Here are some useful green tips that you can practice everyday.

1. Salt

Salt can be used for a lot of things in the home, including yourself. You can use it to test an egg’s freshness, extend cheese life and shell nuts easily. You can treat mosquito bites and ease sore throat using salt. You can keep ants away, repair walls and tame barbecue flames. You can clean sink drains, clean greasy pans, refrigerators and glass coffee pots. Feel free to share your other uses for salt at home.

2. Moving Homes

Moving homes can be such a hassle. Trying to figure out which goes and which stays, packing the ones staying in boxes and hauling them from the old to the new house. When you’ve figured out which ones are not coming with you, consider placing an ad on Craigslist, Freecycle or eBay. Or just have a good old-fashioned garage sale. Pack the stuff you’re bringing in reused boxes you can purchase for a small price or for free. Pay it back by offering it up for the other movers. Lastly, use one large moving van and make sure everything is done in one trip.

3.  Baking Soda

Like salt, baking soda can also be used in numerous ways around the house. You can use it to freshen your mouth and use it as a facial scrub and body exfoliant. You can use baking soda to freshen sponges, clean the microwave, oven, floors, furniture and shower curtains. Use it to deodorize your refrigerator, sink drains, trash cans, lunch boxes and dish washers. You can also use baking soda to extinguish fires and scrubs fruits and vegetables.

4. Vegetable Garden

Gardening is hard work and if you don’t pay attention, your plants will die. But there are some vegetables that you can easily grow in your garden that even the laziest or clueless gardener can do. Asparagus needs a full sun and non-soggy, and a little sandy oil. Kale will grow in many climates. And bunching onions will grow even in cold climates.

5. Bathroom

There are a million ways to “prolong the life” of your bathroom products. For shampoo, just use a small amount for your hair. Short lengths only need to use a nickel-sized amount. Longer lengths will need a little more. For toothpaste, only a pea-sized amount is needed, the most important thing is how you brush your teeth anyway.

What other green tips can you recommend to our readers? Share them in the comments below!

Halfway (or more) through summer vacation, you may be hearing, “I’m bored!”  While a quick suggestion of cleaning the garage or basement may help quiet the whining, there are other ways to eliminate summertime boredom.  This list of suggestions not only will help entertain and amuse your child but also will help keep our planet healthy.

1. Track and reduce trash.

Create a spreadsheet on your computer or on a whiteboard (to make it more visible) with days of the week labeled at the top of the columns. Brainstorm with your children, and then label the rows with items that they throw out on a regular basis, such as napkins, paper towels, water bottles, paper plates.  Then each time a child discards one of those items, have him or her add a tally mark to the correct box on the chart.  At the start of the next day, total the tally marks in each box for the previous day.  Challenge your family to discard one less item.  See how low you can get your tallies to be!

2. Recycle old clothing

Although cleaning out closets and drawers may not be fun, it does allow more room for new clothes.  Once all worn-out and undersized clothing has been removed, sort them.  Things that are just too small but in good condition can be passed down to a younger sibling or cousin or donated to a charity.  Clothing items that are stained can be repurposed.  Encourage your kids to find creative uses for these items:  cut up a few t-shirts and sew a quilt for your stuffed bear, remove all of the buttons and use them as decorations for an art project.

3. Start a mini-garden.

Yes, it is late in the season for a lot of vegetables, but there are some that sprout more quickly.  Try planting a few radish or lettuce seeds in a medium to large planter or in a quiet corner of your yard.  Have your child check the soil daily for signs of growth and to determine if watering is needed.  When these veggies are ready, make sure your child gets to do the picking!

Let’s start the year the green way. Here are some green tips for different parts of your life.

Spring Cleaning

Remove all the clutter. Go through drawers, cabinets, inside the closets, the garage, attic and everywhere you can think of. Start going through all your things one by one. It will take some time to get through all this, so be sure to set aside time for this activity. Or better yet, get the help of a family member or a friend. Create separate piles for things you’ll never use, things you can reuse and things you can donate or recycle.

Spring Break

Plan the ultimate road trip and avoid flying to your destination. Travel with family or friends to take advantage of the car’s space. Be sure to stay at a green hotel with good ratings. Or stay at a rental house with lots of other friends. You’ll save money and have more fun! Support local establishments. Eat local and buy local. And always remember to dispose trash properly and recycle.

Dating

How to find someone who shares your green ideals? Try online green dating sites like Green Singles or Green Passion. Or volunteer at your local environmental organization to meet other like-minded people. Take them to green restaurants or restaurants that serve locally-sourced food. Or make your own food and plan a picnic. Cook food for your date using locally-sourced food and organic alcohol.

Work From Home

Choose an area in your place that will give you no distractions and allow you to be very productive. Determine what kind of desk you’ll need, if you need lots of drawers or a wide space or a foldable one. Be sure to do your research and invest in desks made of sustainable wood. And make sure your chair is ergonomic and has good lumbar support designed to go easy on your posture and muscles. Before buying office supplies, check your place first for supplies you already may have to avoid overstocking.

Workout

You don’t need to join a gym to work out. You can do it at your own home. Do lunges and squats while watching your favorite shows on TV. Lift weights while watching the news. If you want to go out, go running or biking outside. Encourage other people to join your workouts. And don’t forget to go green with the equipment you use. Buy used bikes and/or weights, eco-friendly yoga mats.

Next time, we’ll discuss how to apply green tips in your life.

How can one practice a green lifestyle? Start at home first! Once you’ve perfected this lifestyle at home, going out will seem quite easy.

Kitchen

Stock up your fridge with organic food. Buy from the farmer’s market or natural and organic grocery stores. Replace your old dishes and bakeware with eco-friendly products. Replace your dishwasher with an energy-efficient machine that uses less water and energy. Use teflon pans for cooking environmentally friendly recipes.

Living Room

Paint your living room with a vibrant color using non-toxic paint. Use environmentally-friendly glass cleaners to clean the glass in your house. Buy environmentally-friendly furniture. If you can’t afford to buy it all yet, start buying it one at a time. Buy furniture with reclaimed wood. Or choose one with unfinished wood and just finish it yourself.

Bedroom

When choosing wood from your bedroom, be sure to choose from the following materials:

• Bamboo
• Cork
• Concrete
• Forest Stewardship Council Certified Hardwood, Softwood, Laminates and Reclaimed/Salvaged Lumber
• Linoleum
• Recycled Tile and Stone

Bathroom

Use green cleaners to clean the air in your bathroom. Be aware of the chemicals in your cosmetic and beauty products. Use environmentally friendly paper products and bath towels. Use water-saving toilets or properly maintain the one that you have.

Office

Try to invest in solar chargers. Charging with the sun lowers your electricity bill by eliminating plug-in chargers. Balance your time and try to work from home sometimes. It lessens the amount of carbon footprint you create by traveling to work. Don’t just discard your old papers. Reuse and recycle them.

What other ideas do you have to practice a green lifestyle starting at home? Let us know all your ideas!

Hoping to live the green life in Chicago? Here are some key green places.

1. Hotel Burnham

At Hotel Burnham, part of the Kimpton Hotels, caring for the environment is very important. As part of the EarthCare program of the Kimpton Hotels, guests always are provided with eco-friendly bath amenities, in-room recycling bins, paperless check-in/out service for all guests, organic coffee and tea, as well as organic snacks, the linen and towel reuse program and a comprehensive recycling program.

1 West Washington, Chicago IL 60602; Tel. (877)294.9712

2. green exchange

green exchange is the only mall that also doubles as a green building. They are LEED certified and have a state of the art green roof. They have solar thermal panels to deliver hot water and air-conditioning. They have a rain cistern to capture rain water and use it for irrigation and other water features. They low toxin paint for all the building walls. They have energy efficient windows that are built to bring in natural light and have the ability to control the temperature. They also have a state of the art recycling program.

2545 W. Diversey Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

3. Fox and Obel Market

Passionate about food and service, Fox and Obel Market features products such as locally grown produce, dry-aged beef on premise, freshly baked artisan breads and pastries, fresh seafood and the finest cheeses. There is also a cafe inside, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

401 E. Illinois Ave. Chicago Il 60611; Tel (312) 410-7301

4. Green Genes

Green Genes opened on Earth Day 2008 through the combined efforts of owners, Heather Muenstermann and Christina Isperduli. They use Green Genes to contribute to making the earth a little better than what it is now. They only source out organic and natural products created and manufactured through fair trade and sustainable production. They specialize in children’s clothes, bath products and toys. They’ve also made sure their store reflects their environment-friendly policies. The floor and the front counter are made of bamboo and kirei board, both renewable resources. Walls were painted with low VOC paints, and furniture was salvaged and recycled to look brand new. They only use packaging and gift wrap made from recycled and biodegradable materials.

5111 N. Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640: Tel. (773)944-9250

What are you waiting for? Visit these places and start your contribution to a greener environment!

Next stop: Boston, Massachusetts

In a previously posted article, The Green Guide, Preserve Food Storage was briefly mentioned as the greenest storage product available. The Preserve team is a dedicated group of people who have done more than make 100%  recycled storage products, they have developed ways to recycle #5 plastics, an essential step toward a greener America, which very few companies provide.

The Preserve products are all made from #5 plastic that would otherwise go straight to the dump. The company makes personal care products (razors, toothpicks, and toothbrushes), tableware (plates and cutlery), and other kitchen items (measuring cups, colanders, mixing bowls, and cutting boards). Most importantly, the Preserve team is committed to bringing you these items at top quality, without sacrificing price and durability.

So, now you know about Preserve products, and you can support them by purchasing their products, but that’s not the only way you can help. The Preserve team wants to make sure that their cycle continues, and you can help with this in four ways:

1. If your location doesn’t already recycle #5 plastic, drop off your #5 items in a Gimme 5 container. Unfortunately, these containers are only found in a few select areas. You can check to see if there is a place nearby where you live here.
2. You can return the used Preserve toothbrushes and razors for free through the mail using the steps provided here. These products can be used to create plastic “lumber” for a variety of projects such as benches or decks.
3. If a Gimme 5 location is not nearby, the final option is to mail your #5 plastics directly to the company. However, it is unable to cover the expenses for this transportation, and this will have to come out of your own pockets for products other than those mentioned in #2.
4. What you may not know is that Brita filters and pitcher filters can be recycled also. They can be dropped in a Gimme 5 container or mailed directly.

Hopefully we can help the Preserve team bring our power to recycle to its fullest potential.

Dropping by Seattle, Washington? Be sure to check out these eco-friendly places.

1. Alexis Hotel

Alexis Hotel, in Seattle is part of the Kimpton Hotels and an active participant in the EarthCare: Eco Program designed to take care of the earth through responsible practice. As part of the EarthCare program, they promise to deliver premium guest experience while practicing and using earth-friendly products and services. All their corporate collaterals are printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. All complimentary coffee at the lobby is organic, shade/grown or fair trade. They implement recycling programs for bottles, cans, papers, etc. Recycling bins are provided in every guest room, as well as organic snacks and beverages. Hotel Vintage Park, also part of the Kimpton Hotels in Seattle, is an alternative choice for a green hotel in Seattle.

1007 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98104; Tel. (206)624-1844

2. University District Farmers Market

The University District Farmers Market is the largest and oldest farmers market in Seattle exclusively selling farmers only products. Open year-round on Saturdays, this farmers market features eggs, meats, poultry, seafood, preserves, fall and winter produce, among others. Local and seasonal fruits and vegetables are also available for purchase, including wild mushrooms and herbs as well as organic products including free-range chicken and eggs and pastured organic beef.

4519 1/2 University Way NE # 202, Seattle, WA 98105; Tel. (206)547-2278

3. Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market is managed by the Market Foundation in its effort to support the Market’s services for low-income individuals and families. Hundreds of vendors sell their own fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fresh produce, meat and poultry. A variety of nuts, honey, jams and juice can also be purchased at the Pike Place Market.

Parking Garage, 1531 Western Ave, Seattle WA 98101

4. Pagliacci Pizza

Craving pizza? Be sure to have some at Pagliacci Pizza where going green is part of their work practice. They compost their pizza-stained pizza boxes, which can’t be recycled anymore, earning them the 2008 Recycler of the Year in Composting and Food Waste award. They use green power to operate their businesses. They use Greenware cups for their drinks and Ingeo Polymer packaging for their salads, which are made from natural corn materials.

Next stop: Portland, Oregon

I recently wrote an article about recycling your cell phone. I had mentioned that there were places that you could drop off your phone in person and that there are websites that will help you recycle your electronics.

One of these sites is www.YouRenew.com. YouRenew is a great place that will allow you to sell or recycle your electronics in a few easy steps. It also does not take long to complete the process; so with a little bit of time and some unwanted electronics, you could be making the world a better place and making money!

YouRenew was founded in a dorm office when two men, Bob and Rich, realized that they were losing value on their old electronics. They recognized that the rapid progression of technology often resulted in spending hundreds of dollars on items of technology that were soon outdated. From personal experience, I know that I bought the first generation iPod Touch a month before the second generation came out, and I had no idea that it was going to come out! Had I known that I would have paid less money for a better and newer iPod.

When people continue to buy the latest and the greatest, the older item often gets discarded or thrown into a corner–essentially a waste of X amount of dollars. A main cause of this is because there is no easy way to recycle electronics.  Bob and Rich realized this and took action–forming YouRenew.

YouRenew receives thousands of items every month. They are able to resell 70% of these items, and the rest are recycled.

In a recent interview, the Director of Marketing and PR, Alysa Perry, provided us with more insight about YouRenew.com.  Alysa stated, “We are committed to educating people on the importance of electronics recycling. E-waste is the fastest growing stream of trash in the United States and we’ve made it our mission to stop that.”

When you go to retire a piece of electronic equipment, first try to see if there is a place for you to recycle, resell, or reuse it!

A common practice that I have been seeing is cell phone recycling. While ten years ago cell phones were not something that most of the population had, we now see that even ten year olds are walking around with cell phones!

Some of these ten year olds are walking around with their parents’ old phones, but there are others who receive brand new phones. Parents could save a lot of money by reusing their phones. Not only this, but throwing away the phone could mean that you are throwing away a phone that potentially could be used by someone else who cannot afford to buy a phone.

Every year Americans discard over 100 million cell phones. That is over 50,000 tons of waste, and the amount of recycled phones is extremely low.  Cell phones are made up of dangerous materials, such as arsenic, zinc and lead. When thrown into landfills, these materials can seep into the groundwater or be incinerated and therefore end up in the air that we breathe. Recycling cell phones will help to preserve the environment.

Many cell phone companies offer contract deals–meaning that, for instance, after two years you can buy a new phone for a certain deal. Getting a new phone every two years is not entirely necessary. Some people end up putting away perfectly good phones! Think about how many people in America are on these 2-year contract plans, and now think about how many phones that is!

While some stores have cell phone drop-off spots, recycling cell phones has not become a common practice. There are even websites that will allow you to sell or donate your old cell phones. One website is GRC Wireless Recycling. They will buy used cell phones from businesses, individuals, and municipal recyclers if you sell them at least 10 phones. You also can simply donate phones, or they will support you in organizing a cell phone fundraiser through a nonprofit organization, a school, or a community group.

So, next time you go to discard your old cell phone, try finding a place to recycle it! Either someone could use it and appreciate it, or someone will discard it in a safe manner!

We know the three Rs of being green: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Thriftyfun.com is a Website that really allows users to take the 2nd R to its fullest potential. In the past, the word “thrifty” had a negative connotation. A packrat might be considered thrifty. Now, however, someone who is thrifty is economical and practical. On Thrifty Fun, you will find many unique uses for things you might regularly throw away. These ideas come from creative minds all over the country, so there is bound to be something you can use.

For example, did you notice that those bags that cat food comes in are very strong and durable? The material is called Duraweave, and with just scissors, thread, pins and a sewing machine, you can make a tote bag that can be put to use again and again.

Not only does the site offer many one-of-a-kind crafts, but it also has a forum for questions. Recently, a visitor asked what she could do with her empty medicine bottles, and she received a myriad of solutions. Some members suggested using them to store smaller sewing or craft items such as bead or needles. Another member wrote that her husband actually screws the cap to the bottom of a shelf in her workroom so she can keep screws and nails in an easily-accessed, organized manner. If the bottles are colorful you can even make a quirky wreath!

You also can ask for help on repairs, so instead of throwing a broken appliance away, you might be able to salvage it and get a few more uses out of it.

I actually came across Thrifty Fun following a link on The Green Guide. You know on Valentine’s Day when children pass out all those little cards and goodies? Instead of handing out dozens of store-bought Valentine’s cards and candies, you can make your own paper with anything from old greeting cards to magazines to egg cartons. Wouldn’t that be a cool project for the kids? Thrifty Fun has suggestions for nearly every topic from computers to weddings. Check it out!