One Last Earth Month Hurrah!

Wow, can you even believe that this month is over? Just wanted to pay homage to some other earth-friendly products that are really worth looking into if you haven't yet tried them.

Here I am demonstrating the Brita Water Pitcher (don't laugh! I hate being in front of the camera!) on a video I was asked by Walmart to submit to their Walmart Earth Day You Tube Channel. Walmart had sent me a handful of products to check out and the Brita was one of them. Take a look:

I can honestly say that by using the Brita, we have totally rid ourselves of our water bottle habit, which not only cost our earth, but cost us dearly as well, $24 - $30 a month to be more exact! Yes, we have to buy filters, but a $7 - $9 filter every 3 months or so is a lot cheaper than what we were spending on water bottles.



Clorox Green Works products are awesome, I've been using them ever since they came out about a year ago. With a kid in the house who has bad allergies and asthmatic tendancies, I like to keep the air in my home as clean as possible, and by using natural cleaners, at least I know that I'm not filling my house with fumes that might further damage my child's lungs. They work really well....I've never felt like I've compromised by purchasing these products. I am looking forward to a future formula that has antibacterial properties!

Love candles but hate the black smoke they emit while burning? Hate the cost of the cleaner burning soy candles? Or, just wonder if they're going to be worth the price? Glade has recently introduced their new line of candles called "The Fragrance Collection" of which the candles are soy based. Three candles out of the collection (shown here) are at least 92% natural and are clearly advertised as such right on the label.
The fragrance is deeeeevine! My girls said they actually smell juicy, if that's at all possible?!


Hope this month was as informative for you as it was for me. I learned a lot and have been able to incorporate some more great ideas into our family's 'green routine'. It will be interesting to know how we will have progressed when Earth Day 2010 comes around!

Thanks for stopping by :)

See How Her Garden Grows...

Slowly but surely, the veggies are starting to come in. Just a little worried, though, that the blazing hot temps will get here before all the plants produce a full yield. In the meantime, I have a zucchini, and the peas are coming in nicely!

Let's Talk Bags, Baby!

Reusable shopping bags, what else? After all the comments left on my Bissell giveaway last week, you guys are really savvy when it comes to 'going green' so I know you have some!

I have some......some from here, some from there, this store, that store, different colors, different store logos. Never enough, though, from just the one store to handle my whole shopping load (Walmart anyone?), so I used to conveniently forget them at home.

Reality check from my husband: "Why are you spending money on those things when you don't even use them?" Hmmm....good question. I feel smart for owning them? Not good enough!

Yes, I have hangups, even with reusable shopping bags! I felt like if I didn't have enough for the whole shopping trip, then what's the point? And, (here's the part of me with the 'hangup') I felt like I should only use each bag at it's coordinating store, i.e., don't use a Walmart bag at a Sprout's store, and vice versa, for example. Hey, I've seen the dirty looks shoppers get from the cashiers when they bring in a competitor's reusable bag! And I didn't want to buy more bags from each of the stores because, overall, I had plenty. I'm just weird about that, OK?!

So here's the solution: When I go to Walmart, of course I proudly sport my Walmart reusable shopping bags for all to see. My competitor's bags are....hidden underneath......no, not really! Well, they are, technically, but I turn them inside out so you can't see the logo. Problem solved. Well, my problem anyway! And when I go to the 'other' stores, I take my Walmart bags there, too, inside out of course, but use the 'other' stores' bags with their logos proudly displayed. The great thing about my 'bag method' besides saving my own sanity? It keeps them cleaned out by regularly flipping them inside out.

And just for the sake of saying so, we always take our plastic bags back to the store for recycling. I usually save some for home, but we always recycle the rest.

It's a new way of shopping for a lot of us. Anyone remember back in the day when only 'brown paper' was the bag of choice? Then plastic became the more convenient way to transport your purchases. What were we thinking, anyway? It usually turns out that convenience doesn't pay off in the end, but persistance does. Persistance to make the changes we need now to ensure a better future for us all. Reusable shopping bags are the way to go!

White Cloud Green Earth

So, Earth Day is in the past and you figure you've done your part, right? Wrong - let's keep this thing going! Here's a few more products that have 'gone green' that were sent to me to try out and let you know what I thought.

Well, just my luck that when the box came to my front door I decided to let my kids open it. "Ewwww, nasty, recycled toilet paper!" followed by all kinds of laughs and wisecracks that I won't repeat here (if you haven't read my profile, I have a house full of teenagers!), "I'm not using toilet paper that's already been used!".

Settle down, everybody! It's not that kind of recycled! It's made from recycled fibers, not recycled toiled paper, duh! Ok, well that brought a prospect of seriousness to the conversation. Which turned out to be a great opportunity to talk to the young'uns (ha!) about how many trees won't be cut down if folks were to purchase these types of products. Oh yeah, White Cloud has Green Earth Paper Towels also.

So, how do they compare? Well, we can ask the kids! Yes, I did the sneaky thing and replaced all the toilet paper rolls in their bathrooms, including my own, with the new White Cloud Green Earth rolls without telling them - they deserved it, don't you think? We already use the regular White Cloud brand, so the appearance of the roll wasn't any different, meaning it had the same design imprinted. So by just looking at it, they never would have freaked out. So, day 1, I waited to hear someone scream at me from the bathroom with a "Mom, you didn't!!", but it never happened. Not one of them even noticed. I knew that I was using something different, but the Green Earth toilet paper is so close in quality to the original, that no wonder nobody noticed what I had done!

Now's a great time to go out and try it for yourself, especially since White Cloud has a great $2 coupon available.

The paper towels rank right up there. I was thinking that they might just fall apart as I was using them, but I came to find out that I was really wrong about that. One thing I've done (it's been almost a year now) to reduce my own carbon footprint is to reduce my usage of paper towels. I use only about a roll every week or two, so to pick up a roll of the White Cloud Green Earth paper towels would be just as economical. I don't really use them in the kitchen any more, so my first chore for these new paper towels was my forever dirty sliding glass door. Thanks to the dog, the bottom of the door is always covered with nose slime, saliva and paw prints, and the kids take care of the middle portion with all their hand prints (why can't anyone just use the handle anyway?). How did they work? Just like you'd expect a paper towel to work. It didn't fall apart, they're quite strong, and they did the job.

So what happened with the kids and the toilet paper? Well, one evening when there were other kids at our house, too, you know, best buds, boyfriends, etc., I decided to tell everybody that my kids had been using recycled toilet paper. There were some surprised looks from the other kids, and some red faces from my own kids, then, a gi-normous eruption of laughter, to which my kids hurriedly responded "It's not really recycled toilet paper, it's recycled fibers, right, Mom?" and "At least we're not killing trees!" - hey, didn't they just laugh at me a week ago when I told them that? Anyway, the info stuck in their teenaged heads, and hopefully that of their friends.

White Cloud Green Earth paper products are products you can really feel good about using!

And The Winner Is......

Congratulations to Rebecca, winner of the Bissell Little Green!


6


Timestamp: 2009-04-23 15:34:51 UTC



(Rebecca left comment #6 which was chosen from all entries by Random.org)





Thanks to all who entered! I enjoyed reading all of the ways you've incorporated 'green' into your daily lives. I'm posting excerpts from all who commented as there are so many great ideas out there !





"I am trying to buy more "green" products such as organic food and green cleaning products."
~ Leland's Mama



"I have been switching to greener cleaners such as Nature's Source (thanks to Bzz Agent for sending me a bzz kit) and now I don't think I ever want to buy anything caustic to clean again." ~ Pinching Abe



"I have vowed to start a garden to grow my own veggies and fruits. Cuts back on trips to the store (saves gas), cost efficient (I save money), and I spend more time outside (not wasting electricity inside). Going green is fun." ~ Keonte'



"The most recent thing I have been doing to go green is using recyclable grocery bags, and a brita water filter instead of bottled water." ~ Plus Size Mommy



"I have recently been trying to do more green things for the environment as well. I use reuseable grocery & produce bags, I cloth diaper my baby most of the time, I am now starting to line dry outside again, and I try to buy cleaning products that won't harm my family or the environment." ~ Lee-Ann



"Right along with Lee-Ann, trying to fine tune what we have been doing for years. Shopping at the farmer's market and buying local as often as possible has become habit."~ Rebecca



"Well, at my house we have been busy with: a veggie garden, fruit trees, reusable grocery bags, composting, recycling glass, cans, and plastics. I take our garbage paper to the church paper retriever, and recycle used batteries. My husband built a fence with reclaimed fence. Thanks" ~ Anonymous



"I try to live green everyday. I've recently posted a list on my blog on how to live greener. The list included many tips I use everyday such as; recycling (we only have 1 bag every 3 weeks!), composting, eating vegetarian, gardening, removing my name from being sent credit card solicitations, bringing a cup to work for tea, reusable bags for shopping, making my own cleaning products, buying less/living simpler(which is also great for the budget)." ~ Mandi



"I have been the recycle queen for many years but I keep finding more and more ways to do my part. The office building I work in put a recycle dumster next to the trash one so the buildings and people in them can have a handy way to recycle at work. I was glad that after a few calls from me telling them how much recycleable materials were being trashed every day they stepped up to help. I am not shy when it comes to asking people to start their baby steps in making their footprint a little smaller." ~ Shelby



"Bugs and leaf mold killed everything in my front flowerbed last year. I'm making a positive out of a negative by redoing the garden 100% organic and tucking in herbs among the new bushes and flowers." ~ Condo Blues



"We recycle paper, cardboard, plastics and aluminum. We have high efficiency appliances and in the summer, try to hang laundry on the line to dry. We use reusable bags at the grocery store. We pass on clothes, toys, etc. to friends/family. We don't use pesticides or anything on our lawns or gardens." ~ Pam



"We have been recycling and I have been purchasing the reusable shopping bags everytime I go to a store. They are so much easier to use also, I love them." ~ LoveMy2Dogs



"I have been bringing cloth bags to the grocery store." ~ Linda



"My husband and i have our own garden. It is mostly just herbs right now, but we recently added peppers and tomatoes. We are excited to be "green"!" ~ Karen P



"we recently switched all our lightbulbs (in every room) to energy saving "green" bulbs. They are a bit more expensive than regular bulbs and don't burn as bright but they seem to last longer and I hope to see a difference on my electric bill soon. I also chose to get all paperless billing statements for our utilities and am canceling junk mail to prevent from having to throw away a ton of paper (junk mail etc) daily. Thanks!!" ~ Michelle



"My latest GREEN EFFORT is to STOP buying bottled water! YUP I am a HUGE water drinker and I feel so ashamed of the plastic I must have contributed to our landfills! I got a really nice camelback refillable water bottle and REFILL that! I drink AT LEAST 2L of water a day, so that is HUGE for me.We recycle and buy products with as little packing material as possible.We bike or walk when we can.Window open instead of AC this summer as much as possible! THAT is my motto!" ~ Leslie



"I've been trying a lot over the past year to make small changes and now I feel like they've added up. We recycle and compost to keep as much out of the trash as possible. We walk or bike to school and work. We've switched out our light bulbs to CFLs. I take my own bags to the grocery store so that I'm not using the store's plastic bags. I don't buy water bottles anymore, we have several refillable water bottles and use those every day."~ Sue



Thanks again to all of you! Stay tuned as we wrap up Earth month, I've got some great product reviews.

Bissell Little Green Review and GIVEAWAY! (closed)

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Walmart.com and Bissell, not too long ago I received a Bissell Little Green to check out and try out. As far as trying out products goes, this one was not only incredibly functional, but just plain fun as well. And, to top it off, I have one to give away!

I am an obsessive 'box reader', so the first thing that popped out at me was the packaging. It seems the very first thing I do when I look at something is to read everything on the box! What drew my attention to the box in the first place was the fact that it signified 'earth-friendly'. It was partially a cardboard-looking box. And as I got to reading, I learned that the box itself that the product comes in is 75% recycled corrugated and is totally recyclable - no styrofoam or other plastic inserts are in there. OK, now that you know how intrigued I am with boxes, let's get to the really good stuff!

Well, I can recite to you all the specifics, like the Bissell's sustainable design - both tanks and the hose are PVC-free and the float assembly and stain brush are both made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic. Not to mention the cleaning formula which is environmentally friendly as well boasting no heavy metals or brighteners, and is phosphate and dye free. Yes, Bissell really went out of their way when it came to the thought put into this earth-friendly product.

But, you ask, "Does it work?" See me grinning from ear to ear? That's a big YES!

I have 4 kids (teenagers - just as messy as 2 yr. olds!) and a dog, which equals dirty spots on the carpets. And what's most annoying is lugging out a full-sized carpet cleaner to take care of a handful of spots. Too many to scrub by hand, but not enough to totally warrant bringing out the 'big guns' with the full-size cleaner.

The Bissell Little Green fills that niche and works like a charm. It saves me time because it's so easy to pull out and use with it's compact size (not to mention it takes up hardly any space at all in the closet), it saves energy since it uses nowhere near what it takes to run the big cleaner, it's incredibly convenient to use on stairs or to take out into the garage and use in your vehicle. And when it comes to carrying it around - it's not a backbreaker.

"Is it complicated to use?" No way! I pulled it right out of the box, and even though I am a thorough instruction reader, I had it put together in under 5 minutes, sans instructions, and just double-checked myself afterward. The tanks are clearly labeled, easy to pull out to fill with cleaning solution and water, and the other to lift and empty the dirty water when your cleaning job is complete. The hose is of a generous length giving you plenty of leeway to work and the cleaning head fits quite comfortably in your hand with the solution trigger right there at your fingertips. When you're finished using it, the hose wraps conveniently back around the Little Green and the cleaning head is secured back into place. Great for storage!

It has incredible power when it comes to 'lifting' the stains. I call it my little 'spot eraser'. When it comes to suction, it behaves like a full-size cleaner camouflaged in it's compact size. I couldn't be happier with not only the friendly design (it really is cute looking!), the ease in using the product, but also with the results. Bissell has really outdone themselves with this little gem!

Are you as excited about the Bissell Little Green as I am? Here's you're opportunity to win one for yourself!

I'm making this really simple. All you have to do is:

Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post telling me what you've been doing most recently to 'go green' along with your email address so I can contact you in case you've won.

That's it!

Entries will be accepted today, April 17th, through Earth Day, April 22nd. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced the following day, on April 23rd.

If you've won, I will contact you by email (please leave a good email address!), and you'll have 48 hours to respond. If you're the lucky winner, Bissell will send your 'Little Green' right to your doorstep. Good Luck!

Prayer For A Friend

A friend of mine, and quite possibly a friend of yours, too, has been hospitalized. How, in this huge network of bloggers and readers, could we have a mutual friend? With this 'go-getter' of a gal, it's possible! I'm speaking of Beth Davis, 'PlusSizeMommy'. If she's not currently an acquaintance, I can guarantee a warm-hearted response to any comment or message you might leave on her blog, and as you get to know her, a friend for life. Last fall, I traveled as a guest to Bentonville, Arkansas to visit Walmart headquarters with several other moms, including Beth. Even though we had never met in person, Beth had such a warm and caring personality, as though we had been friends for life, and had even prepared in advance "goodie bags" to pass out to us for our return trips home on the plane.

Over the weekend, Beth woke up with chest pains and kind of just swore it off as sleeping a little wonky the previous night. However, Easter morning, upon waking, the pains were even worse. The trooper she is, she went about her day, most likely hanging in there for her 4 kids to make sure they had the Easter experience they had been looking forward to. By Monday, though, she states that the pains had become unbearable and decided it was time to get ahold of her doctor. Unfortunately, there were no available appointments until the next day.

At this point, some of us may be wondering why she didn't go to the ER. I don't have her answer to that question, but feel that it could be suitably answered in a separate blog on another occasion about women, chest pains, and how there is not enough emphasis on the fact that women, too, have equal reason to get themselves to the hospital at the first signs of chest pains. After thinking about Beth's situation, I determined that I most likely would have made a conscious choice to wait it out until I could I could get to my personal physician. In a 'man's world' of chest pains, I probably would have felt intimidated, and that my symptoms might not have been taken seriously enough at the hospital. I'm not speaking for Beth as I don't know the reasons behind her personal decisions, these are just my own thoughts. It does leave to question, though, what would you do? But, that can be left for another time.

Beth got in to see her doctor on Tuesday morning. After a thorough examination, it was found that her oxygen levels were deteriorating. An ambulance was called immediately and Beth was rushed to the hospital. After stabilizing her, and many tests later, it was determined that there was most likely a blockage somewhere, quite possibly in her heart. This morning she is receiving a heart catheritization to be 100% sure of what is happening to her and where it is located. She promised to keep us updated on her condition.

Please take a moment in your day today, to think about Beth, what she must be going through and say a little prayer for her and her family.

Sign of the Times

I went to the library yesterday. It's not so easy to just 'go' to the library, it's pretty far from my house, and as a part of our own family's economic plan, we don't just get up and go somewhere on a whim. We make planned trips to help save on fuel expenses. So, back to yesterday. I made the library part of the plan, and included stopping by there amongst a handful of other errands that had added up. My daughter needed a book as a reference on a research paper she's working on, so I had to make the trip.

So I got on the freeway (sounds crazy to have to get on the freeway to go to the library, doesn't it?), and headed to the other part of town, toward the library. I made a couple of my other stops, dropped off a bill, headed down the road to my final stop, the library, pulled in the parking lot, and......it was empty. I sat there for a minute, dumbfounded. I quickly scanned my brain wondering if I'd missed another holiday (nothing comes the day after Easter, right?), and even entertained a desperate thought that maybe no one was there yet. But it was the middle of the day, there were no cars in sight, it was not a holiday.

Then it hit me. Literally. I had just been 'hit' by one of the cuts our city had made. Right smack between the eyes. And it hurt. A few years back, the city decided that to cut costs, the libraries would be closed on Sundays. OK, that's doable, kind of. The following year, they cut back on the hours the libraries would be open. Well, that required a little more planning but we managed. Then, I show up in the middle of the day, on a weekday, and there is no chance for me to even get in the door - it's closed!

I get it. I know why it has to be this way. I have my own economic plan for pete's sake! But yesterday, I had a head-on collision with a part of the city's economic plan and I really felt the effects. I hear about this kind of thing on TV all the time, but coming face-to-face with it is a different story.

All the little things we've come to expect in life can change in a heartbeat. Appreciation of those little things, such as getting in the car and driving whenever you feel like it or just going to the library, can go a long way.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Our very own "Easter Bunny" - Simon. We didn't actually get him for Easter, but adopted him from a bunny rescue center about a year-and-a-half ago! Looks pretty suspicious about the whole thing, doesn't he?

Well, the eggs have been boiled and cooled, so I believe today's the day! Yes, my kids are older, but they still enjoy the creativity involved in our annual Easter egg-coloring event. Most likely, we'll go the easy way out and use the 'dye in the box' coloring kits from the store, but if you're the more adventurous type and have the time, there's plenty of advice out there on the internet on how to dye your eggs the natural way, using what you might already have around your home. All I could think of was the fact that I still have some leftover coffee still sitting in the coffee pot - brown eggs anyone? About.com had a pretty long list of things to use to get several different colors.

I know there's a lot to be said when it comes to coloring the eggs, but how the heck do you dry them without ruining the color? When you buy the dye kits from the store, they usually have circled perforations on the back of the box to sit your eggs when finished. I find them to be quite flimsy, so we just save our egg carton, flip it over, and cut the bottoms off. I leave the lid on as it works pretty well as a built-in 'drip pan'!

However you color your eggs, fill your baskets, or celebrate the day, I hope everyone has a wonderful and enjoyable Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

Our 'diva dog', appropriately named "Sassy". She knows everybody's business, and is a friend to all. Man's best friend? In our house, she's 'kid's best friend'. She loves to go out of her way to toy with my husband!

Recycle! Helping To Save My Little Corner of the World

5 Great Reasons to Recycle

Conserves our natural resources
Saves energy.
Saves clean air and clean water
Saves landfill space.
Can save money and create jobs.

Most folks say that if it were easier to recycle they'd do it in a heartbeat. I guess we've been lucky in that sense. Our city offers a curb-side, blue barrel, recycling program. It's just as easy as putting out your garbage, except that on recycling pick-up day, you put out your blue barrel. There are some restrictions on what goes in the blue barrel, but overall, it's usually more full than our regular garbage.

Don't have a recycling program in your city? Check out the locations of any recycling centers, maybe one is on your way to work or on one of your routes you take when you run errands. You can keep a separate box or container to keep your recyclables in and just put it in your trunk and dump it in the bin on the way. It's a breeze to drop this stuff off! Plus you get that 'feel good' feeling for doing your part.

We end up with a lot of things that won't fit in our recycling barrel, even if we break it down, so we hang on to it and make a trip to our city's recycling center when

we have a full load.

That's the back of my minivan, and that's my husband doing all the unloading!

I'm not going to run off a bunch of recycling facts, we all know how important it is! I'll just leave you with this thought: Be responsible! Do your best to do your part :)

April Is Earth Month!

The whole month of April has been deemed 'Earth Month' in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd.

Maybe you've noticed some changes in advertising on television as many companies are on the bandwagon to promote their earth-friendly ways. Or displays in the stores, or even the promotions on-line. The 'green revolution' has definitely become more mainstream, however, this month, you will most likely see it become even more magnified. I think it's a pretty exciting event!

I'm always on the lookout for ways to save energy, to have a 'green' home, to recycle, to conserve, to shop sustainably, to lead a more efficient lifestyle, you get the idea! So, things this month will be hoppin' on Savvy Saving Mom.

In addition to sharing with you (pictures and all!) what we are currently doing at our house to be more earth responsible, I have several 'green' related reviews on some great products sent to me by Clorox, Tide, Brita, and Bissell as well. Some of these are my own video reviews which can be seen at Walmart.com's YouTube Channel! There's a lot of great tips and ideas to be found there to place in your 'green' arsenal. And, I'll give you the lowdown on each one of them right here as well.

Soon I'll be releasing the details of my Bissell 'Little Green' giveaway sponsored by Bissell - stay tuned!

I hope you'll join me this month in celebrating our earth!

ClipArt Image by Dustie at dustie.com