East Harriet, Kenny & Armatage Neigborhood Sales this Saturday!

Another great opportunity for re-use and re-purposing...aka NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE SALES!

East Harriet Sale-O-Rama

Saturday, May 29

9 am - 3 pm

Sale locations include: 919 W 36th St;Aldrich Ave S: Blocks 3800-4800;Bryant Ave S: Blocks 4000-4500;Colfax Ave S: Blocks 3600-4500;4545 Dupont Ave S;4322/4336 Lyndale Ave S

Maps with more info at each sale location, Guse Grocer at W 46th St & Bryant Ave S & Amelia's Flower Shoppe @ W 36th St & Bryant Ave S.

Kenny & Armatage Neighborhood Garage Sales

Saturday, May 29

9 am - 4 pm

For a complete list of locations - click here.

2010 Sunscreen Guide from EWG

The 2010 Sunscreen Guide from Environmental Working Group is out!

Their top rated beach & sport sunscreens include products by (listed in alphabetical order) All Terrain, Badger, Beyond Coastal, California Baby, Caribbean Solutions, Desert Essence, Episencial, Estion, Jason Natural Cosmetics, Kabana Skin Care, L'uvalla Certified Organic, LaRoche-Posay, Little Forest, Loving Naturals, Miessence, Purple Prairie Botanicals, Soleo Organics, thinkbaby & thinksport, Trukid, UV Natural, and Vanicream.

Their top rated non-mineral sunscreens include products by Beyond Coastal, Bullfrog, Coppertone, Glytone, & LaRoche-Posay.

Bottom line advice about sun safety:

• Avoid Oxybenzone, Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), and added insect repellent. Opt for Zinc, Titanium Oxide, Avobenzone or Mexoryl SX instead
• Avoid sprays, powders & SPFs over 50. Look for creams, broad-based spectrum, water-resistant, SPF 30-50
• Don't forget to cover-up & seek shade. Avoid the midday sun. Wear sunglasses.

The full 2010 sunscreen guide is available online here, or download a printable guide with facts & tips here.

Curious about how your favorite rates? Check out their "Find Your Sunscreen" feature!

We just returned from a beach trip to NC and used California Baby Sunblock Stick No Fragrance (for faces), California Baby Sunscreen Lotion No Fragrance, and Burt's Bees Chemical Free Sunscreen with Hemp Seed Oil. The California Baby products are among the highest rated. The Burt's Bees are a bit lower rated because they contain a fragrance, but it is a natural fragrance so that is ok with me. They rub in fairly well. The California Baby rubs in a bit smoother, but neither are as easy to rub in as 'conventional' sunscreens. They are a bit pricey, but are widely available, including Target among other places.

We were in the sun all day, in and out of the ocean, and we had good protection. We tried to stay indoors between noon-2:30, for lunch & naps anyway, so we avoided the both direct rays too!

For more info on sunscreen safety, check out a previous EcoParents blog post (prior to release of 2010 guide)!

LH Festival Zero Waste featured in the Star-Tribune!

The Zero Waste initiative of the Linden Hills Festival will be featured in Gail Rosenblum's column in tomorrow's Star-Tribune, including a picture of yours truly INSIDE a compost cart! Read the full column here

So how'd we do???

• an estimated 3,5000-4,000 attendees
• 616 ears of corn
• 1160 old fashioned hot dogs
• 100 all-beef hot dogs
• 456 brats
• 105 pizzas
• plus a yet to be calculated amounts of ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, soda, water, and more!

For the first time ever, we weighed everything at the end...and here's what we ended up with:

• 448.86 pounds of organic material for composting
• 13.16 pounds of plastic bottles for recycling
• 20.78 pounds of recyclable cardboard
• 31.38 pounds of aluminum cans
• 13.12 pounds of glass recycling
• 12.36 pounds of plastic bags and plastic wrap (i.e., these are not recycled through the city of Minneapolis, but through the "It's in the Bag" program)
• 7.08 pounds of other recyclable plastics (i.e., plastics that are recyclable, but not collected by the city - such as plastic caps, coffee cup lids, etc... There are misc programs that collect & recycle these items...Aveda accepts & recycles plastic lids, for example.)

and...drumroll...39.22 pounds of trash. YES...LESS THAN ONE BAG OF TRASH! Seriously!!

A huge thanks to all the disposal station monitors, and especially to super volunteer & true waste warrior, Nancy Lo. She's a rock star.

Neighborhood Garage Sales - the ultimate in re-use

Both the Linden Hills and Browndale neighborhoods are holding their neighborhood garage sales this Saturday, May 15! Garage sales are a great way to re-use and re-purpose items which no longer are of use to others...at a great price too! Check them out - especially for kid-related items, which often are outgrown before they are worn out!

Check the Linden Hills website for a map of all registered garage sales. Sales in both neighborhoods start at 8 am.

Don't forget that the Linden Hills Festival is on Sunday, May 16...family fun indeed!!!

It's Farmers Market Time!

One of the official signs of spring is the opening of metro-area farmers markets. Some are already open, including Midtown, Mill City, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, while others open over the coming few weeks.

There was a great listing of area markets in today's Star Tribune, including a day-by-day guide. The Strib also has a neat interactive online map to more than 60 area markets that allows you to filter by day or zoom in on location!

My personal favorites are the Mill City Market and Midtown Market, but there are so many fabulous Farmers Markets to choose from in the Twin Cities area! Check 'em out!

Farmers Markets are a great alternative or addition to purchasing a CSA share. Like a CSA, it allows you to get fresh, seasonal, (usually) local, and (often) organic produce, meats, and other goodies. But, unlike a CSA, you are in complete control of how much and what you purchase! Either way, it supports small-scale local farmers...which is a good thing!

Proper medication disposal (including recalled children's medicine!!)

Wondering how to dispose of those childrens OTC medicines affected by the recall?

(A voluntary recall of over-the-counter infant & children medications manufactured by McNeil Healthcare issued on Friday, April 30.The recalled items include children & infant Tylenol, Motrin, Zrytec & Benadryl. Click here for the complete list of recall medications. This recall is based on not meeting manufacturing standards and no adverse health effects have been reported.)

If you have some of the medications affected by the recall, DO NOT THROW MEDICATION DOWN THE TOILET OR RINSE DOWN THE SINK! This will cause the active (and inactive ingredients) to get into the water systems. Wastewater treatment facilities typically cannot remove these types of compounds (it's possible, but very expensive!), and consequently, they could end up in the environment in our rivers, lakes & streams and/or into our drinking water supply!

In fact, just last week, the MN Pollution Control Agency released a report that found "widespread bu low levels" of pharmaceuticals in at MN wastewater treatment plants, including antibiotics, endrocrine disruptors, and other medications!

So, just a general reminder to properly dispose of all medications in the garbage. To prevent accidental ingestion (or intentional ingestion if you have narcotics), follow these guidelines:

1. Keep the medication in its original package. The labels may contain safety information and the caps are often childproof. On prescriptions, scratch the patient’s name or write over it with a permanent marker.

2. Modify the medication to discourage consumption.

· For solid medications, such as pills or capsules: add a small amount of water to partially dissolve them.

· For liquid medications: add enough table salt, flour, charcoal, or spice such as turmeric or mustard to make a pungent, unsightly mixture that discourages anyone from ingesting it.

· For blister packs, drug patches, creams, unused ampoules, vial and IV bags: wrap the package in multiple layers of duct or other opaque tape to prevent leakage and obscure the contents.

3. Seal and conceal. Wrap the medication container in packing or duct tape, and then place it inside an opaque bag or container to ensure that the contents cannot be seen.

4. Discard the container in your garbage can—do not place it in your recycling bin.

source for disposal guidelines: Hennepin County A-to-Z How to Get Rid of It Guide


thanks to my friend Courtney for the reminder of this impt issue, especially as all of us parents are disposing our stash of medicine! :-)