Giveaway Alert! One lucky winner will receive their own E-cloth Kitchen Pack (Valued at $17.98). Entry form below. ECO-ngratulations Cinella! You Win! Check your email! It's rather ironic that I hate to clean and I'm doing a whole week of cleaning reviews! Why do I hate to clean? Mostly because I can't stand the smell of all of those nasty cleaning chemicals. However my husband will tell you it's just because I'm always on the computer and too busy to clean! A few months ago I got an email from a company called E-cloth asking me to try their product. I have to tell you that I was a bit skeptical of this company that claims to be able to clean with their cloths and water, no chemicals at all! Huh? No bottles of soap? No scouring pads? Just cloth? I was a bit intimidated with their selection of cloths too. They offer cloth specifically for cleaning kitchens, bathrooms, electronics, furniture and more. Why would I need all of these different packs to clean my house? ... [ Read More ]
My Boy and His Waste-Free Munchler
In honor of my son's first week back to school I have dedicated the entire week to Waste-Free Lunches! This week will feature great tips for sending your child off to school while treading lightly on the Earth. When parents go school shopping they are really good about getting their child a brand new lunch box but what goes inside the box? Single use baggies, aluminum foil, waxed paper, pre-packaged & individual serving snacks and meals, disposable forks & spoons, paper napkins, juice pouches...you get the picture! It is estimated that the average elementary school age child produces 67 lbs of waste per year from disposable lunches alone! These disposable items aren't cheap on the pocket book either! Here are some tips to help reduce your grocery bill and your footprint! 1. Purchase a durable, reusable lunch box. The days of paper bags are long gone, your child wants a cool and hip reusable lunch box or bag! Check out one of my sons new lunch bags, the Meadow ... [ Read More ]
What’s your treasure?
If you are like most Americans we have so much junk that ever so often we need to purge and get rid of our belongings to make room for new ones. Our closets are stuffed, our garages are overflowing, there is no more room under our beds to hide all that stuff we no longer use. I've mentioned before that I love websites like FreeCycle and Craigslist but when was the last time you held a Yard Sale? Well this past weekend we did just that, held a community yard sale. A neighbor decided to organize the sale and advertised in the local paper. Of course we also used the wonderful poster board signs to lure those bargain hunters in. I decided to post the sale on Craigslist in hopes of gaining a few more customers. Then I was sent an email with a new website just for Yard Sales and Garage Sales called Garage Sales Tracker. It was very easy to use the site, just enter a title of your event, the date and times, your phone number and address, and a brief description of the ... [ Read More ]
Random Green (and not so green) Thoughts
I was talking (ok...emailing) a friend of mine today and it reminded me about some questions I've been struggling with lately. Can switching to green actually have a negative impact on the environment? Take for instance babies. I now have a 4 mo old baby (Lil' B) who is getting many of my son's baby gear. He's 6 yr old and I wasn't quite as green as I am now. Some of the items I've saved aren't exactly eco-friendly. So here is a list of the items that if I were to buy them today I would make a different choice than I did 6 yrs ago. Crib mattress. I would buy an organic cotton mattress if I bought a new one today. Baby bottles. I would buy BPA-free bottles and storage jars for my breast pump. High Chair. I would buy a nice wooden high chair today instead of the plastic bulky one I have. And what about the baby gifts you receive. What if you receive items that aren't eco-friendly? Like baby soap, lotion, disposable diapers & wipes, and plastic toys. So ... [ Read More ]
TerraCycle on TV
If you've been a regular here at The Eco Chic you know that I'm very fond of a company in New Jersey that is the king of upcycling. TerraCycle takes our garbage and turns it into products that we can all use. From reusing plastic bottles to package their worm poop fertilizer to reusing wine barrells by turning them into rain barrels TerraCycle really knows how to get creative with trash. I was speaking with George over at TerraCycle this week and he sent me a link to their new show, Garbage Moguls, that aires on the National Geographic Channel the evening of Earth Day. Check out this funny clip to see what it's all about. I have my DVR set to record it since I'll be out of town. ... [ Read More ]
Diapers – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
If you are one of my close friends you are probably sick of hearing about my diaper choices. However, I have been researching these things for a few months now and I think I have some great ideas to make an eco-friendly decision. Now...my only disclaimer is that I won't get to try these until January when our little bump enters the world. There are mixed reviews on each option (as with any product); some love them; some hate them; some are tolerated! Please feel free to add your comments. Babies, Infants and Toddlers go through 15++ diapers a day. Most people use disposable diapers and these end up in our landfills where they can take hundreds of years to decompose. Disposable diapers can contain chemicals such as chlorine, latex, fragrances, TBT (tributyl tin), and more. My first child sufferred from severe diaper rashes that nothing would cure. I think it was a combination of diapers, wipes, and food choices. So here is what I've learned thus far. Disposable Diapers ... [ Read More ]
Goodbye Halloween
Now that Halloween is over you may be wondering what to do with your Halloween stuff. Some things are easy...you eat the candy! LOL! DECORATIONS: We reuse our decorations year after year so that's any easy thing to do. We have a nice orange bin in the garage that houses all the decorations until it's time to use them again. If you don't want to do that you can always donate them. We have a Salvation Army truck at our local Wal-Mart and he takes EVERYTHING we don't need. COSTUMES: There are many reuses for those cute costumes. 1) Let your kid wear them again and again until they no longer fit. We have a dress up box where we store a few key items and he loves to dress up like his favorite hero's (Superman, Batman, Capt. Jack...ect). 2) Donate them to your kids school. Kids really love to dress up. Most day cares have a dress up area and will gladly take your gently used costumes. 3) Donate them to libraries or Goodwill. Our library has a borrow a costume section ... [ Read More ]
The Eco-Baby Shower
This post serves two purposes. 1) I am planning a baby shower for a friend who is expecting at the end of year. 2) My friends are planning a baby shower for me (I just don't have any of the details). So I have found some cool ideas for planning an eco-baby shower that I want to include in my friends shower (and hopefully my friends will get some cool ideas too). Invitations: *Use www.evite.com or other online invitation web site. *Print your invitations on recycled or other environmentally friendly paper. *Print your invitations on plantable paper. Decorations: *Use potted plants for table decorations. *Use actual baby gifts as decorations and give them to the guest of honor. *Don't use disposable decorations. Food: *If you are making or catering the food use local and/or organic food. *Select food that serves well at room temperature so you don't have to use electricity to keep things warm. *Don't use disposable plates, silverware, napkins, and ... [ Read More ]
Recycling 2 Liter Soda Bottles
I know it's already been posted today on another blog but I had to share it with you all. This video shows 8 great uses for those pesky 2 liter soda bottles. Instead of recycling try to upcycle and reuse your bottle instead. Thanks Budget Ecoist for posting! ... [ Read More ]
TerraCycle Garden Collection
In my last post (yes, I do realize I haven't written in almost 2 weeks...VACATION!!!!) I wrote about joining a Terra Cycle Brigade. So what do they do with all of those items they collect? In todays post I'm going to specifically talk about their garden collection of products. Now my garden started out really strong this spring but with the intense Florida summer heat it's all dead until fall. I did get lots of cherry tomatos and green onions but everything else pretty much died. With my food garden dead I've only tried their Garden Fertilizer (thanks Terra Cycle!!) and my hibiscus is loving it. We had an older bush and a new bush and after using the fertilizer they are both about the same size and fullness. They actually make several variations of the fertilizer and plant food; tomato plant food, orchid plant food, and lawn fertilizer. I'm excited to try the tomato plant food this fall when I try my fall garden. All of their plant foods and fertilizers are bottled ... [ Read More ]