Having an Eco Friendly Green Christmas is more and more desirable these days. Beside losing all the gained weight, we can do the following to have a more green and healthy holiday.

How can you Green your Christmas?

• Reduce the number of trips you need to make or take public transportation
• Buy your fruits and vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources.
• Buy organic when possible, except for product on the Clean 15 list
• Utilize reusable bags to hold groceries
• Don’t over cook or serve too much food
• Eat on real dishes and use cloth napkins
• Rent or buy your decorations from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
• Donate extra food, money, clothing to those in need
• Compost the leftovers, fruits, vegetables, etc.
• Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, re-purposed trinkets

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The holidays are here!  The media has reported that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ouch. Big dinners, more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods, tempting desserts, and appetizers. How can we work to combat those pounds?

Small Packages of Food

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Recently I found a friend who was using Chinese Miraculous Insecticide Chalk otherwise known as Pretty Baby Chalk, Ant Chalk, Roach Chalk and Chinese Chalk.  Tres Pasitos is a Spanish name for this product.

The product is illegal and dangerous. The EPA has a warning on it too. We tried it in the past and found that it didn’t really work. I found this stuff being sold all over San Francisco’s Chinatown and it is for sale on eBay.

A check on amazon in 2022 found no insecticide chalk.

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Having an Eco Friendly Green Halloween is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your  Halloween?

• Buy your pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources
• Rent or buy your costume from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better. Consider donating or giving away your costumes after Halloween. Trade with other families.
• Utilize reusable bags to hold treats
• Trick-or-treat in your own neighborhood or carpool to your destination
• Compost the pumpkin, squash, leftovers, etc.
• Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, repurposed trinkets not sugar
• Donate extra candy, food to local shelters

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Last Update: 1/13/2023

Is this Okay to Eat?

Every year it seems that a new study comes up telling us that another popular food is unhealthy or causes cancer. The latest controversy in 2015 was over processed meats and the WHO declaring that bacon, hot dogs, etc cause colorectal cancer. It seems what is good this year, is bad the next.  Is Kale next?

Everyone knows about the major food groups, eating a balanced diet, and following USDA’s My Plate. Here are some healthy  food options that we have read about that help people avoid harmful chemicals.

Plant Based Diets

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Method has a new way of packaging refill products such as their foaming hand wash refill and their laundry detergent, and dish soap. They use a pouch with easy pour spout that they claim uses 83% less footprint than a rigid plastic bottle.  It uses less plastic, energy, and water. Refills are in widespread use in Europe, where they are more green and landfills are as plentiful.

The pouch itself is a stock pouch from Winpack International, so more vendors may start using this packaging. Consumers can save money by purchasing refills, while companies can actually make more money. Less fuel is utilized transporting packaging and essentially water. Concentrated refills save even more money, and just require the addition of water.

It will take some time for consumers to accept refilling. Hand pump soaps are one area in which refills have gained acceptance.

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Zojirushi VE Hybrid Water Boiler & Warmer is an energy efficient device that we recently purchased.  We have found it consumes far less power than using a microwave to boil water for beverages, instant noodles, etc.  It is also far handier than boiling water on the stove.

We had a 6 year old model that needed replacement. This unit is Vacuum-insulated to keep water warm. It provides maximum energy efficiency with 195 degree water falling slowly to 150 degrees 8 hours later.

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April 24, 2021 10am – 2pm local time, is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The DEA is promoting this day for people to turn in your unused or expired medication for safe disposal. They have a local collection site locator on their website. Over 5600 sites will take back items. Several cities near me are participating with most drop of locations at police stations. Last year 324 tons was taken back and recycled.

Pennsylvania and Delaware had their events early in September.

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The New Year brings forth resolutions to get rid of all the stuff we have accumulated all year long. You probably added to your pile of items during the holidays, so it is time to get rid of the old and de-clutter. Because we are green, eco-oriented, we need to do this the right way.

Unfortunately, We all have stuff we do not want.  Here are some resources for redirecting unwanted items to people in need and saving them from the land fill. Be sure to look at our tutorial on recycling electronics.

eBay is a good place to sell off items of value. You can use a eBay trading assistant company, but you will be getting even less money. Be sure to take the time to write a detailed description and to upload quality photos that show the product in a good light. You will maximize your return with all the tedious listing and dealing with deadbeats. Trading in your item will net you far less money.

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With the Pandemic, it because clear that food scarcity was a major problem.  People lost their jobs and just needed food to eat.  Food banks were pushed to their limits, seniors had meals delivered.

What eco friendly elements can help reduce food waste and decrease food scarcity.

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