Stoneyfield Farms (the yogurt company) is taking information on their customers and giving away a month of free yogurt. I know that my telling you this diminishes my chance of winning yogurt BUT I'd be happy to see you win, too. AND maybe you'd share :-)
Go to their website, the link is on the front page to register...
http://www.stonyfield.com/
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Petcare, Melaleuca & Phones
http://www.globaldognaturalpetproducts.com/natural_organic_dog_food
We love our Melaleuca products but lately I have been feeling like maybe they are not as green as I would like them to be. We buy the 'concentrate' of cleaning products but the packaging to ship the items is not as small as it could be and they always send lots of magazines and catalogs... So, I am going to start comparing again to see if we can get similar items in the store or elsewhere. So that is a green and money thing.
I also, on a money saving note, we are rearranging our phone plans. I have dropped down to a very basic local calling plan on our home phone and we will be using our cell phone or calling cards for long distance. Maybe we will drop our home phone all together... we'll see. But for now, that is a $20 monthly savings.
We love our Melaleuca products but lately I have been feeling like maybe they are not as green as I would like them to be. We buy the 'concentrate' of cleaning products but the packaging to ship the items is not as small as it could be and they always send lots of magazines and catalogs... So, I am going to start comparing again to see if we can get similar items in the store or elsewhere. So that is a green and money thing.
I also, on a money saving note, we are rearranging our phone plans. I have dropped down to a very basic local calling plan on our home phone and we will be using our cell phone or calling cards for long distance. Maybe we will drop our home phone all together... we'll see. But for now, that is a $20 monthly savings.
Looking into Solar Powered Energy
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/solar-panels/index.html
Interesting link. Seems like these panels would be easy to install and the rebates from federal and state (total $4000 plus $3000 grant money) would be helpful in purchasing but the website says it will save you $80 a YEAR in energy costs? Wow, that is not very much... I'll have to do more research.
Also, checkout this site for reel mowers. I could see doing this. Maybe we buy one used or something to try it out. I have a feeling I would be doing most of the mowing in this case...
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/reel_mower_landing.htm
Interesting link. Seems like these panels would be easy to install and the rebates from federal and state (total $4000 plus $3000 grant money) would be helpful in purchasing but the website says it will save you $80 a YEAR in energy costs? Wow, that is not very much... I'll have to do more research.
Also, checkout this site for reel mowers. I could see doing this. Maybe we buy one used or something to try it out. I have a feeling I would be doing most of the mowing in this case...
http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/reel_mower_landing.htm
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Check this out for your next party...
Compostable cups, plates, bowls, etc. How cool!
Mansfield Paper:
http://www.mansfieldpaper.com/environmentallysafe.html
Staples GreenWave: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&partNumber=712662&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies_%253E_Breakroom_Supplies_-_-712662-GC16S&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=712662
Other links to check out:
Pay As You Throw Garbage Program
EPA - Pay As You Throw http://www.epa.gov/payt/states/md.htm
I can't believe that Aberdeen (the next town over has this program and we do not...)
http://www.carr.org/mtairy/reports/recycle_.htm
I think that PAYT should be mandatory along with recycling everywhere - I guess I am an idealist
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/08/12/news/local_news/newsstory1.txt
http://nrdc.org/greenliving/
idealbite.com
Mansfield Paper:
http://www.mansfieldpaper.com/environmentallysafe.html
Staples GreenWave: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&partNumber=712662&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies_%253E_Breakroom_Supplies_-_-712662-GC16S&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=712662
Other links to check out:
Pay As You Throw Garbage Program
EPA - Pay As You Throw http://www.epa.gov/payt/states/md.htm
I can't believe that Aberdeen (the next town over has this program and we do not...)
http://www.carr.org/mtairy/reports/recycle_.htm
I think that PAYT should be mandatory along with recycling everywhere - I guess I am an idealist
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/08/12/news/local_news/newsstory1.txt
http://nrdc.org/greenliving/
idealbite.com
The Great Diaper Debate
So, my thoughts on the great diaper debate (cloth vs. disposable) are as follows. I do use disposable diapers on occasion. Probably 1-5 per week. Usually I use them when I am washing the cloth diapers or when we are going to be out all day. Otherwise I use cloth. I have a mix of diapers and I use whichever suits the purpose. But the greenest way I have found to diaper the kids is no diaper at all... ok so I don't usually go diaper free. (there is a website http://diaperfreebaby.org/) But, I am doing for Mira what I did for Joshie and that is watching her 'signals' I take her to pee now after waking up. She usually goes within 5 min of waking so I can easily catch her then and I am just now noticing that she arches her back when she has to pee so that is a sign. I make a sound when she goes 'psss' and tell her 'good job' if she does it when I make the sound. For Joshie, this meant that he was mostly potty trained by 18 months and we had reduced the amount of diapers we were using by about half prior to that. Now at 2.5 he is almost completely potty trained. We even have dry naps and nights now. Given that a lot of boys these days take a LONG time to be trained. I think this is pretty good! Mira seems to be responding well to the potty and I have a feeling she will be trained even sooner. (She is currently rolling on the floor next to be chewing on her toes).
I am a big fan of early potty training as a way to better communicate with your child, save money, save the planet and make a lot of hilarious memories in the meantime!
I am a big fan of early potty training as a way to better communicate with your child, save money, save the planet and make a lot of hilarious memories in the meantime!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saving Gas
At the recommendation of my middlest sister I have reduced my driving speed to 60 or below as much as possible. It worked!! I normally get about 21 mpg and this fill up I made it all the way to 400 miles on one tank of gas. That is 23 mpg and a savings of $6 per fill up! Over the course of a year that is over $300!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Saving Money
A coupon site to check out (when I have time!) grocerycouponsplus.com I stopped getting the newspaper for coupons because we didn't read it and the cost for the coupons outweighed their benefit. So, I figure getting just the coupons you need is a green thing to do :-)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Trash Day
I am happy to report that two weeks in a row now we have only put out 1 white trash bag of garbage. I have been making an effort to be aware of what goes in the garbage can recently and trying to think if another option would be better. I guess it is working. We even had company on Sunday and Tuesday and we were still only 1 bag! Pretty cool. I have not used my dryer in at least 5 days. I am trying to stick to 1 load of laundry a day but yesterday and today I did two. There were items that had been sitting around needing washing and I just went ahead and took care of them.
Along the washing machine front. I think we have decided on a Bosch. Although, the one we want is a little big for our space. We are going to need to remove the door frame to fit it in our laundry room. The problem is that I have read reviews on tons of washers, even the top rated ones in consumer reports and it is a crap shoot. Bosch has the only washers that were not rated below a 3(out of 5) and no one complained of leaking problems. I can buy one online or at Lowes. I am probably going to do Lowes to get the warranty and delivery. Since we don't need to replace the washer we have time to wait for a sale, special financing or free delivery. Plus, I am going to go online to ebay to buy a 10-20% coupon like I have done in the past for big purchases.
Along the washing machine front. I think we have decided on a Bosch. Although, the one we want is a little big for our space. We are going to need to remove the door frame to fit it in our laundry room. The problem is that I have read reviews on tons of washers, even the top rated ones in consumer reports and it is a crap shoot. Bosch has the only washers that were not rated below a 3(out of 5) and no one complained of leaking problems. I can buy one online or at Lowes. I am probably going to do Lowes to get the warranty and delivery. Since we don't need to replace the washer we have time to wait for a sale, special financing or free delivery. Plus, I am going to go online to ebay to buy a 10-20% coupon like I have done in the past for big purchases.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Green Stationary and Such
So I am a dolt, sort of.... My very good friend, Jill, and her company Copper Willow are committed to green practices and I didn't even know it! Here is an article about her company http://www.la-confidential-magazine.com/article_1.html in an LA magazine and her website copperwillow.com. Plus, there are lots of other links in the article about living green in your home.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A car that runs on Compressed Air...
Jason's Aunt and Uncle sent us this link and I just think it is the coolest thing. Of course, getting it here in America is a long shot since the oil and car companies would boycot it but...
http://www.onecataircar.com/
Another version... I am assuming by a different company is
http://www.theaircar.com/acf/index.html
The second website has options for keeping posted on progress and supporting the development. That car is in South America. The first link is in India.
http://www.onecataircar.com/
Another version... I am assuming by a different company is
http://www.theaircar.com/acf/index.html
The second website has options for keeping posted on progress and supporting the development. That car is in South America. The first link is in India.
Junk Mail
I've been making an effort to call the magazines and catalogs that I receive and be removed from their lists. In addition to saving a few trees, it should also save me the time of sorting through all that stuff... plus, I do most of my shopping online these days anyway. I also found that you can sign up online to 'opt out' of the various credit requests/offers and other mailings.
Here are the links:
optoutprescreen.com
catalogchoice.org
1-888-5optout (gotta make a phone call on this one)
From the book I am reading, if we all reduced the junk mail we receive and recycle the rest we could save 100 million trees a year!
Here are the links:
optoutprescreen.com
catalogchoice.org
1-888-5optout (gotta make a phone call on this one)
From the book I am reading, if we all reduced the junk mail we receive and recycle the rest we could save 100 million trees a year!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Links to look into later...
Just finding stuff to research as time permits...
http://www.mdhomeperformance.org/
energystar.gov
http://www.mdhomeperformance.org/
energystar.gov
Cars, musings and such
So I have changed the title of this blog from Pregnancy Journal to Green Journal since I am no longer pregnant, little baby Mira arrived in Feb, and I am feeling rather environmentally conscious these days.
It all started with ... well more than one thing. I guess my internal green movement has been building but the catalyst was a water bill that was way to high, in my mind anyway. So I began to do a few things to conserve water starting with calling the water company to make sure they didn't think that the excess was due to a leak. The answer was 'no' just us using way more water than usual. So for a month or so I have made the following changes:
1 - No more nightly baths for me
2 - No more nightly baths for Josh, he now showers with us when possible
3 - Turn the water off while I am washing my hands and brushing my teeth
4 - Turn the water off while I am lathering up in the shower
5 - Save the water from the shower while it is heating up to use in the laundry
6 - No more standing at the sink and running the water as a fun toddler activity
7 - Returning to traditional dish washing and using a tub of soapy water instead of running water to wash the dishes
8 - No longer rinsing before putting dishes into the washer, just scraping them off really well
So after the water thing and a nice long weekend camping, I decided that my family was living too excessively. We are starting to make small changes, and a few bigger ones, to help our pocketbooks and the environment including:
1 - Limiting the number of trips out of the house. Letting Jason pick up items on the way home
2 - Using fans instead of turning on the A/C
3 - Being conscientious of lights, appliances and other items left on or plugged in.
4 - Drying clothes outside on the line at least 2 times a week
5 - talking to the kiddos about conserving resources
6 - putting recycling recepticles on all floors of the house
7 - reducing our weekly waste to 1 white trash bag by donating, recycling and composting the rest
On Saturday I picked up a book called "Go Green, Live Rich" and I have been reading it for ideas and inspiration. It certainly seems to be working. You can find it in your library or bookstore but it is not yet on paperbackswap.com I also received Heifer International's magazine that was chock full of ideas that not only help the planet but also the people on it. It is very interesting.
My current big quest is to replace our water hog washing machine with one that is more energy and water efficient. I am leaning towards the Bosch Nexxt 500 series model 3301. It is one of the only front loaders I have found that does not have a bunch of 'My washer leaks' reviews. We should be the proud new owners of some new machine in the next two weeks. With 1 load of laundry a day in our house, this should make a big difference.
I found this link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov that has lots of good car info. After the laundry machine issue is resolved, the car/driving will be the next item on the list.
It all started with ... well more than one thing. I guess my internal green movement has been building but the catalyst was a water bill that was way to high, in my mind anyway. So I began to do a few things to conserve water starting with calling the water company to make sure they didn't think that the excess was due to a leak. The answer was 'no' just us using way more water than usual. So for a month or so I have made the following changes:
1 - No more nightly baths for me
2 - No more nightly baths for Josh, he now showers with us when possible
3 - Turn the water off while I am washing my hands and brushing my teeth
4 - Turn the water off while I am lathering up in the shower
5 - Save the water from the shower while it is heating up to use in the laundry
6 - No more standing at the sink and running the water as a fun toddler activity
7 - Returning to traditional dish washing and using a tub of soapy water instead of running water to wash the dishes
8 - No longer rinsing before putting dishes into the washer, just scraping them off really well
So after the water thing and a nice long weekend camping, I decided that my family was living too excessively. We are starting to make small changes, and a few bigger ones, to help our pocketbooks and the environment including:
1 - Limiting the number of trips out of the house. Letting Jason pick up items on the way home
2 - Using fans instead of turning on the A/C
3 - Being conscientious of lights, appliances and other items left on or plugged in.
4 - Drying clothes outside on the line at least 2 times a week
5 - talking to the kiddos about conserving resources
6 - putting recycling recepticles on all floors of the house
7 - reducing our weekly waste to 1 white trash bag by donating, recycling and composting the rest
On Saturday I picked up a book called "Go Green, Live Rich" and I have been reading it for ideas and inspiration. It certainly seems to be working. You can find it in your library or bookstore but it is not yet on paperbackswap.com I also received Heifer International's magazine that was chock full of ideas that not only help the planet but also the people on it. It is very interesting.
My current big quest is to replace our water hog washing machine with one that is more energy and water efficient. I am leaning towards the Bosch Nexxt 500 series model 3301. It is one of the only front loaders I have found that does not have a bunch of 'My washer leaks' reviews. We should be the proud new owners of some new machine in the next two weeks. With 1 load of laundry a day in our house, this should make a big difference.
I found this link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov that has lots of good car info. After the laundry machine issue is resolved, the car/driving will be the next item on the list.
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