Halloween on the Green Side

October 25, 2011 By greengirlinc 1 Comment

HFCS-free brain lolipop and single origin, fair trade chocolate

Halloween can be as green as any other day. By making some simple changes in your holiday traditions you can reduce waste, plastic and damage to the environment.

One thing you can do is start a costume swap. Talk to your friends and your children’s friends. This weekend would be a great time to do a last minute costume exchange, especially for all those procrastinators like me. While you’re doing a costume swap, maybe do a decoration swap as well. You might be sick of some of your older decorations, but someone else may love them.

Instead of the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) candy, how about candy made from real, cane sugar. Along those same lines look for candy and chocolate with organic ingredients. If you’re investing in good chocolate you can also seek out single origin and fair trade. All those things make for a more eco-friendly and socially conscious way to treat.

Make decorations from things that might otherwise wind up in the landfull. This kind of decor is called upcycled or recycled. These decorations reduce waste and plastic use. Plus, reusing something takes less energy than recycling an item due to the energy use involved in recycling. Although recycling still takes less energy than making something from a virgin, mined source.

If you use candles, swap out the petroleum-based candles for soy or beeswax candles. Beeswax candles burn cleaner and slower  than the petroleum-based candles. The soy and beeswax candles also produce less indoor air pollution.

If you do even a few of these suggestions you’ll be on your way to having a more sustainable Halloween. I’m sure you can think of other ways to green your Halloween. Feel free to post those ideas here or on my Facebook page.

Have a Happy Halloween.

Filed Under: Environment, Holiday, Organic, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse, Sustainability, Upcycled Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe day celebrating the independence of our nation. Remember, keep those fingers. You need them to open your beverage.

While you are holding onto your digits, remember to keep your celebrations as green as possible. Look for wonderful organic berries, like the strawberries that are in season here.

For your burgers, hunt down organic, grass-fed beef, bison or other wild game, or veggie burgers. You can also find hot dogs and brats made from organic or wild game or vegetarian ingredients.

If you feel you have to grab for disposables, find ones that have recycled content. Recycled paper plates and cups are out there, along with plates, cups and utensils made from corn or sugar. All those are not quite as green as using reusable plates, cups or utensils, but it’s better than using stuff made from chlorine bleached, virgin stock.

I am completely in love with my cloth napkins. The napkins do not have to be expensive or linen. Make the small investment. The napkins can get washed with any of your usual loads, so it’s really not any more work. No, you do not need to iron, unless that’s your thing. It is definitely not my thing.

You can arm yourself with cheap reusables by hitting Good Will, Salvation Army, Savers or garage sales. Look for melamine plates or old Corning Ware. Do the same for glassware. Then seek out old mismatched silverware. If anything happens to any of it, you won’t be gnashing your teeth or yelling at small children. A dishwasher is easy to load and run, and there won’t be huge piles of garbage sitting at your curb.

Celebrate, be safe and be green!

Filed Under: Food, Holiday, Organic, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Green Dads are Great Dads

June 2, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of Reuseit

With Father’s Day approaching it is time to find a gift for that favorite man in your life, your dad. Why not look for a present that says how much you love your dad, and how great he is. A dad that cares about going green is a truly great dad. Why? It means he cares about his children’s and grandchildren’s future, and what kind of environment he is leaving for them.

There are some very cool and manly green gifts out there; everything from techy items to sleek reuseables. There are some surprising green gifts such as eco-friendly sporting goods. Here is a short list, but I’m sure with some digging on your own, you can find more.

Courtesy of Thinksound

1. Thinksport Thermal Bottle- sleek and cool or hot.

2. AT&T’s Zero Charger- only uses electricity when it’s charging, no vampire power consumption.

3. Bedol Water Powered Clock- a funky little clock that runs on water.

4. Thinksound ts02 Wood Headphones- an elegant headphone with a rich sound.

5. Mountainsmith Recycled Backpacks and Bags- from small biking packs to serious hiking packs.

6. Recycled Content Golf Balls- make that next golf outing a little greener.

7. Respect Footballs, Basketballs and Soccer Balls- eco and fair trade.

8. Reuseit Workhorse Recycled Bag in Charcoal Gray- compact and in cool colors like gray, black and silver.

9. Battery BOS from Roller Gen- charge a battery while riding a bike and then charge a phone or iPod.

10. EcoBike Electric Bike- people powered with battery backup for extra long trips.

Filed Under: Environment, Holiday, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Simple Ways to Green Memorial Day

May 24, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Another holiday is upon us, and it is another chance to reduce your carbon footprint. Plus, you will save money in the long term, and extend the life of our landfulls.

Just say “no” to disposables. You truly do not need them. They waste your money and valuable resources. For plates; use Corelle or Corelle-type plates that are hard to break, enamelware, melamine or bamboo plates. For glasses; stainless steel tumblers and mugs, enamelware or BPA-free plastic glasses. Utensils can be any silverware, including second-hand store items, bamboo sporks, or other portable, waste-free lunch utensils. Look for second-hand or inexpensive cloth napkins, or invest in hemp or organic napkins. A few years ago I bought a large amount of napkins from a restaurant supply company. We have some larger parties a few times a year, and having the napkins has saved us from hundreds of disposable napkins.

If the idea of washing so many items is too much then at least seek out items that are not plastic and/or are made from recycled content. There are paper plates, napkins and paper towels made from recycled paper. Utensils and cups are available made from sugar or corn; these biodegrade, which means the items can go into a compost pile.

For food, look to the local farmers market, grocery store or co-op. I am fortunate that where I live I have a number of fantastic local stores that carry local meats, dairy/cheeses, baked goods and veggies. I also have a freezer full of local, organic, free-range meat such as beef, chicken and venison. There are a number of local bison ranches, and bison is always free-range, grass fed and low in fat.

If your kids are like mine they beg for fruit like berries whether they are in season locally or not. I try to wait until we can get them locally, but for a treat I pick up organic berries not grown locally. They key thing is buying organic so that you and your family avoid the pesticide residue. Check out a past post of the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen. Some items do not put your health at risk if they are not organic, other items have a lot of toxic residue that should be avoided.

Here are some more resources:

Amazon Green

Eco Party Time

Green Party Goods

Life Without Plastic

Reuseit

Local Chippewa Valley, WI Resources:

Hahn’s Market: Carries locally produced food, organics and eco-friendly disposables

Just Local Foods: Carries locally produced foods, organics and recycled paper products

Eau Claire Farmers Market

Filed Under: Holiday, Reduce and Reuse

Mother’s Day Garden

May 6, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

If you haven’t gotten your mother her Mother’s Day gift, well, welcome to the procrastination association. I may have an idea to help you out of this conundrum. How about planting your mom a garden? There are different types of gardens, but all are beneficial, if they are organic.

1. Vegetable garden: your mom could have fresh ingredients and fewer trips to the store, if you planted a vegetable garden for her. It could be a small plot, raised bed or even container garden. Go one step further and offer routine weeding over the summer.

2. A cutting garden: mom could have fresh cut flowers every week with a cutting garden. If it is organic, she can be assured that there are no petrol-based pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers brought into her house with that bouquet.

3. A rain garden: if your mom lives in an urban area where there is a lot of runoff during rainstorms, this is a great way to reduce urban flooding and runoff to storm drains. A rain garden allows the water to slowing be absorbed into the ground.

4. Raised bed garden: this make weeding and caring for a garden easier because there is less bending involved. If you use a rolling gardeners stool then there is no bending involved.

5. Herb garden: is great for those culinarily gifted moms. If your mom really loves to cook or make herbal remedies this is the garden for her.  Having fresh herbs at ones fingertips for tinctures, potions or pots-of-love is the dream of many.

I’m sure you can think of more garden types or what your mom would like. Find a local nursery or garden store, especially one that carries native plants and organic gardening supplies, and get started on a Mother’s Day gift that will give all summer long and for years to come.

Filed Under: Environment, Food, Holiday, Organic, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Have a Happy Earth Day! I hope each of you learns one new idea on going green that you can incorporate into your life. Every day should be Earth Day and we should use Earth Day to highlight what more we can do to make our planet and our lives better. As you travel through your day, think about each decision you make and try to make a greener choice.

1. Walk or bike instead of driving.

2. Take advantage of mass transportation.

3. Remember your reusable water bottle or travel coffee mug.

4. Switch out five of your most used light bulbs for a CFL, LED or ESL bulbs.

5. Hang your reusable bags on the doorknob, then remember the bags for all your shopping trips.

6. Refuse straws in restaurants and bring your own reusable straw like the Dharma Straw

7. If you do have to drive, bundle all your errands into one trip.

8. Slow down and do not speed.

9. Put flow restrictors on all your faucets.

10.Reduce your use of plastic packaging by buying in bulk and not buying single serve items.

11. Buy second-hand when you can.

12. Reuse what you already have.

12. Always, always, always recycle!

13. Pick up plastic trash that you find.

14. Use less plastic in every aspect of your life.

15. Buy local!

16. Buy organic.

17. Support your local restaurants that also buy local.

18. Start a garden.

19. Or, go to the your local farmers market.

20. Remember, we all share this planet. It is the only one we have, and if we destroy it, we destroy ourselves.

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Holiday, Local, Organic, Plastic, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Today I will celebrate my Irish heritage with homemade, organic and naturally cured corned beef; organic, locally grown cabbage and potatoes; and locally brewed beer.  Yum!  I can’t wait! How are you celebrating St. Patty’s day in a sustainable way?

Filed Under: Food, Holiday, Local, Organic Tagged With: , , , , ,

Make Your Valentine’s Day Eco-Friendly

February 14, 2011 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Here is a short list of ideas if you are looking for a last minute, green Valentine gift.

1. Organic, fair trade chocolate

2. Organic flowers, preferably locally grown

3. Dinner at home made from organic, seasonal and local ingredients

4. A massage for your sweetheart from you

5. Something baked with love and organic, local ingredients

6. Beeswax or soy candles to set the mood

7. Recycled paper card

8. A walk shared with your honey

9. Whispers of sweet nothings

10. Hugs and kisses; free and always eco-friendly

Filed Under: Holiday Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cheers to a Greener New Year!

December 29, 2010 By greengirlinc Leave a Comment

Why not start the year off right with a greener New Year’s celebration.  Here’s a list to get you started.  I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with more ideas.

1. Offer organic wines and sparkling wines.  They don’t even have to be USDA organic, just organically or bio dynamically grown grapes. There are also organic spirits such as organic vodka or organic gin.

2. Put out a selection of local and organic cheeses for your get-together.

3. Serve seasonal hors d’oeuvres.

4. Reuse what you already have for decorating.  I love using white, silver and black Christmas ornaments and lights.

5. Skip the disposable, cheap noisemakers and horns.  Buy metals ones that you can use and reuse for years.

6. Make your own confetti out of scrap paper, catalogs, magazines etc…

7. Use real beeswax or soy candles and skip the petroleum-based candles.

8. Forgo the disposable plates and drink ware.  Come on, these are your friends, pull out the good stuff, and show them how important they are to you.

9. If you absolutely have to use disposables, make sure it’s made from eco or recycled fibers.

10. Finally, resolve to be more sustainable and eco-friendly every day.  Remember, every day is Earth Day.

Filed Under: Environment, Food, Holiday, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse, Sustainability, Upcycled Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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