my new bottles and think I’ve seriously found the perfect beverage bottle! Lifefactory makes these glass bottles with silicone sleeves. First of all, aren’t they cute?! I have the orange, Eric has the midnight blue (although I’ve been using it – I’ll eventually surrender it to him) and I’m giving the green as a mother’s day gift. There are so many reasons to love these bottles…

BPA free

Dishwasher safe!!! – this may be my favorite part! I’m SO sick of hand washing my Sigg Bottles

Pin It

I don’t like washing one thing at a time, I prefer to wait until I can fill the sink for several items, but I hate having a messy kitchen and don’t like when my counter is filled with bottles waiting to be hand washed!

Large mouth – this means, for those of you that like ice, you can easily pack it full of ice. I’m not a fan of ice so what excites me is that I can toss in slices of lemons or limes, or even fresh berries to make my water slightly fruit flavored! that sure makes drinking your 8+ glasses of water each day a lot more exciting. The wide mouth also makes them a lot easier to clean. I drink a lot of green kamut and because it’s a powder made from greens, it sometimes leaves residue inside my bottle, meaning I can only put it in a bottle with a large enough mouth for me to get in there with a good scrub brush to make sure I get it all out.

Odor free – since the bottle is glass it will never develop an odor like plastic would – or even the stainless bottles seem to do – likely due to the coating inside that holds the smell.

220z – it doesn’t seem large in the sense of being a burden to carry around, but it does hold 22oz! that’s nearly 3 of those 8 glasses of water you need for the day. Sunday I drove to Michigan to try on my wedding dress so I filled up two bottles and they lasted me for the ride there and back – no need stop and purchase a plastic water bottle

and not that I’m in the market yet, but…someday…these baby bottles are just too cute and SO SAFE!

Pin It

Precious Totes

Cups — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:00:53 +0000

Pin It

$14-$25 from Alternative Outfitters

I’m loving these reusable tote bags – the art work is delicate and vintage-ish. Super cute!

Get yours from Alternative Outfitters!

Oldie But Goodie #7

Cups — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:00:59 +0000

Flip & Tumble

I use this literally EVERY day! If you don’t have a reusable bag in your handbag, now is the time to get one – you’ll be amazed at how much you use it!

The Big Picture

Cups — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:55:43 +0000

Pin It

Today Starbucks is giving away free brewed coffee if you bring in your own mug. I’ve been telling you all for the last year how much better for the environment it would be if you’d bring your own mug instead of wasting so many trees on paper cups. Now Starbucks is doing their part to encourage you to do the same.

Check out this video – this is pretty cool.

I know what many will say – it’s just a marketing ploy – but really, who cares?! If it encourages only one person to start using a reusable mug every day then they’ve succeeded. If they make money off doing that then more power to them!

If you don’t already have a reusable coffee mug, now is the time to invest. Most coffee shops will give you 10 cents to 50 cents off each time. Starbucks gives 10 cents off and Argo Tea (here in Chicago) give 50 cents off for using one of their mugs. I bought an Argo Tea mug a couple of years ago for around $17. After using it 34 times I already had my $17 back just from Argo – not evening including the 10 cents I saved when bringing it to Starbucks!