Green Children...They're not so bad.

Over on "The" network for bloggers, Cre8buzz, I learned about something I had to participate in from Cable Girl. It's called Blog Action Day.

It didn't even take a second thought to know what I wanted to write about: Kids.

The efforts we take today will mean very little if we don't teach our children why we do the things we do. It's easy to get caught up in just getting our tasks done and not stop to explain the "why's" and "how's" of daily life to our kids. But we have to remember that once these guys are on their own, they become the consumers of America. They become the people buying products and throwing them away. It's our job to teach our children how to take care of themselves - but it is also our job to teach them to take care of the place they live.

Getting them involved doesn't always seem easy. I try to get the kids involved with making our family sustainable without shoving it down their throats. I don't want them to resent recycling or composting, I want them to embrace it as the way they live and will continue to live their whole lives.

Mainly, I've done this by making them the honoree compost taker-outers. While I realize this is not a very cool job, I do what I can to make it cool, like needing it done when they are grounded or need to be getting ready for bed. I'm still working on a way to make taking the garbage and recycling out fun.


There are more subtle ways to pass a green attitude to your kids. (Seriously, peeps, it isn't that hard. You know me. Impossibly easy. Impossibly easy lifestyle changes, that is!)

Some ways I do it:

~I've stopped saying "Throw it away" as a blanket statement and replaced it with "Recycle it." I would say , "Go throw this away," assuming they would know that I meant for them to recycle it. Could I really blame them when their school papers ended up in the garbage? When I make a clear direction for it, they pick up on it. Now they ask me ifsomething is recyclable.

~I ask them for ideas. When we have a container that is going to be recycled or thrown away, I ask if they can think of something else to use it for first. They don't always think of a use for it, but at least I know I'm getting those wheels turning.

~I talk to them. I point out things that are eco-friendly and things that are not. I explain why for both reasons. I know that they know that trash doesn't disappear when the garbage man comes.

~I don't buy them everything they ask for. In fact, I hardly ever do. We too often (and I was so guilty of this until a couple years ago!) make purchases that we don't even need. A little toy here and there never hurt anyone...but that insanely plastic-filled package it came in will. I also let them know why we make these decisions - so they can take that knowledge and ask for something with less packaging remember it the next time they ask for a toy.

~I don't let trash rest outside. Whether it's in my yard or at the park I always make a point to pick up trash I see on the ground. Long-time readers may already know this, but my Sunshine has become quite the complainer when it comes to litterers. When she sees garbage, she immediately picks it up and disgustedly says, "Why couldn't they just THROW IT AWAY!? Sheesh! I'll do it!"

~We bring up the Energy Hog. This creepy character was introduced to our family over the summer. He serves as a reminder of what we don't want to be. "Lights on? Let's not be an energy hog!" "Shower's a little long! Let's not be an energy hog!" Because the character was already introduced to them in a much cooler environment than home, they caught on to this pretty quickly.

These are just a few simple ways to introduce a greener life to your kids. Find what works for your family.

Change what you can. Work on what you can't. Be proud of the changes you make and the ideal you set.


If you'd like some more ideas on teaching green, check out this link from iVillage.

Also check out some more of the Blog Action Day participants at BlogActionDay.org!

Green Challenge is back.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I’ve tried a couple products and have some more on the way. (I SO heart you, Internet Shopping!) So the upcoming weeks will be filled with eco-friendly product reviews.

I’ve also still been trying to change my unfriendly habits. The area I have been really trying to improve on lately is grocery shopping.

Normally, I go to Cub Foods for my dairy, meat and produce. Then I go to Wal-Mart for the non-perishables (So Much Cheaper!). This usually leaves me with about 20 plastic bags that I have absolutely no use for (because I already have so many). I recycle the bags, but it’s always better to Reduce before Reusing and Recycling. So when Cub Foods offered their Cub canvas tote bags 2/$7, I managed to get the last one.

It has been wonderful! I never imagined it would save so many bags. I can fit almost everything from one trip into the bag and have used it at least five times. It makes me feel really good to walk out of the store using it.

I still need to find a solution to Wal-Mart’s excess baggage. Since they started recycling their bags, the bags have been weaker. The cashiers solve this by using two. I think my only solution is going to be to buy another tote (or do you think it would be okay to use my Cub bag there??) and make them let me bag my own stuff. Knowing how many bags I save at Cub makes it hurt that much more when I walk out of Wally’s with three times that.

I’ve also been trying to cut out the extra packaging. The kids take sack lunches to school so this isn’t very easy. I’ve been on the lookout for those little single serve holders for Pringles – something I saw EVERY time I went shopping before and now that I want them can’t find them for the life of me. Chips are not even the worst of it, though. They usually take a cereal bar and juice box as well. Thankfully, school is almost out and I won’t have to worry about that until next year. And then hopefully next year, I’ll be able to get them all kinds of reusable containers during School Shopping Season.

We’ve also been working on our meat consumption but that’s a whole different post!

Want to get your hands on a canvas tote? I did some searching and found these:

Amazon.com has a wide variety. But these are my favorite.

These are from ECOBAGS. What I loved most was reading the reviews and seeing that both people had the same comment about feeling good walking out of the store.
I also found ECOBAGS’ website, where they are slightly cheaper (and you get a deal when you buy more) – I didn’t, however, check shipping costs, which could make it a toss up on who is cheaper.

Uncommon Goods has a cute Cowgirls bag for $20.

Then there is the Eco-Friendly bag Superstore, Reusablebags.com, where you can not only find a wide variety of reusable bags, but you can also get the activist’s kit for $3 (plus shipping).

For more information on using plastic shopping bags, check out this website or Ideal Bite.

As you may have already guessed, this weeks’ Green Challenge is to look at your own shopping and find one way to make it more eco-friendly. Maybe pick up a tote, or buy something in bulk and put it in your own individual containers at home. Or, if you don’t already recycle your plastic bags, you can start doing that! ;)

Green Challenge

Today I got off my big, padded bum and did something really green…I went outside and helped pick up garbage from the company property. I was disappointed that we didn’t have many people volunteer, but then again, this is the Land of Lazy. I was also surprised that most of the people helping were from the manufacturing floor. Why was I surprised? I blame them for the mess. I know that there aren’t any office people waddling outside to smoke (against policy anyway) or take their breaks. We are directly on a lake, plus we have two ponds out front. People from the floor take their breaks on the hill and throw their garbage into the ponds – seriously. Here are these poor ducks, birds, geese, frogs and everything else that has had its home confined by industrialism to a small pond off the freeway. And that’s not good enough for these selfish pricks…they have to throw their garbage into the tiny preserve just to screw them a little more.

Ahem. My point was that it was good to see people from the “other side” pitch in and not just slink back into the stereotype they’ve earned. It was a reminder to me that everyone is an individual. That everyone makes their own choices, regardless of what group they are in.

I’m left with the high I got from being paid to be outside during the workday. I’m energized. I’m happy to know that I got all those plastic bags and wrappers away from where the ducks will be nesting soon.

The Green Challenge this week has to do with the office and will be part a short series (these corporations are like Environmental MONSTERS – just can’t fit it into one challenge). For my loverly SAH readers, I realize these tips aren’t going to impact your life heavily, but you have that beautiful voice to share the information with people for whom it will. Riiight? Right!

I think the obvious spot to start would be paper consumption. Each year, Americans trash enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from New York to Los Angeles!*. Trash. As in, goes to the DUMP.

The best solution would be to use recycled paper. Producing white recycled paper creates 74% less water pollutants and 75% less process energy than producing paper from virgin fibers*. That’s a LOT! However, recycled paper costs slightly more than the regular stuff, so most companies would be against this. Even if we can’t change the mind of a corporation, we can change our habits.

Top Things You Can Do To Save Paper:

1. Check print margins – don’t print unnecessary pages. I do this most often when printing from the internet – you know how they always make you print that last sheet with all their fine print and “Contact Us” links?

2. Double-side your copies – I have to make copies of every document I process because for some reason, we need TWO paper copies filed along with the electronic version, so this really helps me out. I’m trying to get that copier set up as my printer so I can PRINT double-sided as well.

3. Re-use scrap paper - Confession: I was a Post-It Note whore. I collected them. Pink, blue, green, yellow…if they ordered it, I was all over it. But then I had one of my little eco-epiphanies: I can’t recycle them. Our office only recycles white paper. So when my Post-Its ran out, I moved on to scrap paper. I have one of those people in my department who doesn’t EVER check their Print Preview and ends up with about 25 pages of waste a DAY. When I’m out of scrap paper, I just grab a handful, head over to the paper cutter and chop it up. Of course, nobody else double-sides their prints, so I’m guaranteed a clean side. Bonus, huh??

4. Lastly, of course: Recycle it when you’re done.

*Facts from www.CleanAir.org

Small Change April/Green Challenge #2

I’d completely forgotten about this month’s Small Change! Aside from donating a few bucks to my co-walkers’ WalkAmerica accounts, I haven’t done much of anything. But I have a lot of stuff in the works, so I’ll have more to ‘report’ later.

It's Spring Cleaning time! Check out Beth’s Small Change Challenge for April. It’s a great (easy) one, because I was doing it anyway! It’s that time of year, you know!

You can also check out the banner on my sidebar for Susie Flynn. She’s 10 years old and running for President in 2008 to bring awareness to kids without health coverage. Check out her website, sign the petition if you’d like. It’s great to see kids getting so involved!

This week’s Green Challenge is to enter your zip code into the Earth 911 box at the bottom of the page. This will show you all the registered recycling centers in your area. You will be surprised to learn how many of things you use every day that are recyclable.

I need to recycle a LOT of used motor oil and a few old filters and this search found me several places near my house.

The Coolest Thing In The World (to me) (right now): It found me a place that recycles those nasty #5 and #7 plastics! I’m going to talk to my step-dad (who saves EVERYTHING) and tell him about it. It’s about a half hour north of us, so I figure we can save up and make trips every once in a while. It sounds ridiculous, but this relieves me of a large burden on my soul. I buy a lot of things that come in containers made from these plastics. I don’t LIKE using Cool-Whip and butter containers as food storage, I don’t like saving them, but I really don’t like throwing them away.

So, there you go…enter your zip, take a look, see if you can’t learn something. There are no pop-ups or cookies attached, promise!

Also, I have to share this:

Last night I was making dinner (*Gasp, choke, WHA??* - I know!) and Sunshine came home from riding her bike with friends. She was talking about ‘So-and-so was doing this’ and the like. Then she says, “Well, you know Taylor is the bitchiest one!”

My jaw DROPPED. “What is Taylor?”

“The bitchiest one.”

“Ummm, that’s not a word you should be using. Who taught you that?”

“Oh, right, I forgot. Taylor did.”

“Well, that’s not appropriate language. I think if Taylor is a mean girl and talks like that, she probably isn’t going to make a good friend for you.”

“Yeah, cuz she’s the … meanest one.”

It’s begun…

Oh, and also...WTF???

Green Challenge #1

In my head, the title goes along with the "Da-da-duh - GREEN GIANT" tune. I've spent entirely too much time in front of the TV. :)

When The Man and I were living together for the first time, we were very naïve. Our rent was half of what our mortgage now is. We worked 10-20 minutes away. We spent every waking moment spending money on something and complained about how broke we were. We smoked. We didn’t save money. We didn’t recycle.

Well, that’s not entirely true. We recycled paper. I had a grocery bag propped next to the garbage can that we put paper in. When it was overstuffed, it made its way outside. Where it sat, usually until it started to decompose. Also, after a while, we started throwing our soda cans in a big box outside for my step-grandpa to take for the boy scouts. My reasoning for not recycling anything else was that we didn’t use much of it. A couple glass jars here, some steel cans there. What did it really matter, anyway?

The true reason? My garbage company made me rinse everything out. (Who wants to wash garbage??) And sort them out. (Who wants to organize garbage??) And carry the little plastic tote they gave me down my long-assed driveway on the *special* garbage day. Really, who has that much time?


Between the sale of that house and the purchase of this one, we stayed in a duplex in a different city. There, our recycling can looked exactly like our garbage can. Both large carts on wheels. And we didn’t have to sort anything.


I don’t know if it was because I was pregnant (pregnancy overwhelmed me with this feeling that I had to save the world - or at least make it a little better) or what, but I decided to try it. I set up one bag for paper and one for all the other recyclables next to the garbage. The rinsing still got to me. It felt like a lot of work just to get rid of something. But soon, I noticed that our recycling cart was full before the garbage one. [Insert immense feeling of guilt here.] I had been throwing all of that into the same bin, to be taken to the same landfill, dumped in the same heap - and all the while, I could have saved over half of that stuff. And not only saved that space at the landfill, but also saved the precious natural resources it used, the production costs – both economically and environmentally - that it took to make that one can or jar or bottle.

I was something short of devastated to find they didn’t have such a wonderful recycling program in my new town. In fact, the friend I had living out here already told me they didn’t recycle AT ALL. I called my new garbage company determined to change their ways - and they offered me the standard tote for an $8 deposit. I really wanted to use all the same excuses I did in the first house. Sorting, lugging that stupid thing to the curb… But I just couldn’t. I couldn’t throw ALL THAT stuff into the garbage can knowing the impact. So we bought some sorters for the garage and I stuck with it until last summer when they introduced the new carts.


Since I made that change, I’ve started noticing a lot of other things I do that aren’t really the best choices for the environment…or even for my family. I look for ways to improve what I do and make small changes to become … well … better than I was at protecting the environment.
With Earth Day approaching, I really wanted to organize some kind of thing in my neighborhood to get my neighbors more interested in recycling. However, with the Walk, Easter, and several birthdays coming up, I’m pretty sure I would go crazy trying to plan something else. So I got the idea to start here. Every Tuesday for X amount of weeks (I’m cRaZy like that), I’ll post a Green Challenge. Some tips for living a greener life, resourceful websites and, of course, a challenge.




This week’s is to confess your environmental crimes. “Crimes” too harsh? How about “bad habits”?



My top three environmental crimes:


1. I use A LOT of water. I try not to let it run, but I often do. I never understood why it was so freakin’ bad to let water run. It COMES from the river…it goes BACK to the river, right? It’s not like it disappears into space because it goes down the drain!! But, with age comes wisdom. And that “Oh, DUH!” thing you get once in a while. Yes, people, it takes ENERGY to PRODUCE the water, huh?? And guess what? Money doesn’t grow on trees, either!! Who knew?



2. I use chemical cleaners. Like, Lysol Kitchen Cleaner. Again…never thought about the impact they might have on the environment. I do (because I’m cheap) dilute it with water a couple times and then recycle the bottle, so this only makes it half a crime, right? I plan on researching more earth-friendly cleaners soon.



3. I’m addicted to bottled water. Again, I recycle every bottle. However, it would be MUCH friendlier to the Earth if I were to … say … umm … refill the bottle. My office did recently get a filtered water system, so I’m sure since it’s filtered that even though it still smells like swamp water, it’s cool to drink … right? … This one may take a while.


Alright, it’s on YOU…Confess!