Having a Green Halloween
Posted October 22nd, 2009 in Going Green No Comments
There’s a good chance that you’ll see some green faces on October 31st — whether due to ghoulish masks, painted cheeks, or just candy-induced sickness! But have you thought about having a properly green Halloween? Holiday times are often occasions where we end up wasting resources or taking cheap or popular options because it’s easier. And no-one wants to be the party-pooper who insists on organic carrot sticks instead of candy.
But you and your kids can still have fun while being eco-friendly. Here are three big Halloween focus areas — candy, costumes and parties - and how to turn them all just that bit greener.
How to Make Green Easy for You and Your Office
Posted October 6th, 2009 in Green Office 3 Comments
Image by Ted Percival
We spend most of our day at work. And, in most cases, our work involves lots of paper, numerous electronic appliances, even long-haul flights. You might be making an effort to go green at home (and it’s easier to stay motivated when your own wallet benefits) … but are you doing anything at work? Is your workplace set up so that green behavior is almost automatic, or do you end up throwing recyclable paper in the trash? Does your company use environmentally-friendly supplies and services — in fact, do your colleagues even know the answer to this one?
You know that caring about the environment is important. But no one in your office (including you!) wants to be hampered with a lot of extra tasks in order to be more eco-friendly. So here’s how to make being green really easy:
8 Ways to Reuse Old Jeans & Fabric
Posted October 2nd, 2009 in Recycling, Tips No Comments
If you’re anything like me, jeans are the one piece of clothing in your wardrobe that continuously gets replaced. They get a tear in the leg, you gain (or lose) weight, and then they just plain wear out. We could just throw them in the trash, but there’s so many more options out there to consider first. The same thing goes for that beloved t-shirt that you just can’t wear anymore or some extra fabric from old curtains, duvets, or your last sewing project.
Next time you’ve got an extra pair of jeans, tees, or fabric on your hands, see if one of these ideas can help you reuse and recycle.
5 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Water Use at Home – And Save Money
Posted September 29th, 2009 in Going Green, Saving Money 5 Comments
Image by Joe Shlabotnik
On average, we each use 50 - 70 gallons of water per day in the home — that’s around 70,000 - 100,000 gallons per year for a family of four. Cutting down on your water use at home isn’t just a great way to do your bit for the environment … it’ll also save you a significant chunk of cash on your water bill. If you follow all five tips below, you could easily save $100 a year on your bill. (Based on an estimate of $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.)
8 Things You Probably Aren’t Recycling — And How You Can
Posted September 25th, 2009 in Recycling 6 Comments
What types of materials come to mind when you think of recycling? My first thought is always paper and cardboard, closely followed by the other items that pass through my hands daily: plastic, tin and glass containers. When you encourage your kids or partner to sort items at home for recycling, these are the types of things you focus on. The same goes for corporate recycling schemes at your office: you probably have a box or bin specifically for waste paper.
But there are a number of other items that you might not realize you can recycle. These are all things which typically end up cluttering our basements and attics - or which we guiltily throw into the trash. We often don’t even realize that they can be recycled. Here are eight things you probably aren’t recycling … yet.
5 Baby Steps for Becoming Green
Posted September 23rd, 2009 in Going Green 2 Comments
So everyone’s going green, right? Not necessarily. Most of us want to go green, but it seems like a big deal to get started, and what exactly does going green mean? If you’re still not convinced, check out this post: 12 Reasons Everyone Should Care About the Environment.
More often than not, going green is a kind of mental shift, when you start incorporating environmental responsibility into your daily life. Of course, everyone starts out small and slowly builds his/her environmental awareness with practice. If you’re a going green newbie, or even if you’ve been going green for awhile now, here are your 5 first baby steps to get you started.
9 Green Tips for Running Errands
Posted September 16th, 2009 in Tips No Comments
Life is hectic, especially in the beginning of the fall. Things become busier, and that lazy summer attitude seems to have disappeared. It’s time to pick up the pace a bit, which, for me, means a lot of errands. To the bank, market, post office, card shop, wherever.
When I’m out of the house, I find that my eco-habits tend to drop a bit. It’s hard to find recycling bins, and it’s easy to forget to bring bags to the grocery store. To combat this, I’ve started some new habits that make life easier.
6 Green Habits That Take Virtually No Time At All
Posted September 15th, 2009 in Tips 1 Comment
Have you ever said “I just don’t have time to be green?” I’m often tempted to use busyness as an excuse to assuage my environmental guilt — but the truth is that plenty of green habits take almost no time at all. All you need to do is make some tiny changes to the way you go about your typical day. Even better, the six habits I’ve picked here all have bonuses for you — beyond feeling good about being eco-friendly!
This Week’s Top 10 Green-Tech Articles From Around the Web
Posted September 11th, 2009 in Green Tech No Comments
Photo by sbwoodside on Flickr
We were driving down a highway a few days ago and I saw an enormous blade from a windmill being carried on the back of a flatbed truck. It was an unbelievable sight to see — I’ve seen windmills before, but I was never so close to one. It made such an impression on me that I started to think about all of the technology that goes into making our world greener.
Technology is often a source of environmental problems, but it can be such an awe-inspiring thing. We’re constantly growing and inventing new things, making science-fiction stories become reality. So, in honor of all this, I’ve scoured the web to find this week’s most interesting green-tech related articles.
4 Ways Saving the Planet Helps You Lose Weight
Posted September 9th, 2009 in Going Green, Health 1 Comment
However many great reasons there are to care about the environment, I have to admit to something. I often find myself thinking: What difference can one person make? And anyway, this seems like a lot of work, what’s in it for me?
I’m probably not the only one who has these sorts of thoughts. Have you ever felt the same?
Luckily, living a greener lifestyle does have some concrete personal benefits for you, and one person can actually make a difference. If you’re trying to lose weight (and most of us are), try these five ways of saving the planet and shedding some excess pounds at the same time.
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