Monday, January 31, 2011

Green Your Superbowl Party

The Jets may not be playing in the Super Bowl this year, but you can still have a "GREEN" party for the big game!  As you plan for your party this year, think about implementing even just a few things to help reduce the amount of trash you have after the game is over.  If your party is small, maybe you can get away with not using disposable plates, cups, silverware and use servicewear that you can wash and reuse.  If that is not an option or you are expecting a large crowd, consider purchasing dishes, drinkware and serviceware that is biodegradable and/or compostable.  Here are a couple of options:

Preserve Plateware, Large, Pear Green, 8-Count Packages (Pack of 4)Preserve Products has a fantastic line of plates, cups and utensils all made from recycled plastic and can be reused many times because they are really durable!  Plus, when you are done with them, you can recycle them with all of your other #5 plastics!  They come in bright, cheerful colors so they also look great on the table at any party.

Solo Bare also makes great flatwear, bowls and cups that are made from cornstarch and is biodegradable and compostable.

Stalkmarket 7-Inch Dessert Plate, 35-Count Packages (Pack of 12)Stalkmarket has a great line of plates, bowls and cups made from biodegradable sugar cane fiber and are Biodegradable, recyclable, and home compostable.  They are also Microwave-safe, freezable, and oil- and cut-resistant.  They have great soup bowls so if your menu includes chili, then get these sturdy bowls!  Many of their products are available on Amazon.com and you can even save an extra 15% with their Subscribe and Save program!

Staples also carries a line of compostable plates, cups and utensils by Sustainable Earth so check them out as well:  Click here to see these products

Lastly, when it comes to food and drink, try to buy locally produced foods and local beers!  Find your locally brewed beers by zip code on this awesome website: http://www.realbeer.com/destinations/index.php

Here is a great article with a few other great ideas to Green your Super Bowl Party:
3 Practical Ways to Green Your Superbowl Party

New update: Check out even more ways to Green your Superbowl Party:
http://blog.practicallygreen.com/2011/02/5-more-ways-to-green-your-superbowl-party/

 
Don't forget to put out recycling bins so your guests can recycle all the beer can/bottles easily.

And as one of my commenters mentioned, use cloth napkins whenever possible or purchase recycled paper napkins!

Go Green!





Friday, January 28, 2011

GREEN your Weekend Blog Hop week 2

Another Winter Weekend - great time to think GREEN and make another small step to "greendom" by doing something eco-friendly over the weekend.  This weekend I will be putting together some boxes of clothes and toys to donate to Salvation Army and Threadup - the perfect way to recycle-reuse things we no longer need or are taking up valuable space in our small apartment!  What are you planning to do this weekend?  Please leave me a comment and tell us on this special weekend blog hop.

All you need to do is follow me and at least one other person listed, then leave comments so we know you are following and can follow you back.  That's it!  Thanks and enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

How GREEN are You?

Do you think you are GREEN?  Whether you are already green or have made a resolution this year to be more green, Practically Green is the perfect stop!  First you take a quiz asking you questions about how you currently live, what types of products you use and what you currently do to be more eco-friendly.  It's a pretty detailed quiz so be patient.  When you are done, it will give you a score of how GREEN you are now AND it will give you recommendations on how you can be MORE GREEN!  You can use the site to set goals for yourself and family and earn more points and badges as rewards for accomplishing your goals.

I did the quiz about a week ago and have been dubbed "Solidly Green"!  I have 2445 points and am actually ranked 4th in New York City!

You should definitely check out this website and take the quiz: http://practicallygreen.com/

Practically Green also has a great Blog: http://blog.practicallygreen.com/ and you can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook

Have and Be GREEN!

Friday, January 14, 2011

GREEN your Weekend Blog Hop

It's the Weekend!  Time to get things done or start new projects!  It's also a great time to do something GREEN!  What are you doing this weekend to be more environmentally sensitive, reuse/recycle or be more Green?  Leave your comment here and tell me what you are doing this weekend...

Also, as promised in a recent Twitter Party, I have created a new blog hop just for the weekend (for all the weekend warriors, like me who work all week then try to cram everything else into the weekend!)

Anyway, all you have to do is sign up for the blog hop using the green link below, follow instructions then follow your host (me!) and 2 other blogs that you don't follow already.  Make sure to leave comments on all blogs that you follow so they can follow you back!

Let's go!  And have a Happy and Productive weekend!!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Mid Week Blog Hops

Blog Hopping is a great way to meet new bloggers, read and follow interesting blogs and increase the followers of your own blog.  The blogosphere is pretty huge so it's great to find other bloggers with similar thoughts, ideas and themes or learn something new!  If you are new to the blog world or have had a slow start, getting your blog name out there and connecting with other bloggers is an excellent way to build your fan base.  Plus it's fun!

Here are a few blog hops going on today:  click on each button, read the blog post, follow the host(s) on Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, Twitter and/or Facebook and leave them a comment so they can follow you back.  Then add your name to the blog hop list by clicking on the text under the list that says "Click Here to Enter"

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The best library of many blog hops every day of the week that I have found is:
Check them out and if you host a blog hop, add it to their list!
...And Stay Tuned... I'll be hosting another hop this weekend!!

Happy Hopping!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Amazon Student Program

Save BIG with Amazon's Student Program!

Amazon now has another great program to save money and earn FREE PRIME MEMBERSHIP!
Join Amazon Student and get FREE Two-Day Shipping for one year with Amazon Prime shipping benefits, as well as exclusive offers via e-mail. There is no cost to join--sign up by providing your school, major, and .edu address. Not a student? You may still be eligible for a free trial of Amazon Prime.

Click here for more info and sign up for free



Amazon also has a new page to Search easily for all your needed textbooks - you can search by title, author, ISBN or browse by category.  Amazon makes it super easy to find exactly what you want at prices for any student budget!

And don't forget about books for Amazon Kindle - the easy way to carry around a ton of textbooks without the heavy backpack!



Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Helpful things to get your kids through cold season!

Keep Colds at Bay with Natural / Homeopathic Products!

Hyland's Cold Relief with Zinc 4 Kids, 0.058333333 Boxes (Pack of 8)It's definitely that time of year - back to school, cold/windy drab days, exhausted from holiday travel... worn down immune system!  Here are some more natural things to help relieve and prevent those nasty winter colds:

When the cold symptoms start showing up I give my kids Hyland's Cold Relief with Zinc Quick disolving strips.  They are low dose and safe enough for ages 2 and up and easy to give to even the most defiant of toddlers as you just need to get the small very thin strip onto their tongue - it melts away really quickly too!  My kids actually like these a lot so it's not a problem...  I've tried them too and they don't really have much flavor but they don't taste like medicine at all.  I buy them in bulk because we go through the boxes pretty quickly during each cold.  Amazon's price for 8 -is around $5 / box which is much cheaper than I have seen anywhere else.

Yummi Bears Multi-Vitamin & Mineral, 200-Count Gummy BearsI am a firm believer in taking multi-vitamins everyday and Yummi Bears makes it fun for the little ones!  These lower-dose fun bear-shaped gummies have great flavor (I've tried these myself too!) and the kids really get excited to take them - even my 2 year old!  Does Not Contain: Yeast, wheat, milk, egg, soy, glutens, salt, artificial colors, artificial flavors, salicylates or preservatives.  At $15.81 for a 200 count bottle ($0.07/gummy) this price is fantastic!  Click here for More Products by Yummi Bears




Cleanwell All-Natural Hand Sanitizer, Pocket Size, 1-Ounce Spray Bottles (Pack of 6)Germs spread from hands touching germ-filled objects then touching kids mouths are one of the leading causes of colds.  Keep germs at bay with Clean Well Natural Hand Sanitizer.  When you can't wash your hands, these pocket-sized spray bottles do the trick - Naturally!  I absolutely love this product and carry the small bottles in my purse, backpack, diaperbags, stroller pouch and have one at the office too!  The scent is a little woodsy but what I really love is that they don't leave your hands tasting of alcohol like most hand sanitizers.  At $11.00 for a six pack ($1.87 / oz) this is a great price for germ / cold prevention!



For more Homeopathic/natural remedies, check out Sprout's Green Store

Bell Well!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Green your YEAR! ...v2011

Happy New Year! Let's resolve to make it a GREEN one!

Every New Year we all make resolutions to make our year better, healthier, happier... how about making it Greener as well!  This year I resolve to discover new ways to live more eco-friendly and support my local producers of eco-friendly products and organic food.  I also resolve to share these ideas and information more with family, friends and fellow bloggers, tweeps and followers!  I hope to blog more often and start building my other blog, "Made in My State", all about going local and learning about the products that are made in each of the 50 States to help us all go local!  I also plan to start a new website that I am keeping secret for now but it will promise a great, fun service for kids and parents. (I'll keep you posted!)

So now, to get ideas for future blog posts, I am asking my readers to post comments on how you all plan to be GREENER in 2011...  I will select as many comments as possible to highlight in future blog posts so give me some interesting comments!!  ALSO, just to encourage more posts, I will throw in a GIVEAWAY too!
On January 15 (9pm EST), I will randomly select one post to receive a bundle of Sustainable Earth note pads from Staples and pack of recycled pens and pencils.  All you have to do is follow this blog on Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs or Twitter and leave a comment answering the question above: How do you plan on being Greener in 2011?

Please pass this on - tweet, post, share, etc... to get as many comments as possible.
Thanks so much for following me over the past year and to new followers: Welcome - we're glad you joined us!!

Happy GREEN 2011!

Giveaway is closed - the lucky winner is... #16, Jess and the boys!

Thank you all for your comments.  Stay tuned as I will use your comments throughout the year!

BlogHopPalooza!

Join the Month-long Mega Blog Hop: BlogHopPalooza!

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This is a fantastic way to find new blogs to follow AND increase your readers as well.  It's a new year so it's a great time to gain some new friends and learn some new things from their blogs.  And it's a MONTH long hop so bookmark and come back often to find more blogs to follow as this list will increase greatly over the month. (Thank you Mommying On The Fly!)

Your 5 Blog Hostesses:
Mommying On The Fly
Life With Twins and Multiples
Family Organic
The Thompson Twins
TwinHappy

Just a few suggestions to keep the party going smoothly... and ensure it serves it's purpose... (finding new blogs, making new friends, and getting a few great, loyal followers... OH and that ever so coveted.... comment love... let's not forget THAT.. lol)

Please:

1. Follow the first 5 blogs..if you already follow them, follow a few other blogs!
2. Leave a comment letting us know you followed... so that we may follow back ... (=
3. Feel free to add the badge on your site...
4. Feel free to blog about it and add linky... After all it is about spreading the word...
5. Follow others, leave them comments and have a blast!!!!






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