December 23, 2009

Wrapping Paper

Don't forget that wrapping paper is paper. Recycle it!

December 19, 2009

Insulation

Check the insulation in your home - and install more if you need it.

December 9, 2009

Resolutions

Start making your green New Years Resolutions now. Recycling more, using only natural personal care products and cleaners in your home, driving less (and not idling), bringing your own shopping bags, etc. Make it a Great Green New Year!

December 1, 2009

Packaging

Buy gifts that don't have a lot of packaging. Also check that the packaging it does have, can be recycled.

November 24, 2009

Holiday Lights

If you are in the market for some new holiday lights, look for those with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. They use 90% less energy, saving you money, and last 60 times as long as incandescent bulbs. They also last 6 times as long as CFL's, and don't contain any mercury. They are also the best choice to have in your home all year long.

November 8, 2009

Shop Online

Shop online. Use standard ground to avoid the usage of five times the fuel needed to send it on the ground and all the air pollution for the plane to fly.

November 3, 2009

Straws

Recycle plastic straws.

November 1, 2009

Ice Cubes

Fill your ice cube trays with filtered water.

October 24, 2009

Six Packs

Snip the six-pack rings that hold beverages together - they are very bad, and often deadly to wildlife.

October 14, 2009

Space Heaters

Turn on a space heater in the room you are in instead of heating your whole house with your furnace.

September 23, 2009

Let's Talk Alternative Fuel!

Ethanol- made from corn and sugarcane.
Biodiesel - made from soybeans.

Nice thought, but what about all the water, land, and food that will be destroyed? And how will we be able to feed our demand?

Hybrid technology - uses gas and electricity.

They get around 40 miles per gallon, but their battery system has high energy needs and causes pollution - some poisonous.

Electric cars - run on electricity.

If you are travelling a short distance, under a hundred miles, they are good because they will reduce the nasty tailpipe emissions. Then you have to find a place to charge it and wait an hour or more for it to charge. The pollution from the power plants is a concern, but not a bad option.

Hydrogen - made from natural gas.

It takes a lot of energy to produce hydrogen, and the emissions are carbon monoxide. Not Good.

There are others, but whatever you decide, investigate it thouroughly before you make a major purchase.

September 13, 2009

Green Products

Try to buy organic or all natural products.

September 9, 2009

Natural Furniture Polish

Everyone wants their furniture to look nice - especially when they are having company. There's nothing like a shiny, polished look, but are these polishes safe?

Conventional furniture polish can contain many nasty chemicals - always check the label. How about making your own?

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 tsp. jojoba or olive oil
a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Mix them all together and rub them onto your wood furniture.

Beautiful.

September 5, 2009

Shower Curtains

Use natural shower curtains made of organic cotton or bamboo.

August 27, 2009

Turn Off Your Car

If you live close enough to your child's school to walk there, that is always the best choice. Fresh air and exercise are always great for you.

Sometimes you don't have that option, and have to drive them to school. If you drive your child to school and have to wait for them to be allowed into school, turn your car off as soon as you park.

Why?

1. You won't pollute the air with toxic fumes.

2. The people behind you with children in their car or with respiratory issues will not be forced to breathe in your fumes - neither will your child when they approach the cars, they are right at the level where the fumes exit your car!

3. You won't waste your gas.

August 10, 2009

Natural Toilet Cleaner

Clean your toilets by pouring a little baking soda and vinegar into the bowl, let it fizz, then scrub clean. No nasty chemicals.

August 5, 2009

Back to School

I never like August much anymore because it is the month that I have to start planning for the school to take my son away from me again.

At home, I teach my son the importance of living healthy - both physically and environmentally. When I send him to school, sometimes he doesn't have much control over things. In his school, they don't have recycling bins in the lunch room for juice boxes, recyclable containers, plastic utensils, etc. (I'm going to work on that this year).

Here are a few suggestions -

~ Pack your child's lunch (since when is a large pretzel dipped in processed cheese a good lunch, anyway?). Use reusable containers, utensils, and drinking containers. Wash them at home. Oh, and no plastic bags.

~ Use a lunch box, not paper bags.

~ But non-toxic and recycled school supplies whenever possible.

~ Don't buy your child (or yourself) processed meals with a ton of packaging.

Small changes will make a huge difference.

July 25, 2009

Drive Thru? NOT!

Save your gas, reduce your CO2 output, and recycle - skip the drive thru and go inside. Order your meals " to go " and place the bags, napkins, and cups into your home recycling bin.

July 21, 2009

Replace the Bleach

The past few months we've had to clean our son's baseball pants almost every day. They are white, and boys love to be in the dirt.

What a mess!

I couldn't stand putting all that bleach on the clothes that would be on his skin. Not to mention the fumes!

I found a few alternatives.

1. Add 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide to the wash.

2. Add 1/2 cup baking soda.

3. Pour on some white distilled vinegar before washing.

Try products without chemicals - they may surprise you.

July 20, 2009

Napkins

Use cloth napkins. If you need to use paper napkins, make sure they are recycled.

July 17, 2009

No Lights!

When you leave a room, turn the lights off as you go - every time. Get any other members of your household to do the same. I loved hearing, " Mom, you left the light on." (Happened only once).

July 13, 2009

Indoor Plants

Improve your indoor air quality with plants instead of artificial, and often toxic, room fresheners.

July 7, 2009

Check Your Toilet

Upgrade your toilets to low-flush models to save water and money!

July 4, 2009

Rediscover The Library

If you don't already have a library card, get one. Try borrowing books, books on tape, and videos instead of buying them.

July 1, 2009

Fireworks!

No doubt about it...fireworks are COOL! Even as I get older, I am still impressed by all the colors, the sounds, and the different shapes of the firework displays.

Now, we've all seen fireworks, but have you ever taken the time to think about the environmental impact they have? Or their safety? Many people are injured or killed every year from fireworks.

Try to stay safe by keeping a safe distance away. Not only will you reduce your risk of injury, it will help keep you safer from inhaling the toxic chemicals that will rain down on you from the fireworks.

How are they toxic, you ask? Many fireworks produce dust and smoke that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and other nasty chemicals. Some chemicals, such as cadmium, lead, and potassium perchlorate can cause some respiratory and other health problems. Others, like barium, are poisonous and radioactive. NOT COOL!

These chemicals end up in our water supply and pollute the air we breathe for several days. Keep yourself and your loved ones a safe distance away if you like to watch the show.

How about trying a laser light show, biodegradable confetti, or other non-toxic displays of bright colors? A little research can go a long way.

June 28, 2009

Clean Hair

The next time you need to buy a new bottle of shampoo or conditioner for your hair, take a close look at the ingredients used in it first.

You don't need to dump harmful chemicals on your head to have fabulous hair. Where do these nasty chemicals go after they come off your head? Down the drain and into the water supply.

The next time you are due for some new stuff, first check it out for nasties called parabens, which usually begin with the prefix methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, and isobutyl. These chemicals mess with hormone levels.

Look for natural or organic brands. Some stores have sections that only contain products that are natural or organic.

Check it out!

June 22, 2009

Bye-Bye Plastic bags

Say no to plastic bags at the store. Bring your own or carry your items if there are only a few.

June 19, 2009

Let There Be Better Light

Switch to energy saving lightbulbs.

June 14, 2009

No Shopping Day

Don't buy anything for an entire day. Make it a regular habit. Maybe even try it for a week!

June 12, 2009

Product Review - JASON Hair Care

I hope that you have not been born with thick, dry, curly hair, like me. I found a shampoo and conditioner that is helping control my hair that has been even harder to control with all the moisture in the air recently. I found it at Meijer in the Healthy Living section. The manufacturer is JASON Natural Products. The Moisturizing shampoo and conditioner are made with Sea Kelp and Plumeria. There are no Sodiun Lauryl/Laureth sulfates and it is Paraben free. It naturally replenishes moisture to your hair. Love it!

June 8, 2009

Bringing Lunch

Even though brown paper bags can be recycled, a better choice is to get yourself a lunchbox - insulated with icepacks are nice to keep things cold.

May 27, 2009

Freshen Your Fridge

Place a vanilla soaked cotton ball inside your refridgerator instead of baking soda for freshness.

May 26, 2009

Napkins

Use cloth napkins whenever possible. If you need to use paper napkins for certain occasions, buy recycled brands, and then recycle them again.

May 24, 2009

No Ants!!!

For some of us, this is the time of year when we start to see ants crawling along the floor while we are trying to make a meal for our family. It makes me cringe.

How do they get into the house? What can you do to keep them out of the house? Ant traps work, but if they are poisoning the ants, can they also be poisoning your family?

Try pouring vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, baby powder, cinnamon, or coffee grounds around the affected areas. Not at the same time, of course.

May 16, 2009

Paper Recycling

According to the Sierra Club, an estimated 900 million trees are cut down annually to produce paper - writing paper, print paper, paper plates, cardboard, napkins, etc. All of this should be recycled. Almost 50 percent of most Americans trash is paper. There is NEVER a good reason to throw a piece of paper or envelope in the garbage. Put it in the recycling bin instead.

If your name and address are printed on something or the material is sensitive - shred it. Place the shredded paper in a paper bag and put it in your recycling bin when the bag is full.

Save trees:

* Buy recycled printer paper and sticky notes
* Use the back of your child's homework or other documents to print on
* Print on both sides
* Buy recycled napkins, paper towel, etc.

May 9, 2009

Q.T. Reusable Products

Choose reusable instead of disposable products.

April 27, 2009

Q.T. Recycle Electronics

Find places near you, such as a local government facility or Best Buy, that will recycle your electronic equipment. DON'T throw it in the garbage!

April 25, 2009

Q.T. Rain Water

Collect and use rain water to wash your car.

April 20, 2009

Q.T. Recycling Cans

Recycling aluminum cans can save about 95% of the energy it takes to make a new one.

April 14, 2009

Fertilize Without Pesticides

I try to look for organic products whenever possible. Pesticides and chemicals are a big "nasty" to me. You may be under the impression that in order to fertilize your lawn and garden to have green grass and produce, you may have to use a product with a few things in it that you'd rather not be exposed to.

The EPA is currently making the decision to take the common weedkiller 2,4-D off the market. It has been linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, reproductive and developmental effects, endoctine disruption, and well water contamination, according to Beyond Pesticides. This herbicide is used to kill broadleaf plants on household lawns, golf courses, and parks.

It's something you should seriously think about - especially if you have kids that play in the grass or dogs that - you know.

Try using only organic pesticides. For some homemade organic pesticides go to:
www.essortment.com/all/homamadeorgani_renu.htm.

April 13, 2009

Q.T. Plastic Bags

Recycle your plastic bags (in case you forgot to bring your canvas one). Stores such as Walmart and Jewel have places for them at the entrance.

April 9, 2009

Q.T. Light Bulbs

Switch to Energy Star-rated CFL light bulbs that use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

April 6, 2009

New Quick Tips!

By popular demand, I will be starting a "Quick Tips" section to the blog. They will be tips without explanations - just what to do, or not to do in some cases - that will be posted several times a week. Become a follower and let me know what you think!

April 5, 2009

Product Review - Mama Jo's Natural Care

Looking for some handmade personal care products and home remedies that are pure and simple? Try Mama Jo's at mamajosnaturalcare.com. The products are made from high quality ingredients and don't contain chemicals, additives, fillers, or fragrance(only 100% essential oils).

I love the Exfoliating Salt Scrub.

Check it out!

Earth Day!!!

Earth Day is April 22. This is a great day to renew your promises to yourself, and to the planet, to be a little more mindful of the things you do every day.

Let's try to do even better this year. I plan on making some phonecalls very soon on a few things that I feel that there is room for a lot of improvement on. My first mission - have a law passed restricting the amount of time you are allowed to idle in your car.

Wish me luck!

Set some goals today, and before you know it, you will have improved your life and the lives of those around you.

March 20, 2009

Upcoming USDA Certified Lip Balm!

I have it under very good authority that the largest (I can't give out the name yet) lip balm manufacturer will soon be distributing the first, and only, USDA certified 100% natural and organic lip treatment. I have a connection there and was given one from the pilot batch. My lips are very smooth, smell like citrus, and I know that there are not any nasty chemicals on them. Awesome.

Earth Hour

Don't forget to turn off the lights at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday March 28th for an hour(longer if you'd like). According to Ideal Bite, if 10,000 households turn off the lights for an hour, we'll save enough electricity to run 89 refrigerators nonstop for a year.

For more information about Earth Hour, go to earthhour.org.

March 13, 2009

No-waste Lunches

We all have to eat.
True

Sometimes we have to eat out.
True.

Sometimes we have to bring a lunch with us.
True.

Some of us have kids who bring their lunch to school.
True.

The average American school-age child throws away about 67 pounds of packaging every year, including plastic sandwich bags, plastic water bottles, juice boxes, and molded food containers.

While plastic can be reused, try using reusable lunch containers and utensils, and pack them into a reusable bag for your child and for yourself.

Sometimes we have to eat at places that don't recycle. The amount of packaging used is just staggering. Order your food to go so they will put it in a paper bag, put the recycable stuff in the bag, bring it with you, and put it into your recycling bin at home.:)

Always look for ways to keep your carbon footprints small - no matter how small each footprint might be.

March 12, 2009

Washing Produce

Sometimes organic fruits and veggies are not available - at least not the kind you are looking for - and you are forced to buy the kind that has been sprayed with pesticides. Nasty.

What can you do?

Wash them well before you eat them. They have cleaners at the store for around $4, but I have a much better solution - literally.

Again, break out the white vinegar. It will kill 98% of the bacteria on the produce.

Mix a water and white vinegar solution 3:1 into a spray bottle and spray the produce. Rinse the produce with clean water before you eat it.

The same solution can be used on your counters and windows, too. Fabulous!

March 4, 2009

Indoor Air Pollution

We've all used the expression, " I need some fresh air ". Even though we know about all the environmental hazzards, where do we go for this fresh air?

Outside.

What's wrong with the inside air? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted then outdoor air. Since most of us spend 90% of our time indoors, here are a few things you can do to improve the inside air.

* Keep things out of your home that cause air pollution, such as chemicals, cigarette smoke, and excess moisture.

* Ventilate your home. Run the exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms.

* Fresh Air! Open the windows whenever possible.

These small things can help keep you and your family healthy and happy.

Happy breathing!

February 19, 2009

Utility Bills

Utility bills will always be a part of your life, but there are things that you can do to make them a smaller part of it.

If you can, get a programmable thermostat for your home. Set it to keep the temperature cooler at night and when you are not at home in the winter, and warmer at night and when you are not at home in the summer.

For every degree higher for air-conditioning and lower for heating, you could save $100 per year on your utility bill. This simple act also cuts down on carbon emissions 1% for each degree.

If you are too cold, put on a sweatshirt or snuggle up with a blanket. I use a space heater to warm the romm I'm in for a while. If you are too hot, close the blinds and turn on a fan. Ceiling fans circulate the air and drop the temperature of the house.

Small changes add up to big savings!

February 10, 2009

Donations

I recently did a Product Review and received a very positive response to it. Many of you have asked for more. I have decided to do them on a regular basis. Unfortunately, these products cost money.

If you are able to make a small (or large, if you would like) donation to the research and the purchases I make in order to do this site, please send your contribution to:

Kim Cecchi
P.O. Box 197
Oswego, IL 60543

Thank you!

Shower Curtains and Liners

Do you ever wonder what that strong odor is when you open your brand new shower curtain liner? It's the off-gassing of chemicals from polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC).

A phthalate, DEHP, a suspected carcinogen and link to hormonal disruption, is one of the chemical additives in them.

Ditch the plastics. Keep them out of our landfills and water.

For your next shower curtain and liner, look for those made of cotton(organic is best) or bamboo.

Natural is the way to go!

February 1, 2009

Let's Talk Trash!

It's hard to believe that the average American creates about 4.5 pounds of trash every day. That comes to over 1,600 pounds of garbage every year! Where does all this garbage go? To our landfills! What can we do about this?

Always recycle everything you can. If you are unsure if a certain item can be recycled, call your local waste management company. (I sometimes throw it in anyway. Shhh...)

Some examples of everyday items that need to be recycled are: newspapers, paper, envelopes(think junk mail), cardboard(food boxes), bottles, and cans. Put them in the recycling bin instead of the garbage.

For every ten aluminum or steel cans recycled, you save four pounds of carbon, and for every ten glass bottles recycled you save three pounds of carbon. Recycling newspapers can save 50 pounds of carbon per year.

If all Americans recycled, 75% of waste would not be sent to landfills.

Our future generations will thank you!

January 15, 2009

Unwanted Catalogs

If your mailbox is like mine, you find catalogs in it all the time from places you have never even heard of. Maybe you still get them from places you had ordered from years ago.

Either way, they don't need to send them to you anymore. Most of them have telephone numbers on them - call them and ask to have your address removed from their mailing list. You can also go online to catalogchoice.org to put a stop to them.

Not convinced you should do it yet? How about this...every year about 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers, according to the Daily Green. These catalogs require more than 53 million trees and 56 million gallons of wastewater to produce. Not only do they waste our precious resources, but they also cause pollution being produced and distributed.

Most companies have their products on their websites, making all those catalogs unnecessary.

Do something about it today!

Scouring Cleanser

Need a little grit in your cleanser, but not all the harsh chemicals? Make your own out of things that are already in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baking soda
1 Tbsp. liquid detergent
a little white distilled vinegar

Adding the distilled vinegar to the other ingredients makes a thick, but creamy texture.

Getting it clean without the chemicals. Awesome.

New Years Resolutions

Let's say good-bye to some old bad habit, and start some new good ones! Now is the perfect time to get rid of some things in your life that are just BAD.

What about all of those nasty chemical laden products that you clean with? Try natural cleaners. Stores are just filling with better options.

One of the best new habits you can form is throwing things into your recycling bin instead of the garbage. Paper, plastic, aluminum, electronics...most of it can be recycled.

What about making donations with some old stuff? Those old blankets in the back of your closet would be greatly appreciated by a local animal shelter. Go to pets911.com to find shelters near you.

Make it a great year!