A Simply Delicious Bouquet

I had some friends over the other night and one brought the most unique green bouquet for me! She had cut celery and zinnias from her garden and arranged them together. The bright green celery made the vibrant zinnias just pop and the celery's fresh scent greeted every time I entered my kitchen. The best part of the beautiful gift is, as the flowers fade I will compost the flowers and eat the celery. My creative friend shows a perfect example of how being green sometimes means just thinking outside the box.

Olympic Medals are Green

No they didn't change the traditional medals of Gold, Silver and Bronze to green, but they did use reclaimed metal for the first time in this year's Olympic and Paralympic medals. Vancouver-based Teck Resources extracted gold, silver, and copper from old electronics using a smelting process on cathode ray tube glass, circuit boards, and other computer parts. A total of 2.05 kg of gold, 1,950 kg of silver, and 903 kg of copper were reclaimed and used. Even though this is just a small percentage of recycled material in each of the 1,000 medals awarded, it is a start. The mining of gold and other metals is harmful to the planet, so reducing the amount of mined metals to any degree helps the planet. Hopefully future host cities will be inspired to build on this effort and increase the amount of reclaimed metals in future Olympic medals.

10 Healthy Green Home Ideas

1. Choose only organic body care products for your bath.

2. Clean green - make your own cleaners from items in your pantry.

3. Choose soy candles instead of petroleum based ones.

4. Take your shoes off at the front door, to limit the toxins tracked throughout your house.

5. Choose organic bed linens for a better night's rest.

6. Improve the air quality in your home with houseplants.

7. Shop your local farmers market for fresh fruits & veggies.

8. Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins.

9. Unplug appliances and electronics when not in use to avoid phantom energy use.

10. Paint your walls with no-VOC paints to avoid your exposure to toxic chemicals.

Happy Green Year 2010!

Happy 2010! Here's my family's green goals for this year:

1. Plant an organic garden this spring.

2. Prepare more items from scratch to eat healthier and reduce packaging waste.

3. Switch our plastic reusable food storage containers to glass.

4. Go on an eco-tourism vacation.

5. Learn to make my own soap and beauty products.

6. Support local merchants, crafters, and artists with my purchases.

7. Move to a home that allows use to reduce our driving.

8. Limit purchases to quality, earth-friendly items that will last.

9. Get creative with using recycled items in my crafting.

10. Continue to educate others about the importance of going green and the simple changes they can make to live a little greener.

Daylighting

What is daylighting? Daylighting is the use of natural light instead of electricity to illuminate buildings and homes. Daylighting will save you money while reducing your carbon footprint. New buildings are being designed to take advantage of natural light - check out www.daylighting.org for more information.

Our house was not specifically designed to take advantage of natural light, but we are fortunate that it gets great daylight in most of the rooms. We are able to get great natural light all day and only need to turn on lights after the sun sets or on cloudy days. See if you can take advantage of daylight by opening the curtains instead of turning on a light.

Carbon Rally

I stumbled across a great eco-networking site - www.carbonrally.com which has great earth-friendly challenges for everyone looking to live greener.

The site puts up new a easy to handle challenge every few weeks and keeps track of how much carbon you save. The current challenge is Cold Then Fold - use only cold water to wash and rinse all of your laundry this month. Previous challenges include biking one day a week, line drying laundry, recycling your old cell phone, and reducing the amount of meat you eat.

If you've got a competitive streak, Carbon Rally has challenges that you can do as a team. So compete as a group, family, or workplace and the planet will win.

Earth Friendly Soft Scrub

Looking for a non-toxic scrub for your bathtub, sinks, and kitchen countertops? Check out this simple recipe from Healthy Child, Healthy World.

1/2 cup baking soda
1/8 cup of castile soap (I prefer Dr. Bronner's Peppermint)
1 tsp. vegetable glycerin

Combine well and store in a repurposed squeeze bottle like a mustard bottle. Squeeze onto the surface to be cleaned and scrub with a damp rag and wipe clean.

http://healthychild.org

Weekend Project - Refrigerator

Refrigerators are one of the biggest energy users in the home, save energy and money by making sure your refrigerator is working efficiently.

1. Start by vacuuming the cooling coils on the back of the fridge. (Be sure to unplug the refrigerator first.)

2. Check the temperature settings. Recommended temperatures are 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit for the fridge, and 0 degrees for the freezer.

3. Check your door seals. Put a piece of paper in the fridge door and see how easy it is to remove. If it slips right out, it is time to replace the seals.

Performing simple maintenance a few times a year will save you a lot of money on your energy bill.

Hold on to your butts

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, often ending up in waterways and on our beaches. At beach cleanups, cigarette butts are the most common form of trash found, usually one in every five items collected is a cigarette butt. Cigarette butts are dangerous to wildlife that may mistake them for food. Many smokers think that cigarette filters are biodegradable and that it is not a big deal to to drop them on the ground, however they can actually take 15 years to decompose.

Eco-friendly Potty Training

Today in our local paper there was an article on an interesting effect of the current recession - a decline in the sales of disposable training pants. Parents analyzing their budgets are forced to rethink which products are essential and with a potential savings of $30-$100 a month, many parents are deciding that disposable training pants aren't a necessity.

Since disposable training pants like disposable diapers are made from petroleum byproducts and tree products, they have a huge impact on the environment. By choosing to avoid the use of training pants parents can see three benefits -

1. A more earth-friendly approach to potty training
2. Significant money savings
3. In many cases, faster toilet training.

The first two benefits seem obvious, but why would potty training go faster without training pants? Like disposable diapers, training pants have absorbent material to wick away wetness. When my daughter was potty training we let her run around the house naked or in underwear and she quickly learned to use the potty to avoid accidents in her pretty panties.

National Flip Flop Day

Be sure to slip on your flip flops and head to Tropical Smoothie tomorrow June 19th, to celebrate National Flip Flop Day with a FREE 24 oz. Jetty Punch Smoothie!

Not only is this a great way to kick off summer which officially starts on Sunday, but you can feel good that your lunch purchase will help support Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child’s illness. The year-round program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups are also offered for families who have lost a child to an illness.

When you head to Tropical Smoothie make sure you are sporting the latest in eco-friendly flip flops like the fun pairs from the following companies:

Simple Shoes whose flip flops are made with sustainable hemp, carpet padding water-based adhesives, recycled car tire and natural rubber. www.simpleshoes.com

Ocean Minded which make their flip flops with recycled plastic bottles and donates a portion of its proceeds to Surfrider Foundation. www.oceanminded.com

Zoe & Zac from Payless made with certified organic cotton, a recycled rubber sole, and eco-friendly packaging. www.payless.com

Greening Your Kitchen

Looking for some easy ways to green your kitchen?

1. Give up disposable paper napkins by switching to cloth napkins.

2. Whenever possible, use your microwave to save energy.

3. Become a label reader and educate yourself about different certifications like organic and Fair Trade.

4. When buying dishes, bakeware, and pots look for eco-friendly products.

5. Opt for a bamboo or natural wood cutting board.

6. Use your dishwasher instead of handwashing dishes. As strange as it sounds, dishwashers use less energy and water than handwashing.

7. Fill your pantry with products with minimal packaging and recycle as much packaging as possible.

8. Make your own natural cleaners from items found in your pantry like baking soda, vinegar, and lemons.

9. Instead of paper towels, use reusable cloths for cleaning up spills.

10. Relax with a glass of biodynamic wine with a cork closure. Cork is recyclable and earth-friendly since cork is sustainably harvested from living trees.

Loofah Kitchen Scrubber

For Mother's Day I got a great new eco-friendly gift - a natural loofah kitchen scrubber from Loofah-Art. The loofah scrubber is made from 100% naturally grown loofah and natural dye. The scrubbers are 100% non-toxic and bio-degradable and resist wearing.

The kitchen scrubber is gentle enough to scrub fruits and veggies, but tough enough to clean dirty dishes. I love it for scrubbing pots! The scrubbers are made from non-scratch fibers and are safe to use on a variety of surfaces including delicate non-stick surfaces.

You may wonder what exactly is loofah? Loofah is a vegetable closely related to the cucumber family. It originated in Asia and is grown in sub-tropical temperatures. Once the plant naturally dries on the vine, it is harvested and the outer skin is peeled off to expose the inner fibers, which form the natural loofah sponge.

Want more info, check out www.loofah-art.com

Thanks for the awesome green gift Mom!

Tips to Improve Your Fuel Efficiency

As fuel prices start to climb again, be sure your car is running efficiently as possible.

1. Be sure to perform your car's scheduled oil changes and tune-ups.

2. Check to see if you need to replace a clogged air filter.

3. Keep your tires properly inflated.

4. Drive smartly - use your cruise control on the highway, avoid quick accelerations and excessive braking.

5. Avoid idling, turn off your car in bank lines and school carlines.

6. Reduce drag by removing roof racks and avoiding excess weight in trunk.

10 Easy Ways to Save Energy

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint and save money on your electric bill? Here are 10 simple tips to help you out:


1. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

2. Monitor your thermostat - as the summer heats up set it up a few degrees and use ceiling fans to help you feel cooler.

3. Schedule a free home energy audit with your electric company.

4. Seal air leaks with caulking, sealing, or weather stripping to help keep your air conditioning inside.

5. Be aware of your lighting usage, during the day opt to open curtains to allow daylight in instead of turning on a light.

6. Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.

7. Make sure you aren't keeping your refrigerator or freezer too cold. Recommended temperatures are 37° to 40°F for the refrigerator and 5°F for the freezer.

8. Turn off your computer when it is not in use.

9. Whenever possible, use your microwave for cooking. It uses two-thirds less energy than the stove and will keep the house cooler.

10. Looking for a fun way to save energy? Plan an Earth Hour celebration one evening each week where you turn off the lights and eat dinner and play board games by candlelight.

One step at a time...

Looking to make greener purchases, but feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start? You don't have to make drastic changes, start small. Change your actions one step at a time by choosing one product you buy often and commit to looking for a greener alternative. Once that change has become habit, look for another item to start buying green. Need suggestions:

1. Instead of reaching for a regular candy bar, choose a fair-trade certified bar. Fair-trade certification means the farmer is fairly paid and the cocoa beans are grown sustainably.

2. Purchase an eco-friendly laundry detergent like Seventh Generation which can now be found at your local grocery store.

3. Purchase toilet paper made from recycled paper. Publix's Greenwise products are earth-friendly and inexpensive.

4. Trade your paper napkins in for cloth napkins. Paper napkins are used for a minute and then are tossed, cloth napkins can be washed and used over and over.

5. Buy items with minimal packaging. Buy bulk items if possible, choose fresh fruits & veggies instead of canned or frozen which will eliminate packaging, and look for cereals sold in bags instead of a bag inside of a box.

Love Your Mother Earth

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, why not show your love for mom and the planet with some great green gifts.

1. Instead of cut flowers which only last a few days, buy mom a potted plant, a plant for her garden, or plant her an organic herb garden she can enjoy throughout the year.

2. Treat your mom to a day at an eco-friendly spa or put together a home spa gift basket. Find a fun reusable container and fill it with natural, organic, and paraben free spa products.

3. Give mom some sweets. In honor of World Fair Trade Day on May 9th, give mom a fair-trade and organic chocolate sampler or bake a batch of homemade organic cookies with chips from www.sweetearthchocolates.com

4. Encourage mom to go green by giving her a reusable tote, a reusable water bottle, and a book on living greener.

5. Cut down on waste by giving mom a day of fun and enjoy some special time together - take a trip to a local museum, head to the beach, pack a picnic and go on a bike ride, or head to the local theater for a play.

Phonebook Overload

Well it's that time again - new phonebook delivery time. In the next few weeks, phonebook companies will deposit their huge phonebooks on my doorstep. Their are two reasons that I get annoyed by all the phone books - first, I rarely use a phonebook as I tend to look up numbers on the internet and second phonebooks are a big burden on the environment - their printing require tons of paper & ink.

Now I need to unload last year's phonebook and the numerous unnecessary editions I will receive this year. Fortunately I can recycle the unwanted books in my newspaper recycling bin, check www.earth911.org to see how to recycle phonebooks in your community. Since reducing is always better than recycling, I wish the companies would change their delivery system and only deliver books to those homes that actually want them.

This lead me to do some research online to see if there was a way to stop phonebook delivery and was very pleased with what I found. To opt out of phonebook delivery visit http://www.paperlesspetition.org

Hopefully next year I will not have a mountain of phonebooks destined for my recycling bin.

Simple Steps to Greener Living

Ready to start living a greener lifestyle, but feeling a little overwhelmed? Not sure where to start? Here are ten simple things you can do this weekend and still have time left over to nap in the hammock.

1. Switch your conventional lightbulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs).

2. It's spring - open up the windows and let some fresh air in instead of running the air conditioner.

3. Clean or replace your air conditioning filter and put reminders on your calendar to complete this task monthly.

4. Hang your sheets on the clothesline to dry. What a blissful way to fall asleep - under fresh, clean sheets dried in the sun.

5. Buy and install a low-flow shower head.

6. Check to make sure your car's tires are properly inflated to save on gas.

7. Make up a batch of homemade earth-friendly cleaners with items found in your pantry. Check my archives for some easy recipes.

8. Tackle some of your weekend errands on your bike.

9. Go meatless this Sunday.

10. Shop your local farmer’s market. You will enjoy fresher fruits and veggies while supporting local growers.

Do you have a green hero?

Do you have someone who inspires you to live a little greener or be kinder to animals? The best thank you they can receive is for you to pay it forward and encourage others to make changes in their life that will make the world a better place. However if you are looking for another way to say thanks, enter them in Kind Green Planet's Pay It Forward Push. By making a small tax-deductible donation to Kind Green Planet, your hero will be entered in four drawings for gorgeously green, animal-friendly prizes. Simply visit www.kindgreenplanet.org and donate $10 and input the name and email address of your kind green hero. Kind Green Planet will send your hero an e-card letting them know that you consider them a kind green hero and that you have entered their name into our fabulous prize drawings. Don't delay the contest ends tomorrow and the winners will be announced on May 1st.