Can I just say that I think it is both harder and easier to be green in the summer?!
I can hang my clothes outside on the line to dry, but I am taking more showers due to being outside and sticky/dirty. Also? My hair is not nearly as fabulous post-baby and needs more washes. Boo.
I can keep more lights off inside since the sun shines brighter for longer, but I have all the fans going to try to circulate as much cool air as possible.
I can keep the doors and windows closed on the hottest days to keep the hot out and the cool in, but I’ll be darned if I’m turning off the AC!
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Written on
July 5, 2010 by
Amber
We all have that chore that we hate around the house, don’t we? The one that we leave until the last possible moment? The one that we would gladly never do again in this lifetime? I have such a chore, anyways. The household task that I loathe above all others is washing dishes.
When I was young and single and still in university I did not have a dishwasher. I often resorted to tactics such as washing a single bowl because I wanted some cereal and all of the other bowls were dirty. It was not pretty. So when I got married and moved in with my husband, one of the requirements that we had for our first apartment was that it must have a dishwasher.
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Written on
July 2, 2010 by
Amber
Our family just returned from a vacation. We really enjoyed the chance to get away from home for a while. We traveled from our home in suburban Vancouver to Vancouver Island, which involved a 45-minute drive to the ferry terminal, just under 2 hours on the ferry, and then a 45-minute drive to our destination. While we were there, we stayed in a townhouse that had its own kitchen, and prepared most of our own meals.
We made most of our travel choices for economic and practical reasons. Staying closer to home, and avoiding restaurants, is cheaper and easier when you’re traveling with a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old.
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Soles4Souls announced that National Barefoot Week is stomping ground again next month, June 1-7, 2010. I have been a fan of Soles4Souls and their efforts for a few years now. Disasters don’t stop happening and people always need help even if it is just receiving a pair of shoes to wear on their feet.
A little closer to home in Nashville where Soles4Souls is based, they have already started responding to the needs of their immediate community by providing shoes and other items of necessity to help people who are still trying to recover from the storms they were hit with earlier this month.
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Written on
May 27, 2010 by
Amber
In my last post for 5 Minutes for Going Green I explored the environmental impact of using the dishwasher vs. washing dishes by hand. You may recall that there was not a clear winner, but as someone who hates washing dishes, I declared that I would continue using the dishwasher myself. When the answer isn’t clear, I tend to make the decision based on personal convenience.
After that post went up, one of my friends got in touch and asked me about washing plastics in the dishwasher. She has been debating the topic with her husband. I didn’t know anything about the safety of plastic in the dishwasher myself, so I decided to look into it.
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GreenMyParents is a new kid led movement to inspire kids to work with their parents to help save the planet, the economy and earn money at home through simple actions.
It’s based on the book “Green My Parents” which will come out later this month. It’s also a twitter, facebook and social media campaign. They host public “workshops” all over the country, as well.
Right now they can use your help by going to Pepsi Refresh and voting for their project. They can win $250,000 which will go a long way in helping them really get this project going.
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Around here, spring is finally in the air…which has me scrambling to find warm weather clothes for my kids!Are you ready for spring and summer fashion? Hand-me-downs and second-hand finds are a godsend, but when you need to fill out that wardrobe with new clothes, where do you shop?
Recently, I was fortunate to become accquainted with Organically Grown, a clothing company who believes in offering affordable, safe, stylish, high-quality organic clothing to consumers.* Why was I interested in organic clothing? I was shocked to learn that an estimated 170 million pounds of pesticides and one-quarter of the world’s insecticides are used in the production of conventional, non-organic cotton.
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Written on
May 7, 2010 by
Amber
Chores are no fun. Not for me, anyway. All the same, there are some chores that I don’t mind that much, and some that I really hate. The household task that I loathe above all others is washing dishes.
When I was young and single and still in university I did not have a dishwasher. I often resorted to tactics such as washing a single bowl because I wanted some cereal and all my bowls were dirty. It wasn’t pretty. So when I got married one of the requirements that I had for my first apartment with my new husband was that it must have a dishwasher.
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You know how the easiest way to stick to a diet is to not bring ‘problem’ foods into the house in the first place? Well, I’ve found I do the same thing with keeping to a ‘green’ diet. There are certain (decidedly un-environmental) conveniences I simply can’t resist if they’re easily accessable, so instead I don’t purchase them at all.
Maybe I have the will power of a knat, but I find this works for me. Out of sight, out of mind! The following are non-green items I try to avoid like the plague (because if they’re in my house, I’ll gladly use them!):
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Written on
April 20, 2010 by
DianaP
Tomorrow, April 21, 2010, PBS will broadcast Food, Inc. If you haven’t already seen it, now is your chance! Grab a bowl of popcorn, a few of your favorite drinks, gather around the television and have a family movie night.
Produced by Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, Food, Inc. ” lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer” and is, obviously, a film near and dear to my heart.
Check your local listings now and after you’ve watched, let me know what you thought in the comments here.
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