Saturday, December 22, 2012

Calling All Creative Minds

January 12, 2013 ALL DAY We invite all creative minds to come out to the ReUse Center located at 3 Clearwater Road off Route 32 in New Paltz by the ballfields.  We need your artistic imagination so we can create "recipes" for people wondering what to do with the stuff!  We will type up your ideas and post them by the materials so others can use them.  Looking forward to seeing all the ideas! Call (845) 255-8456 if you have any questions or email your ideas to recycling@townofnewpaltz.org

Thursday, December 13, 2012

2012 Winter Newsletter

Our newsletter is finally here.  Please take note that we have scheduled several amazing workshops for early next year.

2012 Winter Newsletter

Upcoming Workshops: 

  • January 26th, 2013 10am to 1pm - “Tool Fix It” workshop with Wolf Bravo, Ulster County Tool Share 
  • February 23rd, 2013 10am to 1pm “Container Gardening” 
  • March 9th, 2013 10am to 1pm “Vertical Gardening and Window Farming” 
  • April 13 2013 ”Compost 101” 9am to 10:30am—$10 per person and you receive a compost bin at the end of the class. Limited availability.

Call (845) 255-8456 or email recycling@townofnewpaltz.org for more information!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Holiday Giving


Want your holidays wrapped in more meaning — and less stuff? New Dream.org

The holidays, meant to be a time of peace, reflection, and celebration, too often exhaust rather than uplift us. If you sometimes feel trapped by the shopping, spending, crass displays, and frenzied preparations, you aren’t alone. Our national surveys consistently show that Americans feel put upon by the commercialization of the season and want more of what matters…not just more stuff.   
 This year, you don’t have to rack up credit card debt or get swept up in the season’s commercialism. Instead, consider creating holidays that instill more meaning into the season.
With a Simplify the Holidays campaign, we hope the tips and activities outlined here will help you reduce stress and increase personal fulfillment during this holiday season.
GIVE A HANDMADE GIFT like a memoir of cherished memories with that person, a book of family recipes, a collage of pictures and mementos, or a calendar filled with the birthdays and anniversaries of friends and family.
 OFFER TO TEACH A SKILL YOU POSSESS (e.g., knitting, photography, computer skills, financial planning, a foreign language, music lessons, canning tomatoes, cooking a favorite recipe).
 CONSIDER LESS GIMMICKY, LESS COMMERCIAL GIFTS for children, such as arts/crafts supplies, books, a magnifying glass, or building blocks.
 CREATE A PAPERLESS HOLIDAY LETTER on the computer and email it to friends and family.
 HAVE A WHITE ELEPHANT PARTY at the office instead of a traditional gift exchange, where each person brings a wrapped secondhand item in good condition.
 GIVE THE GIFT OF TIME by creating your own gift card for a service (e.g., babysitting, carwashing, petsitting, chores, making dinner, organizing an outing).
 SHOP FOR USED ITEMS for all or most of your holiday gifts (e.g., local thrift store, Craigslist, Freecycle, used products on Amazon or eBay).
 SHARE THE GIFT OF MUSIC by caroling, and include visits to elderly neighbors or a nursing home. Or, gather friends and family for an in-home holiday sing-a-long.
 GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY by preparing care packages for the homeless, or volunteering at an organization to help those in need during the holiday season.
 ADOPT A "LESS IS MORE" ATTITUDE toward holiday decorating. Opt for natural trimmings such as clippings from local evergreens and holly bushes.
 SAVE PAPER by wrapping gifts in newspaper comics, junk mail, paper bags decorated with markers, old maps, phone books, or other reused paper.
 PREPARE YOUR HOLIDAY MEALS with as many seasonal, locally grown, and/or organic foods as possible.
 REDUCE JUNK MAIL by removing your name from mailing lists of unwanted holiday catalogs.
 CELEBRATE BUY NOTHING DAY on November 23 and spend that day doing community service, visiting an elderly friend, helping a neighbor, or just enjoying time with family.