After about 4 years of waiting, I finally have green bin pick up at my townhouse. With two kids, food waste is a fact of life and I adore the fact that we are no longer sending compostables such as sandwich scraps, chicken bones and paper towels to the landfill.
Unfortunately, green waste brings with it grime, bugs and odours.
I soak and wash my kitchen waste bin at least every few days, but the outside green bin gets horrendous quickly. I like to layer newspaper throughout to help minimize the amount of exposure the waste has with the air, but that only does so much and cleaning green bins is a dirty job to say the least.
So what if you NEVER had to wash out your Green Bin again? Last week when I arrived home from work with the kids I asked my husband if the Green Bin was clean and a pleasantly surprised look washed over his face as he asked me what that was all about. I excitedly peeked my head inside and was greeted with a fresh, clean smell; a refreshing change.
The fine folks from VIP Bin Cleaning had been by our house (while we were at work) and cleaned, sanitized and deodorized our Green Bin, a service they provide for about $8/month. Perhaps the best part of all is that VIP Bin Cleaning uses an average of 2L of water compared to the average 9L that residents would use so you can go ahead and consider this a water-wise investment.
I know 9L sounds like a lot, but when the hubs told me he'd been dreading washing the maggots out of the bin all day, it didn't sound like near enough water.
In fact, in that moment $8 a month to never have to clean our own Green Bin suddenly seemed like a pretty reasonable budget expense.
Check out this video of local Owner Colin Bell demonstrating exactly how they get your bin all sparkly clean.
The litterless lunch is an easy way to green your routine; its something I work on constantly, but I have to confess, sometimes I give in to the convenience of disposable.
This is week 1 of Green Your Routine with Seventh Generation and they've provided some numbers that are hard to ignore.
According to the stats, the average child throws away 66 pounds of lunch packaging waste a year, this might not sound like a lot, but when you think about the actual weight of disposable packaging, that's a pretty astounding number.
If the environmental costs don't sway you, the economics might. Litterless lunches are 35 perfect cheaper than their disposable counterparts; that number is based on an average price of $2.65 and $4.02 respectively.
Seventh Generation provides some pretty compelling arguments to commit to litterless lunches, and I promise, I'm going to try. My boys are fed lunch and snacks at daycare, but I send extra snacks for the baby to accommodate his dairy-free diet. I'm going to work on consistently sending snacks in containers rather than ziploc bags.
As for my own lunch, I tend to have problems with the lunch bag itself. I have tons of Tupperware containers (because Kat used to sell it) but they are a variety of sizes so I perpetually have problems fitting my entire lunch into one bag. I fixed that problem by buying a larger lunch bag, its actually a small cooler that can accommodate 9 cans, or in my case, a lunch.
But my commitment, specific to this challenge is to start packing cloth napkins with my lunch (and sewing them too).
This inspiration came directly from a comment on my Green Your Routine introduction, thanks for the idea Bets. I'm so excited, I'm going to start sewing myself a set of lunchbox napkins now.
Do you litterless lunch? Will you be starting this September? What's your litterless lunch secret?
It's hard to believe that summer is rapidly coming to a close and that the back to school season is upon us. My kids are not yet school aged, but that doesn't mean that we can't take advantage of this transitional time to reprogram our lifestyle and green our routine.
Did you know that in only two weeks you can create a new habit, or break an old one, depending how you look at it?
The folks at Seventh Generation are challenging families to take four small steps to 'Green Your Routine' this fall and our household is up for the challenge. Over the next four weeks we are going to implement one small step per week; I hope you'll join in and help keep our planet a beautiful place to live. Here's a summary of the 'Green Your Routine' program.
Week 1: The Litterless Lunch
Week 2: Watch How You Wash
Week 3: Choose a Fun, Fit and Sustainable Route to School
Week 4: Rebrand Responsibly
Are you interested in trying out Seventh Generation products? Make sure you enter below for your chance to win aSeventh Generation Starter Kit composed of coupons for a complimentary package of Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Soap, Free & Clear Kitchen Spray and 4X Laundry Detergent! And if you're in the mood for winning, make sure you enter for a chance to win a Canadian Adventure for two courtesy of Seventh Generation. Don't forget to check in later this week for my post on the litterless lunch. Seventh Generation is on the Web, Facebook and Twitter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway I received product in exchange for this post, however all opinions are my own.
There are people that get great satisfaction from spring cleaning, a sense of accomplishment and pride at throwing away junk, organizing and cleaning. I am not one of those people. I like a clean house, but making it clean, not so much.
I need things to be easy, a quick spray and a wipe is about my speed, but my conscience also requires that said sprays be safe for my family, for my children and for our planet. Clorox Green Works fits my needs perfectly.
The entire Green Works line is 95-99% naturally derived, with the remaining percentage accounting for preservatives, fragrance and dyes. Each product displays a small 'Designed for the Environment' or DfE logo; a designation given by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which indicates each ingredient has been screened for both health and environmental effects and the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class. As if that isn't enough, you can find a list of all Green Works ingredients, with explanations of their uses in everyday English, on the Green Works website.
Once the cleaners are deemed 'safe' in my mind, the real challenge begins. Can Green Works products effectively clean my home with minimal effort on my behalf?
My answer is a resounding yes. Armed with Clorox Green Works, I have been successfully challenged myself to undertake one 10 minute tidy at a time. I started in the powder room, which if I'm being honest, smells a bit like pee. I have a recently potty trained toddler and if you are the parent of a little boy, you know that their urine has a tendency to hit the toilet seat, if you're lucky enough to dodge the pee bullet yourself.
When my Green Works products arrived, I initially gave the toilet seat a quick wipe with a Green Works Natural Cleaning Wipe, which definitely gave a fresher scent to the bathroom, but didn't quite succeed at banishing the urine smell; a little more effort was warranted on my behalf. Using Green Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Bathroom Cleaner and Glass Cleaner I gave my teeny little bathroom the once over and in less than 10 minutes and much to my amazement I had a sparkly clean, fresh (but not overpowering or chemically) smelling bathroom.
One ten minute tidy complete. Well done me.
Next up, what can only be described a baby food bomb. Distracted and being pulled in far too many directions, I dropped a full bowl of sweet potato and chicken baby food on the floor, which of course went everywhere. We cleaned up most of the mess immediately, but about a week later I realized that we had missed the area under the dishwasher. That food has been caked on for probably three weeks now and I'd been avoiding cleaning it like the plaque.
I allowed the Green Works All-Purpose Cleaner about 5 minutes to soften the baby food before I dove in with a damp rag and started chipping away at it. Imagine my surprise when it pulled away from the dishwasher with minimal effort; after only a little bit of scrubbing, the baby food had all but disappeared. I also gave the dishwasher a few spritzes and wipes with the All-Purpose Cleaner and was impressed to see the streak-free clean that resulted, especially given that stainless steel appliances have a tendency to streak when cleaned.
Another ten minute tidy complete. I admit I am proud that I have now cleaned two areas of my home instead of starting to read 'Game of Thrones', which is what I really wanted to do. Perhaps there is some pride to be had at cleaning my home.
Surprisingly, I'm excited about my bounty of Clorox Green Works products; the dishwashing soap not only smells delicious, it makes lots of bubbles (which I know isn't actually necessary, but I like it) and gets the dishes squeaky clean. The Natural Cleaning Wipes are perfect for sticky spills that I find long after the boys have made them and although washing floors is absolutely not my thing, I'm certain that the hubs will have good things to report about the Green Works Multi-Surface Cleaner, which is safe for use on wood.
One lucky Momma Stuff Blog reader is going to win their own Clorox Green Works Gift Pack, make sure you enter using the Rafflecopter after the jump.
Please note you may enter to win a Green Works Gift Pack on other sites participating in this Blog Tour, however you may only win one prize.
“Disclosure – I am participating in the Green Works program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This is a personal blog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of The Clorox Company of Canada Ltd.”
Before I was a mother and into my early days as a wife, I worked in Stewardship. I spent my time working to preserve the environment by inspiring others to volunteer and work by my side to make a difference one small step at a time. We removed invasive weeds, planted native vegetation, hung and cleaned bird houses, picked up garbage and educated others on the ways they too could make a difference.
Although we worked in all sorts of inclement weather, including dreary Vancouver rain and snow, each year I made a point of having an afternoon in to enjoy the original Lorax Movie and facilitate the important discussions that the movie always prompted.
When I heard there was going to be a new Lorax movie, I knew that I wanted, no needed, to see it. So when Seventh Generation invited me to their green carpet premiere screening in North Vancouver, I jumped at the opportunity, despite the fact that the event was at a theatre more than 45 minutes from my home.
I have so many fond memories of going to the movie theatre with my Dad and he has been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to take the boy to a movie, so it was an obvious choice to invite him to join us at the screening.
When we arrived, we knew we were in the right place, there were families lined up outside the theatre and we promptly joined the crowd. Although it was windy, the line moved quickly and before we knew it we were inside being greeted by the Seventh Generation staff.
My Dad loves popcorn, though his teeth (and his dentist) advise against it, so he keeps his consumption low. He was planning to share a kids pack with the boy; imagine his delight when we were handed tickets for our full sized popcorn and beverage, all courtesy of Seventh Generation.
The boy has had plain air-popped popcorn once and in truth he wasn't much of a fan, but after all our talk of popcorn, he was excited to see what it was all about. Turns out he loved movie theatre popcorn, he must have eaten close to half a bag.
The Lorax was fabulous, they did a great job accurately incorporating the original story into a movie that younger generations can relate to.
After I left the theatre my drive to preserve the environment and find ways to make a difference was revitalized. Fortunately, our swag bag from the folks at Seventh Generation not only included their brand new 4X laundry detergent (in a fully compostable packaging), it also included a booklet full of great tips to green your lifestyle.
Here's some food for thought courtesy of Seventh Generation:
75% of the electricity that powers home electronics is consumed when the products are turned off. Unplug [them]...when you aren't using them.
If every home in Canada replaced one roll of virgin bleached toilet paper with recycled, we'd save almost 48,000 trees and prevent 4,500kg of air and water pollution.
Turn off the tap! Save about 11 litres of water by turning off the tap when you brush your teeth or wash your face.
On average, each Canadian uses a staggering 343 litres of water per day.
Keep a pitcher and some reusable bottles filled with water in the fridge. Why? The water helps maintain the cool temperature inside and allows your refrigerator to work more efficiently.
Although I no longer work in stewardship and motherhood is my number one job, the environment is still in the forefront of my being and my full-time job (that I will be returning to in only a few short months). I may not be a magical forest creature like the Lorax, but each and every one of us has the power to drive change and make our planet a healthy place for generations to come.
"Unless someone like you care a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not." -The Lorax
Before the boy was born, we went through the great diaper debate; cloth vs disposable. Although cloth won out, we decided to useHappy Nappy Diaper Service to avoid washing diapers and of course the dreaded ‘poop in the washing machine’. That being said, when we travel we use disposables.
Earth’s Best are the number one choice for disposable diapers at our house; we’ve tried a few other brands, but none have given me the peace of mind that Earth’s Best does. Their diapers are unbleached, chlorine-free and free from latex, dyes and fragrance. All of which equate to a product that is safe for the boys sensitive, eczema-prone tushy.
Earth’s Best also utilizes wood pulp from renewable and sustainable forest practices, wheat and corn from renewable resources for added absorbency anduses proportionally more sustainable products than petroleum based products.
This is a commendable feat, did you know that every 'regular' disposable diaper requires 1 cup of crude oil to manufacture the plastic? Multiplied by an estimated 7,200 diaper changes in a child's lifetime*, the statistics are staggering. The little choices in life sometimes have a huge impact.
Diaper fit is very subjective and will absolutely vary with the size and shape of your little one. At our house we have found that when the boy fits two diaper sizes the larger does a better job controlling blow-outs. With regard to absorbency, we have had no issues during the day; however in the evening, the boy tends to have leakages and need at least one diaper change through the night.
Earth's Best is a great disposable diaper and it is our choice when we need a diaper on the go. Rather than chancing foreign diapers and potential chemicals the boy and I packed Earth's Best Diapers across Asia for 3 weeks.
Every day I strive to maintain my commitment to nature and Earth's Best helps me do this when cloth diapers aren't an option. With Earth's Best I'm confident that just as the name states, not only are these diapers best for the Earth (compared to traditional disposable), they are best for the boy. I rate Earth's Best Diapers a 4.5/5.
This post documents my own personal opinion of Earth's Best Disposable Diapers, without influence, however I was provided with a package for Earth's Best Diapers for the purposes of this review.
