The Great Period Challenge

I can't believe I'm posting this, but I'm about to throw out...

dun, dun, dun...

THE GREAT PERIOD CHALLENGE

Well come on, if that Crunchy Chicken blog can do it, so can we!

My challenge is to try something different, and do a post on it. Be brave. Whoever does... I'll buy a fair trade organic chocolate bar! There it is- that's my challenge to you. (Ohmygosh, I can't believe I'm saying this to my friends- only on a blog!)

We've talked about the Diva Cup, and Seventh Generation products. Today I picked up some Natracare natural panty liners. They don't have individual wrapings like the Seventh Generation ones did.

Alrightie, so on that note...

I'm going to be on vacation for the next week. Post away while I'm gone. Look forward to chatting when I get back.

Green Pages and Green Cleaners

I keep meaning to post this. Don't know if you have seen it, but in the March 2007 AT&T phone book they have a Recycle and Reuse section. It's a really great resource for local recycle needs. They have some things in there I hadn't thought of recycling only because I didn't know where to go... now I do!

Also, I found an organic/green dry cleaner. They have two locations:

Peter Pan Cleaners
2231 Mendocino (Across from Safeway)
Santa Rosa
573-1645
www.peterpan-cleaners.com

Greenhouse Cleaners
925 Golf Course Drive (Pacific Market shopping center)
Rohnert Park
584-5275
www.greenhouse-cleaners.com

I dropped off a suit and shirt today. I'll do a comment later to this post to let you know how they come out. I pick them up Friday afternoon.

Recycling Info

Here is a blog I read this morning that gave me some info on recycling that I didn't know. Most of it I had heard of, but some of it was news to me, so hopefully you all learn a little too :)

http://closetenvironmentalist.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/recycling-guide-hardcore-treehugger-style/

Green Pen

I was doing some cleaning today of my tin of pens from years past.
I came across 2 Green Pen's and thought I would research and see if I could find them.
I did!
http://www.apartment1g.com/green_pen__biodegradable_recyclable__made_from_corn__mater_bi__2b.htm
I have the original one that is at the bottom of the webpage.
Check out the rest of the web site. It seems pretty cool. They even have a corn mug that is made in the USA. They even do fundraising too!

Wal Mart

I watched the Wal Mart documentary tonight, The High Cost of Low Prices. I really recomend it. I plan on watching more documentaries and this was a good one to start with, since my whole impetus for this lifestyle change was wondering about what it took for me to get the super cheep kid clothes at K-Mart.

No More Disposable Chopsticks

I'm picking an easy one because it's late and I want to go to bed. I read that wooden disposable chopsticks have caused great environmental destruction in China. If I wasn't so tired I'd do some research so I had something to site. Maybe if someone feels inspired they can. But I figured giving them up would be a pretty easy thing to do. So last weekend Calvin and I ended up at a Japanese restaurant and I remembered about the chopsticks. So I asked for a fork. The waiter probably thought I was a dork who didn't know how to use chopsticks (which is partially true), but I don't care. Sushi without chopsticks was not a much fun though. I have some nice chopsticks my Dad got in Hong Kong or somewhere a long time ago. Next time I'll try to remember to stick them in my purse.

CFL's

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp
Found this site on how to clean up a broken CFL.

Green Documentary's - Green Shopping

So I keep hearing about all these documentaries I want to see, so we finally did it- signed up for Netflix. (Does that count for a green one a day? No more trips to the video store!) I have Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price waiting for me to watch.

I also found this Documentary Junky - My Space Page that has a bunch of interesting documentaries. I watched the one on Toxic Textiles.

I went out shopping tonight for some clothes. So earlier, I said I would buy only organic or used. I went to Plato's Closet. A consignment shop. I was not overly impressed. I did buy 2 used jeans and a tee shirt. What I didn't like was all the cheep NEW! Dollar Store type crap they had all over the store. Plus I felt really old in there. It is marketed as a teen fashion store, so I had a fair warning. I do think it is a good concept.

Ok, so here's my confession. Next I went to Marshall's. Rated, I don't remember exactly- but really bad- by The Better World Shopping Guide. I did use a store credit I've been carrying around forever but my purchase went over and I got a top I really like, but could have done without. Man! It's hard to shop with a conscious! It was not enjoyable, I felt guilty.

What I learned tonight is to stay out of the tempting stores that I know I don't want to support.

I'm trying so hard to do all the right things. But it will take time to align all my purchases with my values the way I want to. I have made great strides just in a matter of months. I may backslide, but I'll keep doing the best I can.

Anti-Perspirant/Deodorant

Ok, so I'm confused. I've always been happy with my anti-perspirant deodorant that I've used for years. At different points people have said you shouldn't use anti-perspirant, but I always thought, "well, it works for me". Now after reading Living Green and talking to some of you, I'm re-thinking it all.

I've been on-line about an hour looking at the pros and cons of anti-perspirant.

The cons say:
Avoid aluminum, parabens, and triclosan. And warn of breast cancer,and a link to Alzheimer's.

The pros say:
It's an urban myth propagated by one study who's findings were never validated and passed along through email.

My conclusion for now:
I don't want to be a "green sucker" and give up a product I like for no good reason. What I read on Ideal Bite (I love them) on this subject made the most sense to me. Probably less chemicals is best. And the natural deodorant I happened to pick is the one Jen swears by. (Not this Jen so far though! I'm on my second day and I am very self conscious of my smell. Calvin thinks I smell good, but I don't know...) So anyway, I'll give it a go for a few weeks if I can stand it, and make a decision.

I've heard that when you are newly off anti perspirant your body is detoxing? So it gets better after a couple weeks?

"Taking the bus"

Noah and I did a small "green" activity last Saturday and took the city bus downtown to the Rose Parade. I have been promising him I would take a bus ride with him for what seems like months so I am glad we finally did it. It was very easy and took the same time (if not less) than driving to downtown, plus we didn't have to worry about parking, traffic, etc....Thankfully Cameron had Rosemary at home because doing the trip with both kids (at least at the ages they are right now) would have been difficult. I have great admiration for those moms I see everyday at the bus stops with 2-3 kids in tow, strollers, shopping bags, etc who don't have a choice about whether to take the bus or not.

Anyway, I am hoping that our family can utilize the bus more often. It really was pretty fun.

Here's the web address for transit schedules.....

http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/

Green Home

So did anyone else go on the green home tour this weekend?

We checked out 4 houses. It was a lot of fun. Cool to see that some people with tons of money are building responsibly! Seeing these green showcase houses, although not something we'll ever live in (well, I guess you never know), was inspiring. It really has me thinking more about indoor air quality and all the things we can do to make our home as healthy an environment as it can be, and in doing that we will be making earth friendly choices as well.

So I guess this one a day is not really a specific thing but more of a new found awareness.

Oh, and if anyone wants to check out the tour guide booklet, let me know. It has information about all the houses on the tour.

Toxic Carseats

Here are 2 articles I found.
Carseats save lives. Did you hear about the Evanflo recall?
We have Britax Marathon.
http://healthycar.org/documents/healthycarseatguide07.pdf
http://www.buffalonews.com/nationalworld/national/story/79794.html

List of eco-frienldy Sonoma County businesses

http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/pworks/other/SW/Appendix2F.pdf

A list of green companies in Sonoma County. Everything from wineries to auto repair.

Eco Friendly Wine

So any of you who know me, know I'm not a wine snob, but I do enjoy a glass now and then. And it would be fun to visit some winery's someday (wink, wink). :)

So as I sit here in my wine induced stupor, I wonder... what the HECK happened to my tolerance?! Any of you Mommies notice a change in that after babies? Or is it just me?!

But anyway, at least I have indulged in an eco-friendly wine. Since I am clueless when it comes to picking out wines, I thought I'd follow the buying tip in "The Better World Shopping Guide" (which I still have Sarah, I need to either get it back to you or pass it on to Sarah if she still wants it, and that's ok with you), they rated Fetzer a top pick. After checking out their website, I can see why.

Household Toxics

Ok, so check out this site: kids-health.net
I was at one of those events where Avon, Tupperware, Cookie Lee, etc were in a big room showing off their stuff.
Well, this group had a table. I met both ladies. One of them was pregnant! Cool!
Anyway, they do presentations over the phone or on the computer.
I also asked if they wouldn't mind coming and doing a presentation at a home in-front of a bunch of women. They said they can. Would you be interested?
They had on hand the different types of plastic baby bottles, cups, etc and saying which # plastic was dangerous for babies and kids to drink from, etc...
I also got 2 phamplets "Please protect yourself from household toxics" and "Let's stop poisoning our Children!"
I thought this would go in-hand with my medical side of things, as we had discussed at our first meeting.

Green Talk on KPFA

Sequoia was listening to KPFA this morning and let me know about some of the interviews they did. So I went to their website and poked around. I couldn't see transcripts, but from the titles of the segments found a cool site to check out.

www.greenopia.com

Also, they talked to the authors of "The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience" by Richie Unterberger, co-author with Duncan Clark. It's on sale on Amazon and I think I might get it ($10). If I do, I'll pass it around. I am sure it will be similar to the Best Buys (Or whatever that other little one is called).

Also, they had Gay Browne from Green Media Group on. I cannot find her on Google, but through the HuffingtonPost, it says she foudned Greenopia.

However, in trying to locate Green Media Group online, I ran across a company called Green Media Toolshed. I thought of Jennifer on this one based on the meeting review notes. Seems like there was dreams for greater outreach and education... this company apparently helps others with learning how to get their voices heard.

Blue Day - Caution More Period Talk

So today has been one of those "Blue" days, you know what I mean? Just kind of irritable for no good reason (ok, it probably is because of the time of the month, but I hate to blame it on that).

Usually when I feel this way I do one of two things. I write in my journal. Or, I tell Calvin I need a late night Target trip after the boys go to bed. Well I must be getting my writing out, because I just did not feel like writing in my journal. And I've sworn off Target. And I really don't miss it much. Salvation Army's not open late enough to go do therapy shopping. So what did I do? I read the Crunchy Chicken blog and links to alternative menstrual products for about an hour. Was it really an hour?! It gave me some good laughs and I think by next cycle I'll try something new. The extent of my green-ness in this department so far is the Seventh Generation panty liners, I too was disappointed that they were individually wrapped. I noticed quite a selection at Olivers, I bet there's another brand that's not.

Here's the website I've been checking out that has me very intrigued to try something new...

www.lunapads.com

For the girls...

Not for the "Too Much Info" Shy....

Okay, so I decided I would try the 7th Generation line of feminine products. I am used to OB's, so the tampons were not an issue. The other item I needed to refill was pantyliners. What confuses me with them is that they individually wrap each liner. Kotex doesn't, so I think I'll stick with them. I haven't done the maxi's yet. But it got me to wondering, is bleach-free better or no excess wrapping? With the tampons, I'll take bleach-free (and with no applicator, less waste!).

I saw on one of the many organic fabric sites I have been perusing where they have the old fashion style (cloth) options... anyone out there up for being THAT green????? :-)

And I have to share something funny Sequoia said to me. When talking to him about all the efforts and changes I'd like to make (and hopes for us as a family to make) in being greener, I had used the phrase "getting hippy". He said he would support me in being as much of a green hippy as I wanted, as long as I continue to shave and shower! ha ha ha

Bike to Work

Calvin is now officially set up as a cycling commuter. He got his fancy new bike at The Hub in Cotati. He got a baby seat too. The boys LOVE going for rides. I can't wait to get my bike, I think it will be a really fun family activity. We felt really good supporting a local business, and the service has been great.

This Thursday, May 17, 2007 is Bike to Work Day. Here is the City of Santa Rosa Link which also has some great links to other Sonoma County cycling info.

I'm very proud of him. Even if he does this only now and then, it's great exercise, and gets a car off the road. And if he inspires Matt to ride (sorry Erica!), then that's 2 cars off the road! Except of course that they commute together, but anyway...

And yes, this is Calvin's change, but he lives with me so I'm counting it as my one-a-day. So there.

Resource I found

I am working away here, and I found a website in the UK that lists some
interesting 'vegan, organic' products...

http://www.uniquelywoman.co.uk/cgi-bin/hidata/hidata.pl

Haven't had time to really dig into it, but thought I'd pass it on.

A

Junk Mail

What?! No comments on Made in China? I was sure that would get some motors going!

Well today I finally got out the thank yous for the boys birthday party and was reminded of the cool gift that Emily gave us to help reduce junk mail, a subscription to greendimes.com

For $36 a year you can reduce your junk mail by 75-90%, and have a tree planted for you monthly. How cool is that?

A few months back I wrote to the 4 major junk mail clearing houses and that drastically cut down on our junk mail. But some still manages to make it through. Now I can just log into our account on greendimes, and type in the company I no longer want to receive stuff from. I love it. Thanks again Emily.

Oh, and I'm following in the footsteps of No Impact Man. I'm taking the weekends off from my one-a-day post. I'm about half way through, and I'm starting to loose steam a little. I think giving myself a break on the weekends will help.

Happy Mother's Day

I am proud to have such a great group of Green Mommy's to call friends. You commitment to positive change is inspiring. I've been having a great day, and I hope all of you are too, spending time with those sweet children who have made us Mommies, and inspire us to leave a better world for them.

Boycott Made in China?

Wow, the Internet can really lead from one thing to another...

I dressed up just a little today because we took family pictures. I've really been enjoying wearing these dangle earrings that Calvin gave me for Christmas. It got me thinking about another pair that I got for Christmas that I have never worn. I went to look and them and they were Holly Yashi. hollyyashi.com I checked out the website because I've heard a lot of people talk about Holly Yashi and thought she might be local. I'm in love. I really like the jewelry. And I like the company. Everything is made in CA.

I've always liked cheap jewelry. I think it's fun to have a lot of colorful jewelry to choose from to accessorize with. I know you wouldn't know it from the stud earings I wear lately, but I look forward to the time when Brian is out of his grabby stage so I can actually wear dangle earrings and necklaces without worrying about them being ripped off. So anyway, after looking at the website and thinking about it, I decided I would rather invest just a little more (she actually has a lot under $25, so not a lot) and get fun jewelry that come from a source I can feel good about.

So my post was going to be, "No More Made in China Jewelry". But I realized , I really don't KNOW specifically why we should do a Made in China boycott. I know their environmental protection laws are more lax, and that may be enough, of a reason, but I wanted to find out what else is going on.

The more I learned, I realized the more I don't know. (I'm finding this to be a familiar theme!)

The first site I came to was this one; www.boycottmadeinchina.org

Which lead me to realize how clueless I was about what is going on in Tibet. So it looked it up; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet

Which lead me to realize how clueless I was about the Dalai Lama. And then I remembered that I had heard about him coming to Sonoma County a few months back, which led me to this site; www.newcollege.edu/northbay/baconc_conc_overview.cfm Wow, I want to go there!

But back to my original question, should I boycott items made in China? Well the Dali Lama says yes. But a lot of the stuff I was finding seemed a little dated, and that concerns me. And some of the websites said this is a misguided boycott that will only hurt the people we are trying to help.

I do think that in general it is best to buy as locally as possible whenever possible. But is it always bad to buy from China? I want to do more research. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts- this was a long post so I expect some long comments!!!

Using Dr. Bronner's Soap

... for almost everything! www.drbronner.com

We're slowly replacing the soap in our home with Dr. Bronner's. It is all natural, organic, and smells wonderful. I got it in bulk at Community Market. Another bonus I'm finding of buying things in bulk is you can try a little, see if you like it, before you buy more. And you're getting the cost savings no matter how much you buy.

Trader Joe's

We did it! Our first trip to TJ's. We bought 25 items for a total of $58. That's not bad really. Little over $2 per item. We went to the one in the Costco center. I felt weird and not in my zone. I was a bit shocked that they didn't have more produce. My receipt says 4 of the items are organic. Have you tried their pizza dough? We bought the whole wheat one. I'm thinking to save gas, we will just stick to Oliver's Market, but if we are in Santa Rosa and need some food, we will stop by TJ's. I still want to check out Whole Foods though.
Oh! we also got soy ice cream too. Mainly for me and Victoria. Dan doesn't like soy. The taste brought back memories of when I had soy ice cream as a kid. I was on soy as a kid cause I was allergic to milk. Not so much now. Can't wait to try the dessert Dan picked out that is from France, chocolate mousse cake. Yum!

Had Our First Green Mommy's Meeting

It was a lot of fun. Some of us (ok, me) had a little too much fun in fact! I'll send out an email in the next day or so going over what was discussed.

I'm counting this as my one-a-day, might be kind of cheating, but oh well.

Hippy Lipstick

I'm thinking a lot more about what goes on my body, thanks to the book Living Green. It says the average woman swallows something like 4-6 pounds of lipstick in their lifetime, gross! So I got some hemp lip stick at Community Market today. I really like it.

Washing More Dishes by Hand

I've started to wash more dishes by hand. The dishwasher uses more water and electricity than by doing them by hand.

I took the picture to show that just by washing those 3 pots by hand I could put off running the dishwasher another half day or so.

(Thought I'd give you a break from the touchy-feely posts!)

The Art of Contentment

Contentment. That's my theme for today.

I found this on www.interluderetreat.com , a website that says "Brought to you by the Cybermonks", it's funny what you can find on-line, isn't it?!

"Do we often experience contentment? In a consumer society we are urged to chase happiness. We come to believe that if we buy the right stuff we will be fulfilled. But then we will need other stuff, bigger and better and more expensive than the stuff that was supposed to make us happy originally. Happiness through possession or achievement always seems over the next rise, not quite within reach, or at least not very long lasting."

I believe this is true, and I have for a long time. But it is so hard to practice day in and day out. That is why I am coming to believe that there is a real art to living a contented life.

Here's just the most recent example of me faltering from the path...

I went on a walk around the neighborhood the other day and saw that the biggest floor plan in our development was for sale, I picked up the flyer and kept thinking about how nice it would be to have all that extra space. Something in the back of my mind was saying "no, this is not what our family needs, making this move would not bring us closer to living our values". But I came home and told Calvin about it and we've spent the past few days talking about it. I even contacted the Realtor!

Slowly my good sense came back. I realized that to move to this house would be an instant gratification move. Yes, we could MAKE it happen. But would it make us happier? I wish that question did not take me a week to answer. No! A bigger house would not make us happier.

We talk a lot about what we want for the future. Which I think can be a good thing, but I don't want to overlook what is great RIGHT NOW. We complain a lot about not having a lot to walk to in our neighborhood (other than Erica & Matt's house!). Well tonight we decided to walk right past that big dirt lot they promised us would be a beautiful park, to a local Mexican restaurant, got burritos to-go, and walked to the park a few blocks away. It may not be our dream neighborhood, but we enjoyed it tonight. Might not be our dream house, but millions would give anything to live here.

Right now I feel very content. I'm going to strive for contentment more often.

Reducing the number of toys with batteries

Our house will be a little quieter now...

We did a toy purge today. As I'm sure all you parents know, it's an overwhelming task. Part of us feels bad taking any of their toys away, but if we don't go through them every now and then they just become clutter. So while the boys were napping Calvin and I started the dreaded task of sorting the toys. How should we decided which ones to get rid of? Well Calvin had a great idea, he said, "let's get rid of the most annoying ones first." So we made a pile of the most annoying ones, and guess what? They ALL had batteries.

I've been thinking a lot about toys today. Emily's email earlier today (I forwarded it to some of you, but if not here is the interesting link, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10000192&sc=emaf) got me thinking more about the kind of toys we have in the house. The link is to an NPR interview with the author of Buy Buy Baby. The whole topic of kids and consumerism is something I want to learn more about.

I have a lot of thoughts swirling around right now and I want to keep this related to being green... Voluntary Simplicity is a concept that I have done a lot of reading on in the past and I feel like I am just now, finally really beginning to start to align my life in that direction.

Yes, getting rid of some annoying toys is a small thing. But having less loud battery toys will start to change the "tone" of the boys play time, and hopefully will start to bring some of that simplicity into our house that I crave. And I think that living more simply, and enjoying the simple things in life, is a big part of living green.

Green Mommy Lending Library

What do you gals think about a lending library? We're already doing it informally, but I thought I could post a side bar with books, and the owner. Then if one looks interesting you could contact the owner. What do you think?

Old Phonebook

Yes they can go in the blue can. I had to look it up, thought I'd pass it on to save you the trouble- in case you didn't know.

Re-using Produce Bags

Today I did my first shopping trip re-using produce bags. I just took 1 produce bag from the recycle pile and stuffed it full of a bunch more, and put that in my shopping bag. At the grocery store instead of pulling bags as I needed them for produce and bulk, I pulled them from my bag. Then I unloaded the stuff when I got home, put the bag of bags back in the shopping bags, put the bag of bags and more bags back in the car, and I'm ready for next time. Worked great. Feels good when you find a system that works.

A Solid Argument for Composting

"Kitchen sink disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing of food waste, instead of using a garbage disposal. Garbage disposals also can add 50 percent to the volume of solids in the sewer system or they can lead to problems with a septic tank."

The above information came from, the Water Information Program in southwestern Colorado. Not exactly a local resource but the web site had some good water saving tips. www.waterinfo.org/conservation-tips

That, along with the reduction I've seen in our garbage waste, solidifys that composting is the right thing to do. For now, just in our yard waste bin.

Farmtrails.org

This website will lead you to a free request for their 2007 map and guide of Sonoma county's local farms where you can go straight to the source to buy organic flowers, fruits , veggies, meat, cheese, breads, wool, wine, seeds, honey, eggs etc. They also include a great grid of what foods are in season when and where to find them. All of the farms are local and many are organic. There are a lot of fun farms to take the kids for picnics, U-pick, etc.

Bounce off Costco post

I heard they have 4 lbs of strawberries for $5 at Costco.
I got to thinking, We could save money by buying bulk, but say, I only needed 1 lb of strawberries? We could split the price and the berries.
Plus, there would be less garbarge, cause it would only be 1 cardboard box of berries going into the recycling instead of 4, if a few of us went.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if Costco has great deals on the bulk, but it is to much for the family, I'd be interested in spliting the cost and the food.
We can talk more Wednesday.

Using Less Tissues

Ok I have to gloat, here's me with our family's garbage for the week. 1 bag! It's a biodegradable bag too! And yes, if you zoom in, you can see the Styrofoam... still room for improvement. :)

One of the small changes I've made that seems to be making a big difference is reusing tissues. I don't know if it's a bad habit, mild allergies, or what, but I "dab" my nose many times throughout the day. Also quite often one or both of the boys have the sniffles so I'm getting their noses too. Most of these "dabs" do not require a whole tissue, but my old way was to use once and toss. Now I have my right pocket for my tissue. My left pocket for David, and a back pocket for Brian (if they both have runny noses). Sure my jeans are a little lumpy, but I can't believe how many fewer tissues we are using!

second life use

Another little thing I do is try to give envelopes and other paper a second life before the recycle bin. I use the envelopes from bills and such, plus the backs of flyers or other papers received in the mail (that do not have personal info on them) as shopping lists and other note making uses. Gives them a second use before heading to recycle. Also, I will turn printed-on paper over in the printer if the item I am printing is just for my use and get a second use of the sheet. (saves me on printing paper, too!) I'll feel even better about this practice once I restock my paper supply with 100% recycled! :-)

The news out there

I am so happy to know so many people so committed to making things better in this world! The reports that came out this week about the polar ice caps actually melting faster than everyone had originally expected - 30 years faster - making the northern summer ice non-existent by 2020!!! - that news is so completely disturbing, maddening, and terrifying to me.

We are doing our inidividual things to help Mother Earth, but we also need to get those in power to start doing their thing.

I think, like Jennifer has said in an earlier post, we vote with our wallets. We need to keep telling the corporations and other merchants we demand changes to save the earth and all that is good about it. We also need to tell our government. Calling, emailing, or writing to your local, state and national representatives/congress people helps. Only contact those who are associated with your residence. Apparently people have contacted those outside their districts and those calls/emails are falling on deaf ears. We here in NoCal are fortunate to have progressive leaders, but they, too, can be influenced to do more.

I was happy to learn about some innovative things London and Germany are doing to reduce CO2 emmisions in the bigger cities, and looks like Mayor Bloomberg of New York is trying to do the same. Maybe Sonoma and Marin counties should look into the rail system again....

Coffee, tea and mops

A small thing, mind you, but every little thing makes for the bigger changes... right???

I have hot tea in the mornings. I usually have two cups. I have a habit of leaving the tea kettle on low in between cups. I started to notice that my two cups could end up being hours apart. So, I am turning off the stove after a cup is poured. I also have started turning off the coffee maker as soon as the coffee is brewed (for father-in-law). Our model has an internal carafe to help keep the coffee warm for hours after it shuts off.

I have also purchaced a special floor mop (made in USA!) that dusts or mops the floor (removable covers). Since our house is nearly all wood floors (with some tile), I figured this could help reduce my vacuuming. (and who wouldn't want that??!!) But most importantly, it saves on the electricity of vacuuming every other day. (the frequency is because of the dog, not that I am a neat-nik!) And the mop head is natural fibers, not artificial sponge, so it can be washed, making for cleaner floors!

And I read that if you plan to idle in your car more than 30 seconds, it's better to turn off the engine and restart, than to leave it running. I had always been told it was better to leave it running, but with fuel injected engines, maybe that old thinking was for older cars. Anyway, I do it only where safe (not intersections), and I hope to save some gas as well as some fresh air!

Freecycling

My sister Liz sent me this article from an online (save-a tree!) newsletter she gets:

"It’s kind of like recycling"
We all like to get new things. But maybe your budget limits you from buying everything you need or want. Well, that doesn’t mean you have to go without. Maybe you can rely on the kindness of strangers to help you out. Freecycle is a site dedicated to reducing the growth of landfills. Members can post items they no longer want. Or, you can post a message requesting something. All the “freecycling” is done on a local basis. So sign up for your local group – there are over 4,000 communities! If there isn’t a local community of people using Freecycle, you might consider starting one. www.freecycle.org

Both Petaluma and Santa Rosa have groups. On the left of the front page of the site is where you click to find your local group. Then you can either choose to go to their site or join! I have not joined Petaluma's yet, but will look into it. It might be a fun kind of swap meet! I am going to see if I can join more than one. Enlarges my options of finding things and finding people who might want something of mine!

Also, I cannot remember if anyone posted this website or not, so I'll do it again:

www.ecohaul.com

It looks to be a great resource to reuse, recycle, reduce. It is a familiar site to me, so it seems like it has been posted here before. But again, refresher on things doesn't hurt when we are all still embracing this new lifestyle!

I have also noticed that local schools accepted things like printer cartridges to recycle. They apparently get money for them. Using this resource to recylce helps the planet and some kids!

What can I bring with me?

A new habit I'm working on is to ask myself what I can bring with me when I go out (aside from all the usual baby/kid paraphernalia). Here are some examples of things I want to remember to bring with me...

* Shopping bags - Pretty much got this one down
* Produce bags - I've started re-using the plastic produce bags for produce and bulk items
* Empty containers - ie lotion bottle, that I will want to refill
* Bags to recycle at grocery store
* Stuff to drop off at thrift stores consignment shops
* Any returns, etc. that I can bring with me to consolidate trips while I'm out and about

So now it only takes me 2 hours to get out the door, but I'm sure it will get better!

Costco organic selections

I went to Costco yesterday and was surprised by the increasing amount of organic food they have been stocking. Some of the items are mixed greens, milk, spaghetti sauce, cold cereal, hot cereal, bread, sugar, beef, mac and cheese, peanut butter....
They also sell eco friendly laundry detergent at about 1/2 the cost of what it costs at the comm. market or other natural foods stores. I was hoping to find Eco brand dishwasher soap but they don't carry that yet. The spokeswoman for the product was in the store and said that the more consumer feedback the customers give Costco about stocking eco friendly, organic goods, the more products will be sold.

One of the nice things about Costco is the bulk packaging as well as the price.

Cloth Napkin Rings

I am not a crafty person, but I was pretty happy with myself for coming up with these personalized recycled napkin rings!

(Made out of toilet paper tubes)

Using The Better World Shopping Guide

Calvin was out of some stuff and I had fun giving him a Green Grooming Makeover. I used the BWSG to grade my purchases, not too bad!

(The lotion in the Target bottle is actually Nature's Gate, from the bluk section at Community Market.)

Anyone up for a "green" class?

I was browsing through the City of Santa Rosa's Adventure Guide and came upon a new class called "Treating Oil Addiction: Personal Steps Towards Energy Independence." I read the description and thought it may be an interesting class. It will discuss bigger things like alternate vehicles & solar paneling your house as well as smaller things like eating locally grown, organic produce. The class is on July 18th and is $27 for residents/$37 for non-residents. I am interested, although I am not sure if I will be in town. However, I thought I'd pass the info along for others. For those with the Adventure Guide, it's on page 33. For those without, hopefully this link will work for you: http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/econnect/Activities/ActivitiesCourseDetails.asp?aid=220&cid=41024