October 2009

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Reduce the lead in your home water supply

October 31, 2009 in Healthy Green Home, Water by Jennifer | No comments

There could be lead in your water supply and that’s not a good thing. Lead can cause delays in physical and mental development plus deficits in attention span and learning abilities in children. Adults may experience increased in blood pressure and kidney problems when exposed to lead.

The stories you hear about lead in your hot water are true. If you’re used to filling up pots with hot water from the sink, make the switch to cold. Cold water, unlike hot won’t cause lead to leach from your pipes. According to the EPA houses built before 1986 are most likely to have pipes with lead. However, note that even “lead-safe” pipes can contain some lead – cool water is simply a better choice.

Cold water or not you should run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours, this allows any possible lead to drain out before you get to it.

Most tap water is pretty safe. However, if you’re concerned, it’s easy to find out if your water is safe or not. If not you may want to consider a water filter.

Put your water in a safe pitcher – it’s silly to get lead-free water from the sink only to put it in a pitcher that can add lead to the water.

Sustainable & Stylish Home Pet Gear

October 29, 2009 in Eco-Pets by Jennifer | No comments

Plastic dishes and boring cotton sleeping spaces for your pets are not only NOT eco-friendly, but typically look way out out of place in a stylish home. Not to mention, if you want a green space for you why not treat your pets to the same non-toxic gear?

If you’re looking for some eco-pet gear that’s green and great looking take a look at these options in the gallery below… (see below gallery for links to products).

Doca Pet makes beautiful sustainable pet food bowls. From their SquareMeal sets to their Dogled Diner, their sets are functional, awesome to look at and the bowls are stainless steel.

Organic Pad Dog Bed – very cute and the cover can be removed and washed. 100% organically grown cotton and stuffed with organic kapok.

Marmalade Pet Care Wall Flower Scratcher – the Wall Flower Cardboard Cat Scratcher is made with high quality recycled materials, (35% minimum post-consumer), has an extra long use period and is 100% recyclable at the end of its lifecycle. Plus looks fab.

Eco Slumber Bed – mod and awesome sleeping area for your furry pal. Eco Slumber bed combines eco fabric, made with 85% recycled IntelliLoft fibers and then filled with 100% recycled IntelliLoft fiber fill.

Elizabeth Paige Smith Prrrounge Chaise Lounge- made with corrugated cardboard that’s anything but plain. The perfect cat nesting place.

Roebuck Studio Cat Bowls – made with Baltic birch and parts come flat packed for shipping and are easily assembled with simple fasteners. All edges are rounded for safety and a waterproof non-toxic finish is applied. Many color choices available as well as a clear finish.

How safe is your drink pitcher?

October 24, 2009 in Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | 1 comment

Instead of plastic drink containers, many folks are now using a more sustainable pitcher for water and juice in the fridge, which is smart, but can expose your family to lead if you’ve got a shady pitcher.

Ceramic pitchers are usually safe if they’ve been sealed properly, but it’s tough to know for sure if handmade products have been sealed well, and in some cases company made products. The FDA placed limits on lead in dishes back in the 80s, but one, not all companies followed through, and two, if you buy your pitcher used, it could be older than the 80s. To make sure your ceramic pitcher is safe check with the manufacturing company or run a quick home lead test.

If you’re using a glass pitcher, make sure the glass is lead-free. Many manufacturers are now making awesome lead-free recycled glass products, including pitchers.

You can also go with stainless steel, which is colder to the touch than other materials, but will keep drinks icy cold without leeching chemicals, lead, or weird flavors into your water or juice. Some ideas below…

Why buy a PVC free shower curtain?

October 23, 2009 in Green Your Home by Jennifer | No comments

You know that icky plastic smell that fills the bathroom when you get a new shower curtain liner or basic curtain? That’s PVC. Polyvinyl chloride or PVC is very hard to recycle and most products made with bunches of it end up in the landfills. However, finding a recycling center to take PVC products off your hands should be the least of your concerns.

PVC leeches like mad from products containing it. The soil and water near factories who make this stuff are terribly polluted, but it’s further reaching then this. If your child chews on a toy with PVC phthalates can jump right into in his system. If you have a shower curtain made with PVC, it’s in your home. PVC contains many more harmful chemicals then phthalates though including lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can be toxic to your health.

Dioxins are another baddie of PVC; given off when you make or burn PVC products. Dioxins are an environmental pollutant linked to skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Fun!

Worse, PVC is very hard to escape. It’s in all sorts of products you use each day. That’s why starting with your shower curtain is a good plan. It’s easy and a good way to NOT support PVC products.

Find a PVC free shower curtain:

Three bad habits to ditch that cost you big time

October 19, 2009 in Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

If you’re going to ditch bad living habits, you may as well get rid of the ones that cost you the most money first. Following are three bad habits that cost the planet and you a lot over time.

Ditch water bottles and buy a filter: You can buy a recyclable water filter along with a nice stainless steel reusable water bottle for pennies of what bottled water will cost you over a lifetime and you eliminate a major landfill contributor – the plastic water bottle. Not to mention, you’ll have fewer toxins in your body because stainless steel, unlike plastic won’t leach chemicals. Triple play! Annual savings, even if you buy the world’s best water bottle and a basic filter is about $300 if you drink one bottle worth of water a day, but if you drink as much water as you should (eight 8oz glasses 64 oz a day) you’d be saving about $700 per year and that’s factoring in bulk bottled water.

Ditch paper towels: Cloth napkins, old cloths to clean with, and actual hand towels can save you scads over daily paper towel use. Annual savings of switching to cloth about $83, but over ten years you’d save about $800.

Ditch toxic cleaners: Making your own green cleaning products will cost you very little. You’ll need some essential oils, baking soda, and lemons. Not a lot of money. Maybe about $40 per year. If you buy the following monthly (general household spray, toilet cleaner, kitchen cleaner, tub + tile cleaner, and glass cleaner) if these are cheap $3 each you’d still be paying about $180 a year, and that’s fairly conservative compared to what research says people spend on cleaners. For example, The U.S. market for natural household cleaning products sells about $100 million annually, but this represents just one percent of the total household cleaners market. So you likely spend more than $180 annually. Still, if we go with a conservative figure, annual savings are about $140.

Above are totally rough but fair estimates of what you can save by ditching just three bad habits. Annual savings if you ditch these three bad habits – about $900, in ten years that’s a savings of about $9,000. What could you do with an extra $9,000?

Clean your drains without toxins

October 16, 2009 in Green Cleaning by Jennifer | No comments

Bathroom and kitchen drains can easily become clogged with hair, food, and other gunk. But you don’t have to always use toxic drain cleaners to manage said clogs. In fact toxic cleaners and plumbers should be your last option. First try the following…

Prevention: This is the best way to avoid clogs, prevention first. Don’t put stuff down the drain that shouldn’t be going down there. You can compost food instead of grinding it in the disposal (even great disposals can clog at times) and you can make sure your hair doesn’t clog the shower drain with a simple, low-cost mesh screen drain cover.

Plunging: When you first see a clog, try plunging it to see if that can unblock the blockage.

Ah la natural: Put about 4 tablespoons of baking powder into your drain, follow that with a half cup of white distilled vinegar. Allow that to sit for an hour, then pour a kettle of boiling water into the drain.

Better cleaners: Try a natural drain cleaner first, before a more toxic one, like Earthworm Drain Cleaner.

Find an Environmental Job

October 14, 2009 in Community by Jennifer | No comments

Environmental jobs are becoming more and more popular and that’s a good thing. Cleaner jobs mean a cleaner environment overall, plus it allows people to really submerge themselves in a career that matters. If you’re looking for a green job though, the newspaper and typical job boards aren’t the best place to start. You’ll usually need to do some targeted job searches with organizations who frequently share environmental job opportunities. Although, it’s smart to note that job boards are not the only way to find work.

First of all, think outside the typical job board. For general green jobs you can check out green companies on a one-by-one basis. For example, Gaiam, Origins, The Arbor Day Foundation and Whole Foods all have career pages that update fairly frequently, as do many other green companies. You can also walk into a green company and talk with the staff and owners.

Secondly, network with others interested in green living and green careers. Choose a thriving green forum or interactive green social networking site and make pals. You may learn about companies you never even knew existed.

Thirdly take a look at those job boards I mentioned above. Some good environmental job boards include… Read the rest of this entry »

Organic Halloween Treats!

October 13, 2009 in Holiday by Jennifer | No comments

Today, with Halloween fast approaching, I figured we’d take a look at some nice organic treats. Some you can make, and some you can easily purchase. All of them super yummy – even kid approved.

Beautiful fall colored organic cookies from the all organic Beautiful Sweets! Yum.

What appears to be a very cool Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe from Earthbound Farms. Oddly they didn’t list all organic ingredients, but you can mix that up :)

Make homemade Halloween Popcorn Balls! Just be sure to use organic ingredients.

Organic Trick or Treat Candy Mix

55% Dark Chocolate Bites – Organic & Fair-Trade

Organic Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe – totally awesome!

Halloween Pumpkin Smoothie… This is a cool (no pun intended) recipe that I’ve had forever. I found it at  Fitness Magazine and mixed it up some to make an organic version.

  • 1 cup organic canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup organic milk (you can use soy, or another milk as well, it works fine)
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup ice
  • Whipped cream, cinnamon, or shaved Fair Trade chocolate for toppings (optional)

To make:

Blend everything except the ice until smooth. Add ice. Blend more, until thick and creamy. Garnish with your choice of toppings.

Eco-dinner party place cards and invitations

October 12, 2009 in Holiday by Jennifer | No comments

With the holidays coming up fast you may be planning a dinner party or two. Two considerations for larger events include invitations and place cards. The good news is that you can go green with both.

Twisted Limb Paperworks is a carbon-neutral production art studio and your one-stop-shop for all your green paper needs if you’re throwing down. You can pick up some awesome round handmade recycled paper (see above) with invitation printed on vellum overlay (or 100% recycled cardstock if you prefer) and attached with a hole punch and brad. A 100% recycled reply postcard and matching 5 ½ inch square envelope are included, available in frost or sand.

Read the rest of this entry »

Plants that naturally detox your air – natural healthy air quality

October 10, 2009 in Green Cleaning, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | No comments

House plants not only brighten your home but also improve your air quality without having to purchase a bulky plastic humidifier or air purifier. Plants do more than simple freshen the air too, they can actually remove some toxins, for example, in studies, specific plants have been found to do very well at removing formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is an icky substance that the EPA calls a possible carcinogen found in things like carpet, plastics, synthetic fabrics, and more. You can naturally reduce the amount of formaldehyde in your home with the following plants…

Most of the above bloom even in medium light, so they’re ideal for indoors. The exception is the Corn Plant which does need bright light, but not full sun so choose a sunny window sill.

For more air cleaning plants take a look at an excellent plant chart from Good Magazine.

The Hidden Hazards in Air Fresheners

October 7, 2009 in Green Cleaning, Green Your Home by Jennifer | 1 comment

We’ve all heard that traditional, conventional air fresheners can be toxic, but keep in mind that air fresheners listed as “natural” or “unscented” can contain hazardous chemicals. In a recent study, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates in 12 air freshener products; some marketed as “all-natural” and “unscented” and none said that they contained phthalates. Additionally conventional air fresheners are a household source of VOCs. Not cool.

See the list of air fresheners (pdf) that NRDC rated.

What is safer?

Well, for one thing making your own scented products with non-toxic ingredients such as flowers, herbs, spices, citrus, essential oils, and so fourth is a safe as you can get because you know what’s in them. Following are some ideas for non-toxic homemade air fresheners.

Four ways to go super green in under a minute

October 4, 2009 in Quick Green Home & Garden Tips by Jennifer | No comments

In less than one minute you can make major green changes, such as…

Buy recycled toilet paper. It takes less than 10 seconds to pick up a recycled package of TP at the store vs. new and choosing recycled toilet paper is a major green choice. Recycled toilet paper helps save water, trees, oil and landfill space, plus prevents pollution. For example, according to NRDC, if all households in the U.S. alone bought one 4 pack of recycled TP vs. new, it would save a million trees and eliminate 60,600 pounds of pollution.

Fill that reusable water bottle: 8 out of ten bottles, or over 38 million water bottles end up in landfills annually, so if you take 30 seconds to fill up a reusable water bottle with good ol’ tap water, it’s a very smart way to get green in a big way in no time at all.

Hit the sleep mode: Your computer uses 90% less energy while in sleep mode (then when running) and it only takes seconds to make the switch. This can save you a ton of energy and even some cash on your electric bill.

Cancel your catalogs: Amazingly, the average person in the U.S. use 700 pounds of paper products a year. If you’re still getting paper catalogs in the mail, that’s a major contributor to your 700 pounds. It only takes a moment to cancel your catalogs but you’ll save plenty of trees over time by doing so.

For even more green steps you can take in record time, check out NRDC Simple Steps Deck of Eco-Tips.

Save energy with a toaster oven

October 2, 2009 in Eco Kitchen, Save Energy by Jennifer | 1 comment

Say the word toaster oven and most people think of those old burning hot machines sitting on top of grandma’s counter when they were a kid (or is that only me?). In any case, a new toaster oven is a great way to save energy in the kitchen.

Black & Decker Toaster Oven

The newer toaster oven models are not the machines of the past either. New toaster ovens have all sorts of settings, come in various sizes (some even fit whole pizzas!), and overall are more eco-friendly than oven cooking because they use less energy, have shorter preheating times, and keeps your home cooler in the summer than a traditional heat ridden oven. Newer toaster ovens even look better than the ones from years past so you won’t feel the need to cover it up when guests come over.

Note if you only want one other appliance – i.e. an energy saving microwave or a toaster oven check out Treehugger’s guide to which is the better and greener choice for your needs.