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A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Fourth "Tips for Green Living" Carnival The fourth Tips for Green Living blog carnival.

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15th Carnival for Green Living15th Carnival for Green Living Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Tips for Green Living! We have so many good submissions, so let’s get started!. dining & entertaining Sam over at Best Cheap Weddings shares some...

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A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Back to Basics: Recycle The final post in a series of three on the basic principles of green living.

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A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Call to Action Will you help save the earth with only one hour of your time? www.EarthHour.org Back to Basics: Reduce The first in a series of three posts on the basic principles of green living. Back...

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What are Parabens, Exactly?What are Parabens, Exactly? Labeled as one of the new culprit for many a-modern defect is a group of preservatives called parabens. You may have seen the Breast Cancer Fund site's rundown of them or just saw a lotion bottle on the...

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Thirteenth Carnival for Green Living

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 28-01-2010

Category : Dining & Entertaining, Featured, For the Greenhorns, Health & Beauty, Living Spaces, Patio & Garden

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Late? Yes. Unfortunately, allergies have been running amok with all this rain at the Green Apartment so last week was awful and this week was catch-up. Oh the joy!

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…

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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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Tips for Green Living logo image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Twelfth Tips for Green Living Carnival

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 11-01-2010

Category : Dining & Entertaining, Featured, Health & Beauty, In the News, Living Spaces

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Welcome to the New Year, oh Internet! We are back and have some great stuff for you to browse.

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!

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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!

________________

Tips for Green Living logo image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Seasonal Cooking: Autumn

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 10-11-2009

Category : Dining & Entertaining, Headline

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When I first started really going green, I changed everything. Organic foods replaced the conventionally grown. Baking soda and white vinegar replaced nearly every bottle of cleaning product in my arsenal. I started looking for second hand clothing stores and odd new uses for old items I had lying around.

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

Eat Right

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 27-02-2008

Category : Dining & Entertaining

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Among the Green Community, there are great proponents of organic, fair-trade, locally grown produce. But the reality is not everyone can afford to pay the organic prices at the large-chain grocery markets, not to mention the fair-trade mark-ups.

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!

Third “Tips for Green Living” Carnival

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 25-02-2008

Category : Featured

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Welcome to the third “Tips for Green Living” carnival. Looks like our little get-together is causing quite a stir!

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!

Second “Tips for Green Living” Carnival

Posted by Marie Holzer | Posted on 11-02-2008

Category : Featured

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Welcome to the second edition of the new bi-monthly “Tips for Green Living” Carnival!

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!