Let’s start with a celebration of what you are doing – reading! Rita Toews presents Read an ebook week 2008 posted at Life’s quite a ride.

Looks like transportation has been on everyone’s mind lately. Vihar Sheth presents some new driving alternatives in the post Car Sharing with WeCar posted at green | rising. matt smith presents » SuperBowl MVP Eli Manning selects hybrid Cadillac Escalade simple + green: taking steps towards a more sustainable life posted at simple + green. Already have one of those pretty Prius’? Then thank Isabella J Mori for presenting Win, win, win: $500, blogging, and the environment posted at Alphablogs. And if you’re a public transportation person like me, you’ll appreciate Raymond’s Subway and Public Transportation Is The Way To Go posted at Money Blue Book.

Looks like the UK has some catching up to do: Louise Manning presents UK carbon emissions only show slight fall posted at The Human Imprint. Maybe you Brits should look into Alexander Kohl’s post about Business as Sustainability Advocate | Green to Profit – Becoming a Sustainable Entrepreneur posted at Green to Profit – Becoming a Sustainable Entrepreneur.

So let’s talk food and drink. Is a CSA really worth it? David Gross compares apples and oranges in his post The Picket Line — 15 February 2008 posted at The Picket Line. The cost comparison does prove a bit pricey. But Caitlin Giles still insists there are Four Reasons You Should Join a CSA posted at Parenting Squad. Despite our best intentions, Freddie L. Sirmans, Sr. asks Can The US Prevent A Starvation Crisis? posted at Can The US Prevent A Starvation Crisis.

As for our water, Hung Nguyen presents Water Wars: Fighting over the Source of Life posted at Meaningful Issues in Today’s World. But what happens when the water you have isn’t safe? MamaBird presents Whither Our Water? Addressing Hormones in Local Waterways posted at Surely You Nest.

GrrlScientist presents Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Loving Our Oceans to Death posted at Living the Scientific Life. A great post on what’s happening and what you can do to help end it!

I wanted to end this carnival on a fun and lively note. Harrison presents Go Go Green Couture: Eco-friendly Fashions for Your Closet posted at CustomizedGirl Blog while Eva Yusa shows us What Nau!? posted at Eva the Shopping Diva ShopLocal’s Shopping Expert and Blogger. While I browse all the cute and green couture, I’ll use Amanda Harris’ homemade recipe for Green Tea Toner posted at Nature’s Bath and Beauty. Ah, to feel eco-kind and pretty.

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I hope you enjoyed the third edition of “Tips for Green Living”! You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. If you are interested in participating in our next edition set for March 10th, submit your post HERE.

Happy (com)posting!

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Why go green at all? Jacob presents Ecological capitalism and consumer capitalism posted at Early Retirement Extreme, a post explaining why he thinks the world looks as it does, why he went green, and why others should go green as well. Great job, Jacob!

Let me present you with another kindred soul, Alison Sharley who recently discovered our friend “No Impact Man” in her post, No Impact Man posted at Healthy and Green by the Day. What a great experiment, no? Insistent on being prolific, she also shares her posts Neused (Freecycle, anyone?) as well as Fish Biscuits which gives us tips on green entertaining with a dose of Lost Dharma cookies. Yum!

And to clean up that mess I would have made making the cookies, Tiffany Washko brags about a wonderful product line she’s discovered in her post Organic and Natural Home Cleaning Products! posted at Natural Family Living Blog. Ah, a clean home without that nasty indoor air pollution.

What about those egg shells and natural kitchen waste? How about composting! Karen Dowell gives some fun tips in her post composting worms love kitchen waste posted at Wiggly Wigglers.

But what happens when there isn’t any food in the kitchen? Louise Manning presents Food shortages posted at The Human Imprint. Remember, the reason we strive to live green is to improve life on this planet for everyone on it.

As we approach Valentine’s Day, Raymond gives us some alternatives to keep ourselves warm in his post Save Money On Heating Costs – Sacrificing A Bit Of Comfort For Frugality posted at Money Blue Book. Don’t forget to snuggle to keep warm too!

Speaking of staying warm, Phil for Humanity gives us some great (and surprising!) news in his post The Alternative to Foreign Oil: The Solar-Hydrogen Economy posted at Phil for Humanity.

Brave New Leaf asks us to learn to drive green posted at Brave New Leaf. Just, please, make sure you obey your local laws of the road while trying to boost your mpg!

Since we’re going places, Marilyn Terrell gives a quick green traveler’s tip in her post Marilyn’s Miscellany: Bermuda Sports posted at Intelligent Travel.

Want to see something cool? Gavin R. Putland shows us Google Earth shows two whales posted at /etc/cron.whenever/. What a great reminder of why we protect our environment!

Thanks to all the bloggers who submitted their posts and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

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I hope you enjoyed the second edition of “Tips for Green Living”! You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. If you are interested in participating in our next edition, submit your post HERE.

Happy (com)posting!

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Laundry, to be honest, is a chore I can just never keep up with. It seems that as soon as the weekly wash is done, there is already another pile that needs washing.

But does that have to do with being nice to the environment? PLENTY.

Being in an apartment, you have three typical scenarios you are dealing with: a local laundromat, an apartment complex laundromat or (I’m jealous if you have this) your very own washer and dryer in-apartment. But, believe it or not, my tips will be the same for all these three scenarios!

Newbie
Cost: it will actually save you money!
Time: seconds
Energy to do this: minimal

My tip for you is to get used to doing only full loads of laundry in cold water. Why is this a green tip? First, because there is no need to wash half a load of laundry. Save yourself the trip to the laundromat and the quarters by waiting a few days until you have a full load. Second, by using even warm water in washing and cold in the rinse cycle can save over three times the energy of washing and rinsing with hot water! The best thing is using the cold/cold setting if the washer has it because at least 3/4 of the energy used in any washer is to heat the water – so go colder and your clothes will be just as clean.

Sidenote: I still wash my whites (a full load!) in hot water and rinse in cold water. If you were married to a hockey player, you would too!

Amateur Environmentalist
Cost: about the same amount you would have used on conventional laundry detergents
Time: seconds to decide on the brand you want
Energy to do this: minimal

Switch from the detergents chock-full of petroleum-based (as in OIL), phosphates (water softeners that damage bodies of water) and “optical brighteners” (chemicals to make whites appear whiter which are toxic to aquatic life and not biodegradable) to an eco-friendly, plant-based laundry liquid or powder that will clean your clothes just as well. There are several brands out there – Seventh Generation, Eco-Cover and store brands at your local health food store. The great thing about these liquids in particular is you don’t need to use as much as with conventional detergents and the scents aren’t so nauseatingly perfume-like.

If you are really serious about being more eco-friendly, then consider replacing your older washer and dryer with a newer, Energy Star rated washer and dryer. However, this can be expensive, so if you do not have the budget to replace them, there is still a way to be green and clean without draining your wallet. Consider replacing the older, inefficient parts in your washer and/or dryer. A makeover for these appliances can help them and the resources last longer. General Electric, Kenmore, LG, Whirlpool, Samsung, and Maytag parts are all available for purchase at most hardware and appliance repair centers. A few tools and a do-it-yourself attitude are the only other things you will need for this job.

You can also nix those dryer sheets. Trader Joe’s (my store of choice, next to Henry’s) offer these great little sachets full of lavender. You throw them in the dryer with your clothes and they nix the static, lightly scent the clothes and help repel moths. After the 6 dryer trips I rip open the sachet, pour them over the carpet and vacuum them up 10 minutes later to refreshen the room.

Certified Tree-Hugger
Cost: this will save you money!
Time: actively – 30-45 minutes depending on how many clothes you washed, passively – an extra few hours compared to the dryer
Energy to do this: moderate

Hang-dry your clothes. Yes, it is an extra commitment time-wise, but the sheer energy you save is pretty amazing. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, this is how you calculate this:

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

A typical clothes dryer is measured at 1800-5000 watts. We’ll take the mean of this for our calculations, guessing at 2 loads of laundry per week done once per week per person.

(3400 Watts × 3 hours/day × 52 days/year) ÷ 1000
= 530.4 kWh × 8.5 cents/kWh
= $45.08/year

I don’t know about you, but that’s one month’s electric bill for my household! That’s a lot of energy to save.

A little tip: I’ve noticed when I hang dry my jeans and sweatshirts, they get a little tough. To correct this, I’ve used 1/2-1 cup of white vinegar in the wash as a natural clothes softener which also helps with color-fastness and odors.

Happy laundering!

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I have no idea what brought me to ReusableBags.com but I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

For example, I hate that I haven’t had many options to get rid of those horrible produce bags that even “health food” chains are using! What to do?

How about an organic netted cotton produce sack for a whopping $4? Brilliant!

Shopping bags are also an issue. In general you want something you can slip in your backpack or purse or, for you gents out there, slip in your pocket. Something with long enough handles to slide over your shoulder and strong enough to handle your shopping load – be it clothes from the mall, a few groceries to tide you through the end of the week or some office supplies from IKEA.

How about their Reisenthel – Mini Maxi Shopper with long handles? Zips up into a teeny-tiny bag with attachable hook! Again with the brilliant. I’m so getting two or three of these things…

But what about that trip to your local big box store like Costco or Sam’s Club? Then these Super Strong Canvas Messenger Bags are worth the $13!

What got me so excited about this website was the fact that they have fabulous products promoting sustainable sources, reuseable and recycled items at prices that the average Joe can afford.

Going “green” doesn’t have to be overwhelming or über-costly. Mostly going green means thinking about what you want to do and planning ahead of time to use what you have, reduce what you use and only bring into your life the things that give and sustain life instead of living a “throw-away” or “prepackaged” existence. Life should be fun and beautiful and the things you buy and use should support life continuing to be fun and beautiful.

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