Greening Your Cleaning - Reusable Wipes

My heart always breaks a little when I finish cleaning and look at all the things I've thrown away: Swiffer cloths, antibacterial wipes, paper towels... But finally, my prayers have been answered!  I was shopping around uncommongoods.com and found these reusable, biodegradable cleaning cloths:

http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=17702
EDIT: While UncommonGoods has stopped selling Skoy Cloths, you can still buy them here.

The quick-drying towels can be microwaved to kill bacteria at high temperatures, like you might send a sponge through the dishwasher to reuse it.  Check out all the raving reviews on the website, too:

"I bought these based on all of the positive reviews. The reviewers are right! I have had them for a few weeks and absolutely love them. They are very durable and easy to clean. I have used them for everything from dusting, wiping the kitchen counter and wiping down the stove. They are great!"

" Great cloths! I have loved using these for all the little cleaning jobs around the house. Great for mopping up big spills or just cleaning off the kitchen table. I have one in each bathroom for quick cleanups when unexpected guests arrive. They are in great shape and have already been used a bunch. Seems like they will be very long-lasting. Great value!!"


If these particular towels aren't your thing, I would still strongly suggest using cleaning cloths and spray cleaners instead of disposable wipes.  You'll cut down on all the paper waste, have better control of how much cleaner you use, and expose your absorbent skin to less-concentrated chemicals.  Any mismatched sock or dishtowel will do as a cleaning cloth, and they can be sent through your laundry along with any other towels or heavily-used fabrics you might have.  To make sure they're disinfected and clean, wash cleaning cloths with hot water.  You could even clean them the ol' fashion way in a pot of boiling-hot water (with or without soap).

"Green cleaning" is easy to do and good for your body, home, and planet.  I'll definitely be posting more "green cleaning" tips in Locally Long Island for you.

How to Find Health Food Stores in Your Area

[ updated Nov. 20, 2011 ]

Although I'll try my best, it's impossible for me to visit every health food store on Long Island -- but the good news is that this is because there's so many!  I want to post a few tricks for how you can find health food and natural food stores near you.

A moment on shopping...  while chain stores can be easy to find and shop in, smaller family-owned businesses often have much better customer service.  You can feel more comfortable asking questions about products and get more experience-based answers.  You also know that the money you spend on groceries is going directly toward the owners, their employees, and their business, rather than the CEO's of huge conglomerates.

So, how to find health food stores...

[EDIT: Since revamping this blog in the summer of 2011, I've decided to focus exclusively on Nassau County resources. You'll find a listing of Nassau health food stores on the right of this page, under the heading "Local Links".]

1.  Word of Mouth
          Probably the best way to find stores near you is by asking around.  This way, you can get a review of the store from someone you trust.  Ask someone whose diet you admire, or maybe a personal trainer at your gym. 

2.  Yellowpages.com

          An old-school method brought into the modern day, the Yellow Pages' website can list some stores in your local area.  However, not all stores have chosen to be listed in the guide and may not be included.  It can still be a good resource if you don't know where to look.  Googling your city and "health food stores"/"natural food stores" may also work.

3.  Local Publications
          Skim the advertisements in your local newspaper, magazines, Pennysaver, or religious bulletins.  Small businesses sometimes chose to use these local services instead of a larger-scale advertising.

4.  Downtown Areas
          Does your town have a downtown area with lots of shopping and stores?  You may want to browse through those streets one day to see if there's a natural food store. 


Keep your ears and eyes open, and continue reading Locally Long Island!  I'll be posting about my visits to natural food stores on the online throughout the blog.

How to R-e-c-y-c-l-e on Long Island

 
Whenever I talk about recycling, this song comes to mind.  Readers my age might remember this educational clip from Nickelodeon's "Rocko's Modern Life"...

...but even those readers who haven't seen it before have surely heard of the importance of recycling.


Although it might seem like we have an endless supply of materials, most resources on the planet are finite. Recycling reduces the amount of potentially reusable materials that wind up in dumps. This, in turn, reduces the need to extract and use new raw materials to make products. In this way, recycling not only saves material, it saves money. Fellow blogger Molly Man commented how, according to Adrienne Esposito's article in Newsday, it costs $80 to dispose of garbage, while it only costs $40 to dispose of recyclables. Also, it can take up to 17 times more energy to produce an aluminum can from scratch than from recycled materials. I've heard on many occasions that recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours! Seeing thousands of cans wind up in landfills every day when they have that kind of potential is a shame for our world and our wallets.

So how do I recycle?

Each town on Long Island has its own recycling policies regarding what can and cannot be recycled, what days of the week are pick-up days, etc. The first step, then, is to find out what town you're in so you can follow their recycling protocol.  You can use Citidex Long Island to find out what town (called a "township" on their website) you reside in.  

Information on each town's recycling policies can be found on their web pages.  Thanks to LongIsland.com's thorough list of townships and their official websites, I've made this list with links to each town's recycling homepage:

Nassau County

• Town of Hempstead 
• Town of North Hempstead (print-out reference table)
• Town of Oyster Bay 
• City of Glen Cove
• City of Long Beach 

Suffolk County 

• Town of Bablyon (this FAQ gives relevant answers toward the middle of the page)
• Town of Brookhaven (the most helpful section is toward the bottom, called "Recycling".)
• Town of East Hampton
• Town of Islip (uses a drop-off collection system instead of a pick-up system)
• Town of Riverhead
• Town of Smithtown 
• Town of Southampton (uses a drop-off collection system)
• Town of Southold
• Three Village (follows Brookhaven's recycling guidelines)

Generally, towns will pick up your recyclables as they would your trash.  In these cases, you'll need to either request a recycling pail or a decal to leave curbside for sanitation.  A few towns in Suffolk, however, ask that you bring your recyclables to a recycling center.  In this case, you can designate a pail or bag in your house for recyclable materials.

Oftentimes, establishments like apartment complexes and dorms have a privately owned recycling provider instead of the town’s facilities.  You’ll want to check for extra guidelines in places like these, too.

It's very important to follow protocol for your town to avoid contaminating the collected recyclables.  It's helpful to print out guidelines and keep them on your fridge or near the recycling container.

Recycling Basics

• Check every plastic you're about to throw away for a recycling symbol!  You'd be surprised at how much can be recycled: fast food cups, Chinese food containers, packaging, shampoo bottles, yogurt cups...
• Make sure that you thoroughly clean your recyclables with soap and hot water.  Otherwise, any residue will smell and may cause mold to grow.  It also helps to remove and throw away bottle tops or leave containers uncovered so that leftover water can evaporate.
• Plastics' "recycability" is based on the type of plastic they're made of.  Each plastic is given a number code, 1 - 7, which can be found on the bottom of any recyclable plastic item in a triangle.  This website gives you more information on what each symbol means, some examples of plastics, and images of the symbols. 
• Some towns allow recycling of scrap paper (usually black and white printed computer paper).  Check your town's specific guidelines.  If it can't be recycled, you can reuse it by using the backside for taking notes.
• Newspapers, magazines, and cardboards can also be recycled.  Usually, they must be flattened, tied in a bundle, and left outside.  Again, check your town's specific guidelines.

It may take some time for recycling to become a habit, but once it is, you will see how second nature sorting your trash can be. Each container you recycle will end up being used again instead of wasting its potential away in a landfill. 

How to Take the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)

[ updated Sept. 7, 2011 ]

Most Long Islanders become dependent on their cars for getting around Nassau and Suffolk. But what about going into Manhattan? Many people don't think to check the Long Island Rail Road until they need to get into "the City," but the LIRR can be great for getting around Long Island.

Image from http://mta.info/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm

My Top 5 Reasons for Loving the LIRR:

1. You don't have to sit in traffic.

2. You won't have to worry about being late - the LIRR is almost always on time, and if it's not, it's usually only late by 3 or 5 minutes.

3. You can sit down and relax, read a book, listen to music or take a nap instead of dealing with infamous Long Island drivers or rush hour traffic.

4. You won't need to worry about finding a parking spot at your destination.

5. You'll save gas for a trip you can take with the LIRR.


So how do you take the LIRR?

• Find the station nearest you.  
• You can use the MTA's map to see which station is closest to your town. LIRR stations are divided into "branches" or "lines", which are named by their final stop on Long Island.  For example, the Port Washington line goes to and from Port Washington and Manhattan, with many other stops in between.  Take a look at the LIRR map to get a clearer ideas of the branches. They are also color-coded to see where they end and begin.
• To get directions to the station, go to Google Maps [ maps.google.com ] and click on "Get Directions". You can type in your address, and then the station you're going to (ex: "Seaford Train Station"). The website will give you directions and show the LIRR station with an M in a blue square. You may want to use a hybrid view to see where the parking lot is at the station.
• Use the schedule:
• The LIRR Trip Planner [ lirr42.mta.info ] is the easiest way to figure out what times trains are leaving from your station. Chose your departing station, destination station, trip date, and trip time; you can chose either the departure time or arrival time you're looking for. Once you fill out this page, click "See Schedule," and the trains closest to the time you've requested will appear. 
• If you're not near a computer, you can call the LIRR's Info Line: 718-217-LIRR (5477).  It will generate the next available train times for you.  Speak loudly and clearly as you follow the prompts.
• LIRR Timetables are a little more complex to decipher. They're available online and at train stations. The schedules are organized by destinations and train branches; for example, you can find both a Lynbrook timetable and a Babylon timetable. Each timetable shows all 4 different schedules  -- weekdays to Manhattan, weekdays from Manhattan, weekends to Manhattan and weekends from Manhattan. Here's an example timetable schedule.
• Calculate your fare.  LIRR fares are based on two things: the stations you are traveling between and the time of day that you travel.
• The farther you are from your destination, the more it will cost.  The LIRR lines are divided into zones to determine how far each station is.  
• Fares are higher during rush hour times in the appropriate rush hour direction.  Tickets at this time and in this direction are called "peak" tickets.  For example, if you are traveling during the morning rush hour toward Manhattan, you will be charged "peak" fares; but, if you are traveling AWAY from Manhattan during the morning rush hour, you will be charged "off peak" fares.  The opposite goes for the evening commute: from Manhattan is peak, and to Manhattan is off peak.  To avoid these fares, try traveling on off hours if possible; the trip planner and timetable will let you know if the train is peak or off-peak.
• Buy your ticket:
• The easiest way to buy your ticket is at the station.  Find a ticket machine and follow the prompts on the touch screen.  You'll have to option to pay by cash, debit, or credit.  Note that if you use cash, any change you get back will use dollar coins for dollar amounts. 
• You can also buy tickets online through the LIRR website.  Once you use the Online Trip Planner, you have the option on the right bottom of the screen to "Buy Tickets Now".  There is a 5% discount for online tickets, and a 2% discount for monthly tickets.  There is an option to buy a printable ticket or have the tickets mailed to you for free and arrive in 3-5 business days. 
• If you're running late, you also have the option to buy your ticket on the train.  However, you will be charged nearly twice as much!!!  I only advise using this option if it is absolutely necessary
• Travel on the train! Find a seat on the train.  If there are none (which rarely happens), it's best to stand near the doors so you can lean on the walls and handrails provided.  When an employee comes through, you'll be asked to show your ticket.  You can also leave your ticket in the metal tab on top of the seat in front of you.  There are automated announcements over the loudspeaker to indicate your current station and what the next station you're stopping at will be.  There is also a screen toward the front of your train car that displays this information.  When in doubt, you can always ask an employee.

Important Tips & Tricks

• Transferring at Jamaica.    Due to the nature of some train lines, you may have to transfer trains at Jamaica station to reroute to your destination.  This is stated on the Online Planner and indicated by a "J" on the paper timetables.  This is a lot less intimidating than it sounds!  When your train arrives at Jamaica, the train you are transferring to is almost always immediately across the tracks.  The train will have its destination illuminated on the side of the cars and on the screens above the track if you'd like to double-check you're getting on the right train.  You have about 2 minutes of leeway to get onto the transfer train, so in the rare occasion your train is NOT across the tracks, listen carefully to hear which track your train is on.  Again, you can always ask a conductor or employee (they stick their heads out or walk around at the station). 
• City Tickets.  On weekends, City Tickets are available for one-way trips when taking the LIRR between the boroughs of New York City (ex: Queens to Manhattan, the Bronx to Queens, etc.).  The charge is only $3.50!  You can chose this option on the ticket machines on the first screen if you're purchasing tickets at a NYC station.  City Tickets are not available for Mets-Willets Point Station, Belmont, or Far Rockaway.
• Bringing a Bike.  If you chose to take your bike to get to and from the LIRR, you'll need a bicycle permit.  You can apply for a lifetime pass for $5.  For more information, see the LIRR Bike Page.
• Platform Information Screens.  You can use the screens above the tracks at your station to see when the next train is coming in and in what direction it is going.  These are very helpful to make sure you're at the right track for stations with more than one platform.  Many stations use a "to Manhattan" and "to [final destination of LIRR line]" labeling system for their tracks.  
  

Rockville Center Farmers' Market

Last Sunday, I visited the Rockville Centre farmers' market at the intersection of Long Beach Road and Sunrise Highway.  The market is open Sundays from 7am-12pm from June through mid November.

I'm always astounded at the variety of fruits and vegetables that show up at this market, AND that this variety is from New York!  There was everything from the standard fall favorites of pumpkins, gourds, carrots, and apples (of every variety) to uncommon foods like Swiss chard, radishes, and bok choy.  I was especially impressed by the peppers selection - there were green, yellow, red, orange, spicy, mild, grilling & snacking peppers...  "The Pickle Man" was there with another impressive selection of standard sour and half sour pickles plus their own unique mixes like horseradish, mustard, and sweet red pepper (my favorite).  There were even treats for hungry canines - vegetable doggie treats, mints, and accessories!  You could also find a stand of local selections of meats and fish.  And last but not least is the stand I hold dear to my Italian heart - fresh, handmade pasta!  I picked up some smoked mozzarella, asparagus ravioli, and meatless rice balls.... mm mmm...



Check out all my pictures from the market.

And here's my shopping list of what I bought there that week:

• emperor, red delicious, and  honey crisp apples (the orchid's own variety - you'd never find THAT at a grocery store!)
• New York honey sticks
• apple pie
• apple cider
• veggie and pumpkin dog treats
• yellow tomatoes (make a great, creamy sauce)
  
• radishes
• carrots
• sweet red pepper and horseradish pickles
  
• smoked mozzarella cheese
• asparagus ravioli 
• meatless rice balls
• a pumpkin

Just walking around that market makes me want to cook!  Everything is so fresh and juicy, and there's such a large selection that excites & inspires you to put things together.  Be sure not to miss out on this market before it's gone until June!




[EDIT]:  For more information on farmers' markets and how to find one near you, see this post.

Looking for recipes to plan for when you go shopping at the market?  The New York Times has recently posted this article with veggie-packed pasta recipes.  You can pick up the vegetables and pasta at your local Long Island farmers' market. 



Please comment on my blog posts and take this survey so I know if I can use this as my senior thesis project!

Thesis Evaluation

Hello Readers,

It's mid-October, and I need to check in with you and see how this blog is going!  If I don't have enough readers to be able to generate statistics, I won't be able to continue this project.  So please, leave comments on my posts, and take this survey so I can see if I can continue this thesis.

Thanks everybody!

Melissa

The Long Island Fall Festival - Hecksher Park, Huntington Village, NY

This weekend is the Long Island Fall Festival in Hecksher Park!  Celebrate the season with one of the biggest fall events in our community.  Even better, save fuel by taking the Long Island Rail Road to get there!  Map | Schedule Planner


From the LI Fall Festival Website:

There will free parking at the Huntington Train Station all day Saturday and Sunday.  A shuttle bus will run continuously between the train straton and  the Festival on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm.  Cost: $1 Round Trip for adults and children; 50 cents for Senior Citizens and children under 5.

Happy Fair Trade Month!

October is my favorite month for lots of reasons - it's the first month I'm happy to admit it's fall, there's pumpkins in all my favorite foods (pies, breads, tortellini, lattes), the leaves are changing, it's Halloween, AND it's Fair Trade Month!  A whole 31 days to celebrate the sweet taste of fair wages and sustainable sourcing... mm mmm!

So what is "Fair Trade"?  Check out the official site for more details, but briefly: it's an independent certification system through the nonprofit TransFair USA that lets consumers know that a product has been created with fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable practices.  A good example is Fair Trade Certified coffee.  Typically, coffee bean farmers receive the lowest pay possible for their labor from a "middle-man" company, which then sells the beans to larger processing company at a much higher price.  That way, the middle-man's costs are low, and their profits are disproportionately high.  Fair Trade cuts out that middle-man so that the farmers receive a reasonable and just price for their hard work.  They prohibit the use of "harmful agrochemicals and GMOs" (that's Genetically Modified Organisms - plants whose seeds' genes have been altered in a laboratory) for employee and consumer health.  They encourage organic farming and sustainable practices like crop rotation, careful logging selection, and hand-picking fruits (instead of a machine shaking them off a plant).  Overall, Fair Trade certifies that your product was made in conditions that respect workers' lives AND your life, by offering you hand-picked, carefully grown products.

How do you know if a product is Fair Trade?  The US Fair Trade logo is seen on their website: A man in black and white carrying two baskets with the colors inverted on each half of him.  You can scroll down on this page of their official website to see the logo, as well as other popular Fair Trade labels and how they are different.  If there's not an official TransFair logo, it's not Fair Trade!

Where are Fair Trade products on Long Island?  You can use their Where to Buy tool on their website to enter your zip code and see what stores near you carry Fair Trade products.  You can find certified products in almost every health food store and even some mainstream stores.  Some popular brands that have certified products in their line are Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Ben and Jerry's, and some stores they list on the "Where to Buy" page include Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's Club, Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's.  I've also seen Fair Trade products in health food stores I've visited - Eden's Way in Massapequa, Jandi's in Oceanside, and Wild by Nature in East Setauket, Huntington, Hampton Bays, and Oceanside. 


Keep your eyes peeled for that Fair Trade logo, and have a happy Fair Trade October!  (click the link for a daily Fair Trade fact every day in October)

Farmers' Markets on Long Island

If you've been curious about farmers' markets on Long Island, it's not too late to visit one!  Harvest time is perfect to check out New York's selection of squash, zucchini, gourds, tomatoes, apples, apple cider, and other veggies.  You can also find fruit, homemade pies, fresh pasta, cheese and sometimes fish.  Most markets are open through November, so you can even have a local Thanksgiving.

Here's a quick list of markets for Bayville, East Meadow, Garden City, Glen Cove, Long Beach (Kennedy Plaza), Locust Valley, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, and Roslyn.  If you don't see your city listed, try your town's website or Googling your city and "farmers' markets".


Farmers' markets are usually open one day a week, often on the weekends (Kennedy Plaza in Long Beach is open two days).  At the market, farmers from a local radius, which varies from market to market, set up stands and sell their produce.  Usually they will invite guests to try their food and are eager to talk about their produce and practices.  Markets become much more of a community than just a store - there's "regulars" that come to the market every week, the same vendors all season, and a welcome for newcomers.  You're also always invited to BYO Bag and reduce disposable bag waste!

Happy Harvest, and enjoy the local bounty!

Paper? Plastic? Canvas?

A few years ago, you were hard pressed to find someone carrying a reusable bag to the store.  But today, it's commonplace - even trendy!  Lots of popular retail stores sell canvas bags, often with a slogan on it like "Save the Earth," "Love Your Planet," or "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle".  And there's always designer Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag that became a sold-out, wait-on-line-before-the-store-opens craze a few years ago. 

Why not a plastic bag? For one, they're made of petroleum - a limited resource that we're surely using recklessly enough without carrying home Cheetos in it. Plastic bags are also not biodegradable.  That means that once they're made, they'll always be plastic bags; they won't decompose into simpler, organic parts.  Even when we choose to reuse them to reduce waste, they wind up polluting our air instead.  Burning plastic bags in incinerators, where garbage often winds up, releases those petrochemicals into the air.  Plastic bags are a serious issue for animals, too.  In the water, animals can get entangled in them, and some like the endangered Green Sea Turtle can confuse them for the jellyfish they eat.  Land animals face similar problems with plastic bags in their habitat.

One way to reduce plastic bag waste is to recycle them.  Many stores now, like King Kullen, Stop and Shop, and Staples, offer receptacles at their entrances to collect plastic bags for recycling.  Paper bags are an okay alternative, but oftentimes they too are used once and thrown away.  The best way to reduce or even eliminate your plastic bag consumption is a reusable option.

When I first tried to get myself into the reusable bag habit, I found myself buying the attractive elizabeth haub foundation bags or last-minute canvas bags at the counter, and then forgetting all about them after the trip home!  So, here's a few ways I've found to get good use out of reusable bags:

• Leave them in the car:  If your car is parked nearby, put the bags back in your trunk or glove compartment as soon as you're done unpacking them.  Then they'll at least make it to the store with you next time, but it's up to you to remember to bring them in!  To help me remember, I'd make myself buy a new bag if I left mine in the trunk.  You can imagine I quickly began to pick up the habit...
•  Use them for more than just groceries:  Reusable bags can be brought to any store - bookstore, drug store, gift store, florist.  To be more discrete, you can fold them up and put them in your handbag until you get to the checkout line.  The more stylish reusable bags can be brought to go clothes shopping, too.
  
• Create your own bag, or find one you LOVE:  If you're proud of your bag(s) and want to show them off, you'll be much more likely to remember to bring them out with you.  You can find plain canvas bags at Michael's, along with iron-ons, transfers, fabric paint and pens to decorate it.  And if you're not a crafty person, keep an eye out for a reusable bag you can't resist (or for a "discount", put it on your birthday/holiday wish list).

*Don't forget - a lot of these bags are made of fabric or a wipeable surface, so be sure to clean them after a few uses.

Think Globally, Act Long Island-ly

So here we are - the first post of Locally LI!  It seems like just yesterday that you were no more than an idea for my thesis project.  How the time flies!

Well, I think I'll use this first post to talk about the blog's title: Locally Long Island.  It comes from the phrase "Think globally, act locally" - a slogan used to show how everyday actions can change one's impact on the environment and world around them.  When you choose low-impact options, such as buying from a farmers' market or small business, instead of high-impact options, like buying imported fruits or clothes from a chain store, you're reducing your impact on the environment and underpaid workers, as well as letting companies know you want responsible products.  Additionally, "thinking locally" helps support small businesses in your community. 

My hope for Locally LI is that I can share the products, stores, websites, tips, tricks, and organizations I've found that have a cradle-to-grave, low-impact, global philosophy.  I want this blog to make finding these kinds of products easy so that buying "green" or "globally" isn't a hassle.  And lastly, I'd like it to be a forum for fellow Long Islanders to share what they've found and their experiences with each other. 

So, welcome to Locally LI!


-Melissa