I was fortunate enough to have the chance to try some of these puppies recently. They come in little travel packets. Chiggity-check out this picture from Nashveggie to see how they look:

The first thing that struck me, with the force of lil’ Eli‘s offensive line, was that having individual-sized foil packets of coffee creamer doesn’t seem real eco-friendly. I used 1-2 packets for a cup o’ coffee, so there went two foil packets.

As far as the taste of this, it’s the best soy creamer I’ve tried so far. It dissolved pretty well into the coffee, and although there was a slight hint o’ soy taste, it was great.

After almost finishing a terrific mug of café with SoyGo in it, I ran into some sludge at the bottom. Apparently this happens to a lot of soy creamers. So watch out on those last few gulps.

They really seemed to work hard to make this creamer using all-natural, vegan products. If you’re vegan, or have celiac disease, then this is the creamer for you. It would be better if it didn’t come in the small foil packets, though.

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Here at EcoJoes, we’ve looked at styrofoam and paper disposable cups, and came to the not-so-stunning conclusion that it’s best to use reusable cups. Not only are reusable cups good for the environment, they can save you money at coffee shops! Hot diggity.

But for most people, every once in a while they forget their reusable mug, so they buy coffee in a disposable cup. Hopefully, it’s a compostable, paper, insulated cup from Repurpose.

I got to test out one of these bad boys today, and it worked great. The paper wall is sort of puffy, so it stays insulated without needing extra layers of paper or a paper sleeve, meaning it uses less paper than most other disposable cups. How about that.

I’ve had about 3 cups o’ coffee today in my cup, and it did great keeping the coffee warm (at least 15 minutes staying the perfect temperature). The cup’s still holding together fine, too. Your hands won’t get burnt either, even if the drink is piping hot.

The neatest part to me is that Repurpose claims these cups (and the lids) are compostable within 90 days. That doesn’t mean I can watch it compost in my home composter, though.

As the Repurpose Compostables C.M.O. points out,

Our cups compost in an industrial composter, not your home composter. So you won’t be able to watch them compost at home. The product needs the heat and humidity that only an industrial composter provides and then it turns on the break down like switch and it takes 45-90 days to finally compost. They are ASTM 6400 and BPI certified to do so.

Researchers are still working on viable home composting possibilities for single use products. The problem is that in order to withstand the heat and moisture of your cup of coffee, the cup has to have an integrity that makes the home composter not an option if that makes sense. If it composted at home in any conditions it wouldn’t be a very sturdy product.

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Back already? Did you even read that? Never mind, no time to argue, for it’s time to announce the

EcoJoes Recycled Sandal Giveaway

“Well what the heck is that?” you’re probably thinking. I’ll tell you what, in this easy-to-read bulleted list (ordered list, mind you).

All entries must be in by the day after Thanksgiving (November 25).

The winner gets this pair of large, brown Okabashi Messina sandals. Guaranteed to be comfy as heck, and made from recycled plastic.

Hurry up and get those posts coming in! Time’s a ticking…

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Not only does it waste a lot less building materials to build (plus use a less resources to maintain) a tiny house, but it can save you a chunk o’ change. As Mr. Hay himself put it, “Living small means less bills, living big means more bills. I don’t want to pay big bills”.

Without further ado, I’ll let Austin take it away and give you a tour of his very own tiny house.

If you’re all pumped up now to go off and build a lil’ casa, take a looksie at this tiny house book, first, just to see what you’re getting into.

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After you take their survey, you’ll be given an opportunity most people only dream about – the chance to donate your hard-earned money (“skrilla”, as it were). Even ol’ EcoJoe broke a long miserly streak and donated to this worthy cause.

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Did you know that a bunch o’ people raise chickens in their backyards inside the beltline?

Do you wish there was a tour of all these backyard coops coming soon?

If so, then you, my friend, have got your wish, for the 2011 Raleigh Henside the Beltline Tour d’Coop is this Saturday from 10AM to 4PM!

I’ve been fortunate enough to go on the 2008 tour and the 2010 tour, and I can assure you you’ll see some jawsome backyards, houses, chicken coops, gardens, and chickens.

You’ll laugh at the antics of the hens, marvel at elaborate hen houses, and maybe even get to hold a chicken. Plus there are tons of helpful people around to answer your insightful chicken questions.

How Can I Go?

Bring a non-perishable food item or a wad of cash money to one of these convenient locations (money & food goes to Urban Ministries):

• Steven B. Andreaus, DDS , PA1637 Glenwood Avenue , across from the Rialto Theater
• Ornamentea: 509 N. West Street, one block south of Peace Street
• CupAJoe: 2109-142 Avent Ferry Road, in the lower level of Mission Valley Shopping Center
• Whole Foods Market: 3540 Wade Avenue, in the Ridgewood Shopping Center
• Seaboard ACE Hardware: 802 Semart Drive, across from Logan’s Nursery

To find out more, mosey on over to the official website, right about here.

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Although my hopes were high, someone else’s video won the Raleigh Nissan LEAF event. As full of sorrow as I am, I’ll blink back the tears just enough to put up a link to the winning video.

Winner’s Video
“And did I mention it’s fun? Ohmahgod.”

Dang. My hat is reluctantly off to him for winning. He must’ve done a good job getting out the vote for that video.

For old times’ sake, here’s my video entry, one last time:

Joe’s Video

Such poise. Such je nais sais quois. As for how that video didn’t win, I shall never know.

Although the final vote may say otherwise, I think we can all count this as an emotional win for my video. Better luck next time.

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I have to say, I enjoyed reading it a lot. If you have any questions or curiousity about living in a tiny house (or even just a smaller-than-normal house), then I recommend this book. It examines this lifestyle from many different angles, and covered some questions I didn’t even have a clue I had.

I’ll go into some of what’s inside Little House on a Small Planet here, in bullet point form:

Tiny House Benefits

• Resource Conservation – not only will a smaller house take up less space, but it’ll save you money (both initially and through lower heating/cooling bills). Also, it’ll require fewer materials than a bigger house to build. A typical new house sends around 3 to 5 tons of waste to a landfill and takes down a 3/4 of an acre of forest.
• Less Housework – some people dream of owning gigantic mansion. They probably don’t dream about the hours of cleaning (or money spent on a cleaner) that a large casa would need.
• Higher Quality – A smaller house is generally cheaper than a bigger house. Take some of the money you saved to buy high quality furniture, sinks, appliances, you name it.
• Efficient Heating/Cooling – If a tiny house is designed properly, it won’t need any air ducts (or air filters!). That’s one less thing to buy and maintain. Also, there are fewer unused rooms to heat and cool.
• Less Pollution – A typical new house’s construction adds 30 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
• More Time Outdoors – Less space indoors means you and/or your kids will spend more time outside. There are tons o’ benefits of being outside, so I recommend it.

Are Tiny Houses for Everyone?

There are many more benefits of living in small houses (closer families, less unnecessary stuff), but it’s not for everybody. Some people might not feel comfortable living in a small house, or might honestly feel like they need more room than the average bear.

Luckily, this book has tests you can do to see if living in a small house (on or off the grid) is for you. You might be surprised by how little room you use or want, or you might change your mind once you see some different kinds of small houses.

Go Get This Book

Whether you hate the idea of small houses, love the idea, or already live in a tiny house, I recommend reading Little House on a Big Planet. It’s chock full of pictures, diagrams, interviews, and all sorts of information about life in small houses.

If you don’t feel like buying the book, go check out your local public library and see if they have it. If all that fails, let me know if you’re trying to borrow the book and maybe we can work something out, ya dig?

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Nestled inside were two sample packs of Vaska Herbatergent laundry detergent (one “scent-free”, and one “fresh lavender scent”). Another free cleaning product! Curiosity overwhelmed my feeble mind, and I drove onto the information superhighway to look up this product.

Vaska Herbatergent (they mixed the words “detergent” and “herb”, you see) is ready to go with regular OR high-efficiency washing machines. This detergent is biodegradeable, NOT tested on animals, plus it’s not made from harmful chemicals.

Truly, it was laundry time.

After giving this the green thumbs up, it was time to test it out. And the results were… pretty nice This is a good laundry detergent, and it made the clothes smell good, as well. So if you’re looking for a green laundry detergent, you might want to give Vaska herbatergent (or the Whole Foods laundry detergent) a try.

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How about you use some organic hand sanitizer first? Not only is it organic, but it’s free, so price is no issue.

How do you get it, you ask? Just click THIS HERE LINK (THIS ONE), fill out the form at the bottom o’ the page, and you’re on your way to clean hands and safe sammitch-eating time. Don’t thank me, thank Shaw Springs.

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