At the grocery store - Day 11

Today at the grocery store I was very excited to find that Sun Chips now has a 100% compostable bag that the chips come in! Wow am I a geek!! I never dreamed I'd be excited about green packaging ;) Now if only the rest of the manufacturers would get a move on and use similar packaging! Funny how such a small thing can make me smile :)

Outlets , small changes, big results - Day 11

The holes in your electrical outlets let cold air seep into the house. I purchased some outlet insulation gaskets (Frost King, $1.98 for a package of 6) to prevent the cold from leaking in. They are easy to install; turn off power to the outlet, remove the outlet covers, insert the pad underneath, and replace the outlet cover. These will make a difference since we will conserve energy and loose less heat. You can also, put insulating plugs in all outlets that aren’t in use.

Eco Friendly Reusable Bags - Day 10

I'm doing much better about remembering my Eco Friendly Reusable Bags :) Hubby happily reported in that he too remembered to use an Eco Bag the other day! I actually received a really nice nylon Eco Bag as a gift, and it is so small and light that I keep it in my purse. Today I saw some neat Eco Bags and I think they will make perfect gifts for family and friends; and the best part of the gift will be motivating others to be greener as well.

Recycled Centerpieces, Trash to Treasure - Day 9

Today hubby and I lead Rhody's cub scout meeting to make centerpieces for the Blue and Gold Ceremony.  We provided the boys with a variety of recycled supplies and the centerpieces look great!  

We are lucky to have access to an amazing resource called Resource (Recycling) for RI Education (www.rrie.org).   

RIEE helps businesses reduce their waste management costs and to divert waste from Rhode Island's waste stream.  Teachers, scout leaders, or other groups can join RIEE for a small fee and benefit from the interesting but extremely useful supplies. RRIE encourages "creative educational opportunities" and strives to "nourish learning through exploration and discovery" while keeping trash out of the landfill and allowing for treasures such as our centerpieces to be created.  It's a WIN-WIN!!

Green Design - Day 8

Still learning the whole blogging thing....I don't know what happened but the blog for February 24, so I will do my best to recreate it because I wrote about how proud I am of my daughter Rosebud and her green design.

Did I mention that I'm VERY proud of Rosebud? She is participating in an eco-design event using her creative talents to REcreate, REdesign, and REuse materials to make stylish clothing. Today when we were at the fabric store for a zipper for her green garment, she discovered some really neat buttons made from recycled plastic and recycled cotton. Besides the zipper and thread, her garment is made of re-purposed and recycled materials, making it very eco-friendly, and although I may be biased, I think the garment is gorgeous as well.

Green Deeds - Day 7

So my good "green deed" of the day was to pass along info to my address book about an electronic and appliance recycling event.   Strangely, I hadn't seen the info posted anywhere or received any emails about it, but saw it on a large sandwich board when I was dropping the kids off at an afterschool activity.  I figured if I was just finding out about it, I'd better spread the good word!

Books - Day 6

I'm catching a bit of spring fever, and as a result things are getting cleaned out!  We've purged some books and movies, and instead of throwing them away, we donated them to our local library for reuse and re-enjoyment :)  Please don't ever throw out books or media, someone will happily reuse them whether it is the library, local doctor or dentist's office, or school.  Some libraries and schools do book swaps or book sales with donated books and media.  It feels good to give to others, and it feels good to declutter, it's a WIN-WIN!  Happy donating!

The future is in their hands - Day 5

Today I inconvenienced Tiger-Lily and Rhody and had them watch an Inconvenient Truth.  Rhody astutely asked a few times if any solutions would be presented because he was only hearing about the problems.  "You and I are part of the solution," was my answer.  We read the ideas interspersed in the credits too, and I pointed out that every time he remembers to turn off the lights, pulls down the shades, and recycles he is part of the solution.   Now that the whole family has watched the movie I feel like maybe they realize WHY it is so important to protect the Earth for their future, and WHY we do so many green things to help reduce green house gases, and WHY I want them to be good stewards of the planet and HOW they can make a difference every day. 

Window Binds - Day 4

Today I enlisted the troops to help me with the window blinds. I'm hoping to make this into a good habit they can all help with :)

Opening and closing the blinds (we have double cell blinds) helps to conserve energy in the winter and in the summer. During the winter, opening the shades to take advantage of the sun's rays helps to warm the house. Then towards the evening, we close the shades to keep the heat in. During the summer, keeping the shades closed during the heat of the day helps to reduce cooling costs. Since I don't like to feel like I'm in a cave, I keep the shades closed on the sunny east side of the house in the morning, and open the shades on the west side to let light in. Then in the afternoon when the sun bakes on the west side of the house, those shades are closed, and those on the east side are opened. So enlisting the troops to help keep things open and shut will definitely help with the bottom line and conserve energy in the process.

An Inconvenient Truth - Day 3

Today, Hubby, Rosebud, Sweet Pea and I watched An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. At first the girls grumped a bit, but by the end the movie seemed to have made an impression. The information about the melting glaciers and rising sea levels was eye opening. The girls were sad about the plight of the polar bears, and also found ice cube analogy interesting. Now to get the other 1/3 to watch it with me :) Babysteps, babysteps!

baby step #1 - Day 2

For better or for worse, my awesome family will be taking this green journey with me :) With their help, I think we will all learn and grow along the way. It seems like only yesterday that our 4 children came into our lives, but just like flowers, they are growing, and blooming before our eyes. Within my blog I will fondly refer to my always encouraging and witty husband as "hubby", and I've lovingly nicknamed each of the children with a flower name. My oldest daughter, "Tiger-Lily" is 14, my second daughter, "Rosebud" is 13, my third daughter, "Sweet Pea" is 11, and my son, "Rhody" (short for Rhododendron) is 9.

Today Tiger-Lily and I took baby step #1 when we defrosted and unplugged our extra freezer! I can't wait to see the positive impact it has on our electric bill :)

Green Snowballs? - Day1

For as long as I can remember, my favorite color has been GREEN. I remember being asked why I liked the color green, and the answer was a simple one, "because I like green trees and grass".

Today, green is still one of my favorite colors, but it is more than just a color to me now. Of course I still love green grass and trees, but now the word green means much more to me. It means Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling, it means Respecting the environment, and it means teaching my kids Responsibility for taking care of our planet.

It might be a little bit geeky, but if my family and I can take some green "baby steps" to reduce our carbon "footprint", and encourage our family and friends to do the same, and if they in turn encouraged their family and friends to be greener, what a wonderfully green snowball we'd have rolling!