Check out this video on how to make homemade laundry detergent.  I use a similar method except for putting it in a food processor.  You can save a lot of money!

After watching Oprah’s Earth Day show, it hit me that I can do more to stop the tidal wave of garbage floating in our oceans and piling up in landfills.  So, my big shift was to stop using plastic or paper at the grocery store.  Instead, I’ve stocked up on canvas totes and bring them with me.  It is far easier carrying five totes into the house, rather than dozens of plastic grocery bags, cutting into fingers, loaded with just a few items each.  I picked the blogs because they have easy, do-able, and realistic ways to go green.

Naturemom shops at thrift stores, has a productive garden going, and posts easy to do green tips.  She also reviews parenting books.  I particularly liked her review on attachment parenting–a kinder, nurturing way to be a mom.

Greatgreengoods shows pictures of beautiful earrings and necklaces created by a woman who cleans foreclosed homes during the day and turns the salvaged goods into beautiful jewelry at night.   This may be a new business trend for moms–launching businesses to clean up foreclosed homes and yards and then recycling or reselling the goods. 

I love anything that has to do with donating pennies!  Greenmomreview explains one way to get your kids involved in conservation activities through a program established by the National Audubon Society.  And it costs. . .just pennies. . . to make a difference.

Simplemom has done a stellar job at putting together 40 easy ways to go green.  Check the list!  I’m sure many of us already do some of the things on the list, but others may be easier than you think.  

Mama Goes Green has the cutest portable bags I’ve ever seen.  These are so much more attractive than the totes I use.  Her giveaway is over, but if you think using your own tote has to be ugly, look at these.  You will be stylin’ at the store whenever you use these.

This is my new favorite green website.  Thea merged with another green website and the result is a gorgeous, friendly, usable site.  Want to know how to make your own kid-friendly, economical and safe insect repellent?  Or find resources to buy disposable forks and plates that totally decompose in 60 days? 

Here is an easy, cost effective and natural way to clean your bathroom. Time to get an empty spray bottle and mix together your own friendly cleaning products.

One of my favorite posts for this internship was one about worms!   Urbanwormgirl came up with a new kind of at-home party that turned out to be a big hit with moms.   Instead of Mary Kay or Pampered Chef,  moms talked worms, vermiculture, castings, and how much leftover food a tray of  indoor worms could consume.  Worms, it turns out, consume a great deal:  crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread, oatmeal, watermelon, apples, small amounts of wet cardboard, and even clean Kleenex.

For those moms who don’t want to compost outdoors, indoor worms are easy to feed and maintain.  And, red worms are the new green:  since food waste contributes to a big portion of what goes into landfills (the third largest source of garbage), having a little worm habitat in your home can reduce how much you and your family throw away.   Think how much food a  mass of worms could eat with the leftovers from a school cafeteria!   Worms are vegetarian, of course, and don’t eat meat or dairy products.

 To learn more,  here are resources for all things worm-y.  According to this article, worms are much easier to keep than bees. . .or pretty much any kind of critter.   What they give in return is priceless for your plants and garden and doing something a little green for the environment.

Two popular books to get you started on indoor or outdoor composting are the aptly titled The Worm Book, a favorite of gardeners and those wanting to understand how to start composting indoors or out, and what kinds of worms work best.  

   A beautiful, easy to maintain worm condo.

 A second popular book:  Worms Eat My Garbage explains how to set up and maintain a composting system from A to Z.

  A stylish and sporty hoodie, once you are really into worms.

The Chicago Tribune ran a story recently about a woman who has launched a new trend in at home parties. Instead of selling makeup or cooking gadgets to her friends, she sells garbage-eating worms to moms. And it’s a big hit!

These are not fat, slithery outdoor earthworms either. According to the Urban Worm Girl website, these are a smaller, slimmer kind of worm. And they love leftover fruit, vegetables, egg shells, rice, coffee grounds, newspaper, and even wet egg cartons. [Read more...]