Save some green to buy more green.

People constantly comment to me that buying green is pricey. I agree, but you need to know the tricks and then it is not such a burden on the wallet.  Coupons are my favorite. The catch is if you use a coupon for an item that you may not use, it is not a good deal. I try to have coupons for most of the brand name items that I buy (the rest, I buy generic. Almost every store has a store brand organic.)  Here are some sites that have printable coupons.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/   Check this every other month for different coupons. Don't shy away from whole foods coupons, you can use them at Publix.

http://www.target.com/coupons These coupons change regularly and yes, you can use them at Publix too!

http://www.coupons.com/   These change every week, so check back.  There is a print limit, so don't print them all at once.

http://www.mambosprouts.com/bts10msngr/ Their coupons are all natural and organic, you can print them from the site.

http://www.couponmom.com/  She has links to tons of coupon sites that may have organic or natural coupons.

Picture from http://www.stonyfield.com/

http://www.stonyfield.com/  These coupons expire quickly (2 weeks or so), so only print the ones that you’ll use soon. They also have a print limit, so print them sparingly.

http://www.energizer.com/ They usually have a coupon for regular batteries and rechargeable.  Using rechargeable is not only green, but it saves you green.  I have charged my batteries so many times and I can't remember the last time I bought alkaline.

Now go save some green, while you are saving the planet.

Can I recycle this?

Recycling can be a tricky job. Do you have to remove tops or not? Can the tops be recycled? What about recycling batteries, metal hangers and wine corks?  Luckily there is a wealth of information out there.

Most cities or garbage companies only take plastics #1 and #2. So, what do you do with the rest?  If it is a #5, you can bring it to Whole Foods.  Whole Foods will take the plastics, give it to recycling and they will make cool bags and other gear out of it.  They also recycle wine corks, so don't throw those corks away after you drink some vino! (Or of course you could compost the corks if you are feeling really ambitious.)

Check with your recycling program, because you may have to remove the tops from containers and set them aside. You can recycle them, maybe not with your garbage company but with Aveda. They collect plastic bottle caps to make new plastic bottles. Check on their website for the rules.

By far, the most helpful website is Earth911. Right there on their home page, you can type in the item in question and your area and it will tell you where to go. This is terribly helpful when you want to recycle something like batteries and don't know where to go.  (Hint-most Batteries Plus stores take them.)

Wire hangers continually pile up in our closet and they are so annoying.  My first instinct is to recycle them, but reusing them is much more environmentally friendly. Our dry-cleaner gladly takes any hanger, regardless of the color, and I am glad to give them away. If you can't give 'em away, check out earth911 for recycling centers.

If in doubt, check with your garbage company or your city recycling center.  Many recycling centers will take many things that they do not pick up in the curbside bins. The garbage company may even have special days that they recycle big items, so check their website or call.

Before you toss it, check with your resources or ask around, there is probably a place that will take it (either for recycling or reusing.).

Calling all promising green moms

I am officially a Moms Meet Ambassador and I would like to get a group of green-minded moms together to toss around what we have learned and are learning about greening our family's lives.

According to the http://www.greenmomsmeet.com/ website:
The Mom Ambassador Program is a network of confident, charismatic, and committed moms who are enthusiastic about parenting and green living.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moms-Meet/121361118223#!/photo.php?pid=3629012&id=121361118223&ref=fbx_album&fbid=297451023223

Mom Ambas­sadors lead groups of par­ents in dicus­sion meet­ings, and act as ambas­sadors to present top­ics, prod­ucts, and ser­vices that they think would be valu­able to the par­ents in their communities.


In our group meeting/play dates we will talk about healthy practices, become closer friends, be able to test and review free products and be a voice for the community.

If you are at all interested, email me and we will talk. mygreenthumbs@gmail.com