Here in Western Michigan, it is cold. Real cold. My bet is that unless you live quite far south, this time of year it is cold for you as well.
It can be hugely frustrating to stay green while also staying warm. Not to mention the fact that we are all trying to be more frugal, and an enormous gas or electric bill is not something anyone is happy about. In my home, with a small toddler, I am more concerned about her comfort and warmth than my own.
So what is a cold, eco-friendly mama to do? Make a list, that’s what.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 21, 2009 by
SusanC
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the environmentalist’s charge to “eat local?” Think the term “slow food” means “not McDonalds?” Intimidated by the 100-mile diet, or clueless when it comes to constructing weekly menus that highlight in-season foods from your neck of the woods? (Seriously, who has the time to plan menus?).
Then breathe easy, because you are most certainly not alone.
We are all the products of more than one generation of industrial food conditioning. (Example: As a child, I once asked a grade school friend where the apple she was eating came from, and she said, “the store”).
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Why is it that beauty products are seldom packaged in recyclable containers?
Even when their containers are plastic, they seldom have recognizable recycling symbols on them. Sometimes they have what I assume are European symbols on them.
Did you know that this symbol:
The German ‘Green Dot’, has no environmental significance at all? It only means that the manufacturer has paid a fee towards the packaging recovery system in Germany.
Is the beauty industry too upmarket to put the little triangle on the bottom of their packaging? Do they think their little packages would make the symbol too tiny to read?
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
Don’t you just love purchasing handmade goods, that on the by-and-large are naturally green and eco-friendly by the fact that they are created with love in peoples’ own homes and workshops? Especially those cute toys and custom accessories and apparel that can be found on such fun sites as Etsy.com and Hyenacart.com?
Well, as of February 10, 2009–less than a month away–nearly all such shops manufacturing hand-made toys will be forced by law to close their doors due to unreasonable third-party product testing mandates Congress passed this past August.
It is called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, and at its heart it has good intentions: to monitor mass-produced children’s products to ensure they do not contain lead or phthalates.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
I’ve been seemingly bit by the Valentine’s bug early this year, as I’m already finding myself strangely drawn toward hues of pink and red, shapes of all sizes and varieties that resemble hearts (admittedly not typically my favorite shape), or really anything that shouts “Hey! Valentine” with sugary sweet artistic lips.
It’s perhaps no surprise then, that I was smitten with this very romantic sea-dwelling shape, adorning this Heartopus card from Tofu Nutloaf’s Etsy shop:
From the seller:
Thea Heartopus is a rare freshwater cephalopod. It frequents deep, slow-moving rivers and lakes, and seems to prefer living near humans. It has been theorized that at least part of the Heartopus’s sustenance comes from human love vibes, although some scientists consider this theory bunk.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 14, 2009 by
SusanC
In an article that came out last week on ScienceDaily and many other places around the blogosphere, researchers from Baylor University in Texas used coconut fibers taken from the husks to create molded composite board similar to the polyester version used on door bottoms, in trunks, and on floors of some cars.
Why, though, would you use coconut instead of polyester? We will do a comparison with a few simple questions and equally simple answers:
Where do they come from?
Polyester is an inexpensive, man-made fiber and can be made anywhere. Coconuts are inexpensive seeds that come from trees in the tropics.
Continue Reading »
The holidays are behind us, and we’re moving into the time of year when lots of people are facing the daunting twin tasks of finding places to put all the Christmas presents and getting ready to do some serious Spring cleaning.
If you’re like me, you may even have made a New Year’s resolution that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now seems a bit daunting: “Take care of the clutter problem.”
I suspect de-cluttering is harder for those of us who hate to add things to the waste stream. The thought of putting something into a landfill that someone else might get use out of is bothersome, but how do we find someone who needs or wants our old stuff?
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 12, 2009 by
SusanC
What better way to start the second full week of the new year than with a great review and giveaway for some helpful green home and beauty products?
This review and giveaway comes courtesy of Ecostore USA, whose eco-friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and their body and baby care products are gentle on your skin, natural, and non-toxic.
From Ecostore’s website:
All of our products are made from plant and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 9, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are some favorite posts from elsewhere that had us thinking this week, to help start your weekend a bit greener.
Monday Doreen at Mom Goes Green posted on ridding our respective mailboxes of copious amounts of junk mail, and her post features multiple organizations who will help you do that easily and affordably.
Tuesday EcoGeek published an article on a new and unusual use for cocunut husks.
Is this really practical on a large scale? For those of us living in parts of the world where coconuts are limited to the grocery store, it’s hard to imagine. But in more equatorially located countries, coconuts are everywhere.
Continue Reading »
Written on
January 7, 2009 by
SusanC
5 Minutes for Going Green is growing, and growing, and growing.
We are currently looking for dedicated, passionate, eco-savvy writers to become part of our green writing team.
Excited about going green and how simple it can be? Embarking on a new green journey at home or at work? Raising a green family of your own and wanting to network and share some of your own trials and tribulations? Desiring to dig deeper into the world of conservation, environmental activism, and daily green living? Not a proverbial eco-nut yourself (yet), but just feel like writing outside of your comfort zone?
Continue Reading »
