Month: August 2016

Why You Should Have An Indoor Greenhouse

/ Jackie / 1 Comment

Being able to grow your own food is one of life’s simple pleasures.

Every spring since I was 12 was dedicated to seed growing. Except that one spring in my college dorm where my roommate hogged the entire window. Although a few boys down the hall did ask how to grow weed in their room. Ah, Colorado.

Mentioning Colorado, the seasons are completely different here compared to my much more northern state of Michigan.

The sun here is lethal.

One summer, I lived in this place where the patio floor would get so hot, I couldn’t even stand on it without my feet feeling like they were melting. Needless to say, nothing I grew that year survived that heat.

This is when I decided to invest $40 and buy a baby indoor greenhouse.

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This thing has been through three moves in the past few years and countless seasons.

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I’m not an expert by any means, but a few people have asked me the easiest way to keep a garden going all year in these cold climates and don’t have access to a full greenhouse… this is my solution.

If you’re looking for one, this one: click here, is very similar to the one I have (that I don’t believe is for sale any longer).

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August 2016 Challenge: Go Without Plastic Straws

/ Jackie / 1 Comment

Few items beat the plastic straw in terms of pollution.

With plastic straws, you only use them once and they go immediately in the trash.

Some estimates say that over 500 million straws are used in the US every single day. That’s just the US. I can’t even imagine the numbers if the whole world was included.

I never even recognized this problem until I worked for a glass straw company.

Then, I realized how often plastic straws are used in the day to day world. At every fast food place, many restaurants, schools, sports stadiums… Everywhere.

Rarely are the straws available biodegradable. Instead, the plastic straws just break down over time into smaller plastic that generally ends up in our oceans and waterways.

Along with the plastic pollution from straws, it also requires oil and gas to create these straws in the first place.

Hot straws can cause the plastic to leak certain chemicals into your body as well. This isn’t always the case, but it’s something to keep in mind if you choose to drink something like coffee or tea through a straw every day.

Here are some more reasons that plastic straws shouldn’t be in your life.

What to Do Instead

There are so many alternatives to the cheap, common plastic straw.

There are some biodegradable straws on the market. Although those still require a whole process to create, they’re still a better alternative.

There are so glass, bamboo, and stainless steel straws.

As I mentioned earlier, I worked for a glass straw company and still use my glass straws every single day. I know it seems strange to spend $10+ on a reusable straw, since we have been conditioned to believe they’re cheap/free everywhere we go, but one straw can last years. Most companies also have a return policy if you break them.

It’s a small price to pay for the benefit of making my small, small, small dent of helping the planet.

So, for August try to avoid using a plastic straw all together or better yet, invest in a reusable one.

Feel free to share this with your friends and challenge them to go plastic straw free this month!

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