Spring Greening Giveaway!
Once we’re done hibernating from winter a lot of us may feel like doing some spring-cleaning. While you’re getting rid of all the extra stuff you don’t need (and donating it to a local shelter, thrift store, or giving it away on a site like freecycle.org), it’s a great time to do some “spring greening.” Meaning, think about some of the things in your home that might be wasteful or not as eco and healthy as they could be, and replacing them with some more eco options.
Here are some tips:
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Get a good supply of reusable towels and napkins for your kitchen to use instead of paper towels (paper towels produce more than 3,000 tons of waste in landfills every single day).
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Please don’t buy plastic water bottles! Instead get a few reusable ones that you can keep in the fridge and take them with you on your way out the door or leave at your desk and refill them throughout the day. By the way, the EPA’s standards for tap water are actually more stringent than the FDA’s standards for bottled water.
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Plastic bags are nasty. If you don’t already have some, invest in a few reusable bags to tote home your groceries and anything else you have to shop for. Even better if you can find some that are made of recycled material!
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Plant a garden. It’s great for far superior-tasting food that is less expensive and it creates more clean air!
And now...
Our Giveaway!
To help one of our Kind Lifers green their home this spring, I’m giving away all these eco goodies:
1. Full Circle Home Composter: Composting is super-easy to do at home, especially with a compact composter like this one. It's small enough to fit in your kitchen and seals in odors, so your kitchen won't stink! I made a little video a while back to show you how easy composting can be.
2. Easy Clean Square Water Bottle & Smoothie Mixer by Clean Bottle: This bottle is made of BPA-free plastic and quality stainless steel that is the highest food grade stainless steel available. Plus, the bottle unscrews from both ends for super easy cleaning!
3. Urban Garden by Grow Vertical: These planters are great if you live in a city. They take up very little space because you're planting vertically. (BONUS; the planters are made from recycled plastic bottles!)
4. Weleda All Natural Salt Toothpaste: Weleda toothpaste is super-duper healthy, superhero approved! It’s formulated with sea salt to fight plaque and keep your pearlies extra white and the other natural ingredients stimulate your gums, purify, and disinfect.
5. The LaundryPOD: If you want to wash just a few pieces or clean “hand wash” delicates, the LaundryPOD is great! You can do a load of about 18 pieces with zero electricity and just 3 gallons of water with these cool laundry pods (compared to 24 gallons of water in an eco-friendly machine).
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! I'll be giving away more great eco goodies, so make sure to register for an account on thekindlife.com so you'll be the first to know about the next giveaway.
Congratulations to our winner, Stefanie! This is what she's doing to be more eco this spring:
"My boyfriend and I were just talking about these things last night while we were getting ready for bed! We have a neighbor who composts and I told him I would like to make friends with them so they can teach me how to do it too! I know it's not hard, but sometimes being able to talk to someone about things makes it much easier.
Also, he and I are updating our backyard this spring to include a small garden. We live in the city and don't have a huge yard at this time. We had a small container garden last year, but I really am looking forward to some squash and melons this year.
I've been slowly changing over our cleaning supplies to more envioronmentally friendly ones. This spring, I plan to donate the rest of the non-friendly ones to a local dog shelter (who is always in need of cleaning supplies) and replacing ours with better versions.
I'm really really really looking forward to spring this year. We've had a few sunny days, but it's still far too cold to open the windows or spend long periods of time outside yet. I seriously cannot wait to throw open the windows and beat the dust and dirt from the long winter out of my house! And my hands are itching to play in the ground, too."
376 comments
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Great article and really smart tips. I started to make my own all natural shampoos and body washes, safe, clean and pretty green :)
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Excited for the giveaway!
We're going green in our home by cutting down/hopefully eliminating zip lock bags & switching to reusable containers. We've also begun our vegan journey which is a huge step towards a greener life :) -
I only use natural cleaners. I only buy "green" laundry detergent, soaps, etc. I don't use anything that could have tallow.
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Thanks for this post, Alicia!
I have been striving to make a lot of green changes around my home. So far I have gotten rid of all plastic bags and switched to natural cleaners (like baking soda, vinegar, and borax). I am starting a garden on my small apartment patio. So far I have basil, tomatoes, flowers, and succulents.
Your spring greening give away would be very helpful in helping me start to compost and expand my patio garden! I have tried to compost in the past and it didn't last long because I had to transport it to an outdoor area at my work. I would love to have the urban garden by Vertical Grow!
Another change that I have gotten my whole family to join in is only washing laundry in cold water and bringing reusable bags everywhere, not just grocery stores.
I appreciate your post and encouragement to live a kind life!
(twitter: @heathlynn21) -
I'm Greening by starting a worm composting bin! I already have the bin and bedding ready and the worms are in the mail! So excited!
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My husband and I have a small lot on Maui. We've been turning our little lot into a private sanctuary. My greening focus is more on planting pollinator friendly plants and organic gardening. We have a small sideyard that I am turning into raised bed gardens with sunflowers and roses, hopefully. And we just installed a raised bed garden in our backyard for planting vegetables. Thanks Alicia for all your great posts and your passion for helping others lead a more "kind life". -
This has been a tough winter, with a lot going on in life, work, and relationships. Now that the weather is getting nicer in NY, I'm looking forward to spring renewal. I've finally gotten rid of all of the toxic cleansers in my apartment, and I'll be cleaning with safe, simple homemade products. I have "armed" myself with buckets, reusable rags, my cleaning music playlist, tons of green produce and nut milks to make delicious juices, smoothies and vegan food-- I'm ready to cleanse inside out this weekend. I'm so excited for spring!
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In the past year we have made great improvements in our home, especially in how we shop. We have completely eliminated plastic bag use, have started shopping at a package-free vegan grocery store, and have switched over to organic care products (including your Juice Beauty line! ) . I have switched all of our cleaning supplies to be more environmentally friendly. We have started an indoor herb garden, but so far we only have parsley, basil, and cilantro. We're planning on starting a compost and to continue to grow our herb garden! I also frequently make and gift reusable grocery bags made out of recycled materials to friends and family. I plan on selling some at local shops! -
I plan to start an indoor herb garden. I love having plants in the house. I like how they help keep the air clean and the herbs will be used in my cooking. :)
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I just started up my worm composting bin, and I love the warmer weather so I can hang all my laundry outside to dry. -
I am totally eye-balling the Laundry Pod. It's perfect for NYC apartment living. We don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment or our building so this is the perfect solution to needing to wash something without having to walk 3 blocks to the nearest laundry mat. It's convenient and oh-so-eco. I love it! What a great product. -
I am purchasing a tower garden next week! And can't wait to start growing our own foods on my balcony. I already have a large compost bin outside but would love one inside! The Full Circle one looks perfect for us! I also just got an eco friendly soap scum remover recipe off of ecoetsy that I am going to try in the coming days! Love living green ~ the greener the better! I have just been adding some LED's around the house and it makes such a difference! Oh the happy green life!
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I have been slowly but surely getting rid of the poison and bringing in clean, green products for my home. This year I will grow my veggie garden, use natural soaps and cleaners, and pay closer attention to greener body products.
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In each of the homes we have lived we have composted and grown our own vegetables. This year we are doing it again! We have started our compost pile and are in the process of making our garden bed. This is the third state we have lived and I love researching the different types of food we should grow depending on the region.
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I'm using all natural cleaning products for bath, body & home. Going to make some of my own simple cleansers with vinegar & baking soda. Going to minimize water use with low flow faucet fixtures and reuse "grey" water for gardening etc. Looking forward for a green clean spring! :)
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To cut down on plastic waste we are going to buy a water filter & some reusable bottles for taking water "on the go." We keep coffee mugs in the car so we don't cause waste using paper or polystyrene cups when we are out. -
i am loving all of these greening ideas! getting ready to get married to a coast guard guy and move to texas (who is doing so much to keep our waters clean) and we would love these items for our new home. thank you for all that you do alicia - i have been following you from day 1 and love your blog! -
I remembered to bring reusable bags to the store today, and this wek my husband and I are also going to buy good reusable water bottles for our 5-person family.
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My boyfriend and I are about to start living together, we just turned in the apartment application in today! We have big plans for greening our new home :) To name a few: we are going to install a water filter on our tap, get an economy toilet, put eco friendly heads on the faucets, install drying racks so we can hang dry clothes instead of using the dryer, herb garden on the kitchen windowsill and getting everything we need to furnish the place from secondhand or recycled sources! We also plan on composting....it would be really nice to have a brand new Full Circle Composter in our new home!!!! We would be soooooo very grateful for some help starting our green lives together :)
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This is the first year we are planting a garden. Just started some seeds inside this weekend. My father always had a beautiful garden each year. I am very excited to get started on our own.
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Spring always gives me a feeling of a fresh start and a clean slate and I plan to do so by going more green!! I have already planted my own herb garden and want to expand that by growing my own vegetables and fruits in my garden! I love the feeling of eating from what I helped create in my garden as well as what I helped give to the earth. I also plan to compose my used fruits and veggies, as well as buy more organic/vegan beauty products! =)
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