A Review of Sheila Says We're Weird

This evening, we read Sheila Says We're Weird to our children.  My wife selected it from the Earth Day books that are in our local library today.  Author Ruth Ann Smalley and illustrator Jennifer Emery portray how and, more importantly, why people should make sustainable choices in their lifestyles.

In the story, Sheila seems to grapple with why her neighbors live the way they do.  Her neighbors make environmentally sustainable choices in how they live.  When Sheila asks,  "Why don't you get your groceries from the store?", her neighbors patiently explain that they like local food since it tastes better and fresher without using as much energy to be delivered.  Sheila of course states, "That's weird.". The book, contains similar situations and Sheila begins enjoying the way her neighbors live.

I enjoyed reading this book to my children who have not fully realized how differently we live compared to many of our neighbors.  The explanations and pictures of why the family practices green living should help convince children and adults of some of the simple things they can do to lessen the impact we make on the environment.

Smalley, Ruth Ann; Emery, Jennifer; Sheila Says We're Weird; Tilbury Publishers; Gardiner, Maine, 2011

http://www.jenniferemery.com/

Wrapping Paper: Part 2

Since you probably don’t want your friends and family believing that you are giving them boxes of diapers or cereal, you’ll need to wrap or bag the gifts.  According to the Carnegie Mellon Green Practices initiative, "If every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields."   If you wish to wrap the gifts, you can use old advertisements and newspapers.  I personally prefer the advertisements since many have a glossy finish and are more colorful.  

By choosing to reuse other materials for gift wrap, you save yourself a little cash.  Additionally you reduce the amount of paper that is being consumed, the fuel needed to ship the gift wrap to the store, and all of the other resources that are used to make the gift wrap, cardboard roll, and plastic film cover.  And who could forget, it is so thoughtful of nearby stores to send me free wrapping paper.


Or be creative and find alternatives to wrapping gifts such as knitting a DVD cover or reusing that carpet that was recently removed.   

Gift box made from leftover lumber.  The covering is salvaged carpet that was approximately 30 years old.

Wrapping Presents: Part 1

Wrapping Presents: Part 1

Happy holidays everyone!  Do you want to be more green for your holiday season?  One suggestion is to keep old boxes and gift bags and reuse them.  This year, my family will be receiving gifts placed in reused shoe, cereal, and best of all, diaper boxes.  Any box will do as long as it is clean.  The downside with keeping boxes for the purpose of placing gifts inside is that they require a large amount of space.  Even with breaking the boxes down, you will still need some storage space.  My suggestion for this is that you start keeping boxes when you begin buying gifts.  

If you tend to be a bit lazy like myself, reuse holiday gift bags that you have previously received.  The gift bags require less space to store and look festive as well.  Just be sure to take the old name tag off and it will be ready to go.  No wrapping required!