Earth Friendly Ideas

Hi A. - welcome to the world of green! LOL My husband and I have recently begun trying to lessen our impact on the earth as well and here are some things we are doing.

No more plastic bags - We have purchased canvas and mesh shopping bags and when we go to any store, not just grocery, we take the bags with us - even to big, bad Walmart. My husband unloads the groceries and I stand at the end by the cashier and sack my own groceries. We get a 2-week supply of groceries into 4 large bags instead of 30 small plastic bags. I have gotten a few ugly looks from cashiers at other places when I ask them to not put my things in a bag, but mostly I have gotten great response.

Another note on shopping is to look for items with minimal packaging. A foam container wrapped in plastic with a cardboard cover around it is a no-no for us. That means saying no to a lot of my favorite processed foods, LOL. Look for a farmer's market in your area - they are a great place to get fruits, veges, breads, cheeses, etc that are not packaged or minimally packaged. Plus you are supporting your community by purchasing local.

Along with reducing our plastic bag use, we have also begun using Seventh Generation home products. There are other manufacturers who use recycled products, check a natural foods store around you. That goes for our dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, etc. We also LOVE BacOut for stain removal.

We recycle in many ways as well. We signed up with the city curbside recycling service, and we send our plastics and glass with them, but we take our paper products to the local recycling center since my husband works for them sometimes. We also purchase as much as we can second-hand - garage sales, Goodwill, thrift stores, consignment sales, etc. It is a manner of recycling by not buying new. And you would be amazed how well we dress from second hand clothing, LOL. If you haven't already, check out the Just Between Friends sale in Springfield. I belong to the one in Tulsa and it is an awesome place for kids clothes and toys. I checked the website, and the next one in Springfield is Sep. 26-29.

That's all I can think of right now - kids are waking up! Message me if you have any other questions. I hope more people respond, I'd love to see some more ideas.

You're going to love the Green Life! It's better for your health, your community and your planet. There are already some good comments and advice so I'll add mine. You'll also find that through living the Green Life you'll emerge OUT of the consumerist spin cycle because developing care and love for yourself, your local and global community re-aligns your focus.

Here is a book that I wish I'd had during my transition: Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck. I own it now though and still find it very useful.

Also, check out the website localharvest.org. You'll be able to research Farmer's Markets, organic food stores and organic farms in your area. You might also join the Co-op America. They can help you find online stores, as well as store fronts in your area, that sell organic and fair trade. Here's their link:

http://www.coopamerica.org/greenbusiness/sealofapproval.cfm

You might also appreciate some help in sorting your recycables and in composting and I recommend Gaiam for that. You can go to gaiam.com and shop or request a catalog. They have bed linens and clothing made from organic, fair trade cotton.

And you must keep yourself educated and aware with The Organic Consumers Association. They are a watch dog group for organic producers and (of course) consumers. Because a few years ago the USDA allowed companies to claim "organic" even when there were synthetic chemicals in the foods it has caused an explosion in companies claiming organic. The OCA and Co-op America can help you determine who is legitimate and who is full of it.

Fair Trade is also an important aspect of the Green Life. It's the simple yet somehow revolutionary principle that people should get paid fairly for the work they do! You can find out more from Co-op America and the OCA. There is also the Fair Trade Federation. Just run a search for Fair Trade at Ask.com and you'll get some good direction

I use (and sell) Arbonne skin care and cosmetics. They are pure, safe and beneficial, non-harmful to the environment. They combine organic botanicals and herbs with science. If, however, you are looking for personal care that is a little more on the all-organic side I would recommend either Jason Organics or Burt's Bees. I liked J.O's shampoo and conditioner, but hate B.B's. Everything else I tried by B.B. was pretty good but I did learn from them that almond oil gives me a rash. Not their fault I'm allergic to it as a topical (I love eating almonds).

I've been Green, Organic and Fair Trade friendly for a long time. If you have questions or just want to chat about it (it gets fun explaining to people why I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart) feel free to message me.

I am so glad to hear that I am not alone. Springfield is behind other cities when it comes to being "green". One thing I have done is give up plastic bags from the stores. You can find reusable bags on the internet that are recycled or organic, but they aren't cheap. Toy R Us has these big, blue bags for just $2 each. I bought 5 and they have been enough for most trips. It took me a few times to get use to bringing my own bags shopping, but maybe if other people see me do it they will. I just search the internet to get ideas on things I can do. Oh, also the discovery center has some links to other sites. I also found some info at the nature center. Good Luck.

I do vermicomposting. You can just google that and read tons about letting red worms eat your garbage. That helps a ton to keep the garbage you put into the landfills down.

I'm also learning all I can about organic gardening and even hydroponics. You can read my blog from the last 3 months of that at: www.suzisgardenhaven.blogspot.com

When it comes to the bags I just can't get into recycling or doing without them. I use the plastic shopping bags to wrap every diaper that I change in the daycare. It makes the trash smell so much better.

I almost never use paper plates because it's a waste of money most of the time. But if I'm having a busy time or feeling a little burned out on dishes, I'll use the paper plates and put them in my compost bins.

Suzi

Inside, we separate the paper and send the stuff that can be recycled there. The other paper, gets put in the fire box for helping with heating the house.

In the kitchen we compost all scraps of vegetables for the garden. We recycle all the stuff we can in there as well.

Now cleaning is a different story because I'm allergic to a lot of essences and stuff.

In the garden we gather leaves from the neighborhood for mulch and keeping the errosion down during dry dusty winters. The roof on our shed will soon be "green" because we're going to plant it istead if resurface it with shingles. Eventually the whole house's roof will be planted instead of shingled but the fortification is costly. We have a human powered push mower and use all the waste from the yard for heat.

I like to shop at the health food store called Whole Foods (you have probably heard of it). I see that many people have mensioned bringing your own bags to grocery stores...Whole foods will give you 5 cents off (per bag?) if you bring your own. It's not much but it is a little encouragement! They also have lots of cool things going on every month. You can go to their website and see what they are offering for the month. Here is the website for the Whole foods events in Overland Park http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/calendars/MET.html They even have some cool classes that you can check out sometimes.

Good Luck!

There are some great resources out there for raising a healthy family. My family has been following a more healthy life style for about 5 years. It is wonderful!

Books - A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally, Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World, Better Basics for the Home

Web Sites - http://healthychild.org, www.healthyparenting.net

Hi A.,

I shop with Melaleuca. They have just under 400 products, all are environmentally responsible, no harsh chemicals or toxins. Everything they use is recycled at some point. It's an online store, so I even save money and environment by not burning gas to go shopping. They're less expensive than some of the local organic stores. I've shopped there for over seven years and can't ever see myself going back to my "old ways". They are word of mouth referral, so they don't pay advertisers, so let me know if you are interested and I'll show you how to shop there. Simple, simple, simple.

Hi A.,

I am very much into natural healing and herbal remedies and am blessed with a wonderful herbalist who creates fantastic remedies. Also, I always keep homeopathic "medicine" on hand from the local health food store.

B&T Cough & Bronchial syrup (alcohol free for the kids) works great and I'm never without a bottle or two of Sambucol Immune system enhancer (especially during the school year). Tea Tree Oil is a must have in my medicine cabinet for scrapes, boo boos, and cold sores...among other things.

Check out a health food store close to you and ask some questions. I also recommend the book Prescription for Natural Healing. Every condition is covered A-Z! It helped tremendously with my gallstones!

Good luck,

M. :)
www.mystuffapet.com

A., I get a newsletter from www.motherearthliving.com which has lots of great information on it. Also, I believe they are the publishers of Mother Earth News - a great magazine. For our family, we are making small changes and as we adjust to one change, we'll add another. I'm not ready to change to cloth bags at the grocery store yet, but we are using our cloth tote bags for trips to the library so we won't be using their plastic bags any more. I've got so many tote bags lying around---most of which were free from one organization or another. Also, I am reading up on starting a compost pile. That is (hopefully) going to be a family project this summer. We already have an organic garden but I made it a little bigger this year and plan to add herbs next year. One of my favorite books is "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon--lots of great info on a variety of topics. OF course, any time you can---get your books from the library instead of purchasing another copy--this helps the environment too and helps relieve the excess in our homes!

One more thing I just thought of --take some steps to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. I get so irritated that easily 50% of the paper in my recycling bin is from junk mail! Here is one website where you can ask to be removed from mailing lists:

http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail%5Fpreference/

and an article on this topic at motherearthliving.com:

http://www.motherearthliving.com/issues/motherearthliving...

Also - one thing I do now is to keep a stack of paper that has only been used on one side. When the kids ask for paper to draw on or when I need scrap paper or am printing recipes for my own use, this is the paper I use. I only use new, clean printer paper when absolutely necessary.

Get some cloth bags for your grocery's. Small change but big help!

I work with a health and wellness company that is HUGE into recycling and naturally based products. Feel free to check out my website - and if you're interested, click on GET MORE INFO and I can call you to tell you all about it. www.healthyhome4family.com (there is a business attached - but you can also be JUST a customer of these awesome products that I'll tell you about!)

Hi A., I think it's great that you are striving to be more earth friendly. It's a better way to live for our families, communities and world!! There is a wonderful magazine I would recommend call "Mothering; Natural Family Living," b/c you're a mother it will be perfect for you!! I love it!! Here's the link http://www.mothering.com/. Also, I have many more great ideas, but a lot of them have come from this magazine. Do you compost? That is a great way to cut down on waste that goes into our landfills. Also, you can get great soil for gardening. There's also a book call 'Natural Family Living' that goes along with the magazine. It's great too!! Hope this helps and good luck on your quest to be more 'green'!!!
K.

Try freecycle.org It is a great way to get rid of the things that are cluttering up your home and acquire things you may need.

There is one for most every major city and many for those not so major!

www.melaleuca.com

WONDERFUL products that are good for the Earth and your family.

Hello A.,

We just started with the Southwest Missouri Free Cycle group, in which local people in the community exchange and recycle all kinds of things and it has been so helpful and makes you feel great that you are able to recycle, plus helping others in need by doing it. Go to Freecycle.org to sign up if you are interested. Also the ivillage website just this week has a "Mom's Going Green" options that you will find fun for you and your kids, that website is ivillage.com/green.

Good luck,

M.

Hi A.,

I myself have been thinking about this but I don't know where to start really. I would like to recycle but I don't know how to achieve this goal or get started exactly. he one thing I did do is I stopped buying paper plates (I'm a home child care provider and I would use paper plates for all meals and sometimes there would 5 or 6 a meal, so I stopped doing this. It also cut down on our weekly trash and I hadn't thought of that.

I use the bags from the grocery store and walmart for my bathroom trash can so how could I change this ?? I did notice that walmart has recycle bins for their plastic bags now also. I will be reading what other people post and see if I get some ideas.

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