greenliving

This Earth Day, how about doing something special and teaching your kids all about going green. They are never too young to learn about it and even a toddler or preschooler can contribute to a better planet.

Here are some easy ways you can teach your child to live green:

1. Help them conserve water and electricity by teaching them to switch of taps while brushing their teeth or soaping their hands, and switch of lights when they leave the room.

2. If you carry a cloth bag, why not get them to carry one too? Kids love to create works of art- buy a simple canvas tote from a craft store or sew up a small bag using leftover cloth. Make sure you include two sturdy handles. Get them to decorate their bag with paints or beads/buttons. Let them use their bag for the library, swimming pool or even when they come shopping with you!

3. Make recycling a game and they’ll learn to do it the right way. Explain how certain items can be cleaned and recycled and certain items like milk cartons, which have waxed paper, cannot.

4. Encourage them to walk, skate or bike rather that be driven around. Explain how this is better than using a car and if you need to go a longer distance, take the bus or train. Not only does it become an adventure, but your kids will be happy they’re contributing towards a greener lifestyle.

5. Get them involved when shopping for healthier, non-toxic items. If you are creating your own home-made cleaners, they can even help by rinsing out the bottles or measuring non-toxic items like baking soda. However, beware of getting children involved if you are using potentially harmful ingredients like borax.

6. Teach  your child how to select seasonal, local produced fruits for their snacks. You can also take them on a field trip to a local farm so they get to see firsthand where their snacks come from.

7. Children love to get involved in activities such as composting. Allow them to throw egg shells and fruit peel on the compost heap. Don’t forget to explain why you’re doing this.

8. Get them involved in recycled craft projects. Toilet paper rolls, empty carton boxes, scraps of unused cloth and gift ribbon are just some of the things that can be used to create wonderfully creative projects.

There’s so much you and your child can do together to make a wonderful, cleaner, greener planet. All it takes is a little time and initiative on your part, but the good habits they learn today will last with them a lifetime.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
–Doug Larson

If like me, you welcome spring with a good clean scrub, then you are probably getting ready to dig out your bucket, gloves and cleaning equipment. But before you do, take a moment to think of the chemicals you’ll be using- toxic to the environment, the body and the home itself. And how about your kids who crawl on the newly cleaned carpet or pets who drink from your freshly scrubbed toilet bowl? Are they breathing and ingesting these harmful products?

Most regular household products are non-biodegradable and may contain toxic chemicals including bleach and ammonia. Not only do we harm the environment by using these products, but we do no good to our own bodies either.

Transitioning to greener products is very easy as nowadays most supermarkets and stores carry natural based, biodegradable cleaners. You can also try the following:

-Make your own products at home. Visit www.busymadeeasy.com for some excellent home-made cleaning recipes.

-Buy natural non toxic products.

-Recycle your toxic products and product containers where appropriate.

-Read all labels before you make any purchases.

-Invest in a green cleaning company.

-Use flowers, beeswax candles and other natural aromas to freshen your home.

-Keep your windows open for at least a few minutes each day to air out your home.

-A good wash of all your linen and sofa/cushion covers will also add to a clean, fresh feel.

Simple yet effective remedies to welcome spring into your home!

If you’ve ever found the odd sock or have an old pair of gloves that you can’t give away, but don’t want to stick in your recycle box, then do visit this site: http://www.freekidscrafts.com . It’s got incredible ideas about recycling stuff into crafts, and there’s lot to keep the kids busy (we have one whole week of spring break with no school or activities lined up, so I know I’ll be visiting this site pretty often!).

We copied finger puppets from their site and as soon as I figure out how to download my camera pics, I’ll upload them onto the site. The instructions are as follows and you can visit their site to get a whole lot more ideas:

 Supplies

Rubber glove
Scissors
White glue
Small white dot stickers
Marker pens
Yarn scraps

InstructionsCut the fingers from a rubber glove.
Draw faces on the small white stickers.
Use the yarn scraps to prepare some fancy hair-do’s for your finger puppets.
Stick them on using white glue. This is quite easy if you peg some clothespegs along the side of a box, then place your puppets on the pegs to keep them steady and upright.

Give it a go!

I can’t believe it’s over a month since I last blogged on this site. However, green living is never far from my mind- indeed, it has become an integral part of my daily existence. And while I am not as ‘good’ as I should or want to be, I do believe that in doing simply what you can each day- recycling your discarded items, investing in energy saving devices etc, it can help to an enormous extent. Having said that, this blog is all about the simple and easy ways you can make your life greener and more enriched. It’s not about investing in a hybrid car or replacing your roofs with solar panels (though of course if you can do that, you should!). It’s about how the average joe (or jane) can make a difference in his or her life.

So these are some of the things I’ve learnt this last month:

Newspapers can be used of course to polish glass and window panes and also mirrors and stainless steel objects, such as your bathroom fittings. They can also be used to soak up the moisture in damp shoes (such as those that have been out walking in the rain or that belong to sweaty feet owners).

Erasers (a lot of them live in our home simply because they make great goody bag stuffers!) can be used to remove scruff marks on the floor as well as apparantly clean piano keys! ( I don’t have a piano, but I read that it works wonders).And finally, my favourite, eggs! We consume a lot of organic eggs at home and I hate to throw out the shells. They’ve been painted and used as plant holders by my preschool kids, have been crushed and thrown into the soil as fertilizers and will be decorated for easter.

Any other ideas for using everyday objects in a multiple number of ways? Write me!