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Today Is My Last Here! August 30, 2010
Today is my last day to post on my greengirlinc.wordpress.com site. My fantastic webmaster Jessica Harrison from Capture Life has combined my Green Girl Inc. website with my Green Girl Inc. blog to create one site. The new Green Girl Inc. website is in a blog format. I think it looks wonderful! I hope you think so too. Please follow the link to Green Girl Inc..
Speaking of Blood Suckers August 25, 2010
Actually this has nothing to do with mosquitoes, but it does have to do with blood. This is not my usual green blog, but a request to help the American Red Cross. I recently got a phone call from them encouraging me to give blood. I plan on doing it very soon. The blood supplies in the nation are dangerously low now, typical for the end of the summer. Please, take some time to donate blood, especially if you are O-, the universal donor type. The life you save could be your own or a loved ones. Please call the American Red Cross and schedule a donation time. Call 1-800-733-2767. You can also go to the Red Cross website and find your local donation center. Red Cross – Donating Blood
To Deet or Not August 20, 2010
I know, it’s late in the summer, but what are you using on your skin to keep mosquitoes at bay? Hopefully it’s not Deet. I realize in extreme cases you almost don’t have a choice, but for most of us, herbal repellents are a better choice. There are a myriad of ingredients that repel mosquitoes that aren’t toxic pesticides. We use a garlic spray for our yard. We live in the woods where the mosquitoes are thick, and really love how I taste. Other ingredients to apply on your skin are: lemongrass, lavender, geranium, citronella, thyme, eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint, clove, cedar, marigold, rosemary, neem, lemon eucalyptus and marjoram. That is a long list. Some of these ingredients are more effective and some are less. Many commercial, herbal repellents are out there. I’ve found a variety at local stores, and there are more to choose from online. You can even make your own repellent. Tutorials and recipes are all over the Internet. The downside of most herbal repellents is that you need to reapply often, every hour or so.
If you are in a jungle or some Northwoods location where you have to bring out the big gun of Deet, make sure you don’t put it on your skin. Your skin is like a sponge, and toxins you put on it can be absorbed. Another chemical repellent is Picaridin. Again this is a chemical, but it supposed to be less toxic than Deet, and just as effective. One of the most effective herbal-based repellents is the oil of lemon eucalyptus. It is one of the repellents recommended by the CDC and the EPA.
Best of luck battling those little suckers!
I Want REAL Sugar in My Soda August 14, 2010
So, I’ve had a hard time finding sodas with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Yes, I’ve been on a bit of a rant lately with the HFCS. I know, soda is not good for me, even with cane sugar, but once-in-a-while it’s a yummy treat. I’ve always like Jones Soda, but there are some other sodas out there with cane sugar. Jelly Belly (yes the Jelly Bean maker), Boylan, Hansens, Burghoff Root Beer, Goose Island, Stewart’s, Henry Weinhard’s, and the list goes on. In Eau Claire I have not been able to find Jone’s for a while, but I finally found it at Hahn’s Market, 3045 North Hastings Way (Hwy 53). They also had some of the above mentioned sugar cane sodas. Cadeaux, 312 S. Barstow, carries Jelly Belly and some other sodas. If anyone knows of other stores in the Chippewa Valley area, please post them in the comments section. Even if you don’t live in the Chippewa Valley, feel free to post where (store and town) you find sugar cane sodas. Thanks! I have also posted an online source for cane sugar sodas called Beverages Direct. Drink up!
Eco School Supples and More August 12, 2010
It’s that time of year, back-to-school. I know, we have mixed feelings about this time of year. Most kids are groaning, and parents are secretly cheering (one can only take the sibling bickering or hear “I’m bored” so many times). So how do you plan on greening your children’s school year? There are things you can do to reduce their carbon footprint. How about starting with how your kids get to school. Many people drive their kids to school every day. Now, sometimes this is necessary, when there are circumstances like a ridiculously early bus, no public transportation where you live, or heavy instruments that need hauling. In those instances it’s best if you can at least car-pool.
What else can you do? If your kids take their own lunch, then a waste-free lunch is the way to go. Numerous companies both online and in physical retail sites have water bottles, lunch bags, lunch boxes, cloth napkins, sporks, GoToobs, reusable lunch containers and reusable non-plastic lunch pouches. A great place to look in your town is at your local natural foods store or co-op. If you can’t find what you need in town then I have a list of online stores where you can find what you need.
So, transportation and lunch are covered, what else? How about the all important school supplies? Try to replace the typical non-recycled or petroleum-based supplies with recycled content and non-petro based products. Here is a list of products: recycled content notebooks, upcycled wrapper folders and notebooks, upcycled wrapper pencil pouches, recycled plastic pencil boxes, recycled denim or newspaper pencils, stapleless staplers, recycled plastic scissors, solar calculators, soy or bees-wax based crayons, solar backpacks or messenger bags, recycled PET backpacks, well, you are starting to get the idea. Maybe you can’t afford to buy all these items, but maybe you can get a few.
If nothing else, stop wasting your money and poisoning your home with cheap, disposable PVC backpacks. A few years ago I made the switch to good quality backpacks for my kids. PVC or polyvinyl chloride off-gasses for years and contributes to poor indoor air quality. Think about your child having this toxic substance strapped to their back. Plus, most of those cheap backpacks fall apart halfway through the school year and then sit in landfulls (yes, I meant landfulls) for a millennium.
The following is a list of websites and resources to help you green back-to-school.
Green Peace-How to Find and Avoid Toxin Vinyl (PVC) in Your Home
Reuseit and A Waste-Free Lunch August 10, 2010
Reuseit is running a summer sale for supplies for a waste-free lunch. Not only that, but you can vote for your favorite school to receive a $500 donation from Reuseit to use towards lunch gear. You can leave a comment to have your school in the running on Reuseit’s Blog or go to the Reuseit Facebook Page.
Reuseit believes in giving back. They are a 1% For The Planet Member. This is the perfect time to green your child’s lunch routine, and possibly help out their classroom or school. It is also a perfect time to green your own lunch routine. Some of the items in their waste-free lunch supplies can be used for waste-free take-out. So, go shopping, and stop leaving a trail of trash when you go to lunch or get take-out food.
I am a Reuseit Ambassador, and believe in the company. I do use their products.
Changes Coming to Green Girl Inc.’s Blog August 9, 2010
Green Girl Inc.’s blog is going to be moving soon. I’m combining my website and my blog into one site. I hope you will come along for the ride.
High Fructose Corn Syrup Everywhere You Look August 7, 2010
Yesterday I wrote about the new study which confirmed what many of us have thought for a long time: high fructose corn syrup sucks. Now, what do you do about it. I’m sure you’ve all gone through your cabinets with a fine tooth comb to rid your home of this scourge. There are two ways to avoid HFCS: don’t eat processed food, including most restaurant food, and/or shop the natural food section. But remember, you always have to read those labels. I really think HFCS and trans-fats have a lot to do with our countries weight and health issues. Eat real food, eat organic food, shop your local farmers market, frequent stores that carry locally produced food and eat at restaurants that use local ingredients. Changing habit is hard, but it can be done, and you’ll be glad you did.
Deep-Six The High Fructose Corn Syrup August 6, 2010
You’ve heard it from me before, get that crap (a.k.a. high fructose corn syrup a.k.a. HFCS) out of your diet. Now there is a study to confirm what many people have said for years, all sugars are not created equally. Yes, white sugar is processed, but not to the extent that HFCS is processed. HFCS is one of the monstrosities of the lab. Now, not all chemistry is evil, and there is a growing trend in green chemistry. High Fructose Corn Syrup is not green chemistry. It may not have the immediate toxicity of strychnine, but it is still dangerous. Read the article below, and then do yourself and your family a favor, and go through your cabinets, and deep-six everything with that crap in it. It will amaze you all the places it hides. Don’t assume because one product by a company is free of HFCS that all its products are free of HFCS. V-8, for example, has fooled our family before. Their Fusion drink does not have HFCS, but their Splash product does. Get ready to give your eyes a workout. Hmmm, where are those reading glasses?
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