An abundance of "green"

Lots of fun stuff going on here at Green & Clean Mom, a contest to win a Healthy Home Pack™ , a chance to win two BPA free sippy cups (Foogo and Boon) and an opportunity to design a Kroger reusable bag and win some grocery money from Kroger and from G&CM! Plus there are some great green giveaways over at Nature Moms Blog ,Mamanista and The Crunchy Domestic Goddess. Gotta love the "green" giveaways!

Earth Day is over but everyday should celebrate Mother Earth! I’ve discovered a really neat "green" tee shirt companies for you to check out that help remind others to recycle, do their part and be earth friendly. Miss Witt has some “sustainable Bamboo Fiber, and 100% Organic Cotton Climate Neutral, manufactured from Wind Powered Energy printed Tees!” I love the baby onsie! When you sport tees that say what you think and feel but that are as eco-savvy as the Miss Witt tees…you’re for sure being a sexy and sassy green mom!

Speaking of being sassy, how about not just using reusable bags but using reusable produce bags? I started thinking about this yesterday when I went grocery shopping and had to load a plastic bag up with oranges. It’s easy to take the reusable bag idea one step further and bring your own produce bags. I love the one’s over at Bag Green because they aren’t only 100% natural cotton and biodegradable, they also ship green. I can’t stand ordering a “green” product from a company and having it come wrapped in tons of bubble wrap or packing peanuts!

Hope all of you moms had a great Earth Day and can continue to remember Mother Earth everday! Register for all the contests and spread and listen to my new Best Friends today!!!

Hope, inspiration and a green clean giveaway for Earth Day 2008!

Happy Earth Day all of you Green & Clean Moms out there!!!! What a beautiful day! I have barely been on the computer because the children I have been taking walks, planting, and picking up garbage. I opened up my inbox and had an email from the Environmental Defense Fund and thought I’d share this very inspiring video. It speaks of hope and possibility and I think if more of us mommies unite there is indeed hope and possibility.



I also want to take a few sentences to firmly stand behind a product I so firmly believe in and a company, Shaklee. You can listen hereto my thoughts and feelings about Shaklee and the word “green”, in a recent interview I had with the company. I do not toot my own horn often and say I am a Shaklee Distributor because that is not what this “blog” is about, however, today seems like a very fitting place to tell you my feelings and point out to you while many companies are making their products “green” they are not a “green” company. Did you know that Shaklee was the first company to be certified climate neutral by the E.P.A., among other great environmental feats and connections? These are reasons I am with this company and their products are right for me and my family. Click here to watch a recent clip from the Rachel Ray show and what she has to say about the products.

I’d like to do a giveaway, sponsored by, myself! For one lucky family I would like to giveaway some green cleaners, that I love! To enter this contest I would like for you to do two things.

1) Leave a post with your spam proof email.
2) If you have a natural and non-toxic green cleaning tip or short cut for the home or garden tell us about it.

Begins Earth Day and end on Mother's Day...two very honorable days!

Of course, when you stumble me, dig me or subscribe I get more of the oh so “green” Google juice and I can’t get enough of that!!! If you have time you might want to also check out this wonderful article I was emailed from Kiwi (my favorite green mom magazine)! Happy Earth Day!

Fighting away pirates and floating to the sky all while learning about the 3R's

Toxic toys recalls are just out of control and frankly, scary. Have we forgot that children just love to play with good old fashion boxes, sticks, stones and dirt? We had 70 degree weather this weekend and I don't think my children played with one toy. They were outside romping around, getting dirty and exploring. It was fabulous. We learned about June bugs, lady bugs and why eating dirt and stones probably isn't such a great idea! When we did come inside, we played with our fridge box. I was a princess (yes, I know I look lovely) and used my magic wand to whisk my children, the pirates, away from me! They just jumped in their pirate ship and sailed away. A royal good time and something we use and play with every single day. Ahh, and we can take it a part and make something else out of it!


I even took a box in to my sons preschool, like I said I would, and the kids painted the box and talked about how it was going to become a hot air ballon and they could pretend to float into the sky. I used a parachute and tacked the seams of the parachute to the ceiling. We used old rope and bunched up the four corners and tied them to each corner of the box. The children were so excited watching this box transform into a hot air balloon. Two at a time took turns going up, up and away. They helped create this and each day they get to create a story about where they go and what they see. The box is perfect for the teachers to then reuse it and turn it into a flower shop or a train. A little imagination, a recycled box that can be reused and then again composted or recycled...makes for the perfect earth day activity...everyday!!!


I have to give a shout out to, April, the founder of Fridge Box! She sent me these fridge boxes but I never asked her to. She was going out on a limb, hoping I could make a hot air ballon and get creative with it (phew, thank goodness I could). So thanks April, for hours and hours of fun!

"I see you from way up in the sky!" "That looks so cool!"

Crayon Recycling

Last night I stayed up way too late trying to get to all of my readers blogs. I read every post, email and try to get to each blog, but it is getting harder. I did delete an email by a reader asking a question about what to get someone? I can’t find it for the life of me so if sent me something and I did not reply….try again (woops and sorry).

Lots of going green blogs out there! Go moms! My Greening: Going Green, wrote about recycling crayons to make candles. How clever. As a long time preschool teacher the recycling of crayons and markers has become common practice for me. Here is what I do:

~Grab an old muffin tin and preheat my oven to 150 degrees.
~I have my little guy peel all the old broken crayons and I cut them up.
~We randomly put them into the muffin tins because we like the rainbow colors.

~Bake for 15 or so minutes (you’ll see that they all melt together).
~Let the crayons and muffin tin cool and then pop out your new crayons. You can keep doing this over and over! No need to throw crayons in the garbage, ever! Great for chubby hands and fingers!

When the markers all dry up we use them for painting. The kids stick the markers in water cups and they’re suddenly water color paint brushes. It’s fun and a great way to make the most of those markers.

So thanks, My Greening: Going Green, for this crayon recycling reminder. A great Earth Day project to do with the kids!

Use those creative "green" juices to win a $25 Kroger gift card!!

Kroger, like most other grocery stores is trying to go green and use resuable bags and encourage the use of them. Except this chain of groceries stores decided to involve the consumer and ahve a design contest for their reusable bags. Have you heard about it? You design a reusable bag at Kroger.com/green and if you shop at Kroger and have a shopper’s card number, you can get a free reusable bag. Your design is entered in a contest for you to win a $500 Kroger shopping card from Kroger. Once your design your bag you get confirmation via email and you can email this your blogging buddies, friends, etc. and have them vote for you! That’s a lot of potential groceries and they have a great organic selections!!!

I couldn’t exactly post about this but not try it out myself. Do as I say, not as I do! Not. So, I gave it a whirl and it’s easier than I expected. You can get real creative with this and when I viewed some designs out there I realized it’s competitive. So G&CM readers get creative! Right here at G&CM I I will vote for 2 of MY favorite designs and give away a Kroger gift cards for $25 to each of the winners!!! I could keep one of the gift cards for myself but oh, no, you moms deserve this!!!!

Here’s what you have to do and it’s is not hard. Simply go to www.kroger.com/green and follow their simple step by step directions for entering the design contest and designing the bag. You will then get an email confirmation with your design and number (psssst…it might take a day or two). You can post about this with your design number and that might increase your chance for others going and voting for your design (including me) OR you can email your design confirmation (sommer at greenandcleanmom dot org). The contest started April 11, 2008 and goes until May 23, 2008. I’ll pick my favorite two designs, submitted via post or email on May 23, 2008. All posts must have a spam proof email or I cannot contact you for the gift card, if you win!!!

A little side note…I get lots of Press Releases and emails for me to do plugs for this company and that (I’ll post on this later). I can’t possibly get to all of the stuff and not all of it is worth posting about or having you waste your valuable time reading about. I especially liked this contest because I keep seeing many grocery stores and chains selling reusable bags and trying to appeal to the “greenie” but they aren’t involving the masses and rewarding them. This was at leaset creative, engaging and on the green side. Hats off to Kroger for that! So take advantage of the opportunity and maybe be a winner for me and for Kroger!!! Sweet, sexy and sassy!

National Geographic and PBS make going green for kids a little easier!

As an early childhood educator, teaching my own children is at the top of my list. My son loves television and I know what a great debate this is amongst educators, parents and professionals. I take middle of the road approach and like all things, moderation is the key. He’s active, has a great imagination, plays outside for hours and hours and has tons of interaction with other children. So if he watches a few hours one day I just don’t freak out. We also monitor what's on the television and vote for the public broadcasing channel most times. Even my daughter loves the television and she’s only 15 months old. I could care less about it but my husband is addicted. So maybe it’s genetic.

Seeing that Earth Day is around the corner and both of my kids love the television the upcoming Mama Mirabelle’s Earth Day Special—“Kings and Queens of Savanna” is perfect! Have you watched this series? My kids enjoy PBS and this is a National Geographic series on PBS kids. It’s darling, educational and best of all incorporates the Earth and respect for the environment and animals. I was lucky enough to get a screening of the Earth Day special that airs the weekend of April 20th. My little guy and I curled up in the chair after bath and watched it together. A real treat! The real footage of the animals, the clarity of there being a balance in nature and that animals play a role, and how every animal is important was so well demonstrated. Teaching such big concepts to a little boy is not easy but this show makes it easier. We both enjoyed the humor and talked about the episode afterwards. Any episode that can get a child talking about nature, animals and harmony is a show worth watching!

I’ll write this until I’m green in the face but had I not enjoyed this screening, I wouldn’t have blogged about it or I would have simply told you to avoid watching the episode. If you’re looking for a good way to bond with your child, talk about Earth Day and then to even do some interactive computer work (great hand eye coordination and fine motor skills) after the show or the next day, check your local listing and fit it into your schedule. We’re a moxi/record and watch later family!

My son says, "You can booger this and say it was real good." He calls blogging booger! Hey, it's green!

Get the low down for Earth Day 2008

Earth Day is April 22nd and the clock is ticking away. Do you know what is going on in your city or state? Are you making an effort to do something if there isn’t something going on near you? Let me take a minute and give you some ideas and resources to help get you involved or give you something to do to celebrate this day.

If you live near Universal Studios Hollywood ,then the happening event would be the "Eco-Fair", Saturday, April 26th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can even get free parking if you drive your hybrid and the City and County of Los Angeles will be sponsoring a hazardous waste disposal. Don't have a hybrid? You can still get free parking if you donate something to the hazardous waste disposal, which shouldn't be hard to do! While your getting rid of your toxins, celebrities such as, Melora Hardin, from "The Office" will be autographing eco-bags. There will be over 30 going green displays and interactive exhibits. A must do event if you want to be groovy green and you live in the L.A. area! I only wish I was near by but if you go, send me pictures!

Don't forget the Green Scene event in Chicago if you're near the windy city! If you're like me and the bigger city is hours away and not possible, don't fret. You can still do "something" green but you might not get free parking and a celebrity probably won't sign a eco-bag for you. No need to pout, here are some Earth Day events and links to cheer you up...

http://ww2.earthday.net/
http://earthday.envirolink.org/
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm
http://www.earthdayny.org/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/earthday2008/

How about getting the kids involved and making this day as special as any other holiday? Have those kids be groovy green kids! EcoKids has some great activities, facts and quizzes. It’s more for older kids though. Kaboose, has some great crafts and activities for all age groups. The tin can herb pots are adorable and my four year old would love this! Kaboose, also has some great ways that a family can go green together and a fun quiz. The greatest resource comes from kids themselves on how to learn about Earth day. I personally loved the pledge to Mother Earth!
Lots of good ideas and resources, which gives you know excuse for not celebrating Earth Day! Post here and let me know what your plans are and if you are hosting an event or know of one!

Goodies For Mom is going green for Earth Day!

I have to spread the word about a fun blogging event taking place for Earth Day. There are prizes and chances for you to have a voice and say which green product you like and don't like. Plus you might learn a thing or two about some new products and hear why moms are using them. I'll be giving away a container of "green", germ wipes (no need to kill the germs and your brain cells). Here's the scoop....

In honor of Earth Day, which is less than a month away, Goodies for Mom is starting our hunt for eco-friendly family products. Moreover, who better to help us than the families using them? We are compiling a list of your favorite environmental friendly products to share during our Earth Day Celebration starting on April 16, 2008 and running through April 22, 2008. Our goal is to help bring “green” to everyday people.The event will feature articles on how to live a more eco-conscious lifestyle, easy tips for being more earth friendly that anyone can do, green product highlights and reviews, tips of the day, and we are working on getting some eco-conscious giveaways. It will culminate with the announcement of the “Goodies for Mom Green Product of the Year,” which will be voted on by the readers of Goodies for Mom.

So get on over to, Goodies for Mom and start posting about what green products you like and see what others are saying. Read more about how you can participate in this event and spread the word.

Circle this Earth Day Event

Earth Day is just around the corner, April 22nd, and hopefully everyone is going to do something to celebrate this day. Everyday should be Earth Day but just like everyday should be love thy neighbor day (not sure if that is a real day), sometimes we just need a day to bring attention to issues and do some thinking. What I love most about this day is the education part. It’s a great opportunity to learn something new about the environment, what is happening for new inventions, technology, food, companies, community events, ways to participate through the year, etc. I have lots more to say about Earth Day, which to be exact is 36 days away, but until then you might consider circling this nifty event in your calendar, if you’re from the Chicago area.

It’s called, Green Scene on Northside’s grounds along the Chicago River. The indoor/outdoor festival is dedicated to raising community awareness about available eco-friendly practices. It’s the second annual event being held by, CASE. They’re a student led group and they started in 2004. It’s a very impressive group of students that actually care. If you’re near this event I’d consider checking it out, supporting the group of high school students and educating yourself on some really cool environmental topics from green dog poop bags, car sharing, vegan ice cream, organic lawn care or natural bedding. I won't be making the long drive but I hope to attend something locally. More to come on Earth Day but let he planning begin!

When:
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Rain or shine
12p.m. – 5 p.m.

Where:
Northside Prep.
5501 N. Kedzie Ave.
Chicago , IL 60625

Green Gardening and Cow Manure

Have you heard of CowPots? I had no idea what a CowPot was but when I thought of the two words put together, I took a guess…where a cow takes a poop? Funny enough, that’s exactly it…a biodegradable, environmentally friendly way to garden with cow manure!. Farmers have cow manure and need to do something with it, plants need nutrients and a pot, and the ground doesn’t need pollution to help grow the plants. It makes sense really. When I read the story, about the farmers who thought up this idea, I had to laugh and think of what I would do if my husband used my toaster for his cow manure experiment. I might be “green” and earth friendly but I would not be so crazy about cow manure in my kitchen. Didn’t I just post about E.coli???

Anyhow, these little pots sound great because they are made in the U.S.A., they’re a highly renewable resource, odor free and non-toxic, plants love the pots and grow like crazy because of the nutrients, and the pots decompose. It doesn’t really matter if you like cows, meat or milk, a cow is going to take a dump somewhere and a farmer will have to do something with it. Why not make money off the stuff and help the environment?

In addition to CowPots, you can buy stories about using the CowPots from Chrissy the CowPot! If you want to do something fun this coming Earth Day or spring, you can get a CowPot kit that includes a story, a CowPot, finger puppets and seeds. A great gift for a spring birthday! My son loves planting stuff and when he was really little he was obsessed with cows (notice the picture)! What a fun, earth friendly weekend project!

Win the first ever biodigradable cleaner!

I've blogged about Green Mom Finds before because the site is chalked full of useful green ideas and we all need some of these. We'll they're giving away a bottle of the first every biodigradable cleaner that came on the market in 1960. Folks this was when synethic was in not green. It was also the first official Earth day product in 1990. You can win a bottle of this versitle cleaner and three spray bottles and you only have until February 10, 2008 to take the quick quiz and register. Easy! Easy! Easy! Hop on over and check it out.

Earth Friendly Valentines Day Gifts/Lessons

I have a four year old (almost) that informed me I was hurting the Earth because my car was running while I was getting him and his sister buckled up and things loaded. He told me I was making the Earth hot and not feel good. So you can see that my lessons in Global Warming are sinking in and starting to bite me in the butt. I told him he was right and I turned the car off until we were ready to go. Now Valentines day is around the corner and I'd like to continue my lessons on being Earth friendly. In our home we're continually talking about how mommy teaches others about being healthy and taking care of "Mother Earth" because of what I do for a living. My years of education and schooling (early childhood degree) tells me he needs to make a connection and be able to relate to all of this "green" talk.

February 14th in our home is a perfect time to show my little guy that he can use things we have in our home to make gifts for his friends and also a gift for daddy. Dad's a Valentine's baby so we also have a birthday to celebrate. Dusting off the old collection of teaching ideas I came up with a few great ideas I've used in the past and some new stuff. The idea behind this is to teach my son that we love the Earth so much that instead of throwing stuff in the trash and it sitting at the landfill we are going to recycle it and make something useful and give it to daddy and our friends and family to make them happy and smile.

Weathered, tried and true old Valentine Teaching Staples of Mine....

• Take my old greeting cards, wrapping paper and misc. craft supplies and make our own Valentines. This is fun because it teaches recycling but also practices fine motor skills for cutting.


• Use a tin can and cover it with old wrapping paper and wrap a pretty box around it for a pencil holder. Grandma's love this.


• Take an old picture frame and puzzle that's missing pieces. Glue the pieces around the frame and put a picture of the child in the frame. This is great to use with buttons too! Craft glue works best for this activity.

New and improved ideas from internet searches....

• Floppy Disk Picture Cube (Perfect because I never know what to do with these old things).


• Photo Busines Card Holder from a cassette tape holder (a must do for the dad or mom with a desk or office).

Just a few ideas of the upcoming holdiay and ones that we will be trying in my home this February. Teaching our kids about how to be Earth friendly and take care of the Earth often comes from conversation and example but the children need to actually make connections for the real learning to take place. I can tell you right now my son will be explaining to the recipients of his gifts that he was recycling and why!