Green Outreach | 5 Minutes For Going Green

Category Archives: Green Outreach

Green Glue

Written on December 16, 2008 by Guest Contributor

Despite being sick for three days now, I have been expending all my energy to prepare for my big event this week.

You could say I am hosting an eco-friendly cocktail party and tour of my home to educate friends and family about going green, but my mission focuses just as much on community as it does on conservation.

Once I started seeking out everything eco-friendly in the city, I couldn’t help but talk, talk, talk; you know how it is when you are excited about a new adventure. My energy overshadowed my fear that the green community was so tight that I would be an outsider looking for help.

in Activism, All About Us, Conservation, Eco-Friends, Green Outreach, Green Thoughts

- 1 Comment

Holiday How-To, Green Edition

Written on December 11, 2008 by SusanC

4 Comments

The Holidays can be a tricky time of year to navigate while staying green and not going over-budget. Here at 5 Minutes for Going Green we’re here to help you think outside the box this gift-giving season. We want to help keep you and your family green this holiday season, while also keeping more green in your pocketbooks, too. Keep reading for our customized How-To Holiday Guide.

(Keep in mind, too, that nearly all of these How-To tips are not holiday-centric and can themselves be recycled for birthdays, anniversaries, group social events, and just day-to-day green living.)

How To…

Wrap Recycled:

My new favorite recycled wrapping trend that I’ve seen suggested and modeled everywhere from Etsy to Martha Stewart Living is wrapping with maps and pages from atlases and other travel-related paperie.

in For The Home, For The Office, Frugal Living, Got Energy?, Green Holidays, Green Outreach, Green Thoughts, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 4 Comments

Green Resolutions Anyone?

Written on November 25, 2008 by Guest Contributor

1 Comment

It dawned on me today that since summer ended time seems to be moving in fast forward and the new year is fast approaching. What better time for me to meditate on my New Year’s Resolution!

As cliché as it sounds, the Type A side of me loves to make goals and see them come to fruition. Let’s see, in 2008 I tried to share my true feelings instead of sugar coating. (Some would say I do it really well now!)

After some thought I decided that my resolution for 2009 will be to eat only organic foods, with a focus on locally grown products.

in All About Us, Eat to Live, For The Home, Frugal Living, Green Holidays, Green Outreach, Green Parenting, Green Thoughts, The Green Consumer

- 1 Comment

Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, Green Edition

Written on November 13, 2008 by SusanC

2 Comments

Christmas is Not Your Birthday is an initiative started by the brains behind CoolPeopleCare.org, in an attempt to redirect the typical holiday hub-bub and excessive consumerism surrounding the holiday season with local outreach, outward thinking, and overall giving.

In 2006 they asked readers from all over the world to simply think outside of themselves, and outside their needs and wants, for that particular holiday season. In 2007 they asked everyone to buy gifts for their friends and family that made a difference to the local and global community, to commit to buying better gifts, purchases that gave back in some way.

in Activism, Conservation, Green Holidays, Green Outreach, Green Thoughts, Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

- 2 Comments

The Undertow of Materialism

Written on November 4, 2008 by Guest Contributor

11 Comments

Trust me, I know how it is. You feel like you can just dip your toe into that ocean of consumerism this holiday season and walk away unscathed. Keeping it simple this year, you say? Not that many gifts or toys or decorations, you promise? And then one turns to two which turns to ten and whoosh! You are swept away. Just like that.

And in that rip current of consumerism, there aren’t only dollars floating into oblivion, there is waste.

Think of all the things thrown away during the holidays: wrapping paper, tissue paper, special little note cards, holiday cards you mail, tape, that do-hicky that holds the tape on your wrist (this includes all those other “helpful” plastic gadgets), shopping bags, receipts, fuel, gas, electricity, food, decorations and the list goes on and on.

in Activism, For The Home, Frugal Living, Green Holidays, Green Outreach, Green Parenting, Green Thoughts, The Green Consumer

- 11 Comments