Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 15 2008 9:13 am
You're a mom who's gone green, swapping out your incandescent bulbs for energy-efficient ones and buying organic produce at Whole Foods when the grocery budget allows it.
You're hanging the laundry on the line to dry when the weather's nice, using only organic pesticide, and your big blue recycling bin is piled high with boxes, bottles and cans. You swear your next car is going to be a hybrid.
What else is an eco-minded mom to do? Here are 10 ideas:
• Recycle kid clothes. They used to be called hand-me-downs but now you're saving the Earth by passing your kids' clothes to someone smaller to wear.
• Switch to green cleaning products. They're less harsh on you and the environment, and most clean just as well as the more toxic common cleaning products. If you can't afford to replace all your cleaning products at once, choose a few at a time.
• Put in a water filter. You'll get clean water without the cost and waste associated with plastic water bottles.
• Buy New Jammies. Each pair of pajamas in the New Jammies collection is dotted with fruits and vegetables and made of natural organic cotton. Each pair comes with a book like Fruits & Veggies that promotes good eating habits. Pajamas come in sizes 12 months to age 6 and range in price from $27 to $35. Find them online at www.newjammies.com.
• Use recyclables for craft projects, using tin cans to make totem poles and cereal boxes to make Barbie furniture.
• Adopt a plant. Not only are plants pretty but they also are natural air purifiers. Add a few houseplants to your home, a recent NASA study showed, and they'll remove nearly 90 percent of air toxins within 24 hours. Plants also cut down on dust and increase humidity, which could mean fewer coughs and sniffles. Almost any plant will do, but some, such as mother ferns, Boston ferns, areca palms and spider plants, are better for clearing the air than others.
• Cut back on disposable items. That includes plates, cups, utensils and napkins. Yes, they make life easier when you've got kids - there aren't plates to scrape or cups to rinse. But using regular dinnerware and cloth napkins instead of paper can reduce the mounds of trash in landfills. Plus, you'll save money in the process. While you're at it, pack items in the kids' lunchboxes in reusable plastic containers instead of Ziplocs.
• Read green. Little kids will like The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, two books that carry a nice message about preserving nature's resources. For older kids, Carl Hiaasen's books, Hoot and Flush offer goods read and a sound environmental message. Hand teenagers 47 Things Teens Can Do for the Environment by Lexi Petronis and Karen Macklin and tell them to get busy.
• Advertise it. Mom can pick up a "Global Warming - Not Cool" T-shirt at Old Navy for $14.50 and put her little tree hugger in an organic "Stand for Something" tee for $15 from www.progressivekids.com.
• Walk or bike to school. You usually drive the kids to school because you don't live far enough away for them to qualify to ride the bus. That means you live close enough to school to either walk to bike there, so leave the car in the garage at least a few mornings a week. You'll get exercise, save money on gas, and cut down on air pollution.
