GIVEAWAY: No more wire hanger...bags!

As we continue to honor No Plastic Day, we are teaming up with The Green Garmento in an effort to do away with plastic dry cleaning bags! One area that we rarely consider when thinking of our use of plastic is our dry cleaning. We drop off our pile of clothing and when we return, it's neatly cleaned, pressed, and ready to go...in a HUGE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAG! And what do we all do with the bag? Throw it away, of course. It's not even like the grocery bags that can be reused as trash can liners or handy carrying cases (maybe that's just me).

A solution to this problem has been created by The Green Garmento. This eco-friendly bag offers you the option of tossing your dirty dry-clean-only clothes into a hamper, taking the full hamper to the dry cleaners, and receiving your cleaned clothes and bag in one neat bundle! At the dry cleaners, simply request your clothes be put into your bag "naked", and you're all set! "NO MORE WIRE...," well, no more single-use plastic bags!

As an additional bonus, this bag is not limited to being used for dry cleaning. It makes a great laundry bag for traveling, as it folds neatly and can be stuffed into a suitcase. It lends itself to many different uses. Please visit their site for detailed information on the bags.

The Green Garmento has graciously created on offer just for our community! From now until August 1, 2010, they are offering FREE SHIPPING within the continental US on any purchases made using the code JADE upon checkout.  The bag makes a great gift to those who find themselves in the dry cleaners often. My husband loves his!

Enter for a chance to win a Green Garmento Bag!

Here is how you enter:

• First, visit the Facebook fanpage of A Hint of Jade and become a fan. 
• Then, check out The Green Garmento website, browse through the SHOP tab, then return to this post and leave a comment below sharing your favorite bag color and function for use. Be sure to leave your info under the NAME/URL tab when commenting (enter your e-mail address for in the URL space) so you can be contacted if you are a winner!
• BONUS ENTRY: Send a Facebook friend request to The Green Garmento and leave an additional comment sharing that you've done so. All additional entries will be verified to be considered.
• If the Facebook fanpage for A Hint of Jade reaches 200 members before the end of the giveaway, there will be TWO additional winners! So spread the word to your friends and family to increase the number of prizes!

The giveaway starts today and runs through, Monday, June 14, 2010 at 11:59pm CST (giveaway has ended). The winner will be selected using Random.org. Good luck!

CONGRATULATIONS TO DEE AND MELANIE, OUR WINNERS!
(The Green Garmento shared two bags with our community and we thank them!)

Honoring NO PLASTIC DAY!

Today is No Plastic Day worldwide! I hope that you'll take a minute to think about how you can lessen the amount of plastic that lands in our landfills and oceans. If possible, try a few of these simple solutions:

• CLOTH BAGS: use cloth bags instead of plastic or paper when you shop (of course paper is better than plastic if you must chose). You can take them to the grocery store, the clothing store, the shoe store, etc. Anywhere you might need to carry your purchase. It's a one time, very affordable purchase that makes a huge difference.
• NO MORE BOTTLED WATER! These days, you can purchase a stainless steel reusable bottle for the same price (and sometimes less than) the price of a case of water! If you don't have a water filter at home, purchase a filter pitcher and you've got a one-time purchase water bottle. It's the same convenience as the plastic bottle if you plan ahead and stainless steel will keep your beverage cold longer.
• RECYCLE! OK, so I know it's unrealistic to think that we'll NEVER use anything plastic again in our lifetime. However, if we must, than we MUST recycle. These days, almost every community provides curbside recycling on trash days or the city provides recycling stations to drop off your reusable goods. Of course, with regards to recycling, this is definitely not limited to plastic. Contact your city to see what goods are collected. You'll be amazed at how little trash you accumulate when you're maintaining a recycling bin.

If you have any other suggestions as to ways to limit our use of plastic, please leave a comment. You can also visit the No Plastic Day website.

This community can do so much if we share our secrets. Remember, every little bit counts!

Exchange Kids Clothing....Nationally!

If you're like me, you probably have a ton of clothes, in great condition no less, that your little one has outgrown. I had a garage sale this past weekend to get rid of a few. But for the remaining mound, I was so excited to find an option to exchange them for sizes we need!

thredUP is a place for busy parents to exchange the clothes that are too small for the little ones for clothes in the right sizes! Here's how it works:

•  Join their website with a small community of friends
• PICK: You'll then be able to search through the listed boxes of clothing for exactly what you need. You're able to search by size, season, gender and/or brand.
• PAY: to receive your box, you'll pay a flat fee of $13 and it will be sent directly to you home.
• PREPARE: Request a FREE box from the United States Postal Service to prepare a box of your child's clothes that you'd like to add to the exchange. Your carrier will bring it to your home. Then, just pack it and post it on the site for someone to pick!
• SEND: When someone picks your box, you send it to them. They pay shipping (that's where the $13 come in). You can schedule a pick up from the post office again if you'd like.

There's a one-to-one exchange rate: you get a package, you send a package. I think this is brilliant! It's much easier than organizing a garage sale, it's much more affordable than many other clothing options...it's a win-win.

Right now, the site is accessible by invitation only, so they have created an invitation link for our community! You can log on, look around, and see if this is something your family could benefit from. The invitation is open from now until July 1, 2010, so spread the word to any parents you think might be interested. ENJOY!