Going Green in the Ozarks

2009-08-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Follow me to my new blog, www.livinglargeinourlittlehouse.com

Writers often take creative turns to renew their souls and I'm no different. I've launched a new project, Living Large in our Little House, which will deal with living green, but also describe our lives in our small house here in the Ozarks.
I hope you will continue to join me there - remember to bookmark it and sign up for the RSS feed!

2009-08-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

Identify with Getting Tags - at the Very Least!

Jodi Helmer points out in her book, "The Green Year" that when a pet is lost, it takes a lot of resources to look for it. You drive around endlessly looking, using gas and putting carbon into the environment. You have fliers printed and posted everywhere. Losing a pet isn't just hard on the environment, it's very hard on you mentally as well. In 1994, we left for a weekend away and one of my dear little Maltese, Ana, got spooked by some fireworks and bolted from a relative who was caring for her. We never saw her again.
I looked for her for 6 months before my husband said it was finally time to give up the search. To this day, I sometimes think about Ana and hope that whatever happened to her, it wasn't awful.
Helmer suggests making sure all of your pets are wearing tags. Even better, go the distance and have your dog and/or kitties microchipped. This technology is growing and now most shelters scan for chips when lost pets are found. If you do this, as with putting tags on them, make sure to keep the info current if you move. A dog in Australia was recently found 2,000 miles from its' owners after 8 years - thanks to a microchip!
So, be nice to the environment -as well as to your pet and yourself - by keeping track of them!

2009-08-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

Back to School...on the Green Bus

Jodi Helmer points out in her book, "The Green Year" that it's back to school time, but that doesn't mean we have to quit trying to go green. Many kids are more environmentally aware than their parents these days and want to do all they can to help the planet. If they're into the environment, here's some ways to point out that you're on board the "green" bus:

*Look for used school supplies. Go through all of the stuff from last year (having the kids help) to figure out what can be reused. Buy recycled paper with as little packaging as possible and buy in bulk. Shop for used text books.

*Research the most eco-friendly computers. Laptops are more energy efficient. Find the ones with the Energy Star seal.

*Go for the Number 2 pencils. Helmer says in her book that while most refillable things are more eco-friendly, that pencils are one of the exceptions. Why? refillable pencils are made of plastic - using resources to make them - and they eventually end up in the landfill. Wooden pencils don't end up in the landfill and are virtually waste-free!

*Shop online for back to school clothes. If you can find quality recycled clothes your children will wear, it will help save money too!

*Leaving notes for your kids on paper is wasteful. Get a dry erase whiteboard to post in the kitchen or other family-oriented room where you can leave each other notes.

*Find eco-friendly ways to commute to and from school. A friend of mine told me the other day she can't believe the lines and lines of SUV's outside her sons' school - and most of them are from her own neighborhood and they only live a block away! If it's safe and you live close enough, encourage your kids to walk, ride their bike or skateboard. If not, ride the bus - and if you must taxi them to school, carpool and save resources.

Have fun preparing for another year of school!

2009-08-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

Wellness is the Key

I had to make a stop at Wal-Mart yesterday while on an errand and saw two men in the line at the registers buying cheap store brand dog food for their pets. I wanted to go up and ask them if they knew what was in that stuff.
While I know the economy is tight and everyone is pinching pennies, now is not the time to go cheap on the pet food. Research has shown that pets on higher quality diets have fewer vet bills - and live longer.
To me, it's all about the wellness of our pets.
During Read the Label Week last week, I noted how disappointed I was in the dog food we were feeding our dogs. We were feeding a premium price for the food, which I had researched years ago when our first rescue, Hershey, came to live with us. However, when I read the label to the dry food, by-products were the first ingredient, meaning that unknown body parts and organs was the main ingredient, rather than a pure protein source such as meat.
We actually began researching new foods a few weeks ago. I've come to the conclusion, that right now, Wellness brand food, which can be found in Petco (We don't have any other large chain pet supply stores), is one of the best on the market now. Their website, www.wellnesspetfood.com says that their products are "Highly Digestible, Beneficial, Human-Grade Ingredients."
There are several feeding options from all protein foods to ones that contain some grains, although meat is always the main ingredient.
Their Core mix for example, lists deboned turkey and deboned chicken as the first two ingredients.
Their canned food is of similar quality.
The dogs seem to vote for it. We've been slowly switching them now for 2 weeks from the old diet by mixing a little more of the Wellness brand in each day. They did fine yesterday evening on the Wellness brand alone, so it looks like we're there.
My husband thought I was a little overzealous when I said their coats even looked and felt better - and our 10-11 year old Rot/German Shepherd mix, Emma, is even acting friskier. However, a neighbor who hasn't seen them in about a month confirmed my observations yesterday.
I learned from a nutrition expert that pets on a dry diet - even high quality ones - should really have canned food mixed with their diets at least 2-3 times a week. The only incident we had in the transition was that on the first day of canned food, Dakota, our wiener/Beagle, got sick. She tends to scarf her canned food though, so we suspect she ate too fast - she's done fine since.

2009-08-17T04:23:00.000-07:00

Well, What's Keeping us From Testing our Well Water?
When we first built our house here in the Ozark Mountains, we couldn't afford to have a well dug, so we paid a water company to haul it in by truck. When we sold our house in KC, the first thing we did was put in a well. However, privately owned wells are not tested by the state and we have no idea the quality of the ground water the company actually hit.
When we first drank it, the water tasted like metal, so we decided not to drink it until we had it tested. So, what's been keeping us? Seems we always have someplace else to put $40 this year. Still, buying bottled water is not only expensive, but bad for the environment, so we resolved this week to finally use the test we picked up from the county and find out if the water will kill us.
Our decision comes as it was reported that overall, bottled water sales are down. We do turn the bottles in for recycling, but plastic is the worst thing for the earth when it is in production and uses resources best used someplace else.
I'll report back when the tests come in...

2009-08-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

Is Getting Rid of the Germs Really Worth It?

I have severe allergies and if my allergies and sinuses are giving me problems, I used to tend to develop a lot of colds. So, I started using anti-bacterial soap. The problem is that some of the ingredients are also known to cause cancer. Read the labels on your soap, do your homework on the ingredient list. I think you'll be surprised - and realize that getting rid of a few germs isn't worth the risk.

2009-08-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Animal By-Product is What, Exactly?

When we got our first rescue, Hershey, a miniature Doxie back in 1996, she came with a bowl, leash, vet records and, even to our horror, those meat-like food products that kind of resembles hamburger, but has enough red dye in it to turn dog poop colors. I did my homework on pet food and chose a premium brand sold only in vet's offices. Eventually, all my dogs and cats got put on that food.
The thing I didn't realize is that I had to continue to do homework. Although this brand of pet food is still sold by vets - and pushed by most - I still should have been reading the label periodically. Somewhere over time, this brand's ingredients changed.
When reading a pet food label, it's a good idea to have some sort of pure meat as the first ingredient - "Beef," "Chicken," "Lamb" or "Whitefish" are the usual suspects.
Only this brand now lists "animal by products" as it's first ingredient and later, some sort of meat "meal." When I compared it to other brands found in a big box store last weekend, the ingredients weren't that much different than other, cheaper brands.
What are animal by-products, exactly?
Trust me, you really don't want to know. Let's just say it's not fit for human consumption.
Animals, including our dogs and cats, need protein, which is the meat, not animal organs, snouts, or other things we typically wouldn't make a staple in our own diets.
Since the big pet food recall two years ago, I've been really too scared to read what my dogs are eating. I've also been a bit concerned as the dogs coats don't seem as soft and shiny, nor have they been as spunky.
Now that I've read the ingredient list, I'm too scared not to pay attention to it.
I've already started investigating other brands of foods. Raw, home prepared diets are the best, but is cost and time prohibitive for most people.
I'll keep you updated as to the brand we choose and how it affects the Fearsome Four here.

2009-08-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

You Want to be Scared? Read Ingredient Lists

It's not quite fall or time for Halloween, but if you want a scary experience, start paying attention to what's in the products that you purchase. This week, I will be looking at ingredient lists on some popular products and reporting them here. This is following Jodi Helmer's lead in her book, "The Green Year," which has a partial list of ingredients for popular brands of toothpastes.
Do you know what polyethylene glycol, methylparaben and triclosan are? I don't either, but according to Helmer, they are chemicals which are bad for the environment and could potentially be bad for your health. These chemicals have the potential to cause kidney damage, been linked to breast cancer, as well as suspected of causing birth defects and lowering fertility.
Switching to all natural toothpastes is not only a good option for the environment, but also for your health. These all natural brands contain baking soda, spearmint or tea tree oil. Want a more economical option? Find a do-it-yourself recipe and blend your own!

2009-08-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

I Don't Think I can Have my First Love Euthanized in the Cash for Clunkers Program

A few posts back, I expressed concern over the Cash for Clunkers program. I think it's great that we're striving for better fuel efficiency (if we have to stick with automobiles), but I was wondering what happened to all of those old "clunkers" once they were turned in.
Turns out they're euthanized - much like a sick pet. Seriously. a chemical is poured into the running engine and within a few minutes, it locks up and dies. This keeps the gas guzzlers from hitting the road again. Dealers and federally approved salvage yards are allowed to sell anything off of the vehicles but for the engines and drive trains. What's left is smashed to bits.
We Americans have long had a love affair with our cars, and I'm no different. When I was a younger woman, I wanted, more than anything, a "Baby Blazer," those smaller Blazers Chevrolet used to make. In 1988, we bit the bullet and for nearly $400 a month for 4 years, I got one. She was my first automobile love and we still have her. She's been through a pretty bad crash (one of my friends thought I just might kill the person who hit me that morning), an attempt to steal her from the parking lot where I was taking night courses to finish my degree, and my husband has had to put in a new engine. My Baby Blazer and her stereo made the days driving into a job I hated at a company I hated even more, a little more bearable, and the drives home in her helped me de-stress. She taxied our two girls and their friends to volleyball practices, football games and took us on our vacations. When my beloved late mother and I needed to go to the grocery store, or Mom wanted to go to Hobby Lobby (her favorite store), the Baby Blazer got us there. My mom even made a tiny dream catcher for her rear view mirror for safety and luck. In the past two years, she got my husband to and from KC while he commuted back and forth to the Ozarks after we sold our home there.
Today, she rests, most days, in one of our garages. The new car smell has been replaced with that sort of musty, old car smell that upholstery starts emitting, but aside from a couple of little rust spots, she looks much the same as she did the day we drove her off of the new car lot 21 years ago this summer. These days, I happily work from home, but if I need her, she still gets me where I need to go.
I joked on Facebook the other day that she is headed for antique status soon. I've had a sentimental attachment since I bought her. She represents to me attainment of a goal I worked to achieve at another point in my life - and a lot of memories.
No, I don't think I could have her euthanized at this point. She not only means too much to me, but she is still running and I'm not convinced that wasting the trips she has left by turning her into a tiny squashed piece of metal is what's best for the environment. However, I do respect those who can let go and are going for better fuel efficient cars.
Read more about the Cash for Clunkers program:
http://www.kansascity.com/437/story/1369750.html

2009-08-05T04:31:00.000-07:00

Green Gifting

A lot of people I love have birthdays in August, so I have to come up with card and gift ideas. As I've mentioned here before, I can't get over the whole paper card thing, I love the look and feel of sending a "real" card. I know it isn't "Green," but it is my weakness. Being here in Arkansas when most of my loved ones are still in Kansas City - or other parts of the world - I have no choice but to either send paper or e-cards, and while I do send e-cards too, I like to imagine someone going to the mailbox and pulling something tangible out.
Jodi Helmer's recommendation for "The Green Year" is to find "green" presents to give as well. A batch of cookies, or something canned or fresh from the garden. That's a great idea. When I give gifts I do refrain from wrapping paper mostly now and if I can be there in person, I use gift bags, which can be used for years.
Even when gift giving, we can make it green!

2009-08-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Canoeing - a Relaxing and Eco-Friendly Sport

We live in some of the most beautiful country in the nation and when we seek it out, we can usually find something new. This weekend, we went to Buffalo National Park, which has the Buffalo River at its center. A scenic and lovely river that winds through the Ozark Mountains, the waterway was once Ground Zero in a battle over if every river in the country should be dammed. Naturalists won the battle and today, the river is much like it was in the 1930s when the fight began.
We decided to get into canoeing, which is the only boating allowed in the park. The slow rides down the river allows participants to not only enjoy the scenery of the trees and steep bluffs, but encounter wildlife in their natural habitat.
Eco-friendly wasn't exactly at the top of our list when seeking a new hobby, but it certainly is a benefit of canoeing.
Now, just to get into shape so I can help row!

2009-07-31T04:42:00.000-07:00

Cash for Clunkers so Successful, it's Been Suspended

The Washington Post is reporting that the Cash for Clunkers government program to turn in gas guzzling autos for more fuel efficient ones has been so successful that it ran out of money in just one week. The program has been suspended.
Turning in a car for a more fuel efficient choice is good (sans the option for us Americans to ditch cars altogether for smarter rail systems), but what happens to the old cars once they are turned in? This creates another environmental problem.
Here's a look via slide show of the trash that's created when cars are "trashed."

http://www.environmentreport.org/story.php?story_id=4584

2009-07-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

Carbon Offsets

The subject of carbon offsets -making donations to environmental causes to offset the amount of carbon emissions we use - is a complicated and controversial one. I've purchased them when flying, but don't purchase them on a daily or monthly basis. I've chosen, instead, to try to make small daily changes that helps reduce our footprint on the earth.
That's where the controversy comes in. Some people believe that carbon offset donations just allows society to continue doing what we're doing without making the changes.
There's an excellent article on carbon offsetting that explores the practice and what the money is actually used for:
http://www.gorgeoutdoors.org/go1/?p=937

2009-07-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the Beauty of the Ozarks

We were out on the lake yesterday and that always makes me feel closer to a higher power. The mountains, the blue water and the animals are all a treat for me. What I don't like seeing is trash in the lake or along the shorelines.
When we first started coming to this part of Bull Shoals Lake, we were often the only ones on the lake, even on weekends and holidays. However, that's changed, now there are more boats and the water is becoming crowded with people water skiing and boating.
In addition, we've seen more floating debris, as well as trash along the shoreline where people camp. As well, I usually cannot walk down our road any longer without encountering someone's litter.
It really makes me angry to see the flash of red aluminum from a floating coke can or dead fish that have been carelessly caught and dumped dead back into the water.
We can all show a little respect and help preserve whatever we have in the communities we share by picking up our own trash and having respect for those who share this earth with us.

2009-07-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

Check it Once, Check it Twice

We all know the basics of conserving energy: Unplugging appliances that aren't being used, turning off lights when you're not in the room, turning off your computer, or putting it to sleep when not in use, using an electrical strip for little used appliances, unplugging chargers when not in use, using energy/water conservation buttons on our washers and hanging clothes out to dry.

We do all of that, plus we turn off our hot water heater during the 22-23 hours of the day we aren't using it. However, yesterday when I was waiting for a load of laundry to get done (and I've sat and literally watched the electric meter go wild when I'm doing wash), I realized that the "extra rinse" button had been accidentally pushed, so I had washed 4 loads already, putting my clothes through an unneeded extra rinse, and emptying our pocketbooks a little faster of our money.

I learned yesterday that it just isn't enough to do this stuff, it has to be done and then double checked each day. While it sounds like a long list, it only takes a couple of minutes - and will help save you money while helping the environment.

DON'T MISS

Tonight, ABC News 20/20 will present "Over a Barrel: The Truth About Oil," about America's oil addiction and how the powers that be want us to stay addicted. We use 400 million gallons of gasoline PER DAY in this country. 9 p.m. Central.

2009-07-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

Stop the Bus!

I'm finally at home back in the Ozark Mountains now after my trip to The Windy City via the Greyhound bus. It took me a few days to process my trip. The bus is reportedly the second most eco-friendly way to travel next to the train. I tried it out for that reason, as well as the fact that I was tired of being held hostage to the airlines, who gives poor service for the money they want to charge.

As for the bus, it was well, interesting to say the least. I don't mind long rides, in fact, I enjoy the opportunity to relax, read or work. However, riding on a crowded bus is almost worse than being on a full airplane. There are no pull down trays and should the person in front of you decide to lean all the way back, you have less than 6 inches between you and the headrest in front of you. In my 22 hours or so of riding, I had maybe 4 where I had the room to spread out and do some work. As well, neither of the bus stations I was in were equipped with Wi-Fi, and Springfield doesn't even have a place to recharge computers, phones and iPods. St. Louis did, but not nearly enough docks and it was the luck of the draw to be able to use one. Both of these terminals were relatively new and I don't understand their ignoring modern technology when constructing these terminals.

Riding the bus wasn't the worst experience, but it certainly wasn't the best travel experience I've ever had. As with all mass transit options here, we had to drive 2 hours to get to the nearest station. When we got to the Springfield bus terminal, the clerk was rude - something I hate about the airlines as well.
And then there was the well, should we say, questionable characters riding along with me. I'm not a snob, believe me, I'm as down to earth as they come. However, as a woman traveling alone, it was a little disconcerting to be seated next to a man who told me all about his arrest the weekend before for home invasion; the 8-12 just-released prisoners the state loaded on a few stops before Chicago, or the two women on the way home who were comparing their rap sheets and where they had done time. Their conversation was loud and laced with profanity. There was a small child in the seat in front of me and I can only imagine that her mother didn't say a word for the same reason most of us didn't - we were afraid of these people.

For my next trip, I did find other options, such as taking the bus part way and transferring in St. Louis at the airport to a plane (where I could get a very cheap fare to Chicago), or taking a charter out of Mountain Home. I do worry though, about America's options when wanting to travel eco-friendly. As one writer told me in Chicago, "You opted out of being held hostage by the airlines and instead, took a chance on becoming a real hostage by taking the bus."
Yes, and I'm not sure I want to take that chance again.

2009-07-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

Flip the Switch

We had a great time on the lake yesterday. There's nothing as beautiful as floating on the water in the quiet of the morning.

The tip from "The Green Year" is a simple one today. Flip the switch. Don't leave lights on when you're not in the room. Flipping the switch when you leave the room will also keep your house cooler in the summer.

I will be traveling the rest of this week, so this is my last green tip for the week. I will be back next Monday with updates to my bus ride!

2009-07-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Bear Sightings

There's a good article about bear sightings in the Ozarks, which includes what NOT to do when you're in an area that has them.
Feeding bears or trying to attract them ultimately causes problems for people and usually tragically for the bears, who get used to people and wander into urban areas where they will most likely be killed. "Please Don't Feed the Bears" isn't just a cute decorative sign to hang around your house.

http://www.bransondailynews.com/story.php?storyID=12534

2009-07-08T02:34:00.000-07:00

Four Televisions and...

Three rooms to watch them, if you count my office. Actually, we only have one set up, the rest of our now outdated analog TVs are up in our storage barn, along with two households full of stuff.
The question is what to do with them? A friend from book club, who mentioned helping a returning veteran from Iraq furnish an apartment suggested I might look into giving him one of the sets, if he were planning on getting cable. Great idea.
We're still watching one of our old analog sets with our satellite, and everything is working fine (with the 1-hour exception of that one station that didn't convert as smoothly as planned on conversion) but if you plan on buying a new television, don't just dump your old one in the landfill. Here's two sites that will give you more ideas on how to recycle your old, unwanted electronics:
http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm#local
http://www.lifewhile.com/lifestyle/18002401/detail.html

2009-07-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

It's All in the Wood

Having such a small space now, we have furniture that will not fit into our tiny house. This isn't always such a bad thing. If I want to change the look of my little space, no money is involved, I just go digging around in storage. This week, we're going to replace the kitchen table with a beautiful butcher block that belonged to my mother. I love the piece and if we do entertain in the summer and need a table, we usually do it on the deck or covered front porch. I know, it's horrible, but we usually eat in front of the television.
I prefer antiques to newly made furniture. Shopping for antiques gives pieces a new life in your home and adds a sense of history. Also, it saves resources in making new.
If you need to buy furniture, however, Jodi Helmer suggests in her book, "The Green Year" that you research eco-friendly wood. Find furniture certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Lowe's Home Improvement is just one store that carries such products.
We were in Lowe's not too long ago and flooring caught my eye. It was bamboo and just gorgeous. We have laminate that looks like wood now, but since bamboo is so pretty and the most eco-friendly, I will definitely be researching how it wears the next time we need to replace our flooring.

2009-07-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

My Big Bang Theory

I loved the 4th of July when I was a kid - that is, until my dad received minor burns shooting a firework off for me. From that year on, it just wasn't quite as much fun.
Are you getting ready for a big celebration this year? Here's some tips from Jodi Helmer's "The Green Year" to make your holiday more environmentally friendly, as well as safer:

* Use dinnerware that can be composted for that holiday party. Jodi says over 100 BILLION (there's that "B" word again that is higher than most people can count) plastic, paper and styrofoam cups end up in the landfill every year. Plates, cups and utensils made from organic sugarcane can be found in many health food stores. When you're done, just throw them on the compost pile!

*Keep mosquitoes at bay by simply eliminating standing water in plant pots, trash cans and recycle bins. Change water regularly in bird baths and pet food bowls to eliminate breeding grounds. I also use natural candles while sitting on the deck with neighbors at night. I don't allow anything with Deet near me. We use an all natural spray I buy at the pet supply store.

*Use organic sunscreen. While it's very important to use sunscreen (both of my parent in-laws have suffered from skin cancer), sunscreen is toxic to fish. Find organic and biodegradable sunscreen.

*Finally, celebrate this weekend without fireworks. When we lived in the city, the best part of our block party wasn't the hundreds of collective dollars we watched go up in flames at the end of the day, it was simply getting together with our friends, many of whom are too busy most other days of the year to stop and be neighborly (well, maybe that and our neighbor's pool). Fireworks are toxic to the environment, some even contain dioxin, which is known to cause cancer.

My Big Bang Theory is that you can still have a hot time this holiday weekend while being friendly to our eco-system.

2009-06-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Taking a Bus

Living in my part of the Ozarks is not a place to live if you travel a lot. Fortunately, I only travel 2-3 times a year - and this year will probably just be one major trip. Getting to an airport is 2 hours away, and then the airlines, in my opinion, treat you as if you're lucky they're in existence, and you pay out the nose because you drove two hours to a smaller regional airport, rather than a major one. After checking the price of getting from Springfield to Chicago, where I have a conference and assignment next month, I decided to bus it. I've never taken the bus before, but given it is $300 cheaper than flying and there's practically nothing I can't work on while riding that I can't work on during a ride, I figure I can't go wrong. I'm actually feeling really good about not letting the airlines hold me hostage to their outrageous fares and service!
Besides, next to riding the train or renting a hybrid, taking the bus is the next most eco-friendly option. Win win for my bank account and the earth, can't beat that!

As for our cardinal problem, the little guy is still here, banging my screen and messing all over the place. Even after we tried blocking his reflection, shooting shots in the air to scare him away and putting plastic owls by the window. That all made him mad for about 10 minutes each - and he raised quite the ruckus, but just went back to attacking himself.

2009-06-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Causing a Stir

The thing I love about Jodi Helmer's book, "The Green Year" are all of the factoids she included designed to help the reader realize that they aren't just "ONE," we're all a part of the world, contributing to it in both good and bad ways.

This morning, a tip from her book suggests not using the plastic coffee stirrers every morning. What's the harm you ask?

"Americans throw away 138 BILLION straws and stirrers every year," she says. Think about it, I don't even know how to count to 138 billion, and I'm suspecting not many people do. This plastic ends up someplace - in the landfill. Don't want one in your backyard, reduce waste. Little by little, each straw, stirrer, plastic bag, paper towel and plastic fork adds up!

But I still need to stir my coffee. Can't use washable, reusable silverware at Quick Trip? Put your sugar in first and then your milk, which creates a splash effect and stirs the coffee, Helmer says.

2009-06-22T02:49:00.000-07:00

Hell Couldn't Be Hotter Than This...

I'm pretty sure. It is hotter than blazes here in northern Arkansas already and it's only June. I'm hoping this heat isn't this bad all the way through September now. It was only a few days ago that it was still cool and raining. Now things are already starting to turn brown. Sheesh.

This kind of heat brings forth some things we can do to try to keep the air quality a little better:
*Fill your gas tank in the early mornings or evenings.
*Do the same mowing your lawn.
*Remember to keep your plants watered, and water them in the morning as well. Evening's are ok, but increase the chance for fungus.
*Try to turn your thermostat up, or program it for a higher temp when you're not home.

Drink plenty of water and stay cool!
Update on the cardinal situation: We put the screens up on the windows (after cleaning everything up, of course). So far, no sign of Mr. Bird. Hopefully, he's gone on to help perpetuate his species, but we'll see.

2009-06-19T04:20:00.001-07:00

It's like the Hitchcock movie, "The Birds"

At least all week long, a male Cardinal has been banging himself up against the windows in my office. At first I thought he was like many others, who have flown into the glass, not realizing it was glass. As the days progressed though, I thought he was trying to get in my office. Nothing deterred him, me waving my arms and yelling or the dogs fiercely barking and jumping at the windows. Sometimes he sits right on the sill and seems to look into the window at the dogs.
Turns out Cardinals are very territorial. He's not seeing me or the dogs, he is fixated on his own reflection and he's trying to fight himself.
I've resisted putting the screens up that came with the windows as they are heavy duty and will compromise my view of the beautiful Ozark Mountains here, but we're going to have to do it this weekend...at least until we can afford the shades I want and then I can just draw the shades part way during mating season.

2009-06-17T02:37:00.000-07:00

To Borrow a Word on Going Green...

We have some very good neighbors who are also great friends of ours. We share quite a few meals and fun times together. We also borrow things from one another, which not only saves money, but saves resources. You see there are things we both need, but not necessarily all of the time. Trading off and borrowing saves the resources it takes to produce new items.
For example, this spring, our neighbor purchases a wood splitter, a great tool that would help us in getting our heating wood chopped much quicker - and with less effort. We were able to borrow his wood chipper when cutting the wood for this coming winter and this week, he is borrowing our trailer.
Jodi Helmer gives the same recommendation in her book "The Green Year." She advises to make a list of the tools and other things you can borrow. As well, you can rent most tools you may never use again at home improvement stores. "Borrowing will save you a lot of money and help conserve resources."

2009-06-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

Turning Down the Air is Hot

Like my father, I used to love the heat. I could wait until at least July until I turned on the air. However, the older I've gotten, the earlier the air comes on, especially in the hot, humid south (and I thought no place was more humid than KC!)

The Green Year advises us to turn the thermostat up to at least 76 degrees to help conserve electricity and the environment. As well, you know it will save you some energy $$ this summer. Give it a shot, I am. Jodi Helmer reports in The Green Year that if every American household turned their thermostat up by just 6 degrees, we could save 190,000 barrels of oil PER DAY!

2009-06-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

Hot Water Heaters

It looks as if our house isn't wired for an electric tankless water heater, so we're going to have to go with the Energy Star rated regular one. That's ok, since we're trying to make this one last until we can get new, I've gotten used to shutting off the breaker when the hot water is not in use. When you think about it, it's amazing how little you need a hot water heater, yet it runs all of the time!

Today's tip from "The Green Year:" Use lemons to eliminate the smell from your garbage disposal. Put the unused rind in with a cup of ice. The lemon will take care of the smell and the ice will sharpen the blades - all without using chemicals.

2009-06-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

First Impressions

I've been sold on the Green Works products ever since I tried the toilet cleaner. I like the smell and it really does clean. Now I've tried the all-purpose cleaner and the dish washing liquid and like them equally as well. I wish they made a non-chlorine bleach, but if they do, I haven't been able to find it. I guess I'll have to keep going to the health food store to pick that up.
What are your favorite green products?

I'd like to also give a shout out for a new book: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Greening Your Business," by Trish Riley. If you're looking for ways to help your business go green, this is the road map you need!

2009-06-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

String 'Em Up

I don't like my clothes to shrink, so when we lived in the city, my house was big enough to hang our shirts in the laundry room to dry. Here, not so much. I hang our clothes out to dry year around. It's much more efficient in the summer of course, when it is hot, it doesn't take a shirt all day to dry, but it also gives a nice summer day freshness to our clothes.
According to The Green Year, dryers account for 6 percent of all energy consumption. If your Home Owner's Association doesn't allow you to hang clothes out on a line, try to at least combine loads - and do your laundry all at once while the dryer is still hot.
Also, you will save money by not using the dryer so much.

2009-06-05T04:13:00.001-07:00

Today is a No-Brainer Free Day!

If you're anywhere near a Krispy Kream or Lamar's doughnut shop today, don't forget to stop in for your free sugary treat!
It's days like these that I wish I lived near a strip mall!

Before I give the green tip for today, I'm asking my readers for some help. With all of this talk of topical flea and tick treatments harming pets, I'm wondering if I've missed something. Is there really any natural treatment that will keep the ticks off of my dogs in the deep woods? While the powers that be say that using topical treatments properly isn't the problem, I've never liked the idea of applying pesticide to my dog's skin. However, the tick problem in the woods is unimaginable to suburbanites and we can't have a house full of disease spreading bugs either.

Today's tip in The Green Year: Use an old sock to dust. My mom used to use old underwear, but I'm thinking the sock might be more socially acceptable if someone comes to the door while you're cleaning your house. :)
I've been using those disposable dust cloths you put on a stick. I found out this week that an old sock sprayed with a little dusting spray on the little plastic stick works just as well - and I'm saving money!

2009-06-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

We Needed a Free Beer...

When we found out that our 5.5 year old water heater is already on the skids. The problem is that Sonic isn't giving away free beers of the alcoholic variety, but free root beer floats tonight at all stores across the country from 8 p.m. - midnight.
I guess that will have to do.
As for the water heater, I was hoping to have enough funds back into our emergency account (remember, we had to purchase a generator with enough power to run most of the house during the January ice storm) to get a tankless water heater when the time came. Tankless water heaters are not a new thing in most developed countries in the world, but in the U.S., which is behind in most energy saving technology, it is still a "luxury." The initial cost is much more than a traditional water heater, but tankless water heaters only heats water as needed - eliminating the up to 30 percent of the cost to heat unused water in the traditional models.
However, with our emergency fund still in emergency status, we might have to go with a traditional model one more time.
I have more research to do before our purchase (the old one is still cranking, although we don't know when it will finally die), but whatever we do, we will get the most energy efficient one we can afford.
I'll keep you posted.

2009-06-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Free iPod Touch for Students

Mac is offering a free iPod Touch for students who make another Mac purchase this summer. The catch is that you have to purchase the iPod Touch and wait for a rebate. Take it from me, though, I love, love my iPod and my Mac in general. It's true what they say - Once you go Mac, you never go back!
More info here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10250085-37.html

We had to turn our air on yesterday for awhile as the Arkansas heat and humidity is catching up to us. Not a good time to be watching our electrical meter, but I can't suffer the heat either. It's more important now than it was in the past to watch how we use our electricity.

The tip from The Green Year this morning advises to schedule your errands back to back, rather than making several trips out during the day. Save gas (which is heading back up again) and money by doing all of your errands at once.

Happy June!

2009-05-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

Free Coffee at Borders

Going to a Border's bookstore this weekend? Go to this website and print out a coupon for a free small coffee
http://www.mysavings.com/free-samples/Borders-Small-Coffee/9837/

Oh, yes - and buy books! That's how we writers stay in business! :)

Green Tip for the day:

Last year, I planted patio tomatoes. I think the whole season, I was able to harvest a total of 3 from 4 plants. The problem I had was bugs attacking the plants. I tried organic sprays, but they didn't seem to work well. This year, when the bugs returned and started eating my tomato buds, I suddenly remembered my mom planting marigolds around her plants to keep the bugs away. I bought some last Sunday and so far, it's working, no sign of bugs - and I have tons of fruit already turning green!

2009-05-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

Cut the Power

I hate sending our hard earned money to the utility companies, but of course, I love power, after having gone without it for 8 days during the ice storm, I wouldn't NOT want to have it.
But there are ways to make writing that check a little less painless. One of the biggest things that we've done since January to reduce energy waste - and save money - is watching what we use in electricity - and I mean this very literally. We have a new digital meter on our house which is very easy to read. I started keeping track of the readings each day and recording how we used our power through watching television, cooking, leaving lights on, doing laundry, etc. Cooking and doing laundry makes the meter rise faster than the thermometer on a hot day in August, so I started combining as many loads as possible.
One other big money saver in my office (which is on a different meter) is turning the electric hot water tank off when it is not in use. I rarely need it here, unless someone is going to shower, so we don't waste the money keeping it on.
We also do the obvious:
Turn off lights and television when not in use.
Unplug appliances, including the microwave, TV, toaster oven and coffee pot when not in use.
Use new, energy saving light bulbs.
Turn off the computer when not in use.
Unplug chargers, and fax machine.

We've managed to reduce our electric bill by HALF in the past few months just by taking these easy steps. Of course, we will see a rise in the summer when we turn on the air conditioning, but to me, that air is worth it, leaving an unused microwave plugged in or leaving on an unwatched TV is not!

Happy Summer, Everyone!

2009-05-22T04:06:00.000-07:00

Cost Cutters that Also Help You Go Green

In these ever-increasing bad economic conditions, more and more of us are looking for ways to cut costs. I sat down this week with a list of our expenses this week and determined which ones needed cut, or which ones could be eliminated altogether. Next, I made a list of ways we could save money, did a little research and got some more ideas. I realized many of these are ways we can start to help the environment anyway. I'll be listing them here for the next few posts. If you have any ideas to add, I would like to hear them in the comments - our budget could use all of the help it can get!

Tip#1-We are returning to clipping every coupon we can find. While this may not seem like a "green" move, the ones I am printing from www.couponbug.com are being printed on recycled paper, or paper destined for the recycling bin anyway. I'm printing them in B&W only.
Once, when I was waiting for my mother to finish an appointment in the hospital, someone saw me clipping coupons and asked me if it was worth it. At the time, I did it every week, without fail and was saving an average of $15-$20 a month. The biggest 1-time savings was just recently when I saved over $10 on groceries thanks to coupons.
I think it's worth the time.

2009-05-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

More Free Ice Cream

Wal-Mart is giving away free ice cream on Saturday May 30 at 2,000 of its Super Centers across the country. For more information, go to
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Food-Center-Ice-Cream.aspx

As I've blogged about before, we shop at Wal-Mart, really, because there's no where else to shop in this part of rural Arkansas. We do have one locally owned grocer left, but they are so high, we only shop there for what limited meat we buy and sale items.
A few months back, my husband picked up some Wal-Mart cloth bags for $1 each. This doesn't mean that their clerks know how to pack them (or any other bags for that matter), or that they offer you cash back for using them.
That's right, I said, "cash back," which is what we used to get at our locally owned grocer in Kansas City when we brought our own bags. A nickel a bag may not seem like a lot, but it all adds up - and in this economy, that's important. When you think about it, it's only fair for them to offer a refund per bag, as the cost of using their own bags is already calculated into the cost of groceries.
Maybe we should all get together for a petition drive to ask Wal-Mart to reimburse us for our cloth bags?

2009-05-18T02:31:00.000-07:00

One Perfect Day in the Ozarks

We finally had one perfect sunny day in the Ozarks yesterday and we used it to work outside. Dale helped me plant my Topsy Turvey tomatoes - you know the ones that hang upside down in a basket. As he worked clearing some more debris from the ice storm and raking leaves, I planted my flowers, which is a sign spring is here and summer is on it's way!
It's a bit late this year as it has been one wet, cool spring, but yesterday was a perfect 70 degrees or so with low humidity and bright, sunny skies. We haven't seen that often in the past month. It felt so good, I didn't put on the sunscreen yesterday (I know, very bad) and soaked in the Vitamin D.
My plants also made their way out for their summer growth - all for one - the peace Lilly my Godbrother and his wife sent to Mom's funeral. They don't do well in extremes so it stays in year around. It's good to have plants in the house, as they work to create oxygen in the house, while helping clear the air of toxins.
This brings me to Jodi Helmer's tip in "The Green Year," which also advises to have houseplants in the home year around. She says English Ivy, Bamboo and Spider Plants are best for improving air quality inside.
Make sure your plants aren't toxic to your pets, though. Go to www.earthclinic.com/pets/poisonous_plants.html to learn which ones might be harmful.

2009-05-15T05:14:00.001-07:00

Going Green is a Trial

At least it is around my house. My husband has been fighting my green efforts every since I started using cloth bags at the grocery store 20 years ago. First, it was "This isn't going to solve anything, two people using these bags." Today, he seems embarrassed when the clerk doesn't know how to handle the cloth bags. "It just blows their mind, why do you even bother?" Even when I showed him it had saved over 10,000 bags from the landfill over two decades, he hasn't stopped complaining. The cans and plastic means extra work - and a trip out of our way to go to the landfill. Now it is the soap. For months, he's been complaining that I stopped using bleach in the laundry and started using environmentally friendly soap. "Where did you find that bar of soap?" he asked this morning. "It doesn't even smell like anything."
Not that my husband would want the soap to smell like anything. If it smelled like flowers, he would be complaining about that.
Sometimes it seems I should just give up on going green and give in. Then I think about the 10,000+ bags we've saved and I remind my husband of the fact that we haven't had a septic backup because bleach is killing the good bacteria necessary to break down the solid waste and paper.
Sure, the soaps might not bubble up as much, they may not smell as good and the green bleach I'm using doesn't leave that scent we were always taught meant "fresh and clean" growing up.
But they are doing their jobs without all the harmful chemicals and perfumes - and it's the job they're doing, not our long held belief of how they smell or how many bubbles they produce that matters.

2009-05-13T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ditch the Carpet and Freebies from Self Magazine

Today's freebie post brings you 40 chances to win prizes from Self Magazine:
https://secure.self.com/magazine/sweeps/prize_a_page_2009/entry/long/

"The Green Year" suggests for fresh smelling carpets, use baking soda rather than harsh chemical treatments. Just lightly dust, let sit for at least 20 minutes and then vacuum.

Since moving to the Ozarks, I feel a sense of freedom from that clunky thing we all usually have to drag around several times a week - the vacuum. A person once told me that anyone who puts carpets in their homes in the rural south is crazy. I believe them. Between the red clay, the dogs (and the critters they sometimes drag in on them), I already would have ripped our carpets and burned them. But luckily, we got that advice before we built the cabin. If you can, ditch the carpets all together and go with a high performance laminate or environmentally friendly bamboo flooring. Free yourself of the vacuum!

2009-05-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

Free Ice Cream

This may not directly related to going green, but we all need a little ice cream in our lives!
Get a free scoop of Haagen Dazs ice cream at any Haagen Dazs ice cream store in the U.S. on Tuesday May 12 between 4-8 p.m. You can stop on your way home from work!

Here's a great tip from The Green Year today. Did you know that plastic flower pots are made of PVC, a material that is known as "poison plastic?"

I didn't either. I just bought them because they are cheap.

They may be inexpensive for us, but they are costing the earth a lot. These plastics are not biodegradable and cannot be recycled. As a matter of fact, Author Jodi Helmer explains that throwing these into the recycling bin can contaminate other recyclables - up to 100,000 bottles that will then be labeled as non-recyclable.

The alternative is to buy real terra cotta - it's a natural material that can eventually be recycled.

2009-05-06T03:04:00.000-07:00

Free Stuff at Freecycle

Freecycle is a network that allows individuals and organizations to list their stuff in order to keep it from going into the landfill. If you clean out your closets, barns, garages and list it on freecycle, you get rid of stuff you don't need and someone else does. You also make room so you can maybe find something there.
www.freecycle.org

Jodi Helmer is still giving gardening tips in The Green Year this week. Safe ways to keep your pets from digging in your garden. For dogs, mix Tabasco sauce, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper in a bucket of water. Let it sit for a while and then sprinkle it over the area of the garden that the dogs have been digging.

For cats, who might use your garden as a litter box, toss lemon and orange peels into the garden. Cats don't like citrus and the peels are completely biodegradable and won't harm your plants. Aphids also don't like it. Grind the lemon peel, mix with water and spray on the leaves the bugs are bothering!

I'll be taking Friday off to go back to Kansas City and do research for a story. Have a Happy Week!

2009-05-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

Free Mother's Day Cards

Today's freebie comes from Hallmark. You can design your own Mother's Day card and Hallmark will print and send it for you for free! Of course, if Mom is on the computer, the more environmentally friendly thing to do is to send one of the free e-cards available at www.hallmark.com

This week, I'll continue with green gardening tips from The Green Year. Jodi Helmer suggests using an inch of beer at the bottom of a bowl placed at soil level in your garden to repel slugs. The slugs creep up to the edge, fall in and, well...then you can add the dead slugs to your compost pile!

2009-05-01T03:31:00.000-07:00

A Freebie to Help You Lessen Your Cat's Pawprint on the Earth

The Earth Day celebrations continue: Litter-Robot is giving away a new ECO Unit Litter-Robot and Litter-Robot Ramp. Readers can go to www.litter-robot.com/blog/categories/litter-box-news and tell us how they and their pet are trying to reduce their environmental impact. All entries must be received by June 1, 2009 and the winner will be chosen at random on June 8, 2009 and announced on the Litter-Robot Blog at www.litter-robot.com/blog.

For more information about Litter-Robot’s new ECO Unit made of 100% recycled plastics, go to www.Litter-Robot.com.

____________________________________________________

How many of you used to get some cut flowers and leave them on the doorstep of your favorite neighbors, and maybe your mother on May Day? In their last years, both my Mom and Godmother recalled how I used to do that as a kid. My mom always had a wealth of flowers from which I could cut.
In celebration of May Day, a tip from The Green Year for today:
"Water your plants first thing in the morning or late in the evening." Helmer says the plants retain moisture better when watered in cooler temps.
Also, watering your plants in the heat of the day presents the chance you might burn them. My mom always used to say too, that watering in the evening causes mold. We've always gotten out early in the morning, and my plants thrive as Mom's did.

Happy May Day and Have a Great Weekend!

2009-04-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Recycle a Pet, Get Free Stuff This Weekend

A little late posting this morning, but the reason goes with the subject of my blog post. Due to Lyme Disease and other nasty stuff here, we have to treat the big dogs, Emma and Sade, who roam our property with a topical treatment for ticks each month. This means that they cannot roam for 2 full days - as they always run down to the lake and take a swim and they can't get wet. I don't know if having them home for 48 hours straight is harder on me or them, but they don't like it and because they haven't ran off their energy, they also don't sleep well. This means we don't sleep well either.
Having said all of that, I still wouldn't have done anything different if I could go back to the day we rescued them. They are truly wonderful, sweet and loving. I literally could not live without them, given Emma once saved me from being trampled by a horse.

So, if you've been thinking of adopting a new 4-legged family member - feline or canine, this would be a great weekend to do it.

PetSmart is giving free stuff for every adoption through an approved rescue this weekend May 1-3 at their Spring National Adoption Event.

Here's the giveaway:

* A "Welcome to Pet Parenthood Guide" your guide to raising a healthy, happy pet. It includes information on caring for your pet and savings on products & services totaling more than $224 (in dog) & $147 (in cat), and in Canada $146 (in dog) & $82 (in cat).
* A Free bag of Pro Plan® dog or cat food (up to $13.99 value) U.S. stores only.
* A Free 20lb jug of Tidy Cats® Scoop Litter (up to $8.99 value) U.S. stores only.
* As proud sponsor of the PetSmart Charities® Adoption Weekend, Purina® Pro Plan® will donate $200,000 to save homeless pets.

2009-04-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

More Freebies, More Tips

Using cloth grocery bags at the store was the first thing my family did over two decades ago to help reduce waste and live a more sustainable life. I think it's one of the easiest steps and has a direct impact immediately on the environment.
Now you have the opportunity to make it even easier - by winning a free tote.
Copy and paste this into your browser, go to the website and take the pledge to help save the planet, and if you're one of the first 10,000 people to take the pledge this week, you'll win a free tote! This is the last week for the promotion, so hurry!

http://ebfarm.com/AboutUs/SustainYourselfSustainThePlanet/index.aspx#pledge

The tip from The Green Year today has to do with creating a worm compost bin for your house. I actually saw this being done in an office the other day and made a mental note to check into it. This brings back stories of my mom and dad's failed worm farm back in the 1970s, but that's a story for a different blog. :)
It's not as gross as it sounds, and is an easy way to create compost for your garden. If you have a copy of The Green Year, go to April 26 to find the instructions. If you don't have a copy, buy one! Or, google "creating a worm compost bin." There are kits, but it can easily be done without purchasing those.

2009-04-24T03:08:00.000-07:00

More Free Stuff and More Green Tips

I found this after the Earth Day post, but you can enter to win a free yoga mat from Yoga Journal:
http://www.yogajournal.com/sweep/50

Now, for the green tips from The Green Year. The first one is a good environmental practice, but also helps homeless animals. Give your old newspapers to shelters. They're always in need of them! While we're on the subject, they also always need blankets, old towels, toys, food and monetary donations.

The second tip is to take your own coffee mug to the coffee shop in the morning, reducing the waste produced by your morning cup of joe!

I wish warm spring weather for all of you this weekend!

2009-04-22T03:08:00.000-07:00

Earth Day Giveaways

After my little post on Monday telling you all you have to do on Earth Day is reflect and find one little thing to do to help the environment, I'll give you some money saving deals being offered today - because isn't everyday better when we're saving money or getting something for free? If these links aren't live, copy and paste them into your browser.

Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil is offering rebates for free rolls of their new 100% recycled foil:
http://www.reynoldsrecycled.com/rebate.aspx
I just registered for mine and the process was quick and easy. However, this is only offered today and there are limited coupons, so hurry!

Water-Pik is giving away 22 low flow shower heads in a contest. Register before midnight tonight:
http://www.waterpikecoflow.com/contest/index.html

This isn't exactly saving money, but it is helping the planet. If you go to the movie "Earth" within the next week, Disney will plant a tree:
http://disney.go.com/disneynature/earth/

Here's a list of more money saving tips:
http://www.freeshipping.org/blog/8-earth-day-deals-and-money-saving-tips

Finally, kudos to Sony brand, who is "recycling" their old ads to promote their electronics recycling program. If you like retro, you'll love this You Tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLUxR9eOCV4

Now, besides saving some bucks today, what small step will you take today to help the environment?
Here's three easy ones:

*Buy re-usable bags and put them in the car. Start the habit today.

*Start recycling cans, newspapers and anything else. It's as easy as separating as you throw away.

*Look into one environmentally friendly product the next time you shop. These days, it could be paper towels, toilet paper or foil made from recycled products, or chemical free cleaners. I personally like the Green Works toilet cleaner.
Don't forget your cloth bags to take your new product home!

Happy Earth Day. Let's make sure every day is earth day!

2009-04-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

Tiny House Living

Follow my tweets as I attempt in 140 characters to document living in a 480-square ft. cabin with a husband and 4 dogs:

http://twitter.com/fivecoat

2009-04-20T03:35:00.000-07:00

Plans for Earth Day

What are your plans for Earth Day? It's always on April 22.
Luckily for us here in the Ozark Mountains, everyday is like Earth Day for us. Life is slower here and we have the time, even if we're on our way to work, to "stop and smell the roses." Each time we walk out of our little cabin, we're treated to the wonders all around us. The melody of the tree frogs, the song of the whipporwill and yesterday, I had a hummingbird buzz my head - I guess he was saying, "I"m back! Where's my feeder!?" Even this morning, when it was still dark walking to my office, I looked up and marveled at all of those stars! Believe me, city people, they're still there, you just can't see them as well because of all of the light pollution.
Celebrating Earth Day doesn't take going to hear speakers, or going anywhere, really. No matter where you are, you can celebrate it by taking a look around and appreciating the natural beauty of what we have here. Then, try to think of one small step to help save it.

2009-04-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

UN-Plug IT!

Your drain, that is. An eco-friendly way to unplug your drain without using all of the harsh chemicals is to use a 1/2 cup of baking soda with a 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Jodi Helmer says in "The Green Year" that the fuzzy mixture will do away with most of what is clogging your drain. It might smell afterwards, but some lemon juice will take care of that.
Happy Weekend!

2009-04-15T02:20:00.000-07:00

Another Opportunity Missed for Disposable Pets

Those who know me know I'm into recycling whatever we can, which includes giving pets a second chance at providing the thing they're best at - the opportunity to show their unconditional love and to be someones best friend. For me, the decision to rescue a dog instead of buying one came in the form of a lovable, playful Miniature Dachshund named Hershey. Nearly 13 years ago, we met Hershey while looking to buy a truck. I had just lost the last of my purebred Maltese and was waiting to get another dog when we returned from a vacation. I had planned to buy another Maltese from a responsible breeder. Hershey's owners told us they no longer wanted her and that she would end up at the animal shelter if we didn't take her home. Hershey had been previously abused by children, and she didn't trust or like them. We knew what that would mean for Hershey. She wouldn't have even been put on the possible adoption list by overworked civil servants at the local animal shelter. She simply would have been labeled as "unadoptable" and killed. Shelters cannot take the chance knowing a dog doesn't do well with children. We didn't have any small ones, so we gave her that chance.
For the next 9 years, Hershey provided us with everything she had to give - laughs, play, exercise and especially unconditional love. She was even known at our local lake by regulars and the water patrol as "the fishing dog in a pink life jacket" as I think she looked more forward to boating on Sundays than we even did.
When Hershey did something to make us laugh, or looked at me with those big brown eyes, or gently put a paw on my face while I held her so I would give her a "Hershey Hug," I often thought of what would have become of her had fate not brought us literally to her rescue that day.
My journey to never turn back to buying a dog came one hot summer afternoon while writing an article on municipal animal shelters for The Kansas City Star. I had the misfortune of visiting my local shelter on "kill day." This is the day when the decision is made by shelter workers about which dogs and cats will live, and which have been at the shelter too long, and must die to make room the following week for more.
The image of those dozens of paws, tails and heads protruding from those 55 gallon drums as they awaited the incinerator will be forever burned in my brain. The smell of death will never leave me.
There surely were more Hersheys in those heaps of carcasses, good pets wanting only to provide love to someone. To be man's best friend.
That's why it was such a major disappointment to me this week when President Obama and his family decided to take a Portuguese Water Dog from a breeder rather than fulfilling a promise he made months ago and adopt a homeless dog from a shelter.
The blogosphere has been abuzz for days (I haven't heard a word about the controversy in the mainstream media) about the Obama's choice of a dog. Some, I'm sure have no real idea about the plight of unwanted animals in this country, and are using Obama's back stepping as an example of promises broken. The people who advocate for buying dogs from breeders (responsible or not) are passionately (and sometimes viciously, from what I've read) defending Obama's choice.
The rest of us are just sad. Sad because it isn't about politics or the appearances of elitism for acquiring a dog worth at least $2,000 on the dog market. It's not about the "animal rights movement" inflicting our desires on the Obama's, nor is it even about the images that haunt us if we've been to a shelter on Kill Day.
It is about the thousands of shelter dogs that were killed just in the past few days since this story broke, and about the millions of pets - the millions of Hersheys - that will be killed by the end of this year in those same shelters. And, these days, especially in this economy, shelters are at capacity every single day.
The argument's been made over allergies, behavior, etc., but those of us who have been around rescues or shelters for any period of time know that a hypo-allergenic breed - even a PWD - could have been found (google the breed, and rescue, or go to petfinders.com and it will turn up PWD's right now), and could have been trained to behave as a First Dog should. The argument's also been made that re-homing a dog from a breeder is the same as getting a rescue - sort of. Fortunately, Bo was in no danger at all because although he was up for "re-homing," part of a responsible breeders business is to make a commitment to offer their offspring their own home if a buyer cannot be found. That's part of them being responsible. So, no, Bo was not a rescue. Not even sort of.
President Obama had an opportunity to be yet another first. The first President of the United States who adopted a homeless dog from a shelter or breed rescue. The benefits of the attention given to shelters and rescues would have been enormous.
Adopting a pet would have become The Thing to Do.
The second factor this is really about, for those of us who have also witnessed first hand the terrible conditions in puppy mills, is the new plight that will eventually strike the PWD breed, which will most likely become the next "101 Dalmatians" victims. This is the scenario by which a breed becomes popular and then becomes exploited by unscrupulous puppy mill breeders, who don't care where the dogs end up, as long as green is lining their pockets. It's happened to Dalmatians, Collies, German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels and most every other breed that's been popularized in pop culture.
It won't be long before PWD's are popping up in pet stores around the country, and soon to follow, dozens and then hundreds, of shelters will be offering them for adoption. Sadly, there will be more killed.
Bo the PWD is one lucky dog, that's for sure. But the Obama's would have benefited shelter animals and the Portuguese Water Dog breed more as a whole, I'm afraid, if they would have just limited their pet choice to a box of Sea Monkeys.

2009-04-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

At Least it Only Comes Once a Year...

Tax season, that is. In honor of the last two days before people in the U.S. have to file their annual returns, "The Green Year" has two suggestions to help save trees:

File your taxes electronically

Ask for an electronic refund to be put right into your bank account. (If only we were getting a refund this year!)

Happy Monday!

2009-04-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

Go Take a Hike!

No, I'm not trying to lose readers, I'm trying to get you out and moving! "The Green Year" suggests a spring hike this weekend. Since we've moved here, my usual routine is to walk 1 mile in the morning and 1 mile in the afternoon. Sometimes me and the dogs skip one or the other, but usually not both. It makes us feel better, move easier and sleep more sound. If we leave the mountain, I will take my camera and will usually always find something interesting to "shoot."
So, work off some of those Easter chocolates Sunday afternoon. If you're in the Ozarks, Saturday looks to be the better day and you can pre-walk off that chocolate Easter bunny the kids won't eat!

2009-04-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

Keeping the Garden Theme

As the weather turns more spring like again, we'll continue to stick with the garden theme. Jodi Helmer recommends in "The Green Year" to learn about Xeriscaping, the latest gardening trend that involves choosing plants for your garden that will thrive on very little water.
While most of us in the Midwest and South don't have to worry about water shortages right now, it still is not in unlimited supply. Besides, you'll save on your water bill this summer!
Take a look at www.coloradowaterwise.org for more ideas on Xeriscaping.

2009-04-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

Solar Lighting

My husband calls them our landing lights. They are the solar garden lighting we put in last spring to help us see our way up the stairs in the dark. They're great, and it saves us from turning on the big flood lights when we come home after dark. We also bought a cool solar lantern that casts just enough light on the deck. We'll have to replace some of the batteries this spring - they're life span is about 12 months - and we'll have to ask them at Home Depot where we might take the old batteries for disposal. Jodi Helmer's tip in "The Green Year" today advises to install outdoor solar lighting to help save energy, money and the environment. However, if you're in our region, you might have to wait for it to warm up a bit again!

For those of you here in the Ozarks, Doug Rye, host of the radio show "Home Remedies" will be presenting a seminar on energy conservation at the Baster County Library on Saturday, April 11. The presentation begins at 10:15 a.m. For more info, call 870-425-3598 ext. 29 or go to www.baxlib.org

Happy Monday!

2009-04-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Social Networking

I haven't quite figured this stuff out yet, but thought I would post my twitter address in case you would like to follow:
http://twitter.com/fivecoat

Facebook:
http://profile.to/fivecoatcampbell

2009-04-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Sharing

Before I get to today's topic, I'll share that we lost power again last night with our trusty utility company. It's really fun rushing my husband out the door -he's not a morning person anyway. We have a clock radio with a battery back-up but it needs fixed. I pointed out the last time we saw the new ones at the store that we should just buy one. He insists, though, when he finds his soddering iron, he can fix this one. Yep, that helped us out this morning! I think our utility company is the only one in America that loses power when there's no storm or wind. They do pretty well during those, it's the nice quiet weather we have to be afraid of!

Now, for today's tip from "The Green Year," which is to use a basic principle our mothers all taught us - sharing. Take your read magazines to a hospital or nursing home. I take some of mine to the nursing home in Marion County and they always seem to appreciate me dropping them off. On some of the magazines, I swap with my neighbor. I like the country decorating magazines and she gets cooking magazines. Once we swap them back (which saves me money on subscriptions), they go to the nursing home.

Have a Happy, Green Weekend!

2009-04-01T04:10:00.000-07:00

Reading the Meter

Here's an update on how we're trying to save money on our electric bill - and help the environment - by keeping track of the kwh on our electric meter. In January, before the ice storm hit, we were using an electric heater to warm our small house. Since then, we've been using our wood burning stove. During the month of the ice storm, the electric company said we used 810 kwh of electricity. Our bill was pretty high. I doubted that number, thinking something about losing power must have thrown it off. Last month, we used just over 400. This month, I'm monitoring it daily to see how many kwh we use for certain tasks. On Monday, I used 42 doing 5 loads of laundry. Yesterday, I only used 9 taking a hot bat, cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner and watching some television. No one is home during the day now, but it's amazing to see how much electricity something takes - and we've already cut our electric bill in half. My goal is to cut it more this month before we have to turn the air on!

2009-03-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

Storing Winter Clothes

A little bit late this morning as my husband starts a new job and I helped him get out the door.

This tip is appropriate for me, as for the first time, we have a home that doesn't have enough closet space for all of our clothes. We will be packing up the winter stuff and storing it in big plastic (reusable) containers soon. Jodi Helmer recommends in "The Green Year" to use cedar blocks or Bay leaves to repel moths rather than moth balls. Who likes the smell of those anyway? Cedar and Bay leaves it is!

2009-03-27T04:50:00.000-07:00

Hair!

Piggy backing on Wednesday's post, a friend of mine also suggested putting the hair from your hair brush out in the backyard for the bird nests. She warns, though, that the human smell can deter other wildlife, such as deer. Putting human hair in small mesh bags and hanging them on the fence of your veggie garden will also keep the rabbits and other critters from eating your veggies. A great, enviro-friendly way to garden.

Today's money saving tip from "The Green Year" is also about hair. Jodi Helmer advises to start using a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner. Buying a two in one product usually saves money and it will save on plastic waste heading to the landfill. As well, it saves time in the shower, thus saving water. This will eventually save money on your water heating, as well as the water bill, or the electricity to pump the water if you're on a well.

Happy Weekend!

2009-03-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

Laundry For The Birds

Since today is laundry day at my house, the tip from The Green Year is appropriate. Jodi Helmer recommends putting the lint from your dryer in your backyard so the birds who are building nests can use it! "The soft lint is ideal for birds to feather their nests and is a much more eco-friendly alternative than throwing it in the garbage."

2009-03-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

ATM Receipts

Another Monday morning in paradise. The next tip from Jodi Helmer's "The Green Year" advises us to not take receipts when using the ATM. "The receipts from 8 billion ATM transactions per year are one of the biggest sources of litter on the planet. If Americans declined their ATM receipts, it would save a roll of paper more than 2 billion feet long - enough to circle the equator more than 15 times!"

That's what I love about this book, it not only tells us what to do, it tells us why and gives us the global perspective. The book advises to bank online and view transactions there, which I have started doing. I love online banking! Much easier and no more paper!

2009-03-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Electronic Files

The fires were close enough to smell Wednesday evening. We had to cut our walk short as the smoke was irritating our eyes and throats. There was no owl this morning, but the coyotes were once again close enough to send my dogs into fits of barking. I just wish they would come closer a little later than 4 a.m!

Today's tip from "The Green Year" is a simple one that we all should remember. Don't print anything out that cannot be stored electronically. I still write my story interview notes by long hand, but I'm slowly converting all of our bills and statements to electronic storage. It not only saves me precious space that I could use for other things, but it helps the planet. Author Jodi Helmer says Americans use almost 90 million tons of paper each year - enough for 700 pounds per person, per year.

2009-03-18T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Journey

It's funny how we become adapted to the environment in which we are accustomed. To many people here, the threat of cities - crime, pollution, and just fear of the unknown is frightening. Of course, being city natives, we navigate the city and all of its bad elements with ease. For us, the elements to fear here have been tornadoes, floods, ice storms and now forest fires. As we were coming home from our 2 mile drive to get the mail yesterday and heading back down the mountain, we could see a huge plume of smoke just beyond our point on another mountain across the lake. It was a scene like we had witnessed in fires shown on the evening news from California. I came home and called the sheriff's department, who calmly said that the volunteer fire department had been sent to fight "the brush fire that got way out of hand." Fire makes us more than a little nervous, even if it is on the next mountain and by the time evening rolled around, the woods on our mountain was full of blue gray smoke. We walked back up the mountain where we could see the other and thankfully, it appeared the "brush fire" had been dowsed. Amazing what a volunteer fire department can accomplish in a few hours.

As for the tip today from "The Green Year," it again involves taking those daily walks and for many of us, that means dragging our four-legged family members along. Two of ours are large enough to take care of themselves in the woods and can go off leash. Our two little ones, though, are kept on leashes mainly for their own protection, again from the unknowns to us in the woods. We don't have to buy leashes often, but next time we do, it will be made of canvas or hemp, as Jodi Helmer suggests in her book.
She says most leashes are produced with nylon, which produces nitrous oxide, a gas associated with global warming. "Replacing all of the nylon pet leashes in the United States would prevent the release of the same amount of greenhouse gases produced by 250,000 households per year."

A quick google search of "hemp dog leashes" produces a ton of websites that sell natural collars, leashes and other dog products.

2009-03-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

Walking Through Nature

Before I talk about today's green tip, I just have to say how cool it's been these past two mornings coming out of the house early and hearing the owl that lives down by the cove behind our house. When I don't hear "my owl," for awhile, I get a little worried he's gone. My husband reminded me we hadn't heard him because we just haven't been going outside in the cold. I also heard the coyote pack very early yesterday morning and was awakened after a mid-morning nap by some song birds that sounded as if they were in the room with me. The woods are coming alive for spring!
That leads me into today's tip. Thanks to the warmer weather, we've had more of an opportunity to getting back to our twice daily 1-mile walks with the dogs. I'm hard on sneakers, and I need extra support. Because my feet are so tiny (a child's size 4), I have to buy kids' basketball shoes. They're a little clunky and have extra rubber on the soles and I often worry about sending them to the landfill when I need a new pair.
Now I have to worry no more. Jodi Helmer suggests in "The Green Year" to recycle shoes through the Nike-Reuse-A-Shoe program. The program turns the soles of used athletic shoes into surface material for basketball courts, athletic fields, running tracks and playgrounds. Jodi says that as of the writing of the book, the program had recycled approximately 20 million pairs of shoes. Find more information at www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe.

On Wednesday, more tips about walking "green" with dogs.

Don't forget your green tomorrow for St. Paddy's Day, Have a Happy One!

2009-03-13T02:47:00.000-07:00

Shopping Secondhand Stores

I once wrote on this blog that I had so much furniture from inheriting my mother's antiques that I would probably never have to buy another stick of furniture again. Well, I've had to buy a desk and a bed- and I tried to keep it as eco-friendly as possible. But when my husband wanted me to buy another patio set for the small covered porch on my office, I told him we could do with what we have. There's no sense, really, in wasting resources (ours or the earths) when we have 2 sets that could be used sitting in our storage barn.
Jodi Helmer suggests in "The Green Year" that we do the same thing with clothes. "Americans dispose of nearly 4 billion tons of clothing every year. Fabric can take years to break down in the landfill." Helmer writes that vintage clothing is fashionable, provides a one of a kind look and keeps clothes from the landfill.
My neighbor here shops at second hand stores for her clothes and you would never know it. The next time I need an outfit, I'll probably join her.

2009-03-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

A Challenge...

There is at least one good thing for us that came out of the January ice storm here, which left hundreds of thousands without power and caused such widespread damage that it looks like a tornado or bomb damaged the landscape from here to Kentucky.
We learned how much electricity our radiator type heater was using. You see, our small house is insulated so well that it can be heated all winter with nothing but one of those electric heaters. Still, the darn thing used a lot of electricity, apparently.
When the lights went off here for 8 days, we used, for the first time, our small wood stove. We had it installed (thank goodness) as the house was being built for just such an emergency. However, when we realized how well the house had been insulated, we were always afraid that even the smallest of fires would run us out of the house.
Instead, we did learn to use and control it and after the electricity was restored, we decided to keep using it, saving us money - and the environment from the KWh needed for more electricity.
I'm so glad we did. When I received our bill last month, which included 14 days with the heater, 8 days without power and about 6 days using the wood burner, the bill stated we had used 817 KWh of electricity. Our bill, for a 480-square-foot house (less computers which are on a separate meter for my office) was exactly $100. I called to argue with the electric company that this couldn't be possible, but the rep. insisted it was and suggested we read our own meter periodically and "keep an eye on it."
She told me what numbers to read on our digital meter that hangs on the house. In the meantime, we continued to use the wood stove for heat (we aren't without a seemingly lifetime supply of wood thanks to the storm) and we also unplugged our kitchen appliances - microwave, toaster oven, coffee pot when not in use. We also hooked the television, a non-essential phone, lamp, and DVD player to a power strip that is turned off when we aren't watching TV. It is saving us.
But yesterday was an eye opener, we used 42 KWh of electricity in one day doing laundry - even after I figured out a way to reduce the chore by two loads. Still, we've only used 370 KWh total this month, and we have just a few days to go on this billing cycle. Our bill should be reduced by at least half.
So, I challenge you to learn to read your meter, figure out what is pulling the most power from your house and try to reduce it.
It will not only save you money, but will help save the environment too.

2009-03-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

Leave a Message....

For the environment. The thing I love about "The Green Year" is that it has so many unusual tips I haven't even thought of to help save energy, which helps the environment.
What's even better is that Author Jodi Helmer gives figures of how much we could save. This week, she advises us to sign up for voice mail through your phone company rather than having an answering machine.
She says answering machines can use up to 100 KWh of energy per year - or the equivalent of doing 30 loads of laundry in hot water.
"If all answering machines in the United States were replaced with voice mail systems, the emissions savings would be the equivalent to taking 250,000 cares off the road."
WOW! a quarter of a million cars!? Who would have thought?
I already use a voice mail system through the phone company at our house and have for years. One thing we are doing new to save electricity is turning the power off to the television, DVD player and other electronics connected through a power strip. Besides saving energy, why pay the electric company to give us power to the television when it's not in use.
We are substantially saving this month as we started using our wood stove for heat when we lost our power during the ice storm and never returned to use the energy-sucking electric heater we were using.
So far, our use this month is down from 810 KWh of use for the last month we used the heater, to a little over 200 KWh. YAY! We're saving money and helping the environment.

2009-03-06T04:22:00.000-08:00

Buying in Bulk

Our neighbor who lives here part time from Kansas City does all of her shopping at Costco.
"The Green Year" gives a tip to buy in bulk when you can. It saves on packaging and while it costs more to buy the bulk items, it does save you in the end.
Some items that are best bought in bulk:
toilet paper
paper towels
women's hygiene products
pain relievers
vitamins
office supplies
soda
cereal
coffee

2009-03-04T03:16:00.001-08:00

Is Recycling Even A Question Anymore?

Sadly, yes. One of the tips in "The Green Year" about doing one of the most basic things for the environment is simply: Recycle!
Unfortunately, that tip leads me into a story in The Baxter Bulletin this week about Mountain Home, Ark., the largest town in our area, eliminating their curbside recycling program on Monday.The recycling industry has taken a big hit, along with the rest of us, in this economy. Cans, cardboard, paper and especially glass, just isn't bringing in the profit it did even a year ago. It is no longer profitable for recycling companies, who operate like other companies in our capitalistic society - for a profit, to do curbside recycling in many areas. Most recyclers even stopped taking glass altogether as long as two years ago. According to the article, it was proposed to charge Mountain Home residents a mere 60 cents per month for the convenience, but the city council failed to act on that measure.
This also ties in with my post on Monday stating that as individuals, we can no longer wait for the government, or large corporations to take the lead in making sure our children and grandchildren will have a clean planet with clean air and be able to see animals in their natural habitat.
Jodi Helmer quotes in her book that the recycling rate in the U.S. is just at 33 percent.
According to unesco website, the U.S. produces about 64 million tons of waste each year. This is compared to Germany who produces just a little over 4 tons of waste each year.
That waste is going to landfills, being shipped to foreign islands and floating on barges at sea. Jodi Helmer also states in "The Green Year," that if every household in the U.S. would separate just their plastic, paper and aluminum products, we would reduce that waste in the landfills by 75 percent.
In the Baxter Bulletin article, one resident is quoted as saying, "We don't know what we'll do," now that the curbside recycling program is gone.
While I agree it to be a very irresponsible for our government to allow something as important as recycling to operate only if it turns a profit, we must all take responsibility. As rural residents, we don't even have the convenience of having our non-recyclable trash picked up. We sort our trash from recyclables every week and haul them on one of our regular multi-errand trips to the transfer station in town, where our recyclables and trash go to two different lots. In the city, it's much easier to simply keep your recyclables from regular trash pick up and swing by the recycling place on one of your own multi-errands out.
Sometimes doing the right thing isn't about making a profit, nor is it the most convenient, we just do it because it's the right thing.

2009-03-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

The Journey to Green

A tip in "The Green Year" this week reminds us that not everyone knows that "going green" is more than a buzz phrase, something trendy to do for pop culture history at this moment in time.
Many of us who are going green are doing so because we fully believe that we are at a major crossroads in history, that we can't wait for the lagging auto industry or government to mandate change. We believe that if all of us don't start doing even the small things, that our children and grandchildren and future generations will be left to deal with the fall out.
It is the small things that can make a difference. When I made our first step going green over 20 years ago by using cloth bags instead of paper or plastic, my husband, who worked at the largest landfill in the Kansas City area, poo-pooed what kind of an impact that could have. It took me 20 years of counting, but when I informed him that me and my mom had saved over 10,000 bags from the landfill in that time, he realized that even the small steps one family of three people can make can help.
It irritates me when I see columns saying in essence that no matter what we do, we leave a carbon footprint.
That's true. We're now heating our small house with a wood stove instead of using electricity. I know that the smoke is still leaving an imprint on the environment, but it is less so than the nuclear plant is producing in Louisiana that supplies our electricity, and the amount of energy it takes to just get that electricity here. Again, it is not something that can be tangibly seen that will immediately have an impact, but something we are doing that will have an impact over time.
And, it is impacting our budget in a positive way immediately.
Many of Jodi Helmer's tips in her book, "The Green Year," gives data on what kind of impact taking the small steps can have. For example, she states that most of the 15 billion batteries used each year end up in the landfill. By purchasing rechargeable batteries, how many will your family save? How many will 5 families, and 20 save? See, we can all have an impact.
So, if you're not convinced, or your family is not convinced that the time is now to make every effort to help our planet, do what Jodi recommends this week, invite your friends and family over, pop yourself some popcorn, turn off the lights and watch a documentary on the environment. She recommends "An Inconvenient Truth" and "The 11th hour."
Going green doesn't have to overwhelm you. Start small. Recycle, reuse. It will also save you some green.

2009-02-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

Burned by the Burner

The tip in "The Green Year" is so appropriate for me this morning! Our stove has 4 burners, 1 small, 2 large and the "main" burner (right front) has a switch that allows it to be used either as a large or small burner. My husband cooked us lunch yesterday, using the small saute pan, for which he always switches the main burner over to use small burner heat.
When I went home last night and started cooking, I used the larger sauce pan and after awhile, realized my water wasn't boiling.
"This is the main burner," I told him. "Quit switching it over to the small one and use one of the other small ones!"
I was irritated because I was hungry and had just wasted time - and some energy - trying to boil water in a larger pan than the burner could accommodate.
Jodi Helmer has a good point about using the right burner for the size pan you're using when cooking. "if the circumference of the burner is larger than the size of the pan, you're leaking unused heat into the air. Also avoid using a pot too big; it takes a lot of extra energy to heat the contents."
My husband is right to use the smaller burner for the small pan. I just wish he would use the other small burner and leave "my" burner alone. :)

2009-02-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Controlling the Mail Part II

One of the best tips I've gotten from "The Green Year" is to stop/control the number of catalogs coming in our mail. I think I was on everyone's list. I only buy from a limited number of companies and I really hate the waste - as well as taking the time to shred the mailing labels. www.catalogchoice.org is great. If I get a catalog now that I don't want anymore, I just go to this website, log on, input the information and if the company participates in their program, they do the rest. If the company doesn't participate, I also call them, just to make sure I'm removed.

Today's tip in "The Green Year" suggests going to online billing. This whole electronic-world only is a new thing for me, but I finally did sign up for online banking last month. My next step is to stop the paper statements and chose one bill at a time to do online bill pay.

Baby steps...

2009-02-23T03:07:00.000-08:00

Grinding the Garbage

There are a lot of great tips in Jodi Helmer's "The Green Year." Today, the tip happens to be not to throw waste into your garbage disposal.
When we built our house here, my husband refused to believe we could have either a dishwasher or a garbage disposal because of the septic system. Whether that is true or not, like many things here, I've learned that we really don't need a garbage disposal.
I don't have an official compost pile yet, but I throw potato peels and other natural waste into the woods, where it either breaks down naturally, or most likely, is eaten by the woodland critters.
For those of you in the burbs, Helmer says throwing waste into the garbage disposal uses lots of water and eventually takes that waste to streams and lakes where it kills fish and algae.
Helmer suggests using a compost pile, or putting it into your regular trash. Unlike most of our waste, natural peels etc. will eventually biodegrade.

2009-02-20T03:58:00.001-08:00

Update on New Products

Two weeks ago, I started buying all natural cleansers and soaps at Nature's Way, the natural health food store in Mountain Home.
I started using antibacterial soaps some years ago when I had problems staying healthy in the winter.
Turns out, that might not be such a safe thing to do. The clerk at Nature's Way told me that some studies suggest that these soaps cause cancer. I did a little checking and it turns out that some chemicals added to some antibacterial soaps may cause dioxin when mixed with water - which is known to cause cancer.
I checked my soaps I'm using up from Bath and Body Works and couldn't tell if they had the offending chemicals or not, so I think I'll just stop using them.
I really love natural body products made by Indigo Wild in Kansas City. I've interviewed the owner for a story I did on them and they are really a cool company. Not only are they dog friendly - meaning they allow their employees to bring their dogs to work - they make all natural products for dogs as well. They're at www.indigowild.com
As for the products I bought at Nature's Way - Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid and all natural, enviro-friendly bleach, I like both of the products.
I also did buy an all natural lavender hand soap made by Avalon Organics at www.avalonorganics.com and really love it.
The thing I don't like about both of these products is that they aren't packaged in environmentally friendly packaging. They are in small plastic containers that have to be replaced, instead of just buying a large bulk refill.
The clerk at Nature's Way suggested I email the companies and ask them to make bulk refills to save plastics from the landfills. If enough customers complain, they might do it.

2009-02-18T03:11:00.000-08:00

Pantry Pests and Other Unwanted Critters

Call this country living a bit of a learning experience. I've learned about many different kinds of animals and insects here in the woods. One thing I had never encountered was a problem with Meal Moths. My mother always kept a sparkling clean house and we never had a problem with bugs. That explains how I didn't know what a cockroach looked like when I took my first full time job, which happened to be in apartment management.
I won't say my house is clean all of the time, but during our 23 year old marriage, we have managed to keep our house clean enough to keep pests away.
There's almost nothing I hate more than a bug in my kitchen.
So, imagine our surprise when we learned that what we thought were harmless little moths were actually a "pantry pest," or Indian Meal Moths, as nasty a critter as the cockroach and just as destructive to food - both human and dog.
It's not uncommon to have a stray moth fly in our house, we're usually invaded by ladybugs in the fall and thought this was just another critter that slipped in the door or an open window.
In all our years of having pets, we've never encountered this problem before, but apparently, these things usually hitch a ride in on dry pet food or treats, or birdseed - all of which we have in our pantry.
We realized we had a problem when we spotted more than just the stray moth flitting around the house.
When I learned that these icky things were probably nesting in our house and helping themselves to whatever was in our pantry, I immediately began researching eco-friendly ways to rid ourselves of them and their off-spring. I found that first, almost everything that is open in the pantry needs to be tossed. Thoroughly cleaning the suspected infected pantries with straight vinegar (including removing all of the shelves as these things are hard to spot in egg and larvae form) and cleaning all cracks and holes in the pantry will usually do the trick. (I even found nests in the round peg holes where the shelves can be move. Ugh).
I used a combination of Clorox spray (purchased before my quest to go chemical free)and vinegar to clean the pantry. Luckily, I only found evidence of the moths in one pantry. Next, my husband bought a bunch of plastic containers that seal tightly before we brought anymore food home. Finally, I read that both lavender and whole bay leaves will keep them, well, at bay. I used both. I hear there are also non-toxic sticky traps, but we have yet to find them - although we're still on the look-out, just in case.
The only other bug problems we've dealt with here are spiders in the house, for which we also use non-toxic sticky traps. Spiders have a very big part in the food chain - they keep away mosquitoes and other pests away - they just need to stay out of our house.
In Kansas City, we also had a problem with ants each year - until we put out the Torro liquid bait, which was nothing more than a sugar/water/Borax solution.
My friend in PA frequently has a problem with mice, and I give her credit that they use live traps and relocate the critters far from their house.
I would like to know more about eco-friendly ways to keep pests from the home.

2009-02-16T03:58:00.000-08:00

Music and Memories

Jodi Helmer's tip in "The Green Year" corresponded to an article that ran in The Kansas City Star this morning.
Jodi recommends downloading your music online, rather than purchasing a CD, which takes raw materials to produce. Not only is the CD not very eco-friendly, the packaging also harms the environment.
The Kansas City Star this morning ran an article about music store owners trying to compete in such an Internet based digital music world.
I have a lot of fond memories of visiting the record store on a Saturday morning, sometimes with my brother, who taught me the appreciation of rock and roll at a very early age. Going to the record store was a right of passage for my generation, not just to pick up the latest tunes, but to also purchase concert tickets.
If you're over 40, how many Saturdays do you remember standing outside of a record store waiting for the greatest concert tickets to go on sale!?
It is a different world today, one where we have to be mindful of the impact we're making on the planet through everything we do.
I'll admit, I only just downloaded my first YouTube music video awhile back, so I have a long way to go (I don't even know how to operate an iPod) but learning to help the environment gives me more incentive.
"The Green Year" recommends visiting www.apple.com/itunes to download your favorite tunes.

2009-02-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Ok, coming from the home of Hallmark cards, I admit it, I'm still a sucker for paper cards. I know, I know. The trees, the energy it takes to make them. Still, this is one environmentally unfriendly thing I still can't resist.

Jodi Helmer gives some tips on "The Green Year," for a more environmentally friendly day for love:

Order organic bouquets if you are going to give flowers (there are many companies on the Internet)

Prepare a candlelit dinner at home for you and your beloved. Turning out the lights will not only save energy, but not going anywhere is good for the environment too.
And in this economy, who can afford a grand meal out anyway?

2009-02-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

Biodegradable Toothbrushes

Interestingly, the first time I ever saw one was in Wal-Mart, and I loved it. I bought 3 before they stopped carrying them.
Jodi Helmer talks about biodegradable toothbrushes in her book "The Green Year," saying that 50 million pounds of garbage each year in landfills comes from toothbrushes, which are made of plastic - which never breaks down.
When I was in the natural health food store last weekend, I looked for such a brush, but all they had were brushes made with natural hair, but they still had the regular, plastic handles.
"The Green Year" points consumers to two websites: www.recycline.com, which makes toothbrushes from recycled yogart cups. When you're ready for a new toothbrush, you just mail it back to the company in a postage paid mailer and the old toothbrush will find yet another life - maybe as outdoor furniture.
www.radiustoothbrush.com makes the handles from Nebraska Maize and you simply replace the head when it's time for a new one.
I'm hoping the natural health food store in Mountain Home will find one to carry, but if not, my toothbrushes might be arriving in the mail with my Netflix!

2009-02-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

Chemical Free

When I was talking to a friend of mine in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago, she told me she was trying to make her household totally chemical free.
It's a good goal, although a tough one for generations of us brought up to think that chemical cleaners are the smell of a nice, fresh house and chlorine bleach is the only way to keep our whites nice and white.
The weather has been so beautiful here in the Ozarks these past few days that me and my friend and neighbor, Rae, went into Mountain Home yesterday to hit some of the antique and junk stores. On the square, we found the coolest health food and supplement store. We're told Nature's Way has been on the square since the 1970s.
They have more than just food and supplements, they have a whole store of soaps, lotions, cleaning products, deodarant and toothpastes.
We had a blast talking with the clerks and learning more about natural and whole products available in this area. I did learn about a natural food store that sells some organic, free range meat (but they were closed when we went there) and some disturbing stuff about antibacterial soap (I'll post it if I find it to be true).
I've tried the Green Works line of cleaners. Specifically, the toilet cleaner, which is very good. However, while in Nature's Way, I decided to try the Seventh Generation line of dish soap and natural bleach that is safe for the environment.
I'll post updates on those later.
Now, for those environmentally friendly toothbrushes Jodi Helmer mentions in the "Green Year."
I'll post more about that quest on Wednesday...

2009-02-06T05:42:00.000-08:00

Mailing Lists

I spent an entire day after we got our power back going through a week of mail, which consists mostly of catalogs and credit card offers. It's time consuming because I shred all of the pages with our personal information on them.
My junk mail has doubled the past two years. When my mother died and I put in a change of address to have all of her mail forwarded to me, the catalogs, credit card offers, charities and AARP also received the information.
I hate getting junk mail. Turns out, "The Green Year" is talking about that this week, giving advice on how to get off of catalog mailing lists.
Jodi Helmer says 8 million tons of trees are used in the production of catalogs each year. She advises to go to www.catalogchoice.org and have yourself removed from any catalog lists you don't want. "You can continue receiving catalogs from your favorite retailers," Helmer says. "Just be sure to recycle them when you're finished with them."
I've also started taking the time to call AARP and non-profits my mom's name was on, advising them to please remove her name.
As for our pre-approved credit card offers, there's a toll free number you can opt out of these: 888-567-8688.
Because mailers are pre-printed, you might continue to receive junk mail for a few months, but it should start to substantially decrease over time.

2009-02-04T04:55:00.000-08:00

Snap!

I'm back after an 8-day nightmare that began with a historic natural disaster here in Arkansas. An ice storm hit us on January 26. In the early morning hours of January 27 we lost our power, and by that night, we were hearing trees throughout our woods snapping. It sounded as if someone were in the woods with shotguns. After the snap, we would hear the sickening sound of swoosh, as tops of trees and full trees, came crashing down. The result, across the entire landscape of northern Arkansas is an entire region that looks as if it has suffered tornado damage. There are trees and limbs that took utility lines, entire utility poles and in some instances, roofs down with them. Luckily, we didn't suffer any damage to our house or buildings.
After speaking to a friend yesterday and having her remind me of a weekend long ago when I had gotten food poisoning after we went to a restaurant in Kansas City, I have to say this past week ranks right up there with that experience as one of the most memorable - and not in a good way.
However, it didn't have to be.
My husband and I should have been more prepared for losing our power, and more importantly, being stranded in the woods for nearly a week before the ice melted enough to get up our mountain.
After witnessing the response of our county government, FEMA and to a lesser extent, our utility company to this disaster, I'm convinced this country is in no way prepared for a disaster of a large scale that would take away our modern conveniences, such as power.
We learned that we have to prepare ourselves and count only on ourselves, if there is another - or larger disaster.
At the height of the anxiety around here, we couldn't find any generators and grocery stores were running out of food and water.
While we had stocked up on food and we had heat with a wood burning stove (and certainly plenty of wood to heat with), we didn't have enough water, nor did we have a generator large enough to power anything larger than the refrigerator.
As we researched generators so our neighbor could bring us one today from Kansas City, we wanted to go as "green" as possible, choosing a model that would be fuel efficient. We finally chose a higher end Honda, as they are fuel efficient and should last us awhile.
Propane is the cleanest burning fuel, but cost is a consideration for us at this time.
After meeting with our utility company yesterday afternoon and being told it would be the end of next week before power was restored, we came home to a pleasant surprise of having our power on.
At least we'll be better prepared next time. I'll write a future post on disaster preparedness plans that all families - not just those in the country - should have.

2009-01-26T04:55:00.000-08:00

Vehicle Maintenance

"The Green Year's" tips these past few days have to do with your car. Vehicles are a big problem, especially in the U.S., but they are becoming a bigger problem in China, India and other countries with large population centers.
When we went to Germany, our daughter about ran us ragged, they do walk almost everywhere. And when they're not walking, they're biking or taking mass transit. The best tip is to think before you drive. Only take your car out when absolutely necessary. Here in the country, we limit our trips to town and even if I need to go to my aunt's (which is a quarter mile away), we'll walk instead of drive.
Another tip from "The Green Year" is to ask your mechanic to recycle oil filters. Also, make sure your gas cap is good and tight.
Jodi Helmer says in her book that every year, 147 million gallons of gasoline evaporates into the atmosphere due to leaking gas caps. Make sure yours fits tight and that you click it 3 times after each fill up.

To my friends in the Midwest and in Southern Missouri and Arkansas who are expecting the ice storm, be careful these next few days!

2009-01-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

Dusty Coils

Great reminder in Jodi Helmer's book today about cleaning the fridge coils. We just finished painting our bedroom and setting up our new bed. Of course, we did a major cleaning of the room and we're getting ready to clean the rest of the house today and tomorrow.
Jodi reminded me it takes a lot more energy for the fridge to produce cold when the coils are covered with lint and dust. She also suggests to clean these at least twice a year. We've had our fridge now a little over a year. Definitely time to pull it out and clean those coils!

2009-01-16T06:06:00.000-08:00

Warming up the Car

For most of the country this week, it has been necessary to warm up the car - at least a few minutes - before heading off. Jodi Helmer suggests in her book, "The Green Year," to check the owners manual to see exactly how long a car needs to warm up. As she says in her book, it may be tempting to turn it on and blast the heater while you finish getting ready, but your vehicle is burning more fuel and also causing more emmissions into the atmosphere. Another point: thieves scour neighborhoods just waiting for you to leave your car running, so they can take off in it.

2009-01-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

Shutting Down the Electronics

"The Green Year" has a few good tips in it this week regarding electronics. First, remember to always turn your computer off at the end of the day. When not using your computer during the day, go to the "sleep" mode.

Since I missed Monday, I'll give two tips today! The one in "The Green Year" for today is great. I've long wondered what to do with all of these old cell phones (and yes, we still have our very first huge bag phone from the late 1980s). If the phone isn't that old, consider donating it to a women's shelter, who gives the phones to their residents for emergency use. Or, if it is too old to be used again, look up a recycling center in your area by going to www.electronicsrecycling.net

Jodi Helmer quotes the EPA in her book, writing there are 130 million unused cellphone sitting around the U.S. Recycling those would save enough energy to power 194,000 households for one year.

2009-01-09T04:05:00.001-08:00

All Wet

The original purpose of the title of my post this morning was to talk about water consumption - another topic addressed in "The Green Year" for this week. However, my title is also referring to the op-ed which appeared in the Washington Times that dismisses the green movement as a movement of guilt that can never be won. The author starts off his ideological rant by saying, "But the more 'eco-friendly' you try to become, the more likely you find yourself confused and frustrated by the green message." He then points to the controversy over incandescent light bulbs vs. the new energy saving compact florescent bulbs. The controversy stems over the fact that the newer energy saving bulbs contain mercury. I asked my aunt last week if she had converted to the newer efficient bulbs and she hadn't because they contain small amounts of mercury. "Even if they're disposed of properly, the mercury is still here polluting the planet."
True. And I admit that there are things that are contradictory and confusing about going green. Going green sure isn't all black and white. However, there are things we can do that will help this planet, as well as ourselves, live a healthier lifestyle. It's those things we should be focusing on.
One of those things that is indisputable is saving water:

* Energy efficient dishwashers are said to use less energy than doing dishes by hand. This might be true if you allow your water to run continuously while doing dishes. Because we had a water tank that took hundreds of dollars to fill when we first moved here, we learned a lot of water saving exercises. We wash our dishes by hand (mainly because my husband tricked me into believing you can't have a dishwasher on s septic system, but that's another story...) by filling up two wash tubs about half way and washing the dishes in one and rinsing in the other. The total use is probably less than 5 gallons of water for a normal night's dishes. The dishes are clean, and we use less water.
*Turn off the faucet while washing your face, brushing your teeth or shaving.
*Use energy efficient, low-flow shower heads. If you take baths, don't fill the tub all the way up.
*Finally, make sure your hot water heater is energy star rated. My aunt keeps hers off unless they are getting ready to shower or do dishes.I don't turn the one on over here in my office bathroom unless we have guests coming who will need a hot shower.
It's a little uncomfortable washing my hands here in the winter with ice cold well water, but we're saving energy, as well as money by leaving the tank off.

2009-01-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

Adjusting the Heat

'Tis the season for fires in the wood burning stove or fireplace and high heating bills - either gas or electricity. My aunt uses a wood burning stove most of the day and she says that her furnace only comes on when the fire dies down low at night. In the woods, we have free access to plenty of downed trees, and this is a good way to save on money.
We have a wood burning stove, but our place is so small, we've been afraid to use it for fear it would run us out of the house. We use two small oil heaters in the house. My office has a ventless central air/heat system. "The Green Year" recommends turning down your thermostat to 68 degrees when you're home and no lower than 55 degrees at night on a programmable thermostat.
That reminds me of the first night we spent at our new house when we bought it in Kansas City. It had a programmable thermostat and we didn't realize it was programmed to go to 55 at night and we woke up literally freezing. I'm cold blooded and that's way too cold for me. I advise to do what is comfortable for you. Turning it down even a little will help save.
Also, make sure those filters are clean so your system runs as efficiently as possible.

2009-01-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

LED Flashlights

Today's tip from the book, "The Green Year," advises consumers to go with LED flashlights, which last longer.
Here in the woods, a trip to my office early in the morning or later than 6 in the evening requires I carry a flashlight. I like them to be bright and dependable, that's why we have an LED flashlight. It's never failed me yet.

2009-01-02T05:42:00.000-08:00

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Today, we start taking some advice from Jodi Helmer's book, "The Green Year." I won't post about the advice from every day here, as you should really buy the book, make your own notes in it (there's places for this) and tweak your own methods of going green.
It's fitting that on January 1, the first piece of advice was to recycle your Christmas tree.
I've always had artificial trees - (except for that one year you insisted we have a "real" tree, Mags!)
Anyway, I didn't do any research this past season into what is more environmentally friendly, cutting a real tree down, or buying an artificial tree. Given my mom only had one artificial tree my entire life, I find it hard to believe it would have been better on the environment to cut one down each year rather than reuse in my family.
Still, if you have a live tree you're taking down now, make sure it finds yet another use. Many cities are offering people the chance to turn their trees in for mulch. Or, in our part of the country, fish and wildlife use old trees to sink in the lakes to create habitat for fish.

2008-12-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

The Final Preparations

It is the week of Christmas and time to make those final plans for wrapping and serving the meal.
Remember when we were kids and the trash the week after Christmas made it appear that someone had taken all of our belongings from our homes and placed them on the curb?
Have you thought about how you can provide a "green" table this year? Here are some tips on how you can be more green around the table and through the wrapping paper:

*If you haven't already, it's probably too late to buy recycled gift wrapping paper. But here's an idea: Place all of the gifts that you can in holiday gift bags. If your recipient doesn't want to keep them, you swipe them before they hit the trash bag and use them again next year. My mother used to wrap beautiful presents, but when she became ill, she didn't have the energy to wrap any longer. Most of our gifts were exchanged in festive holiday gift bags, which can still be made to look very nice. And we used them year after year, saving paper from the landfill.

*At the holiday table, use your best china, glasses, silverware and break out the cloth table cloth and napkins. Save all of the waste from paper plates, cups and paper table cloths and napkins from the landfill.

*Buy fresh and buy local. It's a little harder to do in the winter, but there is still plenty of opportunity to buy fresh organic produce and meat from your local grocer. In the Ozarks, there is a meat market in Mountain Home that sells local, organic meat. In Kansas City, Hen House sells products from Good Natured Family Farms, a coop of meat and dairy farmers.

*Combine trips. This helps people crunched for time, saves gas money and also helps the environment. You're going to have a lot of errands in the next few days. Make a list, check it twice and do several errands in one trip.

This will be my last post before Christmas. Tune in on January 2 when I start taking tips from "The Green Year" by Jodi Helmer and posting about our success.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and green New Year!

2008-12-17T06:37:00.001-08:00

Another Giving Site

Still perplexed about what to give someone? Try www.universalgiving.org This site allows you to sponsor good causes throughout the world.

2008-12-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

Organic Style

Last minute holiday shopping? How about checking out Organic Style - www.organicstyle.com

2008-12-12T03:37:00.000-08:00

The gift of Books

Since today is my bookclub day, I will offer some holiday gift ideas for loved ones on your list who read.
For the person who wants to live green:
"The Green Year," by Jodi Helmer
"Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial," by Mark Harris
"Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself," by Kathleen Reilly (Great book for kids).

Books on the Ozarks:
"Homegrown in the Ozarks: Mountain Meals and Memories," by Mary-Lane Kamberg and Rolland Love

Books about the Military:
"Submarine Stories of World War II," by Mary Nida Smith
"No Immediate Threat: The story of an American Veteran," by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell

2008-12-10T04:21:00.000-08:00

Follow the President-Elect's Lead for a Treasure

Since I discussed sponsoring a pet at a shelter the other day, I decided to expand on that today. For a gift that is truly a treasure and will be loved and give unconditional love for years to come, how about adopting a shelter animal? I know what you're thinking - it isn't a good idea to give a cat or dog to someone. It still isn't. However, shelters are and have been at or near capacity for months. Due to the economy, people are giving up their pets more often than usual and there are many, many good pets awaiting a new home. Thousands of pets each day are being euthanized because there just aren't enough homes.
President-Elect Obama promised his children a new dog once they get settled into the White House (and he also promised to adopt a homeless dog). Since most households are busy during the holidays, full of people and activity, it might be best for you to wait until after the big holiday to adopt a pet.
What you can do for you and your family is present a photo of a cat or dog - or give a cat or dog calendar, marking the date you will take your family to choose your new family member - together. Each person who will be involved with your new 4-legged friend must be acquainted with them and everyone must agree on which pet is best for you. If you or your gifts recipient is a busy person who has very limited time, maybe a cat would be better since they require less hands-on maintenance than dogs. If you're giving a pet to a senior, a mature dog who doesn't require a lot of activity would be good. Families with children, or someone who is active, who can spend time can get a higher energy dog.
Should you go this route, make sure the recipient wants the pet and can afford its care for up to 15 years, they are involved in choosing the pet and are committed to keeping the pet and making it a part of their household.
Make it a happy holiday season for you and a shelter animal.

2008-12-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

A Gift Card That Keeps on Giving

One of the things I've been doing for my aunt for several years is making a donation for her with a wildlife organization. The organization allows us to pick a wild animal for the sponsorship and they send us a certificate and sometimes a small gift to include on Christmas. It's usually a stuffed animal of the real animal we are sponsoring.
When my mother lost her last dog, Tinker, to old age, we didn't want to get her another live animal as she was having problems with her health and taking care of herself. Instead, the last Christmas she was with us, we sponsored a shelter dog for her. She received the dog's photo and an update every so often from the shelter. Two months later, when my mom was hospitalized for the last time, she asked me to bring the photo of "her dog" to the hospital. When I called the shelter to check up on the dog for her, the woman even sent my mom a get well card from her dog.
In the end, that gift of sponsoring a shelter animal had much more meaning than we could have imagined.
For people who has too much stuff, why not give them the gift of knowing they received something that is helping a cause they believe in.
Most charities now either offer gift cards or sponsorship packages, so pick one that is meaningful to you or the recipient and feel really good about that gift this year.

2008-12-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

Freecycle

We've all got too much stuff. Nothing became more apparent to us during our life change of moving last year than this fact. We finally emptied two storage areas full of stuff - my stuff, our stuff, my mom's stuff - late this summer. When it arrived, I went through box after box and donated about 50-75 boxes of it to the Salvation Army. It took the poor guy about an hour to load it all into the truck, but at least maybe, all that stuff will have a new life with someone else who really wants it.
We don't do Christmas presents any longer. We send a gift of something my husband's parents need, but we ask everyone to not send us anymore stuff. We just don't have room for it anymore.
I know this is impossible for families with children, but a good suggestion was given to a parent on one of my writer's boards. The parent was talking about the waste of those big plastic play houses. A suggestion was given to either build one of wood or go to www.freecycle.com and find a used one so precious resources aren't used to produce a new one. Also, this will save one big, plastic thing from ending up in one of our landfills someday.
My husband, who worked at a landfill for over 20 years said they used to sometimes uncover newspapers that were still readable over 30 years later. Plastics are worse, they never break down.
You may not have the toys you played with as a child any longer, but chances are they're still someplace, most likely buried in a landfill.
Give your kids recycled toys this year. You will be giving them more than a toy they will forget about by next Christmas, you'll be giving them the gift of a cleaner planet.

2008-12-03T04:18:00.000-08:00

A Gift for the Budget and the Environment

Instead of sending holiday gift cards this year, how about sending a voice message to all your friends and family? Through Vontoo’s voice messaging technology (www.vontoo.com), customers can record and send opt-in voice messages in place of holiday cards – saving on paper and postage costs, remaining environmentally friendly, and having a more personal touch (that of the human voice)! Each call sent out costs a mere 10 cents, and it makes a fun, economic holiday greeting for any family. Record and send a message, Christmas carol or family joke to make this holiday season memorable.

2008-12-01T04:11:00.000-08:00

Going Green for the Holidays

We'll start the holiday season on Going Green for the Holidays with this from the EPA:

You can help others this holiday season without breaking your budget. From planning your holiday meals so there aren’t excess leftovers to donating unwanted electronics to local charities, there are many ways you can save money and protect the environment.

The holidays present opportunities to reduce waste, reuse items, and recycle
products instead of disposing of them. Here are a few ways that you can practice
the three “R’s” to make this a green holiday season:

•Share the good tidings: Make room for new gadgets by donating your unwanted
electronics. Used electronics that are still operating can be given to community
groups, local schools, or nonprofit organizations. Some donations may qualify for a
tax deduction.
•Shop smart: Carry a reusable tote when out shopping. Look for gifts made with
recycled material and that have less packaging. Buy green electronic products.
•Look for opportunities to extend the life of old items: Why spring for a new
family computer when you can upgrade your existing one? Borrow or rent certain
party goods instead of purchasing new ones. If you are preparing for the upcoming
digital TV transition, extend the life of your current TV by purchasing a converter
box.

To see how others are being green and to let us know what you’re doing this holiday
season: http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/11/26/more-holiday-cheer-less-holiday-waste/

Tips on reducing holiday waste: http://epa.gov/osw/wycd/funfacts/winter.htm

For a list of resources to help you donate or recycle your electronics:
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm