Reusable: Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls

You do not have to be a crafter to repurpose your left over toilet paper rolls and prevent waste.

Here are a few ideas we collected:

1. Donate them to your local animal shelter. Small animals love playing in toilet paper rolls and chewing them up to make bedding.

2. Keep spare electrical cords tangle-free by fanfolding the cord and putting it through a toilet paper roll. You can even decorate the roll with colorful paper.

3. Store string around the outside of a roll to prevent tangles. You can create notches at each end to attach the string ends to.

4. Give to kids along with some markers or paint and see what crafts they come up with!

5. Roll your linens up in longer paper towel rolls to avoid creases caused by storage.

6. Use the rolls as seedling planters. Rather than purchase several small starter pots, use one tray, insert in several rolls cut in half horizontally and place soil and the plants in each roll.

7. Poke holes in the rolls and use them as toy building blocks. Kids can poke the ends of pencils into the rolls to build objects.

8. Create wall art! Take a look at these amazing designs by blogger Tali Schiffer Oren for inspiration. Here is one of Tara’s creations:

9. Prevent your kids’ artwork from sitting in boxes and wrinkling by rolling the pieces up and fitting them into paper towel tubes.

Where the Trees Are

Researchers at the Woods Hole Research Center, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey created the map pictured above, an inventory of the United States’ concentrations of biomass. The darkest greens on the map show areas with the densest and most robust forest growth.

According to the NASA Earth Observatory, the map provides perhaps the most detailed “view of forest structure and carbon storage ever assembled for any country.”

The purpose of the map is to take an accurate, current inventory of the nation’s forests in order to know how best to manage and preserve forests.

Trees fill our air with oxygen. They provide shade on sunny days, prevent erosion and slow a harsh wind. They provide us with raw materials, food, medicines and more. What actions have you made in your daily life to protect our forests?

A Cat Burglar, a Guilty Dog and More Animal Stories

For those of us with pets, we likely understand the range of emotions and intelligence of our animal companions. They can become our best friends, our protectors, our comedic relief and sometimes our confidants.

While the most extraordinary companion animal will always be the one who wakes you up every morning with wet noses kisses and curls up next to you at night, these animals are also pretty amazing. Lets look at their stories.

The first is Dodger, the cat who loves public transportation. Care2.com recently posted about Dodger’s story. The 15-year-old cat reportedly has made a habit of waiting at a certain bus stop for the bus, hopping on and taking a ride before returning to his original bus stop, sometimes taking 10 mile trips. The UK bus company enjoys Dodger’s presence and states, “Given this cat is elderly we suspect it would be eligible for free travel, perhaps a bus puss, if such a thing existed.” Dodger prefers sitting in riders’ laps or on recently vacated seats because they are still warm.

This next animal is interesting in the way he understands right versus wrong and the expression of guilt. The video explains it all.

Dolphins are a species known for making heroic actions. They have protected swimmers from sharks and brought humans safely to shore in other cases. Last year, a group of dolphins in a canal on Marco Island, Florida saw that a doberman dog had fallen over the cement ledge into the water. The dog could not get out and was believed to have spent 15 hours in the canal before being rescued. The dog rescue occurred because the dolphins swam near the doberman and made a lot of noise, drawing attention to the dog who may otherwise not have been found.

This last story is that of a peculiar cat burglar. Take a look…

Setting SMART New Years Resolutions

It’s that time of year again! A time when we sing about times gone by, cheers to the memories and look forward to a fresh, clean start. We set goals and create plans to achieve them. Yet, despite the best intentions, it’s estimated that 80 percent of New Years resolutions fail.

To help you achieve your New Years resolutions, lets look at one of the best guides to help you set goals, the SMART Goal Setting Model.

This model states that goals should be:

• S = Specific
• M = Measurable
• A = Attainable
• R = Realistic
• T = Timely

Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model. What is your exact goal? Avoid vague statements like “To lose weight.” Rather, choose a specific goal such as “To lose 2 pounds a month.” The “Why” is also important. Why do you want to achieve this? What is motivating you? Lastly, how will you achieve this goal? Set a plan you know you can stick with and will get you to your goal. Consult with others who can help you plan your journey.

Make your goals measurable. If you can’t measure your progress, you won’t know if you are getting close to your goal or have reached it. Rather than saying your goal is “To eat healthier,” state it in a measurable way such as “To consume 4 servings of vegetables a day and drink seven 8-ounce glasses of water a day.”

If your goal is not attainable, you likely will not commit to doing it. Keeping your goals attainable will also help motivate you because you will see successes.

Along the lines of an attainability, the goal must also be realistic. Evaluate where you are right now and be honest with yourself. Look at what you think you are capable of doing. Sometimes this may mean you need to evaluate your time constraints or challenges you will have in the coming months. This does not mean you should make your goals too easy, but the key is to make them do-able.

The last guideline is to make the goal timely. Put a clear timeline on your goals and your progress. If you don’t set a timeline, your goal will be too vague. An example of a precise timeline would be “To begin guitar lessons in the next two weeks and take a lesson a week for 6 months.” Or rather, to train for a marathon on May 6th.

With SMART goals, we hope 2012 will be the best year yet for you!

We’d love to hear from you! Have you reached your 2011 goals? What are your SMART goals for 2012?

Happy Holidays!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas, and may your holiday season be filled with family, love and joy.

Holiday Best Sellers at Organic Bug!

It’s not too late to shop OrganicBug.com and ship 2 Day Express or Overnight in order to receive your products in time for Christmas!

For 2 Day Express, please order by TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20th at 1:00 pm EST. For Overnight shipping, please order by WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21st at 1:00 pm EST and call for availability. Read the holiday shipping guidelines.

Here are a few of our Top Sellers this holiday season!

Santa’s Last Days to Ship from Organic Bug

Be sure to follow these guidelines to get your packages in time for Christmas!*

Ground Shipping: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15th by 1 pm EST
takes 2-5 business days after processing for delivery~you will get a tracking number but NO Guaranteed delivery date

2 Day Express: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20th by 1:00 pm EST
takes 2-3 business days after processing for delivery~you will get a tracking number and a Guaranteed delivery date

Overnight: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21st by 1:00 pm EST
call for availability

Should you have any questions, please contact us using our Toll Free Number: 888.428.7050 9 am to 5 pm EST M-F
(if you are calling from outside the US, please call 386.428.7050)

*IMPORTANT NOTES:

Check AVAILABILITY and any special shipping notes in RED on each product page. Some products ship direct from our vendors and orders may not ship immediately so notice the AVAILABILITY of each product prior to ordering to know when the item will ship.

We are unable to guarantee delivery if there are weather delays. These Shipping Dates are for packages shipped to addresses in the Continental US only. Products shipping to PO Boxes CANNOT be shipped using 2 Day Express or Next Day Air.

Of course, if you are just too late or you don’t know what to buy,

Santa uses INSTANT DELIVERY when you buy Organic Bug eGift Certificates!

Today Only: FREE SHIPPING on all Organic Bug Orders!

Shop TODAY (Dec. 12) on OrganicBug.com and receive FREE SHIPPING on all orders! Finish up your holiday shopping with eco-friendly, sustainable products.

We’ve got some other fun holiday treats as well. Our brand new feature “Multiple Ship To” lets consumers shop ’til they drop by assigning a unique gift recipient to each product selected, in time for the holidays and all those Secret Santas. “Ship To” allows customers to create multiple addresses within the same order, while requiring only ONE check out experience.

Not sure what to get someone on your list? Choose from these popular items, or buy a gift card!

Each Organic Bug Purchase Feeds One Child

As you may be aware, all SPARQ products are milled in Denver, Colorado using soapstone from manufacturing scraps that were destined for the landfill. Most of the world’s supply of soapstone originates from Brazil, where according to UNICEF, about 42% of children live in poverty with an estimated 1/8 of them living on the streets.

The good guys of SPARQ fame found out it only costs $1 per day to feed a child in Brazil. So, in an effort to support the communities it gets its soapstone from, SPARQ has initiated the Feed a Child Project to feed impoverished children in Brazil. The company’s initial goal is to raise $100,000 by World Hunger Day 2012. That is May 28, 2012! A lofty goal but they know they can do it with your help! AND the help of its many retail partners…

In effort to expand the scope of the project, SPARQ has asked Organic Bug to join the cause by donating $1 of each sale when SPARQ customers purchase products on OB’s website. This is where you can help!

Organic Bug is thrilled to have this opportunity to participate so has agreed to give $1 to SPARQ’s Feed a Child Project for EVERY PURCHASE YOU make on OrganicBug.com. Not just SPARQ products but ANY products you purchase on Organic Bug, anytime between now and May 28, 2012! SWEET!

Organic Bug has sweetened the deal and is offering YOU $5 OFF your order of $50 or more! Just use the promo code SWEET during check out. (offer is valid multiple times by the same user; sale items + quantity discounts are not included; this offer cannot be used with any other promotion)

Giveaway: Win a Boys Tremelo Shirt from Sustainable Kids!

Boys supersoft woven button-down shirt. With adjustable roll-up sleeves and secret back body “comfort panel”.

Available at OrganicBug.com. View Product Details

Enter to Win the Boys Tremelo Shirt

Next Page »