A Better Refill

I needed to buy a refill for my handsoap the other day and was surprised to see Method's refill package is now a pouch. I don't advertise for them on this blog (or anyone else for that matter), but I liked it so much I had to share.

According to Method, the pouch has an 83% smaller footprint (measured in plastic, energy, and water) than a rigid plastic bottle. They also claim it is "more fun." I don't know about that - it is just filling the soap bottle after, but maybe it will keep their hands clean, which will, in turn, keep the walls and doors clean. I can dream.

The Electric Car is on Order!

Several months ago, I placed a reservation for a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car. I wish I could say I've found a way to drive significantly less, but as the primary driver in this suburban family of four, that isn't going to happen any time soon so I'm trying to find a compromise.

The car will be able to go 100 miles before charging, so I won't be taking any long cross-country trips (until there is more of an electric-charging infrastructure in place), but since 99.9% of my days involve less than 100 miles of driving, I'm not too worried.

A full charge is estimated to cost about $2 in electricity in my location. I feel good knowing that Washington state is one of the cleaner producers of electricity, with three-fourths coming from hydro-electric sources. To find out the source of your state's electricity, click here.

With my order placed, I still have another 4+ months to wait, but I'm excited to be in the first wave (Nissan accepted 20,000 reservations in 2010, but has halted that process until they can ramp up their production). I'm #30 with my local dealer and he's expecting to see his first cars next month.

What am I most looking forward to? No more $50 fill-ups at the gas station!

Energy Vampires in Your House

Have you ever wondered how your electric bill gets so high? You can reduce it by taking shorter showers, running full loads of dishes, and turning off the lights, but did you know that your house is consuming energy every minute of the day even if you have nothing turned on?

Standby power refers to the energy it takes to run electric devices even when they are turned off. Think of anything that has a display, remote control, or external power supply -- your microwave, TV, AC, alarm clock, and printer, just to name a few.

If you want to reduce your standby power usage, get your kids involved and have them count up how many devices you have plugged in. Then, think about what you could unplug. Maybe a rarely used phone? a VCR leftover from the dark ages? We actually do still have a VCR (not sure why...) but I was happy to find it already unplugged!

For more info on exactly how much each device uses, watt-meters, and suggestions for future purchases, check out Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories.

May the Farm Be With You

Today's blog is brought to you by Ryan, my 10-year-old, since we're both home sick today!

Grocery Store Wars is a cute spoof that features Cuke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Canoli, Darth Tater, Yogurt, C3 Peanuts, R2-Tofu, Chewbroccoli, Ham Solo, and Princess Lettuce in a battle against the Dark Side of The Farm (organic food vs. pesticides and chemicals).

Your kids should be entertained, but be forewarned it is a "war" so there are gun-toting characters from the supermarket. If you think Star Wars is too violent, you'll probably think this is too!

Win a Greenhouse for Your School

Washington State Potatoes is offering kids a chance to win a greenhouse for their school. Entries are due by 1/24/11 and it is open to kids in Puget Sound and Eastern Washington. Check out the website for all the details, but the basics are the child needs to tell them about their school, say what they would do with a greenhouse, and create a healthy potato recipe.

If you're wondering about how healthy the potato is, you should check out the recent experiment conducted by the Director of the WA StateImage via Wikipedia Potato Commission to eat only potatoes for 60 days. Apparently, the potato had been getting a bad rap in the vegetable world so he chose a dramatic way to demonstrate that potatoes can be a great source of nutrition after some federal low-income assistance programs announced that potatoes were no longer allowed to be purchased through the program. Seems some people couldn't see past the french fries to the baked potatoes.

2011: No Resolutions, Just Confessions...

If any of you out there are still reading this, you may wonder why I've taken almost two months away from the blog. It started with 'life is busy,' but eventually morphed into 'why am I writing this blog anyway?'

I like blogs and I like writing mine, but sometimes the subject matter makes me question myself. Is it too judgemental? Is it really necessary? Does it help anyone? Personally, I like funny blogs and this one just doesn't seem to lend itself to humor on a regular basis.

So, I decided to give up the blog.

But then I changed my mind. I was kind of missing it. And I kept finding ideas that I wanted to blog about, but then would remind myself that I wasn't blogging anymore. So, I'm back here again.

Some people start the new year off with resolutions, but I'm starting mine with confessions instead--mostly to reiterate that the point of this blog is to share ideas, but not to judge one another. There's certainly enough of that in the world!

So... here are my confessions of all the non-green things I've done lately. I try to protect the Earth, but I'll be honest and sometimes I just don't feel like it. What about you? Want to confess anything in the Comments? Remember - no judgement, we're just here to share ideas and pick the ones that work for us!

* I threw away all my old Christmas lights and bought new ones (despite the fact I'm fairly certain I blogged once about how to recycle old lights).
* I don't use any natural hair or skin care products or cosmetics.
* I subscribe to two daily newspapers (and a healthy dose of monthly magazines)
* I don't use all CFL light bulbs because sometimes I don't want to wait for them to warm up from their semi-dark starting point.
* I drive over 15,000 miles a year (in an SUV no less!)
* I like long, hot showers.

Do I feel guilty? Nope. There's enough of that in the world these days too. Happy 2011!

Do You Have Your Turkey Yet?

Thanksgiving is less than a week away - are you ready? Have you ordered your turkey or are you hoping to just pick it up in a mad dash next Wednesday?

People in the Seattle area might want to plan ahead more than usual because there is a good chance that our grocers will be on strike within the next 72 hours (they're still negotiating, but 94% have voted in favor of striking).

My turkey is already on order with Silvana Meats, but another possibility is to check out your local farmer's market. I've been getting emails from Tiny's Organic recently and their turkeys will be available at five different farmer's markets this weekend. No farmer's markets for me this weekend since I'm juggling 2 swim meets, 3 soccer games, and houseguests. I'm happy to sit at home and wait for my CSA, Klesick Family Farms, to deliver my holiday box on Monday complete with celery, onions, breadcubes, yams, cranberries, and apples.

Not in the Seattle area? Find a local farmer's market here.


Happy Thanksgiving!