It's Easy Being Green

Now that we’re in full-fledged toddler mode around the Half-Acre Homestead, it’s exciting to step up the Christmas game a few notches. Like a cranky body snatcher sneaking in overnight, the terrible terrible twos have taken over my Darling Daughter’s little body. It’s been enough to send my Homestead Hottie and me up the crazy wall, wondering on an almost minute by minute basis what creature has possessed that sweet  pixie-faced little redhead of ours.

This Christmas we thought what better of a way to reinforce good behaviors then to join the Elf on a Shelf craze. We’ve heard good reports from hundreds of other parents who swear by this little elf’s ability to keep everyone good little girls and boys during the month of December. We balked at the $29 price tag of that little creepy looking elf and instead opted to go with the cheaper, cuter and oh yeah “original”, Christopher Popinkins. Darling Daughter Everly has gotten into the daily search for our friendly elf and boy, that gets to be a challenge to find a new place to pose the little snooper.

Imagine my surprise when I found out Jill over at baby rabies is putting on an Inappropriate Elf Contest. The idea: pose your elf in an inappropriate way yet keep it PG-13. So many ideas immediately went out the window with that rule but one still remained. There must be at least one elf that gets a little too merry some night, right? If you think the picture below is bad, you should see what Talina caught him doing before he finally passed out. After all, there’s a lot of pressure for one little elf to handle this time of year!

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Toms of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine.

Scrubbing your pearly whites while keeping a green lifestyle might seem like a challenge but with Tom’s Of Maine you can easily green up one of your daily regimens.  Normal toothpastes are often fraught with chemicals, half of which you could spend the better part of a day just trying to figure out how to pronounce.  With Tom’s, they explain every ingredient found in their products and most of them are sourced straight from nature and minimally processed.  They don’t use any artificial flavors, coloring, preservatives or fragrances.  The company even goes so far as breaking down the ingredient list in each product and explaining what it’s from and what it’s doing in your toothpaste or mouthwash.

Tom’s of Maine products are not tested on animals and every bit of their operation based in Maine strives to be as sustainable as possible.  Even all of their packaging is meant to be environmentally responsible and is scrutinized against the company’s recycling and Stewardship Model.  Employees spend 12 of their work days volunteering outside of the company and 10% of Tom’s profits are directed to human and environmental goodness.  These are old fashioned products made with high-tech science and research and a keen eye focused on environmental impacts.  Tom’s of Maine is producing a product that is as natural as possible without scrubbing your teeth with plain old baking soda.

I’m excited about Tom’s latest round of products called Wicked Fresh.  The new line of toothpaste and mouthwash uses powerful natural flavor oils and botanical extracts to provide even longer lasting fresh breath.  The secret is a flavorless botanical extract from licorice root combined with a punch of powerful natural mint flavor oils for what Tom’s calls a “refreshing taste that helps banish bad breath”.  Two flavors are offered: Cool Peppermint and Spearmint Ice.  The tube is completely recyclable.  The mouthwash is available in Cool Mountain Mint and Peppermint Wave flavors and is wrapped in compostable yet tamper-proof shrink wrap with a recyclable bottle and cap.  Make sure to check out their That’s Wicked Fresh contest page for a chance to win a $500 Target gift card.

Don’t forget you can follow Tom’s of Maine on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomsofMaine and Twitter @TomsofMaine

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I’ve heard of the “House of Bamboo” but now I’m amazed to hear about a bamboo bicycle.  I recently ran across the folks over at Organic Bikes whose slogan is “Rethink your ride”.  Well, rethink they have as they are creating bicycle frames out of bamboo, an easily renewable resource!  According to their website they’re also making biodegradable water bottles and organic bike clothing and accessories.

Organic Bike's "Dylan" model. It's their first bamboo bike!

Organic bikes claims the bamboo is so strong that it makes a great frame and is actually more comfortable to ride than a standard alloy metal one.  They do say that the frame isn’t entirely made from bamboo and that there is some alloy metal involved in the construction of your bike but that it is 100% recycled alloy.

This, I think, is a pretty cool concept.   While I didn’t think riding your bicycle could get much more green, Organic Bikes has gone and proven me wrong.  If you’d like a chance to enter their contest to win a bamboo bike, click this link.

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T and I were up late last night, tackling a major renovation here at It’s Easy Being Green. You’re now officially reading and perusing my blog, totally redone. There are some minor tweaks that will still need to be fixed over time but we both think it looks pretty damn snazzy! We’re a couple who likes change so maybe we’re more akin to have things look differently on a regular basis. T was a big help and now I think she’s ready to tackle a makeover on her own blog.

For all of you regular readers out there, I’ve also started a Twitter account and an RSS Feed. I know, I know…I’ve been in the dark ages for awhile now but now I’m catching up! You can subscribe to either on the top right-hand corner of my new blog page. You’ll also notice a variety of ways to share posts you like with the rest of the net at the end of each post.

I’m adding a new feature here too. I will begin to review green books and products on occasion and will even be giving some away. The first giveaway will be for a book called Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy. I’ll give it away following a two-part Q&A session with the author, Lori Ryker. Stay tuned for details on how to enter!

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Long before gasoline powered mowers, gardeners used different tools to trim up the lawn.  Whether it was a push reel, human-powered lawn mower or something as simple as a scythe, people lost the desire to use some hard work to keep up with the grass in their gardens.  Then came along the gasoline powered mower and the rest was, well history.

I remember as a kid watching a neighbor of mine struggling with his electric lawn mower.  I always thought that was quite the novelty, knowing only one person who actually plugged their mower into an extension cord as opposed to a gas pump.  It always seemed a bit of a struggle for him though, wrestling with the extension cord he was dragging behind him in the yard.

Black & Decker's new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower

That’s why I got excited about Black & Decker’s new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower.  It’s brand new to the market and seems like a fantastic edition to anyone’s arsenal of lawn care equipment.  The mower is Energy Star certified and plugs into the wall outlet to recharge itself.  The unit isn’t suggested for large lots as it can only cut about 1/3 of an acre per charge but for smaller lots it’s ideal.  Estimates show it will cost about $10 per year in electricity to operate their new mower.  Compare that to about $5 in gas every two mows.

Why else is it such a great idea?  Americans use 800 million gallons of gas every year just to mow our lawns.  In that process, we spill more gas than the Exxon Valdez spilled into the ocean back in 1989.  Gas-powered mowers are also responsible for about 5% of our air pollution each year.  It might be hard to believe those facts but when you consider American’s lawns take up three times more land than the corn currently grown, you can see just how big of an impact your lawn can have.

If you’re interested in entering a contest to win Black & Decker’s new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower, head over to the Alternative Consumer Blog and enter yourself!  You can also win an electric sweeper there too.

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So one of my favorite bloggers, Hot Belly Mama, is hosting a great giveaway right now.  Since I’m getting ready to have a baby, my wife and I have been searching for an eco-friendly alternative to all the plastic diaper waste we could possibly contribute to the local landfill.  The Bumgenius diaper is one alternative we’ve looked at since we’re “eco-freaks” and have thought about giving them a try.  If you’re in the same boat, head over to her blog for a chance to win.  Here’s the details:

Good luck!

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