I like numbers and to be able to quantify results.  So when Terry Dee from the Habistore (called ReStore in other cities around the country) ran some numbers for me, I couldn't wait to share them.  Remember - this is just ONE store in Tucson, Arizona.

In 2009:

200 + TONS of material were diverted from the landfill
2,000 pounds of food were given to the Community Food Bank
3,000 pounds of clothes were given to Big Brothers Big Sisters (Habistore only takes home improvement items)
5 TONS of electrics were donated to Pima Computer Recycling and World Care
More than 6000 people donated new and used items.

And my usual: it gets better.  Proceeds of the last 4 years have provided Habitat Tucson with enough unrestricted revenue to pay the full cost of constructing 5 (FIVE)
Habitat Homes.

Yes, Habistore supports Mrs. Green and yes, Mrs. Green is proud to have them as part of Mrs. Green's world.  But my point? Don't throw anything away.  Call your local Habitat, your local Goodwill, your local favorite charity.  Because remember - this is no more away and yes, you can make a difference by doing just one thing. 

I honestly don't know how to make this one short but if you will stay with me, it is sweet.

Tom Doucette, a local builder in Tucson, Arizona, called me one day to talk about Mrs. Green doing an on-site live broadcast of Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream at his LEED Certified development,  Silverbell by Doucettte. I went to visit the property and was truly impressed with so many aspects of what this community had to offer: a quality home at an affordable price, utilities about $1000 A YEAR, a great location on a major bus route (something like 32 stops per day), efficient use of space and great views of the Catalina Mountains. 

When I met Tom Doucette for coffee, we talked about creating a mini green business fair.  And we pulled it off.  It was a fun day with most of the businesses who showed up sharing their passion for what they do with each other.

Fast forward to yesterday.  The day of the broadcast, Terry Dee from the Habistore talked to John Smith, owner of The Arizona Green Plumbers, about a dilemma and asked for John's help.  Home Depot donated some toilet tanks to the Habistore but no toilets!  John contacted the manufacturer, told them the story and got them to donate the toilets.  When they arrived, John drove said toilets down from Phoenix to the Habistore, delivered them to Terry and voilà - complete sets.

And, yes, it does get better.  Terry proceeded to tell me that the toilets will be used in the next homes Habitat for Humanity builds to help with their LEED certification. It was a huge "are you kidding me right now" moment for me.

Speaking of toilets, Mr. and Mrs. Green are now the proud owners of the state-of-the art Niagra High Efficiency toilet (1.28 gallons per flush) gifted to them that very same day and offer tours to check out this porcelain prize to all visitors to their home.

No wonder Colleen Crowinshield from Clean Cities wants to do this quarterly.

This is what a day looks like in Mrs. Green's world.  Thank you for being a part of it.

I love it when someone takes the time out of his or her very busy life and shares a thought with me - especially when it's a "think about this for a minute" kind of thought.  So thank you, Cindy G. for doing just that.

 Cindy writes:  

    From Sustainable Life Media. 

Each occurrence of sustainability gaining ground in corporate board rooms and academia ultimately shortens the life of the sustainability movement. For those committed to the movement, there could be no better outcome. Here's why.

I recently interviewed a director of sustainability at a Fortune 500 company with one of industry's oldest sustainability councils whether he foresaw a time when his company no longer needs this council. His response: "Yes, as soon as we integrate sustainability into everything we do."

Talk about dreaming a better world. And I do - every single day.

More food for thought - new tagline for me when that day comes?  Mrs. Green Went Mainstream or Mrs. Green's Gone Fishing - Because There Are Some Left.....

My friends Marion and Jim Hook from the Adobe Rose Inn in Tucson shared with me something that makes Mrs. Green feel good all over - just knowing something like this exists.  It's a bath and body collection of products from a company called Gilchrist & Soames and a special collection called BeeKind.  Jim and Marion use it at the Inn.

To  BEE-gin with, the products have an ideal combination of environmental responsibility and personal luxury.  Truth be told, I want to make greener choices but I don't want to smell like olive oil.  As to their forumlations, they contain no parabens, phthalates (say that really fast 5 times), no petroleum by-products, mineral oil, urea, DEA(Diethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine), or propylene glycol - all of which are in many shampoos & body products) and all of which are known, FDA recognized toxins.  Trust me - this makes them outstanding and safe.  Great concept.

It gets better.  Packaging space and shipping leave big carbon footprints.  Gilchrist & Soames nailed this one.  The BeeKind paper bottle is a 59% reduction in packaging material by weight, as well as a 92% reduction in waste space after use compared to rigid bottles. 

Can it get any better than that?  YES!  Along with the eco-friendly packaging and formulas, proceeds of the net sales of BeeKind support honey bee and sustainable pollination research at the University of California at Davis. Not a soul I know questions the value of the honey bee and why we need them.

On a very personal note, when you have someone close to you, who you dearly love, and who comes from a long line of breast cancer victims and survivors, you start paying attention to the fine print.  The chemicals in most over the counter products contain  known carcenogens and that's just the plain truth. 

Jim and Marion - thanks for sharing. 

Mrs. Green's last word on this?  BEE-kind to yourself and your family.  Read ingredients AND ask good questions when you make your travel plans.  Support businesses that support our planet.

I receive some wonderful emails from people who are a part of Mrs. Green's world.  I read every one of them and they delight me.  Sometimes I just want to "cut and paste" and this is one of those times.  Thank you Sylvia (from Skincare at Civano) for taking the time to put your thoughts to words and for your contribution to the planet. 

Sylvia writes:  After our conversation, I thought about a couple of green things that are pretty easy to accomplish.

Saving water has also been a passion of mine for years, and I had a good laugh when you talked about not flushing every time in your newsletter. I mentioned that I lived in Northern California for many years, and during droughts (of which we had many) there were government campaigns to “shower with a friend” and hold the flush or as we used to say “when it’s yellow it’s mellow, when it’s brown flush it down”!!!!!

One of the biggest water wasters is waiting for the hot water to appear for our shower. There is a timer devise that can be purchased at Ace Hardware for about $20, that plugs in to the water heating equipment somehow (my handyman told me about it and fixed it up, so I am useless on techie stuff) Anyway it comes with a remote and you just press the remote button when you get up and have coffee, and then by the time you go in for your shower the water is hot. Of course you have to remember to turn off the remote afterwards.

Also, we were talking about cleaning windows and I used to go through tons of paper towel cleaning  glass surfaces and my Corian counter top.  Then I learned about micro-cloths (you can purchase them at Bed Bath and Beyond, or a huge pack at Costco);  you just wash the surface with plain water and wipe it with the micro-cloth. They work great. I keep one in the shower for the glass doors, keeps the mildew away. No more chemicals and no paper towel to throw away.

Whilst I’m on a soap box, another passion is saving electricity.  For those of us that cook with it, you can turn off the burner about a minute or so before the timer is due to go off, and the burner will remain hot enough to keep cooking. All those little bits of electricity add up!!! I am sure most people know that TEP has a program where you can save money and power, by doing things like laundry during off-peak hours, it takes a little getting used to in the beginning, but doesn’t take long to become a habit.

Another power save is drying clothes outside, and though most HOA’s have rules about washing lines, you can purchase “racks” (again from Bed Bath and Beyond) that fold up when not in use. It makes laundry so much more pleasant, as you can organize the rack so that when dry you fold as you go and no more of that tangled mess from the dryer. I always hated doing laundry, but don’t mind it at all this way."

Lots of great, green tips! 

 

I tell anyone who will listen to sign up for Seth Godin's blog. My reasons are many - he is smart, he is funny, his posts are usually short and I almost always learn something - there is almost always a take away.  I don't know how he does it but time after time, day after day, I read, I learn, I smile, I share.

Today was over the top.  He wrote about something new called a Vook - a multimedia app. After watching the video on the Vook website, I am still not quite sure what it is. (The truth shall set us free). And I don't know if the last line in his blog is true about posting the Apple news before the official launch but I suspect it is.  Here's Seth's last entry of the day:

Jumping the gun

I just read another research report that indicates only 27% of plastic bottles are recycled.  I asked myself and i ask you: is it really that hard?  We have totally stopped buying plastic water bottles but there is a drink that I love called Function.  The manufacturers claim it has all kinds of good stuff in it and I admit, I haven't done any comprehensive research on it but I really like it and it's not Diet Coke. It does, however, come in a plastic bottle.  I can honestly say I have never thrown one of those bottles in a garbage can and I mean never.  If I drink it at a meeting, I just pick it up, put the empty in my very large purse or even carry it with me to the car.  When I get home, I take the cap off, put it in my "take to Aveda" jar and put the bottle in the recycling. It's called a habit.  I don't even think about it and do it automatically.  Now I ask you, is it really THAT hard?  

I know that the first  "R" is reduce and I am working on that with my water bottles and making great progress.  But since I have to buy Function as is for now, I created the habit to recycle the container it comes in.

Can't we all take this one step in the sustainability direction?  Isn't good stewardship part of being a good citizen?  Help me out here...

Even 28% would make me feel better.   

This from BJ Cordova - Tucson Clean and Beautiful.  www.tucsoncleanandbeautiful.org. This would be a good one to actually make a paper copy of. 

Steps to Dispose of Medications 1, 3, 4
• DO NOT FLUSH OR POUR prescription drugs, other medications, or tablets down a toilet, sink, or drain.
• BE PROACTIVE AND SAFELY DISPOSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, MEDICATIONS, AND TABLETS IN HOUSEHOLD TRASH. Take unused, unneeded or expired prescription drugs, other medications, or tablets out of their original container and throw them in the trash. This follows federal guidelines promulgated by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, is acceptable to both the City’s and County’s solid waste management departments, and protects our water supply.
When discarding unused medications, ensure you protect children and pets from potentially negative effects.
If you wish, you can do some or all of the following before you throw prescription drugs, other medications, or tablets in the trash:
• Place them into a sealable plastic bag or other impermeable, non-descript container, such as an empty can.
• If the medication is a solid (pill, liquid capsule, etc.), crush it or add water to the container to dissolve the medication.
Mix the medications or tablets with kitty litter, sawdust, or coffee grounds (or any undesirable substance).

Mrs. Green's note:  If you live in Tucson, Arizona, World Care will take your old prescription drugs and distribute them properly with all the required medical supervision.

My thanks to Bruce Woodruff for taking the time to respond to my newsletter.  Please read his comments below:

Hi
I'm involved with Builders Without Borders and would like to recommend this group.

Solar Cookers for Haiti: One of Haiti's most serious problems in the
coming months will be access to safe drinking water. This combined
with a serious and growing shortage of fuel has now reached crisis
proportions. With a solar cooker it is possible to pasteurize several
liters of drinking water every day using only the light of the sun.

Friends of Haiti Organization is working with U.S.-based Sun Ovens
International to provide the people of Haiti with solar cookers. Sun
Ovens Intl has been operating in Haiti for the past eleven years.
Donations marked (For purchase of Sun Ovens) will be used only to buy
solar cookers that will be distributed in Haiti. On January 28, 2010
FOHO in partnership with Feed My Starving Children will be sending a
shipping container with 270,000 meals and Sun Ovens to Port au Prince
Haiti. There is room for additional Sun Ovens to be included with this
shipment and additional shipments are being planned. Contributions to
Friends of Haiti can only be sent by check. (FOHO is a 501C3
nonprofit organization so all donations will be tax deductable. 100%
of the donation will go directly to sending Sun Ovens to Haiti no
administrative expenses will be deducted. FOHO has been working in
Haiti for 45 years and has sent over 1,400 Global Sun Ovens and 12
Villager Sun Ovens to Haiti.) Checks should be made payable to the:
Friends of Haiti Organization, PO Box 222, Holland, OH 43528 (Please
note the donation is for the Sun Oven project.)

If you prefer to give on line, you can send a donation to Solar
Cookers International's Haiti Project . Our colleague Patricia
McArdle has served on SCI's board of directors for the past three
years. SCI is collecting funds for solar Cookits, pots, and reusable
Water Pasteurization Indicators that will be added to this month's and
future shipment of Sun Ovens to Haiti.



R. Bruce Woodruff A.I.A., LEED AP
COT GSD AE Project Manager
791.5111 x318 cell: 349-2113
bruce.woodruff@tucsonaz.gov

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