Groovy Green Tip

Keep It Growing!

It's Springtime! Well, officially it is, but here in New England, winter is still holding on. Even so, now is the time to start planning your garden! "What?" you say? You don't have a yard? Who cares! You don't need a piece of earth to have a garden! There are plenty of fabulous gardens all growing in containers.

So even if you have just a little porch or even a sunny windowsill, you can still start growing! How about a windowsill herb garden so that you always have fresh herbs on hand (they are so expensive at the grocery store!)

Or what about starting some lettuce or chard, for fresh salads and greens? They are easy to grow, and you can harvest them leaf by leaf, leaving the rest of the plant to continue producing.

Whatever you decide - check out freedomseeds.org These are pure seeds - no traces of genetic engineering or toxic chemicals here. They also offer a wonderful variety of 75 different types of vegetables. These seeds are brought to the marketplace by the Path to Freedom Foundation - who sow and harvest thousands of pounds of food each year on a mere 1/10th of an acre. 

So check them out and get your garden growing too!

Groovy Green Tip

Clean and Green Recycling

Ahh, Canadians. I love Canadians. Ooh La La - Mounties! Gotta love those uniforms and their crazy detective skills.

This video hails from Canada, and has a good point about the cleanliness of the materials you are recycling. I got my Honey Bear out of the cupboard today, only to find that all the honey is crystalized at the bottom. So, I'm going to try and clean it out before I recycle the little guy.

I know sometimes, you really don't want to deal with the mess that is inside the container.. now green and fuzzy. And we get that. But just don't try and recycle it, it should go in the garbage. But if you can stomach it, clean it out and keep your conscience clean.

Groovy Green Tip

Party Green

Everyone loves a good party - but unfortunately we tend to not be so good to the environment when getting down. So many disposables thrown out, and forget all the beer cans and wine bottles!

Seventh Generation's latest newsletter has guide to green entertaining on how to green your next party - to make it fun for your guests, and easy on the environment. Tell us your story of how you threw a green party!

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/news/seventh-generation-guide-sustainable-entertaining

Groovy Green Tip

Buy in Bulk

Let me preface this with something. If cowboys and the people that moved out west in the early days of our country did something, I want to try it. The folks in this situation often only got to go 'shopping' a few times a year, so they had to buy enough to get them through a few months. I want to start buying more in bulk, and keeping a stocked pantry of basics that can be made into a variety of meals. Why is buying in bulk green? Less material and energy is used to package it than it would if it were divided into many little boxes. And if it's in bulk, it's probably a staple,minimally processed and pretty good for you.

But my first goal is to obtain something the pioneers did not have. Cheese powder. Yes, to make macaroni and cheese. Face it, you are tired and don't want to make dinner, Mac n Cheese is so easy it's almost silly, so you go for that. But at $2.50 or $275 a pop for a cup of pasta and a 1/4 cup of cheese powder, it's getting a little out of control. You know you can get cheaper pasta, but what about the rest?

Enter Frontier Naturals. They've got it - and it's organic! They have several brand names - Simply Organic, Frontier Naturals, and Auracacia http://www.frontiercoop.com/ - and they sell all sorts of goodies in bulk, dried herbs, spice mixes and soup powders. You can find them at some major supermarkets, although I have only seen the smaller items so far, not the bulk bags. Take a look on their website, it's fun!

I will post a review of the mac n cheese powder when it arrives. : )

Groovy Green Tip

As much as I do not like using the microwave, I will admit it does come in handy. Defrosting a frozen block of meat, for instance. And I hear that microwaves are often a more conservative way of cooking, as it uses as 20% of the energy used by a conventional oven.

Which brings me to the frozen Amy's Burrito I tried the other day. Instructions on the back called for either 3-4 minutes in the microwave, or 50-55 minutes in a conventional oven.

WHAT!? 55 minutes? That's a whole lot of natural gas being wasted on one tiny frozen burrito. Jeez, if it comes to that, just open a can of beans and make your own burrito, it's cheaper!

But, I was at work, and microwave was my only option anyway. I just thought it was interesting that in this case, microwave was totally the way to go. Where does a toaster oven fall into all this - it uses about half the energy of a conventional oven, although, obviously not great for deep frozen foods. We used to try and cook frozen mini pies on our toaster oven at work - 2 hours later - still frozen in the middle! D'oh!

Groovy Green Tip

New American Dream

One of my favorite websites is http://www.newamericandream.org/ - they are a wealth of inspiration and information on everything from greening your home and work and environmental issues in politics to being a conscious consumer.

They even have a wonderful "Alternative Gift Registry" where YOU can choose what you'd like - whether it be an item or a helping hand. They have tips for planning a 'green' event as well.

Check them out - you'll be happy you did!

Groovy Green Tip

Non-PVC shower curtains make for a healthier bathroom!

I read in a recent issue of Vegetarian Times that a plastic shower curtain liner releases over 100 chemicals into the air when opened. I then found out that a consumer advocacy group did a test of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) curtains purchased at several big name stores and found unacceptable levels of toxins in a whole bunch of brands. These chemicals are released into the air over time, and can cause all sorts of health problems. That's bathroom pollution that really stinks!

I had already been feeling guilty about using (and trashing) a plastic shower curtain liner a couple of times each year. Once I read that, I decided that enough was enough and purchased a linen shower curtain for my bathroom. This was a couple of months ago, and I'm still waiting for my "old" plastic shower curtain liner to wear out/get moldy and unbearable before I replace it with the new linen model. My new linen liner is washable and looks like it will do a decent job. Hooray!

Groovy Green Tip

Buy handmade!

It is always a challenge to find the right gift for someone you love. Does Target or Walmart really hold something that special? I suggest trying http://www.etsy.com/ - a fabulous array of unique handmade gifts awaits you there. Artisns from around the globe can sell their wares, and buyers get great deals on some really unique peices.

Some of my favorites:
http://www.nancyrosetta.etsy.com/
http://www.kelmurphy.etsy.com/

Have fun exploring the site!

Groovy Green Tip

Turn Off the Car...

I learned an interesting tip today. If you are going to be stopped in your car for more than thirty seconds, turn off the iginition. Thirty seconds of idling wastes more gas than 30 seconds of driving, because the engine is not operating at it's peak temperature, fuel is being burned much less efficiently.

And, duh, it produces zero emissions if the car is not on! Thirty seconds for one car on one day may not seem like alot, but think about that times the millions of vehicles sitting waiting at schools, churches, etc... idling everyday.

Every little bit helps!!!!!

Groovy Green Tip

Save Energy - Insulate Your Water Heater!

Today is the Veteran's Day holiday, which means I don't have to go to work! I've used my free time constructively and wrapped some insulation around my water heater to help it retain heat and save energy. Check it out:

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Catalog Choice

It's that season - where all the catalogs in the world somehow end up at your doorstep, enticing you to buy buy buy. I will admit, looking at catalogs can be fun, there is something nice about relaxing with them in your hands and looking at the lovely set ups of living rooms, or different types of saddles, or even replica jewelry from Lord of the Rings. But today we received a plastic novelties catalog - complete with Farting Santa and a "Skull Band" (yes, they are miniature skeletons playing guitar and drums.) I do not want to see this waste of paper at my house again!

Enter Catalog Choice. http://www.catalogchoice.org/ When you sign up for a free account, you can enter the names of the catalogs you do not want to receive, and they will contact that company to tell them you want to be taken off their list. You can even check back on your catalogs to see if the request has been processed or not. If you can't find your catalog online, there is usually a number you can call on the catalog itself and ask to be removed from the mailing list.

On the other hand, at Catalog Choice you can also sign up for or renew catalogs that you really want, so in a way it works well for retailers - they are not paying to send out a catalog to someone who is not interested in buying from them.

Oh, wait, hang on a minute - the novelties have my attention. A pole dancer alarm clock and a pacifier that makes a baby look like he has gigantic buck teeth! I may want to hang on to this. Yes, yes, the Daily Butt Crack Calendar and the World's Largest Bra - this one is a keeper!

Reuseable Bags

I totally agree sistah! It is hard to remember them at first, but determination (and feeling guilty when you forget them) in time will make you think more often about bringing them. And if you do remember to bring one to a non-supermarket store, you get weird looks sometimes! Yes, as if that's SO way out there that it deserves a weird look. I have done way weirder things and not gotten such weird looks from people.

When I was in Ireland a few years ago, the supermarket charged 17 cent euro for any plastic bag you might use - now THAT is incentive to remember to bring your own bags! They also put out extra boxes that products came in for customers to use for their groceries for free. And they call shopping carts trolleys. Isn't that cute? Ireland was awesome by the way.

I have almost gotten in fights with people at stores when I tell them I don't want a bag for the one small item I just bought. They look at me weird. One guy at Home Cheapo put my item in a bag anyway and was like "Oh Well, here you go." Really buddy, you want to take this outside? 'Cuz I really don't need another plastic bag stuffed under my kitchen sink, and I have been wanting to kick someone's butt all day. Just try me.

I used to get mad at the store when baggers would not even ask "Paper or plastic?" Their training was pretty much just to use as many plastic bags as possible. But I feel even in just the last year, that has changed dramatically. We use the ones we do get as garbage bags. I have been thinking about saving the thin plastic produce bags, and bringing them back to the store to reuse as well.

Next up - sewing my own reuseable gift bags for Christmas! Or... wrapping gifts in a reuseable shopping bag - functional and fun!

Groovy Green Tip

Reusable Shopping Bags – Duh!

Okay, this is an obvious one. Reusable shopping bags are easy to come across and save tons and tons of paper and plastic. (Check out a counter showing how many plastic bags have been consumed this year here – it’s in the BILLIONS!) It seems like every store I go into these days – from the supermarkets and big box stores to my local pharmacy and the ritzy wine ‘n cheese shop I was exploring the other day – is now selling customized reusable bags.

As part of my efforts to green myself, I hopped on to the reusable bag bandwagon a few years ago (thanks in part to the groovy green reusable shopping bags that my sister Anne-Marie made for me!). It was hard at first to remember to bring the bags with me when shopping. I’d go to the grocery store, load up, trek my loaded reusable bags into the house, and then forget to bring them back to my car for the next time. It took a while, but eventually I started remembering to immediately bring the bags back out to my car after a shopping trip. It helps that I’ve accumulated 10 or so reusable bags over the years; on any given day there are usually a few empties laying on the backseat of my car. This makes it a lot easier to remember to bring them with me to the supermarket.

You know what’s weird though? I almost always bring reusable bags in with me to the grocery store, but I often forget to bring them when I go to a pharmacy, convenience store, takeout restaurant, etc. I’ve noticed that other people don’t bring their reusable bags with them to non-supermarket stores as well.

Sooo… I’m going to try to buck that trend, break my old habits, and use ONLY my reusable shopping bags going forward. I have a couple of cute folding ones that will fit nicely in my purse. I’ll report back on how many plastic/paper bags I save in my first week. Stay tuned…

Groovy Green Tip

Cloth napkins… not just for fancy holidays!

Growing up, whenever I’d go to a holiday dinner or fancy celebration, there were always cloth napkins involved. These signified a formal event and I always thought they made the dinner table look especially jazzy and sophisticated. As I got older, I realized that using cloth napkins is a groovy way to help out mother earth, and as a bonus they do make the table look nice. My husband and I each have a napkin that we keep at our spot on the table, and we each use our napkin a couple of times (until it gets dirty), then wash and use again. It saves a LOT of paper napkins. And it saves us money… even better!