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Green Goes Simple: Conservation at Home

By Amy Levin-Epstein for Green Goes Simple

Ready to make some eco-friendly changes, but not sure where to begin? Start with the things you do each day: chores!

Yes, even small shifts in your daily cleaning routines can have positive effects on the planet — no extra elbow grease required. “People have a sense that with green cleaning there is more scrubbing, or it is more expensive, or it doesn’t work. These are all myths,” says green-cleaning expert Annie B. Bond, author of Clean and Green and Better Basics for the Home.

Add these simple tips to your daily chore toolbox and you’ll be a green, clean, dirt-fighting machine in no time: “Going green takes some time to figure out, but once you get it, you’re set for life,” says Bond.

Laundry
Go Green: Use a detergent designed for cold water. Choosing cold water for each load saves energy (good for the planet) and money (good for your wallet). Cold-friendly detergents are formulated to fight dirt and stains just as well as their warm-water counterparts.

Go Greener: Ditch your bleach for a better brightener, like sodium percarbonate, found in many common laundry products. While bleach pollutes our water systems and is a lung irritant, sodium percarbonate is a natural mineral that’s just as effective at getting out stains.

Dishes
Go Green: Save water by using a dishwasher instead of sudsing your plates by hand. If washing by hand is the only option, look for foam-based soaps that use less water.

Go Greener: If you’re buying a new machine, go for one with the ENERGY STAR rating. Then, run it only when full and skip the pre-rinse cycle. For energy-free drying, simply open the door!

Floors

Go Green: Place a stylish and sturdy welcome mat at your door. You and your guests will track less dirt into the house, which means less vacuuming later. Taking your shoes off at the door also helps control dust and dirt.

Go Greener: Try a steam cleaner. Cleaning with steam kills bacteria and dust mites, and it makes your floors sparkle without the use of additional cleaning agents.

Grocery Shopping
Go Green: Bring your own reusable totes to the store. There are many cute options these days, and most grocery stores also sell them near the register. Leave a few in your trunk and stash one in your purse for unexpected trips.

Go Greener: Buy in the bulk section of your favorite store. You’ll get the same great products without all that waste.

Photo Credit: @greenista.com

Amy Levin-Epstein is a freelance writer who’s been published in magazines like Glamour, Self and Prevention, on websites like AOL, Babble and Details.com and in newspapers like the New York Post and the Boston Globe. You can read more of her writing at AmyLevinEpstein.com. Her articles have previously appeared on Green Goes Simple.

Healthy Kids from Teeth to Feet: Kids & Health

By Peg Rosen for Healthy Kids from Teeth to Feet

A good night’s sleep for grade-schoolers and teens means at least 10 hours of solid shut-eye, according to the National Institutes of Health. For preschoolers, it’s 11-12 hours, and for babies it’s up to 18. But many kids are falling short … and paying the price.

New research from The University of Chicago suggests that youngsters who don’t get enough rest are more than four times as likely to be obese as their well-rested counterparts; sleep deprivation has been shown to disrupt levels of chemicals that regulate appetite. And Spanish researchers recently found that kids who don’t log an adequate amount of shut-eye are more likely to struggle in the classroom, where poor sleep habits hinder their motivation and compromise their ability to concentrate, memorize, write and spell.

One of the biggest sleep-snatchers is electronics, according to Timothy F. Hoban, director of pediatric sleep medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center. “Thirty years ago, there were no game systems, personal computers or mobile phones. This technology is now commonplace and often available in the child’s own room,” he says. But bad sleep habits are also to blame.

Here are Hoban’s top tips for getting your kids’ sleep situation under control:

• Keep a regular bedtime schedule: Not just on school days, but seven days a week. “Children who are weekend night owls or sleep in on the weekends will often have a very different sleep pattern than they do on weekdays, increasing the likelihood for insomnia during the week and making it more difficult for them to fall asleep at an appropriate time on school nights,” says Hoban.

• Establish and follow a regular bedtime routine: Easing the transition to nighttime sleep is almost as crucial for older kids as it is for young ones. About 15-30 minutes before bedtime, try to establish a calm atmosphere in the house. Pry kids away from electronics and encourage them to chill out for a while and read. Make it clear that computers, handheld games and phones must be turned off for the night.

• Balance and prioritize: After-school activities are great. But if your child is so overscheduled that she’s up late doing homework and tossing in bed over all she has to do, it’s time to identify what’s really important … and eliminate the activities that aren’t.

• Walk the walk: No need to hit the sack at 8 p.m. However, parents who have regular sleep patterns and healthy sleep habits are important role models for their kids. That means not keeping the house hopping till the wee hours on an ongoing basis. And maybe even moving the television out of your bedroom. You might just end up better-rested yourselves.

Photo: @bethelseacoast.org

About the author:  Peg Rosen has contributed to numerous magazines and websites, including Healthy Kids, MORE, Redbook, SELF, Real Simple, Parents, Family Circle, American Baby, ParentCenter.com and WebMD.com. She blogs at Relish-This.Blogspot.com.

FREE GOOSEBERRY PATCH EBOOK ALERT! Download their newest Circle of Friends eCookbook “Jo Ann & Vickie’s Favorite Recipes” to your eReader FREE for a limited time only! Click over to their landing page to see which of the sellers have updated their price first…they should all join in the fun soon, so if your reader is still showing full-price, stay tuned!

EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN EBOOK READER, you can still enjoy this freebie! Download one of the free reading apps from Kindle or Barnes & Noble and it’s like having an eBook reader right in your computer!

Gooseberry Patch Circle of Friends “Jo Ann & Vickie’s 25 Favorite Recipes” eCookbook (description):
From Jo Ann’s Cowboy Cookies and Vickie’s Tomato Pie to scrumptious Chicken Casserole Supreme and Comfort Corn Pudding, this new collection features 25 of Vickie and Jo Ann’s most delicious recipes for sharing with family & friends!
(MSRP $0.99)

I received no products or monetary compensation for this post. Just spreading the word about an online ebook.  Article provided.  The opinions herein are my own.

Great for Crafty moms!  The Craftsy Block Of The Month  is a completely free, year-long online class instructed by expert quilter, Amy Gibson.

There are 12 installments, each one posted on the first day of every month. The first 10 months/installments teach their students two new exciting blocks (brand new designs or funky spins on traditional blocks). The last two months are dedicated to finishing the quilt. At the end of the class, their students will have full-size and one-of-a-kind quilts.

Like all of their classes, students can view it whenever it’s convenient for them, and can watch them however many times they’d like. It’s filmed in high-definition, and it’s fully interactive—students can ask Amy questions as they go.

(Note:  The link in this post is my referral link. Read my Disclosure Policy.)