Author: RedPandaFan

I love Red Pandas (the original panda, by the way), elephants, hummingbirds, gardening, nature, this amazing planet, my family and baseball. My interest in finding less wasteful and more environmentally friendly ways to live are basically my hobbies. I am always looking for ways to improve my relationship with this world and generate less permanent waste. Repair rather than replace when possible, re-use, re-think, re-purpose, recycle and most importantly reduce!

Red Panda – Love

Published on by RedPandaFanLeave a comment

If you are not yet familiar with the Red Panda, let me introduce you to one of the cutest creatures on the planet. Baby Yoda is no competition for these adorable real-life critters (who currently sit on the endangered species list). Red pandas are elusive and rarely-seen mammals found in the mountain forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Myanmar (Burma). There are several zoos in the United States that have them. If you get a chance to see them in person, go for it! They are adorable!

RP1

Sadly, one of the very things that makes me swoon over them is what makes them endangered. Red Pandas are subject to poaching and illegal trade both as pets and for their fur, in addition to potential threats to their habitat.

There is a great organization called Red Panda Network that is devoted to raising awareness and helping with conservation efforts to protect them and their natural habitat. I have been following them for a few years and support as much as I can. Educating others is part of that support.

redpandas_standingup

A great gift idea right now is the Adopt a Red Panda promotion. The new large plushes are filled with 100% recycled water bottles! AND all November and December gifts are matched x2! It’s a great way to increase awareness and support a great cause at the same time.

This is not me dropping a hint to anyone whose gift giving list I am on. *wink

What to do with extra party food?

Published on by RedPandaFanLeave a comment

I got this cool trick while attending a good friend’s bridal shower a few years ago.

The hostess offered us all to take home food because like any good host there was more than enough. And you know how some groups don’t eat as much? All that lively conversation keeping our mouths occupied. The food was delicious, but we had barely put a dent in it! Everyone’s politely declining until she points out the empty take out containers. Suddenly the idea of taking home leftovers seemed much more acceptable! If my memory is correct, she had like Chinese food boxes. You know the upright white cardboard with little metal handles.

Well I thought it was brilliant so I now keep a giant stack of paper take out containers so my guests can have something to tote home from our many gatherings!

z-fp-08bpearth[1]

It’s so nice, especially when you have generous friends like I do who also bring more treats to any gathering. If I don’t send home leftovers after a party I sometimes end up with no room left to store everything. And it really works. People know you mean it when you ask if they would like to take some home if you also have a container for them. No one has to worry about returning a Tupperware and I feel ok about the fact that it’s paper and will break down naturally over time. Yay!

With the holiday party season upon us, I wanted to share this idea. It’s one of my favorite party tips. Take some with you, or have some available if you are hosting Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Christmas, Ugly Sweater, New Years or ANY party this holiday season!

Enjoy!

P.S. Please enjoy all celebrations responsibly. Get a Ride if you are going to partake in libations. Keep the fun, fun and make sure everyone is still safely around for the next get together! 

Welcome to my randomness

Published on by RedPandaFanLeave a comment

Well, it’s not really all that random, but there will be quite a variety of subjects I plan to express myself about in this space.

Much of it will be related to environmental issues; Creating less waste, being creative about re using everyday items, putting more thought into our choices, how we can help, awareness about what is happening on the larger stage of this planet.

There will also be DIY stuff, cooking/recipes stuff, gardening, fitness, self-care, mental health, personal stories, and insights about anything I happen to find interesting and want to share. Maybe an occasional Red Panda video or hummingbird photo because I am utterly obsessed with them and the sight of them brings me joy. Hmm, guess it is pretty random after all.

My desire to write this blog started from my own recent growing awareness about certain environmental issues. I had generally considered myself as relatively good about being kind to the environment, trying to be aware of my impact and keep my harmfulness limited. I sort my recycling, I buy the larger containers of often used products to reduce packaging waste, I try to watch my water and energy consumption, limit my driving and avoid food waste. For most of my life I have done all these little things I thought helped. And they do, they are still all worth doing, but in the past few years I came to understand so much more. When I learned how little of our recycling items actually get recycled it was a shock. As I started educating myself, like so many, I came to understand it is far more complex than I knew. I began to make very different changes. The good news was that I was not alone in my previous naiveté, which meant there was A LOT of new information, research and product options available. That was also the bad news, it was a bit overwhelming to wrap my head around every new piece of information or product that advertised itself as eco-friendly.

Full disclosure, a lot of the product information I will be sharing here is for very personal and selfish reason of helping me keep track of my own journey and experiences. I needed a place to book mark websites and products I like or want to try, but also have notes about results or research. I thought I would start a spread sheet or document. Then one evening I was out to happy hour with some friends, when I whipped out my favorite reusable straw, they wanted to know more about it. That’s when I realized maybe others could benefit from my experiences as well.

So here we are. This is my intro and I hope you are interested in taking this journey with me. I will try to keep it entertaining, informative and simple, now matter how complex it all seems.

Or you can pop back here for a cute video or photo to gaze upon if you just need something to make you smile on a bad day.