Win a BPA Free Eating Set!!!

Alicia, over at The Soft Landing (the blog that all green moms have to subscribe to) is giving away two BPA FREE eating sets! One set for the little tyke who is just starting to eat solids and another set for the pro. She’s given you lots of ways to enter and you can pick which set you would love to win. Personally, either would be great. I’m putting together a bucket of all organic, natural, BPA free items for my sister’s baby shower and this would go perfect in her “reusable” bucket. I’ll be sure to list all of the items I’m including and take a photo for you. I’m very excited about this shower gift because it’s the perfect way to help my not so green and clean sister become a green and clean mom!

So cruise on over and try winning one of those eating sets and check out all of the other informative and fun stuff Alicia blogs about. Oh, and if you haven't tried to win a CamelBak, BPA FREE water bottle with me then do so now!!! Contests for BPA free stuff, it couldn't get any better OR could it??? Check back because I have a huge green cleaning giveaway in honor of Earth Day but to also stop you and your family from breathing in nasty toxins!

Thursday's Green Tip!

Today’s green tip has me thinking a little bit about the book I just read, Wake Up and Smell the Planet. My green tip was to reuse aluminum foil but then while I was washing my sheets of aluminum foil, my husband said I was wasting too much water. So by trying to do something good, was I actually doing something bad? Yikes! That’s what the book sort of eludes to…the confusion of trying to go green and how sometimes it can be confusing and humorous at the same time. I actually just starred at my husband for a second and said, “Well, darn it all, at least I’m using non-toxic soap!” Geez, what’s a green and clean mom supposed to do?

That’s when I started doing some research and trying to decide what was better, to recycle or not to recycle the foil? Aluminum foil takes a lot of electricity to produce and it doesn’t exactly break down in the landfills. Probably the best is to just not use aluminum foil but it does such a great job at preserving food because it doesn’t let in light or odors. I use glass storage wear from Ikea or Crate and Barrel for most everything but sometimes I just need some foil. Aluminum foil can be recycled over and over so you should probably check with your local recycling facility or try Earth 911 to find out more about recycling the shiny stuff. If you want to wash it…I guess that’s up to you but I’m not sure if that’s the best option with the water waste (pulling hair out). I’m going to go with buying recycled aluminum foil from here on out and at least know that I’m doing something right. The recycled aluminum foil requires 95% less energy to make. If your local stores don’t sell recycled aluminum foils try using, If You Care or Green Feet.

Thursday's Green Tip!

Drip. Drip. Drip. My green tip for the week is to fix that leaky faucet! A leaky faucet can potentially waste more than 2,640 gallons per year. Plus, it’s a costly environmental no-no! I calculated the one faucet in our home that was dripping 5 drips per minute and that alone wastes 231 gallons per year! Ian over at ehow.com has made an easy to follow video on how to repair your faucet, step-by-step (and he’s kind of cute to watch). If you’re the DIY type and there’s some drippy, drippy going on at your house…I suggest impressing your husband, your friends and helping the environment. I know I’d be impressed!!

Thursday's Green Tip!

Use your garbage disposal! It is more earth friendly then allowing the waste to sit in a plastic garbage bag, where it will decompose more slowly. When using a garbage disposal you are allowing organic waste to be sent into the sewer lines, where it will be digested back into nature. Organic waste is turned into fertilizer, after being treated by your community’s sanitary district.

The greenest option is to compost left over food and waste! For those of you with your own septic this might be a good idea, seeing that there are some that say garbage disposal waste can cause back-ups. Frankly, I’ve never had this problem and we have always had our own septic.

For a organic garbage disposal check out, Mother Earth News, for this DIY project!