NRCM Blog

It's National Spring Cleaning Week - how will you celebrate?

So, my boss walked in my office yesterday and told me that it's National Spring Cleaning Week. I am not sure if she told me that because I have papers strewn all over my desk, along with a couple of mugs that haven't made their way to the kitchen yet, some hand sanitizer, a few assorted pens without their caps, ... I think you get the point. My office is not the paragon of cleanliness today.

I am not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, but luckily I have dodged the "pack rat" gene that some of my relatives possess. I am working hard to declutter my home - and today, looking around my office, I realize that a little decluttering here wouldn't hurt. And any time I think I may want to keep something that I really don't need, I think of the new shows about hoarders, and then I suddenly want to get rid of everything! I have been taking a lot of my clothes and household items to the local thrift store rather than just throwing them out - I know that my items are going to someone who needs them, and I am not adding to the local landfill.

Several years ago, when I first started at NRCM, I got to help put together a brochure about clean housekeeping. I spent a lot of time researching ways to make non-toxic householder cleaners, and learned a lot in the process. You can download this brochure or order a copy online at http://www.nrcm.org/publication_housekeeping.asp. There are non-toxic recipes for pest control (ants, slugs, fleas, etc.), toilet bowl cleaner, copper cleaner, and more.

Do you have suggestions you could share with us here about ways to replace toxic chemical cleaners with non-toxic alternatives? Please post a comment here and share your ideas with others.

I am not sure that National Spring Cleaning Week will ever replace my birthday as my new favorite holiday, but maybe I will try to celebrate it this year - using suggestions found in our Clean Housekeeping Guide. Happy cleaning everyone!

-Beth

Going on (a green) vacation

I read an interesting column in today's Kennebec Journal about the columnist's difficulty staying "green" while she and her family went away for a vacation.  You can read the full piece by Liz Soars here: kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/6774323.html.  But I will share a piece of it with you now:

"We are avid recyclers, and have a system at home involving plastic bins for returnables and plastic milk jugs, a wooden box for newspapers and, of course, our city-issued green buckets for cans and glass. We wash the tins and jars and toss them into the appropriate bucket or bin. Then we set them out on the curb on the appropriate day.

Couldn't be easier. And yet, nothing could be harder on vacation. The cans and glass still accumulate; actually, at a faster rate, as I don't want to be whipping up meals from scratch three times a day when I'm supposed to be enjoying a retreat from everyday duties.

But while we carefully rinsed and stored (in yet another brown paper bag) all our returnables, the other cans and glass went straight into the trash."

So, this got me to thinking - what is it that you do to make your vacations greener?  Do you think about all of the things that Ms. Soares thought about?  I wonder if you have tips for going green while going on holiday.  If so, please share them here so that others can take them into consideration when they head out before summer's end or as they travel this fall and winter.

I know that there are even some travel agencies who specialize in "green travel" - have you ever used one of these agencies?  If so, what has been your experience?

Have you stayed closer to home this summer because of the economy?  If so, did you find a great vacation location right here in Maine?

I know that most of the summer's weather didn't cooperate with vacations (with my vacations anyway...I picked the rainiest weeks of the summer!), but now that the weather is better, I have been out and about enjoying the warm summer weather.

My mother and I went on a windjammer cruise out of Portland - two hours on an 85-year-old schooner that was built in 1924 in East Boothbay and has sailed all over the world.  What a beautiful way to see Portland Harbor and the Portland waterfront - as well as Portland Headlight, Bug Light, and Spring Point lighthouse.

I hope you are all having a great summer!  Hope to hear from you!

- Beth, Public Affairs Coordinator

Maine's environment loses a champion

Everyone at NRCM is very saddened by the death of Harry Richardson.  As a leader of the Republican party in the Legislature in the late 1960s and early 70s, Harry championed many environmental causes, including leading the effort to create the  Land Use Regulation Commission. He was appalled by Plum Creek’s proposal to develop the Moosehead Lake region and for the last three years had represented Maine Audubon and NRCM in opposing the Plum Creek proposal in front of LURC.  He led our legal team with passion, enthusiasm, and humor, playing the anti-Plum Creek "Ballad of Moosehead Lake" at high decibels in his convertible in the parking lot of the hearing!  He will be sorely missed.

Read the full Portland Press Herald news story about Harry here.

Cathy Johnson
North Woods Project Director and Staff Attorney

The bride wore green

One of the favorite parts of my job is reading the news each day to see what is happening in the world of environmental advocacy.  As I came into work early yesterday in order to beat the snowstorm, I came across an article in the Portland Press Herald about a green wedding contest in southern Maine.  (You can read the full article here.)  The finalists for this contest were selected, the article said, "not for their cutting-edge environmental strategies, but for the little ways they celebrate being green each day and interpreting that in a way others can understand."

The article goes on to describe some of the things that these finalists do each day to live a greener lifestyle like buying locally grown foods and supporting local businesses, and giving gifts that are homemade with recycled materials.  Two of the finalists are school teachers - one who has gone paperless in her art class and another who is doing composting with her students.

When I first saw the article, I thought it was going to be about how to plan and host a "green" wedding, but I was pleased to see that it was more than that - it focused on the ways these couples and their families are making changes in their everyday lives to make the planet healthier.  

What are some ways you and your family have made changes to make your lives more environmentally friendly?  If you have ideas you would like to share, I encourage you to post them on here so that others can be inspired and maybe come up with some ideas of their own. Also, NRCM has some ideas of their own that can be found by reading our Tip of the Day at www.nrcm.org.  I also encourage you to take part in our global warming challenge at www.globalwarmingmaine.org. 

And to all of the couples who are finalists in the "Green Wedding Giveaway," we wish you the best!

Beth Dimond