Check out these awesome cups I have at work. I have a mug and cup (for hot and cold beverages). Everything a girl needs to drink her day away the eco-friendly way. This cuts down on all the temptation to use throw away types of cups at work. Plus I can maintain the sanitary level on them as they are all mine … all mine!

I’ve already crossed this off the eco-wishlist but never blogged about it.

I recently finished reading “It’s Easy Being Green.” In it are a number of recommendations on what you can do to help the environment, a day at a time. So I’ve listed the items I want to focus on here so I can add them to my eco-wishlist.

• Take short showers.
• Turn the faucet off while shaving and brushing your teeth.
• Toss trash in the wastebasket, not the toilet.
• Take care of your vinyl shower curtain. – I now have a fabric shower curtain.
• Use water-based paints.
• Properly dispose of latex paint cans.
• Use rags instead of paper towels.
• Choose hydrogen- or oxygen-based bleaches.
• Buy concentrated products.
• Don’t wash clothes after every wear unless they’re really dirty.
• Buy phosphate-free, earth-friendly detergent.
• Keep my refrigerator full to cut down on energy.
• Keep the fridge at 37º F and the freezer at 3º F.
• Maintain my fridge twice a year.
• Use the toaster oven for smaller portion cooking.
• Switch to CFLs.
• Turn off the lights when not in use.
• Use ceiling fans to better circulate the air.
• Manage radiant solar gain.
• Buy gift wrap made of recycled paper.
• Reuse gift wrapping decorations.
• Get creative with gift wrapping.
• Recycle my Christmas tree.
• Choose energy-saving Christmas lights.
• Make my own gift tags.
• Participate in St. Jude’s Ranch for Children greeting cards program.
• Shop at my local farmer’s market.
• Eat less meat.
• Switch to cloth napkins.
• Decline  silverware, napkins and condiments when ordering out.
• Wash fruit and veggies in a bowl of cold water.
• Turn the faucet using half the volume.
• Buy in bulk instead of single-servings.
• Collect grey water for watering plants.
• Buy quality products.
• Use rechargeable batteries.
• Buy a paper shredder.
• Recycle old athletic shoes with the Nike program.
• Recycle plastic peanuts with loosefillpackaging.com.
• Download software instead of buying the CDs, when possible.
• Buy only plastic bottles labeled with 1 or 2.
• Create notepads out of scrap paper.
• Ride my bike when running errands three miles away.
• Once a week, use public transportation instead of driving.
• Buy eco-friendly antifreeze.
• Decline housekeeping when staying at a hotel.
• Don’t take the complementary bottles.
• Use biodegradable pet bags.

So a number of new items on the list. I’ll indicate that these are from It’s Easy Being Green with an “E” to clarify the source. Here’s to an eco-friendly 2008!

UPDATE: Reviewed Jan. 4, 2009.

I know this topic might be a bit personal and taboo, but here it goes, because let’s face it, it’s eco-friendly. A few months back, a friend of mine told me how she tried out the Diva Cup on a trip to Belgium. She loved it so much that she put her stamp of approval and raved so much over it, that I had to try it too.

Well, here I am raving too. Not only does it meet some personal preferences I have but it also reduces my consumption of feminine hygiene products. Women consume billions of tampons and sanitary pads each year; all finding their way into landfills around the country. The Diva Cup is reusable and safe, compact (fits under any sink!) and a cheaper alternative to buying products each month.

I took the train into the Chicago today for Worldwide Knit In Public Day (no I’m not kidding). There were seven us from all over the Chicagoland area, so we really cut down our emissions by joining other Chicagoans riding the train for a variety of fun city events.

I do have to report that in our efforts not to go hungry, we accumulated a bunch of trash from picking up some lunch at Corner Bakery and not having any recycling bins in Millennium Park. I tossed three very full plastic (gasp!) bags into the trash bin because we were all so weighted down already, that we didn’t know what else to do. Carrying all that back home just didn’t seem like a great idea. So my one green thing for the day sort of neutralizes the not so great thing. I did remember to bring and use my bamboo cutlery and not use the plasticwear the restuarant provided.

Today I have given up batteries. I will, of course, use what remains in the house until they are finally dead and then appropriately recycle them, but I will no longer buy any nonrechargeable batteries from this point forward. I already have a recharger and a number of rechargeable batteries on hand. So it’s a small start.

Also when my other electronic batteries are no longer useful, I’ll recycle these too with the help of information at BatteryRecycling.com.  For other recycling needs, I’ll refer to my local government’s list.

I finally got around to making some reusable produce bags using Circle of Life’s pattern. I am very excited about using these. I found the pattern makes some small bags so I want to make some larger ones for things such as corn or more than a few apples.

I’ll make the larger ones out of a blue tulle that I bought at JoAnns. I also brought a reusable canvas bag with me for all my shopping today (and this time I didn’t get thwarted.

I love music. I’m talking LOVE here. Like “L” is for the way … so when I found out Dolores O’Riordan was coming out with a solo album, I was stoked. I immediately jumped on Amazon to pre-order and await the arrival of my new disc. And then I started this challenge. I couldn’t very well purchase something that was going to require an Amazon box to ship it in plus the packaging. And then of course there’s the CD’s packaging and the CD is made of plastic. I just couldn’t do it. So instead, I downloaded the entire album from iTunes. Who knew technology could help in the eco-world. So today’s one green thing reduced the amount of waste and production for the CD and shipping, and the carbon emissions from the trucks to deliver it. Gold star for the eco-day.