Green week 3

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

Quite a bit has been going on this week.  I had a BBQ on Sunday celebrating my birthday and my new business.  I tried to make it a green event and found a few tips I'll share.  I also went to an Earth Day event where I got to talk to people about toxic chemicals in their cleaners.  It was a great week.  I love how many kids came out to the event it really shows that there is hope for a brighter future.

 Here is a photo of Lisa Alexander and I at our booth: 

Tips:  Small changes for a party that everyone is sure to enjoy and the planet will like more as well.

I know that we always try to do things the easy way when it comes to hosting a party or event at our house.  We want less dishes so we use paper and plastic everything, we buy soda, bottled water, and make burgers and hot dogs.

What I planned on doing was having everyone use our plates and dishes but once we counted out how many people were going to come out we found we had to use something else, but I wanted to try to be more green so we found recycled paper plates and used them.  We also instead of getting plastic forks, knives, and spoons we sent out our real forks for people to use.

I made homemade sweet tea and filled an already empty plastic jug with my tea and a glass pitcher (which is what I used to serve it in. (pictured below)

The great benefit to this was that there was less sugar than store bough ice tea, and it was much cheaper!  And everyone commented on how great it was (score!)

I asked guest to BYOB so we didn't have the added cost of supplying beer for everyone.

I did not find a way around buying plastic cups.  

We helped minimize clean up by setting out a bin for everyone to put their cans in.

For food everyone asked what they could bring and told us what they were bringing so we didn't have to cook a whole lot and made some kabobs, fruit salad, and homemade dip.  Everything turned out great!  To our surprise we only had a few meat dishes and lots of choices for everyone!

A BBQ almost always requires a fire.  I love sitting or standing around a campfire with friends.  This year a friend of ours found a great way to reduce the amount of wood you use when having a fire, contain the fire well, and it makes the perfect way to cook when camping.  Check out the photos below and if you're interested in one for your next camping trip please send an email asking for more info.

I also sent out the invite over Facebook instead of sending out written invites to everyone.  I did snail mails some to people who aren't on facebook.  So I saved myself an added cost of prints, cards, and postage. And reduced the amount of paper we used.

Website: Earth Day Organizer's Guide 

Here's a great site for ways to celebrate Earth Day today and everyday by yourself and as an event.

People: The volunteers at Lacawac Sanctuary

Lacawac Sanctuary is a great place to learn about our ecosystem and enjoy the outdoors.  They offer many educational programs.  If you're in their area check out what they have going on or just stop in for a visit.

Green week 2

Tip: Filter your water.

Instead of buying cases of bottled water, get a water purification system and use that.  We like Get Clean Water, but there are many others for you to chose from.  I use to buy a lot of water (I did recycle the bottles) but I'm really happy to have found a water purifier that I trust and now will be getting less BPA, lead, and other contaminates in my drinking water :)

Website/Newspaper: Natural Awakenings Magazine

I stumbled across this for FREE at a local store I went to this week and picked it up.  It was great, it told me about Green Businesses in the area, and gave me more green tips, tricks, and reasons.

Photo by Little Deer Photography 

Person: YOU

Yes, I say YOU.  As in every one that reads this you that you tell, you, me, our kids, everyone can be green.  It doesn't take much, make one change and make a difference, make 5 small changes and make an impact, change your life and become an activist.  What you do is up to you.
Every one of us wants to live in a beautiful land, and weather you make a change to save yourself some money or because you want a better world for our kids we are all helping.
I'm far from perfect when it comes to going green.  I've driven my fair share of cars that get 8miles to the gallon and leak oil like crazy, I love to have a warm house and I take long showers, but I'm making small changes in other areas and that helps.  I feel better making these changes and knowing that I'm doing something good.
Don't be unhappy when you're going green and making these changes because that won't give you satisfaction.  By all mean if you get a water purification system and you don't like it, then go ahead and send it back in, get your refund, and buy your bottled water, but recycle the bottle when you're done with them.
Learn how to become an Earth Day Advocate and spread your passion.

Here is a photo of my husband, daughter, and myself.  Hope you all had a Happy Easter.  Would love to hear some ways YOU are Green!  Please post them below!

Realized I've over booked myself

Today should be Day 5 of my Green living tips.
I've realized that I don't have enough time in a day to write a Green living tip every day. I would like to and I think it's still a great idea but I just don't have enough time to devote to writing a blog everyday.  I'm sorry.  I will still continue to put up at least one or two Green living tip blogs each week for the month of April.

I've also overbooked myself with BOOKS!  I had gone to the library and put in a request for 3 books they didn't have and they all showed up and have to be back in 2weeks, so I have a lot of reading to be doing.
I've gotten: Peas and Thank-You, The-Face-Your-Plate, and Death by Medicine.

I'm also planning Earth Day events, I want to write the other blog I mentioned about overcoming a bad past, and I have a newsletter to write and send out to my family and friends...slightly misjudged how much time is in a day.

Hope you all have a great Easter!

Green Day 4

Tip: Plant a Tree

I remember in school a couple years we were given trees to plant...if you're kid brings home a tree plant it...if you live somewhere where you can't...find a big pot to keep it in.
This year Shaklee has a goal to plant 1billion trees around the world!!! I'm very happy to say I will be a part of that!  I'll be planting one in our yard!  I love weeping cherry trees and would love to plant one of them.



I just love this photo of the CEO of Shaklee planting trees for his A Million Trees. A Million Dreams™, environmental campaign that raised awareness of global climate change and initiates efforts to plant trees in North America and Africa which in 2009 Shaklee commemorated the planting of the 1 millionth tree, a culmination of a three year campaign with program Ambassador and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.


Trees breath life back into our atmosphere.  They are a home to birds, and animals, they provide natural shade (I know you can go inside or put up an umbrella or whatever but it's not the same as sitting under a tree and enjoying some lemonade), they also filter polloution from the air and prevent soil loss.  Plant a tree this year with your kids

Movie: FernGully: The Last Rainforest

Here's another great family movie about how important trees are.  Again my husband picked out this movie because he watched it as a kid and still loves it (now that I've seen it I love it too)  If you haven't seen it pick it up and watch it tonight with your family, if you have seen it be sure to share it with your kids as well :)

Person: Roger Barnett

Since I've already put a photo of him up I figured now is a great time to share about Roger.  He is the CEO of Shaklee.  He spent $20million researching Shaklee to make sure they were the greenest company he could find before he then bought it!  Since he took over he's invested even more of his money into research and development and international expansion and improving the compensation plan!
So where did Roger come from that he had 20million to spend doing research??  You might know the name of two of the other companies that he was the CEO of...arcade inc and beauty.com.  When Roger's son became sick and developed Asthma with no family history of breathing issues Roger and his wife began doing research on why he was sick.  (I shared this in The Truth about our Cleaning Products) Once he found Shaklee he then invested money and wanted to know how green they were and everything about the company.  We're very glad he did his homework and loved the company so much that he decided to buy it! We love have the World Economic Forum selected "Global Leader for Tomorrow" as the guy in charge.

Green Day 3

Tip: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

This one is self explanatory...Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle to cut down on how much trash is going into landfills.

Website:kidsrgreen.org

A site for kids to play jigsaw puzzles, unscramble words, and take quizzes about Earth, endangered animals and more

Person: Will Steger

If you haven't heard of him, you probably still know who he is, click on his name and check out his site which has some of his photography work, books he's written and all about the expeditions he's gone on.  He's long been an active environmentalist having even gone in front of Congress to talk about issues with our environment especially the poles.  He is just an amazing man who has done so much in some very harsh conditions!  Thanks Will Steger for all the knowledge and experience you've brought to us about how we're effecting our world!!

Green Day 2

Green Tip:  Eat less meat.

I read this in a book last week and found it interesting although I don't remember the name of the book I remember how it said that by eating 2-4pounds less of red meat we would be saving as much water as if we didn't shower everyday for a year!  Wow since I do like to shower a bit on the longer side that's a great way to save water so we've started doing this!  Then today I learned that there are a lot more reasons we need to take in less red meat to help the environment, like saving gas, money, grain, water, and greenhouse gas.
I don't have any issues with cutting my meat intake.  I love fruit, veggies, and grains.  My family however does not feel the same way, they are all big meat eaters but I've been very lucky in that my husband has jumped on board and agreed to go vegetarian at least one meal a week.  And we have also quit drinking cows milk and found that we love Blue Diamond Almond Coconut Milk better than dairy milk and that it has more calcium.  Also Dark Chocolate Almond milk is the best chocolate milk I've ever had!!
I plan on this summer going meatless 2 times a week.

A look at what's in my fridge now...since we couldn't find the Blue Diamond milk that we like so much

Green video: Wall-E

This is a great movie the whole family is sure to love.  My husband probably watches it more than my 3year old daughter!  There are a few messages in this cartoon: we need to take care of our planet, we are going to start running out of places to put our trash and have to reduce how much we are putting in landfills, we are lazy people and have learned how to become helpless and that we can change.  Let us hope that in 100 years this our planet is still beautiful and that this movie is still just fiction.

Green Person: Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee

Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee founded a wonderful company that was created with nature in mind.  The company he started has lead the way in many health and environmental ways.
"Follow the laws of nature and you'll never go wrong." -Dr Forrest C Shaklee
Here is a list of just some of the environmental heritage of Dr. Forrest Shaklee:

1956   Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee founds a company based on Living in Harmony with Nature® that is committed to developing products to improve the health of people and the planet. 

1970s   Shaklee introduces one of the first biodegradable laundry detergents that contains no phosphates, nitrates, or borates. 

1987 Shaklee is selected by Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society to provide environmentally friendly 

cleaning products for use onboard their research vessels, the Calypso and Alcyone. 

1989 Shaklee helps build schools and health clinics and plants more than 1 million trees in Asia through a partnership with the American Himalayan Foundation, an organization chaired by Sir Edmund Hillary

2009 Shaklee commemorates the planting of the 1 millionth tree, a culmination of a three year campaign, “A Million Trees. A Million Dreams, with program Ambassador and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

2009 Shaklee is honored with a Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in recognition of its commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. 

On my facebook page I'm going to keep posting 1 green fact about Shaklee everyday so like it and learn more about this great company Dr. Forrest Shaklee started!!

To learn more about Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee check out these links: youtube, The-Shaklee-Name-History-ebook, The-Shaklee-Story

Thank you Dr. Forrest Shaklee for founding this great company with such a strong foundation that is bonded with nature.

Thank you makers of Wall-E for creating a movie to make kids and parents aware of where our world is headed if we don't change!

Green Day 1

Tip: Bring bags with you when you go out shopping. 

 I use canvas tote bags that have my business on them so I'm also doing my advertising as I shop.  One of my other friends reuses the plastic bags she gets from the store so that there's less in the landfill.

Trick: At first I kept forgetting to bring the bags with me when I left the house.  Put the bags so you trip over them when leaving the house, and on your way out put them in the car weather you're shopping that day or not, then you have them with you when you are at the store.

Website: Living Green Magazine online
Be sure to check out this online Magazine and stay on top of all the latest Green news!!

Person: Lisa Alexander 

Lisa is a great friend of mine.  She's also my business associate and mentor.  Besides that she has a long list of credits that all amount to her being the Queen Of Green.  She is often asked to talk all over about the latest in green building, saving money while going green, and green tips and tricks.  To view some of what she has said before please watch this video and feel free to look for other ways to go green with Lisa.  She just did a great webinar about going green and if you'd like to view that I'll have to send it to you in an email so be sure to message me and ask for that clip.
On top of all her creditably she is also an animal right activist and refuses to do botox and raises awareness about how cruel botox testing is done on dogs (to the point of death).  She also promotes green building, and saving money by going green.
Thank you Lisa in your part of taking care of our planet.

Happy April Everyone

I love April for a couple reasons: Easter, my birthday, Take Back The Night, Earth Day, Spring, and it's a month of sexual assault awareness.
I was molested as a child and on through my teen years so TBTN and raising awareness is important to me.  I realized over the weekend that I should have a blog for that and this month I will start one.
I love Spring; the warmer weather, new growth, fresh air, new life, just makes you feel alive and new yourself.
Earth Day.  As you know I wasn't always green, or healthy.  I wasn't raised to reduce, reuse, recycle - going green is new to me.  This is an adjustment for both my family and myself, but it's worth it to do all we can to save our planet.  Our kids should be able to see animals that are endangered (right now) all the time, they should be able to drink water from a stream, and think that the movie WALL-E will never become true because we reversed the problem and changed the direction our world is going in because we've opened our eyes to what we're doing.

For Earth Day I plan on writing one post every day this month with:

1-way to go green tip

1-green webpage/video

1-green person

I think it's also important that I follow my advice so I will be doing everything I share as well.