All But the Kitchen Sink

A list of things to NOT throw in a neighborhood ravine, courtesy of Earth Day cleanup at Glen Echo Ravine:

• Papasan chair - Give to MAP Furniture Bank.
  
• Pill bottles - Donate your extra medications to someone in need. More info can be found here and here.
  
• Computer monitors - Sell on eBay or donate to Ohio Computer Recycling so they can reuse its parts.
  
• Stryofoam peanuts - Donate them to your local UPS or FedEx store. (BTW, I have yet to try this; I just keep storing them under my bed. I'll let you know what happens when I make the trip.)
  
• Syringes - Don't share them with your buddies, but also don't throw them in a ravine! Check out these instructions for proper disposal.
  
• Beer cans - Aluminum cans are super easy to recycle; you can even do it drunk!
  
• Kite string - Reuse your kite string to tie up your tomato plants or to tie back your curtains on a nice day or as a prop for your book club's discussion of the Kite Runner.
  
• Prophylactics - Luckily, this Earth Day was free of people's old love gloves, but I have not always been so lucky. Just put them in a trash can and not down the toilet, okay?
• Flower pot - Geesh, plant a flower in it! Or better yet, put a veggie plant in it and eat local.
• Cigarette butts - Easy fix: stop smoking.
  

Posted from outside.

These Are a Shoe In!

Okay, I can't really "rate" these, as I haven't tried them on yet, but I was really excited to learn that Payless has debuted their eco-friendly line, zoe & zac.





With the most expensive pair coming in under $30, it seems that going green is finally starting to pay off!

Columbus Food Crushes

In case you didn't know, I love food. Having recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I have been resolved to eat more local foods.

This is a difficult feat, as it seems that I am destined to have long-distance relationships with some of my favorite "local" food restaurants. Though the Columbus Square shopping center started a farmer's market last year, there are still very few restaurants within my corner of Columbus that are interested in the local food movement.



That said, Raisin Rack recently romanced me with Heini's Amish farmer's cheese. And this Friday, I made the booty call to Whole Foods on Sawmill Road and stocked up on some nearby goodies, including Weiber's organic mustard and Confetti Peppers hot pepper mix.



Luckily, some of my other food crushes were also realized this weekend. Alana's, one of my favorite restaurants with a seasonal focus, set me up with a Cream of a Million Mushroom soup and the most amazing spanikopita. And for Easter Sunday, North Star Cafe will be my food matchmaker.



The way to my heart is through my stomach, that is for sure.

Rags to Riches

Paper towels don't grow on trees, you know. (Well, ok, maybe they do.)

But the point is that paper towels are a waste of money and resources when cloth rags serve the same purpose. So the next time your bath towels start to get a little ratty or threadbare, cut them up into rags that can be used to clean just about anything around the house.



Worried about how to clean them? Simply save up a batch and wash them in a laundry load of rugs and other slightly grimy items that you aren't particularly interested in snuggling with.

(Tip: Try to keep an emergency roll of paper towels in the house for those one or two "ick factor" messes that require a bit of environmental sacrifice.)