Celebrate the earth with a book!

Happy Earth Day! While I realize that everyday should be Earth Day, it is still nice to have a day to remind us of all that we can be doing to help save the earth. It is also a nice reminder for those that are just beginning to do their part.

Here are a few books from our shelves that might help us celebrate today and everyday:

• Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel and Alexandra Colombo is a fun recycling book with a cool new superhero to introduce. Fischer received this as a birthday gift from his buddy James. We've been enjoying it. I noticed that the Michael Recycle website has a list of great green tips. We also ran across a little computer game about recycling on Funschool. Of course Fischer is into recycling... because he is into the recycling trucks!


• Dear Children Of The Earth by Schim Schimmel


• One Less Fish by Kim Michelle Toft and Allan Sheather


• If the Earth...Were a Few Feet in Diameter by Joe Miller and Wilson McLean


• Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children by Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto


• 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth by The EarthWorks Group

There are so many more fabulous earth books for kids, do you have any favorites? We're always looking for new books at our house.

America Recycles Day AND a Challenge...

Today is America Recycles Day. You can find out more information about recycling and ARD events in your area by checking out the National Recycling Coalition website. If you poke around for a minute you'll find a lot of useful information and facts. Turn your bigger kiddies loose on the "conversionator" for a fun way to let them read those great facts. You can also take a pledge to recycle more in 2009. I'm not going to quote you all the facts... we all know it is a responsible and easy way to save the world.

Are you up for a challenge????? Enviromom is challenging us all to reduce our waste enough to only have to set our can out to the curb ONCE a month. She has tons and tons of ideas and tips to help us do this. In fact she goes room by room and lists all the different types of garbage in your house and helps you find an alternative route for it. She does say that this is a journey and may not be able to be accomplished overnight, but making these changes will greatly reduce your waste and therefor "save the world" (ok I added that last part).

I see that Sommer over at 5 Minutes for Going Green was promoting the challenge in October.

Whaddaya think? Are you up for it? Leave me a comment and we can start making changes this month for "practice" and then try it 'for real' in December.... together. Whoa - December? That would definitely be a super-mega-ultra- challenge, but I'm up for it. Who is with me? Sign up in the comments and we can do this thing together!

What do coffee, style, The Arc, and saving the planet have in common?

Last month I posted about reusable lunch gear: reusable lunch bags, sandwich wraps, napkins and snack bags. Apparently that post caught the eye of a director for Rejavanate bags. He said I might be interested in their product and their company and that there is a good story to go along... and he was right. I was taken with these three things about the company:

1). They reduce a significant source of landfill waste - burlap from coffee

2). They provide jobs to those that often have difficulty finding jobs - The ARC

3). They provide a good way to reduce our paper and plastic bag consumption

Do you know about The ARC? It is an organization that helps to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Finding a job is often a need that that they can help meet.

The Arc is the world’s largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,000 members affiliated through more than 850 state and local chapters across the nation. The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
http://www.thearc.org/

According to Rejavanate:

- Coffee is the second largest commodity in the world

- 800,000 tons of burlap are put into landfills every year

- The ARC helps 140,000 people find housing and employment

- US consumes over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps

- 14 million trees were cut to produce 10 billion paper bags for grocery stores in the US


So with the support of this company and/or the purchase of one of their bags, I can:

• Create a job for someone who has a disability


• Save the planet and save landfill space


• Feel like I'm doing my part to offset my coffee consumption


• Have a fun new bag to put things in

I'm IN!

If you are interested, check them out. You can also have your company's logo put on the bag. The company's sister site is buygreen.com. They offer all kinds of products and information to help you and your family make some good green changes.

Reusable lunch gear

Last week Fischer and some of his friends went on a tour of the landfill. I will say that this was my idea for playgroup and there were not too many moms who thought that it would be fun... so attendance was low. However TWO other brave mommies did come... and Sheila sent BFF with me so that she wouldn't miss out. Anyway, I found the tour incredibly informative and eye-opening. In my state, recycling is voluntary. Therefor we saw mountains of cardboard out on the landfill that will never be recycled... too bad. In fact our landfill will be full to capacity by the time Fischer is 52 year-old. Then what??

So what to do? We already recycle as much as possible at our house. Our family has broken the bottled water habit with reusable bottles. But there is still so much more that we could be doing - after all, I have a pretty heavy addiction to zip-lock bags!! So I have been in search of some solutions. And I thought I'd share a few of the really great ones:

• Let's start here with Martha and her reusable oilcloth lunch bags. They are cute and practical and would be great to send lunch to school or work or on a picnic. She has all of the instructions here.


• OK now I have my cute lunch bag, what do I put my sandwich in? There can't be any better solutions that a zip-lock bag, right? Ah, but there is! The Wrap-N-Mat keeps your sandwich fresh and provides you with a place mat to boot! All perfectly washable and reusable. You don't even have to make it, you can buy it at reusable bags.com (that site has tons of reusable solutions for sale).


• OK now I have my lunch bag and my sandwich bag and even a place mat, but what about my snacks? What about my napkin? Thank you for asking. Jill over at Life with Nature Girl has two fabulous tutorials on how to make your own reusable snack bags and napkins. Too fabulous!!

Now, I just need to learn how to sew! I'm just going to have to go over to Sheila's and start practicing. I really want to make these things. She doesn't know it yet, but she really wants to make them too. My other obstacle? Getting Andy to let his food touch fabric... I think he'll gag.

Hey, does any one know of any fabulous replacements for my zip lock freezer bag problem?

Pit Putty

I've been testing out an organic deodorant the past few weeks. The name is not very feminine, Pit Putty, but the results have been great. I've asked numerous people on hot sweaty days and after running, if I stink... and they've said no. Because they might be lying, I've done a number of sniffs under my arms (geez this is a gross topic) and I haven't detected an odor!

Pit Putty is made by Bubble & Bee Organic. it uses only certified organic ingredients, no chemicals, no animal testing, and the company is environmentally friendly.

Sheila bought the spray, and has been really happy with her results. The spray is also good for stinky sandal feet!

Bubble and Bee Organic has all kinds of organic personal care products. If you are interested you may want to poke around their site and learn more about the reasons that we don't want chemicals in our beauty products. I'd never really thought about it before.

Oh... one more thing... they completely guarantee their products (or at least the deodorant for sure) there really isn't any risk in trying them out. They are better for your body and your skin. I have pretty sensitive skin and haven't suffered any reactions from the Pit Putty. I think I'm ready to try their soaps and lotions too.

Up-cycle your old T in a fun new way

Turn an old favorite T-shirt or a fun novelty or souvenir shirt into something that will get some use and save the environment of another plastic grocery sack! Of course, Martha knows the way! (Don't hold her against this great idea!) I love this! It would even be cute for some of your kiddies fave too-small tees. The sewing is sooo minimal, that even I could do it. You only sew the bottom of the shirt together, everything else is just cutting. Easy, not to mention - washable!Thanks Brandy for the info!

Hillbilly Housewife: Low Cost, Home Cooking from Scratch!

I really like things that are cheap, especially when it comes to the ingredients for recipes! So, last year when I found the Hillbilly Housewife, I was VERY thankful! She has many recipes to make things from scratch - and scratch is cheap! I pointed Sheila in her direction, and between the two of us, we've tried out many of her recipes. She also has many ideas on saving money, like making your own sanitary napkins! Eewww! I'm all about being cheap and green but... gross! However, if you feel like taking the plunge you can get her pattern here. She also links to a website for making your own tampons out of rolled up baby socks! Double Eeewwww! After my post about tampon art, I figured I could tell you about DIY period stuff!

Now I've made her seem strange and you won't want to try out her ideas. I really do like her. She is VERY thorough when explaining things, which is good for me when I'm trying to learn how to cook something new. I like her friend Paula's recipe for "Purty nearly instant biscuits" (you know how I like to freeze everything!). Oh and check out the emergency menus, when you are dangerously low on cash. Seriously, spend a few minutes clicking around on her site, and you are bound to find something useful!

Happy Arbor Day!

Today is/was Arbor Day. In honor of it, Fischer and I are going to plant a tiny tree in our yard tomorrow.



Also, I wanted to tell you about a very wonderful organization that is trying to help all of us book worms to give back. Eco-Libris and their partners will plant a tree for every book you read! You send them a dollar for every book (or as many as you want) and they'll send you a sticker that says "one tree planted for this book". You can proudly display the sticker on your books. Click on the link above and learn more about their efforts. Wouldn't it be great to get your book club or school to join in on the efforts? Or what about using Eco-Libris as a very green birthday present?

Happy Earth Day!!!!!

Click the picture above and find 50 easy peasy ways to make a big difference.

Saving the world - please, take a minute and read on

I want to do my part where I can, but there is a lot I cannot do. I don't have an inordinate amount of time or money and that is why I am always looking for ways to contribute that are simple and very possible. I just figure that there are people out there who are in my same boat, so I share my finds. I like things like ripple and the breast cancer site, where all you have to do is click and you are giving someone clean water, food, money, education or a mammogram. I like freerice because just by playing a game for a minute or two I can give someone a full tummy to sleep with at night. I try to do my part by recycling, changing out my light bulbs, and by conserving water and electricity because I cannot afford to buy only green and organic products. I have Fischer in disposable diapers, so I have to do my part where I can to even out our impact on the planet.
I joined Team in Training to try to get myself healthier and help others at the same time. There is so much money needed to fund research for blood cancers, I can't give enough money, but I can help fund raise - and then together we can give more. It is incredible to hear that the gains they have made in research have had such an amazing affect on the survival rate for people with these cancers. So many of the people who lost the fight 20 years ago might be here today if we had had that research. I know many grateful people who thank God everyday for the people who have contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It has meant their life or the life of a loved one.

Last night I was reading toddlerplanet, Whymommy is battling Inflammatory Breast Cancer and is hopefully going to be cancer free soon. She has endured months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and now radiation. She often posts such honest and informative details about her fight. People periodically ask her what they can do to help a friend who has cancer and she has many ideas. Last night, however, she linked us all over to Kate who has an answer. Give blood. You don't know who you are helping and it may even be yourself, one day, you can do it. After reading her post, I was so ashamed that I have used all of the ridiculous excuses and have NEVER given blood. I immediately clicked over to the Red Cross and made an appointment for next Thursday. If Kate doesn't convince you, maybe the stories about the recipients will. I am going to make giving blood a regular part of my life. How odd that it never occurred to me that donations are the ONLY way people can get the lifesaving blood that they need. There is no substitute, no artificial blood, or pig blood or anything else. At the bottom of the homepage for the Red Cross there is a counter letting you know how many people have needed blood, just since you have been on their site. It took my breath away!
If you are still reading this very long post and you make an appointment to donate blood, let me know. Let's inspire each other. In fact, I will send you a little present after you give. Email me: fisforfischer at gmail dot com anyday anytime as long as this blog shall live and I will thank you for doing your part to inspire me and others to give of ourselves.

Earth Hour

Hey, I just found out about this event where millions of people around the world are joining together to make a statement about climate change by turning their lights off for an hour. It's called Earth Hour and I just signed-up to participate-I thought it might be something you'd want to sign up for too. Earth Hour is on March 29 from 8 - 9 p.m. local time, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far 25 cities around the world are taking part, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco in the U.S. Sign up for Earth Hour by visiting www.earthhour.org/sign-up and join the movement with me. And remember - Lights Out on March 29! My city is not on the list, but our house will be dark!

Save the World On Saturday

Join me in showing support for World Water Day.

"The world water crisis is one of the largest public health issues of our time. Nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 20% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill almost 4,500 children per day. In fact, out of the 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in 2004, 90% were children under the age of five. Water is essential to the treatment of diseases, something especially critical for children."

Check out the website, learn about the water crisis, find out how you can help.

Save the World On Saturday

Unscrewamerica.org is a campaign to educate the world about replacing your old incandescent lightbulbs with CFL or LED lights. The site is kindof funky, but is FULL of information on the different kind of lightbulbs and the benefits for using them. Besides saving you money, and saving energy, they can help to save the planet. Now, how hard is it to change a light bulb, really? Becuase the bulbs are a bit expensive (although they last about 7 years), we buy a few a month. We are replacing all of our light bulbs, slowly. All of the lights that we use the most have been switched. FYI, the CFL lightbulbs are not very bright for overhead lighting use (like one or two in a fixture to light the whole room). They are better for directional light, like lamps and canned lighting and such. Anyway, check out the sight for info. I didn't realize that CFL bulbs have mercury in them and cannot be thrown away. There are directions for what to do if you break one.