January 24, 2009
I often have friends and relatives ask me why living a green lifestyle is so important to me. Do you get the same type of questions when people see your compost bin or your pile of cloth napkins instead of paper towels? At first I had trouble coming up with answers that “less green” people would see the point of. After all they don’t want to hear about Al Gore’s movie or the hazards of toxic household products. So what can you say?
- Being green saves money – Making cleaners is cheaper than buying, cloth napkins only need to be purchased once, composting saves the cost of fertilizer.
- No more piles of plastic bags lying around – Plastic bags seem to multiply faster than rabbits. And I for one could never remember to take them back to the store for recycling. Reusable bags are study, attractive and large enough to carry a lot of items at one time.
- Local food tastes fresher – Buying food from a local farm not only helps the economy but provides a family with delicious, fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and eggs.
- Family members won’t get sick as often – It is well documented that household cleaners cause harm to the housewives who use them for long periods of time. Synthetic chemicals in soaps, shampoo, hand wash, lotions, bubble baths, etc have increased the instances of skin irritations in children.
- Energy costs are lower – Energy-saver light bulbs and appliances use less energy and therefore cost less. Hybrids cars need less gas less often so fuel costs are low.
If these reasons don’t convince your friends or family at least that you’re not out of your mind don’t take it too hard – at least you know you’re doing the right thing.
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January 19, 2009
Here at our household we are looking forward to another great year of living green. While every member of my family is interested in living green, we all have our own particular favorite green issue. While I’m a stickler for recycling, reducing, and repurposing items, my husband is more concerned with saving water and electricity and finding alternative sources of energy. My eldest son thinks littering should be a federal offense and is concerned with preservation of parks, forests, beaches, etc. My younger son is against the use of toxic chemicals that can harm human and animal life. Finally my four-year old is already showing a great interest in growing food and weeding and any type of gardening.
So when we sit down to decide our green goals for the year we have to take into consideration everyone’s favorite cause. This is what we’re shooting for in 2009.
- All compostable materials will go into the compost bin.
- One weekend every month we will dedicate some time to picking up litter at a public beach, park, playground, etc.
- We will use only natural, green, or homemade cleaners for general cleaning.
- We will collect rainwater to use for our garden.
- We will use organic compost for our gardens. Also we won’t use toxic pesticides or weed killers.
We’re already doing some of these things in some way so what we really need to do is refocus and work a little harder. Hopefully we’ll be able to set new goals before too long.
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January 17, 2009
It’s 2009! Here’s hoping this will be the greenest year ever. A new president, new policies, new hope for the future.
Last year saw many companies jumping on the green bandwagon and many, many households committing to living greener lifestyles.
Of course there is still much more we can all do. This month Go Green Tips for Moms will be focusing on what it means to be a mom and green at the same time. I’ll be talking about some of the best green products available for the different areas of your life.
I’ll also be reviewing some companies and stores who claim to be promoting a green lifestyle as well as some that don’t even pretend to care.
So have a Happy New Year and may all your green dreams come true.
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January 9, 2009
The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a cold and harsh winter. Since few of us can afford to simply turn up the heat as high as we want, we need to find ways to stay warm without breaking the bank.
The first thing to do is insulate your house against the cold as much as possible. Seal your windows and any unused doors with sheets of plastic and weatherstripping. Fill any cracks in your foundation with Quik-cement. Use draft blankets to protect your house from drafts. The less cold air in and the less heat going out the better.
Next make sure your boiler is in good working order and maintained for winter months. Cover your pipes and water heater (if it is electric only) with pipe sleeves and a water heater blanket to prevent heat from escaping through the cold metal. Vacuum your baseboard heaters and make sure all the metal sheets inside are straight. Also vacuum vents and radiators to prevent dust from blocking heat. If you have central heat, be sure that your ducts are maintained and filters changed. If you burn wood make sure your chimneys and stovepipes are cleaned.
Invest in a lot of sweaters and fleece throws. Plan to dress in layers to keep warm. Many stores sell fleece throws for about $2 or $3 this time of year. If you can sew you can even make a blanket robe like the ones that are so popular (and expensive) now-a-days. Purchase warm winter socks and slippers. Basically dress as warmly as you can and still move. Oh, and start sewing, knitting or crocheting warm clothing for next year now.
Don’t heat areas that you don’t need heated. Closets, empty guest rooms and unfinished basements don’t need to be heated when not in use. Keep these doors closed throughout the house so you aren’t making your heater work harder than it needs to.
Finally and my most favorite – Bake a lot of goodies! I don’t recommend using the oven to heat your house but if you’re baking cookies, cakes, brownies, pies, and quick breads…well warm and yummy!
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January 8, 2009
Recycling can be tricky business especially for kids whose memories aren’t as developed and whose enthusiasm isn’t always full force. Here are some tips to make recycling easier for kids and teens alike.
- Talk about recycling with your children – Obviously the first step to helping kids understand what recycling is and why it’s important is to talk to them about it. Explain the 3 Rs and how items that are recycled get to be used again. Talk about how long it takes plastic to degrade in landfills and why it is important that they get recycled instead. If you’ve decided to compost as well you’ll need to discuss that as well. Don’t try to stuff all this information into their heads in one day. Plan on repeating yourself over and over again for a few weeks or even months.
- Designate clearly marked areas for each type of recyclable product – Have different colored bins for glass, plastic, paper, etc. Or you can mark off squares with different colored tape on the floor. Explain to the children what each color stands for. Make sure you know the recycling rules o your area so you’re telling your kids the correct information.
- Display charts to help remember – Write charts telling your children (everyone in the family actually) exactly what glass, plastic, cardboard and paper products can be recycled. Plastics, for example, usually have a recycling symbol with a number in the center. The number determines the type of plastic and how it is processed for recycling. Not every area recycles every number. In my area only #1 and #2 plastics are accepted. If composting as well design a separate chart detailing what can and can’t go into the compost pile.
Recycling is such an important part of living green that it is never too early to start talking to and teaching your children about recycling, reducing, and reusing.
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December 16, 2008
A backyard wreath is not a wreath you hang in the backyard but rather a wreath that is created from materials that are collected from your yard. The base of the wreath can be made from flexible twigs intertwined or from a natural wreath shape from a crafts store. Cover the wreath with the items you collect plus any other all-natural materials that you want to add. Use a hot glue gun to ensure that the objects stay on while hanging up. A long piece of natural twine is perfect for hanging the wreath on a door or wall.
Some ideas for embellishments:
- Small colorful leaves
- Evergreen sprigs
- Mini pine cones
- Hard colorful berries
- Autumn flowers
- Acorns
Spray shellac the finished product so the wreath trimming won’t wilt and die.
For a more winter look, you can spray paint the wreath and embellishments gold or silver and add bells and/or bows purchased at the craft store.
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December 14, 2008
Even though the days are growing shorter and colder, there are still plenty of opportunities for family fun that is green. A few tips first:
- Dress in layers – Many times the days are windy and blustery but you quickly start to overheat once you move around. By wearing a pullover or sweater that you can remove you avoid ending up too cold or too hot.
- Bring healthy snacks and water – It’s important to bring something along to keep your energy up and stay hydrated especially if you plan on being out for many hours. Trail mix, granola bars and raisins are all good snack foods.
- Plan ahead thoroughly – Depending on the activity make sure you have all the supplies you’ll need, a first aid kit, food and water and any permits or permissions needed.
Now that you’re ready to start saving the world and bonding with your family here are a few simple activities to get you through the winter.
- Autumn Scavenger Hunt – The wonderful thing about Autumn is the variety of leaves and other objects that can be found everywhere. Write up a list of items and give one to each family member (or team if children are very young) along with a bag to collect their “treasures” in. Bonus: After all the objects are gathered you can use them to make Autumn and Winter decorations.
- Leaf Collecting and Pressing – If you live in an area where the leaves fall in the Autumn, you and the family can take a walk and collect different colors and shapes of leaves. Back at home, take the collection and press between two sheets of paper and lay several heavy books on top. In a few weeks the leaves will be permanently flattened.
- Make Pine cone Bird Feeders – Take the family on a hike to find pine cones – the larger the better. Once you have about a dozen or so you can make easy and inexpensive feeders for the birds that have to find food in the cold winter months. Cover the pine cones with creamy peanut butter and roll it in a dish of birdseed. The seed will stick to the peanut butter. Tie a string to the pine cone feeder and hang from a tree.
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November 12, 2008
In the quest to be as green as I can be I’ve come across quite a few articles and blog posts talking about the virtues of ecards and evites (email invitations). However when you look beyond the eco-friendly world you hear all sorts of criticism towards ecards and evites being bad manners in an already too rude world.
Ecards and evites (even email in most cases) are not options for me simply because most my family members still do not use computers. But believe you me if I could use them I would, especially with the price of postage going up every year.
Most people throw cards away anyway and even sentimental people only keep very special invitations so this is all wasted paper and energy and money that could be saved through the wider use of ecards and evites.
While this might be considered lazy, cheap and bad manners in the past, the world is changing and I that that in the new “greener” world evites and ecards only make good sense.
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November 11, 2008
Have you ever wanted to know how dangerous the chemicals in your cosmetics really are? This site I found, Skin Deep, is a perfect resource for discovering the toxicity of your makeup and beauty products. Not only do they give you a rating from 1-10 (with 10 being the worst) they tell you the exact ingredients in the product that are dangerous and why they are toxic.
It works just like a search engine and within seconds give you the niformation mentioned above. Additionally the site provides possible side effects to using the product. I was using a certain brand of makeup on the advice of a dermatologist. The brand is supposed to be good for skin prone to acne but according to Skin Deep, it’s a 7 on the toxicity rating. Guess whose going to be changing their brand of cosmetics? Thanks Skin Deep.
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November 10, 2008
There is a good reason so many commercial cleaner companies add lemon scent to their products. Lemons have long been associated with a deep clean and a fresh scent. You know what’s better than adding lemon scent to your cleaners? Adding lemons of course.
Not only does lemon juice smell good, it is also an excellent grease cutter, anti-mold, and pest deterrent.
Here are some budget-friendly cleaning solution using the power of lemon juice.
- All-purpose cleaner: Using an empty spray bottle, mix 1 teaspoon borax with 1/2 teaspoon washing soda (not baking soda) 2 tablespoon of lemon juice and 2 cups hot tap water. Shake bottle and use just like you would any spray cleaner.
- Air Freshener – who doesn’t love the smell of lemons? Combine 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon lemon juice with 2 cups hot tap water in a spray bottle and use just like any air freshener. Avoid spraying on fabrics.
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner – Pour one cup of borax and 1/2 cup lemon juice in toilet bowl. Let sit for 3 1/2 hours. Scrub with toilet brush and flush.
- Furniture Cleaner – Combine 1/4 cup lemon juice with a small amount of olive oil (just enough to give it a better consistency) in a small bowl. Moisten a soft rag and use to dust and polish all your wooden furniture.
- Natural Clothes Bleach – Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to your wash cycle for a less toxic bleach. To enhance this bleaching effect, hang clothes to dry in son.
- Remove Ink Stains From Clothing – Soak the ink stain in lemon juice for 15 minutes then wash normally.
Posted in Green Cleaning 4 Comments »
