Mom Goes Green

Mother’s Day is almost here! I could give you a long list of ideas but I happen to be a mom too(!) and I’m going to go easy on myself today (yes, I’m taking Mother’s Day weekend off a little early!).

In the past years I’ve gotten everything from a “dogtag” necklace with my children’s names and birthdates (made of silver recycled from film {from Mommy Tags}) to a stainless steel water bottle and this year will be no different… this year, a rain barrel!!! Woohoo!  Who knew something like a barrel for Mother’s Day could be so exciting!

If you ARE still looking for ideas, I assembled a pretty decent list in my recent Valentine’s Day post and all are appropriate for this holiday, so no need to reinvent the wheel.  But if you want those ideas just click here and take a gander.

For this Mother’s Day, whether you are being celebrated, celebrating your Mom or another special lady in your life, just remember to keep Mother Earth in mind too. She is quite extraordinary and she shares her gifts with us every day of the year.  Just like all other moms, she never takes a break!

And finally, I wish a very truly Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms who constantly join me on this journey… we all “work” so hard for our families and keep Mother Earth in mind all along the way too… and THAT is quite extraordinary as well!

Enjoy & I hope you feel the love…

I’m shocked to discover that I am celebrating my 300th post! I was trying to figure out what my earth shattering topic should be but sadly, I’m feeling discouraged.

Why?  Well, because some days these efforts really feel in vane, don’t they?

The news seems to be filled with events that are so out-of-our-control that its sometimes difficult not to feel silly when I put my tiny little cream cheese box in the recycling bin, or try to find better ways to do laundry and dishes, or plan my errand-route efficiently to drive less…

In the past few weeks alone, a long-inactive volcano violently erupted (believed to be only the start of many, as global warming melts the glaciers and ice sheets, decreases weight on the volcanoes and in essence ‘allows’ these eruptions), a Chinese cargo ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef (while violating restricted areas and shipping lanes) dumping fuel and oil and causing extensive and long-term damage to the reef and its inhabitants, and now oil is pouring out into the Gulf from the off-shore well also doing catastrophic harm to the ocean, beaches, marshes, marine life and (essentially) us!

WHAT are we doing to our planet and ourselves? It’s mind-boggling… and heartbreaking…

So today, instead of letting myself feel discouraged I’m going to try and turn that around and remind myself that I can only control my own little corner of the world… but I CAN do something.  I can take charge of how I treat our world, what my family consumes and use my voice to constantly remind people to use their actions and voices to MAKE A CHANGE!

Your choices matter… our voices will be heard… don’t give up… only WE have the power to make a difference.

Each year over THREE BILLION dry cell batteries are sold in the U.S. alone. That’s a lot of trash that will eventually end up in a landfill, adding toxic chemicals and metals to our ground, air and water.

Now, if you’re like me, you’ve priced rechargeable batteries and their initial cost looks frightful, but did you know that just four rechargeable batteries can replace approximately 100 regular alkaline batteries?!?!?

The cost of buying four rechargeable AA batteries (with its charger, mind you!) is equivalent to buying a 20-pack of single-use disposable AA batteries.  By my math calculations, you’ll be saving about $60 in the long run and that not only sounds eco-friendly, but also wallet-friendly to me!

Today’s alkaline batteries are much safer than they were prior to 1997, but they still can’t be recycled, but guess what?… rechargeable batteries CAN! As always, you can check out Earth911, drop them off at any Batteries Plus location near you or ask at your local home improvement/hardware store or drugstore.  Some will even accept alkaline, button cell and lithium batteries for proper disposal too.

Face it, many of us are parents with kids that have far too many electronics and toys that require mountains of batteries, but you can help reduce your corner of the mountain by investing in some rechargeables instead!