Fifteen simple changes we all can make starting today!

This is a sponsored post. I received compensation and/or product in exchange for this post. However, all opinions are my own and were not influenced by what I received.

Happy Earth Day 2014!

I started my day by heading to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh where my granddaughter was being seen in the Emergency Room. She had a 105.6 fever and it was a bit scary. Fortunately, she was released a few hours later, with a much lower temperature and a diagnosis of an unknown virus.

Needless to say, this threw off my plans for the day, which included writing this post before noon. Ahh well. The best laid plans of mice and men...

This year, I've teamed up with the good folks at Conserving Now to offer you some good information about greener living and to give away an Omnisax bag (winner's choice) to one lucky reader.

In a previous blog post, I already told you about the fantastic classroom kits Conserving Now had available to help teachers guide their students to greener living. Today's post honors Earth Day by giving you fifteen great tips from Conserving Now that can help you live greener lives, too.

Fifteen Simple Changes We Can All Make -- Starting Now!

1. Start carrying a reusable bag whenever you are shopping.
2. Bring a travel mug to your favorite coffee shop.
3. Walk to the park.
4. Start using rechargeable batteries.
5. As old light bulbs burn out, start buying and using LED light bulbs.
6. Switch to homemade or store-bought natural cleaners. (Check out my book Vinegar Fridays for tips and recipes for cleaning with vinegar.)
7. Stop using paper plates.
8. Buy a bunch of tea towels and ban paper towels from your home.
9. Build a backyard compost bin.
10. Install a water-saving shower head.
11. Invest in cloth napkins and stop buying paper ones!
12. Turn your thermostat down at night or when you're at work (during the cold weather).
13. If you're not doing it already, start recycling!
14. Carpool with coworkers or friends who work close to your office.
15. Donate your old cell phone to a charity.

Simple, right? There's no reason why you can't do every one of these, or nearly one of them. Will it make a difference? Absolutely.

So why not start off with reusable bags? I personally love my Omnisax bags (formerly Envirosax bags). I have a whole bunch of them and I've given many away as gifts. They are durable and slip easily into your purse so you can always have one or two available. They hold a ton. Well, not really a ton, but they can hold up to 44 pounds, which seems like a ton when you're lugging the goods very far! And, since the Omnisax bags are machine washable, they are perfect for taking to the grocery store for meat or produce. No cross-contamination going on here. Just toss the bag into the wash when you get home.

Entering is easy and is for residents of the U.S. who are 18 and older. The contest runs through April 30 12:00 a.m. ET. Entries will be verified. Winner has 48 hours to respond to email. If there is no response, an alternate winner will be chosen. Good luck!



 


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Honoring the Earth -- how my family is making a difference

 

Welcome to the April 2014 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Honor the Earth.  

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members are talking about how they honor the Earth year round. Stop by all of the posts to get ideas on how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. 


How does my family honor the earth?

I pondered the question for awhile and kept coming up with an alternate question: 

How does my family not honor the earth?

Grandson rocking the cloth right away!

* Cloth diapering. When it comes to living earth-friendly lives, it's not like we're perfect or anything. Far from it. But I'm proud to say we're doing our part, starting with what we put on our babies' bums. I'm delighted my daughters decided to cloth diaper my grandbabies right from the start. They're honoring the earth by not dumping countless disposal diapers into the landfill.

 

Jess breastfeeding at a Pittsburgh Pirate game

* Breastfeeding is another way we've honored not only our babies, but the earth as well. After all, there is no production impact on the environment when it comes to breastfeeding. It was my only choice when I had babies, and it was/is their own choice as well. 

Of course, it goes beyond what we do for our babies. Some of the changes we've made are doable for everyone who is reading this.

* Reusable bags. There is no reason . . . NONE . . . for you to continue using plastic bags at the store. The choices in reusable bags are vast, and include many that fold up or roll up and slip easily into a purse or pocket so they are readily and always available.

But I need plastic bags at home for things like cat litter and trash, etc.

I hear you. We use plastic bags for those purposes as well. But we just get them from others who, for one reason or another, continue to acquire vast amounts of plastic bags every week. They gladly give some to us, just to get them out of their own homes. I'm sure you can find others who will accommodate you as well.

I admit it took me awhile to get into the habit of always having reusable bags with me, but habits are like that. They take time to develop. This is a habit that is well worth it.

* Forsaking disposable products. Other than toilet paper, for the most part, our home is free of products like napkins and paper plates. We do have a roll of paper towels stashed under our sink, which is only used for the occasional massive amounts of puke one of our cats manages to deposit on the floor for us. Other than that, we use, and reuse, rags. There's no reason to waste paper towels to clean up average messes and spills. None.

Same with paper/plastic plates. We have a set of splattered metal dishes which is perfect for dining out on the patio. Why would we use something that would just be thrown away after one meal? It makes no sense.

Paper napkins are also a ridiculous waste. I don't even even use them for parties or showers. For the last couple baby showers, my daughters made cute napkins out of receiving blankets we picked up at garage sales for next to nothing, or out of soft fabric they bought. After the showers, the napkins became cloth wipes for the babies delicate behinds. Perfect. 

I must confess, between the homemade ones, inherited ones, gifted ones, and ones I bought, I probably have close to 100 cloth napkins. That keeps us covered when it comes to wiping our hands during a meal . . . even when we're feeding a crowd. 

* Reusable bottles and cups. As much as possible, I do not use Styrofoam or paper cups or plastic bottles. Of course, sometimes I must, but I try to remember to carry my own cups or bottles with me to functions so I don't contribute to the ongoing landfill crisis that is growing with every Starbucks cup that is tossed in the trash.

What's not to love about Earth Mama Angel Baby?

* Personal care products. We're all doing our part here by reducing the amount of toxic personal care products we use. From conventional shampoos to colognes to hair dyes to body lotions, we try to make the best choices possible for both our health and the environment. It takes some research, but it's so worth the effort.

* Household products. Again, it's about choices, and we try our best to keep harmful chemicals out of our kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms.
 
* Lawn and garden.  I look out my window and see the lush green lawns starting to appear in my neighborhood and I'm struck with a bit of envy. But only for a moment, as I realize the environmental cost of that lushness. We opt to keep products like RoundUp off our properties and cringe as we see it being applied to yards so close to ours. 

We choose plants for our gardens free of neonicotinoids. The last thing I want to do is to be responsible for the killing off of even more bees. This is important folks, and I implore you to not buy plants from Lowe's or Home Depot until they agree to stop using this toxic pesticide. Ask your local gardening centers if their plants are free of it. It's that important.


Obviously, I've given you quite of lot of ways to Honor the Earth. I believe in leading by example, so these are things I am doing . . . except the breastfeeding part. I will say I'm not currently engaging in that!

I'd love to hear that you've committed to one or more of these suggestions. What changes are you willing to make to celebrate Earth Day 2014?



Visit Happy Mothering and Crunchy Farm Baby to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

Honor the Earth Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Honor the Earth Giveaway Hop, hosted by Happy Mothering, Easy Green Mom and Brittleby's Corner through the Green Moms Network! Each of the participating blogs is offering a prize package to help you Honor the Earth for Earth Day! While Earth Day comes just once a year, we want to give you ideas on how you can care for the environment every day. After entering my giveaway, be sure to hop around and enter all of the other giveaways listed on the linky at the bottom of this post!

I believe that the best way to start living greener lives is through education. That's one of the reasons I have this blog -- to educate you. But I also think it's a good idea to have reference books on hand. That's why my Earth Day giveaway is all about books. Three of them, to be exact. One winner will receive a copy of each of the following books: 

~Big Green Purse Using Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World by Diane MacEachern 

Diane MacEachern's message is simple but revolutionary. The fastest, most effective way to protect the planet is to mobilize the most powerful consumer force in the world -- women.

The book 

• targets twenty-five key commodities where your dollars can have the most impact
• provides standards-based guidelines and "thumbs up/thumbs down" ratings to help you make the shift to eco-friendly products, companies, and services
• highlights eco-cheap strategies to help you save money but still live and shop green
• reveals phony "greenwashing" marketing techniques you'll want to avoid
• suggests simple and quick environmental lifestyle changes you can make regardless of how much money you spend

 Empowering and enlightening, Big Green Purse offers sensible, time-saving, and immediate strategies for green living that you can incorporate into your life today.

~ Green Mama The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet by Tracey Bianchi

If you are a busy, overloaded mom who wants to make wise choices for her family but is clueless about where to begin, Tracey Bianchi is here to calm your fears. She knows what it's like to live in the chaos of raising children while having a to-do list too long to write down. She also knows what it's like to take small steps toward helping the environment, teaching kids to take care of God's world -- and loving it.

In Green Mama, Tracey offers creative tips and spiritual inspiration to help you make wise environmental choices in your community, at the office, and during ordinary afternoons at home. As Tracey enthusiastically reminds us, green living is not something to feel guilty about. It is an invitation to creative partnership with God.

Is "going green" really possible for busy moms? Yes, and it might be easier than you think.

~ Green Grandma's Vinegar Fridays A Splash of Vinegar with a Dash of Personality by Hana Haatainen Caye

"Vinegar Fridays is a compilation of Green Grandma blog posts, organized into chapters of related items: cleaning in the kitchen, cleaning for other areas of the house, pest control, car care, kids, pets, health, beauty, and more. In the introduction, the author explains that her tips are 'intended to changed the way you traditionally do things -- and get you out of the habit of using chemicals and toxins in your everyday life.' There is literally something for everyone in this book." -- Meg Koenneman, Because I Said So (and Other Mommyisms)

The total monetary value of this prize package is over $40, but the info you'll receive from each of these books is invaluable.

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And be sure to enter the grand prize giveaway! One winner will receive a BAD Blankie from Nest Bedding, 3 books from Little Pickle Press and a set of DVDs from NCircle - that's a $156 value! A second winner will receive a Toter Composter and a $50 BuyGreen.com gift card - that’s a $279 value! Enter here.




This contest will run through February April 22, 2014 at 8:59 pm PST (11:59 pm EST). The winner will be chosen the following day and announced on Green Grandma. No purchase necessary. US entries only. Must be 18 years or older to win. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Green Grandma and not to Facebook. Please note that Green Grandma, Happy Mothering, Easy Green Mom, Brittleby's Corner, the Green Moms Network and the Naturally Beautiful event bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 4-6 weeks for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.