TheGoGreenBlog.com

Easter is right around the corner and fast approaching. Before you know it, it will be Sunday morning, March 23rd, and the kiddies will be racing around the back yard looking for eggs. Instead of using fake plastic eggs, or dying real eggs with those nasty chemically filled pellets that come with traditional decorating kits…Greenify your Easter egg hunt by using free farmed organic eggs & natural dyes.

Natural dyes are awesome. In fact, they give you more color possibilities then the toxic pellets, including every shade of the rainbow from reds to yellows to blues and greens and everything in between.

All you need to do is boil your eggs in water with a bit of vinegar and one of the natural dye ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes. And presto! You have beautiful colored organic eggs that are super eco-friendly!

Pink - Use beets, cranberries, or raspberries
Red - Use red onion skins, or pomegranate juice
Orange - Use yellow onion skins, or paprika
Dark Orange - Use chili powder
Yellow - Use carrot tops, ground cumin or turmeric, orange or lemon peels
Green - Use spinach
Blue - Use red cabbage
Lavender - Use purple grape juice
Brown - Use coffee, tea, or black walnut shells

Got a new toothbrush? Don’t know what to do with the old one?
Don’t throw them away. Instead toss them in the dishwasher for a good sanitizing, and use them around the house. They are great for cleaning just about any small space in your home, car or office.

Top 10 Ways To Re-Use Your Old Toothbrush:
1- Spot clean laundry, carpet or your furniture upholstery with a non-toxic cleaner & scrub the spot with your old toothbrush
2- Clean vents, blinds and window screens with your old toothbrush and some warm soapy water
3- Make your jewelry shine again with your old toothbrush and some warm soapy water
4- Scrub around the blades of your manual or electric can opener with your old toothbrush and some warm soapy water
5- Scrub shower corners, tile and tile grout with your old toothbrush and an eco-friendly cleaner
6- Clean out electric razors with your old toothbrush
7- Clean under your finger & toe nails with your old toothbrush and some warm soapy water
8- Clean and oil tools and car parts with your old toothbrush
9- Save your fingers and clean your cheese graters with your old toothbrush
10- Use your old toothbrush for any fun and funky art project

Green to Grow is a new company, founded by the need for eco-friendly alternative products for babies.

Husband & wife team, Michael & Shelley Ritterbrow, began Green to Grow, with a commitment to provide the best possible care for their son. As they researched products & materials they were alarmed at the potential dangers presented by polycarbonate plastic, which contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol A. Dissatisfied that there were no eco-friendly options for their new baby boy, they started Green to Grow.

Green to Grow bottles are produced from Polyethersulfone (PES), which is a BPA-free plastic and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The nipples for the bottles are made from a medical grade silicone, which is nitrosamines free.

Green to Grow uses 100% recycled paper and soy inks, they donate 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes, and they also have programs in place to help recycle used bottles.

Their bottles start at around $8…check them out.

TreeHuggerTV and nutrition expert Marion Nestle take us grocery shopping where they teach us the pros & cons of selecting organic fruit and vegetables in the supermarket.

Do you buy your food or cleaning supplies, or pet food in bulk? If so, thumbs up to you! If not, you should consider doing so, because buying in bulk is one of the easiest ways to go green & save money at the same time.

When you buy in bulk the manufacturers use less packaging materials and in turn you produce less waste. Plus, because you buy more product at once you then make less trips to the store in the future which can save you time, money and fuel.

So, why wouldn’t you buy bulk? It’s easy!

Check out this video by lime, healthy living with a twist, where Jane Zadadowski gives simple, practical tips on creating a green lifestyle for your children that any parent can incorporate into their daily routine.

skinnyskinny is this great little company that produces & sell organic, all natural handmade bar soaps & bath salts (and will also be adding balms & body oils soon).

All of skinnyskinny soaps & bath products are made completely by hand from scratch in their Brooklyn, New York facility, using really great ingredients, including extra-virgin oils, unrefined butters & essential oils.

All of skinnyskinny products contain at least 96% certified organic ingredients, and they use 100% recycled, reclaimed, and sustainable materials for all of their packaging.

skinnyskinny is a true carbon-neutral manufacturer by purchasing enough wind-power to cover all of their electricity usage and buying carbon-offsets for everything else.

Now, you can’t get any cleaner than that!

Lawrence Comras (or Axel) from Green Home, The Environmental Store has some really great home cleaning products, that are awesome eco-friendly alternatives to the toxic traditional cleaners. He shows them off here in this NBC News, Today spring cleaning segment, giving a live demonstration of the products on windows & counter tops, proving that they work just as well as the chemically filled cleaners.

Reusing and recycling are important, but reduce is the best of the three R’s. The next time you order food delivered or get takeout, ask the restaurant to leave out the paper plates, plastic forks & knifes and extra condiments and use your own instead. This little amount of reduction of paper and plastic will add up to a lot less waste in the trash at the end of the day.

Do you need to think about the environment after death? Maybe this video that features an eco cemetery in New Field, New York will help you decide.