Category Archives: Going Green

How to Make the Basics of Going Green Into a Huge Sacrifice

One thing that annoys me is how some people act as though going green is a huuuuuge sacrifice. They pay attention to the bigger steps some people choose to take and declare that the environmental movement as a whole wants that for everyone, or that environmentalists want people to live in caves, that sort of thing. With just a little more effort, you can be cranky about even the smallest eco-friendly steps you can take, and make them sound like a major sacrifice.

Declare That Energy Efficient Homes Are Too Expensive

Whether you own a home already or are looking at one, decide that going energy efficient is way too expensive. Just look at the cost of all the appliances.

Pay no attention to the simple things that will save a lot of energy over time, such as insulating your hot water heater, weatherstripping doors and windows or buying a programmable thermostat. They’re all too much trouble. Pay no attention to the savings you can get for doing each of these things.

Certainly don’t consider buying energy efficient appliances when you actually need one. Efficiency doesn’t have to be a consideration, does it?

Don’t Worry About Personal Care Product Safety

Ugh. Someone wants you to research the safety of the stuff you use to take care of yourself? Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, moisturizer and all that? That’s way more trouble than it’s worth. You probably expect me to make it all at home myself, right?

Dismiss the mild toxicity of some of the ingredients. It hasn’t bothered you yet, so why should it matter? Certainly don’t bother to consider the safer products that are right there on the store shelf too.  Can’t be as good as what you’re used to using.

Skip the Reusable Bags

Bringing your own bad to the store is just way too much trouble. You might even have a few, but actually bring them? Too much trouble and way too embarrassing. Besides, you like saving up those plastic bags for when you need them and just throwing out the excess.

Never Combine Errands

You’ve got a lot to do, but there’s no need to be efficient about it just because it’s better for the environment. You can just ignore the benefits to your own day.

Don’t Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated

You don’t really need to worry about gas mileage or wearing out your tires sooner than necessary, do you? You can just fill up as needed, and replace the tires when the wear is too much. No big deal, right?

Keep Drinking That Bottled Water

Tap water? Carrying a reusable water bottle? That’s just not for you. Besides, you love the taste of your preferred brand. Cost isn’t a factor, waste isn’t a factor. It’s just too inconvenient to head for the tap every time you need a drink of water or to refill your bottle. Far better to get a supply at the store and just crack open a new one.

Skip the Recycling Bin

It doesn’t matter if your area wants all recyclables in one bin or sorted by type. It’s way too much trouble to think before you throw it in the trash. Just throw it all away. Not like you benefit personally anyhow.

Keep Using Those Harsh Chemicals to Clean Your Home

It doesn’t matter that you have to use gloves when you’re cleaning your house or that you have to keep your cleaning supplies well away from children. They’re powerful and make cleaning a lot easier. You’re not worried about what they put into the air of your home or that they make your eyes water if you forget to open the window. Besides, you don’t really trust that simple things like vinegar and baking soda can really do the job. They probably take too much time and effort to use anyhow.

Obviously, I’m being sarcastic in the above. These are things I’ve done, and not one is all that hard, certainly not harder than skipping them, and most I like better.

Is Your Community Walkable?

One of the easiest ways to get some exercise is to take a walk. All you really need are your feet and a place to walk. Sadly, a good place to walk isn’t something all communities provide, as many were designed more with driving in mind. Some neighborhoods don’t even have sidewalks, so people who want to walk there have the choice of walking on other people’s lawns or on the street, neither of which are really great options.

Walkable doesn’t just mean you can take a walk around the block for exercise, of course. A community is even more walkable if you can reasonably walk (or bike) to do errands such as going to the store or to school, or even to work.

What’s the Problem?

A big part of the problem is that many people live far from work, making it impossible for them to consider walking or riding to work. That can be a reasonable choice, such as when you change jobs and it’s farther from the home you already live in, or if your work isn’t in a safe neighborhood. These things happen.

My husband’s job, for example, is in a downtown area that coworkers immediately warned him we would not want to be in. We got lots of advice from them on better areas to live in, and eventually picked one. None of the places would have been even biking distance, especially in wet weather or much of summer, when temperatures often break 100º F.

Many people don’t have shopping conveniently near either. Admittedly, groceries get heavy really fast, especially if you like to stock up for the week rather than shop daily.

For kids, there’s also the fear parents have for them these days, even when they live in relatively safe areas. Many parents are all too aware of the potential dangers out there, and for them, the balance falls on the side of protecting them from admittedly rare problems. Sure, there are neighborhoods where you absolutely don’t want your kids roaming, but many parents don’t let their kids roam where they should.

Where Are the Solutions?

It’s never easy to solve this kind of problem. A part of it comes down to our own choices, and a part is how communities are developed. You have to look at both.

Community development takes significant time, and changing an existing community to something more walkable is even more difficult. Developers need to be encouraged to include sidewalks in their communities, and to think about walkability just as they consider driveability. Prioritizing cars over feet will always lead to less walkable areas.

As an individual, you can choose to live in more walkable areas when possible, and to take advantage of that. Get out and let developers see that people are using the walking areas and they have more motivation to add them to future developments.

I also believe this means giving kids more freedom to explore. I really enjoy Free Range Kids, and while I don’t always agree with everything there, the idea is generally good. Kids need to be allowed age and skill appropriate independence, but many parents are too afraid to let their kids have it, despite the statistics being in their favor.

You don’t have to get it all perfect; it’s not always practical or even possible to find a place to live where you can walk, bike or even get public transportation to most places you’d like to go. Just have some degree of walkability be a factor as you search for a place to live.

Eco Friendly Gift Ideas

It’s that time of year again to really get serious about eco friendly gifts. It’s not easy to keep gifts environmentally friendly, as the biggest rule of all is that you shouldn’t be buying unnecessary things. Still, you can find some really great gifts that shouldn’t be all that hard on the environment, and will be appreciated even by the folks on your list who aren’t interested in going green.

Organic Nuts

Nuts can be a very healthy snack, and it’s not that hard to find organic ones. Make sure you know there aren’t any allergy issues to consider, of course. They can even be part of a really nice looking gift basket.

Flannel Sheets

Flannel sheets are a great way to keep the nights warm. They’re a nice bit of practical luxury, especially for cold winter nights.

Fair Trade Handbags

Know someone who’s ready for a new purse? A fair trade handbag may be the perfect gift. Not only are they practical, they can make a great style statement.

Men’s Clothing

Green T-shirt MenYou don’t have to feel as though all the eco friendly clothes are for women. There are some great designs out there for the men in your life.

Grow Mushrooms Kit

For the person in your life who just loves to cook with mushrooms. It’s a very simple kit to start growing mushrooms inside your home. You can find a variety of kits, such as pearl oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushroom kit and others.

Yoga Gear

Some yoga gear manufacturers make the effort to keep their products kind to the environment. Yoga itself is a good form of exercise, and only requires a little gear. A yoga mat or other helpful gear is a nice present for someone thinking of taking it up.

Bamboo Toys


The great thing about bamboo is that it grows quickly. It can make some cute toys too. There can of course still be some question about how the bamboo is grown and processed, but there are some pretty great toys which can be made from cut up bamboo that has been dyed or painted.

Are Cardboard Playhouses a Good Gift For Your Preschooler?

Cardboard playhouses are getting to be pretty easy to find these days. I’ve seen a few different styles at different stores. I like that they aren’t plastic and that they encourage creativity by being a surface that kids can color on, but are they overall a good gift for your preschooler?

This depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something that will last as long as your kids care to use it, one of those plastic playhouses will do better in that sense. Ecologically speaking, see if you can find one at a thrift store, garage sale or that has otherwise been used by kids before. Makes more sense than spending a ton of money on a brand new one. Then make sure you make it available to other children when your kids are done, whether at your own garage sale or by sending it on to a thrift store. No point to putting it in the trash unless it’s really breaking. That said, we’re still talking plastic here, which is problematic.

The great part about cardboard is that it’s recyclable or compostable. When your kids are done with a cardboard playhouse, you can tear it into your compost pile or fold it into your recycle bin.

My own favorite cardboard playhouse is still the one we made years ago for my kids. It was a box my husband brought home when he worked for Home Depot. Double thick, strong enough the kids could climb on top without the box collapsing. Cut a door and a few windows and let the kids color it. It was perfect and lasted a couple years.

Make Do kits look like an interesting addition to this sort of playhouse. They allow you to create all kinds of things from found materials. They aren’t limited to playhouses, the limit is your imagination and the supplies you can find.


The cardboard playhouses you can buy at the store or online are awfully cute, though. You can buy some that are made of 100% recycled materials, although it’s not always clear if that’s post consumer waste or what. The shapes available are great, not just houses. There’s a shuttle design, for example. Skip the part about recycled cardboard, and you get many more design options.

The disadvantage is that they aren’t as sturdy as the ones you can cut out of a good quality box. Depending on how your kids play and the particular model, it may last for only a few weeks. That’s not my ideal for any toy, recyclable or not. I like my stuff to last.

Either way, a cardboard playhouse is a lot of fun for children and really encourages imaginative and creative play. For once you don’t have to worry about the kids coloring on the walls – that’s what they’re there for. You never know what they’ll pretend with the playhouse no matter the shape – a plain rectangular house can become a rocketship, a castle, a bedroom or any other place. It’s a wonderful sort of play away from the television.

7 Ways to Have a More Eco Friendly Black Friday

Here comes one of the biggest shopping days of the year – Black Friday. It’s a time when many people go wild with their Christmas shopping, determined to get the best bargains, even if that means shopping all night at one of the many stores that plans to be open all night that night. If you don’t like the ridiculous overspending encouraged by Black Friday, why not rebel and find something to do that’s easier on the environment?

1. Participate in Buy Nothing Day

In North America, Buy Nothing Day is the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday. If you don’t approve of joining the crowds, show it, even if you plan to do Christmas shopping later. Just refuse to shop on Black Friday.

I love Buy Nothing Day because it means I can sit back and enjoy family at a time that’s a little quieter than Thanksgiving itself. Leftovers mean that meals are often easy to come by, and we’ve all done our holiday routine. Why hurry into the rush of the holiday season when you can ease yourself into it only as far as necessary? Take this day off.

2. Make homemade gifts.

If you’re into crafts, cooking and so forth, why not start work on your homemade gifts? I’m making a beautiful hair stick pair for my oldest daughter… good thing she doesn’t read my websites, I can say things like that. She has wanted one for ages. Might have to hand it over a bit before the holiday so she can wear it for Christmas.

3. Go shopping at thrift and resale stores.

Rather than buy new, see what you can find used to give as Christmas gifts. You may be able to find some gifts that are quite affordable used, but would be prohibitively expensive if bought new. Know your audience and go for it.

You may also be able to find great used items on sites such as eBay, Craigslist, Freecycle and so forth.

4. Buy warm clothes and bedding.

Want to save a little on your heating bills this winter? Seek out deals on warmer clothes and blankets for your bed. The warmer you dress, the less you have to heat your house to keep comfortable. Same goes for your bed when you go to sleep at night.

5. Go hiking.

Why stay indoors when you can get outside. Whether or not you can reasonably go hiking depends, of course, on your local weather, but if it’s just a matter of bundling up you may still be able to have some fun out there. Keep it safe and respect local conditions, of course.

6. Volunteer.

Have a cause you’d like to support? Get out and help it rather than go shopping. You could also join one of the Occupy groups if that’s an interest of yours, just for the day or longer if you like. Just do something that is your way of trying to make this world a little better.

7. Seek out eco friendly products – cautiously.

If you really need to get out into the sales, look for the eco friendly options out there. That may include a lot of online shopping, which allows you to avoid the crowds, plus you don’t have to drive anywhere.

It also means you can more easily seek out eco friendly products. Do be careful, as there’s so little regulation of green claims. See if there are any great deals on eco friendly products. Remember to include toys for the kids in your search. Places to shop include (I don’t know who all will be having Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales):

Greenbatteries Store
Ethical Ocean
Earth Divas
GreenCupboards.com
Gifts With Humanity
Amazon Green