Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

Good morning! I started off my day by doing something good for the environment. A reader recently left a comment on the blog that got me thinking about just how many plastic cups I waste feeding my iced coffee addiction... which, when I think about it, is a lot! I decided to purchase a travel mug from Starbucks this morning, so I can reduce the number of plastic cups I waste and reuse my travel mug when buying coffee. Of course, I bought the cutest travel mug Starbucks had! :) I ordered a sweetened iced coffee with soy milk, which I received free for purchasing a travel mug. The free drink is a little pat on the back for a good deed, right?


Breakfast in the office was the usual Kashi instant oatmeal + fiber cereal + banana + peanut butter.


My banana was very, very ripe today. It actually had a little trouble on its commute this morning, but somehow it made it to work and was a wonderful addition to my oatmeal.


Pre-Gym Snack

I never remember to take a photo or post about my pre-gym snack-- I'm just not thinking clearly at that hour of the morning. Usually, I will have a small snack (150-200 calories) before I head to the gym. I eat a snack for two reason: (1) it fuels me through my workout; (2) the thought of food usually gets me out of bed! :) Today's pre-gym snack was half of a cherry-flavored Yotta bar. It did a pretty good job holding me over, but by the end of class, my stomach was starting to growl.


Question of the Day

What's your favorite tip/trick for recycling, reusing, and reducing?

Another busy day ahead! Oh boy! Wish me luck! :)

20 Comments:

Anonymous said...

yay for using your travel mug for your starbucks, I do the same thing!

I reduce in many way as being "green" is a passion of mine. One of the best things you can do for the environment is to start using canvas bags at the grocery store/other shopping stores and using organic cotton bags for your produce puchases. A good resource is www.ecobags.com.

A good way to reduce water is to turn it off while you are washing your hands and brushing your teeth and to put a brick in each toilet of your home. If your toilet will still flush, using two bricks is an even great way to reduce water usage.

I am full of these tips and could go on all day :)

GO GREEN!!

Danielle said...

Wishing you luck Tina! :)

Krista said...

I also use a travel mug every morning. Some other things that I do is buy food in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging I bring home, bought a composter for all my veggie & fruit waste, pack my lunch in re-usable plastic containers, turn the water off while brushing my teeth and walking or riding my bike whenever possible. I also re-use my grocery bags and in my city we separate our garbage into 3 different coloured bags....see through blue for cans, papers, bottles,see through green for food waste, kleenex and such and clear for things that cannot be recyled.....betteries, plastic bread bags and such. It was a pain to get use to at first but now it's second nature....even my kids know which bag to put their garbage in! Hope these ideas help!

Jessica said...

I keep a ceramic coffee mug and my favorite metal spoon at work to wash and reuse throughout the day. I bring a travel mug to work each day full of water that I refill and a tupperware bowl that I eat oatmeal and yogurt out of.

I also have 4 of these, which I love because they are small and compact, that I use when shopping: http://www.ecobags.com/chicoBag

HangryPants said...

I have a travel mug, too. Something else I do is reuse aluminum foil and plastic baggies that I take food to work in and/or use reusable plastic containers.

Good luck with your busy day.

Heather

Anonymous said...

That's great that you got a travel mug, I heard Starbucks takes something like a dime off the cost of your drink if you bring a travel mug?
My family recently bought a clothes line and it has definately cut down on the amount of energy used by our dryer considering we've used it maybe 3 times in the last 4 months. I also like to bring a BHT free water bottle with me, buy things in big containers (like a big tub of yogurt instead of smaller ones) and wash my clothes in cold water. Those things are so simple but they've cut down on my family's bills SO much.

arielle said...

The brick idea is a good one. I think I've heard it before, but forgot about it until now. I need to get my hands on a brick.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I love your blog! I usually don't leave comments but I just had to say that the title of this post is really similar to a post I made a few days ago in my blog, haha.

RhodeyGirl/Sabrina said...

Did the iced coffee taste the same out of the travel mug? I don't know why but I feel like it tastes different in the mug. Same thing with my tea.. my tea tastes SO MUCH BETTER out of my travel mug in comparison to a coffee cup. am i just weird?

Unknown said...

good for you!

I try to do alot of little things, like buying in bulk bins, using my own bags for groceries, recycling

Anonymous said...

Rhodeygirl, Thanks for your question on my blog, I wasn't sure if you would check back here or there so I thought Iwould answer you in both places.

You put the bricks in the back of your toilet so when the water fills the tank, it takes less water to fill it. And as a result, uses less water each flush.

Anonymous said...

I just started reading your blog after seeing it on so many other blogger's pages. First of all, I want to say THANK YOU FOR EATING. I see a lot of young women who exercise regularly and do not eat enough nutritious food or are incredibly restrictive. It's so nice to see you taking care of yourself.
Second of all, I love that we love the same flavors. Year round, I am obsessed with pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, coconut, dried cherries, etc. I refer to them as fall flavors, but I eat them even in the summer. It never gets old.
Third of all, to answer your posted question, I too bring my own "cup" to get coffee. I do my part by eliminating as much plastic as I can. I use glass jars to reduce all my plastic intake and eliminate the idea of toxic chemicals. I have various sized ones and put all my prepared food, nuts, teas, etc. in them and also use it for coffee!

Thank you for blogging,
Julia

Anonymous said...

I have been trying to ride my bike more.. or if I take the car try to go to stores all in the same area in order to sve gas.. and of course green bags when food shopping

lizzy said...

CUTE MUG!! i always use reusable grocery bags... and a plus=they are a lot sturdier than paper and plastic!

*Erica* said...

Didn't know Starbucks had those mugs...cute!

Rosiecat24 said...

About the travel mug: good for you, Tina!

About copy-catting: I just wanted to say that I [ahem] BORROWED your idea for registering your blog with the Healthy Lifestyle Bloggers. So thank you! I hope you don't mind :-)

Janet said...

That's awesome that you switched to a reusable mug!

I love Envirosax bags (http://www.envirosax.com/) - they are super cute and fit right in your purse. I actually have a closet full of them for gifts. Oh, and Reusablebags.com sells mesh and cloth produce bags - no need to ever use a plastic bag again!

I'm working on "reducing" instead of just reusing and recycling - ie, trying to just buy less. It's hard sometimes (I want new clothes!) but honestly I don't need more "stuff" most of the time.

I also compost at home, belong to a CSA, buy mostly organic food, buy local food, try not to leave the fridge door open, use a Sigg water bottle (if I have to buy a drink, I try to get one in a glass bottle, or just hold off), bring my own utensils to work, got my work to switch to compostable flatware for everyone else, and try to take the bus whenever I can (though I have to drive to work - boo! I'm working on that). Being green is also a passion of mine - I love it!

Peggy said...

Favorite tip? That's a tough one!
I have a reusable water bottle I use. Use travel coffee cup at work. Turn off water while washing dishes (while scrubbing, etc). Use old rags for cleaning up spills, wiping counters, random cleaning, etc and then throw them in the washer all week and at the end of the week, wash them along with my gym shirts, sports bras, and socks from the week (with clorox). Reusable bags at the grocery store. In the summer, keep my AC around 78. In the winter, keep my heat around 68. Buy local when possible.

Protea said...

I was actually going to suggest that! You have so many pretty travel mugs, and you but starbucks everyday! So why not bring your mugs from home and fill them up at the coffee shop? Well done!
D

Unknown said...

Ok, unfortunately I caught an episode of Ted Allen's new food network show Food Detectives. Part of the episode (i think it was mainly about turkey) was regarding the cleanliness of public water. They took samples from water fountains and office water coolers, cultured them and then saw what grew out. All i have to say is-- gross! The office water coolers were MUCH worse than the public water fountains. Makes me not want to use my re-usable bottle at work :(