Going green to help protect the environment doesn’t have to mean spending more. There are plenty of ways that greening your life can help keep more green in your wallet. In fact, in many cases, living green can save you money. Here are three simple ways you can help protect the environment and save money.
Eat Smart
Livestock production accounts for about 18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for about 23 percent of all global water used in agriculture. Meat costs a lot at the store, it’s even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.
Continue Reading »
This past week my husband and I finally broke down and bought another computer. It has been almost five years since our last computer purchase. In computer years that translates to one hundred people years. The purchase of a new computer led me to wonder how to dispose of the old one.
Computers and other electronics contain some of the most toxic materials of any other product group. Technology items such as cell phones, gaming systems, and computers contain lead, mercury, plastics harmful to the air, and many other chemicals that can cause serious damage to the environment. Because of these contaminants, disposing of electronic items can be extremely difficult.
Continue Reading »
Written on
March 31, 2010 by
DianaP
A couple of weeks ago I explained the events that led to my decision to 1) reassess my life and 2) write this series about it. If you haven’t read that, I highly recommend it. (Of course I do, right? Right!) When you’re done just don’t forget to come back and visit me here.
I’m more than a little ashamed to admit that, despite my best efforts, there is a lot of packaging that runs through this house. Especially of the plastic variety. Over the years we’ve instituted all the simple, every day waste reduction methods we could think of.
Continue Reading »
Written on
March 30, 2010 by
DianaP
It’s the week of Easter and I have to assume I am not the only procrastinator — er, busy mom — who does not yet have her kids’ Easter Baskets filled with goodies and awaiting the big morning. And you know, as much as I love all the online guides I find for eco-friendly Easter basket stuffers it seems every year I still find myself in the same position. Life takes precedence and for me that often means my kids’ baskets aren’t filled with organic cotton plush animals ordered in from an internet source, but rather with regular everyday commodities I’m able to find at stores locally as I run my usual errands.
Continue Reading »
Written on
October 21, 2009 by
Amber
I love to shop at my local farmer’s market. I am very lucky to have a great local market with both summer and winter seasons, and a wide variety of vendors. I have been visiting it regularly for the past 6 years and in that time I have become a die-hard fan.
There are a lot of things to love about the farmer’s market. When I shop there I feel as if I know where my food is coming from. I can meet the people who produced it, ask them questions, and even get cooking tips. They are my neighbors, and they take their work seriously.
Continue Reading »
Written on
October 20, 2009 by
SusanC
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.
Continue Reading »
Written on
October 16, 2009 by
DianaP
We’re a fairly gender-neutral family. If the laundry needs folding, someone folds it; if the lawn needs mowed, someone mows it; if dinner needs to be cooked, someone cooks it; if a fence needs to be repaired or a paddock cleaned, someone just does it — regardless of their genetic make-up. That being said there are a few jobs that just so happen to fall on the shoulders of one or the other of us time and time again. One of those jobs is the transport of things into and out of our back shed. My husband almost always does it.
Continue Reading »
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.
Continue Reading »
Written on
April 13, 2009 by
SusanC
In my opinion, the word “reinvent” should absolutely be added to the “R’s” of recycling- as in Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent!
Okay, I know, it is similar to reuse, but really, when I think of the word “reuse” it just implies to me that I should use the same thing repeatedly-such as cloth grocery bags. Recycle is also a similar term, but it always conjures images in my head of blue curb-side bins and pop cans. Reinvent, on the other hand, involves giving new spunk and life to an old, or apparently unusable, item to make it useful once more!
Recently I have come across some fun ideas that will hopefully inspire you to look for ways to reinvent items in your own home.
Continue Reading »
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I LOVE to shop at thrift stores, but it wasn’t always this way.
When I was a middle-schooler, I absolutely hated it. I felt like it was embarrassing, something only poor people should do. If someone complimented a thrift store item I was wearing (which did not happen often, due to my complete non-thrift-store-related lack of stylishness) and asked where I got it, I would fib and say I didn’t remember. By high school, however, I had fully realized the awesomeness that is thrift shopping, and would gladly tell anyone who asked where I shopped.
Continue Reading »
