In changing your ways to greener living, the key thing to remember is:

“little things mean a lot”

Meaning, you don’t have to go out marching in Washington or move your family to a yurt in the wilderness to save the earth.

Take your weekly trips to the grocery store, for instance. Just by being aware of what you buy can make loads of difference. For me, the main thing I’ve done in my home is to switch the cleaning supplies I use from the nose-burning, toxic, chemical-laden stuff to non-toxic, bio degradable brands. It was the smell that actually bothered me the most (especially when I was pregnant), so switching to the lovely natural stuff I use now as a surface cleaner, which uses orange oil, is such a great thing.

A small local company in my area makes most of the stuff I buy now (more points for saving on transport fuel) , but even the bigger guys are starting natural, eco-friendly lines now, like Clorox Green Works, which launched early this year. Did you know they bought Burts Bees too?

Here’s a part of a good article I found which should help you in the grocery. Read and heed.

Buy local. When food doesn’t have to travel far, it requires less packaging materials, fewer preservatives and often fewer pesticides. Not only are these processes bad for the environment but they also take away from the taste of the food. Another benefit to buying locally grown food is the shorter distances the produce needs to travel, which results in less damaging greenhouse gases.

Buy environmentally friendly products. Many companies are trying to be more environmentally conscious so look for brands that offer natural products in recycled packages.

Take fewer trips. Car emissions continue to be a major contributor to greenhouse gasses in Canada making carpooling and fewer trips to the grocery store a must. Making a grocery list in advance can help cut down on trips to the store for one-off forgotten items. Organizing a grocery store carpool with friends or neighbours is also a fun way to spend time with people while reducing the number of cars on the road.

Cut down on plastic bags. Canadians use approximately 10 billion plastic bags each year. Reducing that number means bringing reusable grocery bags with you to the store. If you don’t already have some, most stores have their own brand of reusable bags you can purchase while you are there. Another alternative is to use cardboard boxes to carry your groceries or paper bags that can be recycled.

With housing prices slumping all over the world, Gerd Niemoeller’s invention, The Universal World House, couldn’t have come at a better time. Primarily designed for refugees and migrants in the third world, the prototype costs just $5,000 for 36 sq.m, weighs a mere 800 kilos and can be set up virtually anywhere.

Gerd Niemöller said recently in Der Speigel:
” From the very beginning, our goal was to create practical, environmentally sustainable, and, most importantly, cheap living quarters for the slums of the Earth….Now, that is possible.”

So if it’s paper, will it blow away? And what exactly is it made of? Well, the answer is NO, it won’t blow away. It’s made of resin-soaked cellulose made from recycled materials – cardboard and newspapers. The material actually resembles a honeycomb and is extremely resilient to the weather when an air vacuum fills each of the units. Its being flexible also means it is virtually earthquake-proof!

Niemöller’s company who patented the house reported that thousands of orders have already been made, mostly from Africa, through organizations like World Vision. The paper house is a much better alternative to the tin and plywood shanties seen in many developing areas of the world, especially as it used recycled materials. According to an article in the London Times, it was built so that families can slaughter their dinner on the veranda, and conveniently hang the meat out to dry in the bathroom’s line:

“The house has eight built-in single and double beds and a veranda with a sealed-off area housing a shower and a lavatory. It has been designed together with the German development aid agency GTZ, and with the architect Dirk Donath, from the Bauhaus University in Weimar.

Apart from the sleeping area, there are shelves, a table and benches. It has been designed so that a family can slaughter an animal on the veranda, wash it in the shower and hang it, along with fish, on an integrated washing line. The whole wall of the kitchen can be tipped open to let air in and to blur the distinction between inside and outside. “

Surrounding your home with chemical-fighting houseplants is a wonderful thing to do for your family – not only does it rid the air of some major toxins (like I mentioned in my post), but it also makes the house much more attractive.

Just one large houseplant produces enough oxygen (through photosynthesis) to clean about 100 square feet of space, so depending on the size of your rooms, it is easy to work out how much you need. An average size home or apartment, for instance, will need just one large plant (like the easy-to-care for spider plant pictured above) in the main living area.

Here’s a quick guide to what plant does what:

Plants that remove Formaldehyde:
The philodendron, spider plant, and golden pothos

Flowering varieties that remove Benzene:
The gerbera daisy and chrysanthemum (mum)

Plants that remove Trichoroethylene:
The peace lily and the chrysanthemum are the most effective. Also useful are English ivy, Chinese evergreen, bamboo palm, snake plant (mother-in-law’s tongue), and several types of dracaena, including marginata, corn plant, and Janet Craig.

Tips On Caring:
- Most of these houseplants are relatively easy to grow in moderate to bright indirect sunlight or under florescent – Avoid windows or glass doors where sunlight shines directly on the plants, except for flowering mums and gerbera daisy, which thrive in sunlight. Ivy, palm, philodendron, spider plant, and dracaena are all susceptible to spider mites.
-To prevent infestations, mist often and avoid hot, dry air. The pots may be set in trays of pebbles in water to provide moisture around the plants.
- Make sure the bottoms of the pots are above the level of the water.
- Beware of overwatering any plant, the most common cause of houseplant deaths. Golden pothos, Chinese evergreen, and snake plant should not be misted and should be allowed to dry out between watering to keep the roots healthy.

To learn more about how houseplants can clean the air around you, a good book to read is How To Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants That Purify Your Home Or Office“>How To Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants That Purify Your Home or Office.

Enter “Eco Balls”, amazing little balls which, when thrown into your wash, do all the work your regular soap does (and claim to kill bacteria too) without any chemicals, detergents and the like. When you work out what you save on soap, the savings are enormous, with something like 6 cents a load with the balls, to approx. 80 cents with detergent, more depending on what brand you buy. You can buy kits which come with refills, stain remover (it doesn’t do that great with heavy stains) as well as dryer balls for “fabric softer” role.

So does it really work? While I wait for my order to arrive, I found a good review worth checking out. The verdict? Some liked it, others were disappointed with its cleaning power. There was also one complaint about how the ball came apart and broke her washing machine. Either way, its a product I think worth trying out for yourself -because I think eliminating detergents would be a great thing.

Better to wire for more: that is, if you’re building a new house or remodeling your current one, you should make contingency measures in terms of wiring. You’ll end up saving more (in all aspects) if you make plans for the future.

Look for entire systems: a perfect example would be a system that integrates lighting and heating control. This spells convenience, obviously, but it also is good for the environment. Most systems of this sort are more efficient and leave a smaller carbon footprint.

Ask for help: we have to admit it – we’re not all experts in this field. We may want to make some initial savings by not hiring the pros but this increases the risk of problems later on, which may end up costing us more. In addition to this, if you really want to go green in terms of your energy consumption, professionals might be able to find the most efficient solutions for your home. At the very least, if you are not willing to hire external help, do some research and don’t get hooked on the latest trend that may not be the best solution anyway. Gather information from credible sources before you make any decisions.

Halloween is around the corner! Have you taken steps to make sure that this holiday is an eco-friendly one? If you didn’t know this already, fun holidays like Halloween are some of the most wasteful times of the year – think of the amount of new costumes, decorations, candy, and pumpkins consumed…..then the waste that comes afterwards? Fear not, your family can still have a terrific Halloween while still caring for Mother Earth. Plus, you can save money too. That’s another great reason to go green- it’s definitely good for the budget!

Read on for my very easy, tried-and-tested tips:

1. Decorations
First off, the most obvious and easiest thing you can do is RECYCLE!! Your old decorations, I mean (this goes for costumes too, but more on that below). Last year, I had this in mind, so I made that extra effort to carefully store all my decorations to minimize breakages and maximize use for years to come in spite of 3 children under 9 and their rowdy Halloween parties. I purchased a few of those large plastic, airtight boxes, which may not seem so green an idea at first, but when you think of the durability and protection against the elements, it made sense. In the past I used old cartons, and lost a lot of things because of bugs, damp and rain.

If you need new decorations, do make them yourself, and this doubles up as a great weekend, playgroup or after-school activity you can do with the kids. Use items like old cereal boxes, milk jugs and so on. Look in thrift shops for extra supplies. There are loads of things at home that we no longer need and can use. Kids love it when one thing transforms into another- especially when they do it themselves!

2. Costumes
Apparently, every year, millions of Americans, young and old, spend a whopping $5.77 BILLION on new costumes which will rarely get used again. Great for the retailers, not so great for the environment. This year, do your bit by NOT buying.

This is easy for parents with same-gender kids like me. For instance, my younger son now has all his older brother’s costumes to use (long may this last). My daughter, on the other hand does not have any hand-me-downs so we’ve been looking for some DIY ideas form stuff we already have at home. Good for your kids imagination, creativity, and for the environment! Homemade costumes are more interesting anyway, and it enriches the experience for both parent and child. If you aren’t a parent, don’t let it stop you from getting creative too. Non crafty nor good with your hands? Enlist help from a friend who is!

3. Trick or Treating and Parties
Before heading out to the warehouse shopping club and stocking up on huge bags of candy, think about greener alternatives for the trick-or-treaters. Like healthy snacks or fruit? Last year, one house in our neighborhood doled out small cups of juice instead of candy, while another gave out biscuits- a welcome respite for tired trick-or-treaters!

If you’re planning a Halloween party, the aptly named Green Halloween has some terrific tips on how easy it is to be eco-friendly and still have all the fun. I do wonder though how organic tea and agave sticks will go down with my kids……

For more inspiration and instructions, the Internet is brimming with great ideas on how to make this year an eco-friendly Halloween.

Here are some of my favourites, worth checking out:

Eco Friendly Crafts from Kiwi Magazine- The Kiwis show you a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids, using things from the rubbish bin at home. Easy and with good photos.

4 East Tips From Planet Green – Simple things we can all remember and do to make it this Green Halloween.

365 Green Halloween – The folks who enjoy Halloween all year round also have some cool ideas on how to go green this 31st. Ideas for treat bags, costumes and more abound.

4 Ways To A Green Halloween Costume- The most fun thing about Halloween has got to be the costumes, right? This article has 4 of the best ideas I’ve seen around. Sure to inspire, and will definitely get your kids to stop whining about buying that pricey costume from the web.

Buy Green This Halloween - If you must shop this Halloween, then forgo the cheap plastic stuff and buy something made from sustainable material, of good quality and made through Fair Trade. Not only are they good on party tips, but the non-profit Green Halloween also rounds up some great things like that, like this very cool Fair Trade Trick or Treat Action Kit and adorable Alpaca Animal Mask and Tail Sets.

Check your windows.
I have heard so many stories about people closing their windows but not really checking to make sure they are sealed tight. This is an often overlooked fact, but an important one. If your windows are merely shut, but not sealed, hot air can still leak out. You can imagine just how much energy you can waste by not sealing your windows shut!

Use that oven!
Well, not as a heater per se, but the idea is to spend more time in the kitchen cooking – using the oven – and enjoy the by product of a warmer environment. Anyone who has stayed in the kitchen preparing a meal for hours will know how hot it can get in there. Instead of going out for meals this winter, why not spend more time in the kitchen? You’ll not only save on heating but on dining expenses as well!

Engage in more physical activities.
Stay put in front of the TV and you’ll notice just how cold it is in a few minutes. Why not keep moving by playing games on the Wii or tidying up the house? The idea is to not stay still for extended periods of time – you’ll be warmer for it.

Have you every considered the impact of your clothes washing on the environment? The electrical power that you consume, the water that you use, and the chemicals found in your laundry detergent and fabric softener have negative effects on the earth! There are ways by which you can soften this impact though.

Let’s start with the laundry detergent and the fabric softener. What should you look for? Go beyond the tags “natural,” “environment-friendly,” and the like. They are convenient labels but sometimes, they are mere interpretations of the manufacturer – they may not be a guarantee that the product is indeed environment-friendly. Instead, look for ingredients – or the lack thereof – such as phosphate. Go for products without phosphate as they stimulate algal growth and mess with the biology of aquatic life.

Now on to the machines. Unless you have the time and patience to do your laundry manually, you will have to rely on electric washing machines. The key is in making sure your machine is efficient, both in terms of electricity and water. If you bought your machine before 1994, you might want to get a new one – it will save you more in the long run. Another tip: if you can do away with using the dryer for certain articles of clothing, then do so. Next to refrigerators, dryers consumer the most power.

But did you know that forests are being affected negatively because of the tissue paper industry? (Of course you cannot discount other paper products.) I just read a report by the National Resources Defense Council and this is what it contained.

If every household in the United States replaced just one box of virgin fiber facial tissues (175 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 163,000 trees.

That’s a LOT of trees. It’s hard to imagine using “bad” facial tissues not made of virgin fiber, though. How about toilet paper?

If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees.

Okay, that’s a much higher figure! I guess I can deal with non-virgin fiber toilet paper much easier. And how about kitchen paper towels?

If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

Here is my suggestion: more than using kitchen towels made of recycled paper, maybe we can start using cloth rags every now and then?

So what is green furniture? This kind of furniture has at least one of the following characteristics.

Sustainable – green furniture should be made from raw materials that come sustainable sources. These include man-made forests that are reforested regularly so as not to strip the natural resources.

Recycled – some furniture can be made from recycled materials such as plastics and metals. Instead of using newly made materials, recycled materials will lessen the strain on the environment and usually come cheaply as well.

Low toxicity – you might not know it but some products have high levels of toxic materials. Green furniture, on the other hand, is made of materials that have low levels of toxic elements.

Durable – green furniture should last you a long time. This implies that you will be using your furniture for at least a year (or even more!). Naturally, this means that you will not be buying new furniture as often. Another point is that repair should always be an option.

Local – green furniture is produced locally. Shipping over long distances increases the carbon footprint of products. If your furniture is produced or obtained locally, the carbon footprint is decreased.

The next time you buy furniture, you might want to consider these things.