10 Products You Should Buy Green

The name of the article I just published is called 10 Things to Stop Buying Green, but I've given good alternatives to replace these items in every instance. Items like the SUV have become less popular with today's rising gas prices (yes, they're on the rise..again!), but other items like rechargeable batteries and make-it-yourself baby food have been slower to catch on. Read it and you'll see a bunch of easy examples that are very important to stop buying, and to start buying green. It's not hard!

A Reasonable Replacement for Paper Towels : Reusable Ones

What's one of the most wasteful things you can buy that often take up an entire trash bin and can't be recycled? Paper towels. We've grown accustomed to these convenient, chemically treated (and bleached) paper products to clean our homes. The staggering price of these is a wake up call if you break down the numbers. One roll of paper towels costs over $1.00 if you buy the "economy size." For many people with busy households, these rolls will last not even a week. I know I personally went through 2-3 rolls of paper towels for just two people prior to going reusable. Multiply that by 52 weeks of the year, and you could easily be spending $400 a year just on paper towels.

What about recycled paper towels? I found that I used more of those than the other kind since they weren't quite as absorbent, and they were quite rough. You'll also still be throwing away big amounts of paper towels into the trash every day, unnecessarily contributing to our landfills. We need all the space we can get! You also have to pay attention to the content of recycled paper in the product. What percentage is recycled, and is it post or pre consumer recycled? The difference is that pre consumer recycled paper means they just reuse stuff that falls off belts or during manufacturing back into the product. Deceiving! Post consumer means it was used before, and has been recycled into its current product.

Even better than recycled paper towels are reusable towels. The paperless towels offered from Chartreuse are made from sustainable tree farms, and have a long shelf life. They too, are disposable, but they last the life of rolls upon rolls of paper towels, and they're cheaper. They also allow you to scrub the counters better, and can be used to wash dishes. I use them all the time for dishes and they work excellent, and they've saved me a lot of money in paper towel expenses.

You can find them using this link: reusable paper towels. Enter code THEGREENERME at checkout to save 5% on your entire order! Valid only through the link on the previous link. Click "shop for products" after clicking on the link to get started shopping.

Truly Organic Facial Care Products

A lot of companies nowadays are saying that they're green, they're organic, and they're earth friendly. And...they're not. The ingredients that they use may contain a single organic ingredient like organic juice, and the rest of the ingredients are the same exact formula. Should this be an acceptable way of doing business? The quick answer is no!

Chartreuse is one of the few companies that makes an effort to use organic ingredients in their facial care products, like aloe vera juice, organic tea extracts, and organic shea butter. The lack of chemicals really do make a difference! A healthier glow, rejuvenated look, and stimulated, more vibrant skin are a result of the earth friendly (and skin friendly) products like the facial cream, under eye cream, gentle relief toner, acne cleanser, and exfoliating scrub. All of these products are either organic or use natural ingredients. When the organic version of an ingredient is too highly priced, that's one of the few times it will not be used.

Curious about the products? Head on over to thegreenereath.com to see all of the beauty products offered. It's green skin for your face!

Reuse Things in Your Life and Be Greener!

Recycling is a way of life, but even more important is reusing. Recycling still takes up valuable energy and resources and expels emissions. Reusing, however, will prevent items from going into a landfill or from having to be melted down into something else. I recently had the honor of receiving a purple star from Squidoo on my 50 things you can reuse lens page! I was honored to receive that. It's actually my second one in just a matter of weeks, since I received it for my 50 things you can recycle lens. Talk about encouragement!

So how can you reuse more things besides the items mentioned on the lens to be even greener? First, you should analyze what you're throwing away. If you took a look into your trash right now, what would be in there? Aluminum foil? That can be reused many times if it's not overly dirty. How about bread bags? Those can be used as ziploc bags at least a few times, and you already have the twist tie. Paper? Cut that up and use it as scrap paper for notes, and recycle the rest. Cardboard boxes? Big, sturdy ones can be reused to ship items. Sometimes the post office will take them, too. They need them. Small pieces of cardboard can be reused for Yard Sale signs or kids crafts. Shredded paper can even be reused as compost occasionally in your garden. It biodegrades fairly quickly.

Just remember... before you toss it or recycle it, see if it can be reused! There might just be a second life for the majority of your trash.

Environmentally Friendly Soap Nuts -- the Alternative to Traditional Laundry Detergent

Soap nuts have been around forever. So why are we just starting to use them now? Traditional chemical laundry detergents have become more and more popular over the last century, particularly for their sudsing ability. People associate "sudsing" with things getting clean. In actuality, the cleaning agents clean the soap. The chemicals that cause the soap bubbles do nothing. Saponin, or soap nuts, naturally clean and suds in the washing machine. These berries are reusable and safe for the environment. They do not cause the water to be treated with harmful chemicals, and are less destructive to your clothing.

The average saponin berry (soap nut) will last a few washes, and are cheaper than traditional laundry soap. Hot washes use them up quicker. Soap nuts are unscented, and really do work on your clothing. I've been using them over the past few months and have noticed that the laundry is softer and seems to last longer now. They have a natural fabric softener in them that will help your clothing feel softer, so you won't have to use fabric softener. That's another additional savings! Soap nuts are available from Chartreuse, or you can read more about soap nuts here.