I can still remember the glowing feeling I had nearly 12 years ago when I received my very first paycheck from my very first job. The money you earned as a teen was completely unencumbered. There were no bills screaming to be paid and the masses weren’t clawing your eyes out to receive their portion of your piddly $300 paycheck. You could spend that glorious amount of cash on anything you wanted; new clothes, a bicycle, the newest video game system or *gasp* you could save it. Those were the days and how quickly things change when you enter the adult world.

For the most part, I didn’t go overboard this holiday season with the amount of money I spent buying gifts and should have all credit card accounts back to zero balances by mid-February. And hey, now that our President wants to throw several hundred dollars our direction to “spur the economy” I’ll be even better off. But, I occasionally do miss those days of having a couple hundred dollars you could just spend on some item you really wanted. Just about every summer, I pick up a second job. I work on the weekends to help make ends meet and supply that extra cushion of cash that can weather you through a mild storm (blowing a tire, replacing the water heater, etc.). But that turns into a real drag trying to gear yourself up to work 7-days a week for three to four months.

Since I concluded my ‘07 summer job, I’ve been brainstorming ways to earn some extra cash from the comfort of home. Seeing my girlfriend’s freelance writing picking up at home, I thought I could pursue that too…making some extra cash while sitting in front of my computer. For the past three months I’ve been trying to sign on with payperpost. It’s a website where bloggers can sign up and get paid for opportunities to post blogs about products or services. My blog has finally been accepted and I can now earn some extra cash doing something I already love doing. Don’t worry, my blog isn’t going to turn into an advertisers paradise. It’s simply meant to tag along with my current and future content. I feel that it’s a super sustainable activity to do at home in my spare time. Hey, maybe I can earn enough to pay for the gas to drive to my regular job!

As we fully head into the new year, you might be thinking about some spring cleaning activities to get you into high gear.  We’re now officially close to four weeks post-Christmas but if you’re like me, there’s probably still a few reminders of the holidays lingering around the house.  If you received a lot of mail ordered gifts this year than you probably have a lot of those styrofoam packing peanuts shoved somewhere.  We all know their full of static and just plain annoying when they start flying around the room.  They’re also wasteful.  So, instead of just chucking them out in the next round of garbage, consider these next options.

If you happen to know you’re going to be shipping something very soon (maybe the horrible figurine Aunt Maude got you for Christmas that you’re just now deciding to exchange) than you can simply reuse the packing peanuts for your own use.  Many UPS stores around the nation will also recycle your packing peanuts and bubble wrap if you drop them off.  In fact, a lot of the stores report only having to buy 50% new packing material in order to fill all their shipments after people donate their used materials.  To find out where you can drop it off, head over to the Plastic Loose Fill Council website.  It’s as easy as typing in your zip code to find out where you can recycle all those peanuts and bubble wrap.

Lastly, if you do need to buy new packing materials, buy the eco-friendly versions that are now available.  While styrofoam packing peanuts aren’t biodegradable,  new ones made from corn starch are.  They simply dissolve in water and they’re gone.  Stores like Staples and U-Haul sell them.  Just hunt around and you’ll find them.  You can also buy cellulose wadding that’s 100% recycled material or you can buy air chamber cushions for your boxes that are made from recycled plastic.