Kick off the summer this Memorial Day Weekend by greenifying your BBQ Party. Here are the top 5 ways to make your Memorial Day shindig a little more sustainable.

• Grill - A solar powered grill is the most eco-friendly way to grill these days, but if that’s not an option for you opt for a grill that burns natural gas rather than charcoal, as it is cleaner.
• Food - Shop at a local farmer’s market for your BBQ ingredients. You can usually find great local organic produce, breads & meats.
• Tableware - Switch to biodegradable dishes.
• Napkins – Use washable napkins to reduce paper waste.
• Compost - Compost leftover food scraps & other organic trash.

Happy Grilling!

Shopping online is full of conveniences, but did you realize that it is eco-friendly too. That’s right, internet shopping saves energy, resulting in enormous environmental benefits.

On average, an e-commerce warehouse use 1/16th of the energy that is used to operate a traditional retail store. It also saves transportation energy. Even overnight air shipping uses 40% less fuel than the average car trip to the mall. In fact, each minute spent driving to the mall uses twenty times more energy than a minute spent shopping online.

So go nuts…and start shopping now!

Save yourself some time & money by making your coffee at home with a French coffee press.

The biggest eco-benefit to using a coffee press is the fact that they don’t use a non-reusable paper filter. Besides the obvious waste-decreasing benefit, no filter also means more flavor. Plus, if you tend to make coffee only for yourself, a French press is great because they’re often smaller than drip machines, allowing you to brew just one cup.

Celebrate Earth Day’s 40th anniversary on Thursday, April 22 by conserving. Use less energy, less water, and create less waste.

Here are the top 5 ways to conserve this Earth Day:

1- Change lights to CFL bulbs
2- Install a low-flow showerhead
3- Use reusable shopping bags
4- Fix all leaky water fixtures
5- Stop using disposable items

Avoid sticky situations this Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 9th) by wrapping your gifts without conventional, often petroleum-based tape. Not all curbside recycling programs accept wrapping paper. But if yours does, it should be tape-free. Try opting out of tape by making tightly creased folds as you wrap, & securing it by tying up the package tightly with natural twine or a reusable ribbon.

You should not allow your domestic cat to roam freely outdoors. That’s becasue they kill over one billion small birds and animals every year. That means 1 outdoor kitty averages about 40 kills per year. This upsets the natural predator/prey balances and eliminates ground nesting birds altogether. So, it is best to just keep that kitty cat indoors or in a screened in porch.

There’s nothing better then a bright white t-shirt, but often your white laundry items can start to look dingy and gray. This happens for a few reasons. You may live in a hard water area and deposits become fixed to the fibers, or it could just be a build up of detergent within the item. To get those whites white again & keep them white use a little vinegar.

Get White Again: Soak the dingy item in a gallon of warm water and 8fl oz of white vinegar. Then rinse in cold water & wash as usual.

To Keep White: Add about 1/3 cup of white vinegar to your rinse cycle. You’ll find that your clothes come out brighter and softer, and any vinegar smells should vanish after your clothes have dried.

Easy & eco-friendly…now that’s my kind of laundry.

One of the easiest things to do to live a more green lifestyle is to buy reusable products instead of disposable ones. These can range from things to drink from to cleaning products. Here are a few easy ones to incorporate in your daily life today…

• Coffee Mugs vs. Paper or Styrofoam Cups
• Washable Plates vs. Paper
• Cloth Napkins vs. Paper
• Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable
• Sponges or Rags vs. Paper Towels
• Reusable Coffee Filters vs. Paper
• Reusable Silverware vs. Plastic
• Canvas Shopping Bag vs. Paper or Plastic
• Lunch Box vs. Plastic Baggies

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow! Are you ready to celebrate the holiday in a truly Green way?

Here are the top 5 tips for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day the eco way:

1. Wear Organic Green Tees: One of the biggest St. Patty’s Day triditions is to wear green or an Irish slogan T-shirt. This year, instead of just wearing any old green T-shirt, wear an organic cotton or bamboo T-shirt! That way your green tee really is Green!
2. Drink Local Organic Beer: The other big St. Patrick’s Day tradition is a visit to the good ol’ pub! This year celebrate in an eco-friendly style by ordering an organic local beer on tap and in a re-usable glass mug of course.
3. Avoid Plastic Disposable Decorations: This is really a no brainer for any holiday. Cheap plastic accessories such as beads and plastic shamrock rings usually just get thrown out the next day, only to end up in landfills. So this year try making your own decorations and accessories for your party or purchase items you will actually re-use.
4. Eat Local & Organic: Another holiday favorite is to eating delicious meals. So this year try to make your Irish favorites by shopping at the local farmers market. It’s just not Green if your potato is flown from half way around the world.
5. Tint Your Brewski With Natural Dye: Artificial food coloring is nasty stuff, especially Green No. 3, which has been prohibited in the European Union and some other countries. I recommend trying Chefmaster’s all natural green food coloring instead. It is much healthier for you & your friends.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This is another easy tip to save on energy….Just turn down the brightness of your computer monitor.

By kicking down the brightness a few notches, will still allow for you to read the screen perfectly but will save on electricity. Plus, if you are prone to headaches reducing the brightness of anything can really help.

It’s the small things that count & will add up over time. Just watch that electricity bill drop!