Mother's going GREEN Day 100 - Green Party

Today's post will be short and brief... As it is day 100 since that day, which seems so long ago, that I decided to green our family, I have decided to join the Green Party of Canada. With talk of a national fall election I thought it only fitting. In the past I have never been consistent with my voting but now I will vote "GREEN" . There are green parties worldwide - be sure to join the one in your area. In going green try and support the green politics in your country/nation.

Mother's going GREEN Day 98 - Laptop Lunches

Pretty much every mom who is writing a green blog has blogged about Laptop Lunches. So you know that they must be pretty darn good.

My story starts in my search for a 'green' lunch container. Back in the day when I only had one child and worked while he attended daycare - I prepared the best lunches. I had searched out these plastic containers with dividers as I liked to send several items in one container and when I found them a t a dollar store stocked up on many of then. Being from a dollar I doubt very much that they were produced from a safe plastic. But live and learn.

Anyway in my greenness I again went on a search. My preferred lunch box would have been stainless steel but I could not find any that was compartmentalized (is there even such a word). I kept running into laptop lunch boxes. I then started looking at them much more seriously and decided to purchase one for my son and his going to school. Let me tell you I am excited. It is though made from plastic - but safe plastic. I am not so crazy about the bottle it comes with, but my son will be taking his Klean Kanteen to school with his beverage.

I have always been and will always be for packing a healthy lunch. Fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. and with the laptop lunch box system it just makes it so much easier and not to mention fun.

This mother who is going green definitely recommends this system and I think everyone should have it. Even adults who take their lunch to work.

If you get a complete system as I did it comes with a handy little book with some fun ideas for lunches as well as some interesting facts on the amount of garbage produced by traditional school lunch systems:

-- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that one student taking a disposable lunch to school every day will create 45 - 90 pounds of garbage per year.

That figure is not hard to believe considering the plastic wrap or bag that the sandwich is packed in. What about all those snacked size items that you can buy to put in lunches - juice boxes, paper napkins, plastic cutlery and straws. Well starting with us that is all about to stop with the laptop lunch system. I love it.

To truly appreciate this product and all that it offers be sure to check out the website: http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Mother's going GREEN Day 90 - Green Shopping Sites

In the last couple of days I have been 'googling' perhaps a little too much, but have found some great on-line 'GREEN' shopping sites and I thought I would share.

The Rainforest Site I came across some time ago. It offers great gifts from different countries around the world. When you purchase from the site you help various different organizations and you can also buy gifts for others. I once purchased school shoes for a school girl in Africa. A great way to give a gift to others. It also offers a daily click program where when you click a sponsor will pay for habitat protection at no cost to you. (you can also fist their literacy, breast cancer, animal rescue and child health sites; also clicking to so sponsors can donate to various programs) Check it out a click away each day.

Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store offers hundreds of fair trade and environmentally friendly green gifts. They have some great gift baskets and gift certificates. I have already picked out some items that will make great Christmas gifts. Yes, I am thinking of Christmas already.

Grounds for Change is the on-line store for any coffee lover. They sell certified organic coffee specializing in Fair Trade Coffee. They have a coffee of the month program which would be a great gift for someone or even yourself. They also offer some other coffee related products and they are also a member of 1% For The Planet and they donate 1% of sales to environmental groups.

Gifts with Humanity this site is just full of art and crafts from around the world. All Fair Trade and some really cool ideas for gifts some creative uses on recycling soda cans, flip flops and telephone wire. I grew up in South Africa and the telephone wire bracelets they sell bring back the memories of my own creations from telephone wire although much simpler than these creations.

GreenBoatStuff.com is just that a store full of boating stuff but all 'green' as there website states: "a speciality store offering environmentally friendly alternatives to the petroleum-based, chemical-laced, plastic-ridden products available at most boating supply stores." they also claim to offer "truly biodegradable sunscreen and chemical-free insect repellents." I have listed this site as both my brother and father are avid sailors so I know I will be returning to this site often.

Another site I will be visiting on a regular basis is planet happy kids toys, toys and more toys need I say more...

This site Eco Choices Natural Living Store you name it it they pretty much have it. Toys, a bedroom section, kitchen section, patio section, clothes. You need to check it out in order to see the large selection offered. Too bad no school supplies.

And the last store I will post for today is a link to getting 'chocolate on-line'- I just loooove chocolate and hence I have to add a chocolate link.

I hope in the near future to create a list (to the left of this post) to all these stores for easier access and also so I can find them again with ease. There are so many more wonderful green on-line stores out there and I am sure I will continually be adding to the list. So check back often.

Also, maybe you know of a store that you would like to share - email me or write a comment.

Mother's going GREEN Day 87 - Children's Eco-Craft

My son will be starting kindergarten in the fall so I thought we could prepare something that we can file his artwork in once it has had its time being posted on the wall. A variation on the Magazine File. Of course you could make yours to hold magazines, story books, papers that need to be filed etc.

Magazine File

You will need:

-- a cereal box, or any other suitable box

-- Mod Podge (not sure how environmentally friendly this is - but we have it and it works great.)

-- Any one or all of the following: Pictures, newspaper, other children's artwork, pages an old colouring book, magazine pictures or gift wrap. We used an old world map.

Instructions (with an adults help if required):

-- cut the cereal box to resemble a magazine file

-- cut out pictures newspaper or whatever you have chosen

-- glue using the mod podge to the cereal box

-- finish with a coating or two of mod podge

-- allow to dry

You are done... and your magazine file is ready to store all of your chosen items.

Art/Space saving tip: We all love our children's art and it is important to display it in order to build their confidence. Here at our home we display it for a week and then take it down. I make sure I get a digital picture of their art which I save on a separate disk. This way I do not need to keep all of there masterpieces. I will always have copies on file. After awhile I ensure the "old" art is discarded in the environmentally correct way.

Mother's going GREEN Day 55 - Breastfeeding

Today's post will be rather brief. Our family has had a rather busy 'family' day with a picnic at a local natural lake with a barbecue and swimming. I was glad to see many families and families with infants and their mothers breastfeeding. We all have our own style some cover up discreetly, some find a very private and secluded spot and some (like me) well whatever.... My motto is: anywhere, anytime. And as I recently found out as a Canadian it is my right and is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights.

Breastfeeding is the way to go both the health benefits for the child and mother, plus all the positives for the environment. No energy consumed (warming bottles, producing bottles and formula.) No water used in the preparation of formula. It is all ready and set to go.

Now I understand the personal choice here. But I am also certain that one should take into account all the benefits when making that choice and they far out way the benefits of bottle feeding. Some mothers cannot breastfeed. My first child was a natural and I breastfed for 22 months. My second child was a little more difficult. It was very challenging at first just to get started any much of my support suggested just switching to formula. That was not an option for me so we continued and struggled and persevered until she was about 41/2 months and then I started to supplement with formula. The thing is I never gave up and even with supplementing I continued to breastfeed her until she was 18 months old. My newest arrival has taken to feeding quite well and I look forward to another 22 months of breastfeeding her.

The point is breastfeeding is the "green" way to go. It is good for mother earth. The mother and the child.

Mother's going GREEN Day 37 - Driving "Green"

We live about an hours drive outside Vancouver, British Columbia (60km or so) along a beautiful mountain road with lots of twists and turns. And sometimes I need to make that trip into the city.

There is a rail track that runs right next to the road but alas no passenger trains or I would by far prefer to take the train. It is a 'political' thing that their is no passenger train - I would say about 50% of our community commutes to the city on a daily bases for work (my husband included). Lots of CO2 !!!!!! Now if only the train could take you there that would cut down on some of that pollution. But I think that is going to take awhile for that to happen.

However, there are green ways to drive, and I use the book Green for Life by Gillian Deacon as reference to some of them:

• Drive the speed limit - cars engines will operate more efficiently at the speed limit, as they are designed for this. Plus it is safer too.


• Keep your cars tires at the correct pressure - Tires that are not inflated enough cause a drag on the road - hence using more energy, gas and creating more pollution. To know what pressure is right for your tires - look at the sticker that should be inside the door frame of the drivers side.


• Keep your oil clean - The cleaner your oil is the better the car will run - more efficiently. I prefer to have my oil changed 'professionally' this way the oil can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. If you choose to do it yourself, please ensure that you dispose of the oil correctly.


• Do not idle your car - not even to warm it up - Idling your car only wastes the gas and creates unnecessary CO2. It is best to drive a car to warm it up and if you live in a really cold place it is more energy efficient to buy a block heater that can keep your engine warm. Along our highway into the city - there is a lot of construction going on - in preparation for the 2010 winter Olympics, hence there are often times when cars are stopped for construction purposes. There are signs posted asking us to save the air and turn off our cars and I think this is just great - although some people do not and prefer to idle for the 10 - 20 minutes that they need to wait.

So even if you do not yet drive a 'green' car - at least drive green!!