It’s now a trend: the reusable grocery bag. I am beginning to see grocery stores selling canvas bags for $1 a piece. I fathom that those prices will increase when (or if the “pay a quarter per plastic bag” law passes).

WholeFoods has already taken a step towards this “banning plastic at the checkout” concept. By Earth Day, April 22, 2008 their 270 U.S., Canadian, and British based stores will be officially asking their customers “What type of reusable bag do you have today?” instead of “Paper or plastic?”

But before many of us jump on the bandwagon, why not look at a few statistics on plastic first? According to the American Chemistry Council:

1. 2,000 plasic bags weigh 30 pounds vs 2,000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. Therefore, plastic bags take up less landfill.
2. Delivery of paper bags vs plastic bags: seven trucks vs only truck to deliver the same amount of plastic bags. This means less energy and less emissions into the environment.
3. The manufacture of paper bags uses 70% more air emissions than plastic bags.
4. Plastic bags generate 80% less waste than paper bags.
5. 815 Million pounds of plastic and film was recycled in 2006 - an increase of 24% from 2005.

So what’s all this hype on banning plastic bags in grocery stores about? Even retailers such as Walmart offer plastic bag collection bins at the front of the store. The problem is, we as a society in general do not recycle enough. Don’t you see all those poor beat up plastic bags hanging from the tree branches? No, they are budding flowers. In the US alone, approximately 100 Billion bags are used per year, of which most ends up sitting in our landfills for 1,000 years.

And I haven’t even said my prayers for all those innocent marine animals that choked and died from eating pieces of plastic. You would think that they would know the difference between jellyfish and plastic but apparently, they don’t.

So what’s the catch-all solution? BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag (Sorry party animals. In this case, the acronym does not mean bring your own beer).

If you want to jump on the BYOB bandwagon, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on buying one or want to bring a trendy looking one, here are some places where you can find great patterns on creating your own reusable shopping bags. But you may need to know how to sew, knit or crochet.

Whipup.net - Keep a wallet-sized fold-up shopping bag with you at all times.
Creative Kismet - Shows you how to turn your old pillowcases into a cute shopping bag.
morsbags.com - Download easy to follow instruction on how to sew your own cloth bag.
houghtonavenue.com - A knitted grocery bag for a cottony shopping experience.

Bring Your Own Bag. What an excellent concept.

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If you don’t want to recycle your old newspapers, then try reusing them. Here are a few ideas on what you can do with them:

1. For some reason, they make your windows squeaky clean. Spray your windows with your favorite glass and surface cleaner, crumple up a few newspaper pages, and wipe for a spot window.
2. They make great packaging supplies. Instead of those styrofoam bubbles, create the extra padding you need by crumpling up sheets of newspaper. Those styrofoam bubbles usually are not recyclable.
3. Instead of paper towels, you can layer sheets of folded newspaper between your fine china. It will help protect each plate from hitting against each other.
4. Use them as “tablecloths.” It helps protect your dinner table from getting scratched if you have a glass table. You can also leave your table manners behind by placing your chicken bones on it or let your sloppy joe meats fall on it.
5. Lay sheets of newspaper on your kitchen floor when you are going to fry something. It will protect the tiles in your kitchen makes cleaning up a heck of a lot easier!

Now it’s your turn to share your ideas with us!

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The next time you purchase a cleaning agent from the market, be sure you read the ingredients to see what it is made out of it. If it’s not a natural or organic product, chances are that it will contain a toxic chemical or two (or three or four) that could have major effects on your health. On many occasions, when I decide I want to save a few dollars, I would pick up a can of disinfectant for my home at the grocery store, read the label, see the word “formaldehyde,” and immediately put it back on the shelf.

Saving a few bucks suddenly didn’t seem worth it. Despite it’s strong cleansing power - it’s great if you want to kill stubborn bacteria - the use of formaldehyde should be avoided if possible. It is a very strong smelling, colorless gas and has been classified as carcinogenic. So why not make my own? I asked myself.

Surprisingly, many cleaning agents can be home made at a very low cost. In fact, you may have some of the ingredients in your cupboards already. Give these core ingredients a shot in this All-Purpose Counter Cleaner:

2 tsp. washing soda
2 tsp. borax
1/2 tsp natural liquid soad
1 cup hot water

Mix all of these in a spray bottle and use it to clean your counters.

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Taking care of a little one can be a draining task. Sometimes, just standing in front of the sink washing vegetables without your little crying is enough to get few minutes of peace and quiet.

In fact, while I was washing vegetables that I purchased from the supermarket one day, I realized that I can get more of this “quiet” time while I do some gardening in the back yard.

Gardening is a great way to relax. It’s also a nice way to spend some quality time outdoors with your baby. If he’s not walking or crawling yet, set up a playpen nearby (so you can still keep an eye on him) and give him a few of his favorite toys. This way, you both can enjoy some fresh air together while you can do dig into the soil, plant some seeds, pull some weeds, and whistle your favorite tune.

As the baby gets older, you can let him participate by helping you toss the seeds into the soil. In the process, you can help him understand the cycles of nature.

If you live in a condo or townhome and do not have a backyard, you can plant herbs and flowers instead and hang them up on the balcony or windowsill.

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Instead of giving your kids allowance money every week, make them “work” for it. Buy them a trash can with the “recycle” logo on it. Tell them that everytime they see an empty soda can or bottle around the house, they can put it in the recycle can. When the recycle can is full, take them with you to the recycling center to see how much money they have earned.

This not only teaches them the value of recycling, but it also teaches them the value of a $1. You can also buy them a piggy bank so that can watch their “allowance” money grow. Just make sure that they don’t go around picking at public trash cans looking for glass bottles or aluminum cans!

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Like anything else, teaching your children to be “green” starts at an early age. What better way to teach them than to integrate it into their daily routine?

This “game” can be played in a group setting such as a classroom or with just your child alone. Before starting the “game” however, you should make sure you child has on a pair of rubber gloves.

Make sure the trash can you use is from an office or somewhere “cleaner”. You don’t want to use the kitchen trash can as it will most likely contain scraps from last night’s dinner and would not be too sanitary.

How to play:

1. At the end of the first day, have your child put on the rubber gloves and pull out 3 different things from the trash. Have your child write down on a sheet of paper 3 different items that they pulled out.
2. Do this for 7 days (one week).
3. At the end of the 7th day, review the list and have him decide which item(s) is the most tossed item.
4. Have him come up with ideas on how you as a family (or classroom) can reduce the amount trash being tossed into that trash can.

The purpose of this game to help eliminate waste. If you see a lot of soda cans or plastic bottles, for example, it would be a great opportunity to teach them about recycling.

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Cotton farming takes up only 3% of the world’s farmland, but it consumes nearly 25% of the insecticides and 10% of the pesticides in the world. In some areas, cotton can be sprayed up to 40 times in one season!

Certified cotton is cotton grown using crop rotation - the practice of growing different types of crops in the same field in different seasons. Crop rotations keeps the soil full of nutrients without the need of artificial fertilizers. For example, farmers may choose to harvest cotton one season and then harvest rice in the following season using the same field.

This farming method eliminates the need to use pesticides because long use of the land to farm the same crop year after year can cause pests and pathogens to grow in the soil. Changing crops will limit, if not break, their growth.

The chemicals used to process cotton not only cause irritation to the consumer’s skin (many are possibl carcinogens, by the way) but it also pollutes our air and waters. Many conventional cotton farmlands uses aerial spraying, which can easily pollute neighboring wildlife, communities, and harm innocent bystanders.

So remember this when you put on a comfy tee shirt on your child tonight: You are letting your child wear something that has used approximately 1/3 pound of pesticides and fertilizers in producing that one “comfortable” product.

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Improving our energy use not only helps you save money on your energy bills, but is also a great way to help the environment.

SAVING MONEY

The average household spends approximately $1,900 on energy bills per year - that’s a little over $150 per month. Here are a few energy-saving habits you can adopt to lower those bills.

Get unplugged. If you don’t use it often, leave it unplugged. For example, your cell phone charger can remain unplugged if you are not charging your cell phone. I know it’s much more convenient to be able to just hook your cell phone to the charger, but honestly, how much more time are you saving by plugging the charger to the socket and then hooking your phone to the charger?

Lights out please. “Duh,” you might say. But this is so easy to forget. Just try to remember to flick that switch downwards when leaving a room.

Use home appliances wisely and efficiently. Always wash a full load and wash with cold water. Clean the filters on your dryers. They really do dry your clothes in shorter period of time. Also, try not to mix your wet jeans with your t-shirts. Like washing your whites with whites and darks with darks, try to dry your heavy clothes with heavy clothes. I always line dry the heavier clothes.

Bundle up or strip down. Do you really need to have your AC on, and have it on ALL DAY? Adjust your thermostat a few degrees and put on a pair of shorts instead. Or put on a sweater in the colder days instead of turning on your heater.

Let your computer hibernate. I know many of you leave your computers on all day and all night. It’s difficult to surf the web while you are sleeping so why not configure your computer to hibernate after 30 minutes of inactivity? Also turn your monitor off before going to bed.

Replace your light bulbs. Most people are still using those old Thomas Edison light bulbs. Replace those with the compact fluorescent bulb. Not only do they save you $30 during it’s lifetime, but it also lasts longer than the regular bulbs.

Go Energy-Star. Appliances labeled with the ENERGY STAR label use 20 to 40 percent less energy. Some companies even offer rebates or free pick of your old appliances if you purchase an ENERGY STAR item. When purchasing your next appliance, look for the ENERGY STAR logo. Or, if you would like to get specific recommendations for your home or office, you can have an ENERGY STAR advisor contact you.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Being more energy efficient not only save you money on your energy bills, but it also helps the environment. Reducing our energy consumption means we are burning less fossil fuels, which is a major contributor of smog, acid rain, and global warming. Therefore, being more energy efficient means we are generating less pollution.

Our next generation is counting on us.

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While celebrated sometimes both in the fall and spring (equinoctial Earth Day), the Earth Day as we know it, is officially celebrated on April 22nd, and dates back to the year 1970. Earth Day commemorates the birthday of the modern environmental movement and celebrates the United States recognition to preserve the Earth. Since then, its cause and plan for action has spread globally and is celebrated in many nations

During the 1960’s and thereafter, Americans, unaware of global pollution and natural resource limitations, consumed mass quantities of gas and coal, and companies frequently released pollutants into the air and water; without fear of retribution or care for the environment. Citizens, familiar with the pollution going on around them, accepted that the environmental tampering were signs of prosperity and progress, however, on April 22, 1970 many citizens had experienced enough of this destruction and were determined to make their voices known.

Over 20 million Americans from both coasts untied with over 200 million global citizens to draw attention to the pollution the Earth was experiencing. This continued every year, and while the causes and issues always remained similar, the Earth Day 1990 celebration brought to light another key environmental issue that needed to be addressed: recycling.

With the advent of the Internet, Earth Day has been able to reach even more people than in previous years. This was evident in 2000’s Earth Day celebration where voices in over 184 countries were heard discussing the need to save the Earth and its resources; mainly clean energy. This sentiment was also very prevalent at the 2007 Earth Day celebration where over a billion people globally, took part in the day’s event.

Throughout history, there have been conflicts among different people, nationalities, and religions, but Earth Day is the only event that transcends these differences and is celebrated by over 184 counties and locations scattered around the globe. As technology becomes more readily available, the recognition and celebration of Earth Day will likely spread to more nations in the coming years.

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Those small baby food jars keep piling up, don’t they? I bet you don’t want to toss them in the trash because they are too darn cute to throw away. And you probably don’t want to recycle them either because you think you’ll have use for them someday, somehow. Many people don’t think about it, but those little glass jars are great when it comes to organizing your home. Also, it’s great for arts and crafts. Here are just a few ideas.

1. Store loose herbs and spices.
2. If you’re a tea drinker, you can use them to store loose tea leaves. It will stay fresh when you screw on the lids tightly.
3. If you’re a crafter, you can organize your buttons, pins, beads, or other small crafty items.
4. Your husband can use them to organize nails, screws, nuts and bolts in his work area.
5. They’re great for storing salad dressing when you want to bring a homemade salad to work and need to separate the dressing from the salad. On the same token, they are great to store flax seeds or granola when you want to add them to your yogurt.
6. You can make mini snowglobes as a giveaway. Add water to the jars - you can tint them different colors with a dab or food coloring if you want. Add some glitter or confetti to the water. Hot glue some figurines or other small objects to the lid. Let dry. Hot glue the lid to the jar. Shake the jar to make sure no water is dripping. If it leaks, re-glue the lid so that water will no longer drip. You can decorate the lids by painting them and adding a ribbon.

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