spring cleaning, zero waste. sneeze count: 7

Heyo! So, here we are, getting ready to launch our new website, putting all the final pieces together so we can bring even more people in the Boston area local food, and we're STILL up to our elbows in all of this junk. Still. We can start a new business, we can build relationships with farms from all over New England, we can get people excited about a new opportunity to live locally, but we can't keep our teeny tiny apartment reasonably clean and organized. Our mothers are so disappointed in us.

But wait! We are making progress. We've found a slew of terrific and sustainable ways to get rid of our clothing (check back for that post tomorrow), our pals over at YCB are working on that whole CD repurposing extravaganza, aaaand... We have a solution for all those wire clothes hangers that were taking up more space in our closets than actual clothes. Hooray! High fives all around.

As it turns out, wire hangers are a bigger boon to our environment than we ever thought possible. According to NBC News, 3.5 billion wire hangers are sent to the landfill EVERY YEAR. Say what? 3.5 billion? Ah, yup. Absurd. Luckily, recycling these things is pretty easy and doesn't require any more effort than you'd already be making. Wanna know what we mean? Read on, fellow Greenologist!

Our first plan of action was to call our dry cleaners and ask their advice. They are, after all, in the business of hanging clothes on wire clothes hangers. Well. Partly, anyway. We use Clevergreen Cleaners, not only because the solvents they use to clean are biodegradable, but because they use less water in the cleaning process AND they design their work spaces to be as energy efficient as possible. Awesome. Anyway, we called these folks up. We said, "Hey, Clevergreen Cleaners, what should we do with all of these wire hangers?" And they said, "Hey, Greenologist lady, why don't you just bring them back to us?" And we said, "Oh. That's really easy. 'Cause we'll be over there to drop stuff off again soon anyway." And they said, "Yup." BAM. Problem solved.

So here's the deal. Just bring the hangers back to your cleaners. Recycling them the conventional way (in that blue bucket on your sidewalk) might work. But it might not. Not all cities will recycle those hangers, and by bringing them back to the cleaners, you're keeping more NEW hangers from having to be made, which keeps manufacturing and shipping waste down, too. Which is kind of the point.

This whole thing took five minutes for us to resolve. If everyone took two minutes to just throw their hangers into their dry cleaning bags with their clothes on the way out the door, we could keep 3.5 billion pieces of metal out of landfills. Seven minutes for a cleaner, greener planet? Yes, please.

Also, if you aren't already using Clevergreen, you probably should. Our clothes smell WAY better than they did after hanging out at those other places, AND they're holding their color and shape longer. They're not giving us anything to say that, by the way. It's just the truth.

waste not.

Happy February 4th! What's happy about it, you ask? We'll tell you! We just got rid of a bunch of closet-dwelling junk that was making us seriously claustrophobic. Old toasters, twin bedding, bio books and reams of hot pink paper begone! How did we do it, you ask? Did we pay one of those junk removal companies to come pick it all up and do whatever it is they do (what DO they do with that stuff?) with it? Pssht. No, ma'am. You underestimate our capacity for thrift. We used Freecycle.org's Cambridge-based Yahoo!Group page to find people who actually wanted our stuff and were willing to come get it from us. We traded one guy for a spiffy colander he was unloading. Huzzah! Why didn't WE think of this?

Using Freecycle was easy and rewarding. We signed in with our own Yahoo! account info (though not all Freecycle groups are hosted by Yahoo!Groups), we posted our stuff, and a few days later, we can see the floor of our closet again. Most importantly, though, using Freecycle helps keep stuff out of landfills. Recently posted (and immediately taken... you gots to be fast): a bag of pig's ears, a Brita water filter, a bag of beads and a green velvet couch. Nice.

We see that box of stuff in its original packaging lurking beneath your bed. You're never going to use any of it. Ever. For serious. We know, we know; you're waiting to have a yard sale! Please. You've been saying that for two years now. And even if you did get it together enough to have one, how much do you think you're going to get for a sleeve of Betty Boop Titleists? Just go to Freecycle.org, enter your location, post your junk, and you're clutter-free, kid. Or, you could end up living like this. Just sayin'.

twitter is kind of awesome.

So. Twitter. We must confess, we kind of hated you for a period of time, in the same way we kind of hated the cool chicks in middle school. You were all up in everyone's business, gossiping about everyone's dinners, the interiors of their refrigerators, whether farms were REALLY organic or just low-spray, and how the cheese cart at Troquet is "so totally not the best in Boston." We felt out of the loop (and kind of chubby). And what was the story with all those pound signs flying around? #nickcarter? #noonprop8? #munchkins? Who accidentally hits the # sign that often? We were confused and generally bothered.

But recently, we've been making a few more friends on this here Twitter. We get the whole hash mark thing now (#eureka!), and we're feeling a little better about ourselves. We heard from the Green Mountain Farm to School project, a Vermont-based group that brings local, healthy produce and educational programs to fifteen schools in the Northeast Kingdom. Not only are their kids benefitting from "eating the rainbow" and learning about the farms supplying their lunches, they're little budding foodie poets: "Crunchy like a bunny eats, crunchy like a horse eats, crunchy like we eat, crunchy is so yummy!" Love.

We also heard from Amy Cotler, whose new book, The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food, looks like it's pretty much the awesomest. (We know it's not a word. We don't care.) We're excited to read a copy and let all of you Greenologist folks know how you might use it as a tool for living small.

And then there was this from @eatboston. All we'll say is that we always thought it would be great if food and fashion (our two favorite things) could be combined some way, somehow. It would be creative! It would be edible! It would be a nexus of delicious fierceness! Now? Maybe not so much.

Yup. It's official. We love Twitter. We love the kids in Vermont, we love finding new books, and even though it grosses us out a little, we kind of love meat hats. Goodbye, Luddites. Hello, @newluddite.

whatever happened to the green bean?

Hi, folks.

Some of you might recall having a conversation with a wee lady in Spring of 2009 about a totally awesome business that she was starting. It was home delivery of farmer's market produce! It was affordable! It was sustainable! It was awesome! It was the Green Bean. "Wait a minute," you might be thinking to yourself at this very moment. "Whatever happened to the Green Bean? They kind of just fell off the face of the earth." Sad, but true.

Well, folks, it turns out that the Green Bean's inherent awesomeness made a certain supermarket conglomerate a little nervous. Said conglomerate, being emotionally blocked and a poor communicator, sent the Green Bean a pretty nasty letter that more or less put the kibosh on all the awesomeness. "But green beans and pea pods aren't even the same thing!" we said. "Scary legal stuff! Really scary financial stuff! More scary legal stuff!" they replied. And so the Green Bean was put back on the bench before it even got the chance to play. Lame.

We were so frustrated, we considered quitting the whole game and moving to France, just to get out from under Corporate America's thumb for a while. But our friends and family said, "Are you crazy?! You can't give up! That's what this whole thing is about!" And then we visited some more farms and talked to some more farmers. And then we got back from France and remembered how much we like it here. And then we saw Food, Inc. And then it was on, baby.

So now we're back, and we're doing it for the locals. But not just the local farms. This time, we're doing it for the whole community. We're bringing you locally-farmed meats and produce. We're helping you shop at local businesses more often and more effectively. We're supplying you with the tools and recipes you need to make living and eating locally easy and awesome. We're constantly bringing you new tips and ideas about ways to green your life and save money, all while supporting the community and economy around you.

So. The Green Bean is gone, but Greenologist is here. We're crazy excited, and we hope you are, too. This blog will keep you updated with information about our services, website (currently being built by the wonderful folks at MBATeam and up at the end of this month), and community members who are helping us turn Greenologist into a reality, so be sure to check back with us regularly. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter at @gogreenologist, or on facebook.

Many thanks, and we'll be seeing you.

Lauren