Giveaway at Laney Pottery

Please visit LaneyPottery.com to see the Pottery Apple Bakers for yourself.

Laney Pottery is giving away a set of 4 pottery apple bakers!

Go enter to win!

The contest will close on November 2, 10 pm EST!

Laney Pottery has lots of beautiful hand made items. I kind of want them all.

Conserving Water in The Home

Like many consumers, I am working towards a life style with a smaller carbon footprint. Some steps have been easy for me, such as taking reusable bags on shopping trips, or replacing paper products with cloth. But one of my weaknesses is the desire to indulge in a long, hot, shower...every day.


I have a pet peeve with people who embrace the "green movement" only on a surface level and do very little to actually conserve resources. I was so excited when LetsGoGreen.biz offered to sponsor a Water Conservation Kit giveaway on my blog.

Last summer, my state experienced a long drought. This resulted in the water company putting a penalty fee on homes that used more than a certain amount of water in a given month. We did all we could to conserve water and avoid the financial penalty; I bathed the kids in the kitchen sink instead of the big bath tub, we never watered the yard (we used rain barrels to keep some tomato plants alive), never filled up the kiddie pool, and, yes, we stopped flushing the toilet every time.
The toilet thing was a bit embarrassing. I was always worried about unexpected guests discovering that we were letting the yellow mellow. I would much rather save water using these inexpensive products from LetsGoGreen.biz:


This low flow faucet aerator reduces your bathroom sink output to only 1.5 gallons per minute. It installs easily without any tools. I did it myself with one hand! It took about 20 seconds. The aerator results in a nice, even spray from the sink. I have one of these...I need another for the second bathroom!





The Low Flow Earth Massage shower head also installs easily without tools and uses only 1.5 gallons per minute....that is 40% less than the average shower head. With this baby, I can still take a long shower while using 40% less water than before! And it has a massage setting. Woohoo!







The adjustable flapper prevents leaks in the toilet tank and saves thousands of gallons of water per year. And you can still flush.






This little jewel is a low-flow kitchen faucet aerator. It uses only 1.5 gallons of water per minute and has an on/off valve so that you can get the water to the temperature you want, turn it off when your soaping the dishes, and turn it back on when you are ready to rinse. I love using this in my kitchen; it even swivels!


The Household Water Conservation Kit from LetsGoGreen.biz includes all of the above, as well as leak detector tablets and a flow meter bag!

This is SO easy to use and can make a BIG difference in the amount of water you use in your home. The kit is only $21.99 at LetsGoGreen.biz and with the coupon code "FRIEND", you can save 25% ! It is fun to see how much you can save on your water bill while feeling good about conserving the world's clean water supply!

I'm hoping to add the Shower Coach and a couple of Toilet Tank Banks to my array of water-saving tools in the future!

LetsGoGreen.biz wants to give away a Household Water Conservation Kit to one MyGreening reader!

To enter, visit LetsGoGreen.biz and tell me another product from their store that you love or would like to know more about.

One winner will be chosen by random number generator at random.org.

This contest will close on Monday, August 18th, 12 midnight.

*Congrats, kagey10 ! *

To Market, To Market with Reisenthel Market Basket

The "green movement" is really taking off this year; it seems that a lot of people who wouldn't consider themselves "hippies" are making small changes in their lives to be more environmentally friendly. Every grocery store chain is selling their own reusable shopping bags; I am developing quite a collection. When I got my very own Reisenthel Market Basket, I felt that I had finally reached an oasis of reusable-shopping STYLE in a sea of lack luster fabric bags.








I love this basket. It is light (made from tear-proof polyester and sleek aluminum), very sturdy (it holds up to 55 pounds, but I'm not sure I can), has a small zippered pocket on the inside, and a nice, rigid bottom.

I have enjoyed taking my Reisenthel basket shopping; I fill it with neccessary coupons before I go to the store, and then use it instead of a shopping cart while I'm there. I feel that I look more like a well put together Euro-shopper when I use my Reisenthel Market Basket. Sometimes when I have a handful of fabric bags, I'm afraid I look like the "harried hippy mom".

I love that the Reisenthel Market Basket is lightweight and collapsible: I plan to use it in Asia when I go to outdoor markets. I think it would be a handy way to corral the children's toys when we are traveling, because I can set it up easily in a hotel room as a mini-toy box.

The Market Basket is a smart alternative to giveaway plastic & paper bags. Lightweight, collapsible and comfortable to carry. Comparable size to store hand basket. Ideally suited for farmer's markets, small grocery loads, picnics, & gardening.

The Reisenthel Market Basket is available for purchase at ReusableBags.com . They also have a very adorable Kids Market Basket by Reisenthel: it is a wee version of the original; definitely on my wish list!

I have a Reisenthel Market Basket in the Art Deco design (pictured with Baby Deak, but new, still in the package) to giveaway to one very lucky MyGreening reader!

To enter, just comment here with your favorite Reisenthel product not mentioned in this review.
Get an extra entry for subscribing to myRSS feed .

One winner will be chosen by random integer generator.

This contest will close on July 5, 9pm CST.

*The Winner (thanks to her EXTRA ENTRY!!) is

Kathleen @ Katydid & Kid, who said...

I also subscribed to your feed.*

SoapNuts for Everyone!

Snuggly, fresh laundry, anyone? Remember my previous review on SoapNuts from Laundry Tree? Since my last post about SoapNuts, my mother, who is not a hippy, has embraced SoapNuts. And some friends of mine, who ARE hippies, are exploring the possibility of stocking SoapNuts in their store. SoapNuts cross the barriers of age, creed, color, religion, and lifestyle. Hooray for SoapNuts!

Now, LaundryTree is giving away 5 SoapNuts samples to 5 lucky My Greening readers! And ONE lucky winner will receive a SoapNuts Starter Pack, which is a 100g package of SoapNuts and 1 oz. of scented oil in the aroma of your choice! That is a value of $15.00!




Reasons why SoapNuts are good for the environment:

• One little drawstring bag of 3 to 4 SoapNuts can be used FOUR TIMES! The same four SoapNuts can wash 4 loads of laundry!
  
• SoapNuts are organically grown (chemical free!).
• SoapNuts are biodegradable. After they have done their four loads of laundry (did you just READ THAT?), just toss them into the compost pile.

Since SoapNuts are free of chemicals, they are great for sensitive skin (like eczema). I'm really loving SoapNuts for my entire family!

I was thinking how convenient SoapNuts would be for traveling...no zip-lock bag of detergent to spill when you are trying to do laundry on vacation (in the condo or laundry mat)!

If you check out the website, there are recipes for making other types of cleaning supplies out of SoapNuts...try SoapNut Soak!

LaundryTree would like to give away samples of SoapNuts to FIVE MyGreening readers! The sample size includes 8 SoapNuts...enough for up to 8 loads of laundry!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me which of the scented oils from Laundry Tree you would like if you are the BIG SoapNuts Starter Kit Winner ($15 value)!

FIVE winners will be chosen to receive a SoapNuts Sample pack.

This contest will close on June 17, 9pm CST.

A total of SIX winners will be selected by Random Number Generator.

If you don't win, or if you just need to restock,

Laundry Tree has also offered to extend the discount code for My Greening readers! Until 7/1/08, you can get 10% off the 100g bag of SoapNuts using the coupon code MYGREENING.

SoapNuts From Laundry Tree

I have found a product that is new-to-me, easy to use, and good for the environment (what a winning combination!)
I'm talking about SoapNuts (say what?) from Laundry Tree.
What are SoapNuts? They look like this:
They come from the Sapindus Mukorossi tree, which is found in Nepal, Indonesia, and India.
All that is done to the soap nuts to prepare them for use is to harvest, de-seed, and dry them in the sun.

When I received my sample pack in the mail, I was excited to try SoapNuts, but also a little wary. What if they somehow messed up my clothes?

I followed the directions that were included.
First, three to four soapnuts are placed inside of the small cotton drawstring bag (included).

Then the little bag is put into the washing machine with the load of clothes (warm or hot water works best for SoapNuts).

I washed a (very big front-loader washing machine) load of beach towels and other whites. Yes, I trusted my whites to the SoapNuts.

SoapNuts made the laundry clean, non-perfumy...just the way I like it. We didn't use a fabric softener and the towels came out nice and fluffy!

Even my (not a hippy) mother tried SoapNuts and was pleasantly surprised!

Reasons why SoapNuts are good for the environment:

• One little drawstring bag of 3 to 4 SoapNuts can be used FOUR TIMES! The same four SoapNuts can wash 4 loads of laundry!
  
• SoapNuts are organically grown (chemical free!).
• SoapNuts are biodegradable. After they have done their four loads of laundry (did you just READ THAT?), just toss them into the compost pile.

Since SoapNuts are free of chemicals, they are great for sensitive skin (like eczema). I'm really loving SoapNuts for my entire family!

I was thinking how convenient SoapNuts would be for traveling...no zip-lock bag of detergent to spill when you are trying to do laundry on vacation (in the condo or laundry mat)!

If you check out the website, there are recipes for making other types of cleaning supplies out of SoapNuts.

Laundry Tree would like to give away samples of SoapNuts to FIVE MyGreening readers! The sample size includes 8 SoapNuts...enough for up to 8 loads of laundry!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post with your thoughts about SoapNuts. FIVE winners will be chosen randomly on 5-16-08, after 10pm CST.

Laundry Tree has also offered a discount to My Greening readers! Until 6/1/08, you can get 10% off the 100g bag of SoapNuts using the coupon code MYGREENING.

EASY Composting

I love the idea of composting, but I have never officially "composted". I mean, my entire life I have thrown food scraps out the back door to a place behind the bushes, but I have never had a "compost bin". When I run across an article about composting in one of those homesteading magazines, it looks extremely intimidating.
I'm a big advocate of the "green movement" being achievable for city dwellers. After all, half the world's population will live in urban areas by the end of this year and about 70 percent will be city dwellers by 2050 (according to the UN).
Rural folks can't save the earth alone!

So, (back on track here...) I was excited to see this Automatic Indoor Composter by NatureMill. It takes up less space than those trash-compactors from decades past, and it serves a useful purpose. The NatureMill composting machine can compost up to 120 lbs of food per month. (According to a study by the University of Arizona Garbage Project, Americans throw away 1.3 pounds of food every day, or 474.5 pounds per year.)
The instructions, per the company website, sound very easy and apartment-friendly:

Deposit food waste items at any time, on any day. Add up to 120 lbs (55kg) per month. For best results, cut items into small pieces. Items remain in the upper chamber, with "hot composting" conditions: mixing, air flow, heat, and moisture. The energy released destroys odors, pathogens, and seed germination. The compost is later transferred through a trap door to the lower cure tray chamber, where it continues to compost while you add fresh waste items to the upper chamber.
No odors, worms, or bugs: Cultures consume waste quickly, without odors. The cultures produce a mild aroma similar to sourdough, mushrooms, or damp straw. Balance the chemistry by adding a small amount of sawdust to increase "brown" content, and baking soda to reduce acidity (both are included). A fan draws air into the machine continuously, providing oxygen to the cultures. A powerful carbon filter removes any lingering odors. Replace the filter every 4-5 years ($8 online, or about $1 if you buy the carbon yourself).

The initial investment is something to consider, but the ease of use will guarantee that you get your money's worth.

BONUS: NatureMill is offering FREE SHIPPING to MyGreening readers with the coupon code FREESHIPPING847.

Go Natural, Baby!

Have you ever listened to some one rave about how wonderful a certain (expensive) product is, and wondered to yourself, "How great can it really be? And even if it is THAT awesome, is it really worth $x.XX?"
But then you actually try on the cashmere sweater. Or the designer sunglasses. Or you take a bite of the gourmet truffles. You realize there IS a world of difference between your Dollar General sunglasses and REAL quality.
I have experienced this recently when I received this hand made basket.
Besides the attractive design, this basket is woven of soft elephant grass fibers. The handle is wrapped in hand-tanned leather. It smells like an open field on a breezy spring day. It is a piece of art!
Sometimes my desire for a good bargain meets conflict with my desire for high quality, eco-friendly, and socially conscious products. Things like this beautiful basket push me closer to the good.

The basket was a special Easter item from Go Natural Baby. At their online store you can find Fair Trade and organic cotton clothes for babies and children up to age four. This mama-owned company helps you by "bringing the richness of organic cotton and the values of fair trade into the lives of our children". What a worthy goal!