Green Review: Green Bags (greenbag.info)

If you are a regular reader, then you know that I am a regular Christian wife and mommy who always trying to think green. I am by no means an expert. However, I am doing my best to make positive changes that will help me to be a better steward of God’s planet.

One thing that I just changed is buying a reusable grocery bag. I could only get one to start. I estimate I will need at least 5 bags to do a full grocery run. The good news is that they are super cheap! Yeah!

I love this bag. It is green. It says the name of my favorite grocery store on it and the material is great. It is easy to clean too. Just wipe. It comes with a plastic type material square piece for the bottom of bag to remain stable when groceries are in it.

I had the bagger put my groceries in it and I tossed it on my shoulder like any other hand bag. It was totally awesome people! ROFL! I am very happy that this change is occurring. I will finally be free of the bags and dilemma of how to reuse them!

When I got home with my groceries, I was looking over the bag, I saw a website; GreenBag.info

Me being me decided to check them out…

I read about my nifty new bag and found out how wonderful this reusable grocery bag is!

Features of my Green Bag Include…

• water repellent
• carries what takes 3-4 plastic bags
• the more people who use them the more trees we save
• 100% recyclable
• Easy to pack
• Easy to use
• Strong
• Can be used for more than just groceries
• The most affordable bag I have ever bought
• A one year guarantee…and I only paid a buck!
• It’s the color greeeeeen! Lol!

They do not offer an Online shop from what I could tell. However, they do have a query section and a section for retailers. I am considering having some make with Green Christian Network on them for my readers! What do you think??

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Green Tip – (05/11/09) – Chinese Takeout

I love Chinese Takeout. It is a staple in our house. We eat it on a regular basis. We love it. Unfortunately, Chinese takeout, in our area at least has not gone green. Since I do not have any desire to give u p Chinese food, I needed to come up with a way to make Chinese Takeout green in our home!

Tips to make Chinese Takeout Green

Fabulous Containers. Who needs Tupperware when you have those nifty resealable Chinese takeout plastic containers?? Reuse them over and over again for leftovers, crafts or anything else  you need a plastic container for.

Paper Bag. The paper bag that the food comes in can be used to clean up the mess if it’s already been stained. If the bag can be salvaged, you can make puppets with your kids!

Plastic Bag. The paper bag is usually in a plastic bag. You can reuse that in many ways. See here for great ideas for reusing plastic bags.

The sky’s the limit! You can be green and eat Chinese Take out! Do not get o caught up in being green that you never enjoy life. If companies or other people do not want to be green, you can be green for them!

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Cheesecake Factory Making Green Choices

I am a huge fan of the Cheesecake factory. They make some of the yummiest food. Recently, I went there for lunch and could not finish my food (go figure…lol). So, I asked for a doggie bag. When I came home I discovered that the container had  recycle symbol on it and the words “earth choice.”

I looked it up Online and found that there are several suppliers for green friendly containers! Awesome! I was very excited. I am not sure where the Cheesecake Factory gets their take home containers from, but I am very happy to know that a restaurant as popular as they are, and who most certainly has many people take home food (since their portions are so huge), has gone green in this area!

Needless to say, I am now going to ask the restaurants I visit if they use recyclable containers for the leftovers. I want to be prepared now. Honestly, I never even thought about it til now. Once I know who does and who does not, then I can come prepared with my own container if needed!

Just another simple way we can make a difference. Just another simple way we can be better stewards of the wonderful planet that God loaned to us.

Kudos to the Cheesecake Factory!!

By the way, they look like these, but dark gray.

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Stay Green!

               

Reduce Your Trash

Trash is a huge issue for the environment. Dumps are overflowing and there are not enough landfills to keep all of the trash we make. It does not have to be that way. We can reduce the amount of trash we create by changing a few things we do.

Tips to reduce trash

• Buy Less. Only get what you need.
• Pay attention to Packaging. Go for minimal packaged products.
• Reuse paper. If only one side or half of it has been used. Use the rest. Make sure it is well used before throwing away.
• Baggies. Reuse plastic sandwich baggies. All sizes. Wash. Rinse. Use. Repeat.
• Glass Jars. Reuse them as pen holders, for food leftovers, storing buttons and such or anything else you can think to use a jar for.
• Cards. Birthday and holiday cards can be reused as well. Simply cut them into small tags to reuse on future gifts.
• Gift Bags. When you get a gift bag. Reuse it.
• Newspapers and Magazines. Use old issues to line drawers, litter boxes, etc.
• Clothes. Donate them to homeless shelters or resell them at second hand shops. If they are too old and worn, make rags out of them.
• Try and Fix it. If something breaks, see if it is salvage before you toss it. It may just need a minor fix.
• Have a Yard Sale. Your trash may be someone else’s treasure. Plus you can make a few bucks while helping the environment.
• Freecycle. Give it a way. Someone may need or want what you would like to toss.
• Recycle. Get on your towns recycling pick up list. If you cannot figure out a way to reuse some stuff at least recycle it.

These ideas are only meant to get your mind working and thinking. We need to be aware of the trash we create. Landfills are growing and we are running out of space for all the trash that we create. We need to start making a difference now, before our kids and grandchildren are left with a trash infested planet!

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Green Tip – (04/20/09) – Go for Glass

Choose glass or another recyclable container packaging over plastic or other containers that cannot be recycled. Avoiding plastic is the goal. We use and discard more plastic than we should and it is leaving its nasty mark on the beautiful environment that God created for us to enjoy. Let’s make better efforts to choose our packaging more wisely. If we all begin to make better choices, manufacturers will be forced to make a change in the way they package their products.

We can be better stewards of God’s planet. We can make a difference…one green choice at a time!

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Green Tip – 04/08/09 – Frozen Juice Cans

You never need to toss these. There are several things that can be done to reuse those plastic cans that frozen juice come in. Let me share a few…

Reusing Frozen Juice Cans

Pen & Pencil Holder - This is a craft that I have done with my kids. You leave the bottom plastic piece in place. Clean it well. Dry. Cut a piece of construction paper (let your kids decorate it) or use old scrap paper into a size that will evenly wrap around the can. Tape or Glue. Place on desk. Add pens and pencils.

Biscuit or Cookie Cutter - Leave the bottom plastic piece in place. Cut the can to about a third of it’s original height. Just high enough to make good biscuits! Reuse over and over to make cookies and yummy biscuits perfectly shaped every time! (you can also use this idea for a play dough cutter)

Bath Toy - Kids will play with just about anything in the tub and mine love cups. Again, leave bottom in tact. Clean well. Toss in with bath toys.

Beach Toy – See above. Same concept. Great for making sand castles. (you can also use this idea for a sandbox toy)

There are countless things you can do to reuse these plastic cans. Just use your imagination and soon you will be saving money, having fun with your kids, becoming a green mean recycling machine and a great steward of God’s planet!

Do you have additional ideas? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (3/01/09) – Moms…use clothe diapers.

Sure, this is a little messier than the easier, disposable version. However, do you even realize the amount of disposable diapers that are filling landfills?? Cloth diapers are a choice that every mother should seriously consider. Let’s look at some facts that are quite alarming…

Disposable Diapers Sobering Facts:

• from birth to about 2-1/2 the average child will go through about 7,300 diapers
• the cost for that is about $2600
• 18 billion diapers enter landfills each year
• disposable diapers make up about 3.4 million tons of trash
• health risks such as fertility issues in males, eyes, nose and throat issues and even asthma-like symptoms have been connected to disposable diapers!
• long term negative affects on animal and water life.
• the chemicals that make disposable diapers white increase the risk of cancer
• affect development
• they use more water. yep. you may need to wash cloth diapers, however, way more water is used making disposable diapers!
• a study, conducted by Anderson Laboratories in 1999 and published in the Archives of Environmental Health, found that disposable diapers release chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and dipentene. They have been shown to have toxic health effects, such as cancer and brain damage, when used over time or high exposure.
• they use 1.3 million tons of wood pulp. that’s about 1/4 million trees every year.
• they take up to 500 years to break down.
• more viruses than you want to know about…including polio, survive for two weeks or more after disposed of.

There are many many many more reasons to avoid disposable diapers. However, I think our readers are intelligent and the above information is enough to get you thinking! Research for yourself. You will be shocked!

Go for organic natural reusable cloth diapers. You will not only be helping the environment and saving money, you will also protect your sweet precious love bugs from harm!

Any other comments or ideas on the cloth v/s disposable diapers debate? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (2/26/09) – Reuse It!

It is good practice to reuse as much as you can. It will prevent waste and for plastic items help keep them out of dumps!

Items you can Reuse at least once:

• water bottles. as long as you keep them clean, you can reuse them several times. It will save you money just to refill the bottle with tap. refrigerate it and you are good to go.
• newspaper. you can use old newspapers to clean your windows and mirrors, as shelf liners and more. reusing newspapers can really help save on paper purchases, thus saving trees!
• donate or free-cycle. items like clothes, toys, books…almost anything can be donated or given away instead of tossed. just make sure it is clean and in decent condition.
• make compost. use your unused natural food items to make compost.
• batteries. stop buying one time use batteries and only purchase rechargeable ones.
• refillable. buy condiments, shampoos and the like in large containers and refill smaller user-friendly container for it. This will help you buy less bottles and use less plastic!
• bags. stop using paper and plastic bags. buy canvas bags and reuse them over and over again.
• paper. any time your printer messes up or you make an error when using paper, let your kids use it to color on. or, you can use it as scrap.
• clothing. use old socks, t-shits and cloth materials as rags, to clean the car or to dust with.
• egg cartons. these can be reused for arts and crafts, paint holders, taco items, or even to organize jewelry or small items.
• plastic milk jugs. these can be used for pots for plants or even to water them.
• cardboard boxes. go to a fun place with your kids that has a hill and have a summer sledding competition! cut large squares and use the cardboard as your “sleigh.”

As you can see, there are many many ways that you can reuse items you use everyday. Be creative and brainstorm about how you can make the most of everything and be a good steward to God’s planet!

Any other tips to reuse items that we use everyday? Post them below!

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Green Tip of the Day (2/24/09) – Recycle Plastic Bags

Recycle Your Plastic Bags!

If you have not given up plastic bag for your own reusable bags yet, no worries, you can still make a difference! Recycle them! How? Well, there are many ways you can recycle plastic bags. We have listed a few to get you started. Use your imagination!

21 Ideas for Recycling Plastic bags:

• for filler when sending packages or when you want to store fragile items.
• use old plastic bags for liners in your bathroom or office trash can.
• to pick pet waste.
• use them as baby bib.
• arts and crafts. (off site link)
• reuse plastic bags over and over when you grocery shop.
• store wet bathing suits in them when at the pool or beach.
• dispose of dirty diapers when out and about.
• put hubbies lunch in them instead of a lunchbox.
• litter box liners.
• use plastic bags instead of Ziploc bags when possible.
• store holiday items in them.
• as a cap when giving yourself a hot oil treatment.
• make a kite with your kids.
• as a toiletry bag when traveling.
• shred and cut them to make plastic bag confetti.
• use them as gloves when cleaning.
• have your kids put them over their shoes when playing in the snow to keep shoes dry.
• cut them in to big squares and let your children finger paint with them. (under supervision, of course)
• send them to the recycle bin at your neighborhood grocery store.
• or…avoid using plastic bags all together and REALLY make a difference!

Any other recycling plastic bags tips? Post them below!

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Suddenly I Cared

It started about five months ago. My Husband began talking about recycling and caring about our environment. He started taking items into his workplace to give to a coworker who recycles. Honestly, I thought he was off his rocker. For about a month he continued to drag items into work and then one day he called me from the office and said, “I’ve just set up recycling at home. I’m sick of dragging it to work.” I didn’t know what to make of it – he had never cared before. I figured I better find out what all the fuss was about so I started doing some research and what I found concerned me.

Did you know that plastic will never biodegrade? When disposed of it just sits, and sits, and sits until it does something called photo degrading – this is where it basically turns into small pieces over many (thousands) years. Chemicals are released into the environment – many of them toxic – and these chemicals then enter our food chain through rivers, streams, and even the very soil we grow our produce in.

Further shocking me with regards to plastic are some findings from Oberlin College: every year Americans go through 2.5 million plastic bottles and if every American recycled just one out of ten of those bottles we could keep a shocking 200 million pounds of plastic out of landfills yearly!

As if those types of findings online weren’t enough, I started just looking around our very home and noticing the wastefulness right in front of my eyes. It was not uncommon in my house to blow through an entire roll of paper towels in a matter of just two or three days. We used them for everything. We used them unnecessarily, and I had never thought about it before. As I would reach for a paper towel I began to find myself wondering if it was really necessary and then running for a cloth instead.

And it wasn’t just my house – I began noticing things as I would drive around town. Things like the fields full of plastic bags and empty bottles and cans that would blow out of the parking lots of major stores. I started thinking about how much could be done with just those items alone. Suddenly I found myself caring. Suddenly I found myself looking at packaging and making sure to put whatever I could into the recycling bins. I no longer wanted to use plastic bags and found myself making a quick, easy, and very inexpensive ($5 for 5 bags at Wal-Mart) purchase for reusable grocery bags.

Suddenly I cared.

And then one day as I was sitting here doing my daily Bible reading I decided to look at the beginning of the book of Genesis and I noticed that throughout the first chapter it is repeated several times that “God saw that it was good”.

“Good” – it was good.

And that was the moment of extreme change for me. I thought to myself that if God saw it was good, what must He think now when He sees what we have done with the earth? God gave us this earth and I just don’t believe He gave it to us to junk it up.

I’m certainly not an extremist. I am completely new to this world of “living green”, but I am also committed. I am committed to caring about what God created.

Throughout the months ahead I plan to document the things I learn and new things I am doing with my family to create a “green” lifestyle for us all while still making sure that our focus remains aimed at pleasing the One who matters most. I hope you will join me on my journey.

Copyright ©  2009, Becki, Green Christian Network, All Rights Reserved