While the idea of going green is generally a popular lifestyle choice, there is a commonly held perception 
that going green is more expensive. This is true – many suggestions to go green end up being more expensive than the old way of doing things. So to help inspire you in your efforts to go green, here are some frugal ways to make a smaller environmental footprint while making your pocket book happy!
Re-usable coffee filters: If you’re not already using these kinds of filters switch now – you’ll still have great tasting coffee but you won’t have to run out to buy filters again!
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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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Birthday parties are all too often lavish and excessive, even when they are for small children. Sometimes it seems like it is a competition for parents. Who can throw the biggest most lavish birthday party ever?! The birthday boy or girl usually ends up with too many toys that they don’t need. They probably aren’t the best quality, and they might be hard or even impossible to recycle. The sheer amount of waste generated at these parties might be staggering with disposables for eating and drinking as well as party streamer, deflated balloons, excessive toy packaging, and wrapping paper. Add this mountain of garbage to the stress created by all day sugar highs and the inevitable sugar blues that follow and it is easy to see why many parents are making the switch to greener, lower impact birthday parties.
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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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I’ll tell you it is easy to be an organizer if you have no limits. But what about an ecochic organizer like me? My boundaries are simple. I will try at all costs to use what I have already in my home first before ever buying something. I’ll go to my recycling bin, think of how to sew something or just plain rethink a way to make it work. If I do buy something I usually try to purchase second hand. The last resort is buying local if possible, fair trade, environmentally friendly, organic materials.
Some simple thoughts on organizing:
- Since sewing has become a new obsession for me, I have taken outdated purses and filled them with supplies.
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So many juicy pieces of green to sink your teeth into this week. Here’s a sampling:
–Our own Crunchy Domestic Goddess gave us the dish on throwing an eco-friendly party (and there’s a giveaway, too!)
–Eco Child’s Play told us a story about getting rid of lice naturally (I’m still itching since reading this one).
–I reviewed Kiwi Magazine and Preserve toothbrushes over at Mama Speaks (a rockin’ review blog). One of them keeps your green cravings happy, the other cleans up afterwards.
–Our lovely Crunchy Chicken found herself linked up on The Huffington Post (and coincidently I’m watching Arianna Huffington on “Supper Club with Tom Bergeron” on Planet Green right now, but I digress…), in an article about eco-friendly dining out.
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No one wants to be greeted with bugs in their home. They create everything from fear to annoyance to health hazards. So let’s look green and natural ways to get rid of them!
There are two key things you want to avoid:
Keep your rooms free of clothes and materials on the floor that provide great places for bugs to move around unnoticed. Don’t leave food out and keep your counters clean.
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Written on
July 21, 2008 by
SusanC
#8DCB41, #7A7700, #1D3403…No, I’m not speaking Klingon nor are these words from a lost episode of Seinfeld. These are hexadecimal values or “hex colors” and they are all shades of green. Jennifer K. and her husband are olive and after reading Sommer’s post, I felt compelled to share a little bit more about me. I guess, to confess.
When I was asked to participate as a writer at 5M4GG, I was honored and then a little concerned because going green is still somewhat new to me. I was never a fan of the color green. I was a Brownie, but never became a Girl Scout.
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