I am very pleased to be offering two copies of Gorgeously Green as my next Luxe Giveway!
This NYT bestseller, with an introduction by Julia Roberts, is a perfect read for a new year. In it, you will learn how to…
- Green your entire beauty regime
- Detoxify your home
- Indulge in guilt-free shopping
- Adopt a home fitness routine
- Prepare eco-licious treats
- Give your kitchen a green makeover
- Become more aware of your impact on the earth
To enter, please leave a comment about how you plan on going green in the new year. Any new ideas or tips? Perhaps practices that have fallen by the wayside at the busy end of the decade?
In 2010 I have a few green goals:
- Start a compost.
- Re-purpose some throw-away clothing into new wares.
- Discover eco-friendly cleaning solutions (no more chemicals!).
- Consider carbon offsets when I travel.
- Consult Fish: Without A Doubt to ensure I am eating the most sustainable sea creatures–my favorite protein!
- Buy in bulk as often as possible.
How about you?
You can enter the giveaway through the end of the year (decade!), 11:59pm on December 31st.
Good luck!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh this is an awesome giveaway! I already try to do a lot of things to be as eco-friendly as I can: I use cloth napkins and convert old clothing into napkins and cleaning rags, canvas and thermal totes for grocery shopping, use chemical-free cleaners, I carpool to work, I buy local foods from area farmers markets whenever possible to cut down on the environmental impact of shipping and I grow a lot of my own herbs and vegetables, things like that. For the new year, I’m hoping to get some reusable veggie bags to cut back even further on the number of plastic bags I get at the grocery store. I am also starting my own business in the new year, which will have me working at home for half of the week so that will seriously cut down on my driving. I really wish I could do a compost, but I live in rat-infested Baltimore and that would be like paradise for those little beasts. Thanks for the great giveaway! Have a wonderful holiday!
I’d love to hear about your business Claire, or is it on the DL for now?
We don’t recycle.
I know, I know! That’s our green goal for the year. We do use energy-efficient lightbulbs, conserve as much energy as we can (turn off lights, cold water washing, etc.), and use eco-friendly cleaning materials. But recycling has somehow slipped through our family’s grasp; we will rectify it this year! Huzzah!
It isn’t anything particularly special, Penny, and definitely not on the DL. I finished massage therapy school at the end of November. I have my national exam in 4 days and then I’m just some paperwork and a small state exam away from being a licensed massage therapist! I’ll be starting my own business and splitting time between a home massage space and another space in a different neighborhood. It is very nerve-wracking and exciting and will pretty much be my major project in 2010. I am pumped and a bit scared :) I’ve got a friend helping me create a website and design my business cards and necessary stationary; that part has been really fun so far.
My goal is to be a green cleaner – to make my own eco-friendly cleaning products and to reduce (or eliminate!) paper towels. I’d love to improve my sewing skills and begin to repurpose clothing, too!
Ditto on the compost. Or at least find a community compost where I could deposit my organic refuse.
ha Claudia- our compost pile attracted a rat that has since moved into our basement since it got cold here! but we perservere :) my #1 thing to do is just minimize the amount of things we throw away- whether it be by recycling, reusable bags, composting, buying non-packaged food, etc. I also refuse to buy anything that has been shipped across the world (except buffalo mozzerella- my weakness!) but I shop at the farmers market and do the best I can with our little garden. I take the shuttle bus to work and don’t own a car (more than a loathing of driving than anything else) and I have made friends with several students at the school of forestry at my university- they have great tips about being eco-friendly. I also think one of the best things you can do is to get other people to just be aware of this- I bug my family & friends all the time about recycling & not eating meat so much. claire, good luck! my mom is a massage therapist, she left her corporate job 15 years ago and has never been happier.
I plan to expand the glass, plastic, aluminum recycling from my law firm to all the offices in my four story building. I started collecting the recycling of the above-items by placing a bin in our office kitchen when I started here as a law clerk in 2005–taking the recycling home with me to my recycle bins behind my apartment building. I have taken the recycling for the last 4+ years now, and I am going to contact the office staff/mgmt of the other tenants in the bank building where our office is, to get point people to do the same–maybe our efforts will convince the building mgmt to actually provide this service.
Also..I am going to “green” my skin care routine. I am about half “green” now, but am still looking for a spot-treatment and an eye cream that are both effective and green.
I plan on recycling my boyfriends. That way I’m not dirtying up any new, unused boys so that they may be available for others’ use.
Jill…Your comment made my morning.
ahhhh so many eco goals for the new year. this year I changed most of my eating habits. no processed foods, no meat(although admittedly this is more for health reasons than environmental – but it helps!), limited dairy, and only buying produce grown locally (so no fresh tomatoes for me!) I figure if it isn’t something my grandmother would have had a little kid then I probably shouldn’t be eating it. I’m going to try to keep this up and I would love to start a compost and start making my own cleaning supplies. and I want to get rid of paper towels and use cloth napkins!
We already recycle as much as possible and don’t have cars, but I want to replace all our non-eco friendly lightbulbs, reduce the amount of meat we eat and start replacing our cleaning and beauty products with organic/natural products. Also, I want to make sure to actually eat our leftovers so we can save money and not throw so much food away.
Typical, but … I’m going to try to ride my bike more (i.e. not drive my car) for everyday errands. I recently moved out of the city and miss the ease of walking everywhere, but there are no sidewalks! Or people to watch while walking. But, there are big shoulders to bike on. It’s embarrassing how quickly I fell into the suburb-driving routine.
My goal in the new year is going to be tough for me but I’m determined to do it- stop using paper towels. Even when I’m conscious of how many I use and try to cut back, it’s still a lot. So my goal is to buy one roll at a time and keep them in a cabinet (out of sight) for emergencies and to help myself ween off of them. I’m going to buy a few more hand towels, tea towels, wash clothe type things and just reuse them. Wish me luck!
I adopted some green habits in 2009 that I stuck to all year long.
-Taking the fuel-efficient, half-hybrid city buses instead of driving and taking cabs so often
- Switching to e-statements and online bill pay instead of receiving snail mail
-Unplugging lights and electronics when not in use.
-Completely switching over to reusable bags for shopping even at the boutiques and using old plastic bags for bathroom garbage cans
This year, I’ve decided to make a positive impact by sharing these practices with my boyfriend and helping him to adapt. He is really sweet and is almost always agreeable with taking on a new challenge or trying something new with me. However, when he suggested he could start being green by consuming more green tea ginger ale, I knew that I would need a little help. I’m hoping to continue my evolution into a gorgeously green girl and lead by example! Happy Holidays!
I am greening my life by teaching my roommates that more than just beer and wine bottles can be recycled (I wish I were joking) and learning how to use the LA public transit system so I can stop driving so much. I’m sort of terrified. Wish me luck!