Earth Day is coming up in less than a month! What will be your Earth Day resolution? One easy thing to do is to switch to a more earth-friendly version of something you use regularly--like toilet paper. There are many brands of toilet paper on the market now that are made from post-consumer recycled paper … Continue reading Save Money on Earth-Friendly Products!
Environment
Two Affordable GMO-Free Cereals
I don't trust genetically modified food to be safe for our health or environment. About five years ago, I realized that several of our favorite breakfast cereals contained corn, and I'd been reading that most corn grown in the United States that isn't organically grown is now GMO. We gave up buying those cereals routinely...but … Continue reading Two Affordable GMO-Free Cereals
Squirrel Appreciation Day
It's a real holiday! It's today, January 21st. Keep an eye out for squirrels as you go about your day, and appreciate their resourcefulness, climbing ability, and cuteness. (Photos are from http://squirrelworld.lincatz.com , a site for squirrel appreciators.) I live in a solidly urban area of a major city, but even so, the neighborhood where … Continue reading Squirrel Appreciation Day
The 4-Day Laundry Plan (How to use cloth diapers and have a job without losing your mind)
Welcome to the January 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Household Chores This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared stories, tips, and tricks on tackling household chores. Please read to the end to find a list … Continue reading The 4-Day Laundry Plan (How to use cloth diapers and have a job without losing your mind)
Our Green Christmas Tree (now with photos!)
Back in 2007, I wrote about the little tree Daniel and I, with the help of former housemate Bill, made for our first Christmas together, back in 1996. Made mostly of repurposed materials, this is a great alternative to cutting down a real tree or using a factory-made artificial tree. It's still going strong! I'm finally … Continue reading Our Green Christmas Tree (now with photos!)
DIY Instant Oatmeal: Ditch the Packets!
I love oatmeal. It's nutritious, with plenty of fiber and minerals and Vitamin B1, and has many health benefits. It's filling. It can be seasoned any way you like. Quick-cooking oats are really easy to make--I don't even bother cooking them in a pot, just mix them with boiling water in a bowl--and very low-priced, … Continue reading DIY Instant Oatmeal: Ditch the Packets!
Is email better for the environment?
Paperless systems are very popular these days. Paper is made from trees, and although trees are a renewable resource, they take a long time to grow compared to the amount of time we might use a sheet of paper. Recycling paper uses a lot of chemicals, energy, and water, although it is still less wasteful … Continue reading Is email better for the environment?
Cloth Diapers: What Works for Our Family
Our first child was already out of diapers when I wrote about why we use cloth diapers and all the details of our cloth diapering equipment and procedures. Some of the specific products we'd used were no longer being made even when I wrote the articles, and others have changed or become unavailable since then. … Continue reading Cloth Diapers: What Works for Our Family
5 Tips for Green Lunch Packing
It's back-to-school season! If your child brings a lunch to school, now is the time to think about how to pack that lunch. If you bring your lunch to work, this is a great time of year to rethink what you're packing, too. Choosing the right lunch-packing habits can make a big difference in how … Continue reading 5 Tips for Green Lunch Packing
Recycling Used-Up Pens and Markers
This is a guest post by Nicholas Efran, nine-year-old son of 'Becca and Daniel. He wrote this article for the June 2014 issue of the Colfax Communicator, his school's newsletter. (Mr. Sikorski is the principal.) We hope it inspires other kids to start recycling things that are getting thrown away in their schools! Three third-graders … Continue reading Recycling Used-Up Pens and Markers
Vegetarianism and Animal Rights: Explaining to Children
Welcome to the June 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids and Animals This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared stories and wisdom about kids and animals. *** When my cousin Samantha was three years old … Continue reading Vegetarianism and Animal Rights: Explaining to Children
The Best Alarm Clock-Radio to Buy Used
...is a Sony Dream Machine with EZ Alarm, made around 1988. You do not want a recent Dream Machine as it is a completely different product. This is an excellent clock: My dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was 15. Its radio reception was far superior to my previous clock-radio; no more … Continue reading The Best Alarm Clock-Radio to Buy Used
Asbestos Awareness Week
I've been asked to share the link to this site about asbestos and mesothelioma. Dying to Be Heard explains how asbestos causes mesothelioma, a cancer which is quickly fatal in most people, and tells one survivor's story. It also explains how to find out whether you are being exposed to asbestos and what to do … Continue reading Asbestos Awareness Week
Humidify Your Home the Cheap and Easy Way!
Our house has forced-air heat: The furnace blows warm air through the ducts and out through vents in most of the rooms. Our vents are in the baseboards, so they push out the air horizontally at floor level. This tip also would work with a wall vent that is just above a shelf or table, … Continue reading Humidify Your Home the Cheap and Easy Way!
Use those last drops of cooking oil!
One of the annoying things about recycling food containers is that you're supposed to get them relatively clean and rinsed-out before you put them in the recycling bin. This is particularly difficult with cooking oil because it clings to the inside of the bottle, and it doesn't mix with water to rinse out, and if … Continue reading Use those last drops of cooking oil!
A Laundry Line-Drying System that Will Work for YOU!
Have you been wishing you could save money, conserve resources, and make your clothes last longer by line-drying your laundry instead of machine-drying it--but you just can't figure out how to fit a clothesline into your home configuration and weekly routine? I am here to help! My new guest post at Live Renewed gives you … Continue reading A Laundry Line-Drying System that Will Work for YOU!
Help Save the Animals!
My eight-year-old Nicholas created this picture that he wants you to share everywhere and put in a place where you will see it often. He wants you to think, every time you see it, about what you can do to help animals of all kinds to be safe in this world we share. How can … Continue reading Help Save the Animals!
An Abundance of Apples
Here's what we did when we saw a bunch of ripe apples dropping into a neglected parking lot near our home.
Can you scramble frozen eggs?
Apparently, yeah, if you let the eggs thaw a little, you can make totally normal scrambled eggs out of them. At least, I did. I guess I'd better clarify that I'm talking about chicken eggs. In our scary high-tech world, "frozen eggs" often means human egg cells that have been frozen for later attempts at … Continue reading Can you scramble frozen eggs?
FREE Earth-friendly Party Decorations!
Want to decorate your home for a party? You could buy a bunch of bright-colored paper streamers or rubber balloons that you inflate with air. These things are inexpensive, but they're typically made in China by exploited workers in polluting factories and then shipped halfway around the world to you, wasting a bunch of fossil … Continue reading FREE Earth-friendly Party Decorations!
The Earthling's Handbook 