My new blog is up and running.

The new URL is: http://simplegreenworld.blogspot.com/

Much more fitting.

Follow whichever blog looks interesting to you.

So that leaves me free to talk about my day.

Or about just nothing.

Oh ya that was my day today.

Just kidding

Well not really

It's true that today has been much of nothing, but yesterday was quite interesting.

More to come...

Labels: green living

Yea! It is Earth Day!

Even Google has gone green today for Earth Day

and how fitting that we don't have any water.

Seriously. They turned off our water due to a repair 8:30AM-3:30PM (we are 13 hrs. ahead of the U.S.).

No water on Earth Day.

Is that ironic or what?

I even had to dip into my water storage to wash my hands.

Makes me think about how precious that resource is.

To honor Earth Day I want to talk about one subject.

Being Judgmental.

O.K. we all need to make wise judgments, but when it comes to caring for the earth we need to be cautious.

"Don't judge me based on your ignorance" is a popular tag line for those who care about the environment,

but at the same time we might also say, "I won't judge you because of my own ignorance."

When I see people flipping off polluting SUV and Hummer drivers I think to myself, "Are they really helping anything?"

I read about this group of eco-moms who got together to talk about how to make their neighborhood more environmentally friendly and the woman hosting the meeting got criticized because the flowers she had on her coffee table (purchased just for the occasion) were not organic.

give me a break

I love how the new advertisements for climate change awareness show very different people together united in the same cause

because caring for the Earth shouldn't be about one fringe, holier-than-thou group, it needs to be all of us.

Even with big corporations, I try to be open-minded in my judgments. Only if the company has really acted dirty do I avoid it (i.e. Walmart).

If a company isn't the greatest, but it is making strides towards better green choices I think that should be acknowledged and encouraged.

I guess the important thing is to find out their true intent and motives. Where they are going is more important than where they are now.

I am worried about how the green movement can divide people right at the same time we need to unite together.

When people find out that I strive to live a green lifestyle I get three reactions.

One is they judge me as weird, wrong, fanatical (which I am not at all) and they like me less (I am not sure what to do about that).

Two is that they tolerate me, but avoid me because they think I will judge them on their anti-green ways (Which I will not).

Three is that they are in complete agreement with me, but then the judging could potentially go back and forth because we may not be in agreement on what is important in caring for the earth. She may hang dry all her laundry, but then doesn't recycle or maybe I buy only organic or second hand clothes, but don't hang dry my laundry. Do you see what I mean? And the truth is-

that we are all trying to do our best with the knowledge and understanding that we have. We are all trying to live a good life and make good choices (for the most part)

So we need to lighten up and be friends. It is O.K. to set an example, but love others despite their differences from you.

If we isolate ourselves there is no hope for anyone anywhere. We can all learn from each other.

This applies to everything- parenting, religion, housecleaning, cars, things we own or don't own, etc.

Don't let judgments get in the way of relationships.

Be a positive example. Let your light shine and love, love, love one another.

Happy Earth Day!

Labels: green living

I started the day out in a search of a safe sunless tanning lotion.

I can't be the only one who worries about that stuff. Here are the brands that seemed the most promising
Environ Self Tan
Boots No. 7
Green People Self-Tan

These were also recommended, but I am not sure about their safety:
Aveda's Sun Source
Lavera's Sunless Tan

Anyone use any of these before? I haven't bought anything yet- just thinking about the upcoming summer. I might need to get these too. What too hippyish? I am kidding anyway. I would never pay $350 for sunglasses. I lose at least 3 per year.

Next I worked on editing my son's new YouTube movie he is making with his friends. If I decide at some point to show it to you all- don't judge me please. The movie is a remake of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

Enough said.

What? You missed that cult classic? No worries. Looks like it might be coming to the big screen again soon.

But my exciting day wasn't over yet.

I made this yummy organic smoothie. My own recipe made from what I had on hand.

1. c. frozen organic strawberries
1/2 c. frozen organic blueberries
1/2 c. frozen organic raspberries
1 1/4 c. no-fat organic French vanilla yogurt
3 Tbl. real maple syrup
2 Tbl. orange juice
1 c. organic milk

Mix and serve immediately. MMMMMMM

We ended the day with our family cleaning our buildings elevators. They had gotten so dirty and no one is hired to do it, so I thought it would be a good project for us.

After we got the kids in bed (Piney insists on sleeping in her old porta-crib now. After being in her bed for almost a year. Is that normal?)...

M decided to play some old music and we reminisced about old times while listening to Pink Floyd The Wall.

I remembered when I thought that was the best music ever written. We decided that there were never going to be great bands anymore because there isn't money in it like their used to be. Albums don't matter anymore. It's one hit wonders now.

Oh how times have changed.

Labels: green living

I understand the idea that "how you spend your money is how you vote on what exists in the world."

I get it.

I also understand that discount stores, like Walmart might be bad places to spend my money because their low prices take jobs away from Americans. This is partly because even though Walmart employs many Americans, discount stores have put so many other American stores out of business (because they fail next to the Walmart model) that America now has fewer jobs.

Actually, I don't really have a big problem with this. It is capitalism at work and competitiveness is what keeps companies working hard and our economy strong. If you are the most popular- you win. Right?

That issue isn't my major concern. I am also not going to go into how Walmart is bad for the environment or about their poor reputation in regards to how they treat their U.S. workers (low-wages, forced overtime, discrimination, etc).

What I have a major problem with is the way they are going about dominating the market through offering their low prices by outsourcing to other countries (mainly China) who do not have fair labor laws. The outsourced workers who produce Walmart products often work long hours, 7 days a week for around $3 a day in hot, deplorable conditions.

I had heard about this before, but I always thought it wasn't Walmart's fault. I thought it was the brands fault. I thought that Walmart was innocently involved somehow.

So after my delusion was shaken I started wondering if shopping at Walmart and other discount stores was morally wrong. I started asking myself if I just go for the cheapest product or if I find out if the item is child labour-free and workers received a fair wage.

The thing is; however, even though I can afford to do that now- I can pay more for fair wage products- this wasn't always true.

There was a time when Walmart was all we could afford and I think this is the case for a lot of Americans. Walmart helped us survive in the early years of our marriage- especially with kids. Can you fault struggling Americans for shopping there? Even if they aren't struggling as much as the Chinese workers who made the products?

The more I think about it- I think that if I had known then what I know now I would have probably figured out ways to shop their less. I could have used Goodwill more often.

I could have gotten by without some of the things I bought there. I certainly can get by now without shopping there- especially with the plethora of online shopping availability.

According to The Better World Handbook changing where you shop retail is listed as one of the top 10 things to change in your life for a better world.

I won't go into all of the other actions on the top 10 list of changes to make, but I will link you to the page that mentions the top 10 best companies to buy from. Check it out HERE.

You can also search HERE for fair trade products from other countries.



What do you think about shopping at Walmart? Yea or Nay?

Labels: green living

With my finals over I am back online and I thought I would catch you up on some of the things that have been going on at our house.

The biggest change has been my new determination to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle. This has not gone over well with the kids because I have totally stopped buying all of their individually packaged snacks. I have replaced these foods with natural biodegradable fruits and vegetables. I also buy large size jars of things like applesauce and yogurt instead of the individual packs. This, combined with my recycling efforts has cut our garbage down to one bag a week, down from FIVE. The kids are whining now, but I think they will get used to it and their health will improve as well.

I have changed some other habits too. I buy food (breads, fruits, vegetables) that are made locally because this supports food that doesn't have to use energy to be transported here. I also have been buying organic choices. It is more expensive, but it balances out because I am buying in bulk, and buying less other stuff in general.

I have also purchased 10 cloth bags that we use at the grocery store instead of the plastic bags. I buy environmentally sound "seventhgeneration" products wherever they are available (dishwasher, laundry detergents, toilet paper, etc.). I try to buy recycled products.

We have one refrigerator and a stand-alone freezer which are the biggest environmental culprits in our home. I have been trying to keep the door closed, pack it full, and try not to use the freezer (unplug it), also keeping the refrigerator full and operating it on the lowest temp. that can still keep it cold enough.

Having meat for every meal is also hard on the environment, so I have tried to eat less meat. Red meat is the worst, with chicken next and fish least harmful. I have also purchased those long-lasting, energy efficient lightbulbs. Lighting is a huge energy suck.

Everyone knows that cars suck too. We only own one car by default, so that is good. I have tried to walk more and drive less, but we don't drive much at all here- there isn't that many places to go and everything is very close by. When we go in the city we use the mass transporation, so we
are already on the right track there. I am still learning about things and doing more research. Overall, though I think this is a much healthier and far less wasteful way of living. I think it is fun to think of ways to be more environmentally friendly. It feels good to do my part.

I got an email from a fellow environmentally minded women who has a great parenting site. Check out her tips.

Can you pass on- some good advice?

P.S. Do you see my sidebar even with my posts? It looks right on my screen at home, but was off when I looked at my site at the library. Let me know. Thanks!

Labels: green living