Shorter Showers: A Green Tip

I came across the Brooklyn Green Team's blog yesterday, and one feature on it is a series of "eco-challenges." Some of the challenges look fairly easy, like the "No Water Bottle" challenge, the "No Plastic Bag" challenge and the "Bring Your Own Mug" challenge. But I found one a little daunting: the "Five-Minute Shower" challenge.

I take long showers. It's something I've always been embarrassed about and tried to change. I've never been able to trim my shower down to five minutes and always thought it was an impossible feat.

But the Brooklyn Green Team had the following advice:

"Turn your shower on and get yourself soaked. Then turn off the water while you lather, shampoo and shave, then turn on the water for a quick rinse.

"Try using an eco-friendly shampoo and conditioner — not only better for the environment, but washes out faster — cutting your time."

I tried this in last night's shower, and I definitely used less water and took less time.

Thanks, Brooklyn Green Team!

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Get Any Holiday Gifts You Didn't Like?

Build it Green! NYC, a Queens-based company that is New York City's only non-profit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials, is holding their fist ever holiday re-gifting bash at Tandem bar in Bushwick. It's this Saturday, Jan 10, and it starts at 9 p.m.

If you bring a holiday gift you didn't like, you can pile it up with a bunch of other unwanted gifts and pick a new one. One person's trash is another person's treasure!

Tandem is a new bar built with surplus materials from Build it Green! NYC's warehouse. It's located at 236 Troutman St. between Nickerbocker and Wilson.

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