We all get junk mail, it’s just a normal part of life. I always recycle the junk mail I get, but sometimes I go one step further and reuse it instead. Such is the case with the mail I get from Veer.com, a creative design company. A few months ago, they sent me a giant poster with a dark pattern on one side, and a catalog on the other. I didn’t find much use for the catalog side, but the pattern side made great wallpaper. Their most recent mailing, however, found life in a much more useful function.

Their most recent catalog came in a more traditional book form, but was printed on heavy paper. As a college student who is taking mostly online classes, I needed to find a way to keep track of the date. After failing to find a simple calendar I liked, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own. What I came up with was a series of 2inx2in squares, made out of the Veer catalog, propped up on simple mounts made out of some old cardboard. The first mount holds a square with the day of the week, followed by a mount to hold the date, and finally a mount to hold the month.

As you can see in the images above, I chose to make my calendar in French, as I’m currently teaching myself the language with hopes of being able to live abroad in a French speaking country someday. Each day, I change the squares to their appropriate values. Not only does this help me keep track of the date, but it also helps me improve my French. The unused squares are stored in an Altoids tin in my desk drawer, which holds them perfectly and provides easy access. Experimenting with your creativity and artistic abilities can be a great way to make use of items that would have otherwise been tossed out or recycled. I saved money, and I created a functional work of art.

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to win a Solio Classic solar-powered gadget charger through the Viropop Community in partnership with Buygreen.com for a blog post I wrote on being green. The Solio is a device roughly the same size as a standard computer mouse that unfurls into an array of three miniature solar panels. When in full sunlight, these three panels charge the device’s internal battery, which is a Rechargeable Lithium Ion 3.7V 1.65A cell according to the company’s website. This internal battery can also be charged via USB, if one wishes to use the device as a backup battery.

In reference to Buygreen.com, the company behind the contest, I was extremely impressed with what I saw. The first thing that caught my eye was the packaging. The DHL box in which my Solio was shipped (via UPS) had a sticker on it, seen in the photo to the right, which reads “Shamelessly shipped in reused packaging.” As an eBay seller, I always try to ship my sales in reused packaging (as the large family of empty boxes in my closet can attest). Though reused packaging might not look as pretty as entirely new packaging, reusing materials is much more environmentally friendly than recycling perfectly good packaging. In addition, rather than using paper or plastic air pouches to cushion the Solio’s box inside, Buygreen threw in an organic cotton shopping tote by Ecolution, which is a brand I’ve purchased and enjoyed in the past!

Back to the Solio, the device is capable of outputting roughly the same voltage commonly used with USB devices. In addition to providing a female USB tip for charge-over-usb devices, the Solio also comes with additional tips for major cell phone brands. The Solio’s packaging is almost entirely recyclable, with a few small plastic bags and twist-ties as the only exception. The device also comes with a quick start guide, which guides the user through a series of fairly easily understandable illustrated steps to set up the device. It’s also worth mentioning that the Solio comes in white (seen here), black and silver. To top things off, the company has also released a magnesium edition that, although pricier, promises to be more adventure-friendly. The standard Solio, however, feels fairly sturdy. Though it might not hold up well in an Arctic blizzard, it is more than sturdy enough for the typical backpacker/hiker.

In order to get the best charge possible, the company recommends pointing the device directly at the sun. To achieve this, one can slide a pencil into the hole in the center of the Solio, allowing the unit to be propped up to varying degrees. A suction cup has also been provided for mounting the device onto windows, though unfortunately, none of my windows receive any direct sunlight at this time of the year. Once aimed at the sun, the single button on the unit glows red, indicating a charge in progress. Pressing this button, when no devices are connected to the device, initiates a series of flashes that indicate the battery’s charge level. One “blink” means a low battery, while five indicate a full battery. In addition, this button is also pressed to start a charge cycle when a gadget is plugged in. Though I’ve yet to do any extensive testing of the device, it seems that the unit can be fully charged in two days when in full sunlight for most of the day. I’m sure it is possible to charge the Solio in a single day, though most of my property receives shade from trees at different parts of the day, so shadows often interrupt the process. When fully charged, the Solio is capable of charging my N95 cell phone roughly two times.

I’m extremely happy with the Solio, and consider it worth the ~$99 price tag. Though it might not be logical to use the device on a day-to-day basis for charging your gadgets (unless you live in an extremely sunny location), the Solio presents itself as a fantastic travel tool. It would also come in handy as an emergency device, as the company states that the Solio is capable of holding its charge for up to a year. With all things said and done, I’m extremely excited to see what the future holds in terms of Solar-powered portable gadget chargers.