Recently my old lunch bag gave out. KAPUT! It had been my son's lunch bag since 2000. Since he is now closing in on 21, this bag has seen 10 years of use. Not too shabby. It's an insulated bag, which decided to disintegrate during its last washing. I sighed and looked around the house for something that I could use in its place. No such luck. The cloth bags I used for groceries are out of the question, since I needed something insulated, because many times there is no room in the fridge at work. So I went on the hunt and found this site. http://www.laptoplunches.com/
Their products contain no phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) or lead, which is what I look for in such products. In case you are scratching your heads going phtha...........what? Or bisphenal who? I'll give a brief rundown on these compounds. Phthalate is used in plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, and durability. However, once the plastic starts to break down, which it invariably will, it releases the phthalate esters into the environment. This is bad because studies have reported that high levels of phthalates can cause changes in hormone levels, birth defects, and endocrine disruption. There are current studies going on that believe that this can lead to obesity and metabolic interference. BPA is also used in plastic and studies have shown that it is also an endocrine disruptor. Along with the side effects I listed above, there is also an increase risk in cancers, such as breast, prostate, and neuroblastoma. Nothing about these chemical compounds are positive and, in my opinion, need to be kept out of our environment.
The Bento lunch boxes and their sleeves look to be exactly what I am looking for. I 'bag' it a lot these days, partly because of money, but also as a part of my "cut down on my consumer consumption" pledge. I am most excited about the little container for salad dressing or sauce. Yay! I hate hauling around an entire bottle of dressing for just one lunch salad. This will also help on portion control. The site also comes with ideas and menus for lunch, which can help liven up a boring meal. One can only stand so many sandwiches.
The next goody is a somewhat cheap and easy to install, solar panel. This panel will not power your entire house, but it can be used to power tvs, computers, and some lights. We are all told about how much our computers drain on our electric grids. I power down my laptop everyday, but I have to leave up my PC, because I have Comcast Phone and it is powered by my PC. See my dilemma? I have been talking about installing a solar power for just powering my computer and my ex hubby recommended this http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html.
This panel is right at $200 and seems to be just what I am looking for. I think I will put a few bucks away and purchase this in the next few months. I'll then report how much money I saved, due to running a few appliances off it's power.
I have some more things for you guys to check out, but I'll post those in coming blogs. Hope both or at least one of these items piques your interest. If you guys have ideas you'd like to pass along, please email me at greenermusings@gmail.com.
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