Green Goes Simple: Conservation at Home

Reusing and Recycling 101

By Dana Goeglein for Green Goes Simple

You want to be green, but it’s hard to know the difference between reusing and recycling. Fortunately, it’s not that complicated. Recycling and reusing have the same goal: to keep items out of overflowing landfills. The two tactics just go about it in very different ways.

Recycling involves reprocessing an old item — such as a can, glass or newspaper — and turning it into something new. Recycled paper products may be reprocessed into toilet paper and old tires may become a compound used to resurface roads.

Reusing, on the other hand, means avoiding the reprocessing plant altogether. Old items like containers, bags and appliances can be used again in their current condition for a similar — or completely different — purpose. Takeout containers can be turned into food storage (think: free plastic containers!), and plastic bags can be transformed into waterproof liners for planters or drawers.

“Reusing extends the lifetime of a product, from the time it is purchased to the time it goes to a landfill [or recycling plant],” explains Janine Kubert, director of operations at iReuse, a company that helps businesses and individuals become better reusers.

When you extend the lifetime of a product, you not only reduce the need to buy something new (which takes energy to produce), but you also save on the energy it would take to recycle that product. “Reusing allows us to get the most out of our virgin products and raw materials, and aside from reducing consumption entirely, it is our best resource for waste reduction,” says Kubert.

Whether you’re an avid recycler or new to waste reduction, here are some simple ways to reuse and recycle every day:

Reuse

• Reuse bags, boxes and containers. For example, turn old shoe boxes into storage containers, packaging for gifts or a treasure chest (have kids cut out pictures from magazines and glue them to the outside of the box for a customized container).

• Rather than buying a new product, borrow, rent or share items you use infrequently or for a short period of time.

• When babies and kids outgrow toys, books, cribs, high chairs and strollers, sell or donate the items rather than throw them away.

• Invest in quality, durable products. You may spend more initially, but they’ll last longer, which saves you money over time.

Recycle

• Become a full-circle recycler. Buy products that can be recycled; sort and discard them according to your community’s standards; and finally, purchase products made from post-recycled materials.

• For more information about recyclable materials, check out the EPA’s website: Epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/recycle.htm.

Going Above and Beyond
While waste reduction starts at home, communities nationwide are forming around the premise that less is more. Freecycle (Freecycle.org) — started in Tucson, Ariz., before spreading throughout the U.S. — helps people be the best possible reusers. Through the Freecycle network, members are able to donate — or pick up — used products, such as appliances, furniture, toys and bikes.

In need of a reduce, reuse and recycle tutorial? Companies like iReuse (iReuse.com) give personalized consultations to help you reduce waste, donate reusable products and save money.

If you’re not sure about your community’s procedures or standards for reusing and recycling, check your town’s government Web site or ask a neighbor. Through community boards, donation banks and home and school recycling programs, it’s getting even easier to do more to waste less.

Dana Goeglein received a bachelor’s in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a master’s in food studies from New York University. She is a writer, yoga instructor and whole foods educator in New York City, where she strives to help others create harmonious, connected lives.

Green Goes Simple: Family Footprints

Spring Fling: Helping Kids Go Green This Season

By Amy Levin-Epstein for Green Goes Simple

Did you become greener after becoming a parent? Then you joined a conscientious club of moms and dads who increased their eco-efforts as their family grew.

“To me, there are two aspects to being green: The first is about how you and your family affect the environment, and the second is about how you let the environment affect your family,” says Dr. Jenn Berman, mother of 4-year-old twin girls, and author of the eco-friendly book SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years. Plus, “compassion for the earth inspires compassion for other people and animals,” she says. Try these six tips from Berman and other eco-experts to help your kids live greener lives this spring.

Make Composting a Family Affair
For Mary Talalay, an eco-friendly writer and mother of one in Maryland, composting is a huge part of her family’s green efforts. “We started a simple compost pile by fencing off a small section of our yard — away from the dogs’ prying noses — and now we literally never throw kitchen scraps anywhere but the compost pile,” says Talalay. “I weighed one of our daily tubs of scraps, and it was about a pound of carrot peels, orange peels and the like. That’s 365 pounds of waste that makes worms happy and stays out of the landfill!”

Go Meatless on Mondays
Switching the whole family over to vegetarianism might be too big of an undertaking for your family plan, but just one meat-free day a week can have a positive effect on your family — and the earth. “Research has shown that animal agriculture is the single largest source of methane, which is a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide,” says Berman.

Lead by Example
If you forget to recycle those empty plastic bottles or turn off the lights when you leave the house, your kids will too. “How we act is so important,” says Bruce Harley, author of Cut Your Energy Bills Now: 150 Smart Ways to Save Money and Make Your Home More Comfortable and Green. “The lesson of bringing cloth grocery bags to the store is lost if it takes a 6,000-pound SUV to bring two of us to the store in the first place.”

Rack up Environmental Goodwill at Goodwill
Secondhand stores save gently worn clothes from ending up in landfills, which makes them a great — and wallet-friendly — way to green your family’s wardrobe. “We bring clothes to Goodwill and we also shop there,” says Talalay. “Sometimes I feel like I am renting clothes because we buy things there, my daughter wears them until they’re too small, and back to Goodwill they go if they’re still in good condition.”

Make Showering a Water-saving Game
Kids like to compete, so the most fun way to make bath time green is by making it a game. “Shower timers in the bathroom are an easy and fun way for kids to get used to using less water and taking shorter showers,” says Caroline Howell, founder of Green Beanie.  “No one wants to be a ‘water waster,’ as we call it at my house.”

Watch Your Garden Grow — Together
Have a picky eater? Green gardening is a great way to make sure your family is eating more wholesome veggies, says Talalay. Kids who help dig in the dirt will be excited to see — and eat! — the fruits of their labor. And you’ll rest easy knowing that the food you grew flourished naturally.

Photo Credit: Andy Cawood

Amy Levin-Epstein is a freelance writer who’s been published in magazines like Glamour, Self and Prevention, on websites like AOL, Babble and Details.com and in newspapers like the New York Post and the Boston Globe. You can read more of her writing at AmyLevinEpstein.com.

Green Goes Simple: Conservation at Home

Be a Green Guest

By Marisa Belger for Green Goes Simple

Summer is all about weekend escapes — to the beach, to the lake, to the mountains and beyond. And while getaway accommodations can take many different forms, they often involve the hospitality of friends or family.

If you’ve ever been on the hosting end, you know that opening your home to guests is a great act of warmth and generosity. This year, try acknowledging the gift of a cozy bed and wonderful company with an eco-savvy hostess present that shows how much you appreciate being welcomed into someone’s home. Hey, think of all the money you’re saving in hotel costs!

Emily Anderson, author of Eco Chic Home, recommends giving gifts that are thoughtful — without being showy. “When I give a hostess gift, I want it to be a nice gesture of appreciation, but not something over-the-top,” she says. “I’m also sure to think of something that my hosts will put to good use.”

While a bottle of (organic) wine or a pretty (soy-based) candle are classic options, Anderson also likes exercising a bit of creativity in her gift-giving. The results are meaningful and earth-friendly:

A Home for Lonely Cups
“I’m always collecting orphan pieces of china at the thrift store,” says Anderson. “Creamers, sugar jars and, of course, teacups, which all make excellent hostess gifts.” To complete the gift, Anderson fills the piece with a small satchel of her favorite organic fair-trade tea and ties a ribbon around to hold it all together.

The Artist Within
“I happen to think that everyone could use a little more art in their lives,” says Anderson. She suggests pairing nontoxic watercolor paints with a small pad of recycled paper. Tie a ribbon around the package and you’ve got an instantly creative hostess gift.

Practical and Pretty
To assist your hosts in living green, Anderson suggests giving the practical gift of dishcloths. “You can never have enough dishcloths,” says Anderson. Make it a pretty present by rolling up three new cotton towels — bonus points if they’re organic — and tying them together with a ribbon.

Grow a Green Thumb
“Just because someone doesn’t have a green thumb doesn’t mean they can’t learn to become a gardener,” says Anderson. She suggests giving your hosts a small bucket filled with a few seed packets and a pair of gardening gloves.

Marisa Belger’s work has appeared in Travel + Leisure Family, Natural Health, Prevention and TODAYShow.com, where she wrote a column about eco-friendly living. She was an editor at Lime.com and collaborated with author Josh Dorfman on his bestselling books, The Lazy Environmentalist and The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget.

Green Goes Simple: Conservation at Home

How Does Your Garden Grow?

By Elizabeth Barker for Green Goes Simple

Planting and cultivating a garden with your family can offer a bounty of benefits to you and your kids. Along with fostering your kids’ fondness for fresh fruits and veggies, gardening with your children can enhance their eco-consciousness.

“It’s so valuable for kids to see the direct effect of their taking care of the earth,” says Rose Judd-Murray, education specialist for the National Gardening Association. What’s more, working in the garden gives kids hands-on learning about hard-to-grasp concepts, like reducing pesticide use and preventing soil erosion.

Even if you’ve never picked up a trowel, starting a garden can be a snap! Here, four easy ways to build a kid-friendly plot that thrives:

1. Get Prepped
First, size up the soil quality and sunlight availability in your backyard. Choose a space that sees about six hours or more of sunshine each day. To prepare soil for planting, you can add composted matter (a great way to use the contents of your kitchen compost can, if you have one). Then, loosen the soil to give roots a place to grow, and remove any visible weeds. For more tips on prepping soil, visit Garden.org. Don’t be afraid to start small, says Judd-Murray. “You don’t need to dig up your entire lawn,” she says. “You can just begin with a couple of containers, or go to a garden center and pick up some transplants that pop right out of the plastic and into the ground.”

2. Choose Your Crops
When gardening with little ones, keep short attention spans in mind and include a few seeds that won’t take too long to sprout — think carrots and radishes for vegetable gardens, sunflowers and zinnias for flower plots. And while inspiring kids to try new veggies is a great gardening perk, focusing on foods they already love is also essential. “Children might like to plant raspberries to make their own jam, for instance, or grow the ingredients for homemade pizza sauce — such as tomatoes, peppers, onions, marjoram, garlic and basil,” says Elizabeth McCorquodale, author of Kids in the Garden.

3. Add an Eco-element
To teach your kids that plants can flourish naturally, look to eco-options for pest control. “Keeping plants healthy so they can defend themselves is key, so make sure to nourish them with homemade compost and use mulch to seal in moisture,” says McCorquodale. Building barriers from ground eggshells can also shield your plants from attack, she notes. And introducing beneficial bugs like ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies can provide natural defense against the bad bugs and stop them from chowing down on your crops.

4. Cultivate Your Kid’s Green Thumbs
As your children get gardening, take note of the tasks they most enjoy. “Some kids will love the digging and weeding and organizing, while others will get a thrill from the competition of growing the fattest, sweetest or shiniest plants,” says McCorquodale. To keep that enthusiasm from waning, she recommends dividing the more tedious gardening duties into brief blocks of time.

Setting your kids up for gardening success is also a smart move, according to McCorquodale. “Give the children their own sunny corner and fill it with the best weed-free soil,” she suggests. “When it comes to nurturing their love for gardening, remember that a little success can go a long way.”
Elizabeth Barker is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and executive editor of fashion blog NoGoodForMe.com. Her work has appeared in Body + Soul, Natural Health, Vegetarian Times, Variety and Kiwi.

Green Goes Simple: Conservation at Home

Go Green for Earth Month

By Elizabeth Dwoskin for Green Goes Simple

There’s nothing more precious to parents than their kids — nothing more important than making sure they are as healthy and as safe as possible. Earth Month is the perfect time for parents to put their kids first by making small, easy changes that protect the health of both their little ones and the earth.

While parents can’t control every aspect of their kid’s lives — though most wish they could — there is one place where they can take full charge: the home. And these days, lots of parents are looking for green solutions to make their homes more sustainable. Don’t you wish that you had someone to just whisper in your ear, giving you quick and easy green tips every time you needed them?

Enter Janelle Sorenson, chief communications officer for Healthy Child Healthy World. For 20 years, this nonprofit group has been all about giving families the tools they need to create cleaner, greener and safer homes. Sorenson gave us some easy suggestions that you can use to start greening your home — and saving money — right away.

1. Add some cool, clean air to your home.
Because children have sensitive lungs, the quality of indoor air is a big factor in creating a sustainable home. Indoor air can actually be more polluted and contaminated than the air outside. That’s because asthma triggers, including chemicals, dust and particles from outdoors, can settle into furniture. And inside there’s no sunlight to break down contaminants, or wind to blow them away.

To improve your indoor air quality, there are some easy things you can do, like having a no-shoe house (this cuts down on the grime that gets tracked indoors) and opening your windows once a day. Sorenson also recommends vacuuming with a HEPA (high efficiency particle) filter. “Your carpet can really become a sink for whatever is in your air — dust, pollen and the dirt you track inside with you.”

Another super-simple remedy for improving indoor air quality is keeping lots of plants around your house. Sorensen recommends placing one medium- to large-size plant every 100 feet. NASA — which for years has been studying what plants will help purify the air inside a spaceship — has discovered three common houseplants that do wonders for cleaning up the air: areca palm, mother-in-law’s tongue, and money plants. These are all like oxygen factories in that they remove volatile organic chemicals from the air.

2. Cut down on pesticides.
Pesticides may get rid of bugs, but they’ve been linked to asthma, hormone imbalances, and even learning disabilities in children. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid exposing your kids to these toxins.

With spring and summer on the way, kids are going to start playing outside again — and that means bites from the buzzing critters that live in our backyards. If you have red ant piles around your house, one green solution is to sprinkle chili pepper flakes around them. Ants despise chili pepper; they won’t go near it. And for fruit flies, and even mosquitoes, potted basil just might do the trick. When your kids go out to play, try rubbing basil leaves on them as a toxin-free substitute for bug spray.

“These are all tricks that our grandparents probably knew, but we’ve become so used to just reaching for the first thing on the shelf that we forgot them,” says Sorensen.

If those pesky summertime mosquitoes still won’t stop devouring your kids, make your own bug repellent by combining eucalyptus, lavender, citronella and geranium oil — all of which naturally repel bugs.

3. Teach your kids to stay green even when they’re not at home.
While making easy green changes at home is a great start, kids are ambassadors of eco-friendliness who will take these lessons and more on the road with them. Teach your kids that little changes can make a big difference.

An easy ways to do this? Encourage them to bring a reusable lunch box and water bottle to school, instead of paper bags and plastic bottles. Let kids pick their own out so they’ll be more likely to never leave home without them.

One of the biggest away-from-home trash producers is parties, both in the classroom and at friends’ homes. Encourage your child’s teachers and the parents of his friends to switch from plastic party favors to DIY crafts or food items like cookies. Kids will like them just as much as the non-green alternatives and they’ll go a lot easier on the earth.

The most important thing is to just start somewhere. It feels good to begin making small changes toward a healthier lifestyle. And after a while, they really start to add up.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/akurtz

Elizabeth Dwoskin is a staff writer at The Village Voice as well as a frequent writer for The New York Times. She’s also written for The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast.