Water Conservation Classes

The City of Santa Rosa is offering water conservation classes in October. There are also two new rebate programs the city is offering as well as incentives for people to conserve more water.

Deciphering "organic" labels

The Press Democrat had an interesting article yesterday about how to decipher labels such as "organic", "free-range" and "free-roaming" , "all natural" etc. The article gave a crash course in understanding organic food labels from Consumer Reports.

I think as the organic food/product business has been growing and as more interest in it has developed, there have been some companies that are trying to cash in on consumers paying higher prices for their food with these labels by being deceptive in their marketing practices.

Local Harvest

Most produce in the United States is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. That distance is even longer for foods imported internationally.

Local Harvest is a great website for anyone looking to find farms, farmers markets, co-ops and CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) in their area in an effort to support local growers, and vendors and reduce the amount of fossil fuel it takes to bring our food to our plates.

Slow Corporate Changes

Walmart announced yesterday that it will measure their energy use and emissions of the entire supply chain of seven product categories, and find ways to increase their energy efficiency. Wal-Mart will examine the supply chains for seven categories of products: beer, DVDs, milk, soap, soda, toothpaste and vacuum cleaners. The company said these categories were good choices to begin with because many customers regularly purchase products in these lines. In addition, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, one of Wal-Mart's biggest DVD suppliers, announced that it has already begun its own supply chain analysis.

I don't shop at WalMart (for many reasons including racial and gender discrimination, low wages, poor environmental record, running local/small business owners out of the towns where they open their big box stores, etc etc etc) and still wont but I think this is a very small step in the right direction and it is nice to hear about.

Grow Organics Proposal

Over the summer, the House passed a version of the Farm Bill that's almost identical to the current unfair Farm Bill -- the one that's been paying subsidies to millionaires instead of investing to help organic agriculture grow. Now its up to the Senate to give organic farming support and affirmation. It is important for us to call our Senators and ask them to support the Grow Organics Proposal.

If you do have the chance to call, write or email your Senator to support the Grow Organics Proposal, which will invest an additional $1 billion in organics over the next 5 years, here are a few points you can make about the Grow Organics Proposal. The Proposal will support local farmers markets and community supported agriculture, assist farmers converting to organic, increase research on organic, chemical-free pest control, boost conservation aid to help organic farmers take good care of our land and environment and put more healthy, U.S.-grown organic food on families tables.

Dining Out for Life

On Thursday November 29, 2007, Food For Thought - Sonoma County AIDS Food Bank,
will have their 6th Annual Dining Out For Life night of dining.
You can dine out at a participating restaurant and either 25% or 50% of your food bill will be donated to Food For Thought. Some restaurants will be donating the same percentage of alcohol sales as well.
I noticed on their list of participating restaurants that there are several restaurants in Sonoma County who are participating in the "Dining out for Life" that use local / organic ingredients, i.e. Farm House, French Garden, etc.
It might be fun to support one of those restaurants and support the Sonoma County AIDS Food Bank at the same time. I know that the Food Bank also supports AIDS work in parts of Africa as well.

Recycled Toilet Paper

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin toilet paper with one roll of recycled toilet paper, 424,000 trees would be saved.

Virgin paper tissue paper = clear cut logging of our forests.

The cheapest recycled TP I have found is at Trader Joes. Does anyone else use a different brand? Is it any cheaper?

Community Farmer's Market

Community Market
1899 Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa

Tuesday, September 18
4-7 pm

Meet your local Sonoma County farmers.

There will be biodiesel workshop, recycling workshop, gardening and composting workshops

Blog Brag

Well I have to do a little bragging about my honey...

Calvin met his goal of using one tank of gas for the summer, because of using his bike to commute to work. He reduced carbon emissions and is in great shape. I am very proud of him. :)

Armstrong woods

I am guessing that many of you have already been here, especially those of you native to the North Bay, but our family only recently discovered Armstrong Redwoods just outside Guerneville. Its a gorgeous redwood forest and its unbelievable that such beauty is almost in our backyards. It has very easy hiking trails for families to take walks and I think it a great place to bring kids and let them explore nature.

Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV)

The recent issue of Consumer Reports had an interesting overview of what's currently going on with FCV's. www.consumerreports.org

Honda's FCV You can also check out what Honda's working on.

Wash before wear

I am learning of more and more people (my husband included) who do not wash their new clothes before wearing them. My dad had told me long ago to always wash them because of the chemicals they use to preserve the fabric (formaldehyde for one!) and because I never knew how many people (and what type of personal hygiene they had) had tried it on before I bought it. I try to get my family to do it, but am not always successful - except with Avery's and mine since there I have more control. Of course, ALL pre-owned clothes are washed before they are worn!

Anyway, I included some links for reading on the subject.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/233417/should_you_wash_new_clothes_they_could.html

http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/1066/New-Clothes/

http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/02/removing_odors_.html

Fabric softeners

I heard on the radio the other day (Green 960AM) where people have pin-pointed certain health problems with using fabric softeners and dryer sheets. Once these people stopped using the products, they noticed (within about a month) a change in how they felt. The chemicals used (in non-natural ones like Bounce) have been known to cause: Central nervous system disorders, Headaches, Nausea, Vomiting, Dizziness, Blood pressure reduction, Irritation to skin, mucus membranes and respiratory tract and (most frightening) Pancreatic cancer.

My oldest sister has suffered sever headaches for years and no doctor has been able to figure out why. I know she uses a powerful smelling (however nice) laundry product. I told her about it and after some research she is tossing all her products and opting for essential oils. I had switched a while back to Method's dryer sheets and don't use a fabric softener in the wash. Method uses a plant derivative. I can't say whether or not things have changed for us, basically because I hadn't been watching for anything to happen, I guess. I will keep you posted on whether she notices a reduction in headaches. I have recently started using Ecover and love it. I will probably give up dryer sheets all together once I am out of my stash. (save on waste)

Below are some sites talking about this problem and the bottom two are "green" sites that offer alternatives. Just another reason (in a world of many!) to go green and natural!!

http://www.ghchealth.com/forum/post-325.html

http://www.aeha.ca/help-with.htm

http://www.naturalnewswire.com/2004/12/is_your_natural.html

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fabric-softeners.html

Groove Your Green Thing!

I saw in the Bohemian that the Think Green World Music Festival is happening Saturday, Sept 8th in the Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa from 11am until 7pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, $12 kids 6-12 and kids 5 and under are free. The music styles they advertise are Calypso, Reggae, African and Cuban. There will be green related exhibitors, workshops, a fun and interactive kid area, organic and multicultural cuisine, and "thirst-quenching" beverages!

Not sure if we will go yet... a scheduling thing!

http://www.thinkgreen-worldmusicfestival.com/

Fair Trade Gifts

One of the ways I'm trying to change my shopping habits is to buy fair trade whenever possible. I've already mentioned my favorite local shop, Kindred. But here is an online shop I really like, www.tenthousandvillages.com. I feel good buying fair trade and in many cases, it's not more expensive and you get something handcrafted by a true artisan.

Ants and pest control

We have had MAJOR ant problems at our house for the last month or so. We tried baking soda, vinegar, vacuuming and sweeping constantly and nothing had worked so we finally resorted to calling a professional exterminator.
Luckily, there was a organic option (rosemary oil) that they were able to use and so far so good. The ants have virtually disappeared.
We used Sonoma Valley Pest Control (a local business) which had the organic rosemary option for spraying. It was 75.00 more than the "not so eco friendly" treatment cost but it seemed worth it. Especially if it works. We will see......
Another company that we looked into but wasn't able to come out as fast as we needed them to is bio-pest (bio-pest.com) which also uses the least toxic methods for pest extermination and also claims to use only cars in their fleet that get 35 mph or better. There website is interesting if you want to take a look.
I will keep you posted on our success with the rosemary treatment.

test

just making sure my account works.

Dinegreen.com

The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) began in 1990 to help restaurants convert their establishments into eco - friendly and sustainable businesses. Members must agree to follow a set of environmental guidelines including the use of green power, sustainable food, chlorine free paper products and recycling and composting programs. Although there are only about 200 members right now, I thought it was a neat idea. There aren't any GRA approved restaurants in our area (Santa Rosa) yet but there may be in the future. If you are ever traveling out of the area, it may be fun to see if one of these eco - restaurants is near your vacation destination and try it out.

Green Plateau

I'm noticing I've hit kind of a green plateau. I've found new places to shop. I've made some lifestyle changes I feel good about. I guess now I'm kind of feeling like I have 2 options.

1. I could decide that the changes I've made are what I set out for and move on.
2. I could decide to push myself to learn more and to continue to make more difficult changes.

I'm going to choose the later. I'm seeing that for me the green lifestyle is not a destination, but rather, a journey.

By the way, I just looked at the date of my first post and It was exactly 6 months ago from today! Thanks everyone for keeping the momentum going for this long. I hope that as each of us reach our green plateau at different points, we can encourage each other to keep going.

Community Market's Summer Celebration- SATURDAY

Santa Rosa Community Market's Summer Celebration is tomorrow, Saturday August 25, 2007 from 12-3. There will be free samples, info on biodiesel, recycling, and local non-profits.

Wither you already love the market, or have been wanting to check it out, this sounds like a fun event.

1899 Mendocino Ave.
www.srcommunitymarket.com

The Green Book

Some tips to share from The Green Book (www.readthegreenbook.com):

Pump up: Properly inflated tires improve gas mileage by up to 3%. (Avg of 16 gallons/year)

Forget the receipt: Don't take ATM receipts (or any other you don't really need). ATM receipts are one of the top sources of litter on the planet. If everyone did this, is would save a roll of paper more than 2 BILLION feet long - enough to cricle the equator 15 times!!!

Stop junk mail: Go to www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist. This will save 1.5 trees of junk mail annually.

Don't wash your own car: Commercial car washes use up to 100 gallons LESS to wash a car. They also often recycle and reuse rinse water. If everyone did it just once, up to 8.7 billlion gallons of water could be saved and some 12 billion gallons of soapy, polluted water could be diverted from rivers, lakes and streams. Driving through these has become a favorits pasttime of Avery's.

Loose the phone book: They are figuring on using on-line directories. I like thumbing through one, so this is hard for me to give up. I do recycle mine though. The reason this is on the list is that many people don't recycle them and therefore they create 10 percent of the waste at dump sites. Yikes.

Bar soap: You use less soap, therefore less into the water system, with a bar versus liquid pump. I like my liquid shower soaps, but this is another I can easily switch.

Counterbalance Pollution

An article in Woman's Day featured the website www.drivinggreen.com. It talked about how many of us cannot afford to go out and buy the latest in eco-friendly cars, and offers a way we can offset our emissions. Their calculator helps you to figure out what you emit annually, and gives a dollar amount you can donate. This amount is used to fund projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in farms around the world.

We have two Toyotas and my dad-in-law has a Chevy Cavalier. In total, we donated $152 for our vehicles to offset.

Why Organic?

Kids ask good questions. When our God Son was here a couple weeks ago he noticed all the organic food. It was cute, I'd bring something out, and he'd go, "and let me guess, Jenny, it's O-R-G-A-N-I-C right?!" He finally asked, why all the organic food? Well it forced me to try to come up with a good reason.

Here's what I told him:

I belive in organic for 3 reasons...

1. Better for the family- I like reducing the amount of chemicals we are eating.
2. Better for the farm workers- Farm workers, especailly in other countries, become very sick and from ongoing exposure to pesticides.
3. Better for the environment- when pesticides are used they find their way into waterways and can harm wildlife as well.

Slowfoodusa.org

I have been learning a lot about the personal, environmental, communal benefits of buying and eating local and seasonal foods through reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". She often refers to the Slow Food Movement which I had always heard about but never really had checked into. It looks like there is a Sonoma County Chapter......

Here is an excerpt from their website:
"Slow Food USA envisions a future food system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice – in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair. We seek to catalyze a broad cultural shift away from the destructive effects of an industrial food system and fast life; toward the regenerative cultural, social and economic benefits of a sustainable food system, regional food traditions, the pleasures of the table, and a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life"

Vinegar

I made pickles last weekend with my sister and mom in law (I am really getting into the idea of canning after having read Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal Vegetable, Miracle"...HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT)
Anyway, I accidentally bought the white vinegar at Costco for the canning project instead of brown and was about to return it when I read the box and learned how many uses it actually has.
Some of the hundreds of uses for vinegar are:
-Kill unwanted grass and weeds by pouring undiluted vinegar on them
-Deter ant invasions by countertops and floors with vinegar
-Clean and deodorize toilet bowl by pouring undiluted vinegar into bowl, wait 5 minutes, scrub if needed and flush.
-Remove film buildup in bathtub by wiping down with vinegar and baking soda.
-Add tsp of vinegar to water when making rice to make it fluffier.
-Keep cheese moist and fresh by wrapping it in a cloth that has been dampened with vinegar and sealed in an air tight wrap.

Using vinegar instead of chemicals is not only environmentally friendly but is also economical. I bought 2 gallons at Costco for less than $3.50.

re: wasting water (post from Aug.5th)

I am happy to report that after sending my letter about water conservation to the YMCA, they now have signs posted in the showering areas that state: Please keep water usage to a minimum in order to conserve water.
It was very satisfying to see that and I admire the YMCA's prompt response to my request.

First night away & Green

Taylor's Refresher has these Green Cups. We went there for lunch as part of our first night away from Victoria. The cup says "This cup is made from corn, environmentally sustainable, and 100% compostable." Greenware is the company, I guess and has a website at the bottom as "f-k.com". I thought I would post a picture to show you what the cup looked like after sitting in a hot car for 3 days. It's like it melted, where as other "plastic cups" have not melted in the hot car.

My One for the Month

On Tuesday, Dan and I gave a whole bunch of our clothes to the Salvation Army.
We also went to the Computer recycle center in Santa Rosa and dropped off some old printers.
We did send a few computer monitors to the dump in Petaluma. They take them for free and recycle them to. We still have a few more monitors left. On our next trip we will take them to the Computer recycle place. I also donated a few pots and pans too.
We both feel happy to help out other people who need clothes more than us. Plus, it created space in our garage.

push mower

I mowed our lawn today with our push mower which we got as a hand me down from friends last summer.
I really like it for many reasons:
1) No exhaust in your face while mowing
2) Quiet (can mow while kids are sleeping)
3) Good exercise
4) No need to worry if there's enough fuel in mower
5) No need to empty grass clippings (they spread onto the lawn and act as mulch which is good for the lawn)

If you ever see one at a garage sale or even want to buy one new (or you can borrow ours), I highly recommend it.

turning off computer at night

I read today that leaving on a computer overnight can waste enough energy to laser - print 800 8 1/2 x 11 pages which adds up to 2600 kWh of energy per year producing up to 1.9 tons of CO2...YIKES!

Bum Genius

If the Green Mommies were to do product endorsements, I'm pretty sure this would be our first one.

At this point 4 of us (that I know of) have switched to using Bum Genius wash-at-home cloth diapers. And we all love them, right?! I was using a diaper service and thought it was great, but the Bum Genius diaper is SO much better, it totally makes up for any inconvenience of washing them at home. What I love most is how well they fit. With the service I used disposables at night because theres no way he would make it thorough the night without leaking. Now, the only time I use disposables is on vacation if we won't have access to a washer and dryer.

I thought washing diapers at home would be a pain, but it's really not that big of a deal. It's also nice not having to worry about running out to the store to buy more diapers. I dry them on a drying rack. I do recommend the one-size (fits 8lbs. to 35lbs. and is adjustable to "grow" with the baby) as opposed to the all-in-one. I've tried both. The all-in-one takes forever to dry, which is why I don't like it as much.

I thought using cloth diapers when going out would be a pain, but again, turns out to be no big deal. I use the wet bag to put the dirty ones in, and when I get home dump them in the diaper pail.

So is everyone still loving them as much as I am?

CFL's Again

Back in May I posted a site from snopes.com about the cfl's.
Here are 2 more sites I found.
http://earth911.org/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268747,00.html
The snopes site says it doesn't cost $2000 to clean up a broken cfl like the article from foxnews says it does.
We just bought a pack of 8 cfl's at Costco today. They were normally $10 I think, but got them for $2 something, instant rebate.
What's your opinion of CFL's?

Stocking the freezer

I found out today that it takes more energy to chill a freezer that has empty space than a freezer that is full so an eco-friendly tip is to stock the freezer full.
We usually have the opposite problem (not having enough freezer space) but for anyone who keeps an near empty freezer, I read that just filling it with empty cardboard boxes conserves energy.

My First Trip Back to Target!

Today I had my first trip to Target in over 3 months. I had banned myself from shopping at Target for 3 months because I wanted to create new buying habits. It's not that I think Target is bad, I just think that there are a lot of better options out there.

It was really interesting to see how my perspective has changed, but how the temptation to over buy is still there. I went in for one thing- sunglasses. The sunglasses I posted about awhile back got lost over the weekend. I picked out my sunglasses (ok 2 pairs). Right next to them were the kids sunglasses. I picked out a pair for David. Then I thought, "ok, I should really leave the store now." But, I didn't. I wondered how much I have really changed. Would I be tempted as I walked through the red and white halls of Target?

Yes. I picked up a travel jewelry organizer. Here's my conversation with myself...

"Oh, look, it has a tolitery bag you can buy that the jewelry organizer fits perfectly in, we're going on a trip soon, it sure would be nice. It is made in China. But I've never seen something like this. I wonder if I could find it online, fair trade? Maybe second hand. Oh, I'd never find something like this at a thrift store. I have been wanting a nice toiletry bag for a long time. Maybe I should just get it. But I really only came in here for the sunglasses. No, I'm not buying it... I can always come back though..."

Did I leave? No. I knew better than to go into the toy section (I had the boys), but a few isles over a Cars toddler sleeping bag and air mattress set jumped out at me. So as David was asking if he could hold everything on the nearby shelf, I had a similar conversation, as before, with myself. This time I caved. Yes we have a mat and and adult sleeping bag he could use when we travel. But this one will be fun for him, I think. Or, will he really care? I don't want to become so uptight that the boys feel deprived, like they never get anything new. But I don't want to over indulge them either.

Do I have some guilt over the sleeping bag? Yes. I'm still trying to find a balance in this new way of buying. I used to be so focused on the money part of shopping, now that is secondary. But with shopping this way I do find that I am being more respectful of the impact that my spending has, and in turn more respectful of money in general. It's a work in progress, that's for sure.

wasting water

Yesterday I was showering in the group showering stalls at the YMCA after a swim, doing my usual routine of turning on and off the water for rinsing, shaving, sudsing, etc. While showering I realized that the woman on the other side of the stall had two showers going. One for her and one for her swim suit (to rinse it out). I tried to ignore it but couldn't. I kept thinking ...okay NOW shes going to turn it off..no...ok NOW she will (pause pause pause) NO.... After about 4 minutes of 2 showers running I finally got up the courage to say "Do you mind if I turn this shower off? Its really wasting a lot of water and we are having a water shortage this summer..." She took a moment to look at me like I was an alien from outer space and then just laughed at me, turned her swim suit over (I guess the other side needed a 5 minute rinse too) and then went back to showering. It was so frustrating and embarrassing but I am glad I did it. I knew if I didn't that I would be kicking myself all day wishing I had said something.
I thought, "Well, that was fruitless!" But maybe not....maybe ,not likely, but maybe she will think about what I said the next time she takes a DOUBLE shower.

What I decided I CAN do that may have some impact is write a letter to the head of the SR YMCA explaining all the water wasting I see in the bathrooms (This is not the first incident like this I have witnessed at the Y) and ask that they post signs about water conservation in their bathrooms. It would be to their benefit financially and everyones benefit environmentally.

Less Mail

Now we won't be getting any more of those "IMPORTANT" proxy materials for investments. Who really votes on those things anyway?! I was happy to see the option to sign up for receiving them via email.

And just another plug for Green Dimes, we get hardly any junk mail anymore. I love it. Of course you can do it yourself too, but the service sure is nice. (Thanks again Emily!)

Rode My Bike

I finally did it. I rode my bike for an errand instead of driving! I was a little scared, but it was fine. I enjoyed it. Now I feel more confidant to ride in the future. It was just a 5 minute ride to the bead shop but I felt really good to avoid using the car.

safecosmetics.org

I was listening to an interview "Beauty Behind the Scenes" on NPR a few days ago with the beauty editor of Town and Country magazine. It was interesting to hear that the callers geared almost all of their questions toward environmental / health related topics. (A good sign about how people are starting to think these days : )

Safecosmetics.org was a website she recommended for people to look up the safety and environmental impacts of their beauty products.

If you want to listen to the interview, you can go to npr.org and type in "Beauty Behind the Scenes" in to their search.

Biodiesel

Did you know that Santa Rosa Community Market now sells biodiesel? I think thats pretty cool.

If you're interested in finding out more about bio fuels check out www.socobio.org.

Habits

Just thought I'd share a habit I'm trying to change and my observation of how long it can take to change a habit.

I have a vanity in our room right under a window where I put my make-up on every morning. I have a lighted make-up mirror. About a month back I decided to open the blinds instead of turn on the light (what a concept). Even after a month, just about every morning I put my hand on the knob, stop myself, get up and open the blinds. Someday soon, I'm sure, I'll start opening the blinds BEFORE I sit down, and not even think about it.

I've now gone through the process of changing enough habits that when I notice myself going through it again, I just chuckle to myself and think, "I wonder how long it will take me this time!"

Just for laughs...

Slightly Green related and definitely funny!! Commercial

Solar and Wind Energy Boost

Information obtained from moveon.org:

Congress is voting this week on H.R. 969, a bill that will dramatically boost solar and wind energy. If it passes, it'll be like taking 37 million cars off the road. Along with the rest of the energy package, it'll be the biggest step in two decades toward a clean planet and affordable energy. Right now the US gets only 2% of our electricity from clean energy sources like solar and wind.

Big oil and coal are fighting the bill hard, because it would undercut their stranglehold on our economy. That's why Congress needs to hear from the public that clean energy is a priority.

The bill requires utilities to increase the percentage of electricity produced from wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy sources. If it passes, utilities nationwide will produce 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. This bill alone will reduce 511 million tons of global warming pollution.

Already, over twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have adopted similar requirements. It's a tested and proven solution. And because the bill allows utilities around the country to buy and sell extra renewable energy they produce, that means more competition and lower prices.

Investing in renewable energy sources would not only curb global warming and protect the environment—the bill is projected to create over 185,000 new jobs, save consumers over $31.8 billion on their energy bills, and provide almost $67 billion in new capital investments in the next couple decades.

So if you are interested in writing a letter to your congressperson, it would be great to write a letter today and send in the mail or (second best option) sign a petition I will be forwarding to you shortly.

Paperbacks Unlimited

My absolute favorite hobby is reading and this can be an expensive and wasteful hobby when buying books new. So I've decided to only get mostly used books and to often frequent my favorite used books store, Paperbacks Unlimited. I used to go there as a kid and I loved it.

I know the library is another option, but I like to keep my books and loan them out to people who are interested. Any books that I don't want to keep, I take in for store credit.

If a book comes out that I really don't want to wait for it to be 1) in paperback and 2) available at Paperbacks Unlimited, I'll buy new, but then I'll either pass it around or trade it in for store credit.

http://paperbks.com/

Adding to the Family

If you find yourself wanting to add a furry four legged member to your family, a kind thing to do is to adopt a rescue rather than buy from a breeder.

Here's a plug for Wine Country Greyhound Adoption, the group we adopted Halley from (actually at the time it was another group- but close enough). The people who run the group are great. If you click on the link you'll see her pretty little face. :)

Of course a Greyhound is not for everyone, so check out some of the sweeties at the Sonoma County Animal Shelter. I was surprised at some of the non-cat-or-dog animals they adopt!

Simplify

The more I green my life, the more I simplify.

Here are two recent examples:

- I've started using aluminum foil in place of plastic wrap and baggies as much as possible. I even found the brand "If You Care" that is made out of 100% recycled aluminum. This simplifies because now I just pull off the right size foil and I'm not looking for the right size bag. And using plastic wrap just always frustated me when it would get all stuck on it's self, so I'm glad to use a lot less of that!

- The other product I'm using a lot more of these days is baking soda. You can check out www.armhammer.com for all kinds of uses around the house. I'm working on using very simple ingredients for cleaning. When I get better at this, I'll do a post on it. But for now, I'm loving baking soda!

Indigenous Designs, Inc

I found out about this Santa Rosa based company by reading the Wall St Journal last week (Tues 7-17) in an article called "Green Clothing Maker Indigenous Designs Puts Fashion First". The article basically discussed the growing market for eco friendly clothing and the beginning saturation in the market of these types of businesses lately as environmentally friendly products become more popular. The author interviewed many eco friendly companies who basically said that you cant beat people over the head with the green theme to get them to buy the products but instead should put fashion first (to get peoples attn) and then the green-ness of the product will be an added bonus.

This statement I got from Indigenous designs web site:
"Indigenous Designs is a 10 year old natural fiber wholesale clothing company located in Santa Rosa, California. Our product designs are eco-oriented in terms of using only organic cotton, alpaca, merino, tencel, and blends of these natural fibers, in addition to using no dyes or low impact dyes. Our products are only produced with fair trade standards by artisans and cooperatives around the world, mainly in Ecuador, Peru, and India. We are currently starting up a project in Guatemala including the growing of organic cotton, spinning the yarn, weaving the fabric, and sewing the garments with a cooperative of local farmers and artisans supported by a NGO."

Other cool facts about this company are:
20% of employees drive hybrids or cars that run on biodiesel
They highlight and help other companies that are using green business tactics
They used recycled materials for fashion shows aisles carpet and booths
They have doubled their profit in one year
They do business with over 300 retailers nationwide including Dillards, whole foods, Eileen Fisher......

Crabgrass

I have discovered crabgrass growing inside our house. We had this same problem 2 years ago.
It has some how found it's way inbetween the cement foundation and the side of the house. The last time this happened, the owners sent a guy out who came and cleaned the area of the crabgrass and put down dirt, a new plastic tarp, and then bark ontop of it. Plus, he sprayed industrial strength grass killer. That seemed to do the trick for the 2 summers, until now. I was not "green" back then. Now that I'm somewhat "green" and have a kid to worry about playing in the area (even though she doesn't play in the back yard yet) I want to use more natural stuff to get rid of it, but at the owners cost since it is coming into the house again. I did some research and found this site: http://landscaping.about.com/od/weedsdiseases/qt/kill_crab_grass.htm I like how at the bottom of the article it says, "A great organic "weed and feed" product is corn gluten. It will suppress crabgrass germination, while fertilizing your lawn." Now to find corn gluten, and a whole bunch of it!

Wilderness protection

This is a cut and paste from the (NRDC) National Resources Defense Council's website:

The Bush administration is poised to approve a plan for 60 newgas wells -- and a maze of roads and pipelines -- in thespectacular White River wilderness in northeastern Utah.We need your immediate online action to block this attack. Thedeadline to register your opposition to this destructiveproposal is Monday! Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/redrock/takeaction and tell theBureau of Land Management to study the full potential impacts onthe White River wilderness and adjacent wildlands beforeconsidering this reckless scheme.The towering sandstone cliffs and deep canyons of the WhiteRiver region -- part of our Redrock Wilderness BioGem -- are arefuge for deer, elk, antelope, waterfowl and golden eagles.According to the BLM, "The spectacular scenery of the WhiteRiver provides a dramatic backdrop for the hiker, rafter,canoeist, for fishing enthusiasts who visit this unique area."Over the past few years, the BLM has approved the constructionof roads, pipelines and compressor stations to the north, eastand west of the White River wilderness. But it has neverexamined the cumulative impacts of this development on theregion's natural values.Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/redrock/takeactionand urge the BLM not to rush headlong into approving thisdestructive drilling plan.

Breathtaking (and Horrifying) Art

This guys art is a reminder of why we are all doing what we are doing!! Just wanted to pass it on, have a great weekend :) Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers

Green traveling

I found over our vacation that traveling green is hard! Something simple like recycling is difficult when you aren't near a recycling bin, so you have to tote garbage as well as four people's worth of stuff around the country.

I planned on making our vacation as green as possible. What happened was almost the exact opposite!

I read an article how Motel 6 is going a tad greener, so I went to book a room for when we stayed in Eureka. Accidentally I booked Super 8 (those hotels with numbers confused me I guess).

I found great places for Ashland and Portland though. We stayed in a granny unit of a local family in Ashland. They didn't have regular hotel amenities like cleaning service and I noticed Seventh Generation under the sink, so hopefully they are green themselves :) But nothing beat Portland... McMenamins! If you all are ever around Portland, you HAVE TO stay at Kennedy School! It's an old school that was closed in the 70s and McMenamins reopened it as a hotel with a movie theatre (you can drink beer in), a restaurant that had the best food ever and a soaking pool. They have their own brewery and coffee roasting company. I could have stayed at the hotel for the full two days and been perfectly happy. Each room looked like an old classroom with chalkboards and all! I loved it's quirkiness. Plus they had recycling bins in each room and they didn't change bedding unless requested.

We had planned on driving the hybrid, but it was totally impossible once we tried to cram everything in there. I planned on eating local in each place, but sometimes fast food prevailed. We ended up buying more packaged food things since we had little space and needed the convenience.

I only bought a couple souvenirs and I really like them: an organic onesie from a local Ashland coffee shop we went to several times, some natural, organic bath soaps that smelled good made by a local in Ashland and a book for Emma made by a local in Ashland.

Overall, I was disappointed in my resolve to stay green over that ten days. From now on, when we travel I will put more effort into making the entire trip as eco-friendly as possible. We did well but not as good as I had hoped. Live and learn...

Ecofabulous!

That's how I like to think of us... :-)

Anyway, making up for missing my last two posts days...

I recently discovered the blog site "ecofabulous". It's a look and feel I can see for Green Mommy in the future (I think it's the use of pictures that does it - and once we get that logo going....). It has some interesting posts, done very professionally and sleek. And considering who is doing it, and who her friends are, it's not surprising. (and I love her name)

http://ecofabulous.blogs.com/ecofabulous/

Moth invasion

I don't know about any of you, but we are seeing those little moths in our house. I believe them to be the clothes eating kind. (I lost my one and only cashmere sweater to them one year) I have been doing some green research on what to do about repelling them as I do not want to use chemicals. I thought I'd share some sites that sell products, as well as offer recipes for the do-it-yourselfer. Anyone with tips to share, I am all ears!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/packing-those-sweaters-away-safely.html

http://www.chaddsfordhistory.org/history/herbs3.htm

http://www.flowerdepotstore.com/bcoco.html?gclid=CIP13v_yso0CFSkjhgodYlxRtQ

Shopping green

A few things I have encountered recently while shopping that I thought would be of interest:

Positively Fourth in downtown Santa Rosa is Green Mommy friendly - from what I saw. I bought a couple of shirts from a company called "Green Label Organic - sustainable threads". Nice shirts, but I was most intrigued by the tag and label. The tag reads: "Certified 100% organic cotton, garment dyed with low impact dyes, printed with Rehance (c) - absolutely no plastics or harsh resins used, sweatshop free, and made in the USA." The tag on the shirt (which is one of the tagless kind) reads: "sustainable threads, please use non-toxic, biodegradable detergents, save energy - line dry (use dryer if you must), okay to iron - printed with Rehance (c) technology - there is no plastic on this shirt (do people really iron t-shirts?)"

Cute. And there was no plastic - the tag was attached with a pin and twine.

I went shopping at Pacific Market today and noticed an alternative to 7th Generation feminine products. Natracare is 100% organic, unbleached cotton. The liners are not indiviually wrapped like 7th Generation are. They had a large offering of products. The market also carries Glad Rags, Diva Cups (2 sizes) and the Diva cleaner.

On that note, I have tried the Luna Pads and find it okay (a little bulky). I am happy about the lack of landfill I contribute now. Anyone else trying it?

There is a big empty space in a shopping center on the east side in Petaluma where a JCPenney used to be. I am hoping the 4th Pacific Market opens there. (don't know there will be a 4th - but I am hoping!)

Food labeling issues

The variety of food scares of late just got creepier/scarier in my book after what I heard a senator from Michigan (Rep. Bart Stupak -D) say on the radio today. One, he was talking about how the FDA is closing 7 of the 13 remaining laboratories for food safety testing. Nice timing, guys. Smart decision. (can anyone say spinach? antifreeze in toothpaste and cough syrup?? E coli???)

Then he and the radio host were discussing labels of origins for meat in our grocery stores. Apparently in 2002 a bill was passed authorizing meat producers to label the meat with country of origin. Since then, no implementation has been made on this requirement. Hopefully, the change in balance in Congress will get that up and running. The things that bother me about it is not knowing where the meat comes from. Am I feeding my family meat from China?

To make things even worse, there is a common practice of adding carbon monoxide (the stuff that can kill you) and carbon dioxide to meats to prolonge their appealing color so people want to buy it. It is apparently been documented (but NOT reported!) that China has shipped fish and other meats pumped up with this mixture... get this... knowing the meat was NO GOOD. A test was done with one meat product having had the treatment and one not. The meat was left unrefridgerated for 27 hours. The meat treated looked fresh as if it has just been "processed", while the other looked (and smelled) putried as would be expected.

I did a little research on this and did find articles talking about this practice, but none really saying it wasn't a good idea. The senator talked about the huge grocer and meat packer lobbies that keep a tight hold on governmental action that would hurt their business. He mentioned Safeway and WalMart among those who regularly practice this. I quit buying chicken at Albertson's because every time it smelled so bad when I opened the package. It looked fine, but once I opened it - whoo wee! Even since I started to faithfully buy from the local market, I know I am getting local, free range product. And more importantly, fresh.

Okay, while re-reading through what I typed, I found this article below on the food labeling bill. Currently it's voluntary (like that works) but is moving to mandatory in late 2008. I have a feeling that Repubicans will try to stop it - of course in favor of the lobbies mentioned above. I would think that I little extra headache and cost is worth the health and safety of the citizens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1240937220070712?feedType=RSS

In my research I also ran across an article from the UK about a bill that recently passed there calling for a carbon imprint labeling on all food to show consumers exactly how environmentally friendly their food purchase is. How refreshingly forward thinking they are. How archaic we seem in how we deal with so many issues that affect us all. (and of course the "we" is mostly this corrupt administration we are forced to endure) (sorry, don't have that link saved)

I will keep trying to find out more about this issue. I am also trying to figure out how to learn more about where ingredients on other products come from. For example, when something with fruit in it says "from concentrate" - that could mean fruit from anywhere in the world, even if the product itself is made in USA. I am sure hoping they get something passed on clear and complete labeling for all products - food, body care, etc. My shopping trip for 3 things today was so long because I got so paranoid on what was in all this stuff! I am worried that the few things I really love - Morningstar Farms products for one - are going to have to go off my shopping list because they contain ingredients I don't trust.

For those of you who still would like to eat meat now and then, I have included a few links to local, organic and humane ranches and chicken farms. I know that I have unsuccessfully tried to be a vegetarian four times in my life, and now with dad-in-law living with us, I don't see it getting any easier. So, as I try to reduce the frequency we eat meat (mostly chicken), I do want to do it the healthiest way I can - for us and the animals.

http://www.petalumapoultry.com/faq.php

http://www.organicpicks.com/php2/local_meat_beef.php

http://www.kqed.org/weblog/food/2007/04/eating-locally-on-budget.jsp

U.S. Farm Bill

This week I will call my representative and senators and urge broad reform of the U.S. farm bill. Anyone interested in doing the same can call 1-800-826-3688.

Points to make:

The status quo on farm policy is not good enough.
Please ensure that the farm bill that comes to the House and Senate floors includes:
Reform of commodity policies that hurt U.S. farmers of modest means and make it harder for farmers in poor countries to feed their families.
Increased food stamp benefits so that U.S. families can afford a healthy diet.
More investment in rural development, especially resources targeted to the U.S. communities in greatest need.
If your representative or senators are not on the Agriculture Committee (find out which committees they are on), encourage them to talk with their colleagues on the Agriculture Committee, and with House or Senate leadership, to see that these changes are made.

Letters can also be written in lieu of a phone call. Addresses for Senators and Rep. are listed on blog post labeled "handwriting letters to......" from last week.

Windshield wiper fluid

I did not know until today that windshield wiper fluid contains anitfreeze (which is poisonous). I read that unless you need the antifreeze (for freezing cold weather) which we don't have in CA for the most part, you can make your own wiper fluid by mixing 3 parts white vinegar and 1 part water as a non toxic alternative.
I plan to make this simple change next time I need to refill our cars' wiper fluid....

No More Dollar Store

This week our Godson is staying with us, as he has the last few summers. During previous visits as a treat I would take him to the Dollar Store and let him pick out a few toys. This visit we will not be going to the Dollar Store. A big part of going Green for me has been drastically changing my buying habits. I now do everything I can to either buy used or buy from socially responsible sources. I would still like to take him to get a toy or two that he can have fun with during his visit here and then have to take home with him. I think we will either do a trip to the second hand store down the street, or, go the Kindred, the fair trade store in downtown Santa Rosa that I love. Or heck, maybe both. He's nine and a very smart boy. I'll explain why we are not going to the Dollar Store this year, and why we are going somewhere else instead. I have a feeling that whatever he picks out will mean a lot more to him than another cheep toy from the Dollar Store.

Recent Decisions

Today is my post day and I couldn't think of anything overly exciting to post about. I decided to just write about the recent decisions and changes I have made in my shopping habits. Some or all of you may have already made theses changes but I'm moving pretty slowly on some of these...

After reading the articles and discussions on plastics this week, I have decided that I will try and buy as many products as possible in glass. If the product I need is not in glass then I move on to plastics but look for those labeled as either 1's or 2's, since those are the ones that are most likely to be recycled. If the product I need is not either in glass, or in a 1 or 2 type plastic, then I am going to skip it! I just did major grocery shopping and I made it through with only these types of packaging. (Besides cardboard of course).

I have also decided ( again a lot of you are doing this already) to begin to by organic dairy products. I wasn't doing this yet because of financial reasons (double the price for a gallon of organic vs. non-organic milk), but I think I can manage with a few small changes. I have repeatedly read that organic grains aren't as big of an issue as say organic produce or dairy. I have decided to skip the organic bread and snack foods(crackers, chips, cookies) and instead save that money by buying mainstream grains (still whole wheat!) and putting those savings towards dairy instead. Did that make sense?

So thats it for this week, a few changes that I can finally make in this green journey...

Local or Organic?

Well here's another perspective on the question on wither to buy local or organic. This jist was organic is better if forced to choose between the two. A different perspective, interesting article...

www.terrapass.com/blog/posts/2007/07/conservation-tip-prioritize-organic-over-local-for-a-capres.html

TV

Lately David's "obsession" with TV has worried me. He did not watch any TV or movies until he was around 2 and a half. At first it was just every couple days and gradually it came to be an expected part of his day.

You may wonder,"how is this a Green issue?"

I am very conscious of the fact that I do not want to raise "little consumers". I think that a habit of TV watching directly feeds into this. Even though at present, we only let them watch videos and pre-recorded shows without commercials, there are teasers for other shows/videos. I found myself even falling for it, "oh, that looks like a cute show..."

I AM NOT 100% against TV. I just think it is a very powerful force, and I want to be very careful with it from the beginning.

After reading This post on No Impact Man's Blog last night, here's what I did today...

This morning I sat David down and told him that Daddy and I were concerned that we were watching too much TV and that there are a lot of other fun things to do. I got him to agree that TV can be fun, but that there are A LOT of other fun things to do too. We made a list of fun-things-for-David-to- do.

Today he only asked to watch TV about 15 times (ha, ha!) and it was pretty easy to convince him to do something on his list. So I didn't get an extra 20 minutes while they spaced out watching something- so what?! I enjoyed the time I spent with them discovering new activities so much more.

My goal is for TV to be like just another toy. Not every toy is played with everyday. Every few days a toy gets rediscovered, and then the child moves onto something else. I'm ok with that. What I'm not ok with is it being a set part of everyday.

If anyone has suggestions for reading material on the subject of kids/consumerism/media, I'd welcome it. This is a subject that is important to me and I want to learn more.

The 11th Hour

This is a link to the trailer for the documentary "The 11th Hour" The trailer alone has re inspired my Green commitment, and I can't wait to see it! Maybe our next Green Mommy's night out?

A Wonder Material You Cant Get Rid Of

Here are some excerpts from a news segment called "A Wonder Material You Can't Get Rid Of" from CBS Sunday Morning (aired 7-24-07).
You can view the program on their website.


"Each of us generates more than 1,600 pounds of garbage every year. That's more trash per person than any other nation on Earth. Much of it comes from plastic bags, plastic water bottles and plastic packaging. As some see it, our love affair with plastic has turned us into a throwaway society. The plastic heads straight to landfills, where it stays for years and years and years.

It wasn't always like this.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it came to trash, practically nothing went to waste. Everything from rags to scrap metal to manure found a second use. Recycling was truly the American way, says Heather Rogers, author of "Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage."

"Disposability and the way that we dispose is learned — a learned behavior," she said. "We've had to be taught how to do that."

Rogers argues that today's attitudes towards trash took root in the postwar boom, when plastics were promoted as a new wonder-material: cheap, versatile and disposable.

"One of the first disposable plastic items was a rigid plastic cup that was dispensed in vending machines that sold coffee and hot chocolate," she said. "And after people consumed their drink, they had this cup left over that they clearly recognized could be re-used. And a discussion erupted in the plastics industry trade press about, 'How do we convince consumers that this product that clearly can be re-used is garbage?'"

Recently, the plastics industry has come under pressure to boost the relatively low percentage of plastic recycling. While close to three-quarters of cardboard boxes and nearly half of aluminum cans find new uses, only about a quarter of plastic bottles — and just 5 percent of plastic bags — get recycled...................................

"One out of every three servings of water now comes from a bottle in the United States. And this is apparently how we're increasingly hydrating ourselves — with these big packs of petroleum-wrapped water," author Dan Imhoff said.

Imhoff believes far too many things come wrapped in plastic. His book "Paper of Plastic" takes aim at what he considers over-packaging.

Used Clothes

I am just loving shopping at consignment shops! I found two more this weekend. I'm not a big shopper and while at one I overhead a woman telling the clerk, "I don't like to shop, but I love to come here! The prices are cheep and it's so much more relaxed." I wanted to run over and say, "I know what you mean! I totally agree! And we're recycling!". But I didn't, I just smiled and kept shopping.

In Sebastopol:
Launch
Right next to the Troy Michael Aveda salon,
707 829-3312
www.myspace.com/launchyourself
(Doesn't tell you much about the store, but what the heck, check it out if you're bored and feel like getting sucked into the myspace void.)

and on Main Street...
I think it's called the Redwood General Store. It has more of a thrift store feel but organized a little better and stuff for the whole family. I'm going to bring in a bag of our stuff tomorrow and I'm hoping to do the majority of our shopping there and with the credits I get- I'm hoping to spend almost nothing on clothes (of course I'll have to keep bringing in bags of clothes- I'm envisioning a bag for a bag kind of thing).

reusable car air filters

Heard this ad on NPR yesterday so I looked it up and it sounds good.

K & N lifetime car air filters (knfilters.com)

They claim over 100 million air filters are thrown out in the US every year which end up in landfills. These filters are made of cotton (renewable resource) instead of paper and are washable and reusable. There are probably many other brands out there but this is the one I heard about....

charitynavigator.org

I like this website when deciding which non-profits to donate money to for certain causes. They give a 1-4 star rating depending on how fiscally responsible the charity is.

You can use their "search engine" to find out how fiscally responsible your favorite charities are (or aren't), how much money their CEO's are paid, how much money is spent on administration costs and how much money is spent on the actual program.

They also have a list of all the 4 star rated charities which you can narrow down by category (i.e. environment, education, animals, etc.)

Some similar sites are:
give.org
charitywatch.org

Plastics Live Forever

“Except for the small amount that’s been incinerated—and it’s a very small amount—every bit of plastic ever made still exists”

Sorry for the sad picture, but I came across an article that, although a long read, is really worth the time. Just wanted to pass it along: Plastic Ocean

hand writing letters to representatives for one week

This week, I am pledging to write at least one hand written letter to my senators/ representative on issues that are important to human rights, social justice and the environment.

If you would like to join me, here is the contact information:

President George W. Bush:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Sen. Barbara Boxer:
Washington, D.C. Address
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0505

Sen. Diane Feinstein:
Washington, D.C. Address
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0505

Use this web address to find your state representative. You will just need your 9 digit zip code.
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

My representative is (California's 6th district)
The Honorable Lynn C. Woolsey
2263 Rayburn
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5161


To get tips on what issues are up for a vote or are being debated, I usually go to one of the following websites (however these are just a few of the hundreds out there that will guide you into writing about issues that are important to you:

nrdc.org (National Resource Defense Council)
amnesty.org (Amnesty International)
sojo.net (Sojourners)
one.org (The ONE Campaign)
moveon.org (MoveOn.org)

TIP:There is usually a link at any of the above websites that will say something like "TAKE ACTION". From there you can decide what issue to write about and then just copy their email letter version into your hand written version and mail. Most everyone is of the opinion that hand written letters get the most attention but emails letters and petitions also make a big difference if you don't have time to hand write.

Live Earth

The big concert going on this weekend- thought I'd post the link if you want to check it out... www.liveearth.org

Aveda Salon

I wanted to give my review of the Aveda salon, Troy Michael Salon in Sebastopol (if you don't live in Sonoma County you can try going to their salon locater to find out if there is one near you). I loved it. I had a hair facial. Did not know such a thing existed, but it was wonderful. It consisted of an essential oil, scalp, neck, and shoulder massage, and a deep conditioning treatment. Then I had my trim. You'd think long straight hair would not be that hard to cut straight but as Erica and I lamented awhile back- it does seem to be a challenge to find someone who can do it well. She was very detail oriented, and I believe it was the straightest cut I have ever gotten.

I noticed an Aveda poster in the salon about Earth Month, April 2007, and I asked her what they did. She told me that every year they pick an environmental issue to focus on and this year it was water. She spouted off some statistics about clean issues world wide, I was impressed that she had learned this from Aveda. As stated on their website; "Aveda has raised more than $6 million for environmental causes since 1999 through our Earth Month campaigns." I love to find a company with a heart.

Oh, by the way I saw Coco and the number for the salon is (707) 829-2100. Also, I got a large size shampoo, and if you ask they will give you a pump. It will last a long time and will be a great bottle to re-use (I love having bottles with pumps in the shower).

Sojourners

Sojourners is a group/magazine/newsletter that welcomes people of all backgrounds and religions to use their faith as a call to action in many areas including the environment, fair trade, war, genocide, racial discrimination, womens rights, poverty, immigration reform, etc.

They provide petitions to sign (online), letters you can write (or just sign via email) regarding issues that are important to you.

I think you can subscribe to their online magazine for free. www.sojo.net

factoid:
Sojourner Truth
c.1797—1883, American abolitionist, a freed slave, originally called Isabella, b. Ulster co., N.Y. Convinced that she heard heavenly voices, she left (1843) domestic employment in New York City, adopted the name Sojourner Truth, and traveled throughout the North preaching emancipation and women's rights. A remarkable personality, she spoke with much effectiveness even though she remained illiterate.

Harmony

Saw this and thought it you would like to know:
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070705/NEWS/70705013/1033/NEWS01

Staying Cool, While Staying Green

Well I thought a post on this subject may be appropriate do to the super hot weather we are having. We all know that A/C isn't the greenest choice when it comes to keeping your house cool so I thought I would post a few ways to beat the heat while staying green. Here are 5 super practical, easy things you can do right now...

1) Fans and Ceiling fans. I discovered that a ceiling fan can make your house 6 to 7 degrees cooler. So if have them turn them on and if you don't, then some oscillating fans may do the trick.

2) Bowl of ice. I know this sounds weird but I tested it out today and it really works! Put a big metal bowl of ice behind one of your oscillating fans. It blows the super cold air around your house. I don't know that it make a giant difference, but I can definitely feel cooler air being pushed around. Then when the ice is melted you can water a plant, give it to your pet or let your kids play in it.

3) Twist your blinds. This may be a "duh" one, but make sure you twist your blinds so that the sun is being reflected outward and not into your house. So that they point up if that make sense. I just read about this and was like" oh thats why they twist 2 ways". There may more reasons why they twist two ways, but apparently this is one of them.

4) Avoid your Oven and Dryer. If you have to use one or the other make sure the appliance fan is on while doing so. Even showering and washing clothes on hot can add to the humidity (and how hot the room feels). And of course, turn off all your lights. The sun will brighten your house enough.

5) Windows. Open them at night ( or early morning when you first wake up) and close them around 9-10 am when the heat starts really blazing. This is the one I do every morning and it makes the late afternoons a lot more bearable. That and some Iced Chai :)

Not very new ideas but like Jennifer said, repetition is good. Anyone else have some tips to share to make it through this summer?

EnviroSax

That sax, not sex.

Anyway, just found these and what a fashionable way to carry your own bags. Also seemed like a fun thing to include in that green starter kit idea. And yes, I stole this from Green as a Thistle.

EnviroSax

Buying hand-made online

My friend Jen introduced me to the site: etsy.com (I am sure this is just one of many sites like this but I really like etsy and have had good experiences with it)
Everything sold is made by hand.
Items range from pottery, to jewelry, to clothing, to kid's toys, to ......you name it!
It's a great way to support "grass-roots" creativity and avoid the "made in china" stuff.
Any creative green mommies out there can also use etsy.com to sell whatever it is you make to earn a little cash on the side (Jennifer, how about selling your organic hand sewn cloth napkins : )
Everything I have purchased from etsy has been beautiful and the service/delivery is great.

We are heading out of town today and time is ticking away so I will summarize my "green journey" next Tuesday. Happy Fourth everyone!

I Made It!

I made it 3 months posting almost every weekday and some weekends about the little things I was doing to make our home more Green. We really have changed a lot in the last few months for the better, and I know a lot of you have too.

Now I'm looking forward to seeing more about what all of you are up too. We decided to have some of the Green Mommies have one day a week to post about a green thing they are doing. We can learn so much from each other.

My day will be Mondays. Maybe everyone for their first post can kind of do an introduction and let everyone know where you are in the green journey. (If that didn't sound too corny!)

For today what I want to write about is Electric Cars. We are really excited about what it seems is just around the bend. We are planning on our next vehicle being electric. And we're starting to see some around town! The other day Calvin saw one and today I did. And we have Zap electric vehicles right in our own backyard! I was just looking at their website. It really gets me excited to see that there are companies out there working to make this an option for us.

Why plant California native plants?

I used to pick out plants I wanted in our yard only on the basis of whether they were pretty or not. Now I am a little more aware of the benefits of planting plants that are native to our area. There are many reasons to plant Native plants.

-simplicity of care: once a native plant is established it doesn't need water or fertilization to care for it in any way if we choose not to.

-less need for pest control: native plants have developed a resistance to the insects and diseases common to the area and so will maintain health without our intervention.

-restoring ecological balance: lost food and habitat for native wildlife of all kinds are restored by planting those plants they depend on in the wild.

Here is a link to a list of some California native plants: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_native_plants

Green Cleaning - LAST of JEN'S 1 A DAY FOR 3 MONTHS!

Those 3 months when we had a house keeper were the happiest of my life...

Seriously though, I hate to clean. I know others out there are much better in this area than I am. The boys used those bath crayons to color the bath tub a few days back and tonight I got a burst of energy and got into one of those rare cleaning moods. I opened the cleaning cupboard, which has not been greened. I saw Simple Green. Usually I would use Clorox on the tub but that uses a lot of water and is pretty harsh so I thought I'd try the Simple Green. It worked great. I think out of my options, that was probably the best. I'm trying to decide if I should just replace my cleaning products as I use them up, or donate them to some place that would normally buy them and start from scratch.

This is the last post for my 3 months of one change a day! I'll do a post in the next week summarizing my experience. I will continue to post, I still have a lot of change I want to do. As I make changes I'll share them here, I'm just not going to hold myself to posting everyday.

I do hope we can keep the momentum going. Thanks Emily for the offer to do 1 or 2 weeks at a time. I look forward to seeing what develops. I think we have a fantastic little group and I will enjoy reading more about how this lifestyle change is affecting you and your families, and continuing to learn from everyone.

Veggie Booty Recall

http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8Q23CHO0.html

Walking

I'm still trying to cut back on driving. I walked to the Salvation Army the other day instead of driving. I figure every little bit helps. Whenever I can park once and do multiple erands, even if it means some walking- I do it. I also figure walking is my only form of exercise right now, so every bit helps me too!

I've only got a few more days to make it to my 3 month mark... who is going to take over starting in July???

Flowers

Here's a tip from Emily, she's unable to post at the moment...

organicbouquet.com

I just came upon this website via Amnesty Int'l.
For people who send flowers, its a way to send organic and a percentage of all the proceeds go to non profits.

Thanks for the tip Emily, and I just re-sent the invitation, hope it works. :)

Purchase Decison

We are planning on getting some large storage cabinets this weekend and I was doing some research on the dangers of particle board because I am concerned about the formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound (VOC) out gassing. On one hand I think the idea of pressed wood is great, it's using the waste from lumber. On the other, like I said, I'm concerned about all the chemicals used in the process. I came across The Green Guide, put out by National Geographic- it helped give me the answers I was looking for (the link is to the page dealing with particle board), and it looks like a useful site in general too.

Natural Sun Screen

I've been meaning to post on this for awhile. I switched to a natural sun screen that I like, so thought I'd pass it on. The brand is Aubrey Organics, it is recommended in that Living Green book I borrowed from Erica.

Let's Green This City!!!

I was at the Giants Baseball game last night. Giants beat the Padres! Yippie!
Dan's a Padres fan, but that's another story.
Anyway, PG&E has an advertisement link at the ball park to http://www.letsgreenthiscity.com/
I checked a little of it out. Kind of cool.

Who Killed the Electric Car

I know Sarah already did a post about this movie, but I just saw it this weekend- and I want to tell everyone I know to see it. It's a story everyone should know.

This website has a ton of information about the movie and electric cars. This is an issue I really want to stay on top of. I have high hopes that someday we will own an electric car. I think hybrids are paving the way for that to happen.

The movie was so well done, really, you should see it!

Pacific Market, Rohnert Park

It had been awhile since I'd been to Pacific Market and I went in today. I was impressed. I liked that they have tags on shelves so that you can easily pick out items that are 1)Organic and 2)Natural. I happened to notice the Manager stocking shelves and I told him I liked those tags, but would also like one denoting Local. He thanked me for the suggestion and said he'd bring it up. They have a suggestion board so if you shop there, might want to jot that down so they know there's interest. I also noticed that their plastic bags are made of 100% recycled plastic!

Yahoo! The cloth diapers just arrived at the door. Off to go open the package. :)

Not Buying It

I've started reading the book Not Buying It and it inspired me yesterday. I had some time to kill and went into Rite Aide really only looking for one thing, which they did not have. Since I had plenty of time I went down every isle, I probably picked up about 5 different things that I really did not need and after putting them through my new filters I would put them back. I walked out of the store empty handed. And it felt really good. Six months ago I would have walked out of that store buying about $15 of junk and feeling proud of the bargains I'd found, but having a nagging feeling of guilt in the back of my mind. I'm noticing a real shift in my spending habits and it feels so good.

Line Drying Clothes

Today I finally line dried my first complete load of clothes. All along I've been line drying (draped over the shower rod) some clothes here and there, but today I managed to keep the whole load (and it was a big one) out of the dryer. Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow. I got one of those fold up wooden clothes drying racks. Got it at Friedman's (local) and it's made in the USA. I also took all the shirts that would get put on hangers and let them dry in the bathroom on the rod- then they can go straight to the closet, that's easy. It took quite awhile to get all the clothes to fit on the rack, but hopefully I'll get faster at that. I'm sure I won't line dry everything, but if I can cut my dryer use by 50% for now, I'd say that's pretty good.

On-line Activism

I have never thought of myself as an Activist... until very recently. Lately (thank you Emily) I have been getting a lot of emails with calls for action. I have made it a goal to do some sort of on-line activism (send a letter, sign a petition, etc.) at least once a week. There is so much out there, it's almost too easy not to!

Here is a great place to start (thanks Emily):

www.newdream.org/

After you do just about any kind of on-line activism, the group asks if you would like to send an email to your friends, asking them to do the same. I may begin to send out invitations for action now and then. If you ever get something from me you would rather not, please let me know right away.

Fluoride

Man! Another thing to have to figure out. Sometimes ignorance is bliss...

I watched a documentary on that documentary junkie my space page I mentioned awhile back. I was also looking at www.fluorideaction.net

This is another one of those cases where doing what's right for your body might also be best for the environment. The documentary junkie site explains the environmental impact more clearly than the Fox news clip on the other site. I don't want to get facts wrong. If this is an issue you are curious about, check out the two above links and tell me what you think.

For a long time I've had this nagging feeling that fluoride supplementation was not right. I've been delaying refiling David's prescription and I've never filled the one for Brian. I switched to using Tom's of Maine non-fluoride toothpaste. After watching the documentary with Calvin we agreed for now to continue not to give the boys fluoride. I still want to do more research though.

I'm interested to know other's thoughts.

Small green thing

We got us a blow up pool this weekend. It says to empty it daily due to health reasons and mosquitoes. We have decided to do it every few days, depending on how dirty it gets. We are going to get a tarp to cover it with since we have all those trees dropping cones and needles. That will hopefully allow us to empty it even less often. But, my little green idea when I emptied it today was to scoop the water out and use it to water all my plants! Now I don't feel so guilty about the pool.

Diva Cup

I've tried it. And I'm giving myself a chocolate bar. My offer sill stands.

So far all I have to report is: I was scared to put it in, putting it in was easy, turning it (as the directions say to) was tricky, it's not bothering me once it's in, and I'm scared to take it out.

Green gift giving

My family draws names at Christmas to cut costs and chaos. The adults draw and the kids draw. Even though I will participate in that this year, I am planning to break the rules a bit. I want to get each family (4) a grean living starter kit (of sorts). So, over the next several months, I will be picking up the $0.99 shoppinng bags, order some more produce bags, and possibly get them copies of a shopping guide (I want to check out that other one I read about to see which will best suit them). I am trying to think of other (cheap - or free!) things I can include to help get them started. I had thought of product samples... but not sure how cheap that will end up being. A few recipients may be very reluctant, and others may have just needed this little push. They all live in TX, so whatever I can do to help.... well, you know.

Looking for suggestions... thanks!

On a related note, I always thought my mom would be one of the reluctant. But while she visited I was reading the Better Shopping Guide while she read her magazine. She asked what it was, I told her, and she asked to see it when I was done. Then I noticed that on at least two other occasions during her visit, she was looking through it again. So, if she could find the products readily where she lives (yeah, right), then maybe she will shop "better". :-)

Bulk Peanut Butter

I am so in love with Community Market. I love just about everything about that little store. After the post Erica did awhile back about all the things that we think can be recycled but can't (but I still really want to do the tour with our local recycler to find out what the deal is locally) it got me wanting to reduce waste even more. I'm really enjoying shopping in the bulk section and I feel good about all the packaging that saves.

Today I brought in my empty unwashed peanut butter jar (that we had just finished) and had them weigh it, then filled it up with bulk peanut butter. Plus it was kind of fun to use that grind-up-the-peanuts-machine. Another bonus- natural peanut butter that you don't have to stir!!!

Pulling Weeds

After a long day with a sick kid, I'm not feeling real creative so I checked out the Green as a Thistle blog for some inspiration (I love her) and was reminded of something I've changed. Now we pull the little weeds that come up through the cracks in the patio. I'm ashamed to admit that our old method was to wait until you could hardly see the patio and then Calvin would go out and spray. I used to do almost anything to avoid pulling weeds, but now I actually enjoy it (a little). We are not good at yard work. I sometimes say we have black thumbs, but really we are just lazy. Keeping the little weeds out of the cracks is probably the first thing I feel like I've been really successful at in the back yard. I'm out with the kids anyway, and I'm starting to enjoy looking for the little things I can do while I'm out there to tend to things. Baby steps.

Fixed It

I typically buy fairly cheep sun glasses. Then after a year or so, they break. Then I throw them out, and get a new pair. Well last weekend my sun glasses broke and instead of throwing them out I thought I'd see if I could get them repaired. I took them to Lens Crafters and they happily fixed them for free. I hate to think of all the perfectly good sun glasses I've thrown away!

I'm going to try to get in the habit of asking myself, "can this be fixed?" before I throw it away.

Grey Hair

I was just watching a recorded Oprah and the topic was secrets to aging gracefully and they were going on and on about how it is a MUST to dye your hair.

Well I'm not.

I have always thought women like in the photo above with natural grey hair are very attractive. I'm 31. I'm getting more grey hair every year. You know what I say? Bring it on!

Our culture is so youth obsessed. Maybe we should learn to respect what grey hair represents, age. Older people have grey hair. It's part of life.

I am becoming more mindful of all of my actions. I used to color my hair without much thought to it. Now I want to appreciate my hair for what it is, and make it look the best I can without chemicals, and all the waste that comes with it.

Calvin has always been kind of proud of his little grey hairs, and I'm starting to see the wisdom in that.

GREY IS OK!!!

Gift bags/Tissue

I have alot of tissue paper, and gift bags.
Anyone is more than welcome to reuse these.
I have alot of baby themed gift bags, along with some wedding, flowers, and Christmas.
The tissue is mainly white. I also have pink, some blue, and some other odd neat designs.
Now, when I get someone a gift, I can save money and not buy the wrapping stuff.
But, Like I said, you are all more than welcome to it.

Galimoto

I went to my favorite store, Kindred, again today. I just love them for gifts. I found some perfect gifts.

I also couldn't resist getting a galimoto for David. Galimoto's are toys that children in Africa make out of scraps of metal and different things they find. When the store owner saw me looking at the toy he came over and explained to me how popular they are in parts of Africa. They also had a children's book called Galimoto which I also picked up. David loves his new toy and was very interested in the book when I read it to him tonight. I think he may be able to talk his Daddy into making a galimoto of his own!

I feel so good about 1) supporting an artisan in Africa, 2) supporting Kindred, and 3) teaching David to think about how children play in other parts of the world. I think helping him to have compassion for the people of the world will help him want to do his part to help take care of the earth.

Line Drying

I want to start line drying clothes and want to put it up in the garage but Calvin's not real crazy about that idea, just wondering if anyone has any tips?

One of the reasons I like living in SF:

Oddly enough I just heard about it.

This is an old article, but the ordinance just went into effect June 1st.

San Francisco Styrofoam Ban

So maybe if this comes to Santa Rosa, you guys won't have to worry so much
about the take out/leftovers dilemma...

Have a great weekend everyone!

UPDATE: As I finished posting, the food we ordered got delivered--mostly in styrofoam containers!
Apparently some restaurants haven't heard about the ban either...

Greening Our Vacation

This was the first vacation that I intentionally thought about how we could be more eco-conscious in our travels.

The first leg of our trip was a family reunion in San Luis Obispo, it was all planned out by the organizers and everyone was staying at the same hotel. We decided to lengthen our trip past the weekend, so I gave myself the challenge of seeing how green I could make it.

I found Asilomar. I found it by searching the Green Hotels Association web site. There may be better resources out there, but I stopped looking after I found Asilomar.

The things I liked about Asilomar:
* Actually part of the state park system (who knew the had hotels?!)
* Member of Green Path
* Had mounted soap and shampoo dispensers in rooms
* NO TV's!
* In room recycling program
* BEAUTIFUL grounds
* Served organic food (some)
* Served fair trade coffee
* Organic bath products
* Unpretentious down-to-earth staff and guests

We also brought our bikes and used the car a little less, plus they provided some exercise and entertainment.

We had a good time and enjoyed being on a vacation that was in-line with our values.

Okay, I give in...

I'm switching to cloth diapers :)

I definitely took the easy route though. I did become interested in them after awhile, but didn't have the time or energy (read: too lazy) to decide what to do. So I waited... And Sarah did all the work for me! J/K :) I had intended on looking into it more eventually, but Sarah researched enough to write an encyclopedia, so I just basically picked her brain and ended up copying her. I bought the same brand and the same accessories and should be getting them in the next couple weeks!

I really hope I don't regret this since I didn't really try cloth before making the huge purchase, but I think it will be fine. Matt is on board too so that's good.

I'll let you know how I like it :)

Avoided the Styrofoam

Hi all- We're back from vacation, I missed you guys, glad to see you were posting while I was gone :). Tomorrow I'll do a post on the green aspects of our vacation, but for now...

Tonight we went out to Old Chicago Pizza and asked to have our left-overs wrapped in tin foil. They were very nice about it and I felt great avoiding the Styrofoam. We're going to try to make it a habit to at least ask.

Who Killed The Electric Car?

Ill keep this a lot shorter than my last 2 posts :) I just saw this documentary, it was recommended by Netflix when I put The WalMart Documentary on my queue. I had also heard about it in some of the reading I have done. It was SO good, seriously so well done. I enjoyed it even more that the WalMart one because I actually learned a lot more from it.

It chronicled the life and untimely death of the EV1, GM's electric car that was released in the mid-90's. I vaguely remember when these Electric vehicles were on the roads (other companies released there own versions of an electric car), but was to young to even drive then.

Anyway, check it out if you can, I HIGHLY recommend it!

My Cloth Diaper Update (Long)

So I just wanted to do an update on my cloth diapering situation. About 7-8 weeks ago I started cloth diapering and was using the Tidee Didee Diaper Service. For those who may not know what thats all about, they supply the prefolds (the diaper part of the er...diaper) and then you use a cover over those to make them waterproof. This was working out well for awhile, I never had any leaks or anything. I could never get them tight enough to use over night so I was still using a disposable at night, one for each of my kids. I started doing some research and quickly became obsessed with all things cloth diaper related. There was SO much to learn and know. So after relentlessly researching (and making a super dorky, extensive pros and cons list), I decided to quit the diaper service and start washing them on my own at home.

I ordered some different styles to try out and settled on one called a BumGenius! 2.0 One Size Pocket Diaper. BG! for short :) These diapers come with inserts that you put in the diaper to make it absorbent. You can customize the absorbency, making them easy to use at night time. No more disposables for her! The 'one size' part is the coolest, and what will save me the most money in the long run. The diaper fits weight ranges 8-35 lbs, so it will easily take us up to potty training. They also fit Jonny no problem at 38lbs, I think cause hes a string bean, so he wears them at night also. No more disposables for him!

I ordered 18 of them which ran me about 300 dollars. Sounds like a ton, but will even out with what I was paying Tidee Didee in about 5 months, (Tidee Didee was 55 a month.) I also feel like I could get by with less... maybe 14.

You might be wondering about poop :) It really is a non issue. Elliot still has lovely peanut butter poop most days and it has never stained or anything (she is even formula fed, which is not water soluble like BM poop). If there is something to dump in the toilet, I dump it. If nothing falls off, it goes into the pail till wash day(the pail has a liner, a reusable one instead of the plastic ones that Tidee Didee has to throw away each week). I wash every 2-3 days and I hang dry to save on energy and prolong the "life of the diapers". You can use the dryer if you want to though.

I love the diapers (I told you its a weird new obsession). They are so cute on her too. She has never leaked and they are as easy to put on as disposables, no folding or snappi-ing or covering. Also I have to mention that the resell value on these are great, even after I use them for a few years, I can easily get 2/3 of my purchase price back. There are websites all over selling used diapers. Sounds gross but I promise its not :)

I have also switched to cloth wipes, since I am washing the diapers anyway. So no more disposable wipes either! They are basically like washcloths that I use with water and a little wipes solution. Piece of cake. Then I throw them in the pail as well until wash day.

I know that I mentioned in a comment earlier that home laundering takes a lot more water than a commercial laundering service. This is true. BUT, I feel that I am evening out this extra water usage and impact by eliminating disposables diapers all together, switching to cloth wipes and line drying. Besides, I had to wash my covers with the old system which I did once a week, so I am only using 1-2 extra loads of water per week, and I use the low water setting on the washer. I also get to decide which (eco-friendly) detergent I use on her diapers which also means on her skin. I don't need the delivery truck anymore so that has to save a few emissions too! :)

The only down-side I have come across (with any cloth diapers) is that Elliot has bypassed size 9 months completely and went straight into 12 months to help compensate for her enormous bum. I think shes a bit of a giant baby anyway though...

Anyway, thanks for reading my post if you made it this far! I had fun writing about it :)