About a month ago it was Earth Day and us here at From Under a Palm Tree attended a local Eco-Fest. I have been writing a four-part series about different things we learned from the eco-fest and this is the final part in that series.
One thing I love about going to festivals of this nature is meeting and talking to everyone. I also like to get free stuff! And vendors love to give away free stuff because it helps promote their business or organization. The best part is that a lot of the freebies were things that help the cause and spread the eco-friendly message.
So below are 5 freebies I received that are eco-friendly and useful:
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Doggy Bag Dispenser – City of Tampa Stormwater
This item is the most useful if you have a dog. I thought it was awesome that the stormwater organization was passing these out. You can read all about why it’s important to pick up after your dog here, in my previous eco-series post: 7 Reasons to Scoop the Poop. You can also buy on of these dispensers one Amazon for all your poop-picking-up needs!
Related: 7 Tips to Improve Your Environmental Paw Print
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Paper Garden Stake – Teco Energy
This little garden stake is made from natural biodegradable fibers and is embedded with seeds. So when it’s planted, it will grow annual and perennial wildflowers. You don’t even have to have a yard for this. It can go in a pot! Wildflowers are so important, especially right now, to help attract Bees for your local ecosystem.
Related: Eco-Friendly Landscaping Principles
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Leak Detection Tablets – Niagara Conservation Corp.
Leak detection tablets are for your toilet tank. When you drop them in the tank, they dissolve and if you see the color in the bowl, it means you have a leak. This is such a smart way to find out if you have a leak and you are are wasting water in your toilet. You could be hemorrhaging water and not even know it! You can buy them on Amazon!
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Faucet Aerator – Tampa Bay Water
A faucet or tap aerator is something you can put on a faucet to limit the water flow, therefore reduce water consumption. It’s a great little device to add to any faucet in your house or workspace. You can find one at your local hardware store, a Lowes, Home Depot, or even Amazon!
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5-Minute Shower Timer – Tampa Bay Water
One of the best ways to save water is to take shorter showers. Showers are typically the 3rd largest source of water consumption and can use up to 2 gallons of water a minute. This suction-cup backed hourglass timer is perfect for timing yourself in the shower! You can even buy them on Amazon!
Related: 10 Ways to Save Money by Saving Energy
These are just the most useful freebies we received from the Earth Day Eco-fest. There were other things like sunscreen chapstick, a plastic can-saver, and lots of pens and pencils. But these items listed above are definitely the most eco-friendly.
Even though we got these items for free that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find them useful yourself. Plant some wildflowers in front of your door! Take a shorter shower and use less tap water. Find out if your toilet is leaking. These are all great tips for saving water, energy and helping the environment.
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What did you think of our eco-fest freebies? Would you ever use these products?
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Christina is a twenty-something living with her beagle, Mash, and husband, Nate in their van. She loves traveling, shopping, art, and photography. She’s also a vegetarian, pop-culture enthusiast, book-lover, and Dave Matthews Band fanatic. Catch her somewhere around the country in a converted camper van or at home in Florida for a visit.
What a cool list! This is such a unique idea, and definitely includes items I could use in my life asap!
Thanks! I’m sure there’s an event going on somewhere near you that might have some useful free stuff!
Thank you for sharing – I live in California and you have inspired me to find some freebies of my own. Time to leave a smaller footprint, before we’re booted from our home (not sure I can live long enough for our new planet to turn up)
There are so many little things you can to leave a smaller footprint! You’re so right before we know it, we’re going to be in big trouble with the environment if we don’t start to change our ways.
I love that these freebies were not only useful but also helped spreading the eco-friendly message. Definitely a great initiative. And they also look awesome!
I mean who doesn’t love free stuff? The best part is that I can actually use it!!
Wow I did not even know that these things existed, or that you could get them for free. What a awesome piece of information!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Yeah, we were lucky to have been able to attend such a cool Earth Day event and get all this free stuff!
Very interesting list. I especially love the shower timer. I totally agree that taking long showers is one of the main water consumptions.
Yeah you don’t even realize that just one minute of showering uses so much water! It’s crazy!
That 5 min shower timer is awesome!!! I need to get one of those for my kiddos!
You know what else I do sometimes? I listen to music lol. So I know that if I’m in the shower for more than 1 or 2 songs (depending on what they are) I know I’ve been in too long.
love these ideas! i recently just got water pressure limit on my taps 🙂
That’s awesome! Every little thing helps.
Very useful advice! thank you so much! Keep up the great posts!
I love how handy the doggy bag dispensers are, but I just end up buy a load of cheap nappy sacks and picking the mess up with them because its cheaper.
We’re glad everyone liked the shower timers! Come by our booth next year and we’ll have more.
April is typically the driest month of the year in our region and it’s important to conserve. Saving water indoors helps and you can save even more by being water-wise outdoors in your landscape.
Visit tampabaywater.org/water-saving-tips for more ways to save water.
Thanks!
We’ll definitely be back next year! It was so much fun and great learning experience.
Thank you for everything :)!
Love the shower timer 🙂