Category Archives: Green Parenting

The Dinner Co-Op: an Easy Way to be Green?

A number of years ago, an acquaintance of mine belonged to a dinner co-op. The concept was simple: four friends (living on the same block) shared the burden of the evening meal. Each friend was assigned one day of the week (Monday through Friday) and on her assigned day, cooked dinner for all four families. The other three days, she sat back and waited for her family’s meal to be delivered.

At the time, I thought it sounded like a convenient idea–even an ingenious idea–but I didn’t consider it to be necessarily a ‘green’ idea. I realize now I was wrong: dinner co-ops are a great way to be environmentally responsible while enjoying the awesome benefit of cooking only once or twice a week.

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Great “Green” Toys

Last week, I shared some of my ideas for what makes a good kid toy. This week, I would like to share with you some sources and suggestions for toys that are durable, fun, useful and green!

Next week is Thanksgiving and as we know the day after T-day the Christmas spending season begins. However, some folks (like me) observe a special day of consciously not consuming (known as Buy Nothing Day). I really like this website that has great ideas to make the day after Thanksgiving Make Something Day.

And if you just don’t have the time, skill, materials….

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Timeless Toys

When I go out looking for toys for my son, I want to find things that will become treasures.  For his first birthday he received from family a handmade wooden slide, a rocking boat that can serve as stairs and a small wheel barrow. His second birthday he received a wooden train table with storage drawers for his cars and trains and a small wooden kitchen. This year I am probably going to get him a wooden wagon.

What do these toys have in common? They are timeless… he will continue to enjoy them well into elementary school; they are sturdy and wooden and can stand the test of time; they encourage creativity and community and he (or his friends) are the ones making the action- not the toy.

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Greener Cleaning

It was just five months ago when my husband and I moved our family into an 1852 single-family farm home. There was so much we loved about our new home: the increase in living space, the playroom, two large bathrooms, the character that comes with an old home. We saw past the much-needed improvements, looking forward to painting rooms and re-decorating together.

What we did not expect were the struggles we would have with the hard water. For weeks I would pull out freshly-washed clothing from the washer, only to find them looking increasingly dingy. The worst, though, was our cloth diapers.

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Be Green for Halloween

Halloween Lollipop by CountryMunchkins on Etsy

When I was little my parents didn’t buy Halloween costumes, we created them; it was so fun.  Believe it or not, it wasn’t until I became a mother that I realized the overwhelming choices in commercialized costumes and decorations.

Driving through semi-rural, semi-suburban southern Rhode Island, I have noticed the abundance of gorgeously colored fallen leaves contrasted with plastic Halloween decorations. I have been in the checkout line at the discount store where many are purchasing stringy, plastic, scarecrows that will undoubtedly end up in a landfill in three weeks, if not torn apart and carried away by the wind.

I like a homemade Halloween; in second grade I was a tree.

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First Weekly ‘Green Family Friday’

Family Fun Big or small, traditional or uniquely unconventional, all human or composed of those that stand on more than 2 legs as much as those that do; families are beautiful things. At 5 Minutes for Going Green, we value families and the things — both big and small — that they do together to be a little more friendly to our planet. That’s why we’re excited to announce our first weekly Green Family Friday .

Each week we’ll be collecting tips, tricks and ideas for green weekend activities from families just like yours! And every Friday morning we’ll feature them here.

Looking for something to do?

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One Less

You can gradually reduce the carbon footprint of your baby with Baby Pottying or Elimination Communication. (Did you see the word “gradually” in that sentence?)

Gradually is there because you can ease into EC slowly, taking baby steps to gain your confidence and discover some EC tools with your baby to reduce your use of diapers in time.

Imagine if every baby wore just one less diaper each day because Mom and Dad are dabbling in baby pottying? That means millions less disposable diapers will be tossed in the bin.

EC, or Elimination Communication, is an ancient approach to baby hygiene that involves getting to know your baby’s patterns and rhythms of elimination so that, together as a cooperative team, you can “catch” some of their business in a potty, potty bowl or other suitable place.

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Green Birth

As a birth and postpartum doula, and a natural parenting company owner who is expecting a baby in the next few weeks, I can’t help but write a post that mentions the “greenness” of homebirth.

I think that most of the time we focus on a lot of the other possible advantages to homebirth (such as lack of unnecessary interventions, comfortable atmosphere for the mother, and even affordability), but rarely mention how having a birth at home can also be a green choice for your family. So, I thought I would put together a few little green things to consider (which obviously should not be your soul reasons for choosing a homebirth, but they can’t hurt either):

Less waste!

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Protect Your Skin the Green Way

Much to my surprise, last week when I took my son to the park for a play-date I got a sunburn! I couldn’t believe that we are already in that season when I need to be thinking about protecting my skin from the sun. So, I thought that this week would be a good time to explore that topic a little further.

Many of us know that we need to be conscious of the kinds of products we are putting on our skin, but we don’t always know why or what to look for.

Well, let me help you get on the right track with your sunscreen!

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Green Recipe Of The Month: Savory Black Bean Soup

Are you still cold, too? Someone told me that it is spring, but I get all confused when I read stories of snow in April like the mid-west recently experienced.

That used to not matter to me much, but now that I have traded my west coast roots for a more four season environment, everything I do has more purpose. I wear a coat not as a fashion statement, but because it’s cold. I wear shoes, not because they match my outfit, but rather because it’s cold. I eat soup, not because I absolutely love soup and could eat it 365, but because it’s cold.

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