Treasures by Louise

Our community has offered curbside recycling for perhaps 15 years. I have tried to recycle whenever possible. I even took my recyclables to the recycling center in the days before we were provided bins! I have been known to pull plastic containers out of our wastebasket to recycle them. Our communities earn money for all the materials that are recycled. So you help reduce the amount of materials that end up in landfills and you financially benefit your community! Seems like a win-win situation. But then it appears that industrial, commercial, and retail organizations are not participating in any form of recycling. You sometimes see stores throwing away all the cardboard and packing material - all mixed together. One would think they could find a way to separate the different wastes and make sure they get recycled? Perhaps if enough people ask the question, they will take action.

In the grocery store lately, there are more household cleaners that are supposed to be safer for the environment, and we have tried a few, especially since many are priced at or below the cost of similar items that are made from petroleum products. We' ve tried dish soap, laundry detergent and bathroom cleaners that are made from coconut soaps, with mild fragrances, or no fragrance at all. I have recently switched back to liquid fabric softener rather that those non-biodegradable dryer sheets that were piling up in the garbage! My most recent purchase was a natural non-chlorine fabric brightener. Since I purchased this product I was wondering what was the big deal about Chlorine Bleach? I have since found out that Chlorine is a real 'bad actor' in the environment. It is very reactive, and combines with many of the organic compounds now found in our water to make them even more toxic. I continue to look for more natural choices in consumer products. We as consumers can ...

Welcome to my Blog. (Mom!) With a New Year upon us, I should dedicate some time to cleaning out the mess that the basement has become. I should stop buying craft supplies, especially if I already have them some where in the dungeon (!). Better yet, make beautiful and creative things with what I have on hand. I so admire the artists of collage and assemblage who create beautiful art with 'found objects'. I have begun some little wall quilts to test out my newly restored sewing machine and I look forward to posting photos soon. Meanwhile, I will add a link to an Etsy artist who makes tote bags using recycled vintage fabric: Recycled Canvas Carryall