FREE reusable bag from Target on April 17.

Heading to Target tomorrow? Get yourself a free reusable bag with any purchase. I heart reusable bags and own plenty so I will pass on this offer, but would love for you to start using reusable bags. A handful of stores I shop at give a $0.05 discount per reusable bag (including Target) so it's a great way to save a little money and a lot of the environment. According to the Target website when you use a Target reusable bag ten times, you’ll keep 25 plastic bags out of landfills. Awesome! I always recycle the plastic bags I do accumulate, but definitely prefer my reusable bags. Even my little guy who is only 2 knows that we need to grab our reusable bags before heading out to the store. Very cute! Thanks for the heads up Saving Green in the Bay!

Seasonal Sunday: Natural ice removers.

Salt has been popular for almost 50 years to remove ice. It is cheap, but highly corrosive and can contaminate our water. Here are a few alternatives.

Shovel sooner than later- Don't put it off. The less time the snow has to bond to your sidewalk or drive the less chance it will turn into ice.

Sand/Bird Seed- It will give you good traction, but will not get rid of the ice. It can easily be swept into the grass come spring.

Good old manual labor- Use an ice chopper. This works great for thicker ice.

Alfalfa Meal- Works by not only providing good traction, but also will melt the ice. Safe for the environment.

Magic Salt- Magic Salt is rock salt treated with magnesium chloride and a sugar byproduct. It has received the EPA Design for the Environment label, which recognizes that the product is considered to be safe for the environment. It's the only de-icer to get the approval.  It is more expensive, but 70% less corrosive than rock salt.

Ice-Clear- Ice-Clear is a liquid that you spray right on the pavement and is best used before the storm. It is made of a corn extract so the sugar reacts with the pavement to form a bond that prevents ice from sticking to the surface. Similar technology is used to de-ice airplane wings. 100% organic.

Are there any eco-friendly alternatives you recommend? I would love to hear about them. Thankfully we have been diligent about snow removal this winter over here so ice has been minimal.

Recycle your Christmas tree at Home Depot tomorrow and get free seeds.

Bring your (live) Christmas tree to Home Depot on Saturday January 8 to recycle and you'll receive free seeds for your garden. How cool is that?! There will be volunteers there ready to assist you. Learn more here. Thanks for the great idea Thrifty Wifey!

FREE CFL lightbulbs at Ace Hardware.

Combine this coupon with the sale going on at Ace Harware and you got yourself some free CFL light bulbs. :) I heart deals that aren't only a steal, but great for the environment. Thanks goes to Turning The Clock Back!

Today only! Babies R Us Rewards Members can get Earth's Best diapers for $3.50.

If you are a Rewards Member at Babies R Us you can get pretty darn cheap Earth's Best diapers today. Print this coupon to get the Jumbo size pack for $5.00. Stack this with the $1.50/1 coupon here to get them down to $3.50. This deal is only good through today. Don't worry if you aren't a Rewards Member. It's fast and easy to sign up. You can either sign up at the register when you are about to check out or online before you go. If you sign up online (go here to sign up) you will be able to print out a temporary Rewards Card to use until yours comes in the mail. Thanks Hip2Save!

Check your mailbox! UPDATE: I used my coupon :)

UPDATE: I placed my order and paid $1.95 for 5 packs of organic seeds! :) See below to view my order summary. 
Did you get the latest Gardens Alive! catalog? I got mine and smack dab on the cover is a coupon for FREE $25 worth of product. No strings attached. They have switched it up in the past and made you purchase $25 to get $25 more free. Not this time!! Do the happy dance. So go pick out $17 worth of product and add $7.95 for shipping and it's all FREE! Or orders over $20 (up to $40) add $9.95, over $40 (up to $60) add $11.95, etc.etc. Sales tax needs to be added to IN and OH orders. Cannot ship to Hawaii or Canada. Sorry guys.  If you didn't get the coupon you can save $20 off an order of $40 through their website.

Southern Magnolia Minerals Cyber Monday deals!

I was recently introduced to Southern Magnolia Minerals. They have awesome prices and if you love mineral makeup this should be your new go to source. All of their products are free of yucky ingredients. They always have free shipping too! Sometimes handling charges apply, but are minimal. Today only they are having some awesome Cyber Monday deals.

$10 (was $55.00) for Purely Basics Kit from Southern Magnolia Minerals - Cyber Monday Only Price! This includes 1 full size foundation, a baby buki brush, 1 Full Size Translucent Finishing Veil,  1 Full Size Brazilian Bronzer and an instructions card! This kit includes a $1.95 handling fee just so you know. You can pick from Medium or Dark foundation. Limited quantities. Take a peek here.

Do you want to SAVE $15? When you buy $50 or more, CYBER MONDAY ONLY,  we will give you $15 off your order!  That's $35 for $50 worth of beauty essentials and FREE Domestic Shipping too*!! WOW! And to sweeten the deal, we will also include a surprise FREE GIFT with your order when you use the coupon code! Coupon code is CyberMonday. This code is good for items in the Sales Category too!! (so ignore the note when you get there).  Offer ends midnight tonight, November 29, 2010.

$15 (was $39.95) Eyelights Mineral Makeup Concealing Eye Illuminator and Brush Duet - Cyber Monday Only Price! My inspiration for this Illuminator...do you remember Donna Mills who played on Knots Landing, she always had a beautiful glow especially around her eyes! She had flawless skin, no under-eye circles, and was stunning! I secretly admired her beauty...so thanks Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner!!! Our Eyelights is the creamiest, dreamiest concealing eye illuminator you've ever tried...lightens, protects, radiates...with real crushed pearls and natural minerals, your eyes will never be the same again! If you've ever wanted younger-looking eyes, this is the product for you! Take a peek here.




This is taken from their site referencing their foundation:

•Our foundation blends in beautifully and provides adjustable coverage from light to full unlike liquid foundations
•Calms & soothes irritated, sensitive, rosacea & acne prone skin
•All ages and skin types can benefit from our mineral makeup, the condition of your skin will improve over time
•Won't cake or crease like traditional liquid makeup
•Natural anti-inflammatory. Actually heals as it conceals
•Our minerals are better for your complexion and will not clog pores
•Will not melt away, is waterproof & sweatproof
•No Chemicals, Talc, Perfume, Dyes, Phthalates, Bismuth, Parabens. We do not use micronized minerals
•Cruelty-Free. None of our products are tested on animals
•Natural UVA/UVB Sun Protection of 15+
•Simple Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Sericite, Iron Oxides, Kaolin Clay
•Simply put...SMM Cosmetics makes your skin look radiant, healthy and helps keep it that way affordably.

Let me know if you use this brand. I was using Bare Minerals/Escentuals, but realized that between the price and combination of not so skin friendly ingredients I needed to make a change. Then I saw one of my blogger buddies posted about this company. And here I am. I ordered the medium and it is a tad too dark for my olive skin in the winter so I'm holding onto it for summer. I'd love to hear your experience with this company. :)

America Recyles Day today!

Did you know that recycling an aluminum beverage can rather than landfilling it saves enough energy to operate a 60W incandescent lightbulb for 4.3 hours, or to operate the equivalent compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours.

I realize this is a little late in the day, but I still wanted to share it with you. I just pledged and so should you. Recycling is so easy and so great for the environment. Our family recycles waaaaay more than we toss in the trash. I know sometimes it isn't always so much fun having to rinse out tomato paste from the can, but it is so worth it. I even made a deal with my husband that if it involves him not wanting to rinse out something just to set it by the sink and I will take care of it. Now that is commitment folks. Kidding. He knows that it is that important to me. We are the only ones in the family who volunteer to take home the week's worth of recyclables from our family summer vacations too. The hubbs doesn't really care for that either lol. He's a trooper. So go take the pledge here. It takes 10 seconds and you don't need to give out any personal info. There is a lot of other great info there too. Have a look around. Even if you don't pledge try your hand at recycling. It just feels good. Thanks so much for the reminder Your Green Helper! 

Top 10 plants that purify the air you breathe.

We all know that our houses become stuffy when closed up for long periods of time. I hate to say it, but stuffy isn't the half of it. There are many pollutants floating around in the air we breathe every day.

Newer constructed homes are tightly sealed and this assures that we don't let cold/hot air in or out. This is great for efficiency, but not for our health. There have been studies showing that quite a few tropical plants and some typical houseplants have great capabilities at removing these toxins.  NASA is the most well known study that people cite. NASA recommends that you put one plant per 100 square feet in your home. So load up!

Here are the top 10 most air purifying plants:

1. Areca Palm - Not only the highest ranking at removing toxins it also is great at keeping humidity in the air.
2. Lady Palm - Almost tied with the Areca Palm, but not as good at removing Formaldehyde. Your best bet is to have many types of plants in your home.
3. Bamboo Palm - An all around great air purifier. This plant will get big.
4. Rubber Plant - Great at removing all the bad stuff in your air along with adding moisture. As the plant grows and grows it just keeps getting better at removing the toxins. This plant will get pretty big too.
5. Dracaena (Janet Craig) - Best spot is in newly carpeted rooms that have loads of toxins.
6. English Ivy - Allergies be gone with this houseplant. Mold in the air is quickly removed with these.
7. Date Palm Tree - Not as great as it's three siblings (see 1, 2 and 3), but don't pass on these guys just yet. If added to your home with other plants listed you will notice big results.
8. Ficus Alii -  Easy to care for and great at purifying the air. If you have an allergy to latex wear gloves when handling.
9. Boston Fern - The best plant at removing Formaldehyde.
10. Peace Lily - Another easy to grow plant. A great air purifier too.

Noteworthy plants that didn't make it to the Top 10 are:

 Aloe Vera - Not only known for it's medicinal properties, but does a decent job of removing Formaldehyde from the air.
Spider Plants - The more the merrier. Amazing at removing carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the air. Put these all over your house.
Chrysanthemums - Removes VOC Benzene from the air.
Philodendron (Heart Leaf) - Awesome at removing Formaldehyde from the air.
Snake Plant (Mother in Law Tongue) - Amazing at removing toxins from the air and great hearty growers.



Just remember to read up on the type of plants you have so you know how to care for them and what to watch out for (e.g Ficus for latex allergies). Who needs an air purifier with expensive filters?!

Host an Earth's Best Party!

Take a survey here to see if you qualify to host an Earth's Best Playdate Party. You will find out within a week of taking the survey. If you win you will receive the following:

Either way, you are entered into the drawing to win $500. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Green Blog Hop. Come join the fun!

Want to be a part of the Green Blog Hop?  Here's what you need to do:

Please make sure that you are a blog aimed at going green, staying green, learning to be green yourself and plain old just being green...you catch my drift. As much fun as it is to befriend other bloggers it's even more fun to spread the word about being green and eco-friendly while making new friends.  :)

1. Follow the first three blogs (Going Green with Noah, Tales of the Wife, and And Then There Were 4). This is mandatory.
2. Add your favorite green/organic/earth-friendly post from your blog to the McLinky. You'll see this down down down at the bottom of this post.
3. Follow as many blogs as you like. The rule is you follow me and I'll follow you. Ok, it's not a rule, but I'm all about karma. Treat those as you want to be treated. Listen to what your mama told you. :)
4. This Green Blog Hop McLinky starts on Tuesday night and ends Wednesday night. You have the rest of the week to follow and be followed.
5. Create a blog post about the Green Blog Hop and include the Green Blog Hop button (up top). Please don't copy mine. Get creative.

Please note that this list will not carry over next week. Feel free to come back and add your name to the list again next Tuesday.

Look what you can make out of your newpapers!

Photo by Jessica Jones

Check out that newspaper coolness! Jessica over at How About Orange made these super snazzy gift bags from old newspapers. How cool is that?! I mean I have only ever made paper hats or newspaper pots for my seeds or those origami thingies where you pick a color and then pick number and another number to  ultimately reveal your destiny. Way to one up me Jessica. Totally messin with you. I am now a big fan of you and all your orangeness.

I recycled my ink cartridge!

I opened up a new ink cartridge today and inside I was pleasantly surprised. I found this little envelope that was awaiting my old dried up ink cartridge. Instead of tossing it in the trash HP is hoping you'll take the green route and send it back to them. They will take care of everything. Even the postage. Kudos HP! 

Seventh Generation strikes a deal with Walmart. Hmm.

I found this news very interesting. I'm not a huge Walmart shopper. I don't avoid the store, but I don't make a point to go there unless I will be in the area. I would say that Walmart and I are not on the same page. We stand for different things. We hang out with different people. Capisce?

I read in the Wall Street Journal that Seventh Generation will make the move starting in August and be fully on Walmart's shelves by September. The crazy part is co-founder Jeffery Hollender swore that "hell would freeze over" before he would partner with a store like Walmart. That's where the Hmm in my title comes from. He has now changed his tune. “At this point, we now believe that we can have a bigger impact by partnering with Walmart than by shunning it,” said Hollender.

I am wondering how the prcies will compare and what they will all carry. I read that general purpose cleaners will be put out first and  then baby items and other types of cleaners will follow. I hope this is a step in the right direction for Walmart and not two steps back for Seventh Generation. 

Free shipping from the Disney Store.

Buy any one back to school item from the Disney Store and your whole order ships for free using coupon code SCHOOLSHIP. Offer expires August 3. Note: If using multiple coupon codes remember to hit SUBMIT after each code for them all to apply. Their organic graphic tees are 2 for $18. Their small (12 oz.) Disney character aluminum water bottles are $8.50. The larger (24 oz.) ones are $10.50. An item not considered back to school, but oh so cute and eco-friendly is the Organic ''I Hug Little Trees'' Mickey Mouse Bodysuit Tee for Infants $4.99 Camp Rock tees are only $1.99! Those last two items are found in the Disney Outlet.

Tropical Traditions free ground shipping today only (lower 48 states)!

Tropical Traditions is having a one day special. Free ground shipping on any order through midnight on June 21. There is one exception. Free shipping does not apply to refrigerated or frozen items, eggs, or to rebounders which are shipped by the manufacturer. Enter coupon code 21610 in your cart before checking out. You need to enter the code to get the free shipping.

A couple other specials they have going right now:

Through Thursday, June 24 Organic Coconut Cream Concentrate is BOGO. Not only is it BOGO it is half price right now so the deal is doubly good. Regular price is $32, but right now you can get two for $16!  http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_cream_concentrate.htm?s=e62110

35% off Organic Coconut Flour through Sunday, June 27.  http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_coconut_flour.htm?s=e62110

40% off Organic Moisturizing Creams through Sunday, June 27. Choose from the following varieties: Unscented, Baby Silk, Lavender, Peppermint, Citrus, and Arnica (for muscle massages).  http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_moisturizing_creams.htm?s=e62110

50% off Organic Peanut Butter through Sunday, June 27. http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_coconut_peanut_butter.htm?s=e62110


I am a huge Tropical Traditions fan. If you haven't tried any of their products I think you should go check them out and try something. It doesn't have to be some crazy ingredient you've never cooked with. It could be something simple like their deodorants or palm shortening (think Crisco) or laundry detergent. :)

How does your garden grow? Part 15: Natural pest control.

I love gardening. It could be flowers or fruits and vegetables. I love it all. What I don't love is all the hard work you have to put into flowers and produce. There are so many critters and insects working against you. There are many products on the market to help, but contain lots of nasty chemicals that you may not want absorbed into your plants or ending up as run off . Here are some ideas that you can do yourself.

- Spray diluted milk onto leaves of the plants that have powdery mildew. Do this 3x a week.
- Deer hate highly scented bar soap. Hang or nail near your problem spots. They also don't like the scent of human hair. Get some from your barber or hair salon.
- To get rid of aphids mix 1 cup vegetable oil with 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon heavy dish soap. Not detergent. Spray away the whole plant.
- Slugs are attracted to beer. If you put out a little dish with beer they will all dive in and die. Change daily. Eggshells smashed on your garden floor also deter pests including slugs. Would you like to crawl over broken eggshells? I didn't think so.
- To get rid of weeds you can boil water and pour directly on the weeds. Salt works well for weeds found in cracks. Don't pour in or around your garden as salt doesn't know the difference between a friend and a foe. Vinegar straight up is also handy at killing new weeds. Not strong enough to kill mature weeds.
- Ground cloves are not insect friendly. Mix 2 tablespoons of ground cloves with 1 quart of water. Spray the whole darn plant. Tops and bottoms. Reapply after it rains or once a week.
- Hot pepper spray: Mix 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper or ground chile (NOT chili powder!) powder with 4 ground up garlic cloves. Add 4 cups of water to your spicy mixture. Let soak over night and strain the garlic out. Pour into a spray bottle and have at it.
- Water your garden early in the day as wet leaves are a breeding ground for insects. My vote is for soaker hoses.
- Ladybugs are your garden's BFF. You can order them online or from any catalog. You can also plant some lady bug lovin plants such as flowers from the daisy, yarrow or tansy families. Lady bugs eat soo many garden enemies.
- To kill grubs in your garden or lawn sprinkle milky spore around. One application last a lifetime. So I've heard. Grubs eat the granules and die. Grubs are baby Japanese Beetles. Eeek!
- So the fungus on your squash goes into the local garden bar, Your Place, with one of your onion sets. The bartender brings the onion a beer and ignores the fungus. He leans over to the onion and says " He's not going to serve me? What gives? I'm a fungi!" Oh man. You didn't see that a comin did ya?! LOL Ha ha ha ha. Anyhoo, you can avoid this whole conundrum by mixing 2 tablespoons baking soda with 1 quart of water. Spray diseased area until it clears. 
- You may not have thought this was the place, but fly paper works wonders out in the garden.

Hopefully these do the trick for you this summer. These recipes/tips will save you money and the Earth. I'm having a few issues with something eating the leaves on my cauliflower and zucchini. Hopefully my recipes do the job. Do you have any recipes/tips to share?

How does your garden gorw? Part 9: Composting.

I am almost a hippie. There I said it. I mean I wear deodorant and and a bra, but I am seriously almost a hippie. Ask my family, friends and especially my husband. I thought it was rude to be called this at first. Then it turned into being funny and to be honest....now I totally own that word. Ha ha. No, really. For instance I have been unsuccessfully trying to have a compost pile for a couple of years now. Want a chuckle? Keep reading.

First off, composting is awesome. Tons and tons of garbage that goes to the landfill every week could be composted. Veggie and fruit peelings, pits, seeds, etc. You can dump in your coffee grounds and eggshells. I just wouldn't add animal products like meat, bones, feces, and the like. Just remember greens and browns. Greens being the produce and lawn clippings. Browns being leaves, dirt, straw, woodchips and sticks/twigs. Your pile needs some moisture too. It should feel like a damp, wrung out sponge. The bacteria and insects feed on the food (scraps) you give it. It's ready when it's dark brown and earthy. If you garden adding compost is a must. Your garden will thrive from all of the natural nutrients. You can buy fancy composting bins, but they are pricey. You can start a pile almost anywhere outside. You can even buy a worm composter (called vermicomposting) and they eat the scraps and their poo is the compost. Nice, eh? Whichever route you want to take doesn't matter. If we can reduce what goes to the landfill that's all that should matter.

I know I can totally do this, but I am more worried what others think. In order for it to work it either needs to concealed or ugly. Ugly is cheaper so I went the ugly route. Well, actually I went the sorta concealed route at first. I tried to use an extra garbage can we had. I was really excited because I thought I was so smart. A compost pile needs to be turned or it doesn't decompose everything. It would just break down the stuff in the middle. It would eventually break it all down, but I don't have years to wait for this to happen. Well turning this huge garbage can was quite a conundrum. I decided that bungee cords would help keep the lid on so I didn't lose all of the contents. Nope. My next idea was to dump the contents into our wheelbarrow and stir it and then put it back. Um, yeh gross. What was I thinking?! And I'm pretty sure the neighbors were watching me do this. My back yard isn't private. It faces other back yards so there's nowhere to hide. There are no fences and we don't have a shed or I would put my pile there. So no matter what we do everybody sees it. You are probably thinking who cares if they see you dump your garbage out in your yard. We just so happen to have a deer problem. I feel like people think I am baiting them or something.

Fast forward to today. I have my 'compost pile' on one side of my garden plot. I wait until it is dark to go dump my gobbly gook out there. I don't turn it enough because I feel like there are a million eyes on me. I shouldn't feel silly doing such things in my own yard. I just worry too much what other's think. Maybe part of it is that I think they might be laughing at me or worse putting me down for this. I am trying to make the world a better place and some people just don't see it that way. My other half thinks I am pretty goofy about this stuff. He hates that I hang socks and jeans out to dry so they get crunchy (to get off the subject) and that I'm trying to compost. He thinks I recycle too many things. It bugs him that I have the county recycling lady in my email contacts (because I have an endless amount of rights and wrongs to ask her and we are trying to get Recycle Bank off the ground in my area.) Now that I got that off my chest, do you compost or know people who do?  Any input would be much appreciated. I really want to hear from all you hippies out there. Ha!

BOGO reusable green bags at Piggly Wiggly.

In honor of Earth Day Larry's Piggly Wiggly is having a deal on their reusable green bags. Isn't it cute that they just so happen to be green in color too. They are priced $0.99 normally, but you can get them right now BOGO. In the ad I seen a little picture of your club card so you might want to have this handy in case you need to present it to get this deal. I do not see a limit on these. My husband was just saying how I should get some more of these bags. He hates the plastic ones just as much as I do. Another great thing about these bags is you will definitely make your $ back because you receive $0.05 every time you use one. With the BOGO deal you'll make your $ back twice as fast. Frugal and green. That's totally my style.

Free sample of Green Genius trash bags

Go here to get your free sample of Green Genius trash bags. These sound awesome. Completely biodegradable. Gotta love that. You can find these on Amazon or in select stores. I am really pumped about all of the green freebies during Earth Week!