Memorial Day

Unfortunately, too many of us have forgotten the reverence and solemnity of what Memorial Day represents. While the majority of the people in the United States are still patriotic, there has been a loss of meaning of words like honor, sacrifice, valor and bravery. We are beneficiaries of those who've given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. The old expression of "freedom isn't free" is glaringly clear when we see what it has cost so many thousands of heroic men and women, who've given their all on battlefields around the world, to ensure our freedom, as well as the freedom of others. Maybe we personally know someone who has fallen in battle and maybe we don't, but all deserve to be honored. So what can we do to properly observe this special day?

~ Remember what Memorial Day is for and teach the children.

~ Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of the fallen heroes.

~ Visit memorials that are dedicated to our fallen war heroes.

~ Fly the American flag at half-staff until noon.

~ Fly the POW/MIA flag as well.

~ Participate in the "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3:00 PM to pause and think about the true meaning of the day and to play the tune "Taps".

~ Do something to help the widows, widowers and children of the fallen and also offer aid the disabled veterans who've served as well.

~ Offer thanks to our veterans and appreciate the sacrifice they've made.

~ Go to a parade if there is one in your area.

~ If possible travel to Washington to visit Arlington National Cemetery. If that is not possible, perhaps a shorter trip to a military base that may be near to join in their observances.

~ Visit and possibly take cookies or flowers to a nearby veterans hospital to show your appreciation.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating this holiday with your family and friends, traveling, having barbeques and the like, just don't forget to remember the meaning behind the holiday. Take a little time from the fun and festivities to reflect and remember that freedom isn't free, and we all are indebted to their sacrifice.

Reusing material

Start with one small, daily activity

Love your latté? Ask your local barista to put it in your travel mug. Work at turning your activities to reuse things into a habit. Habits are powerful forces for change. Make them count.

There are dozens of ways to reuse goods instead of buying new. Ideas for reusing things are published in a variety of books, many of which are available at used bookstores, in magazines, and on the Web. You can come up with dozens of your own solutions based on what you have. Make it a game to keep stuff out of the landfill. Before you toss an item in to the garbage consider whether it could be used somewhere else around the house, repurposed, or given away to be used by someone else. Some people have been so successful at reuse that they have virtually no garbage to speak of. What if you could reduce your garbage to once a month pick up instead of once a week?

Disposables don't necessarily save time

If your argument is time, reusing materials is not significantly more time or resource intensive than disposables. An excellent example is disposable diapers, millions of which end up in the landfill annually. Cloth diapers, whether you wash them yourself or use a diaper service, are much kinder to the planet and consume fewer resources than disposables. Cloth is also much cheaper than disposables, which can run hundreds of dollars a year. No baby? The same is true for a huge range of paper and plastic products.

Though buying new provides products that are fresh, clean, and completely ours, reusing what we can lowers the burden on the planet and lessens our dependence on natural resources that can't be easily replaced.

Demesne.info

Preventing waste in the first place

Preventing waste can help you save money and reduce your impact on the environment.

Preventing waste includes:

• Purchasing durable, long-lasting goods and making them last longer by repairing them when necessary.
• Reusing products and packaging, and reducing the amount of packaging that is discarded.
• It is also seeking products and packaging that are as free of toxics as possible.

Memorial Cuff

At Cangles we are now selling a special Memorial Cuff.  We feel that this goes along with our Military cuffs.
But you don't have to be part of the military to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

How to set up a Recycling program at Work

1. Talk it out. Start by talking to those you work with, and your employer, if necessary, about the types of trash they produce. Think glass, plastic, paper, electronics. Talk about what is recyclable and what isn’t.

2. Count It Out. How many trash, paper/cardboard, compost, and other recycling bins you will need?

3. Contact your local municipal waste collection service. Find out what your community can and will recycle. They might even offer educational seminars, free bins and educational posters. Find info online by using Google with your city name and recycling or garbage pick up.

4. Set It Up. Place recycling bins In common areas like hallways, kitchens and meeting rooms. Label each bin for a specific type of recyclable. 

5. Correct Coding. You might try color coding each type of bin, say green for paper, red for plastic and blue for glass. Having each type of bin a specific color will make it easier for individuals to sort correctly.

6. Take A Meeting. Plan a time when everyone in your building can get together and learn about the recycling system, and what goes in which bin. Make sure you include your custodial staff since they will probably be the ones consolidating and collecting the contents.

7. Check Up. If you do a pre-program assessment of garbage output, it’s easier to measure your results later. Wait about a month after you launch your recycling program, then reassess your trash output.   Assessing the actual amount of garbage you produce is a big job, so don't let this step keep you from actually getting started. Setting up a recycling program will benefit everyone, so just go for it!

Via Wikihow.

Reuse tips for you daily routine

• Use your local library. Instead of buying new books every time you would like them, join a local public library and reuse the books that are there for the perusing, and save yourself some money, too!
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• Use rechargeable batteries. They significantly reduce your waste, your costs, and the number of trips you’ll need to make to the hardware store.
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• Reuse washable cups rather than throwing away disposables. Most fast food restaurants and coffee houses will fill your reusable mug.
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• Use reuseable cloth gift bags and save reuseable paper, such as the Sunday Comics or grocery bags, for wrapping gifts.
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• Reuse washable cotton diapers. If you use velcro diaper wraps, reusable diapers are just as convenient and often more afforable than disposable diapers.
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• Wash and reuse plastic storage containers rather than using throw-away plastic storage bags. For times when you do use plastic food storage bags, wash and reuse them again.
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• Paper or plastic? Don’t waste either. Reuse cloth or canvas bags when shopping.
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• Wash and reuse plastic utensils.
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• Reuse washable napkins
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• Before purchasing new products, check goodwill or other used goods stores to see if you can reuse someone else’s item.

"All gave Some.......Some gave All"

With Memorial day approaching let all of us be mindful of what past, current and future military men and women and their families have sacrificed for our freedom.

Water Reuse in Homes

Why reuse water? Because you should make full use of it, especially when there is global water shortages.

Here are some tips on saving and reuse water at home:

• Turn off the tap when not in use. Regularly check taps and pipes for leaks and repair any leaks detected. 
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• Never pour water away when there may be another use for it.
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• Washing machine rinse water, especially the last few batches of rinse water can be used for toilet flushing, and floor cleaning. 
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• Reuse water from washing of fruits and vegetables, and dish/cup washing final rinse water to water plants.
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• Install water-efficient taps and showerheads to cut water usage.
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• Take shorter showers and turn off the shower while lathering and washing your hair.
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• Use a tumbler of water to rinse your mouth instead of leaving the tap running while you brush your teeth.
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• Use a pail of water to wash your car rather than a hose.
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• Use a broom to clean your driveway or sidewalk rather than flushing with water. 
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• Rinse dishes in a plugged sink rather than under running water.
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• Collect rainwater for watering plants, cleaning floor and other purposes.
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• Do not use running water to defrost frozen food.
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waterreuse.org

Cangles Military Family

We at Cangles felt the need to design military cuffs, so that our country's military and families knew that they held a special place in our thoughts. We will be sending a percentage of each sale of one of our military cuffs to a worthy organization that will be going directly to benefit military personnel, their fami...lies or veterans. We will let you know which organization we will be supporting.

We have decided to give one dollar per cuff sold, to help support the Wounded Warriors Project such as: pairs up those who have been wounded and have overcome hardships with the newly wounded, support groups and interaction for those suffering from combat stress and trauma, provides adaptive equipment so that the wouned sold...ier can bike in a variety of events, plus many other much needed programs.

Please feel free to post a picture of your military loved one, and/or family members if you would like to do so.

Compost -saving a one way trip to the landfill

A great variety of things can be composted at home, saving them from a one-way trip to the landfill, and turning them into a valuable soil amendment for home use. This list describes some of the items you may want to add to your home compost pile.

GRASS/LAWN CLIPPINGS

Actually, it's usually easier to leave grass clippings in the lawn, where they will decompose and benefit the soil directly. However, they can be composted, too. Be cautious to add grass clippings in very thin layers, or thoroughly mix them in with other compost ingredients, as they otherwise tend to become slimy and matted down, excluding air from the pile. Fresh grass clippings are high in nitrogen, making them a 'green' compost ingredient.

HAY

Farmers are often very happy to get rid of spoiled hay bales that have been out in the rain, and will give them away or sell them at a low price. Grass hay will probably contain a lot of seed, which can resprout in your garden. Alfalfa hay will compost very readily. The greener the hay, the more nitrogen it contains. Be sure that any hay you plan to compost is well-moistened prior to addition to the pile.

KITCHEN WASTES

Fruit and vegetable peels/rinds, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, and similar materials are great stuff to compost. They tend to be high in nitrogen (this puts them in the 'greens' category), and are usually quite soft and moist. As such, kitchen wastes need to be mixed in with drier/bulkier materials to allow complete air penetration. Many people compost their kitchen wastes in enclosed worm bins or bury them 8" deep in the soil, to keep from attracting pests to an outdoor compost pile (check with your local government to see if it has regulations about this -- some forbid open piles containing food wastes because of the pest issue). Avoid composting meat scraps, fatty food wastes, milk products, and bones -- these materials are very attractive to pests.

LEAVES

If you live in an area where autumn leaves are still thrown away as garbage, cash in on the bounty each year by acquiring your neighbors' leaves! Generally, leaves are an excellent compost ingredient. They can mat down and exclude air, though, so be sure that any clumps are thoroughly broken up, or that the leaves are only used in very thin layers. Ash and poplar/cottonwood leaves can raise soil pH if used in compost -- this may not be beneficial if your soil is already alkaline, as many soils are in the West (especially in semiarid and arid climates). Dead, dry leaves are in the 'browns' category, while living green leaves contain abundant nitrogen and are considered 'greens'.

STRAW

Dry straw is a good material for helping to keep a compost pile aerated, because it tends to create lots of passageways for air to get into the pile. Be sure to wet the straw, as it is very slow to decompose otherwise. Straw is definitely a 'brown' and also requires mixture with 'greens' to break down quickly. Many stables use straw as a bedding material for horses -- straw that has undergone this treatment is mixed in with horse manure and breaks down more quickly.

WEEDS AND OTHER GARDEN WASTES

Many types of weeds and old garden plants can be composted. Avoid weeds that have begun to go to seed, as seeds may survive all but the hottest compost piles. Some types of weeds are 'pernicious weeds' and will resprout in the compost pile -- avoid using these unless they are thoroughly dead. Green weeds are (you guessed it) a 'green', while dead brown weeds are a 'brown'.

WOOD CHIPS AND SAWDUST

Wood products belong in the 'browns' category, because they are fairly low in nitrogen. Some sawdusts, especially from broadleaved/deciduous tress, will break down quickly in an active compost pile. Others, especially from coniferous trees, will take longer to decay. Stir sawdust thoroughly into the pile or use very thin layers. Coarse wood chips will very slowly decay, and are probably better used as mulch unless you have lots of time to wait. Be sure not to compost chips or sawdust from any sort of chemically-treated wood -- you could be adding toxics like arsenic to your pile if you do.
vegweb

Buy Michigan Now

Lisa Diggs with Buy Michigan Now has written a superb article about Cangles. For those interested in how Cangles came about, you can read it at http://www.buymichigannow.com/news.php?action=news_full&id=134

Another great way to Recycle

In the town where we live the local Arts Council collects the items listed below:

   a.  egg cartons

   b.  pill bottles with labels removed

   c.  the front of used birthday, Christmas, get well cards

   d.  rags - from old socks to t-shirts

So,  instead of throwing these items in the trash you might want to check with 

your local Arts Council to see if they also need/collect such items.