dining & entertaining

Sam over at Best Cheap Weddings shares some ways to save cash and the planet with the post Best Cheap Green Weddings. Romance and Memories on a Green Budget. I am all for the “recycled” estate diamond ring! (Remember that, Mr. Green Your Apartment!)

MyMaria makes the case that “consistent menu planning means my family wastes less food, eats at home much more often and saves both money and gas in the process.” Sold! Check out the post weekly menu planning over at Menu Planning.

for the greenhorns

Some of us are on the computer so much that we forget how much energy it can consume. So Richard Adams reminds us, giving us 9 Ways To Make Your Computer Use More Eco Friendly posted at Eco Living Advice. Loved this so much, you’ve just been added to my RSS reader.

health & beauty

How I adore my certified tree-huggers, the do-it-yourselfers. Eugene Smith represents well with the How To Make Your Own Laundry Soap At Home posted at How to Make You Own Soap.

Girls, you know how much we love the jewelry. Well Heather Levin points us in the right direction by explaining What to Look For When Buying Fair Trade Jewelry posted at Earthdivas’s Blog.

New to our little carnival is paystolivegreen who gives us some eco-beauty Toothbrush Tips posted at Pays to Live Green. (I use Preserve, myself!)

June Tree is back with a Guide To Commuter Bikes: Bicycle Commuting Saves Money and The Environment over at (be still my heart!) The Digerati Life.

in the news

Oh Mrs. Obama, never has a garden been s controversial. Rich Maltzman, PMP asks Will ‘Bloom Boxes’ Bloom next to Michelle Obama’s Organic Garden? posted at Earth PM.

TSW talks eco-luxury with Tesla Electric Car For Fuel Efficiency: Would You Buy It? at The Smarter Wallet. To answer your question: out of my price range, hun! Still pretty though.

MrsMoney presents Is Climate Change a Hoax? posted at The Ultimate Money Blog. While this is a great post, I absolutely adore the comic that opens it. I’m laughing my butt off!

living spaces

Sandra Lopez has spoken to my soul – my bibliophiliac soul. Her post, 80 Awesome Ideas for All Your Old or Unwanted Books posted at Online Colleges.net, has inspired me to *gulp* minimize my library. I have a copy of The Film Encyclopedia that is just begging to be used as a block in my new AM yoga routine! But I could never imagine using a book as cat litter.

Case Ernsting discusses eco-friendly wood options in Go Green, Keep the Wood over at Home and Decor.

Julia Ritzenthaler presents Eco Friendly Furniture posted at Bathroom Vanity, Decorative Mirrors & Light Fixtures.

patio & garden

Renee Benzaim presents Guide to Compost Making – Compost Bins, Compost Tumblers, and Compost Crocks posted at Compost Tumblers & Compost Making. She comments, “Compost tumblers, compost bins, compost crocks, and open piles are all methods of compost making. Which is the best for you? If you are limited on space, a compact ‘backporch’ compost tumbler is your best bet.” Is it a good choice for your apartment?

Jamie McIntosh discusses how to Control Pests on Houseplants posted at Jamie’s Organic Garden Blog. It has been a hard winter, hasn’t it? But spring is almost here!

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Well, my dear Internet, that concludes this edition of Tips for Green Living. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Tips for Green Living using our carnival submission form.

Go green and live well!

________________

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dining & entertaining

Surbhi Bhatia talks about how to Dispose Mind Waste, Not Food posted at The Viewspaper.

for the greenhorns

You more East Coasters – winter has been pretty harsh for you this year. So Guffly shares How to Stay Warm This Winter the Eco-Friendly Way posted at Guffly.

Gracyqueen presents 50 Big Ways that Schools Are Going Green posted at Associate Degree – Facts and Information.

Luke Spencer wants to demystify your electric bill and the Kilowatt hour in Kilowatt Hours and Your Electric Bill over at That old house.

Suzane Smith presents 56 Healthy & Natural hacks you should be using in the Kitchen at MRI Technician Schools.

health & beauty

savvybrown wants you to Clean your dishes with Kool-Aid. Yeah, Kool-Aid. It’s actually a green option over at savvy brown.

Suzane Smith presents 100 Healthy Remedies That Are Right In Your Home posted at Pharmacy Technician Certification.

Eugene Smith writes about gentle alternatives to commercial soaps with the post How To Make Natural Homemade Soap, at (surprise, surprise) How to Make You Own Soap.

in the news

Thinking about getting into that new and growing green job sector? You better study up on what the tech actually is. GreenJobsGuru explains the Solar Energy Facts at Green Jobs Ready.

Did you miss “Word Wetlands Day” on February 2nd? Yeah, me too. But Morgan Schwartz brings us up to date with Nebraska’s Wetlands posted at Nature Boy on Omaha.

Who hasn’t been thinking about Haiti? Well, Katy Unitek returns to tell us about Sol: A light in the darkness of Haiti posted at Boots On The Roof. Thanks Katy for yet another interesting post!

marjorie talks about food and the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign in the post Let’s Get a Move! at Green Thinking Blog. Um, I thought this was a green blog carnival? Ah, but it is… what is more green than fresh fruits and veggies and prepared foods with less preservatives? Now you get the picture!

living spaces

Now here’s a post that took me by surprise. Vera Lang tells us about Back to School: Make a Dorm Bean Bag – Free Video Tutorials at Fine Craft Guild .com. In her own words: “Bean bags are ‘always in’, and according to the free tutorial with videos here, can be made with 100% recyclables. The sky is the limit, but in a bean bag you get to lay low and … relax. Pick a neutral cover and it’ll be a welcome addition to any room.” Who knew?!

savvybrown gives us another post, this time proclaiming I ♥ Dryer Balls over at savvy brown. Apparently these little guys eliminate the need for dryer sheets and fabric softener, which are both not eco-friendly. I’ll have to try these!

Beverly Saltonstall tells us about Six Home Air Misconceptions posted at A Green Lady Blog. I love this topic as it is not discussed as much as it needs to be. In fact, I wrote about in the post Breathe Deeply with the Indoor Air Pollution. Thank you Beverly!

Angela Martin presents Teaching Green: 100 Tips, Toools & Resources for Every Kind of Classroom posted at Online Degree Programs.org: Top Online Degrees. Mr. Green Apartment is working on becoming a high school teacher, so this will definitely be passed along!

For you dorm-dwellers, Angela Martin also offers up 101 Ways to Go Green In Your Dorm Room posted at Online Degree Programs.org: Top Online Degrees.

patio & garden

Renee Benzaim gives us some Tools & Tips for Compost Making at Compost Tumblers & Compost Making. If you have enough room in your small yard, garden, or patio, then you better pay attention to this!

Have some room? NHE presents How To Grow Blueberries In Your Home Garden posted at Natural Health Ezine. Now who wouldn’t love some fresh blueberries for a smoothie or in your morning oatmeal? Yum! But I wonder how they fare in container gardening…

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Well, my dear Internet, that concludes this edition of Tips for Green Living. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Tips for Green Living using our carnival submission form.

Go green and live well!

________________

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But, I do have a fabulous carnival for you!

dining & entertaining

Mrs. Green presents Price vs principles – 6 tips for eating organic on a budget posted at Little Green Blog. It’s funny, I already implement a lot of these tips but I just can’t find a co-op we’d really benefit from yet. Ideas?

Mrs. Green also gives us another post, 11 reuse ideas for coffee grounds posted at MY ZERO WASTE. Make my hair smell like coffee? You may be my green soul mate, Mrs. Green!

Pumpkin lasagna? Yeah, she said it! Kathy Hester, a.k.a. GeekyPoet, gives us the recipe for a Slow Cooker Protein Packed Pumpkin Lasagna posted at Healthy Slow Cooking. Wow!

for the greenhorns

Need some educating? Sandra Lopez can help! Her 100 Amazing Lectures to Follow the Future of Energy is posted at Online Degree Programs.org. My bookmarks just got so much bigger!

Now who doesn’t want to save money on gasoline? Yeah, I thought so and so does The Smarter Wallet. The post Save Money On Gas With These 10 Tips posted at The Smarter Wallet tells you how! Makes me think I really should clear out the trunk of my car.

Here at Green Your Apartment, we like a bit of shock and awe every now and then. This time, Emily Moser over at Online Nurse Practitioner Schools tells us about 20 Weird Allergies That Actually Exist just after allergies attacked our apartment all last week. But allergic to water? Oh yes, people, it can be that crazy. Green? Not so much but fascinating nonetheless.

Looks like Katy Unitek is back with her inspirational post The Dream of a Child Changes a Community posted at Boots On The Roof. Amazing what some tenacity can do!

Stuff With A Purpose, a newbie to our carnival, introduces us to the Reu$e And Save Series: Plastic Bags posted at Stuff With A Purpose. This is the very reason you need to become a bag-person!

health & beauty

Ambitious much? Emily Moser is! She discusses the Top 25 Soap Making Resources Online posted at Becoming A Radiologist.

living spaces

Ah, to cook and clean. paystolivegreen talks about Being Green in the Kitchen over at Pays to Live Green. All great stuff, especially about reducing waste.

I’m going to be honest – it is a rare instance for me to find a green tip or reuse suggestion that I haven’t thought of or read about before. But Annette Berlin shows me up in this terribly clever post, 12 Crafty Ways To Reuse Phone Books posted at Craft Stew. Amusing and helpful!

To me, clutter is the antithesis of a green life. June Tree agrees in her post Cash In On Clutter over at The Digerati Life. Fabulous! (By the way, I <3 your blog!)

patio & garden

Have a pet and feel guilty about their droppings? Have no fear, Renee Benzaim is here! She explains What is a Worm Compost? posted at Compost Tumblers & Compost Making noting that “worm composting … is good for small spaces and also works for animal feces.” So looking into that…

—–

That concludes this edition of Tips for Green Living. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Tips for Green Living using our carnival submission form.

Go green and live well!

________________

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dining & entertaining

Returning blogger TaraG convinces us with 5 Reasons To Buy Organic Foods over at Go Green Street. Great stuff, TaraG!

Jourdan Henderson gives us ways to Green your morning coffee! posted at Green Justice. I heart coffee and I totally agree with Jourdan’s recommendations.

health & beauty

Jourdan Henderson comes with a second submission, asking us Do you have a fruit tree? posted at Green Justice. Really great idea on putting your excess produce to good use! Thanks Jourdan!

living spaces

Apparently, TaraG was feeling the makeover itch and shows us a Bathroom Make-Over with Recycled Glass Tiles posted at Go Green Street. Despite my aversion to the color, I am seriously impressed with the results. Very cool!

Rebecca Noori presents a great quick run down of Being Green in London featured at Moving to London. Good to know those on the other side of the pond are doing the same things!

Looks like it’s invasion of the Brits here at Green Your Apartment! Mrs. Green tells us how to Dispose of your WEEE responsibly this Christmas posted at MY ZERO WASTE. (WEEE, if you are concerned, stands for unwanted Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment. Hehe.)

In the News

Mrs. Green is on a roll and also offers us The Age Of Stupid review posted at Little Green Blog. I’m so Netflixing that movie! Thanks for the review.

One of my favorite blogs has joined us! Wise Bread discusses What Can Retailers Do With Their Unwanted Merchandise? over at Wisebread. While I adamantly do not agree with the “free rack” idea, donations to charitable institutions or discounted racks (clearance racks anyone?!) would be greatly advisable and beneficial to all involved. If you work in retail, have connections with management, or are just a concerned citizen, take action and let your favorite retailer know what options are available to them!

—–

That concludes this edition of Tips for Green Living. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Tips for Green Living using our carnival submission form.

Go green and live well!

________________

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So let’s set the record straight. The commercials are correct: high fructose corn syrup is pretty much a sugar substitute made from corn. It is used mostly because it is cheaper in the States due to a bunch of legislative stuff I won’t get into here. Being that is a processed product made from a natural ingredient, it isn’t exactly “natural” but it isn’t truly artificial either as it is a crazy concentrated amount of naturally occurring sugars in corn.

Here’s the real issue: high fructose corn syrup is ubiquitous in processed foods. If you went to your fridge right now I bet you could find it on at least nine out of every ten items of pre-made, packaged, or processed foods in there ranging from breads to peanut butter to yogurt. Usually it is listed as one of the first four ingredients. Quick fact: the FDA requires ingredients to be listed from highest to lowest weight of the product. So if high fructose corn syrup, or sugar for that matter, is in the top three or four, you’re mostly eating sugars.

So, yes, like sugar, high fructose corn syrup is fine in moderation. But moderation needs to be defined. For the average human adult, 2,000 calories is considered a good goal. 300 grams of carbohydrates (sugars, essentially) falls in that recommendation. One medium banana provides 27 grams of carbohydrates. One 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola provides 40.5 grams of carbohydrates. Two regular slices of whole wheat bread gives 24.6 grams of carbs. If I just ate those three things, I’m already nearly a third of the way to my daily limit of 300 grams.

So how much do you think is moderation?

I don’t think we should blame high fructose corn syrup. Let’s face it, they make Big Sticks taste really good on a hot summer day! Instead I think we need to be redefining the American diet and really considering what we are putting in our refrigerators and thus in our bodies.

What are your thoughts?

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Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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First, note that winter is December through February in the Northern hemisphere and that’s what I’m basing this guide on.

Winter fruits:

• Berries: cranberries
• Citrus: the bounties of blood oranges, tangerines, clementines, kumquats abound
• Persimmons
• Pomegranate

Winter vegetables:

• Brussel sprout
• Chard
• Collards
• Jicama
• Kale
• Mustard greens
• Red cabbage
• Squash: acorn, banana, butternut, hubbard, pumpkin
• Sweet potato
• Yam

As I’ve said before, the benefit of eating in season is you are more likely to be purchasing local items as they are in season in your area as it is cheaper and locally available.

So enjoy your sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows and some beef stew with mustard greens guilt-free. Happy winter eating!

Photo courtesy of Julie A. Wenskoski at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

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But eating in season? That wasn’t something that crossed my mind. In fact, I realized I did not even know when most fruits and vegetables came into season! Yes, that is how out-of-touch with our world we city-dwellers and suburbanites have become.

So I thought to myself, “What the heck is in season?” After scouring the internet and dozens of sites, I compiled a list as a crib sheet that I keep next to my master grocery list on the fridge. And here, I’ll share it with you!

First, note that autumn is September through November in the Northern hemisphere.

Autumn fruits:

• Apples
• Berries: blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries
• Figs
• Grapes come to their best in autumn
• Pears
• Plums

Autumn vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Carrots are their most robust this season
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chicory
• Corn
• Fennel
• Jerusalem artichoke
• Leeks
• Onion
• Parsnip
• Peppers
• Potato
• Pumpkin
• Radish
• Squash
• Sweet potato
• Turnip
• Zucchini

The benefit of eating in season is you are more likely by default to be purchasing more local items as they are in season in your area. Most grocers try to get the best price on produce and in season is cheaper locally. This also means your wallet will benefit from the savings and the planet will appreciate you not having your produce shipped from half-way across the world.

But, and perhaps on a spiritual/emotional note, you will be reconnecting to the earth in the simplest form – eating the bounty while it’s available. You’ll be enhancing that feeling you get when you smell pumpkin spice bread on a crisp autumn morning or pumpkin pie the week of Thanksgiving. The seasons can give you more to celebrate and enjoy if only you take the time to be in sync.

Happy harvest eating!

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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So one day, I’m browsing the aisles at my local Tar-jay and I see this cheery package “Made and for People Against Dirty”:

Now, I’m a sucker for clever packaging and copy (as I am a copywriter!) so I pick up a bag. It promises no phosphates, no bleach, no dirty chemicals to clean my dishes. Sold!

I take the stuff home and pop the little tablet in my not-so-great apartment standard dishwasher loaded full of pots, pans, and dishes with some food particles still on them. (Hey, it’s why I own a dishwasher, right? Heavy rinsing beforehand is just wasting water anyway!)

My dishes came out clean. Even the pot with burnt garlic, dried tomato sauce and greasy meat residue. It was clean!

And at just about $6.50 per package, I get 20 truly clean loads of dishes from a non-toxic wash.

Did I mention I barely rinsed those dishes? Love it!

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Newbie:

Plates, Cups and Forks: If your numbers are big, just think about minimizing your impact on the landfill: go with paper cups and plates. Either use up the plastic forks you know you already have in droves in your utensil drawer (wash them and use ‘em again, too!) or buy recycled plastic silverware.

Beverages: Go for size; the biggest containers of juice you can find. Skip individual servings of juice for the kids. Bring coolers of water and skip the bottled h20.

Grilling: If you’re still using charcoal, use a chimney starter to get your coals going and skip the lighter fluid. Get local and sustainable meat (poultry and fish have a much smaller carbon footprint than red meat) and veggies to grill.

Balloons: buy latex balloons (all of them are biodegradable) instead of Mylar.

Dessert: Ice cream cones are supremely eco-conscious! No individual packaging, you eat the container…

Invites: Use electronic invitation format or phone calls – no paper invites. This goes for all levels of consciousness, since it’s just too darn easy.

Amateur Environmentalist:

Plates, Cups and Forks: Stick to reusable plates, utensils, and cups (and cloth napkins) if you’re having a small party –classy *and* avoids the landfill. Depending on party size, you might want to consider a party supply rental place. If you’re looking to invest in reusable plates, Recycline has a line made from postconsumer plastic. If you’re avoiding plastic (Beth! Fake Plastic Fiiiiiish!) then go for metal plates.

Beverages: Make your own juice from frozen concentrate. Get a keg instead of bottles or cans.

Grilling: Use propane or gas instead of a charcoal grill; be sure to have vegan alternatives to grill (hello veggie dogs and seitan!).

Balloons: tie your balloons with bakery string or twine instead of plastic-coated ribbons

Dessert: Local watermelon, unless you’ve made your own cones and gotten your ice cream from a local dairy. Which means your BBQ must be happening in September, since it’ll take until then for those melons to be ripe. Realistically, about now you’re having strawberry shortcake. Mmmmm.

Certified Tree-Hugger

Plates, Cups and Forks: Ask everyone to bring their own cloth napkins, plates, utensils, and cups (reusable of course) and their favorite washable bag to stow them in afterwards. Then it won’t matter *how* many are coming!

Beverages: Make sure your beer is local brew by making it yourself. While you’re at it, brew some dandelion wine and make some lemonade from local lemons and honey, and iced tea from loose tea that doesn’t even come in teabags…

Grilling: Don’t grill! Eat raw food and skip the meat already.

Balloons: point to beautiful cloud formations in the sky and skip ‘em altogether.

Dessert: Homemade sorbet (vegan! can use local fruit! can use cones!).

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Thank you MamaBird for giving this new Mama a day off!

Hope you and yours are having a fabulous Mother’s Day and you know the drill… If you liked the suggestions in this post or perhaps have some of your own, leave a comment!

And if you’d like to write a guest post for Green Your Apartment, then email Marie at greenyourapartment@gmail.com.

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First let’s set up the order of importance in purchasing these items.

1. Local always surpasses organic -there’s less tax on the environment as a whole. Plus with local foods, most of them are from smaller farms that don’t douse their produce with ridiculous amounts of chemicals so a good washing in a plant-based produce wash will do fine.
2. Next comes organic. This means you are eliminating the pesticides and chemicals you are not only ingesting but voting for use with your dollar. And if you can get local and organic, then double-kudos to you!
3. Now comes fair-trade. For those of you new to the lingo, fair-trade items are part of “an organized social movement and market-based model of international trade which promotes the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods” (thank you, Wikipedia). This comes third because you want to try and stay as local as possible to minimize the shipping, etc.

Knowing these priorities, how is one supposed to eat well and still be green? Here are a few tips to help you along your way.

Newbie
Cost: will generally save you money
Time: a longer trip to your local “health food” store versus the corner market
Energy to do this: minimal to moderate

Shop at your local health food store. I’m a big fan of Henry’s and Trader Joe’s (I hail from Southern California so these are my local stores) but you can definitely find your local stores by searching in your area. Not only are organic and local produce offered at these stores, but I found when I started shopping at Trader Joe’s that my grocery bill was easily cut by 40% though I was buying the same amount of stuff. At Henry’s, I search their weekly flyer (available by email!) for sales on bulk items and such so I can stock up and save.

Amateur Environmentalist
Cost: you’ll save money on produce and spend a bit extra on gas depending on location
Time: an extra half hour to hour a week
Energy to do this: minimal to moderate

Get to know your local farmer’s market! Most cities have them once a week where you can purchase locally grown, in-season foods. In-season is important because for one, it really means it’s local and for two, you are reducing the need to ship in out of season foods from tropical locations like Chile and Ecuador. We have a local grower that has stands all over the city by his crops and he has the best organic strawberries I’ve ever tasted!

Certified Tree-Hugger
Cost: $20-50 a week according to my quick research
Time: ranges from minutes to pick up the produce from your front door (for the delivery-based CSA’s) to 1-3 hours a week to go and harvest your produce
Energy to do this: minimal to significant

So you are dedicated, REALLY dedicated to locally-grown, organic produce. Good for you! Join a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture project. Basically, you pay a certain amount per month or growing season to have your share of the produce grown on that patch of land either boxed for pick-up, delivered to your door or for you really green-thumb types, to harvest yourselves! To find out where you can participate, check out sites like Local Harvest and the US Department of Agriculture’s site on CSAs.

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Like the tips but have an even better one? Leave it in a comment!

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