Buying in Bulk to Cut Back on Packaging

 

Most consumer goods nowadays are way over packaged, making it difficult for those of us that keep a close eye on our household garbage production.  A good way to curb some of the plastic and paper packaging is to buy in bulk when it makes sense. Select larger quantities in a single bag or box. Packaging waste makes up ½ of all U.S. municipal solid waste by volume. I have not yet found the hard data, but I have read the claim that more of our food bill pays for packaging than actually goes to the food producers (farmers). 

Roundup: Three Green Tips this Tuesday

 

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products – Save money while protecting  your family and pets

Crunchy Chicken (If you haven’t yet checked out this eco-chick’s blog I really recommend it) asked her readers for natural cleaning solutions. The comments she received covered everything from windows and bathtubs to natural hair cleaning recipes.  Many of the solutions will also save you money.  

Did you know, you can make your own laundry soap  using a combination of Fels Naptha  , Borax and washing soda. Apparently it is much less expensive that regular laundry detergent.

Pots Made From Poop

 

A friend of mine came across this fun, ultra-green product that was featured on the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, CowPots™.   

CowPots™, “The Pots You Plant,” were invented by the Freund dairy farming family in northwestern Connecticut. They are made from manure solids and are of course, 100% biodegradable. This is a great example of farmers turning an agricultural waste product into a horticultural goldmine. Not only do the pots fully decompose, they add rich nutrients to the soil, feed seedlings and attract beneficial earth worms. Since plant roots continue to grow into the earth, there’s no risk of straining plants during transplanting. 

Crunchy Chicken’s Low-Impact Week

 

My new favorite blogger, the crazy Crunch Chicken gal from Seattle, just wrapped up her “Low-Impact week.” I caught this one a little late but think it is still worth bringing up. Crunchy Chicken made a list of goals to meet for the week in addition to all of the guidelines she has already made for herself (some of which are pretty ambitious).  Her self-ordained Low-Impact week is over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own. I plan on getting some of my gal pals to join me. Challenges are always more fun when you have worthy contenders. Crunchy Chicken will be posting another challenge in the middle of June.

71.1 Million Strong

 

I just received the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association’s (APPMA) National Pet Owners Survey for 2007-2008.  

Animal Feces Disposal Cont.

 

Kris, a GREEN Life reader, recently left a comment on a previous post The Green Way to Pick up Doggie Doo-Doo and posed a great question.

The GREEN way to pick up doggie doo-doo

I have a good friend that is consistently buying rolls of those blue plastic doggie waste bags to carry around with her when she takes her little dog for a walk. I don’t blame her. The bags fit right into the little plastic fire hydrant on her dog’s leash and they are really convenient. She does the responsible thing and picks up after her dog, but I still don’t think she has thought the entire process through.  

A Healthy Diet

 

Everyone is going frantic over all of the pet food recalls and rightfully so, but there are still so many natural options out there. I figured I would do some research and find out what “natural pet foods” are truly all-natural and within the means of someone on a budget. What should we be feeding our cats and dogs?