Happy Earth Day! Let’s Change the World One Thing at a Time. What’s your One Thing?

I always do what I can to be green.  I’m a diligent  recycler. I conserve energy by unplugging unused appliances and installing smart strips around my home.  When in public, I’ll take other people’s recyclable trash home if they were going to toss it in the trash (or elsewhere). Heck, during Earth Hour, I not only turn off the lights, I cut power to my house.  But, there is something that has been my achilles heel for a long time.  Laundry.

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I hate doing laundry.  Now I’ll grant you, that’s not a real juicy admission, but wait,  it gets worse.  I loathe laundry.  The real visceral type of loathing where I wouldn’t stop to help it if it were dying on the side of the road and I had the magical power to save its life.  I despise laundry in such a grandiose way that sometimes I daydream about a laundry-less  society where we all where disposable clothing to eliminate the need to launder our clothes.  As a result, I’m lazy about it.

Oh, I’m great at starting the laundry.  I’ll pile it up, separate the dark colors, light colors, whites, delicates, towels and everything else.   But as the spin cycle wraps up I begin to think about all the folding, the hanging, the ironing, and…oh is that Grey’s Anatomy on?  That seems like a much better thing to do than the LAUNDRY.  And after that’s over, it’s much too late to start the dryer or hang laundry up or any of the other mind-numbing laundry related tasks there are.

So it sits until tomorrow.

And then, well, it needs to be rewashed because it has acquired the familiar left-too-long-in-the-washing-machine smell that would simply be mortifying if anyone else were to catch a sniff.  And that’s the problem.  I waste too much energy on washing and rewashing clothing.  What’s worse,  sometimes I’ll think the left laundry will be passable if sent through the dryer only to discover that it isn’t; necessitating another cycle through the washer AND dryer.  Yes, I’m a terrible person.

So, my One Thing this year is to end the endless (spin) cycle of washing and rewashing my clothing and stop wasting water and energy.  I think I need to sit down.

Now that I’ve shared my One Thing, what is yours?

Think You Throw Away A Lot of Trash? You’re Right!

Macbook Air – Greenest Laptop Yet?

Photo via Engadget

Apple announced the new Macbook Air this morning (October 20, 2010) touting it’s commitment to the environment.  From the released specifications of their new machine, it is hard to disagree.  Less toxic chemicals, aluminum unibody design, more efficient energy use, and a free computer recycling program highlight the list of Apple’s new green-friendly (er) laptop computer.

View more about the Macbook and it’s effect on the environment here.

As a sidenote, we can’t wait to try one out!

Earth Day Special: 7 Green Products and Deals For Your Baby!

Earth Day has come again and I thought I would take the time to write about something that is particularly important in my own life right now-Babies!

I am pregnant with my first child now and I now find myself navigating the seas of green baby products.  Luckily, new parents like me have so many options for eco-friendly products and deals that have simply never been available before. Here are seven of my favorites:

1. gDiapers

gDiapers are a cloth/disposable diaper hybrid which employ an outer, reusable shell to house their disposable inserts.The inserts are unique in that you can flush them, compost them, or throw them away and they are 100% biodegradable.  Best of all, they’re pretty darn cute!

2. Belle Baby Carriers

Belle Baby Carriers are part of a new generation of businesses committed to doing business in a sustainable way.  They offer four different kinds of organic carriers all manufactured from their headquarters in Colorado.

3. Bumkins Certified Organics Collection

The Bumkins Certified Organics Collection is good for the environment and good foryour baby!  Cutting out harmful chemicals and dyes, Bumkins bibs, cloths, and towels make it easy to be green.

4. Babies R Us Free Tote

Babies R Us is offering a free reusable tote with purchase of any of their eco-friendly toys or natural & organic baby items on Earth Day (April 22, 2010).  This is worth it just for the tote as their selection of designs is downright adorable.

5. miYim Organic Cotton Toy Collections

miYim makes the perfect play-things for eco-conscious homes.  Made with certified organic cotton and lots of love, these collections are great additions to the family.  Can I recommend the Baby Ben Plush Frog (pictured)?  I find it particularly precious.

6. Method Baby & Kids

Method Baby & Kids products are gentle on both the earth and your child.  Method products are very popular in my house and will be my product of choice when I have my new bundle of joy.

7. Born Free Feeding

The Born Free Feeding system is a leak proof BPA-free baby bottle.  That alone might be enough to sell you, but when you add in that they also have a program where they take old products you don’t need anymore and recycle them into new product lines, it’s enough to make you jump for joy.

I hope you find this list useful and wish you all a very Happy Earth Day!

Turn Your Window Into a Garden

From Windowfarms.org:

“The Windowfarms project broaches both immediate urban agriculture goals as well as a far-sighted shift in attitudes toward the green revolution. We are both starting a windowfarming craze in cities worldwide and hoping to accelerate the pace of sustainable design by having ordinary citizens think of themselves as innovators.

The Project was started by artists Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray in February, 2009 through an artist’s residency at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in New York and sponsorship by Submersible Design, Riley and Bray’s interactive design firm. Riley continues to drive the project at Eyebeam with a team of volunteers and the participation of hundreds of windowfarmers worldwide.”

Visit Windowfarms.org for more!

The 7 foods experts won’t eat

The following is from a recent article on Yahoo! by Liz Vaccariello:

“How healthy (or not) certain foods are for us, for the environment is a hotly debated topic among experts and consumers alike, and there are no easy answers. But when Prevention talked to the people at the forefront of food safety and asked them one simple question. What foods do you avoid? We got some pretty interesting answers. Although these foods don’t necessarily make up a “banned” list, as you head into the holidays and all the grocery shopping that comes with it their answers are, well, food for thought”
Read the rest here

Working at being Green?

Sure, everyone is trying to live a greener, more eco-conscious, earth friendly life, but what about spreading that love of Mother Earth to the work place?  It may not be the easiest thing to do, as even I have trouble with the occasional close minded co-worker who has no interest in changing their ways, but you have got to try.  Here are some simple things you can do to start spreading the love and changing the world one person at a time.

• Start a recycling program: If a recycling program has not already been started at your company, start one yourself or improve on the program already in place. Learn more at www.wastemanagement.com.
• Urge your office to use recycled materials: Encourage the office/purchasing manager to purchase products containing recycled materials.
• Share your knowledge about energy reduction: Start with your knowledge on basics such as turning off lights, computers, copiers, heat or air when unoccupied, etc.  Then ask your office manager if you can schedule an energy audit with a local energy provider to determine how to reduce energy consumption.
• Reduce Junk Mail: Check into ways to reduce business junk mail, look into www.mailstopper.tonic.com.
• Reuse Paper: Use both sides of each piece of paper, for everything from taking notes, printing documents, fax coversheets and more.
• Last but not least – The Break Room: Ask fellow co-workers to bring in their old cups, mugs, plates, cloth napkins, and silverware to replace disposable items in the break room.  While you are at it encourage them to bring their own lunch too, which will reduce a large amount of waste.

PlantLove – Earth Friendly Cosmetics

Imagine my delight when I discovered earth friendly cosmetics at my local Sephora.  I have been using Bare Minerals for years and absolutely love it, so when I found PlantLove Botanical Lipstick by Cargo I was in heaven.  Not only do they have a variety of fabulous colors (which were designed by eco-conscious celebrities), but the container is made of corn, the lipstick itself is completely organic, the box when planted grows wild flowers (due to seeds used in making the box), and $2.00 of every sale goes to St. Jude!

If you have ever needed an excuse to purchase more makeup – let this be yours!

Reducing and Reusing – the other R’s

Americans make millions of pounds in waste each day, if each of us does our part we can lower that poundage for future generations and help preseve the landfill areas instead of filling them.  There are many ways to reduce waste at home, work, school, the movies, while shopping, etc.  Here are some tips I would like you to take to heart.

For one, try to use a reusable water bottle.  It amazes me that so many people still purchase an insane amount of plastic water bottles.  There are single individuals who purchase them by the cases for only their use.  Please take the time to go out and purchase a Kleen Kanteen for everyone in your household, and use it.  It fits in cup holders, lasts forever, and is so much better for you and the environment.  I hope I see you using one the next time I spot you at the movies, gym, and beyond.  If I don’t, please please please recycle that bottle and cap.  It hurts my heart when I see those bottles end up in the garbage.

Next try using reusable bags.  I still struggle with this one as I am always forgetting them in the car when I go into the store, but I am slowly getting better, and if I forget them in the car I don’t bag my items until I get back to the car.  I strongly suggest you get some to have in the house and the car.  I find them handy for everything from bringing home purchases, taking back returns, taking items on trips, bringing something to a friends place, as an overnight bag, or even a lunch sack.  Try it out.

Finally, monitor what you throw away versus what you recycle.  You will be amazed at how that single act of consciousness will change how you live.  You will realize how much packaging something has and might make an effort to minimize that packaging, or you will find that it is recycleable and you have been throwing it away instead of making that extra effort to recycle it.  I truly feel that this one act alone will inspire you to minimize your waste and live a more conscious life.  It opened my eyes and started me on this journey, that I hope will impact you in a positive way.