"Water, Water Everywhere..."

Water, water, every where, 

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink. 

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Think you might lose power when the hurricane hits?  My NYC brother-in-law just shared a great and simple tip for anyone preparing for hurricane Irene.

Simply fill some plastic zipper bags with water (tap water will do) and freeze them - now.  If you end up losing power, you can use the frozen bricks to keep some of your refrigerator items cold.  I used quart-size bags.  They were easier to find room for in the freezer.  I double-bagged with gallon-size ones. (I don't want to have to clean up a mess when they defrost!)

If the stores were out of bottled water or you didn't get out to buy any, these will also serve as extra water as they defrost.   

The bags are easily reusable since you are only storing water in them.  

Stay safe, stay dry!

Keep it Clean

Free Stock Photo: FreePhotos.com

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore." - Jack Brooks 

According to the EPA, " paper and paperboard products make up the largest portion of the municipal solid waste stream in the United States and as a result, offer the greatest opportunity to recycle". 

We have taken great strides in this decade to cut down on unnecessary paper usage. Finding ways to re-use and recycle paper is becoming increasing popular in our country and recycled paper makes up approximately a third of all paper products, clearly a benefit toward conserving our natural resources.
Yet, as paper recycling becomes more commonplace, we must also remember to keep aware of the guidelines for proper recycling in order that our efforts are not in vain.  Pizza boxes, for instance, while recyclable, are good ONLY when they are clean.  Any food residue or even grease renders the cardboard merely waste.  The food or grease is a contaminant that can (and does) ruin entire batches of paper.  What does this mean to us?  It means that MILLIONS of dollars are lost each year due to contaminated recycling.
The moral of this story?  Take the time to look at your recycling guidelines - keep the grease on the wheel, not in the recycle bin.