A Little Greener Every Day

A Little Greener Every Day has moved - please change your RSS feed

2009-09-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

I appreciate everyone who follows this blog. If you've got A Little Greener Every Day in your RSS feed and you haven't gotten a post in a while, it's because you still have the old RSS feed.Click here for the new website or subscribe to the new feed below:RSS feedThanks!

We're moving

2009-08-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I know it's been quiet around here for the past week. A Little Greener Every Day is being moved over to Wordpress. It'll be about another week before everything is up and running the way it's supposed to. Thank you for your patience.

10 ways to be more sustainable with your vegetable garden

2009-08-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know a vegetable garden in and of itself is a pretty sustainable thing. Growing your own food instead of getting it from the store (usually in some sort of plastic bag or container) is great. But what are some extra steps you can take to be even more sustainable with your garden? Here are ten of them.If you start your own seeds, do it in reused containers instead of buying new ones. Yogurt

Thank you John Hughes

2009-08-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

If we are the sum of our experiences, then a lot of what adds up to make me me has to do with John Hughes movies. 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, even Weird Science - these are the movies I came of age with. There have been no movies like them since. I remember I was crushed when the boy who took me to see The Breakfast Club told me that I reminded him of

New Balance 70: eco-preferred (and Robin preferred) sneakers

2009-08-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

New Balance contacted me and asked if I'd like to sample the first in their eco-preferred line of shoes - the New Balance 70 sneaker. I'd already heard about the sneakers from my MNN colleague Shea Gunther. He's been raving about them for months now. So when they offered to send not only me, but Brian too, a pair of sneakers, I couldn't pass it up.When the package arrived, we were impressed by

Noooooo....It's almost time for back to school

2009-08-04T06:44:00.001-07:00

We have over a month till the boys go back to school so I'm not feeling too bad about it yet, but I know elsewhere in the country, kids will be going back in the next two weeks. I don't think I'll do too many back to school posts this year, but last year I did quite a few of them so I thought I'd do a little summary for you.Before I get into that, over on Mother Nature Network we're giving away a

Going green has never been so fun!

2009-07-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today's post comes via my friend Bethe who I introduced you to a few months back.______________________One of the first steps to caring for our environment is getting to know and love it. For those of us who grew up playing outside until the street lights came on, this is not such an alien concept. That said, those days are gone and many kids today are missing out on the opportunities that help

Lessons learned while growing greener

2009-07-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my 500th post. About two years ago, on September 26, 2007 to be exact, I began to figure out this blogging thing. At first I posted sporadically. I didn't use photos and the font was way too small. I've gotten a little better at blogging since then.Here's my first post in it's entirety, complete with typo.As I have been researching for my new green column in Primal Parenting Magazine,

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses

2009-07-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to post 499. As I lead up to post 500 here on A Little Greener, I'm looking back at some of the posts I've done in the past two years. I was going to do a look back at some of the pictures I've taken and used on the blog, but then I remembered how hard it is to use multiple pictures on blogger. I really do need to get this blog migrated to Wordpress.I've decided to go with gardening today

Finish this quote: The man who does not read good books has ...

2009-07-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've read a lot of books about being green, going green, sustainability, environmentalism, organic & natural food and our broken food system in the past couple of years. And there is still a pile of them waiting to be read. A new one just arrived in the mail yesterday.I haven't written about all of them, but I have written about quite a few. While I'm gearing up for my 500th post that will happen

Things are rough all over, Ponyboy

2009-07-21T04:13:00.000-07:00

This is my 497th post. I'm still deciding what to do for the big 5-0-0, but for the few posts leading up to it, I'm going to look back at some of my previous posts. Please indulge my reminiscing.I know we're supposed to believe that the economy is getting better. Perhaps it is on it's way up, and I just don't know how to read the signs. But most of the people I know, including my family, are

10 ways to support charities through social media

2009-07-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

Take a good look at #1 - It talks about the $1 charity event that I was a part of for the past few weeks! I'm pleased to be part of the over 100 blogs that are running this post today.----------------This post is a collaboration between Mashable's Summer of Social Good charitable fundraiser and Max Gladwell's "10 Ways" series. The post is being simultaneously published across more than 100 blogs.

Planning vacation with a green focus

2009-07-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

I've been slowly going through past pieces that I've written for other sites that aren't there anymore. Here's one a came across today that I wrote after we returned from a trip to Arizona last year.____________________________My least favorite part about going on vacation is preparing to go. We just got back from a fabulous week in Arizona where we attended our niece’s wedding. The days leading

Thank you for giving $1

2009-07-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

The following was written by Adam Shake from Twilight Earth. I decided not to reinvent the wheel - I'd only say what he said but in a few different words.-----------------------------------------------The results of your voting for your two favorite charities are in! The dollars have been tallied, and we have the winners!Our “Buck For Charity” Drive asked you to vote for your two favorite

Lessons learned at the campground

2009-07-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

We went camping last week – at a campground. Camping at a campground is like camping-light. Sure we slept in tents and cooked over the bonfire, but we also had bathrooms and showers a short walk from our site, an electrical outlet at our site, WiFi service (really great WiFi by the way), a pool, and a man-made lake with paddle boats.Still, anytime we get away from our normal routine, we learn

Do you sometimes wish you could...

2009-07-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

use poisonous chemicals to keep the furry four legged critters from eating all your green beans in your garden?eat off of paper products all the time so you didn't have to do the dishes?bleach your kids' horribly dingy socks?shop till you drop?let your kids eat Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch every morning (and hey, if it's there you might as well eat it too, right?)?let the air conditioning make it

Oops! I forgot to pick a winner!

2009-07-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to pick a winner in last week's book giveaway. The 4th of July holiday kind of threw everything out of kilter. It was a great holiday, by the way. Lots of time for good friends, good food (lots of it local), and good small town celebrating.Okay, on to the winner of David Suzuki's Green Guide. The winner is....GJK who not only wants to the book, but she wants my Internet Cafe, too

Time is running out to spend a buck for charity

2009-07-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who has reached into their pocket and kicked in a buck for charity. Hundreds of you have responded (many with more than a dollar) as eleven environmental websites team up to make the world a better place. Together, we're supporting some great charities. And you get to help choose the two from this list which will receive 100 percent of the collected donations:Sustainable

Environmentally themed independent film Future Weather needs your help

2009-07-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

More and more movies are coming out about the environment, sustainability, food issues... I'm finally going to get to see Food, Inc. tonight. I'll have my thoughts posted next week.There's another movie that most of you probably don't know about. I just found out about it last night when I attended Green Drinks (I may have some thoughts about that in the future, too). An intern who is working for

Declaring food independence

2009-07-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

Over at MNN, we're pushing a campaign spearheaded by Kitchen Garden International, the same organization that asked for the WHO Garden (White House Organic Garden - and it did happen!). The campaign is called Food Independence Day. What's it all about? Basically they are asking all of us to declare food independence by making our 4th of the July feasts from local foods. That's not all, though.

Marcal's Small Steps paper products

2009-06-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have a great job. Sometimes I get sent huge boxes of organic fruit to review. Some days I get to sit by the pool and work remotely. And sometimes I get sent free ... toilet paper.Yep, toilet paper. I know there are some extreme greens who don't use it anymore, but my family still does, and I don't see that changing any time soon. A few year ago we used both toilet paper made from unrecycled

Summer slow down

2009-06-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

I'll be blogging less over the summer on A Little Greener Every Day. I will be posting regularly on Tuesday and Thursday for the summer, with a few willy nilly posts thrown in when I feel like it. I know this might wreak havoc on my stats. I'll have to live with that. With the boys home for the summer and my commitments to paying clients, somethings got to give. South Jersey Locavore is going to

Book giveaway: David Suzuki's Green Guide

2009-06-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to week two of Robin is purging her office. Actually, we're purging lots of rooms and spent the better part of the last two days clearing out the room we call The Internet Cafe. It's a small room right off the kitchen that has the boys' computer in it, book shelves and a small table where my husband and I frequently drink coffee and work on our laptops - hence the name of room.It's also

Please Give Just $1 For The Charities That You Help To Choose

2009-06-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

As writers, we know that part of good stewardship is sharing information, but even the most intelligent among us can not make change without DOING something. So The Good Human & Twilight Earth, along with Grass Stain Guru, Lighter Footstep, My Green Side, The Smart Mama, A Little Greener Every Day, Fake Plastic Fish, Allies Answers, and Natural Papa have teamed up to carry our message with one

And the winner is...

2009-06-23T07:08:00.001-07:00

deoxy!I'll be shipping National Geographic's True Green Home to deoxy who told us about one way she goes green in her homeRight now I'm trying to make my skin care greener and less toxic. I'm using jojoba oil as a moisturizer while I use up the rest of my cleanser. When it is gone, I am going to try using a mix of Castor and jojoba oils for the oil only cleansing method.So far the jojoba is

Obama's United We Serve campaign is quite green

2009-06-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

President Obama launched the United We Serve campaign over the weekend. The campaign urges Americans to do their part in the road to economic recovery by volunteering in areas that can help in the efforts. In the video below, the president reminds Americans that it's not just the governments job to fix our problems. One of the examples he uses is an environmental one."We can invest in clean

Book giveaway: True green home

2009-06-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

It's time to purge. My office is getting out of control, and I have to do some clearing out before I get swallowed up. I've been sent quite a few books over the past year to review, and I thought I could share the wealth with my readers by giving some of them away while clearing some shelf space for myself.I'll be giving away one book a week until I've gotten rid of all of them.First up is

Welcome to wordless Wednesday

2009-06-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've seen people do wordless Wednesday on other blogs - they post a picture instead of writing for the day. I take a lot of pictures. I mean a lot of pictures. So I thought I'd join the wordless Wednesday crowd. Each week I'll post a picture of something that has to do with being green or something that's worth being green for.Okay, enough words.

Greening the end of school

2009-06-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's the last week of school. I cannot wait for the boys to be done school so we can slow down our pace and have fun. We've all earned it.As the kids come home with backpacks full of stuff, here are some ideas for greening the end of school.Go through everything that the kids bring home and see what can be saved for next year. Each year, we get a supply list and not all of those supplies are

Don't throw away your old television set

2009-06-12T08:39:00.001-07:00

The day my mom has been dreaded has arrived. Television broadcasts are going all digital. My brother took care of getting her a conversion box, but she still has been a little concerned about it all.I was going to write a post about how to properly dispose of your old television set if you're deciding to go the route of buying a new TV instead of just a conversion box, but as I was checking my

We're hippies

2009-06-11T00:06:00.001-07:00

I found this little gem I had written last fall for a website that never got around to publishing it. I thought instead of letting it languish in my documents folder, I'd share it with you._____________________________ I had an unexpected knock on the door this morning. It was the local phone/internet/cable company canvassing the neighborhood looking for more business. The

Some national parks going fee-free for three weekends this summer

2009-06-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I wrote about getting your kids out into nature so they can learn to love the earth so they want to treat it right. The National Park Service has a deal this summer that can help you do that for free. For three weekends, more than 100 National Parks that usually charge fees will be going fee-free*.The following weekends will be fee-free: * June 20-21, 2009 (Father’s Day weekend)

Greening the summer reading list

2009-06-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Schools are ending for the summer (yay!), and children are coming home with summer reading lists. You may even have some books on your list that you'd like to read when you have some extra leisure time this summer. I've created a list for myself* so I make sure that I can in some pleasure reading - which for me is anything that is NOT related to the environment these days. How can you gather the

Get your kids out in nature

2009-06-08T04:27:00.000-07:00

On MNN's The Green Parent video series this week, Keri Greenwald talks about getting your kids out into nature so that they can learn to love the planet that you are trying to teach them to take care of.Our friend, Bethe Almeras from the Grass Stain Guru would certainly agree. And so do I. We need to get our kids outdoors more, and not just on the ball fields for organized sports. They need to

The right to hang

2009-06-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hang-dry that it. Our home blogger over on MNN, Matt Hickman, had a post yesterday about states tackling clothes line hang ups. Okay, welcome to day two of my ranting (well, as much as I can rant) about things that the government shouldn't be doing because we could just be doing it ourselves! Yesterday, it was banning and taxing paper and plastic bags. Today, it's drying clothes on the line

You aren't still using plastic bags, are you?

2009-06-04T04:24:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've brought up reusable bags. But a couple of items caught my attention this week, and I thought the subject was worth bringing up again.The first is that this past Monday was one year since China banned supermarkets, shops and other markets from supplying free plastic bags. In that year, 40 billion bags were kept from being used. The equivalent of 1.6 million tons of oil

Video: How single stream recycling works (with an unexpected guest appearance by me)

2009-06-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote about the fact that my town was going to single stream recycling. Paper, glass, and metals are co-mingled in one container and they get sorted later at a facility. I found this video from ZapRoot on YouTube that shows how it works once it gets to the recycling center. I had already decided I was going to post the video here when I got a big surprise. Right around the 1:30

Three secrets to eco-fun for Father's Day

2009-06-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

This month, Lynn and Corey from Celebrate Green have sent us some tips for Father's Day which fall on June 21st this year. That' s only three weeks away, so it's time to start planning how you're going to honor the dad(s) in your life this year. Lynn and Corey have some ideas that are eco-friendly for us.-------------------------------------Let's face it, as much as we love dad, he can be a tad

New Green Parenting Video Series

2009-06-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Over on Mother Nature Network, there's a new green parenting video series that I wanted to share with all of you. Keri Greenwald from Responsible Mommy will be doing a series of short videos that help parents teach their kids how to easily live a little greener.The series launched today. Here's the first video.

Live like it's the norm

2009-06-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, being the crazy woman that I am, I had my son's 7th birthday party/bbq in the late afternoon after his final performance of a community musical that he was in. He did three performances over the weekend and they were all fabulous - the DVD of Friday night's performance will be on a continuous loop on my tv if you want to stop by and see :)Anyway, at the bbq, I served burgers made with

The ziploc bag dilemma

2009-05-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ziploc bags? How un-environmental, right? Still, sometimes they come in handy. I only use a fraction of the amount I used to use. I try to find alternatives like reusing bread bags and cereal box liners instead of ziplocs. But as I'm working towards wasting less food and cooking double batches to save money and time, I find that I need them once in a while.I found a fabulous post today on The

Shred Stop: One of those smack your head against the walls, why didn't I think of this ideas

2009-05-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

I hate to shred papers. They pile up for months before I do it and then I employ my kids to do it which inevitably ends up with shredded paper all over the house by the time it's done. And, we've gone through a few home shredders with burnt out motors - what a waste.Someone has come up with a brilliant idea - The Shred Stop. It's a machine that will be put in grocery stores that will shred your

8 Reasons to Pick Your Own

2009-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have to get to the local farm that allows you to pick your own strawberries. I don't know when I can get there, but my summer will be much sadder without my strawberries that I freeze for daiquiris.What's so great about picking your own fruits and vegetables from a nearby farm. I'll tell ya.It's cheaper. Way cheaper. I can get pounds of strawberries for about half the price of going into the

Plastic caps can be recycled through Aveda

2009-05-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

The plastic bottles that most of us put in our recycling bins are #1 or #2 plastics - those are the most easily recyclable plastics. The caps that are one those bottles, however, are often made from a thicker plastic - #5. Most people toss them right into the recycling bin with the bottles, but when they get to the recycling center they need to be separated and end up in the trash.Aveda cosmetics

Eco-friendly wines for your Memorial Day BBQ

2009-05-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've put up quite a few wine reviews on Mother Nature Network in the past couple of months, and I thought that I'd do a roundup here for those of you who are going out to choose wine for your celebrations this weekend. I only review wines that I like - if I drank it and I didn't like it, I won't write about it because I'm really not an expert. I'm just a wine lover who knows what I like. The

6 ways to stay green when money is tight

2009-05-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

I read two conflicting articles recently about the effect the economy is having on people’s choices to buy green products. One urged consumers to think twice about paying the extra money for organic and green products in light of the economic crisis.The other article stated that the economy is leveling out the playing field between conventional and green products. The energy saving practices that

5 Ways to be Green at the Community Swimming Pool

2009-05-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming! Summer is coming! You know how I know? The pool opens this weekend. The boys are so excited.My family and I have a membership at our local pool. Admittedly, the pool in and of itself isn’t a green thing. It uses lots of water and chemicals to keep that water clean.But when I look at what the pool offers my family – the socialization, the exercise, the something to do every day,

Me vs the Ants: I'm winning I tell you

2009-05-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

For years, we had an exterminator come in to take care of our ant problem. He'd come in and spray poison (but not poison that was like, you know, harmful to my kids or anything....) around my home - particularly on my kitchen counters where I prepared food.Before we initially called the exterminator, I did try some natural methods of removing the ants - not for environmental reasons but because I

Grocery Store Wars, or May the Farm be with You

2009-05-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

You can't walk through my house without tripping on a light saber. My six (almost seven) year old is a huge Star Wars fan. Funny little tid-bit. We were walking out of the train station in NYC the other day, and I called him my "little padawan." He looked at me and said, "I'm not a padawan, Mom. I'm on the dark side." I said, "Even Anakin was a padawan at one point, honey." As I said that, we

Taking time to appreciate spring

2009-05-13T08:32:00.001-07:00

It's been a crazy climate changing spring with the temperature rising into the 90's on one day then dipping into the 50's the next and heavier than even normal spring rains for days on end messing with my garden. The peppers and eggplants pictured above are doing well because they were fairly established when I put them in, but most of my tomato plants that I put in as small seedlings have been

National bike month

2009-05-12T07:34:00.001-07:00

It's National Bike Month and this week is Bike-to-Work-Week. But if you can't hop on your bike every day this week and ride it to work, perhaps you can do it just one day - Friday - on Bike-to-Work-Day. You've got a lot of bike riding opportunities here.Do you have a bike that's been a little neglected for a while? It's time to dust the thing off and hop on. You'll feel just like a kid again when

Books: The Green Teen by Jenn Savedge

2009-05-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

My colleague Jenn Savedge, the parenting blogger from MNN, must be one super organized mom because not only does she parent two kids (hey, I do that), write daily for MNN (hey, I do that, too), and keep her own personal green blog, The Green Parent, (hey, I've got a personal green blog - this one), she also writes books about going green (hey, I.... want to do that some day....).She's just

Coupons for organic and natural foods are out there

2009-05-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

If the More Hip than Hippie podcast wasn't already on your radar before last week when I told you that I was interviewed for the show, I hope it is now. Each week Dori & Val bring relevant information about being green along with a high entertainment factor that makes a podcast worth listening to. I went for a walk yesterday and was catching up on some back episodes of the show that I hadn't

Someone to root for

2009-05-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

Is your favorite baseball team letting you down this early in the season already? Do you need someone really worth rooting for? How about rooting for Nathan Winters as he starts his "adventurous, real time and interactive bike ride across America dedicated to raising awareness for land and nature conservation starting May 10th in Maine."What exactly does Nathan hope to accomplish with this trip?

A fair trade mother's day basket

2009-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly like gift baskets when you order them from a company that puts them together for you. There's always items in there that are useless or at least not to the recipient's tastes. But I think putting together you're own gift basket with useful and appreciated items is thoughtful and personal.Mother's Day is this Sunday, and if you need a gift for a foodie, then I think creating a

#ecomonday hits twitter

2009-05-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you're on Twitter, chances are you've noticed #followfriday. On Fridays tweeters list people that they follow that they think other people should follow. They also use the hashtag #followfriday in the tweet. No one has to follow the suggestions back, but it helps people find others with the same interests to follow. I've been introduced to some great green twitters this way, but now there's an

Sneakin' in some sunflowers

2009-05-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Just got back from our guerilla sunflower gardening around town - some houses, some public places.

5 Ways to be green on an average Friday night

2009-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. Yay! It's been a long week. If you've got a family like I do, most of the time Friday night means pizza, a family movie, maybe hanging out with the neighbors. Once in a while it means getting sitter and going out, but more often than not Friday nights are spent close to home. It's not bad. I like my family and my neighbors. So, on one of these average Friday nights, what some things

I almost forgot to tell you - go buy sunflower seeds tonight!

2009-04-30T14:18:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow, May 1 is International Sunflower Guerilla Gardening Day. I'm not making this up. In fact, I told you about it last year.Basically what you do is you go around your community planting sunflower seeds surreptitiously where some beautification is needed. Then when the sunflowers are growing, you go back to weed and water until they are hearty enough to fend for themselves. Don't tell

I got to be hip for a day - even if it was because of the swine flu (and no, I don't have it)

2009-04-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned the More Hip than Hippie podcast on here before. The hosts Dori and Val are very funny and have a lot of the same attitude I have towards being green. Plus, they like beer and chocolate and the first time I ever listened to their podcast they had Rick Springfield introduce them. They had me at Rick Springfield. The beer and chocolate part is just a bonus.I had the pleasure of being

Simple, earth-friendly, meaningful crafts for Mother's Day

2009-04-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lynn and Corey from Celebrate Green have sent us some great crafts for mother's day.Moms, I would advise you send a link of this post to your kids' dad and with a note saying something like, "Hey, I think the kid would get a kick out of making a picture frame jewelry holder for me for mother's day."Dads, your kids will love spending time with you making something meaningful for their mom and

Three new (to me) green blogs I'm following

2009-04-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me last night as I was checking my RSS feeder that because of my blog on MNN that's all about food, I've been spending much more time reading and researching environmental food topics than I have other green topics.So I went to Twitter with the determination to find three people that I follow on Twitter that have green blogs that aren't all about food and add them to my RSS feeder.

How to recycle video cassettes, denim jeans, wine corks and more: An a little greener roundup

2009-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that some of the posts that keep getting page views on this blog are ones about How to Recycle different hard to recycle items. Since I'm approaching my 45oth post here on A Little Greener Every Day, I thought I'd sift through the back posts, and bring all the recycling ones together in one for you.Most of these are programs that recycle things that the majority of people cannot put

Green celebrations abound this weekend

2009-04-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to finish out the week. I know that several of the towns near me are having Green Festivals or Earth Day Celebrations or some sort of eco-friendly event to finish off Earth Week.If there is one near you consider checking it out. You'll likely find information on recycling in your area, gardening and composting tips as well as information on businesses in your area that are

The most infuriating Earth Day press release

2009-04-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had been sent a press release about organic bottled water. I usually get sent a few press releases every day informing me about different products or organizations that I'm told my readers will be interested in. If I think you actually will be interested in one of them, I'll write about it.The two weeks leading up to Earth Day saw the number of press releases in my

Environmentlists and Earth Day? Not so perfect together anymore.

2009-04-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

In what I think is mostly a reaction to companies trying to hijack Earth Day to tout their “greenness,” many environmentalists are having an adverse reaction to Earth Day.Ding. Right after typing that sentence my computer let me know I had a new e-mail. It was from our friend Adam of Twilight Earth alerting me to his latest post. Amazing timing.Here’s what Adam has to say at the beginning of his

Swaptree.com will plant one tree for each swap on Earth Day

2009-04-20T09:44:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned on my guest post on Twilight Earth on Friday, I'm not particularly keen on buying things to celebrate Earth Day, but swapping things on Earth Day - well that's downright earth friendly. And if that swap comes along with the planting of tree, that's even better.Swaptree.com, the site that allows users to swap books, dvd's, cd's and video games for free is working with The Nature

Getting Tax Refund Money? 10 Ways to Spend Your Green, Greenly

2009-04-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

It's the third Friday of the month and that means we're privileged to have a guest post by Adam Shake of Twilight Earth. Today he's talking about how to spend our tax refunds wisely and greenly.A common misconception amongst many people is that being green costs more money, than not. This is not true, and in fact, the opposite is true. Being green saves you green. But just like most things in

Meet 8 year old Ally

2009-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've got an interview today with 8 year old Ally, a budding environmentalist. Last month, I ran the book fair at my boys' school. There was a book for kids about how to stop global warming, and Ally was the only kid I saw buy it.My mom happened to be there that day (cause it doesn't matter how old you are, when you do something like run the entire book fair at the school, your mom shows up to

Going Green for your graduate

2009-04-15T09:33:00.001-07:00

Little Darryl is graduating from college next month. Only no one calls him "Little" Darryl anymore because he's 22. Darryl lives next door (when he's not on campus), and he was 11 when we bought our house. When we first moved in, he mowed the lawn for us until we got our own lawn mower and over the years he has done lots of yard work for us, fixed our kids' bikes, driven us to the airport at some

Hitting the yard sales just got easier

2009-04-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Buying pre-owned stuff instead of new stuff is one way to be green. You help to keep perfectly useful items from ending up unused or in landfills and you keep new resources from being used to create new items.Yard sales are one way to easily find new homes for your unused items and to find those items that you need. A new feature on Googlemaps is going to make it a lot easier to find yard sales

Schools out: Play outdoors with your kids

2009-04-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

I've really been trying to follow Bethe Almeras' advice (remember her, she's The Grass Stain Guru) and play outdoors a lot more lately - especially with my kids. They start a much needed 10 days of from school today, and I'm determined to make sure they spend most of their time outside. I asked Tina Yerkes, whose job it is to know where to play outdoors in my region, for some ideas. She's put

10 reasons to buy local food

2009-04-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Today we were scheduled to have a very charming interview with an 8 year old environmentalist (no, it's not one of my boys), but e-mails went awry, and we're going to have to wait till next week to hear from her.Instead of scrambling and pulling something out of the air, I'm going to point you to my newest blog, South Jersey Locavore. It's been building readership since I started focusing on it

Earth Day is on April 22 but why wait till then

2009-04-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Recycle Bank and Burts Bees sent me a list of 10 Earth Day tips to use on this site. They're great tips, but as I was reading them over I realized (even before I got to their ending comment) - these are all things you can do any day, not just on Earth Day. As Earth Day approaches, I'll be talking more about what you can do in your own community to celebrate, but I thought this list was worth

Origins helps you recycle cosmetics packaging

2009-04-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

When the lipstick runs out and the mascara goes dry, what do you do with the plastic containers they come in? Chances are you throw them in the trash because they aren't easily recyclable.Origins cosmetics now has a program that allows consumers to bring cosmetic containers of any brand to their stores to be recycled.Starting March 29, 2009, bring your empty cosmetic tubes, bottles and jars, etc.

Preaching but not Practicing

2009-04-06T08:02:00.001-07:00

I had to wait in a children’s hospital cafeteria yesterday for about an hour. I hadn’t had lunch, so I searched for something suitable to eat. There was the obligatory salad bar with iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, and a few tomatoes. Didn’t look appealing. A bowl full of apples was next to the salad bar. I had an apple in the car on my way to the hospital.My other options were creamy sauced

Taking a break

2009-03-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I need to slow down. This week is one of those times. I'm taking a break for a week. A Little Greener Every Day will return Monday, April 6th. Until then, you can still read my stuff on Mother Nature Network.

I've got your Friday night pizza wine - Releaf

2009-03-27T13:00:00.001-07:00

Over on MNN today I've got a review of Releaf, a South African blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. The company that imports it, Organic Wine Trade Company is pretty impressive itself. Take a look at the review to find out how they are bringing sustainable, responsible wines to the U.S.Releaf is a perfect choice for your Friday night pizza wine. It pairs well with pizza, it's

Trying something new

2009-03-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Mark Bitman's Food Matters, and I'll be reviewing it for MNN. The book inspired me to try a few things, which I'll be writing a lot more about in the upcoming weeks. One of the things I was inspired to try was a recipe from Chef A - quinoa with sauteed mushrooms and onion. I'd never made quinoa before - it was very easy and really delicious. I'll be making this frequently.

Meet Bethe Almeras

2009-03-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

Do you get enough play in the great outdoors in your life? Bethe Almeras makes it her top priority to encourage kids and grown ups alike get out outside and enjoy this world that we're all trying to make a little greener. Her newest venture, The Grass Stain Guru, is all about just that. I've been diligently reading this new blog that is timely, educational and inspirational. Bethe kindly agreed

e-cards vs paper cards

2009-03-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail yesterday. It was asking if I would promote an e-card website with a specific spin - since mother's day is coming up, shouldn't we honor Mother Earth and send our moms an e-card instead of a paper card. You know, save a tree.Here's what I want to ask you. How would your mother respond if you sent her an e-card instead of an actual card for Mother's Day? Forget the fact that my mom

Daddy Van's all natural beeswax furniture polish

2009-03-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that cleaning my home is not one of my highest priorities. I do it, occasionally, but I am certainly no neat freak. So when someone e-mails me and asks if I'd like to try a cleaning product and review it, I think twice. I did, however, accept some furniture polish from Daddy Van's because polishing furniture isn't too painful. It's not like scrubbing the tub or anything.

Agave nectar, Michelle Obama and Earth Hour

2009-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I've written about recently that I thought you'd be interested in.I've been using agave nectar as a substitute for sugar in some places recently (like this peanut butter chocolate chip granola bar recipe). I wrote about agave today over on MNN - Agave nectar: a sweet alternative. Check it out if you'd like to know more about this natural sweetener.By now, you probably know

Life is a highway

2009-03-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Adam Shake from Twilight Earth is back this month with another guest post. Read more about Adam at the end of the post.When was the last time you had a song in your head that you just couldn’t get rid of? Well I’ve had one in my head all day. No, I take that back. That’s a lie. I’ve had “Life is a highway” in my head all week long.Well, life's a road that you travel onThere's one day here and the

Growing a container herb garden

2009-03-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in full garden mode right now, and I'm talking a lot about it over on MNN and a little bit about it here. I think that growing something is important for several reasons, but I also know that there are many people who don't have the time or the space to do a traditional vegetable garden.I do think, however, that most people have the ability to grow one container of something. If you're trying

Organic labeling rules

2009-03-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

I was sent a copy of Sara Snow's Fresh Living to review for MNN, and I'm really impressed with the book. I've been entrenched in this green stuff for about two years now and no longer consider myself a newbie. So when a book that is meant to discuss the basics of what you can do around the home both teaches me things and holds me attention, it's a good book. One of the things I learned in the

Recycle your denim jeans and help set a world record

2009-03-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

National Geographic Kids magazine is asking kids to help them set a Guinness World Record. They want to create the world's largest collection of clothes to recycle, and they are asking kids to send in old denim jeans to be recycled into insulation through the Cotton. From Blue to Green program. Recycling denim into insulation is a good use for old jeans that are too worn out to be handed down or

Baby bunnies in my garden bed

2009-03-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

My husband ran across a little snafu today when he was cleaning out the garden bed. Baby bunnies right where the tomatoes should go. I'm looking for advice on when and how to safely move them.

National Geographic's true green home

2009-03-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

I was sent a copy to review of true green home: 100 inspirational ideas for creating a green environment at home by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin. It's a beautifully photographed book of quick ideas that those who are new to going green can implement in their home.What I liked most about the book is that it was set up one idea at a time - making it easy to pick and choose which ideas you might like

Saying thank you

2009-03-14T16:14:00.001-07:00

I won a contest last weekend and the other day I received two steaks and two pounds of grass fed ground beef from La Cense out of Montana. Tonight we made burgers with the ground beef, and I wanted to thank La Cense for providing our dinner.A little about why grass fed is important, straight from La Cense's website:Grass is the natural food for cattle – not grain, which is difficult for cattle to

I've lost a week

2009-03-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Running the book fair at my kids' school has been a lot of fun this week, but I wasn't able to be as on top of my writing as I thought I'd be able to be (I fancy myself Superwoman, you know, but in reality...). I'll be back to posting regularly next week. I've got a book review and a cleaning product review planned plus I'll be going to the Go Green Expo this weekend. I'm sure I'll have plenty

My first organic wine review (of sorts)

2009-03-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

I hope to get another post up later today on a book I was sent to review, but I've got this crazy week where I'm at the boys' school all week running the book fair. So I thought I'd link you to a wine review I did on MNN today on Bonterra Vineyards 2007 Zindfandel. I actually call it a wine review (of sorts) because it's not a regular review that talks about long finishes and gives a numerical

10 easy ways to be more sustainable with your clothing

2009-03-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not too different than other women. I like clothes. I like to feel good about what I'm wearing. I have a certain style, and when I see something that I think is "me" I want it. Unfortunately, buying whatever I want isn't very sustainable - either environmentally or financially. My clothing buying has considerably dwindled in the past couple of years. Still, I need clothing (believe me, it

Nature's Path High Fiber Cereals Review

2009-03-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

The people at Nature's Path have sent me more cereal to try out and review - gotta love it when food just shows up on your doorstep. I had breakfast all last week courtesy of Nature's Path. Here's what they sent me:Organic Optimum Slim - Very high fiber (11g), low fat (2g) and tasted like it. It wasn't bad. I've eaten it more than once. It's just a good high fiber cereal without a lot of sweet in

Great green ideas for children's birthday parties

2009-03-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another great post that comes to us via Lynn and Corey at Celebrate Green. I particularly like the part about taking the focus off gifts - both for the birthday kid and the party guests. I've often contemplating starting a website called stopthegoodybagmadness.com! Here's what Lynn and Corey have to say.Celebrating an eco-friendly birthday can be loads of fun and cost next to nothing. All

Meet Becky Striepe

2009-03-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

The people that I write with on various blogs and the people who I connect with through social networking sites are always so friendly and passionate about what they are doing. Even though I sit in my office alone most days, I have people out there that I chat with in various ways throughout the day that help me feel a little less lonely. And, no surprise, the vast majority of them are working on

My Hobo (not) Monday creation

2009-03-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

I was all set to cook something for Thursday Night Smackdown's Hobo Monday on Monday when our good friend showed up at our front door with two pizzas. So Hobo Monday became Free Pizza Monday. Tuesday night I warmed up soup and bread after the boys and I got back from sledding. I asked Michelle via the comments on her blog if Hobo Monday could be Hobo another night, but she hasn't responded. So I

Green term of the week: victory garden

2009-03-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

During World War 2, Americans turned to Victory Gardens to help them get through the financial crunch until they were victorious in the war. Everyone grew vegetable gardens in their back yard, and it considerably eased the amount of money they needed to spend at the grocery store.There's a new Victory Garden movement afloat. It started before this crummy economy really took hold of us all, but

10 easy ways to be more sustainable with St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Day is in two weeks, and you don't have to be Irish to celebrate it. Fun story before I get to this week's 10 easy ways. This past summer when I was in Ireland, I looked up some family information. According to one of the sources I found, my ancestors on my mother's side kidnapped St. Patrick way back when. There's no way to know if this is true, but it's kind of cool (although I'm

5 reasons to dig into your pantry

2009-03-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks the fact that people are digging into their pantries (and freezers and fridges) more often to create their meals has become obvious to me. The Wall Street Journal had a piece about the sale of food being down, and attributed part of it to people using up what they have instead of buying new.I saw two blogs over the weekend that talked about using up what you have, too. The