Taking a break

from vacation pictures (I do have a few more to edit) to share some current stuff. I slept for 6 hours in a row last night! The scary thing is that I went to bed an hour and a half after my daughter fell asleep nursing at 9:30. She slept for 7.5 hours and I'm so not ready for that - I'm just now feeling like my supply has leveled out for the day. Think Dolly Parton but more on the scale of Angelina Jolie really (I could only wish.) Alas, I digress.

On Saturday we went to a local learning center that has environmental events once a month and this one was about "how to have a green Christmas." It was fun and free, we all made ornaments out of used items. I even made (a quite ugly) one out of little red and white legos. In theory I think it might be nice to have one ornament that it's okay to play with since I only glued some of them, the rest can be rearranged. We'll see how that works out.

I also was pointed to this website, Eartheasy.com. It has tons of great information, I've been reading off and on all day. They have some great information on how to have a green Christmas. Amongst tons of great ideas my favorite fact is, "Over a 30-day period, lighting 500 traditional holiday lights will cost you about $18.00 while the same number of LED lights costs only $0.19." Talk about savings.

We also made an oregami gift box which was fun. My son keeps asking me to make more out of magazine pages. Click on the link for directions. Just thought I'd share, hope all my 'puter friends are having a wonderful Christmas season!

If you have a minute

Please join me in telling the EPA to reverse it's approval of methyl iodide . It is to be used as a fumigant pest control by farmers and despite more than 50 scientists opposition (including 5 Nobel laureates in chemistry) the EPA approved the use of it. Fumigants are some of the most potentially dangerous pesticides in use because the toxic gas can evaporate from the soil, exposing farmworkers and drifting into neighborhoods. Studies have shown permanent nervous system damage, miscarriages, and thyroid tumors.

It would be used primarily on strawberry fields and the scientists, mostly chemists, warned that "pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk." There is plenty of info on the link above - let's ask the EPA to help farmers find healthier more sustainable ways to fight crop pests and diseases.

The Little Stuff Counts

Today is blog action day and the theme for this year is the environment. I must admit that lately I've been tired and some weeks I just don't want to sort my recyclables. Then I look at the reasons I'm tired and remember that I want them to be able to enjoy the Earth too. So I drag myself out to the garage for five minutes of sorting on trash day and my paper, cardboard, plastic and metals all get sorted. Glass I save up in a box and take to my local recycling center since they don't pick it up.

Americans waste enough wood and paper to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years!

What I've been trying to figure out is how to convey the message of reduce, reuse, and recycle to my three year old. He knows where the paper bags for recycling are in the pantry. He sees me sorting, using reusable shopping bags, taking the few plastic bags we do get back to the store to be recycled, vermicomposting, buying used items so as not to let good things go to waste. Still I really didn't know how to convey to him the beauty of our planet that is God's gift to us.

It takes 200-500 years for an aluminum can to decompose!

Then I realized that it is in all these little things that he will see the bigger picture. By exposing our kids to the wonders of nature; collecting fall leaves, planting seeds, picking noxious weeds, smelling flowers and sitting in the shade of a huge tree watching squirrels all help kids learn about the beauty of what we've been given. I think it's important for little people to see that even though they are small, they too can make a difference.

We could save about 555,556 trees every Sunday if we recycled all our newspapers!

I was reading an article in the Dr's office a couple of months ago about how to get your kids to go green and there was a wonderful idea that we are having fun with. It spoke of a family that had a basket were they kept scraps of paper, cardboard, bits of broken toys, fabric. or yarn. Anything that can't be used by itself and they look through it when they have crafts or art projects. Since my son is into gluing lately we've been doing this and it's great, he doesn't really care what he's gluing or making and I don't have to buy any extra supplies, it's all stuff that would have ended up in the landfill already!

It takes about 450 years for a plastic 6-pack cover to decompose!

When I look at all these little things individually it's easy to think "Nothing I can do will actually make a difference." In reality though if you add it all together these little efforts our children see us making by using cloth diapers or even less paper towels by using washable cloths and dish towels in the kitchen, it all matters. Our grandchildren just might thank us one day that we took responsibility for our gift.

Blog Action Day

October 15th is Blog Action Day. Each blogger will post about the environment in their own way in relation to their own blog. I already had a couple environment related posts up my sleeve for a rainy day so I'm getting them ready! If you feel moved to participate visit the web page for more info.

Local, farm fresh, natural produce...

...and it's less than a 5 minute drive from our house.

Not having a garden this year meant less work at a time when it would have been impossible to keep with moving, but it also means no fruits to harvest and no fresh picked veggies. Or does it? There is a family farm and garden stand right down the street from our house and they have organic produce. No they aren't a certified organic farm but they use no pesticides or sprays which makes a big difference to me. What they don't grow themselves they get from a community of natural farms in the nearby vicinity. They even offer classes on how to can dill pickles AND they have some pick your own at certain times.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately on why to buy locally instead of foods that have been trucked in from 100's if not 1000's of miles away. Treehugger makes a good argument here andhere about buying locally vs. organically. I like it because it's more fresh if it's picked locally so it tastes better and is more nutritious (if picked tree or vine ripe). I can also feel good about supporting my local economy.

If you are looking for locally grown produce in your area you can visitLocal Harvest where you can find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food even grass fed meats.

The berryaholic is shown above with our bounty! The green beans were in the walk in cooler but were still warm since they were just picked!! YUM!

Beating a dead horse?

Yeah, I've been on an environmental kick lately - as well as learning to be more frugal with our money.

I know that Eco bags are all the rage lately and rightfully so, they are wonderful. I have had a couple that have lasted years and years sitting in the closet since my son was born. I recently got them out and dusted them off ;) while trying to justify spending the money right now for a few more.

Things are tight and I just couldn't do it BUT last week when I did my shopping I saw that my local Fred Meyer had these Earthwise Reusable Bags for $0.99 each. I could justify that...and bought a few. Just thought I'd let you know that while I still like the large mesh style of the Eco bags they are sort of pricey, so if you are on a budget the earthwise bags are also an option.

I was shocked when I read on one of the links on their site that...

The U.S. uses 100 billion plastic bags annually, consuming about 12 million barrels of oil. As less than 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled, using a sturdy reusable bag will eliminate hundreds to thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime. That spells huge savings to your state, city or town. Take California for example: it costs taxpayers $20.5 million to collect and landfill plastic bag waste each year. And that's not counting external costs, such as pollution, risk and threat to marine life, etc.

***Also, keeping up with Heather's recovery and the scripture that her hubby shared really spoke to me today. Checking my bloglines it was a nice reminder to say another prayer for her when almost every blog I read had something posted - praying now for her strong recovery....

Taking Care of Our Precious Gift

The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man. Psalm 115:16

I'm sure you've heard by now that it's Earth Day on Sunday. I used to walk my dogs on horse trails that went behind a house we lived in for about 4 years. Each year on Earth Day or there abouts I'd take a trash bag and pick up along it and off it where kids had a hang out full of litter.

I'm sure I could find something to do around here too but I'd been reminded about making cleaners and detergents lately so I wanted to give it a whirl. It also didn't hurt my grocery bill to save the 9 bucks a new jug of Bi-O-Kleen laundry liquid would cost. (This brand is very eco friendly but the price of it is causing me to balk lately.)

I made our detergent for years but when I was pregnant with my son somehow I got out of the habit. I followed Stephanie's recipe that she posted on her blog Stop the Ride!. She writes a lot about being more frugal. For me being frugal and environmentally conscious can go hand in hand. If we are cooking from scratch it takes less ingredients to make the same thing as well as less packaging. Next on my list is her recipe for dishwasher detergent when I run out.

I've used vinegar as our fabric softener for a long time and it works great. I also recently bought those dryer balls that not only soften fabrics but decrease drying time (I'd say by about 20% give or take) so that is saving energy too. During the dry winter months some articles of clothing (hubby's pants, fleece jackets) had really bad static cling so I'd put 1/2 a dryer sheet in with only those loads and sometimes even use those twice.

This week in my cleaning frenzy I used diluted vinegar for cleaning most everything - from countertops to stubborn spots on those silly baseboards! I used a small sprinkling of borax on a sponge for nearly everything else that needed more scrubbing - tubs, sinks, toilets. It worked great and so much cheaper than buying different products for everything.

If you are looking for other ways to be more green you can visit Sara at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly. She is constantly making me think.

Also Steph from Adventures in Babywearing wrote a wonderful post about living greener too.

Yet another link to environmentally friendly cleaners.

Flushable diapers

I've spoken about cloth diapering before. (And by the way it is so hard to pull up a link to an archived post if there is a typo in the title!!!) The covers I purchased back then are working out very well. While they aren't my favorite of everything I've used, they don't leak, (unless Mom is a slacker) they were cheap and my grocery bill is less $10 a week! Now if I can only find the two missing covers so I don't have to wash them so often.

I was intrigued when I saw these flushable diapers from gDiapers yesterday at my local Fred Meyer. I did some research on their web site and if I didn't use cloth diapering so much during the day they might be an option I'd choose. It’s a washable cover that you insert flushable liners into so that the waste ends up in the toilet. They look so neat so if any of you hve used them I'd love your opinion.

Oh and a blurb about the company that I though was SO cool...

So, we encourage our working parents to bring their kids to work. We have an on-site child development center. If mom needs to nurse or wants some playtime with her baby, gDiapers is set up to accommodate her needs. If a child is sick, by all means, go home. We hope everyone feels better soon. If dad wants to see Jr. in the school talent show in the middle of the day, he has our blessing. In fact, we may come with him.

I love staying home and I would do just about anything to continue to but I wish more companies took on this philosophy since you'd think it would make for happier and in the long run more productive employees!!!