Saturday afternoon Enviro Girl nearly gagged when she returned home. The wrapping from Thursday night’s chicken dinner had finally reached its prime–one of the most unbearable stenches. It was time to take out the trash and Enviro Girl reached for her trusty spray bottle of vinegar water to neutralize the odor.
The pressure began after Christmas–the commercials urging men to buy their loved ones diamonds, jewelry, stuffed animals with cute sayings embroidered on red satin hearts. Enviro Girl appreciates the sentiment behind Valentine’s Day, but she’s hoping for a token of affection that she doesn’t have to dust. In short, love her, baby, but love her with less stuff. Here’s a short list of Valentine’s Day gifts that would make any red-blooded woman feel weak in the knees: Continue reading
Anyone with children understands that Valentine’s Day is really about the treats, not the declarations of affection. When Enviro Girl was young, she always made a “mailbox” out of an old shoebox covered in glitter and paper doilies to set on her desk. Each child would bring in paper cards to deliver to each of their classmates. Enviro Girl recalls carefully choosing exactly the right Valentine for each of her classmates out of the box her mother bought at the dime store. Occasionally someone would pass out tiny boxes of conversation hearts. Times have definitely changed. Fast forward to today’s school children. Enviro Girl’s tribe comes home from school and DUMPS their bags out, covering the carpet with tiny cards and a heaping pile of treats. Her sons bring home as much candy on Valentine’s Day as they do on Halloween! Is there a way to make this holiday a bit healthier, a little bit greener, but still fun? Continue reading
Posted in 3 Rs, eco holidays, eco kids, living green on a budget, school
Tagged eco friendly valentine treats, eco friendly Valentines Day for kids, environmentally friendly valentines, finding eco friendly kid valentines, green ideas for kids on valentine's day, greener classroom treats for valentine's day, kids and eco friendly valentines, less waste on valentine's day, reduce plastic on valentine's day, reduce waste on valentine's day
A wetland is classified as any low-lying land that is flooded for at least a portion of a calendar year. Swamps, bogs, marshes and fens all fall into this category. An acre of wetland can store up to 1 to 1.5 million gallons of water. Enviro Girl thinks that’s astonishing–if we would just leave wetlands alone, we’d have no need for retention ponds in most cases. Wetlands also filter and purify water flowing into streams, lakes, rivers and oceans and they provide habitat for an amazing array of creature and plant life–everything from reptiles to insects, fungi to ferns. Without wetlands, water sources would be more polluted and flooding becomes a problem. In short, wetlands provide many services and resources, but they’re under-appreciated. Continue reading
Ice, ice baby. And snow. Two treacherous forces we face every winter, but there are environmentally friendly ways to combat each of them. Let’s talk about snow first.
Like many folks, Enviro Girl begins each new year with a resolve to eat healthier–and get her family to eat healthier, too. Given the choice between a bag of chips and a bag of carrots, her family will always reach for the chips. The men in her household are huge carb junkies, leaving almost no room for the other food groups. But over the years, here are a few ways she’s encouraged their fruit and veggie consumption:
Everywhere people are taking down their Christmas decorations and storing them for another year. But what to do with that slightly dried-out Christmas tree in the corner of your living room? Whatever you do, do NOT shove it in your garbage dumpster! Your tree does NOT belong in a landfill–there are plenty of environmentally responsible ways to recycle or even extend the lift of that tree.
Enviro Girl views New Year’s Resolutions as a way to evolve. Each year she sets personal goals, sometimes with the intent of changing her habits and behavior and sometimes just to challenge her personal development. Over the years she has adopted “greener” behaviors, like diligently composting food scraps and recycling plastic bags. Let’s recap her 2011 resolutions:
Everyone starts a new year with plans to improve–lose weight, save money, take a risk, accomplish a goal. Enviro Girl thinks everyone should start the new year with an Eco-resolution, one small thing they can do to improve the environment. The small things add up, as illustrated in this recent post over at Fake Plastic Fish. Here are some free, incredibly convenient and easy Eco-resolutions for you and your friends to try:
We’ve all received on occasion a gift that we either cannot use or absolutely dislike. Is it wrong to pass on a gift given to us as a gift for somebody else? Enviro Girl argues that in most situations, re-gifting is perfectly acceptable, provided you are sensitive about it. It’s silly to hold on to things you can’t use and don’t like, it’s so much better to pass them along to someone who will put them to good use. What are the rules regarding re-gifting? Continue reading
