Monday A La Mode: July 8, 2013

It's Monday and that means it's time for the 2nd edition of Monday A La Mode. The 2nd edition should technically have been last week, but since my daughter and I were both blessed with food poisoning Sunday night I could not possibly have written anything. Heck, I couldn't possibly have turned on the computer! Thankfully this Monday is better, so without further ado, let me tell you about some of the things I've discovered lately...

HAVE YOU HEARD...

• In 2003 a band named The Postal Service released an album titled Give Up. Many of the songs have been featured in movies and commercials, so you may be surprised to recognize them. Check out Mama's Marvelous Musical Playlist in the sidebar at right to hear them now. I'm loving this album!

PRODUCTS YOU SHOULDN'T MISS...

• Check out bogobrush.com before you buy your next toothbrush. For every sustainably produced, biodegradable, bamboo toothbrush you buy from bogobrush, one is donated to someone in need. (According to their website, 80 million Americans lack access to dental care.) They are accepting pre-orders now and expect to start shipping by the end of this summer.
• Re-usable shopping bags are an important step in becoming more earth friendly, but good-looking bags can be expensive. I was so happy to come across snapsac.com this week! Their bags a fold-over flap that snaps closed at the top of the bag. When not in use, fold the bag and the snap closure keeps it folded. Bonus? Their grocery bags are only $3.99 and come in a variety of cute styles!
• It can be difficult to find eco-friendly clothing. Who has time to browse and scour the clothes racks? Or for that matter the internet? Two companies that only sell sustainable organic clothing are Earth Creations and Autonomie Project. For shoes, try The People's Movement - they pick up plastic off California beaches and turn it into shoes and wallets with minimal processing. I ordered a pair!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER...

• I'm not a fan of soft drinks or, therefore, soft drink manufacturers. But I am a fan of any contest that gets people outside more often. Coca Cola is sponsoring the Take It to the Park contest. Just click here to vote for your favorite park and get extra votes by checking in at your park using FourSquare. The winning park receives a large grant from Coke!

DID YOU KNOW...

• July is Baked Beans Month! If you didn't have enough at your Independence Day get-togethers, now you have an excuse to treat yourself. Do you use brown sugar? Molasses? Maple syrup? Honey? Do you top yours with bacon? Have you ever tried baked beans on toast? 

Hope you found something new and useful this Monday! Have a great week!

When Free is Really Free

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Right? Usually any offer that says "free" is just a gimmick. It isn't really free. You jump through a bunch of hoops only to find out that the registration was free and now you only need to pay $xx.xx to complete the deal. Sound familiar?

I recently learned about one way to actually get free stuff! Real deal, no jokes, no hidden fees, free stuff! Intrigued yet?

Freecycle.org is a grassroots, members only, movement that is divided into local groups where a few members are charged with monitoring and maintaining the local lists. There are more than 5000 groups and 9 million members who list items they no longer need but want to keep out of landfills. If you have an item that would be too much trouble to sell (or you just want to be generous), you can list it in your local Freecycle group and others can contact you via email if they want what you have. On the other hand, if you want or need an item that others are likely to have laying around the house, you can place a wanted ad and people who have that item can email you.

On Freecycle.org, free really means free! You have to be a member to participate, but membership is free. The rules are simple: the item or items offered must be local, available immediately, and free.

Ready to get started? I was! Just click on over to http://www.freecycle.org/ and type in your city and state in the box at the top of the page. It will look like the picture below. Once I got signed up and clicked the link to go to my local group's listings, I found browsing somewhat confusing. Then I noticed a link that said "advanced" search. Being an avid fan of eBay, I clicked immediately and suddenly browsing these listings was going to be much easier! I found ads for everything from kittens to televisions, all free! And the best part? All of it was right here in my hometown!

The only downside I discovered to Freecycle is that there seem to be far more want ads than offer ads. I decided maybe all that was needed to change that was a few more members like me... people who hate to throw away anything that somebody could use for something! So why don't you join me on Freecycle and lets clean up and clean out without sending the stuff to to the landfill? Share this idea with friends and you may end up seeing each other's posts and swapping junk! After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?