green kids

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Make Going Green at Home Easier

April 21, 2009 in Green Your Home by Jennifer | 2 comments

A lot of research points out that more people would go green if it was simpler to do so. Not that going green is so hard once you get started, but in many cases I think green can easily overwhelm folks. If you want your home to stay green try making it a snap for people to live with green goals.

For example…

Shoes in the home are an eco-baddie. To make the transition to a shoeless home easier, make sure you place a show tree, or small basket near doors. Have a supply of house shoes and slippers available. Also, tell your pals before they come over about the shoeless rule – some folks like to wear better (i.e. non-hole-laden) socks if they know a shoeless visit is coming.

Install automatic light sensors that turn off lights when folks leave a room.

Set up a recycling center in an obvious place and make sure bins are correctly labeled. Remember, if you’ve got little ones who don’t read yet, make it easy for them by placing pictures of what goes where on each bin.

Make small changes in your diet at first. Switching to organic coffee is one easy switch that makes a large difference. Trying two vegetarian meals a week is less likely to freak a meat-eating family out than switching to an all veggie diet overnight. Gradual is best with green or organic diet changes.

Make changes where you spend the most time first. For example, people spend a lot of time in bed, so making sure your bedding is eco-friendly is a smarter move health-wise than wasting time greening your porch furniture. Not that you shouldn’t make green changes all over, but adjust the important places of your home first.

Focus on the young folks first. Adults can go green for sure, but kids drink green up like it’s going out of style. Kids are far more likely to catch on to green living skills, and do so faster than adults, so focus a major amount of attention on educating the kids in your home. Keep in mind that kids raised green will have an easier time being green as adults than most adults in the current generation.

Are people in your home overwhelmed by green living issues or no?

Green Spring Cleaning Tips – Clean Green and Healthy

March 9, 2009 in Green Cleaning by Jennifer | 1 comment

Spring cleaning is coming up asap, so it’s time to start considering your options. Of course many of us will partake in a little spring cleaning at least, but that doesn’t mean we need to scour our homes with toxic chemical cleaners.

For spring cleaning this year try the following…

Learn how to find non-toxic and natural cleaners over chemical laden toxic junk. If you’re going to buy cleaners from the store make sure you figure out first if the product is an actual earth-friendly cleaning choice.

Reconsider your cleaning tools. You can make better choices than typical non-eco-friendly sponges. You can purchase spray bottles to reuse over and over again (fill with homemade cleaners) vs. buying plastic toss away bottles, and you can even purchase an eco-friendly broom.

Experiment with some of your own homemade air fresheners or simply push those windows open. Fresh air is actually the best natural way to scent your air (ah, crispy).

During spring cleaning start new healthy home habits such as in-kitchen composting to use your scraps, not wearing shoes in the house or if god forbid you smoke inside, stop it!

Plan some easy and earth-friendly DIY home projects designed to save you money and green your home.

Don’t stop inside. Get out and green audit that yard and garden. For tips read…

Learn more:

Are you doing any spring cleaning this year, or better yet, planning any cool green home projects? Let me know in the comments…

Going Green? How to Cover the Basics….

November 17, 2008 in Green Your Home by Jennifer | No comments

Get motivated. Look to eco blogs like this, green living books, or even your TV for green shows to get inspired. When you surround yourself with green, it makes going green a snap.

Own your actions. Yeah, some folks don’t believe in global warming. Whatever, that’s your choice. However, some use theories like this to avoid green, as in why bother, we’re not the ones making the problem. Even if you don’t believe in global warming, your actions are important for other reasons. Clean beaches and forests, green spaces for kids to play, and your health. Believe what you like, but green actions are for us all.

Invest in green companies and products.

Naturally clean your space – cleaning products are one area that anyone can green up in no time flat. Why buy toxic chemicals when you don’t have to?

Green all of your special events, vacations, and holidays, along with your everyday world.

Get a child involved. Kids are going to be around longer than we adult are. Think about the green ethics and values you’re passing on to them. Have you even talked to a child lately about going green? You should.

Reduce your consumption of consumer goods. Think before you buy, each and every time.

Eat organic, vegetarian, or natural. Grow your own food if you can. Do something with your food that helps to lower your footprint.

Eco up your energy use. It’s hard to know how much energy you use without running some easy energy audits. Anyone can do this, and it’ll green your home plus save you money.

Never assume that one action won’t make a difference. That cloth napking you use at each meal, that one can you recycle, the one organic product you purchase – these steps all matter.

Get Your Kids Involved With Greening the House

August 11, 2008 in Children & Babies, Organic Gardening by Jennifer | 1 comment

tree hugger

Kids can be a valuable asset when it comes to going green. Where your home is concerned, kids can be really helpful because teaching them green steps early on means they’ll be more vigilant than you even.

My son always reminds me to turn off lights, and asks about recycling, so I know first hand that teaching your kids to be eco-friendly at home works.

Here are some easy green steps your kids can take at home:

Gardening: There’s no better way to learn about conserving than actually working with resources related to gardening. Your kids can learn about growth, organics, solar topics, seed saving (instead of buying new), composting, water use and conservation, and more. If you don’t have the yard space for a garden plot, these topics can easily be taught with a container garden.

Bathroom use: Lots of green opportunities occur in the bathroom. Even little kids can learn about turning the water off while brushing their teeth, not flushing everything yellow, and reusing a towel before washing.

Recycling: Get the kids involved in your home recycling. Kids can tell the difference between the recycling bins and the garbage can. Allow them to sort recycling and if they’re confused about bins, try this trick.

Clutter: Clutter and cleaning up said clutter is actually a cool way to teach eco-friendly objectives at home. Kids can learn that broken toys can be fixed, used toys and clothing can be given away vs. tossed, and more. As you clean the house make a point of talking to kids about these landfill reducing topics.

How do you get your kids involved with greening the house?