Monthly Archives: July 2011
Saving Money, Naturally
| July 30, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Living, Saving Money |
I was talking to a friend tonight about natural food. This friend like so many of us is looking to save money but doesn’t want to have to give up better, healthier foods and living more naturally. Sadly organic food often costs more than conventional food and junk food can often be the cheapest. So can you live naturally on a budget? Yes!
I was working on a post with tips for saving money but it was getting far to long for one post. So after the back to school event I will have a series about saving money while living naturally. Until then here are some older posts on the topic.
Making Organic Food More Affordable
Lowering Your Bills By Going Green
Don’t forget posts are due for the Green Back to School Blog Carnival tomorrow and the Green Back to School Twitter Party is August 7th so be sure to RSVP to win great prizes.
Back to School Green Twitter Party
| July 26, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Twitter Party |
When: Sunday, August 7th at 8:00 p.m. eastern time
Where: On Twitter, we recommend you use TweetGrid to keep up with the party.
To learn about using TweetGrid for Twitter parties watch the video at the end of this post.
Hashtag: #ecoback2school
What is a Hashtag?
How to Join:
RSVP in the comments with your Twitter name. (You don’t have to RSVP to join in the fun but you can only win a prize if you RSVP)
Like our sponsor Ultimate Green Store on Facebook.
Follow @Retrohousewife5 and @UltGreenStore
Use the #ecoback2school Hashtag in your tweets.
Be on Twitter at on August 7th at 8 p.m. eastern time!
Sponsor:
Prizes:
Terracycle Drink Pouch Pencil Case
Prang Soybean Blend Biodegradable Crayons
Green Apple Eco-friendly Highlighter Pencils
And a $25 gift certificate for The Ultimate Green Store!
Remember to RSVP below to have a chance to win the prizes above! You also must be present at the party to win. While everyone is welcome to the party the prizes can only be shipped to addresses in the US.
How to Use Tweetgrid for a Twitter Party
Disclaimer: The prizes come from the Ultimate Green Store and not from me. I was paid to host this party but all views stated by me (@retrohousewife5) are my honest views. Ultimate Green Store and Lisa Sharp are not responsible for the content at the Twitter party.
Green Back to School Carnival
| July 25, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Back to School |
I know many of you don’t want to think about the summer ending but it’s almost time to start thinking about the school year. I want to hear your ideas to help make this year greener, so I’m hosting a Green Back to School Carnival.
If you would like to join in just write a post about greening this school year and e-mail me the link by midnight (central time) on July 31st. I will then post all of links on the blog for everyone to enjoy. Topics can include school supplies, health lunch ideas, giveaways of green school products, helping green your school, etc… If you choose to join in please be sure to link back to the blog so your readers can read the other posts. You can also use the image below. Also spread the word, because the more blogs that join in, the more fun we will have!
Natural Ice Cream Sundaes
| July 24, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Real Food |
It’s really hot in Oklahoma right now, it was around 106-110 today (depending on what weather site you checked). My town has had temperatures above 100 degrees for 22-24 consecutive days and above 90 for 55 or so days. We also are in a major drought. So I have been making a lot of ice cream! I thought since much of the country is having this crazy heat as well I would share some fun ideas for making natural ice cream sundaes, enjoy. (Click on the images for more info)
You can make your own ice cream.
Play & Freeze Ice Cream Ball (BPA Free)
Or buy organic ice cream.
Julie's Organic Ice Cream
Alden's Organic Ice Cream
You also will need lots of yummy toppings. All of the toppings below can be found at the Natural Candy Store.
You can also make your own toppings with the following recipes.
Other great toppings include-
- Nuts
- Fresh Fruit
- Chocolate Chips
- Shredded Coconut
What are your favorite natural ice cream sundae toppings?
Disclaimer: I am an affliate for Amazon and Natural Candy Store. If you order from the links in this post I earn a small percent. However, I was not paid for this post and all of the opinions in the post are my own. For more info please read my full disclaimer.
ChicoBag Sued by Plastic Bag Manufactures
| July 22, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Plastic |
One of the first reusable bags I got was a ChicoBag and at this point I have around a dozen. They are light, affordable, easy to use and great for throwing in your purse or car. They also have been very active in campaigning against plastic bags, and this has upset the plastic bag manufactures and now they are suing ChicoBag for “irreparably harming” their business. Well, note to these manufactures, ChicoBag isn’t what is harming your business, it’s the fact that you make a product that is harming our environment and the consumers are waking up to this.
It’s time to show ChicoBag our support. You can show your support by clicking here and adding your name to the growing list of supporters. Also if you are a blogger I encourage you to blog about this and encourage your readers to also support ChicoBag. And finally, if you need some reusable bags or if you don’t maybe stock up for the holidays and buy a few ChicoBags. Here are some of the great bags they make. (click on the images for more info)
Original rePETe Reusable Bag
Vita rePETe Reusable Bag
The Blossom Collection
Produce Starter Kit
What are your thoughts on the lawsuit? Do you own any ChicoBags?
21 Day Reusable Challenge
| July 21, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Living, Waste |
Can you ditch disposables for just 21 days? Even if you have already ditched some, are there more you could do without? Right now is a great time to try this challenge because Reuseit is having a huge summer sale. And while I encourage you to use what you have before buying more stuff, if you need a few things this is the time to stock up. Here are some items that can help you ditch disposables and are on sale so they will save you even more money! (click on the images to view the product)
Earthlust Stainless Steel Bottle- on sale for $9.95
Glass Water Bottle- on sale for $7.95
Hemp and Organic Cotton Reusable Bag- on sale for $7.95
BlueAvocado Produce Bags- on sale for $7.95
Graze Organic Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags- on sale for $35.95
DivaCup- on sale for $31.95
There are dozens of other products on Reuseit.com that are up to 70% off for a limited time. Hurry and check it out before the sale runs out! And let me know if you take the 21 Day Reusable Challenge and how it goes.
Disclaimer: I am an affliate for ReuseIt. If you order from the links in this post I earn a small percent. However, I was not paid for this post and all of the opinions in the post are my own. For more info please read my full disclaimer.
Racism in 2011
| July 19, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I haven’t been blogging much lately because there have been some major issues going on in my small town. The chair of the town’s Beautification Committee was removed from the committee and the committee was abolished after the chair said “We don’t want to be that mean but if we don’t get on top of our town we’ve got too many n—–s and Mexicans moving in.” And even worse was the fact that no one spoke up against this at the meeting and there was even laughter and people that agreed. Our mayor and one councilman were in attendance of the meeting, making it even worse.
When word got out about this, 3 months after the racist comment was made, Facebook exploded with anger from the citizens of my town. Quickly a Facebook event to encourage people to attend a council meeting about the racial slur and some other race related issues that have been going on.
The meeting was last night and it was overflowing with people! My mom and I made black and white ribbons for people to wear to show we were there to stand up against racism in our town. Many people spoke and some on the council gave apologies. Our mayor wasn’t there so still haven’t heard from him but our vice mayor did a wonderful job at the meeting. The meeting went well and even resulted in a follow up meeting for some street issues that are going on in a largely African American part of town and our vice mayor suggested that a multi-cultural committee be formed. It will be voted on at our next council meeting. I think most, if not all, of us left feeling hopeful for the future. This was a wonderful step in the right direction!
Click here for a news clip of the meeting. Anyway that’s where I have been. I will be back to normal green blogs shortly.
My Air Pollution Story
| July 11, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Pollution |
The Moms Clear Air Force has asked people to share their stories that relate to air pollute, I of course had to share my story about the local cement kiln. Here is what I shared.
I live in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma. Many think the air is always cleaner in small rural towns but for many, like me, that’s not the case. My town is being polluted by a cement kiln. The kiln burns things like tires for fuel, which then gets into our air.
The kiln puts off things like dioxins, ammonia, benzene, certain glycol ethers, chromium, diethanolamine, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, ethylene glycol, lead, manganese, mercury, sulfuric acid, and zinc compounds. All of which are toxic and can cause major health issues.
The company that owns the kiln has even launched a green campaign to lead people to believe they are good for the environment. They claim the burning of the tires is recycling and have joined the local recycling coalition and are chairing a green committee! They even just sponsored a green expo.
Sadly many are falling for their tricks and have no idea what’s coming out of the stack. Many have no clue they are classified as a “high-priority violator” by the EPA. Or that they violated pollution limits more than 1,000 times in 2005.
The few that do know that they are polluting the town seem scared to stand up to them because it’s one of our top employers. But the point is being missed, they don’t need closed down, they need to clean up their act.
I’m trying to spread the word about cement kilns in my town and around the world. Cement is still called green by many and even fits into LEED Certification standards. Many kilns are in small towns like mine, with the people getting sick but with no way to stand up to the kilns.
I personally have been working in my own town to spread the word and I seem to have gotten it out there enough that my name is known by some of the employees. This is judging by how I have been treated by several and I hope this is a promising sign that my message is getting out there but I need help! I can’t fight this alone. We can’t keep letting big companies hide their dirty secrets in small towns like mine. I don’t want to hear that another one of my friends has cancer or that their child is in the hospital due to an asthma attack. I also would like to not have to take anymore steroids for my own asthma.
I ask that congress please better enforce the current laws and make new ones that protect us, not the companies!
Thank you,
Lisa Sharp
Do you have a story to share like mine? Share it with the Moms Clean Air Force.
The Waste of Coffee
| July 10, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Living, Real Food, Recipe |
Drinking coffee can be a pretty wasteful habit. Did you know it’s the second most popular drink in the world? The world consumes about 1400 million cups per day! Americans alone consume more than 16 billion paper cups of coffee every year. And that doesn’t include all the Styrofoam and plastic cups of coffee. In the case of Dunkin’ Donuts if you get an iced coffee you may even get a plastic cup and a Styrofoam cup! (read about that here) Coffee addicts, I’m not asking you to give up this habit, just rethink it and here are several ways you can do that.
Rethink the Cup
There are many great reusable options out there and some coffee shops offer real mugs if you are staying there. Here are some great options to replace disposable mugs, click on the pictures for more info.
Eco-Cup
- Klean Kanteen Insulated Mug
- Thermos Nissan Insulated Mug
Rethink the Coffee
There are several things to look for that make coffee more sustainable. Locally roasted coffee requires less energy to transport and supports your local economy. Fair Trade certified coffee helps insure that the coffee was produced with fair wages and higher environmental standards. Organic certified coffee is produced without the use of harmful chemicals. And you can also find “bird friendly” coffee, which is coffee produce with a natural tree canopy.
Even if you have your own cup, some places, like Starbucks, will often make your coffee in a disposable cup and then pour the coffee into your reusable cup. This of course doesn’t help anything. So if you drink coffee out, make sure they will use your reusable mug properly. Also ask about their recycling policy.
Another way to ensure your coffee is made in the most eco-friendly manner possible, is to make it at home. This doesn’t have to mean giving up your fancy coffees or buying huge and costly expresso machines. There are some great easy ways to make your own fancy coffee at home. Here are some supplies that can help.
- Bodum French Press
Coffee Grinder
- Milk Frother
- Cocoa/Cinnamon Shakers
You can also make your own syrups or buy organic syrups at places like Whole Foods.
Recipes
Blended Iced Coffee
Caramel Syrup
Chocolate Syrup
Vanilla Syrup
Iced Coffee
Mocha
Caffe Latte
If you have any neat supplies or recipes to share, please do so in the comments below. Would love to hear more great ways to keep coffee more sustainable and yummy!
Disclaimer: I am an affliate for Amazon and ReuseIt. If you order from the links in this post I earn a small percent. However, I was not paid for this post and all of the opinions in the post are my own. For more info please read my full disclaimer.
Back to School Event
| July 9, 2011 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Living, Green Parenting, Twitter Party |
I’m happy to announce that I’m having another back to school event this year. It will be a week long event, it will kick off on August 1st. Here are some of the things you can expect from the event.
- August 1st: Back to School Green blog carnival. More info to come but all bloggers will be able to be apart of this!
- Reviews and giveaways all week long.
- August 7th: Back to School Green Twitter party, sponsored by The Ultimate Green Store! There will be great prizes and you will learn lots of great information about being green this school year! I will post more info soon but mark your calendars for this fun event!
There are still a few sponsor spots if any green companies are interested. Be sure to contact me.
