Deck The Halls with Eco-Friendly Christmas Deocrations

Looking for holiday decorations that are safe for your kids and the environment? Follow these tips to deck the halls with eco-friendly style:

1. Go Lead-Free: Watch out for ornaments and holiday decorations that are coated in lead-based paint. Instead, look for decorations that bear the 100% lead-free label.

2. Go -Au Naturale: Look to nature when decorating your home this year. Here are some great ideas for natural holiday decorations: organic popcorn, cinnamon sticks, holly, ivy an evergreens, pine cones, cranberries, homemade gingerbread, organic fruit and vegetables, and dried Indian corn.

3. DIY: Give your kids some markers, eco-friendly paints, scissors, and recycled paper and let their creativity shine. If they need some inspiration, suggest they cut out shapes of stars and snowmen from the paper and decorate with markers and/or paints. Another idea is to make a candy cane using alternating stripes of red and white recycled paper. Or they add some festive flare to pine cones with gold or silver paint and some leftover holiday ribbon.

4. Keep It Fair: Green is, at the very least, the hippest new trend. So impress your friends and family with fair-trade decorations that show off your eco-savvy style. Look for decorations that are locally made or check out Ten Thousand Villages for Fair Trade Certified options.

Green Your Christmas with Low-Energy Holiday Lights

Whether you like lights that are white or multi-colored, make them green with LED lights that use 90% less energy and last much longer than traditional bulbs. LEDs don’t heat up like standard bulbs...so they stay cooler, are safer for kids, and pose less risk of fires. And if one bulb does break or burn out, the rest of the lights in the strand will keep glowing.

If you can't find LED Christmas lights at your local store, check out Holiday LEDs or Forever Brights from Christmas Treasures to light up your holidays while going easy on the planet. To get even more green from your outdoor Christmas lights, try Solar Illuminations for solar-powered Christmas LEDs.

Photo credit: Graham Soult

The Greenest Tree: Is Your Christmas Tree Eco-Friendly?

You can't celebrate Christmas without setting up a Christmas tree, but how do you know what type of tree makes the most eco-savvy choice? According to the National Christmas Tree Association, about 29 million Americans brought home a real, live Christmas tree in 2006. But that still pales in comparison to the 70% of Americans who prefer to set up an artificial tree. Whether you choose real or artificial, here's how to make sure you get the greenest tree:

The Green Parent Pick: Go get a real tree. Sure, it means cutting down a tree. But these days nearly all Christmas trees are grown on tree farms. So deforestation is not an issue and it is really no different than harvesting corn or any other crop. From a global warming perspective, sustainable tree farms actually provide a continued “sink” for carbon dioxide emissions. Just be selective about the tree farm you choose to buy from and look for one that does not use an excess of pesticides and other chemicals.

Green Parent Tip: Get the family together and head out to your local tree farm to cut your own Christmas tree. Surf over to EcoBusinessLinks to see if there is an organic tree farm in your area. When the holidays are over, toss your undecorated tree in the backyard to provide wildlife habitat or in the compost bin for next year’s mulch.

Live Trees: A live, potted Christmas trees may seem like a good option for Green Parents, however, you have to make sure that you live in an area where your tree will thrive once it is planted. In addition, live trees are truly not meant to endure the warm temperatures inside your home. So it’s best to either leave it outside or bring it in for only a few days during the season.

Green Parent Tip: If you really want a live tree, your best bet would be to find a suitable tree in your backyard, and decorate it (with eco-friendly decorations, of course) right where it stands.

Artificial Trees: Artificial trees require the use of a significant amount of energy and petroleum-based (PVC) resources in their manufacture. In addition, most artificial trees today are manufactured in China, and are literally shipped halfway around the world to their destinations. And there are also some new concerns about residues of lead and other chemicals on artificial trees.

However, if you are going to buy one tree that you are sure you will use and reuse year after year for the next few decades, the environmental damage caused by producing and shipping your tree would be minimal when averaged out over the lifespan of the tree. And just think of all the gas and energy you will save from year to year by not having to head out to the local Christmas tree farm.

Green Parent Tip: Purchase an artificial tree that is made in the U.S.A to minimize the pollution and resource consumption caused by shipping. (Check out ChristmasDepot and USChristmastree for artificial trees that are 100% lead free and made in the U.S.A.) Reuse the same tree from year to year.

Photo credit: Marcelo Terraza

Have A Happy Green Hanukkah!

Green thinking is everywhere these days, in your appliances, in your favorite movies, in your kid's school, and yes, now in your menorah. There is a movement underway, launched by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) called Let There Be (Renewable) Light: A New Look At Hanukkah that offers eco-savvy tips to help Green Hanukkah.

Sure, you could argue that Hanukkah, even at it's most elaborately festive, does not even come close to eliciting the same commercial over-consumption and environmental damage as Christmas. But the fact remains that there are a number of things that you can do to celebrate Hanukkah with your family while minimizing your impact on the environment. Here's a few ideas:

1. Raid your recycling bin to make your own "green" menorah
2. Check out The Green Parent Holiday Gift Guide for low-impact, eco-friendly gift ideas.
3. Save paper by sending your holiday cheer via ecards and slideshows instead of by mail.
   
4. Surf over the COEJL website for blessings, energy saving tips, games, and kid-friendly craft ideas to help you celebrate an eco-savvy Festival of Lights.

To Spend or Not To Spend

“The competition for kids’ mind share is intense…
Everything from Disney Princess to That’s So Raven
to Pirates of the Caribbean we position as a lifestyle brand,
and we are able to drive that lifestyle message through product.”
— Jim Fielding, executive vice president of global retail, sales, and marketing,
Disney Consumer Products*

With Thanksgiving over, the winter holiday season has officially begun. Tis the season for caroling, holiday parties, decorations, gingerbread houses, dreidel games, and of course, lots and lots of shopping. My last post, The Green Parent's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide, was aimed at helping you spread the holiday cheer without selling your soul. I hope this list gives you plenty of ideas to get you started on your shopping list. But I also felt it was necessary to mention the deeper issue here, which is whether or not you even need to buy new things in the first place...to spend or not to spend.

As a Green Parent, you may be hoping to curb the consumerism a bit and celebrate the holidays without mounds upon mounds of presents. With the latest toy recall scares, you may also want to steer your children away from certain brands and/or styles of toys that are produced under questionable conditions.

But this can be difficult to do when your child is clamoring for the toys they see advertised on TV, in stores, on their friends, and even in their schools. Because each year, in an effort to grab your attention and earn your dollars, retailers and manufacturers usher in a seemingly endless bombardment of advertising aimed at you (of course) and also at your children. So kids at a younger and younger age are "branded", and drawn to the logos and characters they see on everything from their diapers to their utensils.

Conscious consumerism is the focus of a non-profit agency called The Center For the New American Dream. This year, they have launched a holiday blog called Holiday Parenting Tips in an effort to help parents "navigate the highly commercial holiday season as responsibly as possible." This is a great place to start if you are looking for ways to have a great holiday season without breaking the bank or wreaking havoc on the planet.

You can also check out their brochure, "Tips For Parenting In A Commercial Culture", to better understand the minds of the markerters who are targeting your children and to find tips for teaching your children the ABCs of advertising. (I found the quote at the top of this post, along with many others, in this brochure.)

I don't like to be stressed at the holidays. Nor do I like to feel guilty. I plan to buy both of my children a number of presents this season, but I also vow to start teaching them both the true meaning of the holidays and the true meaning of all of those holiday ads!



*“License! 2005 Industry Annual Report,” (Advanstar Communications, October 2005), 45, www.licensemag.com/licensemag/data/articlestandard/licensemag/ 412005/184293/article.pdf.

The Green Parent Holiday Gift List

Are you worried about your holiday gift list this year? With all of the news about global warming and environmental degradation, let alone sweatshop labor and toxic toys, what's a Green Parent to do? Never fear, there are tons of gifts that you can give to show your spirit without selling your soul. Here, without further ado, is The 2007 Green Parent Holiday Gift List...a list of gifts you can feel good about:

Give The Gift That Gives Back

Charities: Check out The Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to find a charitable organization to match the interests of anyone on your list. The independent site lists charities by category and gives detailed information about the mission, efficiency, and capacity of thousands of organizations.

For The Little Idealist: Even the youngest recipient will be delighted with a charitable gift that piques her interest. Does the kid on your list love books? Donate her favorite title to the local library. Does he love the outdoors? Give him a gift membership to the Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org) or the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org). Or adopt-an-animal from the World Wildlife Fund and your recipient will receive info about the animal as well as a plush version to cuddle. For more ideas check out Idealist.org (www.idealist.org) for a listing of charitable groups that were founded by kids.

Offsets: Help friends and family offset their carbon footprint with a gift of renewable energy credits (RECs) or greentags. The money you spend on carbon offsets will be used to support projects that reduce or sequester carbon emissions. Check out Carbon Neutral (www.carbonneutral.com) or Green Tags USA (www.greentagsusa.org) to calculate carbon emissions and purchase greentags.

No-Waste Gifts

Flowers: Send your loved ones a bouquet you can feel good about from Organic Bouquet (www.organicbouquet.com.) For something unique, try the Fresh Myrtle Wreath Frame; a beautifully lush wreath made from domestically grown myrtle. It can be used as a frame, a wreath, or a centerpiece. $64.95

Chocolates: The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without chocolate. Dagoba Organic Chocolate (www.dagobachocolate.com), Green & Black’s (www.greenandblacks.com), and Newman’s Own Organic Chocolate (www.newmansownorganics.com) all make deliciously decadent organic chocolate selections. For something extra fancy, try Art Bite Chocolates made from organic Costa Rican chocolates. These hand decorated treats come in four delectable flavors: Whole Pistachios, Dried Ranier Cherries, a local specialty, Organic Cocoa Nibs and Chipotle Pepper, $29.95 (for 1 dozen).

Eco-Friendly Sweets: If your child has a sweet tooth (and what child doesn’t!) he will love making his own treats with a Glee Kit. Choose between the Chewing Gum Kit, the Gummy Candy Kit, and the Chocolate Kit. Each one comes with all of the ingredients necessary to make the treat as well as fun stories and info about the origins of the candy.

Toys You Can Trust

Roy Toy Building Sets: Roy Toy Classic building Sets, such as the Log Cabin and the Fort are Made in the U.S.A. from solid wood and non-toxic finishes. Each set contains over 140 all-wood pieces and a complete set of building instructions so kids can use to get down to building. $29.95

The Power House Kit: from Gaiam gives kids the supplies they need to build a model house complete with PV solar panels, wind turbine, greenhouse, and desalination system. The kit comes with an illustrated manual that includes 70 experiments and 20 building activities. $175.00

Organic Cotton Stuffed Animals: Look for a stuff animal, like this puppy or bear from Gaiam, that contains nothing but pure 100% organic cotton and low eco-impact dyes. $12.99

Puppets: Sequoia Wildlife Finger Puppet Playset: This beautiful playset contains six wildlife puppets (owl, bear, blue jay, squirrel, hare and fox) and a 17-inch plush sequoia tree. Older kids can put on puppet shows for little ones (and vice versa) to learn about animals, nature, and communication. Net proceeds of the sale of this toy benefit the Sierra Club. $39.95.

Cool Eco-Friendly Stuff

Gifts To Pamper: Does someone you know need a little pampering? Try the Feel Amazemint gift set from Aveda with all-natural products that cool, refresh, and protect the skin from environmental damage. $29.99. Or try the Angelica Gift Set from Aubrey Organics, a light citrus parfum and bath powder (made from rice and tapioca…not talc) set made from organic ingredients that are certified cruelty-free and vegan. $21.95

Eco Gadgets: Boys can’t resist their toys, so gadgets such as a hand-crank flashlight for the car or a solar-powered radio for the boat are sure to be a hit. Check out Sundance Solar (http://store.sundancesolar.com) for a number of eco-gadget selections.

Recycled Gadgets: Motherboard Business Card Case: This sleek case has a circuit board cover which fits snugly over a brass-colored metal base. Holds up to a dozen cards. No two patterns are exactly alike. $25.00 or Record Label Holiday Ornaments Laser cut from vintage 45 rpm records, these zero waste ornaments come packaged in sets of three different records in a clear, recyclable box. $18 for a set of three.

Books For All Ages

Hoot by Carl Haissen

Nature’s Art Box by Laura C. Martin and David Cain

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

The Magic Schoolbus: At The WaterWorks by Joanna Cole,

The Gaia Girl Series by Lee Welles

WoodsWalk by Henry W. Art and Michael W. Robbins

Worms Eat My Garbage: How To Set Up & Maintain A Worm Composting System by Mary Appelholf

Is It Possible To Find Eco-Friendly Flame-Retardant Clothing?

A subscriber recently wrote to ask if it is possible to find flame retardant clothing that is also eco-friendly. Good question!! So I did a little research and here's what I came up with:

It is possible for find fibers, such as recycled polyester or natural wool, that are eco-friendly and flame retardant. According to Michael Lackman, owner of Lotus Organics and author of the comprehensive blog on sustainable and organic clothing, "The composition of wool naturally endows it with high performance qualities such as warmth, water-repellent, odor-resistance, flame-retardant, durability, anti-static, and UV protection." Of course, wool can be a little scratchy to wear...so it may seem an odd choice for babies and children. However, merino wool is exceptionally soft and makes wonderfully luxurious (and naturally flame-retardant) clothing for kids and adults. You can also find a lot of products made from organic merino wool for an even deeper shade of green, but it is definitely on the pricey side. If you're interested, check out the offerings from these companies:

The Clean Bedroom
Mountain Baby
Nordic Woolens

For more info about flame-retardants and clothing, check out these articles:

www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/ea...

www.associatedcontent.com/article/4...

I also found this one on Care2 about making your own flame-retardant solution. Sounds like a lot of work...but if you want to try it, here's the link:

Care 2

If you know of any more companies that offer children's clothing made from merino wool, please drop me a line!

Green Your Halloween: Decorations

Not that long ago, Halloween decorations consisted of a couple of pumpkins on the front porch and old clothes fashioned into a stuffed scarecrow in the yard. But today, Halloween has begun to rival Christmas with the amount of planning, preparation, and purchasing that goes into the holiday decorations. Don't be frightened....there are plenty of ways to decorate for a Green Halloween that won't spook the planet. Check out these ideas for Green Halloween decorations...

1. Seek Out The Spooky...Reuse and recycle stuff around your house to use as Halloween decorations. Don't worry if it's not perfect. Halloween as all about the eerie, the gross, and the creepy, so it will look even better if it's dirty or falling apart.
   
2. Get Thrifty: Hit your local thrift store for awesome decorations that won't cost a fortune.
   
3. Reuse decorations from year to year...don't just throw them away...that's SCARY!!
4. Go Au Naturale: Skip the inflatable and light-up decor that wastes both money and resources. Instead, opt for natural decorations like pumpkins, corn stalks, mums, and straw bales.
   

Add a little spookiness to your front yard with stuff that's already laying around your house. Check out these ideas for transforming everyday items into frightfully fun decorations:

Cardboard Box

• Coffin: Paint it black, stuff a shirt with newspaper and hang it from the side
  
• Tombstone: Paint it gray and add a funny epithet
  
• Skeleton: Paint it white and cut out a skeleton design
  

Recycled Newspaper/Paper

• Witch's Hat: Paint it black and fold into a pointy witch's hat.
  
• "Chain": Cut out strips of paper into chains that you can use to decorate inside or out
  

Rocks

Spiders: Paint black and attach pipe cleaners as legs

More Ideas

• Stuff old clothes with newspaper to form a scarecrow for your front porch. Add a hat and some funky shoes.
• Use old stockings or the netting from a bag of oranges to make spiderwebs.
• Turn an old sheet or pillowcase into a ghastly ghost. Use a small amount of crumpled newspaper to stuff the "head." Tie off the head with a string and add a spooky face with markers. Hang your ghost in a nearby tree and let him blow in the wind.
  

Green Your Halloween: Costumes

With Halloween fast approaching, I am dedicating this week's blog entries and newsletters to helping you prepare for a Green Halloween. I'll give you the scoop on the costumes, decorations, pumpkins, and treats that provide scary amounts of fun without frightening the planet. Ready to get started? Check out these ideas for greening your kids' Halloween costumes...

• Raid The Thrift Store: Hit your local thrift store first when looking for Halloween supplies. Most stores have an abundance of pre-made costumes set aside that you can pick up for pennies a piece. If you don't find exactly what you're looking for, wander the aisles to find cool clothes that will transform you child into a clown, princess, wizard, nurse, "mad scientist, or treehugger!
  

• DIY The Props: If your child needs a special prop to go with his outfit, help him make it out of the materials you have at home. Swords or “magic” wands are easily made by cutting the shape out of a piece of cardboard and covering it with aluminum foil. Make a cape for a wizard or princess using an old fancy pillowcase. Cut it lengthwise and attach a thin piece of felt at either end.
  

• Add Effect: Add "glow in the dark" stars to your little one’s princess or ninja costume for an extra special effect. Or jazz up your child's costume with green (or red or blue) facepaint. Just blend ½ teaspoon diaper cream with 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch. Add a little water to get the paint to the desired consistency. Scoop the mixture into a few separate containers (such as egg cups or bottle caps) and add 1 or 2 drops of the food coloring of your choice to each. (These face paints will wash off with warm water, but be sure to take the usual precautions for allergies and clothes stains.)

Costume Ideas

Here are some great ideas for simple, eco-friendly Halloween costumes for you and/or your kids. Got a few great ideas of your own? Post them here for a chance to win great Halloween prizes (can you say fair-trade chocolate and reusable treat bags?)

Black Cat: Black sweat suit, black headband (attach 2 black felt ears), old black scarf or boa to use as tail (attach with a safety pin). Use black eyeliner to draw on cat eyes and whiskers.

Cowboy/Cowgirl: Jeans, flannel shirt, bandanna, boots, cowboy (cowgirl) hat

Ghost: It doesn’t get any easier than this one. Cut two eye holes in an old sheet (if you don’t have an old one, you can pick one up at your local thrift store.) Jazz it up by using a permanent marker to add spider webs, chains, and a face.

Mummy: Dress child in an all white or all black outfit. Cut an old sheet into long strips. Attach strips with masking tape to child’s clothes and wrap loosely around legs, torso, and arms. Use white face paint all over face.

Ninja: Black turtleneck, billowy black pants, black belt, and a sword

Pirate: Red pants, white billowy shirt (open at the collar) balck belt, black boots, black hat, 1 dangly clip-on earring, 1 black eye patch

Princess: If you can’t find an old princess dress at your local thrift store, seek out any material that is frilly and/or sparkly that can be pinned around your child’s waist as a skirt. (Try a fancy pillowcase or tablecloth). Make a crown out of aluminum foil. For special effect, add glow in the dark stars all over the costume.

Scarecrow: Old jeans, flannel shirt, straw hat, boots. Cut an old newspaper into thin strips. Using duct tape, attach the newspaper strips to the inside cuff of each pant leg and the inside cuff of each shirt at the wrist. Use red face paint and black eyeliner to make red cheeks, and black “stitching” around mouth and eyes.

Spider: Black sweat suit, 2 pairs of black tights. (Cut the legs off of the tights and stuff them with old newspaper (4 legs total). Attach 2 legs to either side of sweatshirt with safety pins. Using black sewing thread or safety pins, attach the lower leg on the left with the lower leg on the right in front of child. Next, attach the middle leg on left to the left sweatshirt arm and the middle right leg to the right sweatshirt arm.)

Zorro: Black pants, black shirt, cut mask into strip of black felt, black belt, black shoes or boots, sword

Photo courtesy of scol22, stock.xchng.

Hold The Beef!

Skip the beef at dinner tonight and opt for a veggie meal instead. A vegetarian diet is not only healthier for you, it is also better for the environment. The production of beef makes more of an impact on the environment than any other type of food. According to a report produced by the World Wildlife Fund, more pasture is used for cattle than all other domesticated animals and crops combined. Cattle also eat an increasing proportion of grain produced from agriculture, are one of the most significant contributors to water pollution, and are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The average American eats roughly 4 servings of beef each week. So hold the beef at dinner tonight and you can reduce your environmental impact by 25%.

Now, I know it can be difficult enough to get your kids to eat veggies as a side dish. If you tell them their dinner is “vegetarian,” you risk an all-out mutiny. But it’s easier than you think to pull off a vegetarian meal. Cheese pizza is popular with kids of all ages, and the same goes for mac and cheese, bean burritos, or spaghetti with a yummy marinara.

If dinner is a hit and you decide to take things one step further, consider taking PETA's "Pledge To Be Veg" for 30 days. Sign up at their website and they'll send you an email loaded with recipes and tips for going veggie. Check out their "Chew On This" video below for 30 reasons to go vegetarian. (Please note...THIS VIDEO IS VERY GRAPHIC. IT IS NOT FOR CHILDREN OR FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.)




Watch more videos at PETA.org

When To Buy Organic

Just a few years ago, the organic section in my small town grocery store was limited to a dated funky looking package of tofu and a few dried up herbs. Now, organic foods are all over the store, from coffee, to eggs, to salad dressing. Organic foods are produced without all of the chemicals and genetically modified ingredients that are common in traditionally produced foods, so they are bound to be better for your health and that of the environment. But if you can't afford to go whole hog (so to speak) and purchase everything with an organic label, use these tips to decide out when to buy organic and when to pass.

Buy Organic

• Fruits and Veggies: Foods such as apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, peanut butter, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries use and retain the most chemical pesticides.
• Baby Food: If you have a baby, find room in your budget for organic baby food, or better yet, make your own homemade baby food using organic ingredients. Babies have fragile, developing immune systems that cannot protect them from the adverse health affects associated with pesticides.
  
• Meat and Dairy: Beef, poultry, and eggs are also good to buy organic, especially if you and your family eat them frequently.
  
• Extras: If money is no object, consider purchasing organic processed foods such as ketchup or soup. These foods will contain some, but not solely, organic ingredients.
  

Don't Bother

• If your budget is tight, don’t worry about organic when it comes to onions, avocado, pineapples, mango, asparagus, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant as these fruits and veggies contain the least amount of pesticides.
• Don’t even bother with organic seafood as there are currently no standards in place to regulate their labels.
  

Top 10 Foods To Buy Organic

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Baby Foods
4. Peanut Butter
5. Bell Peppers
6. Berries
7. Imported Grapes
8. Beef
9. Dairy Products
10. Eggs

One final note: All grocers are legally required to place organic foods (especially fruits and vegetables) where they won’t be exposed to the pesticide-laden water runoff from conventional produce. If your local store has forgotten that rule, remind them. If they still don’t move the organic food, shop somewhere else.

---

Toting Canvas

As a Green Parent, I try to minimize my impact on the environment each day, especially at the store. I take the time to buy organic and locally grown foods as well as all-natural personal care products whenever possible. I check ingredient labels and “vote with my wallet” to support companies with an environmental backbone. But all of this effort used to go out the window when I got to the checkout line and was forced to answer the inevitable question…Paper or Plastic?

According to the Environmental News Network, 90 percent of all grocery bags are plastic with Americans alone going through about 100 billion plastic bags each year. Yet only 1 to 3 percent of these bags are ever recycled. The rest line our waterways, sewers, street corners, and occasionally landfills where they take hundreds of years to break down into toxic particles that leach into the water and soil. And paper is no better, the 10 billion or so paper bags that Americans use each year consume 14 million trees and cause pollution and recycling problems of their own.

In the past, I tried to reuse plastic bags whenever possible around my house. But the time has come to for a more eco-friendly option...reusable totes. If it sounds too dauting, just start slowly. Toss 1 or 2 reusable tote bags in your diaper bag or in your car so that you will have at least a few on hand the next time you’re at the store. Once you get the hang of it, try adding a few more totes to your collection until you no longer need to use plastic. Here's a few more tips:

• Look around your favorite store to see if they offer a reusable alternative. Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Publix, Giant, and Albertsons all offer reusable cloth bags for sale in their stores (some for as little as $1 each).

• DIY: I’m not that handle with a needle, but even I can whip up a homemade tote bag. Here’s a few instructional sites you can try:

Make-It-Easy
And Sew It Is
DLTK Kids

• Buy "Preloved": Tote bags multiply faster than rabbits so you are sure to find a good deal at your local thrift store or area garage sales.

• Win: If you have scoured your house and local thrift stores and you still can't find a decent tote, register to win one through The Green Parent. Just enter your info in the column on the right. I'll give away one free bag each week for the next year!

Oh...and if you still have a bunch of plastic bags laying around your house, check out these sites for some creative ways to reuse them:

Reader's Digest Living
The Frugal Life

Green Parent Tip: If you have a problem remembering to put your totes back in the car after you've used them; try hanging them on the doorknob or in the same place you put your car keys!

The Great Diaper Debate

New parents are inundated with new decisions, often on topics that have never before crossed their minds; bottle or breast? paci or thumb? co-sleep or crib? Of these decisions, none is more vexing than diapers. It would seem from the great diaper debate that there is simply no eco-friendly way to diaper a child. Sure, cloth diapers are reusable and therefore lighten the landfill load. However, their need for frequent washing uses both water and energy.

Independent studies over the years have consistently come to the conclusion that there is no significant difference in the environmental impact between disposables and cloth. So what’s an eco-minded parent to do? Here are the options:

One alternative to consider is a new product called gDiapers, which combines a washable cloth pant with a biodegradable and flushable insert liner. Unlike disposable diapers, they don’t use any elemental plastics or landfill space, and they require less of the water and energy used to wash standard cloth diapers. These “hybrid” diapers are good in a pinch, but they still require paper and packaging (and midnight trips to the store for refills!)

Some parents have eschewed diapers all together and turned to a method called “elimination communication” where parents learn to “read” their baby’s cues and rush them to the potty when they appear ready to go. Inevitable messes aside, this method is unquestionably better for the environment because it doesn’t require water, energy, or landfill space. However, it is not for the faint of heart. If you can’t devote your full attention to watching your baby for “cues,” save yourself and your baby some frustration and use another method.

For those who prefer a traditional diaper, cotton diapers can take the environmental edge over disposables with some energy and water saving techniques, such as line-drying, skipping the pre-soak, and washing diapers in large loads using low temperatures. And today’s parents don’t have to go old-school with pins and plastic pants. Cotton diapers are easier to use than ever before; and, let’s face it, they are just way cuter than disposables. My pick of the bunch is Fuzzi Bunz cotton diapers...they are great looking, ridiculously soft, and a snap (literally!) to use.

Cotton diapers now come in such a wide array of styles and colors, that green parents may finally be able to put an end to the great diaper think about more important things (like sleep!).

Leave It At The Store!

Want to save money and the planet while reducing the clutter in your home? Try this old money saving trick the next time you are at the store...if you see an item you want, leave it at the store and promise yourself that if you really, really need it, you will pick it up the next time you shop. Do it for yourself and encourage your kids to do the same. When my eldest daughter sees a new toy at the store, she thinks her life will end if she doesn't have it. But she knows that nothing new is coming her way until the next birthday or holiday. In most cases, she will have forgotten about her "favorite" toy by the time we turn the corner!

Don't Buy It...Borrow Instead

Start a toy exchange with friends. As every parent knows, today’s favorite toy is tomorrow’s closet clutter. Instead of buying new toys every week, bring a box of your old toys to a friend’s house and bring a box of their old toys home. Swap them back after a few weeks. Instead of buying books, movies, and magazines, utilize your local library or movie rental store.