July 2008

Why I like this idea.

I have a Vegas style mantra to myself. What I bring into my apartment, stays in my apartment, unless you can RECYCLE or COMPOST items, everything else must be reinvented, reused, or reclaimed. One thing I began doing was saving my avocado seeds in a jar. One day I buried a seed in one of my existing plants, and a month later, I saw a sprout of what my green thumb happened to create. Since that moment, I’ve been repeating this method and now I have an avocado farm in my apartment. In a matter of a few months, I’ve given one to a friend, three to my sister, and have three new growths. I’ve read methods of placing wet napkins around it and storing it in a dark place, or sticking toothpicks in it and having it hover halfway into a bowl of water. Well, those methods take forever. All I did was throw it where it belongs in the first place, deep in the soil. If you wait long enough, don’t over water, and keeping it away from direct sunlight until it sprouts, you will see success. One thing to be sure of, buy avocados that are organic and have not been refrigerated, but then again, I go to Trader Joe’s and also a low end grocery outlet, and most of the seeds seem to flourish. So not only have you not thrown anything away, (the shell can go into a composter, see my other post) you have a household plant, and you’ve become a gardener. The picture above is one of my seeds that I decided not to ‘pinch.’

Do you have a success story of growing your own avocado? Drop me a line and send me a picture for my Apartment Avocado Gallery.

Why I like this light accent.

1. No electric bill required, no light switch needed, no wiring required.

2. It has magnetic mounting and is self-adhesive, so no drilling of holes into walls.

3. It comes in aluminum finish, black, or white.

4. Batteries included. (though not rechargeable)

5. It has a motion detection sensor. A wave of your hand across the sensor turns it on.

6. You feel like a magician, or have super powers.

7. You don’t need to clap on, or clap off.

8. It has three light output settings and an auto shut off after an hour.

9. Wave three times, side to side. There’s no place to waste energy.

10. It has modern aesthetics, simple, and portable.

Suggestion: Buy some rechargeable batteries for future use and dispose of batteries properly.

Product by Sylvania

But Single Unit or 3-pack

Why I like these light fixtures.

1. Because they are not your standard incandescent bulb.

2. But, you are still able to use them in those sockets, E26 to be technical.

3. It replaces 20 watts to 1 watt. Unbelievable.

4. it is 90% more efficient than incandescent and halogen bulbs.

5. It has 30,000 hours of life. Note, there are 8,765.81277 hours in a year. So if you left this bulb on for 24 hours straight in a year, it will survive for 3.4 years. But you won’t leave it on.

6. Your annual cost will be $0.11.

7. You don’t have to change your existing light sockets.

8. It is mercury free.

9. It does not heat up.

10. It will take zero persons to change this bulb, since it will last for a long time.

Product by Lights of America

Why I like this.

1. You can substitute this as your trash can.

2. You are redefining what it means to ‘throw away.’

3. You are contributing back to the earth, literally.

4. You are Mother Nature. Topsoil made in two weeks.

5. It don’t stank. Charcoal filter integrated. Smart.

6. No worms needed to eat and digest your food scraps.

7. You can sell the compost to make some ’side’ cash for the downturn economy.

8. Lazy and ‘got-no-time’ people can do this.

9. You educate everyone in your household. Do you know you can throw all your fruit and veggie scraps, soiled napkins, eggshells, and tea bags?

10. You don’t fill landfills and you have less waste in your trash can.

Product by: NatureMills

Why I like these words.

1. Because its speaks volumes, or rather, ‘less’ volume.

2. It brings to light our personal responsibility for change.

3. They represent the current way of thinking for modern man.

4. Each word visually ‘returns upon itself, like life, returning upon itself to its beginning. No waste.

5. One wont save the world without these words.

6. Children will learn what these mean when adults learn what they mean.

7. These words will hurt the earth.

8. Nothing will be left behind.

9. If you want to affect change, these are the words to hold on to.

10. Because this blog is a reminder to myself on how I can change my footprint within the physical.