I love getting emails from readers and recently, after I posted about Eco-friendly school lunches, I got an email from a reader asking a very “Eco” good question. Her older children don’t like to use the new earth friendly lunch boxes and wrap mats because they aren’t cool and nobody else is using them (more should be using them, grrr). That’s an issue so what is a mom to do? Her big question is whether she should use aluminum foil or wax paper and which one is safer and more earth friendly.
I answered, aluminum foil because it can be recycled and you can buy recycled aluminum foil.
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For the past few years, my family and I have gone to a local farm each fall to pick some of our own vegetables. For $10 per person (for anyone older than 3; babies and toddlers are free of charge), you go on a hayride to various vegetable fields (carrots, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, pie pumpkins, etc.) where you can pick to your heart’s content. We usually only pick enough to last us a couple of weeks, but not this year. Oh no. This is the year I’m getting serious about local food preservation.
That won’t be the only farm I will visit this year.
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So much interesting content to choose from today, especially in this week of emotional days and angry weather. Here are some posts that caught our eye:
The Simply Green channel at Sparkplugging is talking about the possibility of doing laundry without water. Be still my heart…
Green Mom Finds told us about a green socializing site where we can all go find people as crazy as we are.
I wrote about a way to help you clean up your indoor air over at Mama Speaks.
Green Me alerts us to the issue of flame retardants in pj’s.
And this one isn’t from this past week, but it’s important and awesome and should be read by all.
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A few weeks ago, late at night, I received an email from a public relations exec about an all-natural children’s hair care product. Called oopsy daisy! leave in detangler and conditioner, this “incredible, must-have” product was $18 for 8.25 ounces. What!!?? My hair care products don’t even cost that much (I admit, I may have screamed out loud)! This was the last straw in a series of eye-popping price tags that I just couldn’t let go without comment. After I hit “reply,” I was as calm and polite as possible, asking the exec to please explain me how a hair care product for children could be so pricey.
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Happy Labor Day weekend to you all from the green team here at 5 Minutes for Going Green! Here are some interesting reads for your long weekend:
-Geek Dad creates an incredible Styrobot, all from styrofoam he collected over the past several years. Check out the awesomeness.
-Last week, our own Crunchy Chicken had some exciting updates on the distribution of pads for her very important and very successful Goods 4 Girls organization. Go read about what happened in Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda.
-Another one of our rock stars, Mama Bird, pointed out the lack of environmental awareness among the American Dental Association.
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More inspiration for the weekend:
-An inspiration post about biking from One Green Generation (with amazing photos).
-Run DMT is talking about why organic produce really IS better.
-What gets us buying the latest and greatest? No Impact Man reminds us that the zero sum game (i.e., I get everything, you have nothing) is how we are persuaded into unhappiness.
-Burban Mom encourages us to go green with our deodorant, and I second her 9 months on/3 months off plan!
-In her journey to eating locally, Simple-Green-Frugal tells us how you can eat out and still be green.
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These great reads made their way into our minds and we couldn’t keep them to ourselves:
Talking about the latest in toy safety at Grist.
Getting a fresh perspective on reducing, reusing and recycling at Recycle Your Day.
Reading about new ideas on greening your family reunion at Green Baby Guide.
Speaking up about greening up your lady business at Crunchy Domestic Goddess.
Learning about more great ideas about canning your food, from our newest contributor–Chez Artz.
Which links rang your bell this week?
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Before children, I used to love to curl up with a couple of favorite magazines and a Coke and laze away an afternoon. Important part of that sentence – “before children.” Now, mmm, I don’t have the time. Yeah, right, I would get an opportunity to “laze away an afternoon.” That would be nice. Now, I’m lucky if I can get through 3 pages of advertisements, let alone any substance, before some small body hurls itself at me, demanding attention, and ripping any wayward page that just happens to get in the way. Or dripping Otter Pop stickiness all over the only page I wanted to read.
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Written on
August 8, 2008 by
SusanC
Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am a LAZY green mama. That’s not to say that I don’t do my part to protect the planet. But when I do make an effort to go green, I need to know that it is not in vain. And I’m the last person on Earth who would want to make extra work for herself. So when I tell you that I have used cloth diapers for both of my daughters, I hope you’ll understand that this was not an undertaking that I accepted lightly. I looked at the facts, I talked to the experts, I tried it myself, and I concluded that cloth diapers were the best thing for both my children and the planet.
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Written on
August 6, 2008 by
SusanC
With prices skyrocketing at the pump, you’ve probably already taken some serious steps to improve your gas mileage and reduce the amount of money you spend on gas. Carpooling, avoiding aggressive driving, and giving your car regular tune-ups are great ways to save money on gas, but don’t forget these equally effective yet surprising ways to save money at the pump….
1. Go green, get clean. The latest research shows that washing and waxing your car on a regular basis can improve your fuel efficiency by up to 7%.
2. Get rid of that junk in your trunk. A junky car could cost you more than just your sanity.
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