One such company the Green Queen likes to tell people about is Burgerville USA. This company composts, recycles and buys its produce and meat locally. It also pays 95% of its employees’ healthcare premiums. And considering that this is a “fast-food” company, I like to support these business practices by eating at Burgerville when I run out of time and need to feed my family fast.

I’d rather spend an extra dollar to keep companies buying products locally, which helps keep my community vital and thriving. I’m also willing to spend a little bit more on a company that treats it’s employees well. That companies’ employees are also my neighbors.

I want to help sustain jobs in my own community. So, why wouldn’t I eat here? It simply makes sense…sustainable sense.

So, the next time you’re thinking of eating out…put your money where your MOUTH is. Promote companies that buy locally grown and raised produce and products and remember to check out the companies in your own neighborhood before you run out of time and need to eat in a hurry. That way, you’ll be ready to make the right choice.

1) Go to Work a Different Way:

a) Don’t drive your car,
b) Take mass transit,
c) Ride your bike,
d) Or even run/walk.

You’ll get into better shape, save money and help protect the planet all at the same time.

2) Use natural remedies to heal your ailments.

a) Slice large onions and lay them on your chest, to help clear-up sinus congestion.
b) Steam a pot of water, add a teaspoon of crushed lavender, hold a towel over your head and inhale the warm revitalizing scent.
c) Pour 1/2 cup of Epsom salt into your bath to help soothe aching, tired muscles.

3) Use Products a Different Way.

With the new year here people often want to clean out the old and here’s how to do it without polluting the planet.

a) Use vinegar and water to wash your windows and even your clothes. You can mix 1/4 cup of vinegar in a quart of water. Moisten a dry cotton cloth with this mixture and you can wipe down your counter tops, appliances and even your bathroom.
b) Use a slice of lemon to clean the bottom of your copper pots and pans. Simply rub the copper with lemon juice and salt and you will be awe…mazed.
c) Use baking soda to clean out your refrigerator. Take two tablespoons of baking soda and mix it in a quart of water. Use a sponge and dip it in the liquid to clean your appliances.

People haven’t always had store bought cleansers that were full of dyes, perfumes and chemicals. They used vinegar, baking soda and scrub brushes. You can too!

So, as you’ll see, Recycla’s goals for 2011 and the ones she’s planning for 2012 vary (greatly, in some cases) from Enviro Girl’s because the two co-founders of Eco Women live different lives and are able to do different things. That’s the beauty of trying to make a difference on Planet Earth and do what you can to be eco: There is no one way; there are a lot of ways you can do your part.

So, looking back at Recycla’s goals for 2011:

• In an attempt to declutter her house and pare down her possessions, she resolved to REFUSE before reducing, reusing, and recycling.  She also planned to declutter her home and even blogged about her plan.  The results were mixed — she did a reasonable job of refusing, but admits she could have been better at it. As for decluttering, she made a good start, but wasn’t able to deal with everything on her list, as she met with strong resistance from her husband and daughters.
• She also wanted to install at least one rain barrel in her garden but she never got around to it. Part of this has to do with the odd placement of her gutters — the rain barrels would be in inconvenient locations and not at all near her garden.
• She tracked her family’s No Drive Days for the second year in a row and that project was successful — they went from 51 days in 2010 to 61 in 2011.
• Finally, she wanted to plant a large kitchen garden and preserve much of her bounty.  Again, she had mixed results. She planted a lot, but many of her plants didn’t make it through an extreme heat wave in late July. She was able to freeze some of her bounty and got more from the farmers’ market, but she never got around to canning anything.

So, as you can see, even the Eco Women aren’t always successful in their eco efforts.

Looking ahead to 2012, Recycla has three main goals:

• She wants her family to have at least 50 No Drive Days.
• She also wants to be more mindful of her overall spending and consumption so that she buys less while also saving more money. She will be making fewer purchases and when she does buy, for example, shoes or clothes, she’ll be investing in higher quality items that will last longer. She also plans to do less shopping at stores that sell cheap, mass-produced clothes (possibly made by underpaid workers in Asia) and instead will shop more at thrift, consignment, and vintage shops. That’s not to say that Recycla won’t shop at chain stores, but she’ll be very mindful of her purchases and will consider them carefully.
• Finally, Recycla wants to continue decluttering and organizing her house. This is an ongoing, lifelong project, but Recycla includes it here anyway because she really truly would like to get rid of her husband’s old VCR, among other things.

So those are Recycla’s eco goals for 2012.  What about you? Do you have any?

The Eco Women

“Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne. ” Robert Burns (Scottish Song)

Save this year’s greeting cards.  They will make great tags for your gifts next year.  You’ll save money and cut down on stuff going into landfills.  It doesn’t even take a Martha Stewart wannabee to do this.

Recycla is one of those people who does not have the scrapbooking gene, so she just cuts the backs off the cards and tapes or ties the fronts to gifts the next year. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you could cut the card fronts into different shapes.  Super easy, right?

If you don’t feel like dealing with this project right now, stick all the cards in an envelope or bag and store them with your Christmas wrapping paper until you need them next year.

We hope you enjoy a holiday filled with comfort and joy.

Love,

The Eco Women

I often wrap presents in fabric:

Towels:

Or even reusuable bags:

It’s so easy and it’s like giving a gift inside a gift.

Here are a few of the gift bags I’m using this year to wrap up my presents.
Then after the holidays, my family and friends can use these bags to store their holiday decorations or maybe even as a laundry bag if they want.
And this is one way to keep paper out of the landfills. Plus, the packages are pretty and can be used over and over again.

No, as we get closer to the holiday weekend, the Eco Women hope that you’ll do something meaningful for your family or yourself. Go for a walk in the snow. Make cookies with your children. Sit down with your grandmother and go through old photo albums together, reminiscing about the old days. Give your spouse/significant other a long hug.

Definitely recycle today and keep up with all your other eco actions, but remember that spending time with your loved ones is what this weekend is about.

Tell the Eco Women: What are you doing today?

To use toothpaste, just rub a little in with a soft cloth until the tarnish is gone, then wipe off with a clean damp cloth. Dry to remove any lingering moisture.

To use baking soda, make a paste with water and rub in the same way as the toothpaste. For stubborn tarnish, leave the past on for an hour or so.

To do a whole batch at once, line a pan with aluminum foil, fill with water, add a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt, and bring the water to a boil. Drop in the silver. Turn off the burner and watch the tarnish slowly collect on the foil. Once the silver is shiny, buff it with soft cloth, such as old t-shirts you’re not wearing anymore.

To help keep your silver tarnish free, wrap it in plastic wrap or seal in Ziploc bags when not in use. You just need to make sure the silver is air-tight, as sulfur in the air reacts with silver to cause those unsightly black streaks. Yes, Recycla knows that plastic is evil, however, sometimes you just gotta use it. Just make a point to reuse the plastic every time you wrap up your silver when not in use.

What can YOU do to minimize your contribution to this environmental disaster?

Here are a few ideas for cutting back your trash output now and into the new year:

• Bring your own bags when you go shopping.
• Don’t buy bottled water if you get thirsty when you’re out — bring your own reusable bottle or travel coffee mug and cut back on the number of plastic bottles that end up in landfills.
• Reduce your waste by wrapping gifts in reusable bags or boxes.
• Be savvy about recycling throughout the holidays. Don’t just throw things away because it’s easier; try to save ribbons, tissue paper, and other wrappings for reuse and, if you can’t, recycle what you can.
• Think carefully about the gifts you buy. Are you buying things that will last? (Unless, of course, you’re giving gifts of food, wine, or other intentionally disposable items.) A singing plastic fish, while somewhat humorous, is not something that’s going to be around for a while.

These are just a few ideas; check out this list at the E.P.A.’s website.

Tell the Eco Women: What are you doing to cut back on your waste this year?