What are you still doing here?

Meet us at www.greenyourapartment.com! Now GO!

So we’re here again - 3 am and I’m still writing away. With a little one around, seems that’s the only time I have to myself these days. Let’s get right to it!

ENERGY
Rosemary Rugnetta gives us 3 Easy Ways To Make Your Home Green This Weekend posted at Her Home Blog - though that first one may not be applicable to all you apartment-dwellers. Next up, Christopher Johnson presents Going Green, Saving Green posted at christopheraaronjohnson.net. Don’t forget to mention these money and energy saving ideas to your landlords, folks!

FOR BABY
Autumn Beck presents Fabric Softener on Cloth Diapers *gasp* posted at All About Cloth Diapers Blog. Though I couldn’t rough the full-on cloth diaper, I did go the GDiaper route. Yea for green bums! In other news, have you heard about the BPA scare? Well, NtJS has and talks about it in Now BPA Free! posted at not the jet set. Jennifer tells us about being Blinded by the White (Zinc Oxide): Cheap and Safe Ways to Protect Your Kids from the Sun posted at Queercents. It’s important to teach our little ones how to live green from the get-go as Kevin says in his post Tips For Helping Our Kids Grow Up Green at M4K Parenting & Family Life.

INDOOR POLLUTION
Suzanne advises us to use Home Made & Eco Friendly Cleaning Solutions over at Mommyfootprint.com.

IN THE GARDEN
Kathy Hester (aka GeekyPoet) tells us to Grow your own lettuce over at Geek, Poet, Housewife Wannabe. I’m definitely checking this option out! And Laura Williams presents Plantin’ Season around the Ol’ Homestead posted at Laura Williams’ Musings - hopefully I can implement some of this stuff into the potted garden I’m planning for our patio.

IN THE KITCHEN
J.F. presents R-Rated Fruits And Vegetables: Your Guide To Buying Organic Produce posted at vegoftheweek.

OUT N ABOUT
Kevin Fleming showcases Mercedes Unveiling of the SUV BlueTEC Hybrid, the Ride of the Future posted at The Green Motorist. Traveling this month? Well, Kimberly tells us about Sustainable Dining Guide: 25 Days to Green Travel, Day 15 at Go Green Travel Green and Penny Nickel gives us 15 tips for a frugal, relaxing, earth-friendly vacation that’s car-free! posted at Money and Values. And in case you meet someone special on your travels, Zork Brauk offers Zork Green Tip 10 - Top 10 Green Date Tips over at It’s the Planet, Didiot!.

PERSONAL POLLUTION
Fuel Efficient Driver is back with some Tips On Saving Gas And Money posted at I Want Better Gas Mileage.
And praveen, also another return poster, presents Alternative to Throwing Your Cell Phone in A Landfill posted at Tao of Simplicity.

SHOPPING
Don’t know how to go about picking your veggies? Then J.F. is swooping in to rescue you with R-Rated Fruits And Vegetables: Your Guide To Buying Organic Produce posted at vegoftheweek.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Shannon Bullard remembers tis the season of the great outdoors and gives advice in Planning your Eco-Friendly Picnic posted at Zeer Blog.

REASONS WHY WE GO GREEN
In a moving memorial, Hannah writes In Memory: Rachel Carson posted at The Purloined Letter. This was a lovely read, truly. And back to share some amazing experiences is AdmirableIndia.com with Trip to Mudumalai National Park: Day 2 over at AdmirableIndia.com.

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That’s it for this edition of “Tips for Green Living”. Thank you all for your excellent submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment except when the baby cries too loudly at our house. If you are interested in participating in our next edition set for May 26th, submit your post HERE.

Go green!

Welcome to the sixth “Tips for Green Living” carnival! We have quite a lot of sharing to do, so let’s hop to!

ENERGY

Please welcome a new submitter, Repeat Revenue with the posts Using Less Power in Life and California Solar Company Starts Leasing Program posted at Solar Power Home. Can’t quite pull of leasing from the solar power? For this, Alison presents Carbon Offsets — Native Energy posted at Green Me. Our friend Phil for Humanity presents Reducing the Electricity Consumption of Water Heaters posted at Phil for Humanity. New contributer Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Easy Ways To Conserve posted at Tip Diva. Sonja Stewart presents Light’s Out! Why I’m No Longer Energy Efficient posted at Parenting Squad regarding the mercury levels in CFLs. In fact, I’d direct you to my post Enlighten Your Apartment in 2008 for more information about those CFLs.

FOR BABY

Now this is my section! Jessica Jones presents Confessions of a Mother posted at Practical Nourishment about the struggles to be both Mom and environmentalist - great post! Amanda Harris reminds us When Your Baby Comes Home: Choosing a Green Pediatrician posted at eFamilyBlogger. I didn’t even think of choosing a green pediatrician! Thanks Amanda! Paul Duxbury tells us Why Every Parent Should Switch to Organic Baby Food posted at Free Diet Recipes.

IN THE GARDEN

Karen Dowell gives us Newbies a low-down on vermicomposting with the post Composting for Beginners posted at Wiggly Wigglers. nichole halsey presents Build this: Solar Food Dryer posted at Bad Human! Don’t take chemicals from strangers! - a post that makes me hungry. Happy Housekeeper gives us Organic Pesticides For A Safe Lawn posted at Garden Tips; while we apartment-dwellers don’t have a lawn to care for, many of these tips will work for our planters and container gardens! And to round off our time in the garden, Tejvan Pettinger advises us How To Make Your Garden Eco Friendly posted at The Compost Heap.

IN THE KITCHEN

Lane Wright presents Vegan Eating Trumps Eating Locally posted at Vegan Bits. Though I’m not a vegetarian, let alone a vegan, if you can do it then I commend you! Amanda Harris gives us some tips in What You Need to Know About Buying Organic posted at eFamilyBlogger.

FYI - NEWS

Have you received your economic stimulus check yet? Matt DiChiara presents Economic Stimulus Act to Benefit Apartment Owners and Environment? posted at MyNewPlace Blog. Apparently, Matt uses Green Your Apartment as a reference/inspiration for his site’s apartment guide! Do I smell a collaboration in the works?

Esther Garvi is Denouncing the myth of famine food posted at Esther Garvi aka Ishtar News. Linda Jo Martin tells us about a freaky fungus, Ug99, the Destruction of Wheat Crops, and Prices In Our Local Supermarkets posted at Country Kitchen Pantry | Herbs, Spices, Recipes, Cooking. Speaking of those food prices, Flash Gordon reviews Sustainable Ethanol: The Future of Energy Production? over at Great New Books that Are a Must Read.

OUT N’ ABOUT

Who is hurting from the price of fuel? To help ease the impact both on your wallet and your environment, Fuel Efficient Driver gives us Improving Gas Mileage at Better Gas Mileage and Tip Diva tells us her Top Ten Tips - Reducing Your Gas Usage posted at Tip Diva. Or you can turn to Davexplorer to learn about Cell Fuel Cars posted at Your Greeness. But remember, it’s not just the fuel but the carbon monoxide that vehicles spew out. Mark Schauss addresses this in his post Smog and Premature Death - Science Has Linked Them, The White House Denies It posted at Toxic World Blog - Detoxify and Heal Your Body. Looking to tracel this summer but want to still be green? travelcat4 presents 10 Tips for Responsible Travel posted at Ultimate Vacation Guide to help you out.

PERSONAL POLLUTION

Davexplorer gives us some more insight The Eco Bedroom posted at Your Greeness - a great companion post to my Sleeping Soundly and Sustainably. But don’t forget about Roxy and Fido! Ray Hays gives us 7 Tips to Reduce Your Pet’s Carbon Paw Print posted at EarthPaw. I do love a good animal friendly site! AlexBo presents a counter-intuitive tip with Wonderful Teeth Whitening With Strawberries posted at Dental Health and Nutrition. And Jessica Jones presents Celebrating Womanhood posted at Practical Nourishment, a very personal post about remembering what sustains us emotionally as well as physically.

REASONS FOR BEING GREEN

GP reminds us Hey, we shall inherit the earth posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn. Lexi Sundell argues for a Reverence for Life at Energies of Creation. Melanie Rimmer tells us I Believe… over at Bean-Sprouts. And AdmirableIndia.com presents Nagarhole National Park(Rajiv Gandhi National Park), Karnataka posted at AdmirableIndia.com, a must read if only for the pictures of those magnificent elephants!

RECYCLING

hank presents A New Investment Idea - Pay Someone To Pick Up The Phonebook That Gets Dropped On My Door Every 3 Months That I (And Millions Of Others) Never Use! posted at My Investing Blog. Okay, it’s not necessarily recycling, but this was a really good post and I didn’t know where else to put it! LOL.

QUICK TIPS

Will gives us the quick-and-dirty list of Ten Simple Ways To Go Green, Save Money, And Save The Planet Too! posted at Your Finish Rich Plan - A Personal Finance Blog.

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That’s it for this edition of “Tips for Green Living”. Thank you all for your great submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. If you are interested in participating in our next edition set for May 26th, submit your post HERE.

So, you may not have a yard or even a deck, but a heck of a lot of us are going to be getting outdoors to celebrate with our friends soon. We’re planning a block party for next weekend (in the alley behind our place) and (shockingly) MamaBird’s in charge of the eco angle. I’ve been trying to think of ways to minimize the impact of our celebration despite the large numbers of guests. Seems like as good an opportunity as any to celebrate Green Your Apartment’s new baby so here goes my guest post in her super-readable format.

Newbie:

Plates, Cups and Forks: If your numbers are big, just think about minimizing your impact on the landfill: go with paper cups and plates. Either use up the plastic forks you know you already have in droves in your utensil drawer (wash them and use ‘em again, too!) or buy recycled plastic silverware.

Beverages: Go for size; the biggest containers of juice you can find. Skip individual servings of juice for the kids. Bring coolers of water and skip the bottled h20.

Grilling: If you’re still using charcoal, use a chimney starter to get your coals going and skip the lighter fluid. Get local and sustainable meat (poultry and fish have a much smaller carbon footprint than red meat) and veggies to grill.

Balloons: buy latex balloons (all of them are biodegradable) instead of Mylar.

Dessert: Ice cream cones are supremely eco-conscious! No individual packaging, you eat the container…

Invites: Use electronic invitation format or phone calls – no paper invites. This goes for all levels of consciousness, since it’s just too darn easy.

Amateur Environmentalist:

Plates, Cups and Forks: Stick to reusable plates, utensils, and cups (and cloth napkins) if you’re having a small party –classy *and* avoids the landfill. Depending on party size, you might want to consider a party supply rental place. If you’re looking to invest in reusable plates, Recycline has a line made from postconsumer plastic. If you’re avoiding plastic (Beth! Fake Plastic Fiiiiiish!) then go for metal plates.

Beverages: Make your own juice from frozen concentrate. Get a keg instead of bottles or cans.

Grilling: Use propane or gas instead of a charcoal grill; be sure to have vegan alternatives to grill (hello veggie dogs and seitan!).

Balloons: tie your balloons with bakery string or twine instead of plastic-coated ribbons

Dessert: Local watermelon, unless you’ve made your own cones and gotten your ice cream from a local dairy. Which means your BBQ must be happening in September, since it’ll take until then for those melons to be ripe. Realistically, about now you’re having strawberry shortcake. Mmmmm.

Certified Tree-Hugger

Plates, Cups and Forks: Ask everyone to bring their own cloth napkins, plates, utensils, and cups (reusable of course) and their favorite washable bag to stow them in afterwards. Then it won’t matter *how* many are coming!

Beverages: Make sure your beer is local brew by making it yourself. While you’re at it, brew some dandelion wine and make some lemonade from local lemons and honey, and iced tea from loose tea that doesn’t even come in teabags…

Grilling: Don’t grill! Eat raw food and skip the meat already.

Balloons: point to beautiful cloud formations in the sky and skip ‘em altogether.

Dessert: Homemade sorbet (vegan! can use local fruit! can use cones!).

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Thank you MamaBird for giving this new Mama a day off!

Hope you and yours are having a fabulous Mother’s Day and you know the drill… If you liked the suggestions in this post or perhaps have some of your own, leave a comment!

And if you’d like to write a guest post for Green Your Apartment, then email Marie at greenyourapartment@gmail.com.

Sleep is something I have been thinking much about, mostly because I’m not getting any thanks to my sweet 6-week-old little girl.

But it also got me thinking about what we sleep on. Most mattresses are made of metal springs (usually steel); cushion in the forms of polyurethane foam, puffed-up polyester, cotton batting or maybe wool; and ticking and/or quilting made of polyester or cotton-polyester blend. All this is usually covered in flame retardants and sometimes stain- or wrinkle-resistant chemicals. Put that on top of a mattress foundation made of either metal with springs and plastic or a wooden box (I imagine from virgin wood) with polyester covering and you have yourself a chemical extravaganza. Conventionally made mattresses are a green nightmare considering there is formaldehyde, benzene, pesticides and various petroleum-based chemicals right where you smoosh your face in every night. Then you pile on some plush pillows filled with synthetic fibers, more flame retardants materials and put some dyed cotton. It’s now wonder indoor pollution is often worse than outdoor pollution!

So what is a sleepy environmentalist to do? Of course, I have a few suggestions.

Newbie
Cost: $20+
Time: a few minutes online or a trip to your local retailer
Energy to do this: minimal

Change the sheets and pillows to organic, natural ones.

Conventionally-grown cotton is notorious for the amount of pesticides rained on it. Or try organic linen for a luxurious feel, or even hemp or bamboo sheets for a divertion from the familiar. Not only are you voting for organic with your cash, but you are limiting the amount of unhealthy chemicals you bring into your home and bed. I mean, do you really want to be mixing pesticides with your sleepy drool? I didn’t think so.

But don’t forget to get a new organic cotton, wool or possibly natural latex pillow with those new sheets in order to sleep soundly.

Amateur Environmentalist & Certified Tree-Hugger
Cost: $1,400+
Time: an hour or so for research and purchase
Energy to do this: moderate

Next time you go out to get a new mattress (I’m due for this pretty soon myself), bring home an organic one. There are several options varying from organic cotton innerspring mattresses to the natural latex ones. In fact, JC Penny just released The Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo, a natural latex foam mattress at one of the best prices I’ve seen yet. (You can read the details over at Danny Seo’s blog.)

Mind you, this is going to be a bit pricey - the best prices I’ve seen on organic mattresses hovered just above $1,400 for a queen. But one of the things I love about the latex mattresses is they do not need flipping and can last up to 20 years while conventional quality innerspring mattresses average about a decade, making latex a better bargain long term. Our cheapy innerspring mattress lasted only 4 years and we’re only living with it decently thanks to the 3 inch thick latex mattress pad on top of it!

Whatever you choose, you use your cash to vote for the kind of business and products you support so make sure you go with something that isn’t unkind to the Earth or your body because you only get one of each!

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Like the tips but have an even better one? Just want to brag that you’re getting sleep and I’m not? Leave it in a comment!

Today, I’m spending my time cooing at my contribution to the next generation.

How about you?

You can join Myspace’s black out, watch Oprah get gorgeously green or get political and call your representative to urge them to enact stricter environmental changes. Just make sure you do something today to honor the planet that supports your life.

Happy Earth Day!

First, I’d like to thank you all who offered your well wishes for the birth of my first daughter, Miriam Rose. I’m dedicating this carnival - even more important since tomorrow is Earth Day 2008 - to her, the reason that I want my legacy on this planet to be a gentler, more sustainable one.

Second, I’d like to note that tomorrow is indeed Earth Day. In that spirit, I would like you to note the Green Log Home & Lifestyle awards banner to the left. Please support our green-minded brethren by casting your vote for the best green blog! The more we can all talk about how to live more sustainably, the quicker people will integrate it into their lives.

Now, finally, let the carnival madness begin! Since I was on maternity leave, we have a build-up of fabulous posts to read! In fact, Katy tells us about How I feel about going green posted at Strive To Be Green. Ishtar talks about remembering what’s important in the post Trivialities or tranquility over at Esther Garvi.
And Betsy Teutsch gives us her Earth Day Goal: Inconspicuous Consumption at Money Changes Things.

Quick and Easy!
Let’s go for the one-two punch. For all you Newbies, nickel presents The Lazy Cheapskate’s Guide to Saving the Planet posted at fivecentnickel.com - great little list you have there. Cathy Chang explains how to Reduce Your Energy Costs over at Gagazine: I’m telling you, saving money and energy is the way to my heart people! Along the same lines, Alexander advises us to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint at Green Thinking Blog.
But we can’t forget the good stuff - H20. Gerald presents Testing watering systems posted at Precious Water.

Recycling
onesmallhome presents Don’t throw away those junk! posted at onesmallhome. And Zork Brauk presents UFO Recession Tip 55 - Collect Aluminum Cans for Cash posted at It’s the Recession, Stupid!. Seriously, that is a cute site Zork Brauk!

Cleaning
Jason Isbell presents New High Efficiency Front Loading Washer and Dryer | Tired Garden posted at Tired Garden. Can I sing the praises of high efficiency cleaning enough? I think not.

In the Kitchen
Betsy gives us a peek into the rich and famous lifestyle with her post Trashing Luxury Kitchens Benefits the World: the Wonders of Wealth posted at Money Changes Things. Thank God someone is recycling all that! And Zork is back reminding us to Be green: Go Vegetarian posted at It’s the Recession, Stupid!.

Gardening
It’s spring and who doesn’t want to have a lovely veggie garden on their patio/balcony? Dave Truman tells us how to Avoid Weeds In Your Vegetable Garden posted at Growing Vegetables. Our good friend Phil over at Phil for Humanity urges us to Stop Watering Your Lawn. Phil, my dear, we’re apartment-dwellers - we don’t have lawns! I will, however, let my landlord know that I’d appreciate they go with your landscaping approach.
Dave Truman presents How The Size Of Vegetable Seeds Affects Planting posted at Growing Vegetables - this is the kind of stuff I need to learn! And nichole halsey says You put the lime in the coconut and grow a little seed posted at Bad Human! Don’t take chemicals from strangers!. Welcome, nichole!

For the Little Ones
Autumn Beck presents How to Make a Pocket Cloth Diaper posted at All About Cloth Diapers for those of you who lean to the left on the diaper debate. Julie wants us to include the rugrats on Earth Day in her post Earth Day and Kids posted at M4K Parenting & Family Life.

Out n’ About
Looking for a new vehicle? Fuel Efficient Driver gives us the low-down on E85 Ethanol Vehicles at Getting Better Gas Mileage. Going abroad? Well, Kimberly gives us the Ultimate Guide to Thrift Store Shopping: 34 Tips and Tricks for Travelers posted at Go Green Travel Green as well as 20 Steps to Sustainable Study Abroad. Good job, Kimberly!

Special Occasions
If you’re Orthodox, then Easter is just around the corner! Louise Manning presents Packaging on Easter Eggs posted at The Human Imprint.

Alternative Energy
Jackson Kern shows us that perhaps The Sun Goes Around the World posted at Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog. He also gives us a great Video Exclusive! 30 Million Trees and a Nobel Peace Prize: One Woman’s Story.

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That’s it for this edition of “Tips for Green Living”. Thank you all for your great submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. If you are interested in participating in our next edition set for May 12th, submit your post HERE.

I am happy to announce that the reason this blog has been on hiatus is finally out of utero!

Welcome Miriam Rose, my daughter, at MercurialScribe.com!

Due to my current maternity situation, I will be accepting guest posts from you! So if you have any posts you’d like to contribute in the Green Your Apartment style, please submit them to greenyourapartment@gmail.com.

Thanks for the idea, MamaBird!

Welcome to the third “Tips for Green Living” carnival on this happy St. Patrick’s Day! Green for green! I’m amazed at how many wonderful submissions there were this time around.

Let’s start with something currently near and dear to my heart - and my baby’s bum! Autumn Beck presents How To Make A Fitted Cloth Diaper posted at All About Cloth Diapers. We also have some great tips from N. & J. on the The Making of Homemade Soap Making posted at Bad Human! Don’t take chemicals from strangers!. Speaking of chemicals, how about we neutralize the commercial products and focus on Natural Cleaning Products You Can Make At Home posted at The Art of Balanced Living, brought to us by Lovelyn. But if you’re not up to the task, Anne-Marie posts about Getting down to the nitty gritty with green cleaning products posted at A Mama’s Rant.

And after all that cleaning? Join Jamie McIntosh in Brightening Your Home with Flowers posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog.

Now on to my favorite subject: food! Looks like we have another veggie in town! Jean Mosher presents Kelly’s New Vegetarian Cooking Blog « Always in Motion posted at Always in Motion. Over at Natural Family Living Blog, Tiffany Washko urges us that Now Is the Time to Pick a CSA. Theodore Pappas rings in with Eating Locally: Or, the Day of the Locavores posted at Britannica Blog. Since we’ve covered the actual food, what about food storage? Scott Blackburn presents Is your Refrigerator Hiding 10 Pounds of Greenhouse Gas? posted at WattHackers | Save Power | Go Solar | Live Green.

As a nod to my British and Asian pals, Alison discusses the repercussions of improper tea brewing in her post Green Me Tea at Green Me. And what discussion of food would be complete without discussing Why Learn How To Compost? posted at How To Compost courtesy of Jim. Thanks peeps!

Let’s take a minute to educate ourselves with some interesting green news. This time around, Jackson Kern presents us with two very educational posts: Can Sustainable Development Be Clean AND cheap? A Promising “Carbon Credits” Case Study and Sustainable Development: The Role of Coal, both posted at Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog. Excellent, Jackson! Unfortunately, the US business in the dark on climate change and not learning from these articles as we are reports Leon Gettler at Sox First. So let’s change that! Thankfully, Sagar Satapathy recommends GreenDev: 50 Environmentally Friendly Apps, Hosts and Resources for business owners posted at Virtual Hosting. Even Fiona Lohrenz piped in on Recycling at your day care posted at Child Care Only - if the customer cares, the business will follow suit. In fact, that’s the whole idea behind Matty Byloos’ Petition Signing Campaign: Get Plastic Bags Removed From Grocery Stores | GreenEggsandPlanet posted at Green Eggs and Planet.

While we’re on the subject of business, Jacob is busy bragging that My commute is awesome posted at Early Retirement Extreme. Indeed, it is Jacob! Mine’s better - 5 seconds from bed to office. I love being a writer!

And last, though certainly not least, Liz Smith presents Eco-egos posted at Practical Living Blog as a reminder that going green is about doing what you can, not focusing on everyone else’s “green sins”.

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That’s it for this edition of “Tips for Green Living”. Thank you all for your great submissions and I hope you found some useful info in this carnival. You can find a new edition posted every second and fourth Monday here at Green Your Apartment. If you are interested in participating in our next edition set for March 24th, submit your post HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: I am currently waiting to find out if labor will be induced nearly a month early due to pregnancy complications. Monday’s carnival will be posted as planned, but any further posts will be held off until my maternity situation is either stabilized or induced. Thank you for your patience and well-wishes and I promise there will be updates on our situation as we have them.

I look forward to seeing what else you have to offer for next week’s carnival!