Great Consignment Sale!!

THIS IN FROM A LOYAL BETTER WORLD BETTY-IST

Hi lovelies,

the first is my favorite consignment sale: "Divine Consign." i am one of many consigners who together are selling nearly 13,000 items. you can find ladies clothing, housewares, books, and great gifts for few dollars. if you wear a size 7 or 7 1/2 shoe, for example, there are over 130 pairs that await you . . .


it is located at aldersgate church on rio road and begins tomorrow. here are the dates:


Friday, April 29th

10am-6pm (Full Price)



Saturday, April 30th

10am-6pm (Full Price)



Monday, May 2nd

10am-6pm (25% off most items)



Tuesday, May 3rd

12pm-8pm (50% off most items)



Wednesday, May 4th

10am-6pm (50% off most items)




for more info: http://www.cvilledivineconsign.com/main/Home.html

EARTH DAY 2011

It's hard to believe another Earth Day has come and gone! Here are some of the Highlights from the Betty booth...

32 young people "planted" their seed of intention in edible dirt (above picture - I'm handing the dirt to a surprised little guy!): they wrote one thing they would do for the Earth in the next month. My favorite: check out more books from the library. Some others were:

I will finally make a habit of using my reusable water bottle.
I will start composting.
I will use only one paper towel in public restrooms if they don't have an air dryer.
I will volunteer for Wild Virginia.
I will take myself off junk mail lists.
I will bring my own mug everywhere.
I will recycle my ink toner at work.

Thanks, everyone.

Also... 1061 the Corner played Betty's three Earth Songs. Staple It Together by Jack Johnson, Nothing But Flowers by the Talking Heads, Society by Eddie Vedder from Into the Wild Soundtrack (I love eddie vedder and the tribute to Chris McCandless).

Other cool news: We raffled off 3 Betty t-shirts. We received more than 20 new subscribers to the newsletter. And 7 business owners are already interested in joining our Better Business Challenge launching SOON!

All in all it was a beautiful day of interacting with Betty-loving, Earth-loving doers who want a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable Charlottesville for generations upon generations.

Thank you to my Western Albemarle Student Volunteers: Anna, Hannah, and Leah who helped make edible dirt for the kids and who made beautiful earrings and necklaces made of recycled wrapping paper.

Best, BWB

Like a green neighbor, Betty is there...

Our ability to think creatively is essential for these personally and planetarily challenging times. This month Betty has inventive ideas for saving money and resources, including gas.

Beyond the clothing swap

Bring some clothes to the party, take some home. Easy and fun, right? Why not try a book swap, a DVD swap, a CD swap? What about exchanging meals? Get together with a friend on a Sunday afternoon, each make two meals for two families, and exchange: leave with four meals!

Hardware help

Drills, saws, screws of every size. Toolbox items can really add up and why, if we have a network of close friends or neighbors, couldn’t we all share? Introducing the traveling toolbox. Everyone pitches in money or tools to create a collective toolbox for everyone’s use.

Traveling toys

Parents know how quickly toys pile up and become less than interesting. When my kids were little a group of moms and I started a toy exchange. Once a month we would fill a basket with five to 10 toys, books, and puzzles and then rotate. The goodies were a “new to you” alternative to store-bought items.

The grocery trip tree

Another idea to save on extra trips (and rising gas costs) is to create a phone tree of neighbors who are willing to pick up a couple of grocery items for other neighbors. Like this: before my weekly grocery trip, I call Karen and Frank from the list to see if they need me to pick up anything. I pick up one to two items ($10 maximum) and they pay me back immediately or keep a tally and pay monthly. As a group, you lay the ground rules according to comfort level. I did this with an elderly neighbor and it worked well.

Do you have some other great green ideas?? Email Betty at betty@betterworldbetty.org

SLOW is the (green) way to go...

OK. It's been a while since I got real and shared a green confession. But here goes.

My biggest hurdle to sticking with my e-conscious way of living is the speed at which I go through life.

And I'm not just talking about the fact that it pains me to go 55-60 miles per hour on the highway even though I KNOW that is going to reap the best rewards in terms of gas mileage. I set the cruise to 59 and SLOW down until I realize I'm five minutes late to my time management meeting (only slightly kidding)!

Why is it so hard to slow down?! It's why I have scratches on almost every single one of my fingers and my ankles (I nearly ran over my entire foot today rolling a shelving cart in the library!). I hit the ground running. I've always been this way. And I'm not alone. We are moving SO fast these days.

I remember my parents sitting me down when I was in elementary school, explaining to me that I need to SLOW DOWN and listen to ALL the directions. My teachers were saying I get up and run away mid-sentence. "Like right now!" I remember my exasperated parents saying mid-lecture. I was getting up to go back outside to play.

I get things done by rushing. It's the reason I'm able to be a library assistant, then a mom, then Betty. Case in point I wait until the last minute to think about what is for dinner and end up buying a farm-raised fish --on the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch list, yes -- but it's been flown halfway across the globe, for Earth's sake!

I cut corners, I pause through stop signs, I forget to sign the homework, and I let unmended clothes pile up. I'm not proud of it, but would I really be here as Bettty if I didn't?

All rationalizing aside, tonight I'm slowing down.

Once again it comes from the prompting of my favorite eco-inspirations in the world: one of my adorable sons.

"Mom, you said you would sew that weeks ago!"

"Yup. Pinky promise - I'm doing it tonight."

So I dig out the needle and thread and here I sit, sewing the cuff of my son's favorite jacket (a hand me down from his older friend Stephen) and planning the next few meals deliberately, slowly, consciously so I can actually slip into hugging the tree instead of slamming into it head first. Aaaahhhh. That's better.

BWB

Charge it! With Betty's help...

Charging ahead

Whether you have one in your watch, cell phone, wall clock or TV remote, a collection of batteries of all shapes and sizes is at work in your home.
This month Betty provides the 411 on battery use and disposal.

The average American throws away eight household batteries per year, which some say is fine for landfills, but considering all batteries contain heavy metals, the truth is they should be recycled. The acid can be reused and the rest is melted down to scrap metal or converted to a new battery, making them 100 percent recyclable.

Which kind?

Rule of thumb for alkaline batteries (AA, AAA, D, etc.): In low-tech items (remote controls and smoke detectors), single use are a better choice because they drain slowly and last longer. For high-tech items, definitely use rechargeables.

Prolonging battery life

. Do not return a fully charged battery to the charger.
. Let discharged battery cool to room temp before recharging.
. Recharge batteries when almost fully discharged.
. Don't leave them charging for prolonged periods.
. Refrigerating batteries extends their shelf life (but let batteries
reach room temperature before using).

Recycling

For household rechargeables and NiCad (nickel cadmium), try Batteries Plus, Staples and Best Buy, since McIntire no longer accepts them. Most cell phone retailers take phone batteries (made of lithium ion) for recycling. Lead acid-filled car batteries can be recycled at Auto Zone or other auto retailers. Button cell batteries (found in wall clocks and wristwatches) contain silver oxide and therefore are designated hazardous waste and legally cannot be trashed, so wait for the next household hazardous waste day. For more battery information and locations call 1-877-2-RECYCLE (www.call2recycle.org).

Enjoy this guest blog from Betty's friend, Sheffield...

Over the past few years, UVA students from various fraternities and sororities have tried through various organizations to promote recycling after fraternity parties. I was involved in a Student Council task force in 2009 before we realized that two other groups simultaneously attempting to solve the same problem. At last, the student organization Greek Recycling has finally succeeded in promoting recycling in the fraternity houses after parties.

“We picked up around 5000 pounds last fall which we considered to be a big success for our first semester of picking up. Our goal for this semester is 8000 pounds and I think we can easily attain that,” said Robert Chapman, the 3rd year Engineer and new Greek Recycling leader.

Chapman, who was also elected on Thursday night as the new chair of the Inter-fraternity Council’s Sustainability efforts, has really worked hard to get this group up and running.

“With most of the original members graduating last year, Robert quickly filled their shoes and led to the quick growth of the group,” said Peter Simasek, a 4th year in the Commerce School and one of the founders of Greek Recycling. The organization has come far in the past few years and built great momentum.

NBC 29 story on Greek Recycling: http://www.nbc29.com/global/category.asp?c=175568&clipId=5587891&topVideoCatNo=82958&autoStart=true

“It’s a great group to be involved in and a good way to make a very real difference in our Charlottesville community and especially in this rugby road area,” says Chapman.


-Sheffield Hale
www.mnn.com/users/shale

Using good scents

Enjoy this month's article in Abode magazine reprinted here...

I strolled into the office yesterday and my nose was met with the powerful scent of my co-workers’ new cinnamon plug-in air freshener. The scent may be enticing, but many don’t realize that commercially sold air fragrances in aerosols, powders, and foams are unnecessary and sometimes polluting to indoor air quality. Phthalates as well as a plethora of other irritants can be released, not to mention toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), causing headaches or worse with people sensitive to allergens.

If you’re using air fresheners, ask yourself, what is your intention—to mask an odor or add a scent? If it’s the former, can you eliminate the offending odor? Does your trash can need cleaning or your bathroom need scrubbing? When was the last time the dog was bathed? Preventatively, sprinkling baking soda at the bottom of your trash cans and on the floor before vacuuming really helps.

Now let’s talk about adding scents naturally. Soy or beeswax candles scented with essential oils are great alternatives to the petroleum variety. Rather than burning incense (the smoke is harmful in large quantities), boil cinnamon sticks and cloves in a pan of H20. Can you get creative by making your own potpourri of dried flowers and spices? Lavender is one of my favorites. I keep a bag of cedar chips from a diseased cedar in my linen drawer. A rosemary plant in your kitchen can double as cooking ingredient.

Finally, bamboo sticks dipped in your favorite pure essential oil (try eucalyptus, lemon, or tea tree) look and smell nice.

In-joy,
BWB