Greenscaping

Just a young stay-at-home mom trying to better her children's world one less paper towel at a time.

[greenmama23-blog]

Whole Foods Customer Service

So today my family and I made our weekly grocery run to Whole Foods and I was met with an employee that totally blew my mind. First of all the staff there is awesome....everyone is SO knowledgeable about all the items in the store and they are always friendly.....thats sometimes hard to find these days! I went to the cleaning section looking for a better natural stain remover because, by the way, the chlorine free bleach by Seventh Generation, although good on clearing FRESH stains does NOT take out set in stains, was not working for me and my messy kids! I asked the young man who happened to be stocking the shelves with more cleaners what he though would be better for set in stains and he showed me two products one, a gel and another a powder, both by their store brand 365. He told me he thought the gel would be best because it was a "free and clear" product which would be safer on my kids skin (brownie points for thinking about my kids). I said, "awesome, well Ill try the gel and if it doesn't work Ill come back next week and get the powder" he replied with, "How about I just give you this bottle complimentary on me that way you wont have to pay for something, just in case it doesn't work to your needs." I said, "Really? Wow! Thank you, thats great." and he smiled, put a special sticker on my bottle and told me to have a great day........I knew I loved Whole Foods before, but damn.....now I really love them! We always felt like paying more for what we put in our bodies and our children's bodies was worth it, but now, after being treated like that by a young employee, we think its worth even more. What a great experience!

Alot of people think that organic markets don't take coupons, but I have recently learned that that is false. I researched Whole Food coupon policy and they accept manufacturers coupons and their own store coupons, which you can find throughout the store on certain items and also online at their website. You can print them off their site and also see the deals of the week which they change every WEDNESDAY, NOT Sunday like usual markets. Check out this link to get you there: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons

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Free 1-2 day shipping both ways, great prices & 365-day return policy. Shop green products at Vine.com - Best 24/7 customer service.

I just found this app and HAD to pass it along to you guys! The app is called Vine and stems from Vine.com......an awesome site that compiles TONS of natural products to make your life more green! Everything from clothes, accessories, food, cleaning, gifts, home appliances, kitchen gadgets and more! ITS SUPER AWESOME and you can order everything straight from the app! Right now you can get 15% off your first entire order if you enter in the promo code: VINE15 at checkout! Go check it out guys....you'll LOVE it!

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 I know buying all natural products can be difficult on your wallet so whenever I can find the link to some coupons Ill definitely share them! Here is a link for buy one get one free on some natural face care products. :-) Enjoy!

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If every household in the U.S. used just one less 70-sheet roll of virgin fiber paper towels, that would save 544,000 trees each year. Change that to using three less rolls per U.S. household per year, and that would save 120,000 tons of waste and $4.1 million in landfill dumping fees.

http://1800recycling.com/2009/10/going-paper-towel-less/

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THURSDAY'S TIP.........Save a tree, don't use a damn paper towel

The reaction I got from my family and friends when I told them we were no longer using paper towels was pure SHOCK. They couldn't even fathom how I would clean, wipe a kid's dirty face, etc without using a paper towel. With a family of 5, we were going through 2-3 BIG rolls of paper towels a week! It was making Scott and I sick seeing all of that wasted paper just going into the trash so I went to the local big box store and bought about 20 of these hand towel sized white clothes......on sale for 97 cents a piece. We have loved it......we have not seen any trouble with using a hand towel to clean or do anything for that fact, instead of a paper towel. Scott and I both use one and then our two girls use one at dinner to wipe our faces and I usually use just one all day in the kitchen. If I do something really dirty though, I can just throw it right into the wash and its ready to go again! Not only are we saving money on expensive paper towels that are going straight to the garbage but we are cutting down on our waste! It feels great to not be throwing away so much! I know it may seem crazy at first but I would highly suggest giving it a try! Its an easy way to make a BIG impact on your waste production!

CHECK OUT THIS SITE ON THE FACTS OF THE WASTE OF PAPER TOWELS AND OTHER PAPER PRODUCTS:

http://1800recycling.com/2009/10/going-paper-towel-less/ 

[greenmama23-blog]

**NEW** Product Review! Seventh Generation Dryer Sheets!!!

So to go along with the post I did a couple days ago about composting I thought this product review just made sense! I switched my family over from Bounce dryer sheets to Seventh Generation Natural Fabric Softener Sheets two weeks ago and they are AAAMMMMAZZZING :-) They smell great without being overly "perfumey".......We got the Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender scent and my whole family loves it! In regards to cutting static cling.....We have NONE! This product is chlorine free so its safer on your clothes and your skin and it is a product that is NOT tested on animals. These paper sheets are awesome too because they can easily be ripped in half for use in a small load saving you sheets and money in the long run! BUT the most AWESOME thing about them is that they are COMPOSTABLE!!!! Yes people! You can toss these right into your compost and give them right back to the earth! Amazing right? Just another way to cut down on your waste....keeping our earth beautiful! Now who doesn't want to do that!?

[greenmama23-blog]

"Solid wastes" are the discarded leftovers of our advanced consumer society. This growing mountain of garbage and trash represents not only an attitude of indifference toward valuable natural resources, but also a serious economic and public health problem. -- Jimmy Carter

http://www.backyardwildlifehabitats.com/id119.html 

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**NEW** Monday's Tip of The Day!

Happy Monday everyone! My tip of the day involves starting your own compost! Its super easy to start and provides wonderful and natural soil full of nutrients to your garden, plants, etc. PLUS its an awesome way to cut down on WASTE that will be sent to your local dump to sit, and sit, and sit, and.......well......you get the picture. Here is a picture of our compost box:

We bought this at a local Big Lots for about $50 about a week ago and today, on trash day, we noticed a large decrease in the amount of waste in our trash bin......WHICH IS AWESOME! Not only are we loving it but so is he:

.......our little earthworm buddy crawling his way into our compost to help us out by eating all our goodies! :-) You're welcome little guy! 

If you aren't sure how to start a compost or what to put in it, check out this link on ways to build your own compost box and what to put in and what not to put in your own compost! Try it out! Its super cool!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/How-To-Start-A-Compost-Pile.aspx#axzz2QXVeVwzD 

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Check out the link above to find out where your local farmers market is held!!!! Support your local farmers and eat local, fresh, organic produce and meats! They taste awesome and farmers markets are super fun for everyone! 

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Buying natural/organic products can sometimes put a dent in your wallet.......Go on Facebook and "like" Burt's Bees page and you can find some coupons to help you save some bucks.....Who doesn't like that!? Follow the link above! :-) 

[greenmama23-blog]

Whole Foods Market, an awesome grocery store, gives you "bag credits" for bringing in your own reusable bags! You can then put them here in one of two sections to donate money to a local charity! SO AWESOME!

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All of our reusable bags filled with awesome local and organic groceries!!!! :-) 

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Here's another easy tip on how to help the environment that ANYONE can do! Take your own bags to the grocery store!!! If just one person used reusable bags over their lifetime it would save 22,000 plastic bags from being used and eventually going into landfills where they DON'T biodegrade!!!! Usually canvas bags are larger then your average plastic store bag which means carrying less groceries in and making less trips to the car! Also, some stores such as Whole Foods gives you bag credits which you can use for a percentage off your total OR you can donate them to one of two charities of your choice, which they change every so often. Its a great way to give back not only to the earth but also to a local charity......PLUS it makes you feel GREAT! :-) 

Check out the link above for more info on why you should use reusable bags and facts on plastic bags and the environment. 

[greenmama23-blog]

Want some small tips on how to make a green difference without changing your entire lifestyle?! Sure ya do!!!! Here’s my first tip of the day- if you only have a few items at the grocery- so little items that you can carry them yourself- just decline that plastic shopping bag! One less bag used is another bag not going into someone’s garbage! Here is also a link to a website with some other info on plastic bags and how to recycle them!

http://www.plasticbagfacts.org/Main-Menu/Reduce-Reuse-Recycle/index.html

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MY FIRST PRODUCT REVIEW: Burt's Bees More Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner! Kid tested AND APPROVED!

My five year old daughter's hair usually looks like this in the morning:

SCARY.....I know! I have tried every detangling shampoo, spray, conditioner for kids AND for adults in her hair and nothing seems to work. The poor child ends up in tears every time I brush her hair because of the pain of brushing out those darn tangles!

I knew I wanted to switch them to a more natural hair care product but I knew it had to smell good for them to like it and work well on tangles for me to like it. The wonderful smell, which comes from the Baobab Oil (derived from its fruit seeds and contains essential fatty acids and antioxidants) and Cupuacu Butter was immediately approved by both of my daughters! I used the shampoo and matching conditioner on my 5 year old daughter's hair, toweled it dry and then brushed it and......TA DA!!!!! The brush ran through her hair like BUTTER!!!!

The first thing my daughter said to me was, "Oh my gosh momma! Thank you for getting all my tangles out!" I was so thrilled and so was she! No pain and NO TANGLES!!!! Praise the Lord! This is a must buy for mothers with crazy haired children!!!!! Here is where you can buy the product and also see a full list of ingredients:

https://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/hair-shampoos/more-moisture-baobab-shampoo.html

And here is my daughter with her "silky" and much happier hair!

[greenmama23-blog]

Hey everyone- check this out!!!! The milk industry is trying to get the FDA to hide the chemicals that are in milk such as Aspartame and sucralose! Aspartame is the same chemical that's found in sweet-n-low and has cancer causing agents! Buy local- buy organic people!!!!