Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Colony Collapse Disorder Showing Up Again in East Coast Hives - thedailygreen.com

Hi all,

I ran across this post by Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture Magazine.


Colony Collapse Disorder Showing Up Again in East Coast Hives - thedailygreen.com

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Team Challenge: LOVE entries!

All of the team challenge entries will be posted here- once I make sure that all entries have been posted, I'll put up a poll and run it for a few days and everyone can vote on the entries!
Winner gets a small gift from me and gets to pick the next challenge theme!!


BumbleBabyMommy created an adorable bib:


LonesomeRoadStudio created a beautiful pendant:
(Sorry folks, it's already sold!!) :)





Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Weekly Green Tip: Dishwasher Soap

This week's tip comes from team member BumbleBabyMommy's blog: How to make your own dishwasher soap!!

http://bumblebabymommy.blogspot.com/2009/01/save-on-dishwasher-soap.html

It only ends up costing about 8 cents a load, so you'll save money while you save the environment! Click and read the blog for more information on why this detergent is so great.

Here's how it's done:

Mix together 1 tablespoon of Borax and 1 tablespoon of Baking soda. Then put it into the soap compartment of your dishwasher and run the dishwasher as you normally would.

I wanted to say that a few days ago I made this detergent and used it, and yes indeed it DOES work well!! My dishes were cleaned to perfection and not only that, but I didn't have that obnoxious bleachy smell permeating through the house that most dishwasher detergents tend to create.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Another Honeybee Helpers Treasury! Actually, 2!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37873

It's very similar to the last treasury, just a couple things switched around. I liked the colors and composition so much and really thought it might get a lot of hits!


http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=37742

Co-QueenBee SturmDM created this lovely treasury as well. There are so many beautiful things in the team's stores!!!


These are in Treasury and not Treasury West...
Maybe they will make the front page. Take a look! Click! Comment! We love it! :)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Weekly Green Tip! Pet poop clean up.

Many people with pets justify the use of regular nasty plastic grocery bags with cleaning up their pets' poop.

But have you heard of biodegradable poop bags? If you've got to throw away poop from pets, it's a great solution.

Here's another idea- while not as perfect as the idea above, it's a way to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown out anyway: Why not use another readily available bag? ...Sure, if you're trying to be more green, you're choosing items with less packaging and waste. But let's face it- some items will come in a bag and there is nothing you can do about it. Bread, chips, a lot of crackers and cookies... these all usually come in a sealed bag. You can re-use this bag for picking up after the pets instead.

For a cat's litterbox, some recommend flushing. However, if you leave near a coastal area or near rivers or other water sources, it's best not to flush it. Sea otters are being infected with a toxin that could be coming from the flushed cat poop and litter. The best solution is, again, a biodegradable plastic bag.

Before reading further, keep in mind:
Do NOT use cat or dog poop in compost that will be going on or anywhere near your vegetable garden!!!

Their poo contains toxins that you don't want coming near anything you eat. Eewwwww.

You can compost your cat's poop and litter remnants:
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2005/09/26/kittylitter/index.html

If you are interested in composting your dog's doody for gardens without vegetables, here's an article about how you can:
http://www.plentymag.com/features/2007/12/the_green_fiend.php