OK, so it's earth day this Sunday, and all I've been hearing about the last month is "green". Wonderful, fabulous, I am totally happy about this. But some of the tips magazines, TV shows, etc. are giving are really freaking me out. Not because they are so radical or super hard to do, but rather because they are sooooo obvious, and it makes me really wonder "are these really new tips for people? Are people really so unaware?"
Some of the tips that I've been hearing that I find shocking are:"don't run the faucet while you're brushing your teeth" - I believe this was something I learned at about age 3...from my mom.
"recycle glass, paper and tin". Um, yeah. Duh.
"clean out the lint catcher in your dryer after each load". Of course, what do you want to start a fire or something!!!
"use cold water to wash your clothes". Of course, that's what cold water detergent is for.
"Take shorter showers". Seems a bit obvious.
"plants in the house make for cleaner air". Yes, it's called "nature".
"turn off the lights when you leave a room". What, do these people not have parents?! I thought this was nailed into our heads at about age 14.
But all joking aside, I have heard about some other tips that I thought were useful, but not necessarily something you think of:- don't take a receipt at the ATM unless you REALLY need to know your balance.
- Bring your own travel mug if you're one of those people who picks up a coffee every morning, most coffee shops will fill it for you, and Starbucks will give you a 10cent discount. If the person won't fill up your cup, their loss, no more business for them.
OK and now some other green tips that we all know we should do, but maybe we need a little reminder:- switch as many lights in your house as possible to CFLs (compact flourescents) There are soooo many options out there nowadays, there isn't really much of an excuse not to.
- Use natural cleaners, or even no cleaners at all. When you're cleaning glass, all you need is water and one of those awesome microfibre cloths and you will SOOOOO not get streaks. You can pick up those cloths at the dollar store. Remember,"clean" is not lemon scented.
- try to take public transport whenever possible, or now that the weather's nice pull out your bike.
- Try to remember your tote bags to haul groceries. And if you're thinking of throwing out plastic bags, don't! Give them to us and we'll use them for picking up doggy business.
- remember that Reduce and Reuse come before Recycle: Try to buy items with less packaging, and when possible reuse whatever you can. This of course includes clothing, so drop off your unwanted stuff at a second hand store, or organize a clothing swap. Same goes for furniture. Who throws their clothing in the garbage anyways?! The only clothing I've ever thrown out in my life is old socks and undies.
In terms of reducing clothing consumption...um, that's a hard one. I'm going to work on reducing packaging.
- Support local industry. A lot of $$ and wasted energy goes into transport of goods, so buy local produce when possible or pick up a shirt from a local designer.
- Lastly (and this should be incredibly obvious) Don't litter!!!!! The below picture is what Notre-Dame right beside our apt. looks like in the spring, from all the winter littlebugs, shame on you people!!! Do you enjoy living in a garbage pile? The only garbage pile I want to live next to is the one from Fraggle Rock, and this is nothing like that, so enough already!! And using the planters as garbage cans, enough of that too. As of right now, I'm starting to yell at litterbugs, so watch out. Tyson's been reaming people out full force for awhile now, time to join him.
Vintage fabric organized by colour, finally!
Before: Yikes!
After: Still looks like a work space, but a damn well organized one!
Vintage reclaimed buttons, vintage floral fabric and pink/brown/yellow topstitching!
Two tiny puffy charms, a flower and a leaf. Feel free to add your own charms at will.
Vintage handle, vintage fabric
This vintage scarf is removable, so you can switch it out for a different one,
The inside has a double pocket to stach your metro card and
A great vintage bamboo handle and navy corduroy flecked with grey
What a beautiful scarf, kind of 40's ish, this one would look great with a white summer dress
A fun raffia looking lining, soft though, not scratchy!
Lovely cover art by MTAF
This top is the perfect summer layering piece. It looks great thrown over the tights as shown, but what about belted and with a pair of jeans? Or flowing over a pair of tailored shorts with heels? Heck you could even throw it over a t-shirt or blouse when you need to be a little cozier, talk about versatile!
Nice, simple, black tailored shorts, a wardrobe staple for this summer.
Ka-bamm, a red dress with a sweet and charming cut. I like the idea of wearing red in a totally non-vampy way. Retro yet still sleek. Trade the self fabric belt for a leather one for a different look.
A beautiful delicate blouse that goes with everything. I believe we also have this in black. It looks so soft and wispy, no doubt this top makes you feel like the most beautiful girl in the world!
Hey, this weekend is a double feature at HQ!
