Disposable Bathroom Hand Towels??? What??

The latest in eco-friendly designs - NOT!

Complete with a gimicky song for the kids!

The Kleenex® Hand Towels Drying Song

My hands are gonna be clean

When I wash and I dry with mommy and sing

This song that's exactly two clean hands long

Warm water and soap and bubbles that shine

A Kleenex® Hand Towel that's mine all mine

And a song that's exactly two clean hands long

No yucky old towel's gonna ruin my day

I dry my hands the Kleenex® towel way

So if you're a fan of clean hands too

Roll up your sleeves and I'll sing with you.

How DIRTY are we in our OWN private bathrooms

that we need a new paper towel to dry off

with EVERY time we wash our hands?

Join me in boycotting Kleenex (and Kimberly-Clark)!

And let them know what you think of

their new product by leaving a comment here:

http://www.kleenex.com/NA/ContactUs.aspx

Mama Earth Thanks You!

Eco Tip of the Week - Ban The Paper Goods!

So you've nixed the plastics, now it's time to phase out the paper goods, too!  As your supply starts getting low, it's time to start looking for cloth/fabric replacements.  As for paper plate substitutes? Use your dishes or grandma's china!

Or try some of the following ideas:

**Look for sales after holidays on cloth napkins and hand towels.

**Shop secondhand stores.

**Peruse local garage sales.

**Check with mom (or dad), it's amazing what they find in their linen drawer!

**Make your own napkins out of fabric remnants.

**Make your own towels out of old t-shirts & thermal shirts.

The forests will thank you!

Eco Tip of the Week - Ban the disposables!

Becoming eco friendly can be a daunting task. Where to start? Do you buy organic, get rid of all plastics, save water, use toxic free cleansers, compost, get a canteen, walk to work, start a garden? It can be so overwhelming to decide how to make these important changes.  So I decided to start posting a weekly tip that is easy to accomplish and easy to incorporate into your daily life.

So without further ado, here we go!

Tip #1:  Ban the disposables!

Remember when using the good dishes/silverware/napkins

was such a special treat?

Now you can treat yourself everyday!  You may have a few more dishes, but you'll have a lot less garbage and save a few trees in the process.

*Use cloth napkins
*Skip the paper plates
*Don't use plastic utensils. Yes, even the little ones can handle real silverware!
*Store items in reusable containers - stainless steel, glass, repurposed cereal bags, etc.
*Use the nice drinking glasses and wine goblets - even if it is just water!

Make the change one meal at a time, one day at a time and pretty soon you won't even miss the paper & plastics goods!

My New Love! Why you should ditch your plastic water bottle.

Finally! I found a stainless steel water bottle that I love! (I don't love the cheapo ones we have, as all of them tend to leak!) I've been going round and round about what brand I want.  I didn't want a Sigg.  I didn't want a Klean Kanteen.  I wanted something pretty and something where I didn't have to drink straight from the metal edge - without costing a fortune.

So walking through Target on my lunch the other day, I popped down the aisle with all their stainless steel bottles. Lo and behold, I found perfection! Reasonably priced, BPA-free plastic drinking spout, and made by Thermos.

Change happens once small step at a time.  Start with the water bottle and move on to the rest of the plastics. IF you have to buy something in a plastic container, these plastics are BPA-free, phthalates-free and PVC-free: #1, #2, #4, #5.

If you ever needed a reason to ditch the plastic - read on! 

#1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET): No known hazards.

#2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE): No known hazards.
#3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or vinyl): Plasticizers are added to many PVC products to make them flexible. These include phthalates — suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), DEHA, another possible EDC, was found to leach from PVC cling wraps into cheese. Grocery stores commonly use PVC to wrap deli meats and cheeses. Reyonds cling wrap is PVC. Some waters and vegetable oils are bottled in PVC. Ad PVC’s manufacture and incineration produces highly toxic dioxins, as does the PVDC used in Saran Wrap, according to Consumers Union.
#4. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE): No known hazards.
#5. Polypropylene (PP): No known hazards.
#6. Polystyrene (PS or Styrofoam): Made from styrene, a suspected carcinogen, PS also contains p-nonylphenol; both chemicals are suspected EDCs. Do not consumer fatty foods or alcoholic beverages from Styrofoam containers; styrene can leach into these substances. Some opaque plastic cutlery is PS, as well.
#7. Other Resins, including Polycarbonate (PC): Most clear plastic baby bottles and 5-gallon water bottles are made of PC. Bisphenol-A EDC in PC, has been found in water and heated infant formulas bottles in PC, as well as food cans lined with a plastic film. For more on the evils of BPA, click here.

(source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/safe-plastics-for-lunchboxes.html)

How to Hike & Picnic Like a Good Little Eco Friend!

With the warm weather finally rearing it's pretty head, we are entering the season of hiking and picnics in our household.  So this Sunday we did a little geocaching and a LOT of hiking and ended our afternoon with a picnic.

While sitting at a table in our amazing metroparks along the Rocky River, the little ladies and I got to talking about all the litter we saw while hiking.  When geocaching, we practice "cache in, trash out" - the art of collecting trash you find while hunting for your cache.  It's a practice that has been spilling over into our daily lives and quite frankly I'm still amazed that in this day and age, people litter.

So, we came up with some eco-friendly tips for hiking and picnicking and leaving a zero impact on nature.

1. Leave only footprints.
2. Be careful where you walk, so that you don't disturb natural habitats.
2. Carry a canteen - not a disposable water bottle or even a juice box.
3. Pack all trash with you and dispose of it when you leave or get home.
4. Choose local, seasonal, and/or organic foods - fresh fruits & veggies.
5. Use reusable plates, napkins, utensils, and cups.
6. Use natural/organic bug sprays & sunscreens.
7. Bring a camera :)

(forgot to bring the backpacker, so she rode like this up the 500 ft ravine)

(all to see the remnants of an old rollercoaster built into the side of the incline)

(where we found a tree growing on a tree, but no luck on the cache this time)

(and safely, thankfully, made our way back down to our picnic area!)

Save Water! Shower with a Friend!

Water conservation always starts at home.  Each minute you spend in the shower uses 5-10 gallons of water.  So here are some tips to help green up your clean up time!

1. Shower with a friend! The little ladies and I usually all shower together. We try to keep it under 15 minutes and I think that's pretty good when you divide it by three.  Someone rinses while someone soaps and the preschooler usually just plays in the bottom with her water toys.

2.  If you are up to it, try a "navy shower." Talk about your water saver! The concept is simple: hop in, get wet, turn the water off, soap up, turn the water back on, rinse off, turn the water back off. I think that it's a perfect way to shower in the heat of summer, but in the thick of winter, I'll take a steady stream!  Which ties into #3...

3. When taking a regular shower, use a bucket to collect the water running as you wait for it to heat up. We all do it - let the water run until it reaches a nice hot temp and then (and only then!) hop on in the shower.  You can then use this water to fill the toilet tank, water plants, wash dishes, etc.

4. Upgrade your shower head to a low-flow model. You should be able to find one for under $40.

5. And lastly - take shorter showers.  A four minute shower uses approximately 20-40 gallons of water.  A 20 minute shower uses up to 200 gallons of water! Yikes!

See ya 2009! Hello 2010!

"Live in the present, and make it so beautiful
it will be worth remembering.”

Here's to 365 days of beauty!

I have been a green kind of girl for what seems like eons, starting way back when I was 12.   For 24 years I have wandered the paths of vegetarianism, recycling, organics, energy & water conservation.  When I have veered off these paths, my body and my conscience has always steered me right back. That being said, it's no wonder that my two little offspring carry that same green bug with them.

My oldest, Meira, who is 8 1/2 years old, is primarily a vegetarian.  She will tolerate chicken and the occasional fish stick, is not fond of anything dairy (except ice cream), and loves pasta.  Since she is my "wild child" and has endless bounds of energy, I am always watching the types of things she eats, attempting to steer clear of additives, colors, & preservatives. My youngest, Morgi, at 2 1/2 years old *was* a veggie babe and has recently taken to stealing meat from her classmates' plates at school lunch.  She guzzles milk by the gallons and loves all fruit. 

Since their dad is a meat eater of all kinds, I try to make sure that all meat/eggs/dairy in our house are organic/free range, etc.  I figure, it's more important to eat consciously than restrictively. I have always said that I would leave the choice to the girls as they grow up.  I try to instill in them a sense of responsibility to their bodies and our world.  Thankfully we live in an area where there are everyday lessons around us - our Lake Erie beach, our playgrounds, our metroparks, and even our own backyard.

So that's a little bit about us and I hope you enjoy reading about our green adventures, as Meira works on her journaling skills and we hone our eco lifestyle.  As we leave 2009 and look back at the things we accomplished, we look forward to the challenge that a new year and new decade will bring.