Reusable Living, Vegetarian Dishes, and Tips to Reduce Climate Change

This is part 6 in a 6 part series of my green articles on Squidoo. Each of these articles aims to give you a more earth friendly alternative to the things you are already doing and consuming. You'll come away with at least a few new ideas on going green through this series.

101. If there's any one thing you would like to do to lower your electric bill, try weatherstripping your home first.

102. The natural skin soothing spray is a great way to treat sunburns and bug bites, and it's completely all natural!

103. Traditional perfumes not only cause headaches, but are made with toxic plasticizers, which are a chemically created fixative. The natural alternative to the perfume industry is to find organic perfumes that smell wonderful and won't harm the environment.

104. The fall foliage tote bags found here are great ways to be more festive during fall foliage season!

105. The Reusable Bag Headquarters features several different resuable bag companies and designers.

106. Celebarate Earth Day everyday by following these easy tips on recycling, reusing, and reducing things in your life!

107. Use this bag again and again! Find scary reusable Halloween bags for Trick or Treating. They're even washable!

108. Buy organic shade grown coffee and treat the environment a little bit better (and taste the difference!).

109. Here are a few reasons you should eat more veggies (and it's not just because it's good for you!).

110. This natural acne cleanser will do a great job removing acne without using irritating chemicals that will worsen breakouts.

111. The organic under eye cream will smooth wrinkles, and won't subject your skin to chemicals that redden the skin.

112. These lettuce recipes are great ways to increase the amount of lettuce in your diet -- an important vegetable you should be eating.

113. Clean the air quality in your home just by adding a few of these recommended houseplants!

114. Find your town in Massachusetts and find your tote bag on the Massachusetts tote bags page!

115. The renwable energy bag features a beautiful windmill image, reminding everyone to think of how much energy they use day to day!

116. Find my review of Go Green, Live Rich on this lens, and find a sampling of some of the tips you can find in this easy to read book.

117. Quit throwing away disposable cups and use an eco friendly, BPA free, reusable cup like the Eco Cup.

118. Get on track to fight climate change in 50 different ways with this post.

119. Why buy stale, unfresh grocery produce? Find your local farmers market through this all inclusive list of the 50 different states of the USA.

120. If you're making butternut squash frozen, there's a much better alternative. Try out this easy recipe for homemade butternut squash here, it's only takes a few minutes extra preparation time.

Be sure to visit the Green Living Tips Blog for the rest of the 6 part series! You can also visit A Million Ways to Go Green for more eco friendly tips and advice from the author. Thanks for reading this series, I hope you enjoy the articles I've published on Squidoo (and maybe visited a few of them).

P.S. - One more thing - sign up for my free newsletter to get the latest green advice, news, and truly earth friendly products right in your inbox.

Natural Organic Products, Reusable Gifts, and Energy Efficiency

The three themes of the title have little to do with each other, but they have two things in commons: the articles in this post were all published by me, and they all feature ways to help green your life. There are simple, tiny things you can do like switch to biodegradable bags, or you can indulge in a little self pampering with the organic facial care products featured here. There are also a few posts on energy efficient cars and transportation. This is part 5 of a 6 part series on my green articles. Enjoy!

81. Find out how to host an online party here. It's the next best thing to an actual party!

82. These biodegradable pet bags are perfect to carry with you on your dog walks.

83. The organic lotion on this page is a great way to make your skin ultra smooth, and the scents are incredible!

84. Find more organic t-shirts and gift ideas on this page.

85. The cherry blossoms tote bag also features black bird silhouettes and a beautiful design that's machine washable!

86. You can take some green tax breaks to save some money on your taxes next year!

87. The recycled gift wrap on this page is a unique way to reduce your impact on the environment!

88. Reusable coffee filters have their own unique taste, and they're a great way to save those coffee grinds (they make great garden soil!).

89. The US reusable tote bags feature each of the 50 states. Find your state here!

90. The organic exfloating scrub is a natural way to scrub your face and remove dead skin without irritants.

91. These green travel tips will help you be greener on your next vacation.

92. Super soft Egyptian cotton baby towels are the ultimate way to treat your baby organically!

93. Before your next car purchase, check out some of these hybrid car reviews!

94. You can green your car with these green driving tips. Make your car run more efficiently, it will save you some money too.

95. The Chevy Volt is one impressive car. It's electric, and the mileage it gets is unbelievable. Check it out!

96. Not sold on going organic? Here are some reasons to go organic that might change your mind.

97. You can really taste the difference with this organic chocolate offered here!

98. This natural amonia free glass cleaner is a great way to reduce your exposure to harmful irritants from ammonia.

99. The organic gentle relief toner is powerful, yet soothing and invigorating for your face. It will clean up all the leftover dirt after washing it.

100. The organic multi tea cleanser freshens up your face and cleanses pores completely.

Be sure to visit the Green Living Tips Blog tomorrow for part 6 of the list! You can also visit A Million Ways to Go Green for more eco friendly tips and advice from the author.

P.S. - One more thing - sign up for my free newsletter to get the latest green advice, news, and truly earth friendly products right in your inbox.

Using Less Plastic with Reusable Cups

Is there anything better than a nice plastic cup? Chances are, you've never once thought that. Your favorite cups are probably reusable ones that are ceramic, stainless steel, or glass. Despite that, millions of people use billions of plastic cups every year. A reasonable solution to the world's landfill and pollution problems are smack dab in front of our faces, but we persist and still keep using disposable plastic cups.

There are five core reasons why you should be using reusable cups instead of disposable plastic cups.

1. Plastic cups never biodegrade. They might break down, but they never truly biodegrade. Instead, they wind up in the environment, breaking down into tiny, toxic plastic bits.

2. Drinks taste better in a reusable cup. No one ever called them reusable cups before disposable cups existed, but it's true, the plastic affects the taste of water and other drinks.

3. There simply aren't enough resources available for everyone on the planet to get a new cup every time they're thirsty, then throw it away. The idea seems kind of silly when you think about it, doesn't it?

4. The production of plastic has a highly destructive process to the environment. Not only is the plastic itself bad, but the emissions and by product produced are also negative consequences of the process. Even recycling plastic takes more energy and resources that could otherwise be saved by simply using a reusable cup.

5. Plastic contains trace elements of potentially harmful chemicals like BPA and phthalates. These are especially harmful to children, but have also been linked to cancer. In Europe, more aggressive measures to avoid BPA and phthalates are being taken than in the USA as the result of many scientific studies.

Besides these five core elements, you'll also see a benefit of cost savings if you bring a reusable cup to the store. It might also encourage others to go reusable with their cups just by watching you use yours.

You can read more about the eco friendly reusable Eco Cup on this page, or shop for reusable stainless steel water bottles, kids stainless steel bottles, and BPA free drinkware at TheGreenerEarth.com today!

TakeOutWithOut - Bring Your Own Reusables Out to Dinner with You!

I came across this great new site and I had to share it with you all. The site is http://takeoutwithout.com/ and focuses on a topic which is important to a lot of the readers of this blog. Being sure to reduce waste and always use reusable containers as much as possible is crucial for protecting our planet!

The focus on the site is to encourage everyone to evaluate packaging of food items. For example, if you go out to eat, are you going to likely have some leftovers? If so plan ahead and bring your own container with you to transport the food home. Or are you eating food on the road? Maybe you carry a metal or bamboo utensil set. When you go to grab napkins when you are out, do you consider how many napkins you will actually need or do you just grab a handful? Have you considered travelling with cloth napkins for you and your family? They take up very little room and eliminate the waste of the paper napkin. Are you someone that always orders a bottle of water with lunch? ELiminate the waste of the bottle and bring your own refillable container. Not only will you eliminate your BPA exposure from a plastic bottle, you will save money and reduce waste.

One great idea is to keep a spare set of reusable containers, utensils and cloth napkins in your car. This will you will have them at all times, including that time when you don't think you are stopping for a bite to eat but then hunger kicks in!

From their main page you can join the campaign through Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. They will also be posting participating restaurants on their site where you may get special offers! http://takeoutwithout.com/

Great work TakeOutWithOut!

Avoiding BPA in Your Lunch

When it comes to your food, BPA has been popping up all over the news for the harmful effects it can have on your body. Forbes Magazine writes: "Some studies have linked it to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and developmental problems in children. Health advocates say exposure to the chemical could present a particular problem to developing fetuses."

Going BPA free with food can seem tough, especially if you're relying on disposal plastic items like ziploc bags and baby bottles. Fortunately, one such item that can help that toxic dose of BPA is reusable sandwich bags. These ones in particular are BPA free, and are easily hand washable.

Some other suggestions for avoiding a heaping helping of BPA:

* Limit consumption of canned goods. Canned products have been shown to contain amounts of BPA, especially harmful to children and pregnant women.

* Go BPA free with your baby bottles. Search the net for truly BPA free bottles.

* Opt for glass jars instead of plastic. Plastics, especially some #7 plastics, have been known to contain trace amounts of BPA. Glass is a good alternative.

Top 10 Reasons to Use Not a Paper Cup vs. a Disposable Paper or Styrofoam Coffee Cup

One of my favorite new products which I came across this summer is the Not a Paper Cup. The more I use it, the more I love it! Not only is this unique invention eco-friendly, but it also brings along with it a trendy fashion statement.

As I think about using the cup, I think about all of my friends and family who stop at the local coffee shop along their way to work and order a coffee to go. This coffee is normally in a paper or styrofoam cup, both of these disposable. Or during those hot summer days a plastic cup for iced coffee, which again will just be thrown away at the office after being used. As the day goes on, perhaps they get a bottle of water or soda, or maybe they will use a plastic cup at the water fountain to quench their thirst. Then off to lunch, where another beverage is likely to be consumed from some type of cup which will likely be thrown away after the meal. Then of course, an afternoon tea, coffee, water or other beverage, which again will have another disposable cup to be thrown away after use. Some businesses have introduced recycling of plastic and styrofoam, and if not you may want to look into different options to bring to your company.

After thinking about all of these I put together my top 10 list on why to use a paper cup. Please feel free to add your reasons in the comments box!

10. No Leaks! How many times have you picked up a hot beverage on your way to somewhere important-work, family function, shopping, or during a day where you are getting a little "me" time, and low and behold the lid on the beverage is cracked and spills all over you. The silicon lid fits tightly on the cup so no more cracked lids!

9. Double Insulated Wall! This means your beverage will stay hot (or cold-see #8) for hours!

8. Perfect for Cold Beverages too! Not only am I able to use this cup to bring my hot latte to work, but then after a quick wash it is ready to be filled up at the water fountain - no more plastic cups for cold drinks during the day!

7. Your Hands Stay Safe! We all have had the one cup of hot beverage - coffee, tea, etc. which has come in the disposable paper cup. You go to pick up your delicious beverage only to burn the skin right off your palms because the heat from the drink went right through the paper - ouch!! Not a Paper Cup will protect your hands from the high heat of your beverage! If its a cold drink, no need to worry about numbing your hands ;)

6. Ceramic Mug! No need to worry about BPA or anything else leaching out of a traditional plastic, paper or styrofoam cup.

5. Silicon Lid! The lid never gets hot, so no more burning your lips on the plastic topper of your cup. And, no need to worry about anything leaching out of the silicon lid, unlike what could leach out of a traditional plastic lid.

4. Trendy! Make a statement. Not only are you showing that you care about the environment but you will have a cup which people will be very curious about and you will likely get questions. Share your eco knowledge and reduce general use of disposal cups!

3. It's White! This is a white which is fashionable to sport at any time of year. No more following the Memorial Day to Labor Day rules with this cup.

2. Saving Money $$$ ! And who doesn't like to save money? Most coffee shops will offer a discount to customers bringing in their own cup. This reduces the expense to the store because they don't have to incur the cost of the disposable cup with your order. Be sure to ask at the register!

1. It's Reusable!!! Need I say more?

The Reusable Not a Paper Cup can be purchased from TheGreenerEarth.