With summer upon us and the heat slowly climbing, many families are headed to the beach .If you are feeling guilty about the plastic toys you usually tote along then, Green Toys has some awesome eco-frienldy alternatives. Their toys are "Made in the USA from 100% recycled milk jugs, contain no BPA or Phthalates, and are way good for the earth!" They have a darling 4 piece Sand Play Set that is ideal for your lazy hazy summer beach days!!
Now if we could just figure out how to get there witout burning all that gas!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Ways to Beat the Summer Heat and save on energy
The Co-Op of America is a wonderful resource for those of us wanting to help Mother Earth....they have great information! For example, I just received their newsletter, titled, 22 Steps Toward Energy Efficiency! WOW!! 22 STEPS!! This is great if you are not sure where to begin or what helps the most.
According to their site:
Here's how to save energy and money. Go for a big, but doable goal – 10% energy saved per year over the next five years – 50% in five years!
For the average household, 10% per year energy savings is only about 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy/year. Here's how doable that is:
Many families could achieve the first 1,000 kwh/year of savings by washing clothes in cold water (770 kwh/yr); placing several major electronics, such as video and stereo systems, on a surge protector that can be switched off (47kwh/year); and brushing of their refrigerator's condenser coils twice a year (392 kwh/year).
Many families could get another 1,000 kwh/year reduction by replacing half of their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescents (440kwh/year), letting the dishes in the dishwasher air dry (404kwh/year), and enabling the "sleep" function on their computer and printer to go on after five minutes of non-use (259kwh/year).
If you would like to know all 22 steps to make this happen, follow this link!
According to their site:
Here's how to save energy and money. Go for a big, but doable goal – 10% energy saved per year over the next five years – 50% in five years!
For the average household, 10% per year energy savings is only about 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy/year. Here's how doable that is:
Many families could achieve the first 1,000 kwh/year of savings by washing clothes in cold water (770 kwh/yr); placing several major electronics, such as video and stereo systems, on a surge protector that can be switched off (47kwh/year); and brushing of their refrigerator's condenser coils twice a year (392 kwh/year).
Many families could get another 1,000 kwh/year reduction by replacing half of their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescents (440kwh/year), letting the dishes in the dishwasher air dry (404kwh/year), and enabling the "sleep" function on their computer and printer to go on after five minutes of non-use (259kwh/year).
If you would like to know all 22 steps to make this happen, follow this link!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Checklist for "greening" your baby
As I mentioned the website Simple Steps is a great resource for starting small in the life of being green. From their site here is a checklist of some things to think about before baby makes his/her grand apperance!
SLEEPING:
make sure you have the following:
crib
mattress
2+ fitted and flat sheets
2+ crib blankets
room thermometer
and here is a TIP:
Crib mattresses made from
natural materials offer a healthy
and safer start for your baby.
Many conventional mattresses today
use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as the
mattress cover and polyurethane
foam treated with flame retardants as
the filling material. These materials
have been shown to release harmful
chemicals such as pthalates, which
interfere with testosterone and
can cause abnormalities in male
reproductive development. So choose
a crib and a crib mattress made from
all natural materials.
FEEDING:
6-8 glass or plastic bottles
diaper bag
nursing bras
breast pump and pads if
breastfeeding
TIP:
Clear plastic baby bottles
are usually made from
polycarbonate, a plastic that
can leach a dangerous toxic called
bisphenol-A into the liquids in the
bottle when heated, particularly from
older, worn or scratched bottles.
Bisphenol-A is a suspected endocrine
disruptor that can interfere with the
development of your baby. To protect
your baby from this environmental
health hazard, choose baby bottles
and spill-proof cups made of glass
or polyethylene (#1, #2, #4 recycling
symbols) or polypropylene (#5).
SLEEPING:
make sure you have the following:
crib
mattress
2+ fitted and flat sheets
2+ crib blankets
room thermometer
and here is a TIP:
Crib mattresses made from
natural materials offer a healthy
and safer start for your baby.
Many conventional mattresses today
use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as the
mattress cover and polyurethane
foam treated with flame retardants as
the filling material. These materials
have been shown to release harmful
chemicals such as pthalates, which
interfere with testosterone and
can cause abnormalities in male
reproductive development. So choose
a crib and a crib mattress made from
all natural materials.
FEEDING:
6-8 glass or plastic bottles
diaper bag
nursing bras
breast pump and pads if
breastfeeding
TIP:
Clear plastic baby bottles
are usually made from
polycarbonate, a plastic that
can leach a dangerous toxic called
bisphenol-A into the liquids in the
bottle when heated, particularly from
older, worn or scratched bottles.
Bisphenol-A is a suspected endocrine
disruptor that can interfere with the
development of your baby. To protect
your baby from this environmental
health hazard, choose baby bottles
and spill-proof cups made of glass
or polyethylene (#1, #2, #4 recycling
symbols) or polypropylene (#5).
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wishing upon a star.......
Since I have two boys, I am always wishing for a little girl....therefore I seem to be drawn to little girl items...a friend of mine, makes the most darling baby jewelery...her company Baby Emi is featured in the same Jewels and Pinstripes Celebrity Baby Bags that BabyBam Collection can be found in! She has so many amazing designs, I just couldn't choose.....probably a good thing I have boys, or not, because she also has the most wonderful precious metals collection...if I never get my girl, at least I know my wish for one of these simply wonderful necklaces will come true! Do stop by her site.......you'll fall in love!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Green Washing
So it seems with all the new talk of green, a lot of people are getting confused. As if there is not enough to think about these days!! To help you understand and find a place to begin, after all, there are so many green options today, check out the website Simple Steps....which is just that, simple steps to a greener, and less confusing life!!
Enjoy,
Enjoy,
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