Going Green
A Green Giveaway
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – CLICK HERE TO SEE WHO WON!
You know we wouldn’t leave you guys hanging, right? Get it? Curtains, hanging…
On Earth Day we posted about these awesome recycled fiber sheer curtains from Curtainworks that they sent us to try out – no strings attached. And we loved them. They actually put about seven plastic bottles in each curtain. How cool is that?
Since we loved them so much we asked if we could have a pair for you guys. Not only did the folks at Curtainworks happily accept our request they doubled the offer and are going to send one lucky reader two sets of Caress Voile sheers. Cha-ching! That’s four panels in any size you need for f-r-e-e.
We only got two and had to hang one on each window, so you guys are going to be pimping your windows for real.
PRIZE: Four panels of Caress Voile Sheer Curtains in any size of your choosing courtesy of our friends at Curtainworks.
TIMING: Giveaway runs between right now and Friday, May 6, 2011 at 11 PM Eastern Time.
HOW TO WIN: Be sure to check out Curtainworks website, and then comment on this post telling us what room of the house you’d hang them in. The winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced on Monday morning.
RULES: One entry per person please. If you’re the winner we’ll get your information and forward it to Curtainworks directly and they will send out your prize.
Good Luck!
Recycled Curtains – Just in Time for Earth Day
Last week we posted all the pics of our recently decorated guest bedroom, check it all out here if you missed it. We love keeping the blinds up and our Target curtains wide open for an extra light and bright feel in the room.
The guest bed has quickly become Barton’s favorite daytime hang out.
We’ve been perfectly happy with our choice in window coverings, and never really thought about adding a little extra pizzazz until we got a package in the mail from Curtainworks this week.
How great is it that the awesome people at Curtainworks sent us two Caress Voile window sheers to try out in the casa? They didn’t pay us to say nice things or anything they just asked us to try them out and let them know what we think. So this is us letting them know we’re in love. (Sidenote: if we really didn’t like them, we’d just send them a note to tell them they weren’t our thing… we love us some swag but not enough to fib to our friends about it.)
The neatest part, and thus our Earth Day title, is that these curtains are made from Repreve Recycled Fibers. Each panel saves about 7 plastic bottles from a landfill. Who knew our soda bottles could look so good?
So like we said, we’ve never thought about adding sheers to the guest bedroom windows, but when we had a pair sitting in our mailbox that are so eco chic, why not give them a whirl?
While we love the new look, Barton does look a little miffed that we’ve covered up his view.
The sheers are a bit shorter than our curtains, you’ll remember we had anxiety about the length of our Target curtains from the very beginning, but we don’t mind the sheers being a bit shorter. When someone is kind enough to send us some environmentally friendly swag we don’t get too picky, you know?
We love how they filter the light coming into the room in such a simple way. It gives the room a lot of privacy while still letting the light in. And if we had the ability to let you guys touch them, believe us we would. They are super soft and we think elegant enough that they could definitely stand alone on a window. The crisp white color would be perfect for any room.
We’ve been trying to snag some VIVAN curtains from IKEA on our last three trips because they are affordable, bright white and look really clean with any decor too. We’ve been eyeing them for our other guest bedroom, which you’ll read more about later. IKEA was always sold out, so Curtainworks may be our new go-to place for affordable but lovely white curtains. Plus they are made from soda bottles people!
We’re loving how they contrast with our smoky blue Tar-jay curtains. We were sent two panels so we just added one to the center of each curtain rod. Our review in a nutshell. Love them. Buy them. Barton will just have to get over it.
If you go the Curtainworks website this week you can get 10% using the code EARTH11 until April 26th. Not too shabby ‘eh?
We’ve Bought the Farm
… well kinda. But not in the Sarah Richardson kind of way – although that would be fantastic. How could you not agree with farmhouse designs like hers.
Moving on, we didn’t really buy the farm but we have bought a little weekly love from Britt Farms in the form of this season’s CSA program. Read all about it here. We are so excited to get a new box full of fresh surprises from Britt Farms every Wednesday. I know one of us cannot wait to Google some fantastic recipes for exotic veggies like rutabagas and cress – things we never buy or cook.
So without further ado we give you this week’s box:
- strawberries
- cabbage
- lettuce
- collards
- sweet potatoes
- spring onions
- asparagus
- rutabagas
We’re off to find some recipes and will be sure to let you guys in on everything we cook up with each box. I’m totally excited, I feel like a Chopped contestant without the super weird ingredients like a sheep head or gummi bears.
Sarah’s House Photo: HGTV Canada
Thanks Husband
It was mentioned in a post yesterday that one of us has been feeling a bit under the weather this week. That’s pretty unusual around this house, and even though Chad’s the one who works in the hospital I was the one feeling a little puny each night (don’t worry Mom, I didn’t have to miss work or go to the doctor!).
The hubs, being the highly trained care-giver that he is (the student loans prove it), took great care of me by cooking soup, making me tea and and even letting me break my lenten promise of no sodas by bringing me a ginger ale home from work one night.
And bonus (you know I must be feeling normal again), he picked a ginger ale from Boylan Bottling Company – whose bottle just happens to make a great vase too!
He also brought in a camellia from our freshly blooming bush in the front yard. Yeah, he’s totally a keeper. Oh and yes that’s still our big bowl of photos on the table that we put together way back when. Still a great centerpiece.
On a side note, if you’re thinking that the Boylan Bottling Company is a local Raleigh business (hello Boylan Heights) you’d be wrong just like we were.
BBC is actually based in New Jersey where its founding pharmacist whipped up the first brew in the 1800s. And I must say it is quite tasty – even with screwed up sicky taste buds – you know what I’m talking about.
We love finding ways to re-use every day items like soda bottles, and have actually started a small collection of Izze, Cheerwine and now Boylan Bottling bottles. That may be our next dining room centerpiece. A nice collection of soda bottles with a single bloom in each one. How are you guys turning every day items into unique decorations?
Local Recycling from A-Z
We’re still riding that green bandwagon (CFL bulbs anyone?). So much so that last week we went to wheel the ‘ol trash can out to the curb only to realize it was completely empty – and our recycling bin was running over.
This is by no means a regular occurrence in the Whited household but it did inspire us to look for even more ways to recycle around the casa.
So we thought we’d share our little A-Z primer on recycling in the Triangle. For those letters and items that we couldn’t find a great local source for, we’ve improvised – you’ll see what we mean.
Yes, some of these are not your average items. We tried to turn our focus away from the usual curbside pickup and more towards the unusual. Tennis balls anyone?
A
Aluminum:
JD Recyclers, 2645 Cheek Road Durham, NC
919-219-4314
Buys aluminum siding, cans, wheels and foil among many other scrap items and sells scrap pipe, metal pieces, storage units and racks. We’ve heard this is a great place for artists to score salvaged materials.
B
Bicycles:
ReCYCLEry, 108 North Graham Street Chapel Hill, NC
919-533-9196
The ReCYCLEry is a non-profit that accepts donated bicycles and teaches repair and maintenance skills. It also holds mobile repair days where it travels into the community to conduct bike repair on the spot. The ReCYCLEry cannot accept bikes that are severely rusted but will take bikes in fair to excellent condition.
C
Crayons:
National Crayon Recycle Program
This organizations melts Crayons down to make new ones.
D
Denim:
Cotton from Blue to Green
Donate your old blue jeans and this organization will break them down, fluff them up and use them for natural fiber cotton insulation in homes (after treating them for fire safety and mold resistance of course).
E
Eyeglasses:
Lenscrafters, The Streets at Southpoint 6910 Fayetteville Road Durham, NC
919-361-9488
Accepts gently worn eyeglasses for men, women and children. After cleaning and repairing glasses, they are donated to clinics around the world.
F
Furniture:
Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 5501 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard Durham, NC
919-403-8668
G
Glue Bottles:
Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling
H
Hair:
Locks of Love
Helps children with medical hair loss. Donations must be at least 10 inches long.
I
Ink Cartridges: Office Max 5458 New Hope Commons Drive Durham, NC
919-489-2277
J
Jackets:
Salvation Army, 3167 Hillsborough Road Durham, NC
919-384-7130
www.salvationarmycarolinas.org
K
Keys:
Key for Hope 69 Memorial Drive Avon, MA
800-949-5424
This Massachusetts organization recycles keys and uses the money to support local programs. We couldn’t locate a similar organization in our area, so if you know of one let us know!
L
Lawn Mowers:
Durham County Swap Shop, Redwood Road @ Electra Road
http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/gnsv/Swap_Shop.html
Very similar to the City of Durham Swap Shop (see S), accepts an assortment of working items. Items are free to residents. There is a do not donate list on the website.
M
Mattresses:
Nine Lives Mattress Recycling, 837 N. Pamplico Highway Pamplico, SC
843-916-9753
www.ninelivesmattressrecycling.com
The only mattress and boxspring recycler in the Southeast, Nine Lives charges $4 per mattress or boxspring. Not heading to Pamplico any time soon? It might be best to donate it.
N
Nikes:
Reuse A Shoe
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
Since its start in 1990 25 million shoes have been recycled through this program. Nike takes you old tennis shoes (they don’t have to actually be Nikes) and grinds them up and uses the scraps to create athletic courts, running trails and playground flooring.
O
Oyster Shells:
North Carolina Division of Machine Fisheries Durham County Recycling Center, Quail Roost Rd. & Ball Rd.
http://www.ncdmf.net/shellfish/recycle3.htm
Shells are collected throughout the year and used to help rebuild reefs.
P
Prom Dresses:
Kayla’s Closet, 921 Morreene Road Durham, NC
919-313-1506
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51677831118
Accepts donations of gently used prom dress, debutante gowns, bridesmaid gowns, shoes and other formal accessories. Donations are then given to young ladies in need of dresses at no cost to them. At the end of the season unclaimed dresses are also accessible to local school drama departments.
Q
Quilts:
Any number of places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill or other local charity. We know, we know – a bit of a cop out, but Q was hard!
R
Roof Shingles:
CC Mangum Company , 6105 Chapel Hill Road Raleigh, NC
919-783-5700
S
Small Appliances:
City of Durham Swap Shop, 2115 East Club Boulevard
www.ci.durham.nc.us/departments/solid/swap_shop2.cfm
In addition to small appliances the Swap Shop also accepts cds, lawn mowers, furniture, cookware, etc. All items are free and residents do not have to drop items off in order to take an item home. The Swap Shop does NOT accept books, clothing, car parts, weapons or animals.
T
Tennis Balls:
Rebounces, 1313 Highway 62-65 North, Suite F Harrison, AR
888-630-5696
U
Sorry guys! We couldn’t think of anything that started with a “u” that wasn’t weird for recycling.
V
VHS Tapes:
Green Disk
W
Wine Corks:
Wine Cork Recycling, Yemm & Hart Ltd., 610 South Chamber Drive Fredericktown MO
X
Xylophone:
We’d recommend calling a local school to ask if you can donate one of these guys or any other musical instrument you might not be using.
Y
Yard Signs:
Election day may be over but you can still repurpose those campaign yard signs for future garage sales or other neighborhood events. Otherwise, the plastic and metal should be eligible for recycling through your local municipality.
Z
Zip Disks:
Green Disk
Anyone have any other ideas for reusing common household items or know of something we’ve missed? How about posting a comment for the benefit of the group?
Photo: Fast Company
Local Love: Duke Energy
We got an early Christmas present in the mail this week from Duke Energy – and no it wasn’t our bill.
The company has a new program that provides free CFL light bulbs to Duke Energy customers. We got 15 in the mail today after just a couple clicks of the mouse. No shipping, no nothing. Hopefully these babies will bring a second Christmas gift by way of cheaper electrical bills.
Check out the Duke Energy website to see if you qualify for this awesome deal.
