by Jeanne on July 30, 2010
“Hey Mom, I’m eco-friendly!” my 10 year old says to me as he wipes his mouth off on his sleeve. “Very funny, now use your napkin! “, I retort.
Though we haven’t used paper napkins in some time, my boys sometimes just seem to find their clothes an easier option. So now that I’ve discovered Fabkins, using a cloth napkin is a little more fun. These adorable, 100% certified organic cotton napkins come in bright colors with upbeat embroidered designs reflecting kids interests making mealtime manners a possibility and of course, reducing unnecessary waste at the same time. Each of mine have their own Fabkin with a unique design from the Beach Bound and Extreme Sports collection and wouldn’t think of letting the other brother use it. Other styl
es include Prima Ballerina, Garden Friends and African Safari and with any style you can also add a bamboo spork to complete a waste-free meal.
What I like most about Fabkins is the size – trimmed down a bit and perfect for smaller hands, mouths and laps. It’s is also great for the lunchbox, traveling and for a place-setting-to-go. It can even double as a place mat and the tag has a line to write the child’s name. By simply adding a Fabkin to a waste-free school lunch, you can save around $250 and eliminate 67 pounds of waste every year. Now that’s something to smile about…so now…Use your Fabkin!
by Jeanne on July 26, 2010
In keeping with our monthly eco-resolution to drive down our fuel consumption and carbon emissions, I wanted to share an experience in our family regarding carpooling.
As a work-at-home-mom and with kids and activities, I welcome the chance to carpool to school, for birthday parties and other activities. At one time though, I always poo pooed the idea of carpooling to work. That was when I was a “busy’ sales and marketing professional and required freedom and flexibility to come and go and travel miles to my next appointment. My husband on the other hand, has always worked in the corporate headquarters and rarely travels outside of the office. His meetings are either internal, via Skype or a webinar.
Recently there was an issue with his car so he was forced to look for a ride to his office which by the way, is about 35-40 highway miles away one way. This was not something I could easily help out with as it conflicted with the morning school schedule, so through a corporate bulletin board he connected with a few others who lived here and commuted together.
“Uggh! What a pain this will be!”, we groaned. Well after several months, and even after he got the car back from the shop he continues to carpool every day with a few exceptions here and there. It hasn’t been as “painful” as we thought and we are seeing the savings in gas money as well as wear and tear on the car, not to mention this small contribution we can make to the environment.
By driving only one to two days per week, he has eliminated 200 – 250 miles on his car each week as well as cutting trips to the pump in half ($20 or so per week) – now that adds up. In terms of CO2 output that’s a significant reduction as well. There are three and sometimes four in his carpool each driving one to two days per week and with the average driver releasing 5.5 tons of CO2 per year there is some serious elimination going on there.
So moral of the story…don’t poo poo the carpool like I once did. Depending on your situation, you might find the pieces fit and work better together than imagined. What’s your experience?
