Mission #1 A Sticky Situation.

Sticky tape - is there a biodegradable option?

Tadahh!  We have a result - thanks to Pauli, who simply used the interweb, we have Enviro Tape from Todae. I can order online and have it delivered, so no car trip. AND I'm pretty sure Pauli wasn't thinking about where to get biodegradeable sticky tape before reading this post - and now he knows ;-)

*Note - further investigation has revealed that Sellotape import all their sticky tape from China.  They weren't even sure if there is an Australian manufacturer of sticky tape.

... but wait ... there's more!

The humble stapler is another little everyday object that consumes endless staples (where DO they come from and where do they GO??) but here is a pretty nifty alternative - the stapleless stapler!

Mission #2 All Hung Up.

Eco-friendly coat hangers? Yes ... but will they survive the shirt wash on a wet day?

While I don't use dry cleaners, I still seem to have an unruly calamity of coathangers in my life. The plastic ones and even some of the metal ones will break, leaving me with an object not even useful for breaking into a Datsun 180B. 

I'm going to try Green Hangers - my only reservation being durability - do they fall apart if they get damp?' 

What I love about them so far is that they are readily available in places like Howards Storage* and Bunnings.

*footnote: When I arrived at Howards Storage to stock up on Green Hangers, they were having a sale on their wooden hangers - the ideals of the experiment were pushed aside for the longevity of sturdy wooden hangers. And I have to say, my frocks and I are happy to hang this way for now.

Mission #3 Message in a bottle ...

Brrrrr. Unless you've just blown in from Siberia, you'll have noticed it's been a bit chilly here in Sydney. A couple of nights ago I spent a good half an hour searching for my trusty hot water bottle. When I finally found my beloved bottle, I discovered she had succumed to age and her rubber had rotted!  In a panic I put in an emergency request for a new one which was delivered by The Good Husband when he returned from work. As I lay there waiting with my ice-block feet and icicle knees, I wondered if there was indeed such a thing as a recycleable bottle to warm the body ...

And Now, A Word From The Tooth Fairy.

Teeth are a hot topic in our house at the moment.  Bubble has reached the age where her teeth are falling out and there has been quite a lot of traffic with the tooth fairy.  She brings beads rather than cold hard cash, and when all the teeth are out, we can string them into a necklace - the beads, not the teeth!

There has also been a lot of discussion about dental care and teeth brushing.  Like all good mothers I have been encouraging regualar brushing - however, children, being children, tend to be a bit random, and I've discovered toothbrushes hiding in some, shall we say, 'less than hygenic' places.  So the turnover of plastic toothbrushes has been quite high. Which had me thinking ... is there an alternative to the plastic toothbrush?

A quick search on the net (remind me, what did we do before the internet??) turned up these:

http://www.environmentaltoothbrush.com.au

Bamboo toothbrushes!  Admittedly the feeling of the bamboo takes a little getting used to, however the end result is the same - gleaming pearly whites!  When the brush has done its dash, off to the compost it goes!