Apartment Blog

I found this article online and it has changed the way I drink water. Bottles, Bottles, Everywhere by Ramon Cruz has opened my eyes to what damage can be done by simply drinking from the plastic water bottle on my desk. Like every health conscientious American, I make a effort to consume eight glasses of water a day. In doing this, I tend to drink a lot out of water bottles. But the harm that I’m doing to the environment could be comparable to the harm I would be doing to my own body if I didn’t consume that water. A person needs to drink water throughout the day in order for their body to work properly; your blood has to carry oxygen to your cells and needs water to do this. Water also helps you digest food and get ride of waste in your body. But by drinking water out of plastic bottles, I am overflowing our landfills and contributing to global warming. Sure recycling would help, but “less than 20 percent of the 28 billion single-serving water bottles that Americans buy each year are recycled.”[1] Therefore, most of those water bottles are resting in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.

And what for? “More than a quarter of all bottled water is just processed tap water, including Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani.1” Yet bottled water consumption is continually growing each year. So there needs to be a better plan of action to tackle this wide-spread damage! The article suggests several options. One being if you purchase bottled water make sure you recycle the container. I know this option isn’t the easiest for me because the community I live in does not collect recycling (which I plan on discussing with them in the near future). So the second suggestion is what I’m doing now. I drink tap water. I have a water filter at my home and at the office where I consume my water daily. And since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the Food & Drug Administration’s standards for bottled water, I’m drinking water that is just as safe as, if not safer than, bottled. I also drink out of a reusable container so I won’t be throwing away numerous plastic or Styrofoam cups a week–which also harms the environment. Be sure you don’t reuse single-use water bottles; doing so can expose you to bacterial build-up and carcinogens leached from the plastic.

The ‘Green Living’ bandwagon is continually getting new members and I encourage all of you to hop aboard and do your part in helping our environment!

[1] http://green.yahoo.com/blog/climate411/91/bottles-bottles-everywhere.html

Green doesn’t just have to be the color for your party, make it the theme!! Green living can extend to how you entertain! Making it green is easy on the environment and easy for you to do! Mimicking the tips we’ve already given you for St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas, we’ve matched some eco-friendly ones. Check out these tips:

Tip 1: Invitations
As I always suggest, send out electronic invitations. Besides giving your party a more casual tone, you also save on paper that is just going to be thrown out later.  Or if you’re party is going to be formal and dictates having an invite, try to use recycled paper invitations.

Tip 2: Decorations
Just for the sheer expense, I always try to recommend fun crafty ideas for holiday decorations. Take a look at our St. Patrick’s Day Party ideas. But it turns out, not only will these save you money; they are also more environmentally friendly! Making your decorations would be a creative and a fun thing for you and your friends or kids to do.  And as much as it hurts, my favorite party staple that I always recommend–balloons–is actually pretty bad for the environment! They often end up in the ocean where they are consumed by sea life, which eventually die from balloons blocking their digestive system. So looks like all my ballooning days are over! 

Tip 3: Food & Drinks
A cute and easy idea to avoid waste is serving finger food. By serving finger food, you alleviate the need to have utensils or plates.  Your guest can just have their little sandwiches, cheese & crackers, cookies, chips on napkins.  And if you want to save on purchasing cups, offer your guests canned or bottled beverages. You can recycle them when they are done!  Wow, this tip allows you to save on a little bit of money as well! Cha-ching!

Tip 4: Entertainment
If you’ve read our blog about St. Patrick’s Day  Party ideas then you know we suggest doing contests, having music or a movie playing in the background.  These ideas don’t require too many materials. But another idea I’d like to add is doing Karaoke! You don’t necessarily have to have a machine (although it helps), but just grab a bunch of your already ‘tipsy’ friends for some movin and groovin and perhaps a little singing!  This should make for a lot of entertainment!! 

While we are making suggestions about how to make your St. Patrick’s Day party more eco-friendly, please remember these tips can certainly be used for your other parties.  If you’re having a Birthday celebration soon, think about using some of these ideas. Not only are you helping the environment but you also may be saving some money in the process!! Bonus!!

Source: Progressivekid.com

Okay, so we’ve posted a lot of ‘lovey, dovey’ blogs pertaining to Valentine’s Day. And truth be told I wasn’t even going to blog about this, but I go to check my email this morning and saw this article! It must be shared with everyone! It’s about revenge Valentine’s gifts. So let’s say you and your sweetheart just recently broke up, right before Valentine’s Day, and you want to send him/her a little reminder that you’re still mad about it! Well on Asylum.com, you can. This website offers you many little trinkets to send depending on the level of revenge you’d like to get!

Scrolling through their gallery I saw so many things that almost make me wish I had an ex to send them to! Like the severed middle finger. Instead of actually flipping off your ex, you can now send him/her one in the mail! An authentic voodoo kit to put a curse on your enemy or a mailed stinky dead fish (guaranteed to be extremely offensive) is also available! There are also ‘bitter hearts’ which are like conversation hearts traditional of Valentine’s Day, but with the words ‘dumped, despair and dysfunctional’ written on them instead. And lastly, a mixed CD of the most annoying sounds!

Even if you don’t have an ex you’d like to send a revengeful gift to, just seeing all the possibilities you could send has to make you laugh a little!! And put a little smile on your face this Valentine’s Day!!

DISCLAIMER: FORRENT.COM DOES NOT ADVOCATE THE ACT OF BEING REVENGEFUL IN ANY WAY. WE CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN UPON SOMEONE AS THIS BLOG IS SIMPLY POSTED FOR INFORMATIVE PURPOSES.

Are you throwing a Valentine’s theme party this year? Do you need some ideas? Check out our five tips for throwing an awesome bash this year!

Tip 1: Invitations

Depending on the formality of your party, you can choose official invitations, emailed invitations or just verbally announce. Either way you choose, make sure it’s using the holiday colors and verbiage (lots of LOVE) while also setting the tone for the party.

Tip 2: Décor

Obviously you’ll want to stick somewhat to the color scheme of Valentines, like red, white and pink. Incorporate these colors in many of the decorations to give your party a truly lovely look. You might want to think about streamers, plates, napkins, cups, table cloth and of course the party staple balloons! And as I mentioned in our ‘cheap decorations’ blog, you can always make a lot of your decorations by using construction paper, colored plates cut out in the shape of hearts, or print out images on your computer. It’ll add just a bit more flair while not depleting your funds!

Tips 3: Food/Beverages

This is where a lot of your budget is going to be spent. You could do the usual finger foods for the party, i.e. chips, dips, wings, etc. Or you could do a dessert buffet! Give your guests all the treats they can take! J For beverages you can have the normal soda, water, etc. Or you can have a theme drink like ‘lovers punch’ or something of that nature.

Tip 4: Entertainment

You’ll want your guests to be entertained during your party. So make sure there are plenty of fun games for everyone to be involved in, music for the background and/or dancing as well as crafts for any children involved or adults that particularly enjoy it! But if you’re having an informal gathering where everyone knows everyone, then it may not be necessary to do all this. Just let everyone mingle!

Tip 5: Gifts

If you are going to be doing games, make sure there is a prize for each of the winners. You could also do door prizes or a gift exchange. And don’t forget little party favors as a thank you for the guests attending.

Did these ideas help? Will you incorporate them in your Valentine’s Party? I sure hope so!