Way back in the early 90's, my children attended a school that believed the children should not bring anything to school in their lunch that would have to be sent to a landfill.
Their solution to this was as follows-
In each classroom there was a container with 4-5,000 worms in soil inside a box. All vegetable and fruit scraps would be placed in the box and the worms would take care of it from there. It is called vermicomposting.
Of course it was only a matter of time before there was a box of worms in our home. Children are early adapters to things that make sense. They could see immediate results to their actions and how those choices effect their environment.
Any container that was brought had to be reusable (first choice and heavily promoted) or recyclable (distant second choice).
This pretty much took care of any waste that had previously been taken to a landfill.
A list was provided to the children to post on their fridge with ideas for a healthy lunch that did not produce waste.
Does anyone know of any schools that are practising this method of reducing waste in their town?
It makes more sense to not create the waste in the first place instead of trying to figure out how to dispose of it afterwards. You have the choice in how big your carbon footprint is. How about it? Ready for some worms in your life? They are quiet, you don't have to clean up after them and they cost nothing to feed except your scraps that were previously going to the landfill.
I was just listening to our national radio station, CBC ONE, and was inspired to learn that the state of Utah has just gone to four, ten hour days instead of five, 8 hour days to save energy in the state buildings. One day a week, the buildings are closed.
Of course they had to look at employee issues like childcare and public transit to get to work.
Also, how it would effect the public. The public loves it as they can now do their business before and after their regular work day.
The four day week was started as a movement in the 60's as a lifestyle choice, but as usual, the only way things move ahead is when it comes down to saving money corporately.
It is a good move for both reasons and I say Kudos to Utah for taking a lead in this method to save tax payers money by conserving energy.
I took the plunge finally.
Realtors are golfers.
Realty companies have charity golf tournaments.
If you want work with Realtors, you should golf.
I usually sponsor a hole or donate a home staging consultation for the silent auction as I don't play golf.
But this time it was going to be different.
I decided that I was going to play golf and take my mortgage broker, Nick Lecuyer, with me for moral support and networking reasons.
Now you may think that this was either a stroke of brillance (no pun intended) or complete lunacy on my part.
You see, I am what they call athletically challenged.
Ride a bike, crash into a parked car.
Try skiing, I end up in heap on the bunny hill with my children laughing so hard they can't offer me a hand to get up.
You get the picture.
As the day drew near, it dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, I should actually hit a golf ball before attending.
I decided the best course of action would be to go to a golfing store the day before the tourney to buy some golf clothes and ask if someone there could give me a few pointers.
A very kind man took me aside and walked me through how to hit a ball off a tee.
He said that for someone that had never hit a ball before that I was hitting it straight off the club in the "sweet spot" and that was very unusual. I asked him if he thought I might be buying a set of golf clubs that day. He said no, I really could hit the ball quite well. I was encouraged at this point.
My husband took me out to the driving range that evening and he commented that I was much better than he thought I would be. I was even more encouraged that I could golf tomorrow and not look like a complete idiot.
The day of the tournament arrived and I eagerly went out with my foursome. I am placed with the broker owners family. GULP.
Turns out I really could hit the ball. They played off my shot for the first four holes. Not bad for a novice. I was making an impression with the Realtors.
Then I did something that became the golfing story of the day. Towards the end of the day, Nick said get my P. Now you golfers know that means your pitching wedge. To this tired girl, it meant the putter. I hit that ball with my putter over 100 yards. Apparently that is not easy. LOL!!! I am now known throughout the Realty office and the Woodington Lake Golf course as the Stager who hit the ball with the putter. Everyone now knows who I am and what I do.
But that wasn't what got their attention entirely.
What really got their attention was when I stopped at the half way point to play a putting game to raise more money for the charity. It was there that I made the fatal mistake.
I putted and then left with their putter instead of putting it back for the next person. I took it for a tour of the next 9 holes not realizing that I had it until 3 holes away. I kept thinking I would return it when I got back to the clubhouse, no big deal. Upon returning, if one Realtor asked me for the putter, 20 Realtors did.It was a huge mistake on my part but it became a great way of introducing myself to the Realtors that I had not met before. Apparently between the two golfing faux pas I had made, every Realtor knew who I was and came up to ask if I had enjoyed my first day of golfing. I was a hit! It made for easy conversation and a laugh over the two situations was had by all.
So the moral to this story is... get out and mingle. Don't be afraid to try something new.
You just never know when it just might be the thing that catapults you to the front of every Realtors memory when they need a Stager.
If you want to see my golf swing, click on the link below. Let me know what you think of my technique.
http://woodingtonlake.athletesvideo.com/public/index/176
P.S.
regarding the link.. you will have to copy and paste it in your search bar as I have not mastered the skill of adding a link either. But not knowing how to do something doesn't stop me from trying!
 |
|
|
Marketing your property for sale. Featured on HGTV "The Unsellables", Fox Network "Housecapades" & "Diva In The House" Radio Show. I offer Green Staging ideas to give you an edge marketing your home.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
