Social Media goes reality TV: Compete and win for an eco home makeover! November 9, 2009

The EarthCare Challenge, presented by Hickory Springs, is making the call for “eco-oblivious” contestants! This first-of-its-kind nationwide contest that will chronicle–in a reality game show environment–the challenges of six contestants aspiring to live more sustainable lifestyles. The contest will take place entirely on the Internet on social networking communities Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and EarthCareInside.com.
One lucky grand prize winner will receive an earth-friendly home furnishings makeover for their home, valued at $5,000! On December 1, Hickory Springs will announce six regional finalists who will embark on a 45-day Green Makeover. The contestants’ progress will be chronicled through social media sites, while the public will be invited to participate by voting for their favorite contestant and becoming a fan of designated sites for a chance to win special discounts and prizes.

 

The winner will be selected in January 2010 by Hickory Springs, and will be awarded their own personal collection of eco-friendly furnishings for their home!

Entering The EarthCare Challenge is easy! There are two ways to do it:Facebook with a short paragraph describing why you are “eco-oblivious” and want to live a more sustainable/green lifestyle. Make sure to include a photo or two about the areas of your lifestyle needing an eco-friendly makeover. See sample topics below.Facebook or YouTube channel. Use your digital camera, camera phone, web cam; the length is up to you. See sample topics below.

1. Photo Entry
Email EarthCare or post to them on

OR

2. Video Entry
Shoot a quick video to post to either the company’s 

Sample Topics for your Entry
Feel free to work with these or make up your own:

• Open your fridge. Test your “locavore” count – how many locally sourced products can you identify?

• Are your household cleaners begging for an eco-overhaul? Amass them and take a photo.

• “Show and Tell” one green item that you love. Could be anything from all-natural laundry detergent to the bicycle that helps you lower your carbon footprint

• What does the “recycling hub” of your home look like? What do you recycle?

• Talk about your favorite method of transportation.

The contest is open to U.S. residents ages 21. For rules and entry information, visit EarthCareInside.com. Or, learn more about the contest on YouTube.

Organic Amenity Home offering 20% off adorable baby gear and more (Gallery) Soft, natural, eco-friendly fibers are a must-have for baby’s soft skin. Beautiful, timeless design often comes with a steeper pricetag, so a… Keep Reading »
Finding a green job: Tips for breaking into the industry Green jobs are hotter than ever. If you’ve never worked in a green industry or you’re trying to reinvent your skillset to woo prospective employers,… »
10 Tips for choosing eco-chic furnishings: Gorgeous, conscious, earth-friendly style Obsess about style, yet crave functionality? Greening your home shouldn’t mean giving up your aesthetic, or necessarily even adopting a new… »
Cost saving E-Cloth microfiber cloths offer best green household cleaning Several months ago, I was asked to test the E-Cloth, a series of job-specific microfiber towels that require only water to clean every surface inside… »
6 Biodegradable cleansers go for a test-run A simple change in cleaning product is a painless way to help the environment while safe-guarding your family’s health; Across the board, prices… »
A green approach to laundry–whiter whites and making it yourself With a busy family of four, the laundry certainly piles up. I’ve always used eco-friendly products, and I have a front-loading HE machine (which uses… »

EEK!-o-friendly tips for a greener Halloween October 25, 2009

Here’s a scary Halloween fact: Consumers spent $1.4 billion on Halloween decorations in 2007, including everything from plastic ornaments to throw-away utensils.

As the second biggest holiday for decorating after Christmas, Halloween negatively impacts the environment by generating a lot of waste. Ally Maize, LA’s resident “green” teen and founder of local nonprofit, the Green Youth Movement, is urging communities nationwide to reduce their environmental impact this Halloween with some simple, easy-to-do tips. Here are a few things that Ally, along with the help of GreenHalloween.org, is doing to ensure every step of her Halloween preparations are “eek-o” friendly.

Top 5 Tips for a Green Halloween:

1. Shop your friends’ closets. Costumes are half the fun in Halloween. Instead of heading to the mall to find new costumes, get creative and reduce your environmental impact by hosting a fun costume swap meet with your friends to trade and borrow threads from Halloweens past.

2. DIY (Do It Yourself). Give your Halloween festivities a personal spin and make your own decorations and treats. Acorns, pumpkins, and apples are great for “Hallogreen®”-friendly embellishments and make less of an environmental impact than store-bought decorations. You can even make your own natural face paint from corn starch, water, and organic food coloring!

3. Offer environmentally and socially responsible treats. Make a true green statement this year by handing out fair trade certified chocolate, raw honey and/or agave sticks, and organic fruit roll-ups. Better for the planet, better for the community, and better for you.

4. Recycle. Before you head to the store to buy Halloween supplies, take stock of what you already have. Everyday household items can be cleverly recycled into spook-worthy decorations. For example, pillow cases, table cloths, brooms and cans lying around the house are great for turning into Halloween ornaments. If you don’t have the items you’re looking for, head to a local thrift store – one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!

5. Use reusable bags or buckets for trick-or-treating. When you head out the door to trick-or-treat, opt for reusable grocery bags, buckets, or pillow cases as an environmentally-conscious alternative to wasteful plastic/paper bags. They’re also likely to hold more candy!

For more information: Click for more information on how to reduce your environmental impact beyond Halloween.  Ally Maize’s Green Youth Movement website is full of great information on how young people can make changes in our lifestyle to lead a healthy, happy, money-saving, sustainable life. 

Halloween party snacks for every parent and kid (gallery) The spookiest party season is upon us! Pint-sized Transformers Bumblebees and Princess Jasmines will be enjoying classroom parties and get-togethers…»

Tips for hosting the spookiest pumpkin carving party Did you know that, botanically speaking, pumpkin is a fruit? Grown on every continent but Antarctica, the pumpkin was once thought to be a cure-all… »

Parenting 101: Halloween Safety Tips for Moms and Dads On Halloween eve, as the sun sets, little ghosts, ghouls and witches (or likely, Buzz Lightyears, Spidermen, and Disney princesses) take to the… »

Tips for managing candy and treats overload at Halloween For what does the bell toll? It tolls for calories, sugar and fat. The annual ritual of trick-or-treating is nigh. Frighteningly, miniature renditions… »

Future Environmentalists’ Club: 5 Creative ways to recycle your pumpkin One of the very best Halloween traditions includes digging out the icky, stringy, ooey guts of a pumpkin and creating a funny, happy or terrifying…

Frightfully nutritious and creative Halloween party snacks Treat yourselves to a night of fun with friendly, costumed Disney characters at Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party! Trick-or-treat stations will feature… »

Going green in the Laundry Room–3 Easy Steps + MORE September 1, 2009

This article is from my Green Living column on Examiner.com.

With a busy family of four, the laundry certainly piles up. I’ve always used eco-friendly products, and I have a front-loading HE machine (which uses at least 40% less water and up to 65% less electricity compared to a top loader), but I still feel a twinge of guilt every time I load up. There are certain unalienable laundry rights everyone should enjoy: clean, unstained clothes, whiter whites, and the (relative) absence of wrinkles. It’s time to freshen our perspective on this dirty chore.

First, there are 3 easy steps for cutting down on the energy and water waste attributed to doing the laundry:

1. Set your machine to the cold setting and leave it there. 90% of energy used by a typical washing machine is to heat the water; only 10% is used to power the motor. If every American household used only cold water for washing clothes, 34 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved.
2. Select a phosphate-free, cold-water detergent, and try roll-on pre-wash stain removers, rather than squirt or aerosol options. Our waterways and wetlands will thank you, and you’ll use less product in the long-run, saving you money.
3. Don’t run the washer unless you have a full load. If you have a “Half Load” setting, use it if absolutely necessary. Remember, it is OK to wear things a few times before washing. Well, maybe not undies.

In the spirit of protecting the Earth, we’ve all tried that green detergent that left our clothes stiff and maybe a little drab, causing us wonder whether Tide might be onto something. Don’t be tricked by false advertising, and don’t give up the fight! The truth is that petrochemical detergents like Tide or Gain contain optical whitening agents which attach themselves to the laundry during the washing process. According to my friends at Ecover, “These are synthetic substances that make no contribution whatsoever to the cleaning process and only produce an optical illusion. Tests have shown that while optical whitening agents do reflect light, they also make an irreversible chemical bond with the skin which can lead to skin problems.” While Ecover doesn’t use optical brighteners, I’ve noticed that the company’s “Ultra” Laundry Wash HE does make my clothes seem whiter and brighter—and is safe enough to use on baby clothes. (See below for a list of recommended laundry detergents. Please comment if you have a recommendation.)

Making your own HE detergent and fabric softener is a cost-effective, eco-friendly alternative to commercial laundry products:

 

Detergent

1. Using a regular cheese grater, grate a bar of pure soap – Ivory, Kirk’s Castile, or Fels Naptha soaps. One 5.5 ounce bar will make about one cup of flakes.

2. In a large, resealable container, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate, and 1/2 cup borax. Washing soda is caustic to the skin and you should wear rubber gloves. (Arm & Hammer manufactures this product.)

3. Mix ingredients well. Keep dry. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry. 

Fabric Softener
1. In a  one gallon container, add 1 cup baking soda and 1 cup water. Slowly add 6 cups distilled white vinegar (the baking soda will start to fizz.)
2. Add 7 more cups of water, swirling around, covering the top, and venting occasionally.
3. Add your choice of 10-15 drops essential oils or lemon essential oils (optional).
4. Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load. (If you’ve added essential oils, give the bottle a good shake at each use).

Eco-Friendly Product Recommendations:

A natural laundry detergent should use only biodegradable ingredients, be phosphate-free, and contain only plant-derived surfactants. Keep in mind that some natural detergents are fragrance-free or use only naturally-derived fragrances, others may contain synthetic perfumes. Always read the label.

Ecover Ecological Laundry Wash

Mountain Green

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day HE compatible

Ecos

Bi-o-kleen Laundry Liquid

Seventh Generation Free & Clear

Cot’n Wash

Melaleuca EcoSense 6x Concentrated MelaPower Laundry Detergent )

Ecover Stain Remover works on everything, even old stains; It’s great on pet stains in your carpet too.

For more info: Read Green Living 101: How do I give my laundry routine a green makeover?Laundering clothes with natural products rather than petrochemical detergents can help extend the life of clothes, and contribute to a cleaner… Keep Reading »

To learn more about the chemicals in the products you’re currently using, or to find additional recommendations for natural household products, check the Household Products Database.

Green Living 101: The eco-friendly car wash With two kids aged 2 and 4 years, I don’t have a lot of time to wash my car. My little one is horrified by conveyor-style commercial car washes,… Keep Reading »  

 

 

Green Living 101: Chemicals to avoid in beauty products Whenever possible, it is important to choose organic products—especially soaps and body-washes. Keeping in mind that our skin is…Keep Reading »

Top-selling products for naturally beautiful hair Our well-meaning attempts to tame our locks with expensive shampoos and conditioners are, unfortunately often thwarted by the products’ own synthetic… Keep Reading »

Hand-made And Home-made: Christmas Can Be A Lot of Work! December 4, 2008

Today, I’m elbows deep in my good intentions–I have taken an old-fashioned approach to Christmas by taking on a number of home-y projects:

1. Our very own family Advent Calendar, a group effort that will carry on all month as my husband and I continue to add personalized messages for each day and find the perfect tiny treats to tuck in with them.

2. Car- and flower-shaped crayons for my son Joseph’s social circle, recycled and remolded from his bevy of broken crayons. Adorable! MESSY to make!

3. Hand-made Christmas cards, another group effort with my 3-year-old, who bores very quickly of signing his name and coloring holiday themes (although he absolutely loves all things Christmas.)

4. Organizing a pared down, economically-pleasing gift-giving exchange plan with my relatives, who each have a valued (and sometimes contrary) perspective.

Phew! I always liked the “busy-ness” of the holidays, but now that I’m approaching it with a “made-by-hand” method, paired with the ultra-careful selection of gifts, weighing the monetary value of one highly-coveted toy over another more educational plaything, I’m tempted to throw my hands in the air and go buy a slew of lottery tickets.

The fact is, in our hearts, making things by hand connects us with the past. One blessing of this economy is that it has presented us with the question: how did they used to do it? (You know, before we could just go to the mall and buy.) We still have it easy. Think of the work that must have gone into baking cookies a hundred years ago, let alone the months of work that went into fashioning a Christmas toy or set of clothes that would be used and loved the whole year through. But I digress.

My son Joseph is an enormous fan of Christmas and Winter, and several of the books he owns and has borrowed from the library include night-time scenes involving examining the stars in an inky black sky, dancing under Northern lights, moons over frozen lakes with skaters, or the flight of St. Nick. The real magic comes from the child seeing the darkness of night, when he or she would otherwise be tucked in bed with visions of sugar plums. This leads to me to consider whether I can create a low-stress, cost-free and altogether magical and mysterious holiday for my preschooler (and baby) simply by allowing them pauses from routine, to break a few rules. Very soon, we will stay up late to drive around and look at holiday display lights, but why not drive out of the city and walk out into open space and consider the grandness of the night sky? Ooh, or maybe we could contemplate the universe from a blanket in the sand on the beach at night! Bedtime can wait. Thanks to some fourth-graders eager to spread holiday cheer, Joseph has also discovered the immeasurable joy which candy canes can deliver; perhaps I should not be such a Scrooge about the extra sugar. I guess what it comes down to is the best gift I can give my family this holiday is time. And a little sugar.