THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU BUY NEW THINGS - YOU COULD LOSE 1 MILLION BUCKS

I have no sympathy for you. Okay, maybe a little. Seems kind of dirty and annoying to look for stuff in a dump. But anyways, serves you right.

Well, this is a modern-day Aesop’s fable if my bloodshot eyes ever saw one. Annat, a well-meaning Israeli lady decided to throw out her mom’s old mattress and get her a new one. Little did she know that the old one had her mom’s life savings of about 1 MEELLION dollars stuffed inside of it.

Moral of the story: Use the things you have, man! I’ve been sleeping on the same mattress for almost 20 years now and my bed is an old bookcase that my dad bought at an antiques auction for like $30. I feel wonderful except for a few excruciating back spasms now and then.

via CNN

red vs. green: swyyne’s top valentine’s day gift picks for your ecohoney

true environmentalists know that holidays like halloween, christmas and valentine’s day are enemies of the earth, creating tons of wasted paper, wrapping, packaging and all the energy it takes to produce all that stuff. but for true urban piggies, it’s terribly difficult to resist the urge to give and receive presents! who doesn’t like presents?!!

so this v-day, why not have your organic chocolate and eat it too? and if your special piggy hasn’t joined the green movement yet, maybe you can sway her/him through the power of greendirtying.

red
roses

green
organic and locally grown flowers from green florists like adore floral. did you see the gorgeous arrangement they put together for us for summer rayne oakes’ book launch party at the stella mccartney store? ask for flowers that are grown without harmful pesticides and are eco-friendly because they don’t need to be shipped half way around the globe.

red
traditional designer handbags

green
make your own bags out of paper, fabric, or yarn that you already have

here’s a free template from hermes to make a customized kelly bag for your sweetie. it’s even more special if you make it out of something that holds special significance for the both of you - you should probably ask before you start cutting though…

if you’re naturally crafty and have some extra yarn sitting around, why not whip up a counterfeit chanel or louis a la the counterfeit crochet project?

red
expensive dinner out at a fancy schmancy restaurant

green
affordable candlelit dinner in made with locally grown produce and, of course, love

the best place to buy fresh, colorful vegetables, fruits, cheese, wine and other ingredients for a homemade meal are our neighborhood greenmarkets, but if you’re feeling lazy, freshdirect offers a lot of locally grown options for really great prices.

red
box of traditional chocolates

green
organic chocolates like vere (pronounced very) are sustainably grown, pesticide free and really, really good. plus, they use very little sugar so they’re about as healthy as chocolates can be.

for an extra-special treat for your better half, why not whip up some homemade fortune cookies with ingredients (and paper) you probably already have at home? you can even mix the batter ahead of time and make the cookies with your valentine as a symbol of “creating your future fortune together.” yeah, i know i’m lame.

dip ‘em in chocolate to make them look extra purty:

red
lingerie made out of unsustainably produced materials

green
nowadays it’s easy to find eco-conscious undies for decent prices. high end designers like stella mccartney have dreamed up gorgeous and soft sustainably sourced intimates lines, and if you want something even more special, check out clare bare’s etsy shop, which calls themselves the “anti-victoria’s secret” that sells frilly unmentionables repurposed from things like tablecloths.

most of these ideas happen to also be cheap too, so you can save some green while you go green.

peep some other fabulously green valentine’s day gift ideas here:

inhabitat

the daily green

check out more ideas for reducing your droppings here.

save the planet and make $

there have been so many times when i thought to myself that the only way to get people to start recycling, conserving and, basically, changing their ways was to pay them!

well, the founders of savetheplanetandwin.com had the same idea, and have thought of a simple way to actually pay you to reduce your carbon footprint. of course, they can’t actually see whether or not you are taking shorter showers, walking or biking more, or using less electricity, so the program is really based on the honor system. but the idea is that by clicking on sponsor links and shopping for green products, you will be able to educate yourself about the smarter and greener choices that are available to you.

now that more people are strapped for cash than ever, i really hope that getting people to see the green light, even if it means having to pay them, will be easier. like i’ve written in past posts, some people make a living out of recycling on a daily basis, even though they have no intention of saving the environment at all. they just do it because they need the money. seems like there is a constant debate in the green space about what it means to really be “green.” what if you’re just doing it for the money, like some manufacturers do in order to attract eco-savvy customers? is it about intent or outcome? personally, i think a homeless woman who collects and recycles cans in order to make an extra buck to grab a slice of pizza is doing her part just as much as i am when i recycle my newspapers.

bento box

food is expensive. those of us who work in the city know that finding a filling lunch for less than 5 bucks can be a near-impossible feat. cheapassfood.com has been an invaluable resource for me, but i’ve decided to take my lunch frugality to the next level. i almost always make too much food for dinner, so packing a bento box is a simple way to save a ton of loot. according to this nifty lunch calculator, i could save $1,250 a year by packing lunch everyday. and that’s if i assume that my packed lunch has a cost of $3.00. if i assume that it has a cost of 0 dollars because it is part of my dinner from the night before, i save $2,000 a year! that’s a vacation to aruba!

yeah, we’re all busy, but the trick is in the planning. if you prepare your tupperware and have it ready for your leftovers, you’ll save a lot more time than you would running downstairs to pick up a salad at pret.

here is a bento box that i made the other night. the contents are somen noodles, broad noodles, bean sprouts sauteed in butter, avocado and lemon tuna salad, chawan mushi and potato salad roll-ups (leftover potato salad wrapped in a slice of store-bought turkey…so easy and soooo good). the garnish is a sliced beet and a piece of turkey leftover from the roll-ups. to serve, just pour some tsuyu (a super low-calorie mixture of dashi, sweetened soy sauce and mirin) over the noodles.

it don’t hurt that people who pack their lunch usually consume less calories because they know what is going into their food. and think about all the containers you’ll be saving! no brainer, if you ask me.

why is this a site?

swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.