Written on
March 5, 2009 by
SusanC
Reduce, reuse and recycle. We all understand the importance of the three “R’s” of being environmentally responsible. I believe there is another part of the circle that is often overlooked, and I think it is the most important part.
I am referring to supporting the market for your carefully recycled cast-offs.
When you buy something, look for items made from a high percentage of post-consumer recycled materials. It doesn’t matter how many plastic bottles, newspapers, cardboard boxes and tin cans we throw in the recycle bin. If there is no market for these materials, the recycling industry will disappear.
In west Texas, for example, it is very difficult to recycle glass.
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Written on
March 2, 2009 by
SusanC
As Bummas graciously offered to give away two sets of their super absorbent and eco-friendly clothes for baby bums the world ’round, we have two! winners for this particular giveaway.
The first winner is… (imaginary drumroll, please): Commenter #12, Danielle!
And the second winner? Commenter #135, Amy H.!
Congratulations! ladies.
And a big thanks to everyone for entering!
Be sure to check back later this week as we’ll be featuring another great green giveaway for you to win!
An original 5 Minutes For Going Green post.
Have a great green product you would like to see featured on the site? Email me at 5minutesforgoinggreen(at)gmail.com.
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Written on
February 27, 2009 by
SusanC
After a reading a few comments on my post called Saving Green by Going Green, I thought that the topic of clothes drying could use a little more attention. So, this week I am going to focus in on a few different issues about living green and drying our clothes that I believe everyone can benefit from.
First of all, it was brought to my attention that the dryer balls I referred to in my original post were, indeed, made of PVC, which is obviously not a green material. With that said, I was assured by distributors of these balls that they are made with safe practices, but let’s face it, any way we can avoid PVC (especially heating it) is probably a good idea.
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Written on
February 26, 2009 by
SusanC
Until I met my husband I didn’t like coffee. I was a tea person and maybe the occasional whipped cream topped, syrup flavored something, but even that was rare. Now, I’ll go through three or four cups in the morning and I almost always have another pot brewing by afternoon.
Have you really looked at all the “green” factors that can go into a truly green cup of coffee? I’m not going to throw facts and figures at you and try to scare you. That’s just not my style; I like to blog about what I learn and how I understand it.
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Written on
February 25, 2009 by
SusanC
Surprisingly, many of us don’t.
The tuna you had on the salad last night may have been from waters off the coast of India. Your farmed raised tilapia may have been raised on a farm in Indonesia. At the end of the day, what safe fish options do we actually have?
I know there are many of you that do not eat any kind flesh, including fish, but many of us enjoy the bounty of the seas.
So what is a greeny to do?
There are quite a few things we can easily do, the most obvious of which is reading labels.
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Written on
February 23, 2009 by
SusanC
Part of the reasoning behind economic stimuli (at least in the GWB school of thought) is that if you give people a little extra cash, they’ll run right out and buy a good or service, and that enough people doing this at once will act like a booster shot in the arm of a struggling economy. This reasoning does not, of course, ta
ke in to account that giving a family of 4 an extra $1,000 and telling them to buy a new TV doesn’t address the $10,000 of credit card debt, $500 of car repairs and $1,500 mortgage their still be facing next month.
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Written on
February 20, 2009 by
SusanC
Every week we use this space to feature a recycled note or three from some of our favorite online sources. This week I found an Etsy shop specializing in cards comprised of 100% recycled paper embedded with wildflower, sunflower, spruce and clover seeds. All of the cards sporting the aforementioned seeds can be purchased at Grace Graphics, and my three favorites from the shop are listed below.
Bouquet Of Three
Plant these cards and they grow a gorgeous garden of wildflowers! Yep, that’s right! The seeds are in the paper. The ultimate card for the eco-conscious gift giver!
This set of 3 cards on handmade peach tinted paper is embedded with a blend of wildflower seeds that will grow most anywhere.
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Written on
February 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Are you ready to install solar panels or a wind turbine at your house? How about adding insulation or installing more energy efficient windows? 2009 may just be the year to take the plunge, thanks to some new, extended and improved tax credits.
Details can vary depending on your project but energy efficient home improvements including replacement windows (capped at $200), insulation (10% of the cost, capped at $500), sealing cracks in the shell of your house and in the duct work, and energy efficient water heaters and furnaces (capped at $300) can get you some very helpful tax credits.
The existent tax credit for installing solar panels was extended for 2009 giving you a 30% credit against the cost of your equipment with the previous $2,000 cap removed.
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Written on
February 18, 2009 by
SusanC
These days it is hard to know which toys are truly safe for our children to be playing with. Between phthalates, BPA, lead, and every other nasty chemical out there, it can leave you feeling like you don’t want to give your child anything more than a wooden spoon to enjoy!
Well, rest easy- there are lots of wonderful toys available out there that you never have to second guess, and a few you can create yourself with very minimal effort. Here are some ideas:
-Encourage imaginative play! That wooden spoon just may not be such a bad idea! See how many brilliant things that spoon can become in the hands of your little one.
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Written on
February 16, 2009 by
SusanC
This 5 Minutes For Going Green Great Green Review is brought to you by Pacific Northwest resident and new mom, Jenifer of Quarter Life Crisis. Read what she thought of her very comprehensive trial of Bummas, and then read on for details on how you can win a set for yourself!
When we found out I was pregnant with our first child last year, my husband and I decided early on that we were both committed to raising our baby as green as possible, which naturally led us down the predominantly-paved-in-plastic path to cloth diapering. When looking at the pros and cons of disposable versus cloth diapering, the decision to embrace the latter lifestyle was pretty much a no-brainer for us.
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