Monthly Archives: November 2009

Green Gift Ideas to Give to Kids

Kids, especially younger ones, can be pretty easy to shop for. Watch commercials with them and see how often they say “I want that.”

If you’re trying to keep things a little more green and rather less plastic you have a bigger challenge ahead of you. But even then it’s entirely possible to find great green gifts that kids will really welcome.

As children vary so much in what they like, I prefer to recommend stores to shop for them, rather than just particular toys. But I’ll mention a few favorites.

Magic Cabin

I love Magic Cabin’s stuff. They call their toys “kid powered” as they’re all about the imagination, not the batteries. And their toys are just beautiful. They have a Forest Friends Bower that I can picture my daughter going nuts over. It’s perfect for over the bed as a canopy or off in a corner to encourage imaginative play.

Homemade Play Dough

Ok, so this isn’t a store. But it’s a great gift for just about any child in the age ranges that play with play dough.

If you want to make it really special, give the ingredients, containers to store it in, and the recipe, and make it as a project with your child. Time with the parents is a great gift too!

Heirloom Wooden Toys

These guys make some amazing wooden toys as well as some practical things. There’s the Learning Tower, for example. It’s a safe stool for kids to stand on, capable of holding up to 500 lbs. and with an adjustable height. They even sell a kit to make it into a playhouse for those times that it’s not being used as a safety stool, or you can buy an easel attachment.

And of course they have plenty of games to choose from, toy trucks, wooden blocks, play kitchens and much more.

Back to Basics Toys

These guys aren’t specifically green, but they have some great old style toys available, not just all the current stuff. Stuff like Lincoln Logs and Red Flyer Wagons. You’ll have to watch it a bit to avoid plastic toys, but it’s always good to be able to find your old favorites.

Amazon.com Green Toys

Now, I don’t know that I always agree with what they label as green toys. There are a lot they label as green just for having their Frustration Free Packaging. The packaging is certainly an improvement, but has nothing to do with whether the toy itself is green.

Many of the plastic toys are made from recycled plastic in this category.

There are some great green technology toys available too, such as the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit which allows kids to build a solar powered car and a fuel cell powered car. It sounds great to me for helping kids learn about alternative energy sources.

eBay

Don’t forget the possibility of quality used toys. This can be harder to apply to older kids than to ones young enough to not know the difference, but sometimes you can still manage it. eBay can be a great source for many of those toys that you remember so well.

Garage Sales and Thrift Stores

Yet more great places to look for used toys. A bit more of luck can be needed to find particular items, but the prices can be just amazing.

Donate Old Clothes and Other Reusable Goods – Green Step by Step

So you don’t have a use for those old clothes or other stuff around the house, but they’re in good enough condition that someone else could use them, send them off to your favorite charity.

This is especially true for clothing. Clothes that are still in excellent condition can be resold. But charities may also take clothes that aren’t in such good shape and turn them into cleaning rags. You can do that around the house too, just be sure that they really have reached the end of their life span as clothing.

You may also be able to find people in your area who enjoy doing crafts and need old clothes to make rugs and such.

Another option would be to hold a garage sale and sell the stuff yourself.

Non-clothing goods can be more difficult, especially if you’re talking electronic goods. Look around for a good electronics recycling program.

Don’t forget to consider reused items when shopping for yourself. Thrift stores can have amazing deals on really wonderful clothing. So much more affordable than going to department or specialty stores.

Green Technology Gift Ideas

While a lot of technology really isn’t all that green some tools can be used to make the impact less. With Christmas coming, I wanted to make some gift suggestions you could give to people who really just love their technology.

Kill-A-Watt

I rather like the concept of the Kill-A-Watt. It’s a good way to find out where you’re wasting energy around the home. There are a few versions available, depending on your needs.

The greenest way to use one of these is to pass it around to others. Find out what’s wasting electricity in your home, then share it with someone else.

Battery Charger

Anyone into lots of tech toys and gadgets probably has need of a good battery charger. While there are solar battery chargers out there, I prefer to also have one that plugs in.

At a minimum, you want one that can charge AA and AAA batteries, as these are so commonly used. But if you’re shopping for someone who has kids, you probably want one that also charges C, D and 9 volt batteries. We have a Rayovac one, and it works quite well.

eBook Reader

I have mixed feelings about these. I love paperback books and used book stores. Overall, that’s the best option, I think. Or the library. I reread books enough to prefer owning them myself.

But ebook readers are popular right now, and for some they may be the right idea. No wasted paper, and downloading electronic books is certainly more efficient on shipping. It comes down to how the disposal of the electronics goes after for whether or not this can be green.

There are a few options for ebook readers now. The best known is the Kindle, of course. There are also Sony PRS ebook readers and many others. For people who don’t tend to keep their books, these probably aren’t too bad an option.

I Need to Go Shoe Shopping?

I’m not a big shoe collector. Most of the year in Poway I got by in my sandals, occasionally wearing sneakers when we were lucky enough to get rain. I wear heels even more rarely, although I do have some.

I’ve come to realize that here in Yucaipa boots might just be a good idea for winter.

The thought occurred to me the other morning while walking my daughter to school. I could feel the cold air on my feet even through my sneakers. That’s on a dry morning, temperatures in the 40s, and it’s not really even winter yet.

So I’m starting to look at boots. Seems strange to me, even though I already bought some for the kids. I haven’t had boots in years.

I kind of like the looks of Earth’s Mirage 2. Looks nice and warm. But then there’s the Keen Kaley, which looks more stylish to me.

They’re honestly both a bit more than I’d like to spend. I haven’t spent that much on a pair of shoes in a long time. I’m trying to keep this one reasonable for our current budget, while balancing style, environmental friendliness and function.

Oh, and I have no intention of driving all over town for the right shoes, wasting gas. Thank goodness for the internet, where I can figure out what I’d like and if it can be bought on a regular errand or if I have to have it shipped here.

Tips for an Eco Friendly Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is getting pretty close already, so it’s time to start planning. I posted last year on having a green Thanksgiving, and now it’s time to revisit the topic and see if I have any thoughts to add to it.

Hmm, no, not really. Guess I got it perfect last year.

Kidding folks, kidding.

Last year I suggested decorating with things you have on hand, using natural decorations, organic turkey & produce, less excess, borrowing, limit carbon from travel or stay home, recycle, compost, be thankful for what you have and sharing with the less fortunate. If you want the details, go read last year’s post.

What to add, what to add?

How about a reminder to bring your reusable bags when you go shopping for Thanksgiving supplies? It’s a crazy time of year, but don’t get so behind that you forget the little details like that.

Also consider turning your heater down just a couple degrees if you haven’t already. Sweaters are good for helping you to cope, and having company warms the house a little too.

If you’re buying a turkey it’s kind of hard to take the focus off of it, but do your best to have interesting side dishes that don’t include meat. All that meat can be used in smaller quantities for a number of meals if you don’t go through it in one nights. Just cut up the excess and freeze it for later use to avoid the inevitable turkey boredom.

The Eat Well Guide may help you find the right kind of turkey and produce in your area. It’s nice when you can get free range or organic. LocalHarvest.org is another good resource.

Candles are a popular decoration at this this time of year. Try to find beeswax candles rather than the usual paraffin ones. Beeswax burns much cleaner.

And of course, just do what you can to minimize waste. It’s easy to get caught up in the tradition of having too much, so just try to be sure that your “too much” isn’t so much that the leftovers won’t get eaten before they spoil.