3 Tips for Greener Outdoor Living in 2012 by Tina Foreman

With 2012 finally here, we’ve all probably got a few New Years resolutions we’ve made. For some it’s to lose those extra pounds, for others it’s to make more time for themselves, and some are even resolving to be more eco friendly around the home. If you fall into that last category, you’re in luck, because that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Here are 3 tips to help you be greener in your backyard for 2012.

Garden & Compost

Growing your own fruits and vegetables is one of the easiest ways to help the environment and a fun project for the whole family. By growing your own food, you help cut down on carbon emissions and don’t have to deal with any preservatives or insecticides on what you’re eating. And if you garden, it makes sense to go ahead and start composting. This is an easy task that only required a compost bin to get started. Simply fill it with stuff like egg cartons, newspaper, needles from your Christmas tree, and other compostable materials, and you’ll have a natural fertilizer to keep your garden thriving all year long.

Buy Recycled

Looking to redo your outdoor furniture or add a few new accessories to the patio? Then make sure you buy items made from recycled materials. Recycled used to have a negative connotation when it came to furniture items, but that’s no longer the case, as more manufacturers than ever are scheduled to release recycled lines this spring. The designs have come a long way, looking just as good as non-recycled models, so you’re not limited to dry, boring pieces. The lack of maintenance makes them attractive as well, as plastic only needs a good hosing down every once in a while to keep its appearance nice. It’s furniture that will last you for years and give everyone a comfortable place to relax, and you can be happy knowing you’re helping the environment by purchasing it.

Go Solar

The past few years have seen the explosion of solar outdoor accessories and 2012 shows no signs of that slowing down. Solar technology has come quite a long way since its beginnings, with those old, limited designs and low lighting power. Today, tons of popular outdoor items have solar models – everything from wind chimes to bird baths to Christmas lights! The advantages of solar are numerous. For example, the lack of wires means you’re not limited in where you can place your items by where the closest outlet is. Another big one is how it cuts down on the electric bill, as saving money is something everyone’s trying to do more of these days. Solar items look good, they save money, and they reduce energy use – what more could you want?

If you’re looking to make some green changes to your outdoor living space in 2012, keep these 3 tips in mind. They’ll help you create a thriving, environmentally friendly paradise right in your own backyard!

About The Author – Tina Foreman is a writer with Outdoor Living and always keeps up with the latest in green home design. For more on items like plastic planters, solar fountains, gardening supplies, or a picnic bench, visit OutdoorLiving.com.

Happy 2012!

Wishing everybody a very Happy 2012!!!

Here some quick earth-friendly tips for a greener start into the new year:

• Serve home-cooked meals
• Use re-usable dishes and glasses (there's re-usable plastic out there, for example Preserve
• Don't buy cheap China-made decorations in the dollar store that you'll throw out the next day. Instead, get creative with what you have or what you can use over and over again
• For the new year, try to decrease the amount of garbage you create (buy bulk, compost, buy less in general, pass on what you no longer need instead of throwing them out)
• Do one good thing in the old year. My boys and I rescued two abandoned puppies yesterday! But anything, big or small counts! 

Be safe! 

Mario MANIA - again!

Hi everybody - I hope you had wonderful holidays!
We kept it simple and as green as possible with home cooked meals, very few presents, wrapping with re-used gift wrap and/or re-usable fabrics, online holiday cards and so on.
I believe in self-made gifts whenever possible, so our sons got one-of-a-kind crocheted dolls - Mario and Luigi - under the tree. It took me about 15 hours to finish these, and I'm very happy to say that the boys love them.

To see more of the stuff I've done, check out the "GarbArt or Recycled Art" section on top of the blog, or click here


I'm very happy to pronounce that Lili, Meili and Beau at 33 Watchung Plaza in Montclair is selling some of my dolls.

Happy New Year to everybody!

Self Made Holiday Cards

I must admit - I love getting cards in the mail. It's just different to get a real greeting that you can display in your home rather than looking at it on the computer.
This year I wasn't able to send out real cards, unfortunately, due to a very unexpected trip out of the country from which we returned only a few days ago, so I'll have to send online greetings to family and friends this year.
I still needed a bunch of cards for teachers etc.though and just wasn't able to find my stock of holiday cards (must be the jet leg... don't you hate it when you know exactly that you own something but aren't able to locate it in your, um, messy home?!)

So, instead of buying cards (how boring, anyway!) I looked around in my house for what I could use to create new cards out of old stuff.
Here are a few I came up with:

These first two cards are cut-outs from holiday gift bags that ripped and therefore are not re-usable anymore.
I made some other cards from old cards (you know, I save everything, much to the dismay of my family :-). Unfortunately the cards are sealed in envelopes and I forgot to take pictures. Just wanted to throw out some ideas - get creative! Find festive motives from used cards, magazines, gift bags - whatever you can think of, cut it out and glue or sew it onto cardboard (recycled, if you can), and stick it into an envelope. Voila - you have a one-of-a-kind greeting card!

The next three cards are made of fabric scraps. I machine-stitched around the shape and around the edge of recycled cardboard. The envelopes are made from fabric scraps as well, but if you do something like this, you might just as well take a "normal" paper envelope.

On another note: the lucky winner of the Made From Earth holiday giveaway is Laurie. Congratulations!
Laurie, please send your address to YourGreenerFuture@gmail.com so I can forward it to Made From Earth and thanks for participating!


Happy Holidays to everyone!

Holiday Giveaway MADE FROM EARTH!

Hi!
It's been a while - things are hectic with the holiday season coming up, I'm sure you can all relate.
If you're looking for a gift, either for someone else or yourself, I have a suggestion: check out Made From Earth's Vitamin Enhanced Moisturizer!
A few months back I wrote a post about this company's products (click here to read it and to re-freshen your memory about things to avoid in cosmetic products).

Let me tell you - it's not easy to find a trustworthy company that sells trustworthy stuff nowadays. There's hidden chemicals and toxins in almost everything I take the time to really check out.
A little while ago I was lucky enough to receive Made From Earth prime product, the Vitamin Enhanced Moisturizer. Just like with the other products I tested months ago, I wasn't disappointed in this one, either.
The list of ingredients is short and you'll know and will be able to pronounce everything you read there, the product is 100% vegan and it feels and smells really, really nice.

I get a lot of requests to review products on the blog lately. And I'm not easy to please :-)
So far, Made From Earth is the only product I actually did review (for all the others I wouldn't have too much good things to say). Give it a try and check it out. They deliver worldwide!

One lucky reader will be getting a Vitamin Enhanced Moisturizer FOR FREE!

All you need to do is
* leave a comment on the blog site directly or on Your Greener Future Facebook page saying what your favorite natural skin care product is and why, plus
* Like Made From Earth on Facebook and/or follow Made from Earth on Twitter.

Contest ends on Tuesday, December 20 at midnight Eastern Standard time and is open to participants worldwide. Good luck!

Halloween Again

I can't believe it's Halloween time again!
And with it comes the hunt for new costumes, decorations, treats etc. etc.
Today was a rainy day so we spent all afternoon inside being crafty.
One of the things we created was a very simple Halloween inside decoration made of a balloon head and a large piece of black organza like fabric. I simply wrapped the fabric around the balloon, tied it with a piece of ribbon, glued paper eyes on the head and hung it up in front of a window!

Luckily, I also had some red LED lights on hand (which by the way are so much more energy efficient than anything else out there!), so we were able to add some drama to our ghost. The kids had fun and we didn't spend any money AND we were kind to the environment since we didn't buy anything for this project!

What else can be done to be greener around Halloween time?
If you're lucky and your kid doesn't request to be a specific character, you can make your own costume. Think of princesses dressed in colorful scarfs, decorated with beads - or pirates dressed in old cut-up clothes. The possibilities are endless! This year my boys want to be Mario and Baby Mario. Easy enough since I don't need a costume. Brown shoes, blue overalls and red turtleneck will do in our case. The only problem was the hat. I mean, who has a red balloon hat at home to just stick a white "M" on? I certainly didn't, but I got creative and found a tutorial online to make my own. I think they came out great - and I KNEW there was a good reason why I bought these two hat stands!!!

To be honest, if I was (or is it were???) a judge for kids costumes, I would much more prefer creative, self-made costumes over store-brought ones.

If you need ideas or guidance, check out the web, there's a ton of tutorials and ideas out there even if you're not super crafty. Check it out - it's really fun!

Happy Green Halloween!!!!

My Latest Garage Sale Finds

I was planning on a little series about my garage sale finds for a long time.
My belief is that all thrifting - and garage sale purchases are a big part of it - is green for the environment as well as for your wallet. And it's so much fun!
Take a look at some of the things I found last weekend:

1) Giovanni's roll-out piano - perfect for our tiny space and the kids love it!
2) D&G purse - something fun for me after years of using just a diaper bag :-)
3) Learning computer for our 5 year old
4) Wooden sorting house for our toddler
5) Very cool newspaper-print fabric
6) 2 teddybears
7) Quirkie cubes game

I spent just a little over $10 on all of this and had a ton of fun!