The 36-Hour Day
with Lylah M. Alphonse
I'm a full-time editor, a part-time writer, and a mom and stepmom to five amazing kids, ages 1 to 14. For me it's not about finding balance, it's about the daily juggle-- my career, my commute, freelance work, homework, housework, married life, social life, and parenting-- and finding the time to get it all done.
To learn more about Lylah, check out her Work It, Mom! profile and read her blog at writeeditrepeat.blogspot.com.
Tuesday (April 22) is Earth Day, the 38th annual celebration of environmental awareness. While “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” has become the eco-friendly mantra of our generation, there’s more to going green than adhering to those three Rs and toting your groceries in cloth bags (though if you’re feeling crafty, try sewing your own). Here are a few other simple things you can do to preserve our planet.
1.) The next time a light bulb burns out in your home, replace it with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). The newer models, like Sylvania’s micro mini CFL, get bright quickly but draw very little electricity — the 13-watt twist replaces a 60-watt incandescent bulb — and are designed to last longer than older types of CFLs.
2.) Do your spring cleaning naturally. Lemon juice and olive oil can replace smelly chemical-laden wood polishes; inexpensive white vinegar is a naturally non-toxic disinfectant (the smell dissipates more quickly than you think, too); and conventional baking soda makes a great scrub for stubborn stains. (Check out this great discussion for more green cleaning ideas.)
3.) Eliminate junk mail. Instead of just tossing those catalogs, credit-card solicitations, and sweepstakes offers into the recylcing bin, stop the junk mail from getting to you in the first place. GreenDimes will show you how for free (or, for a one-time $20 fee, they’ll do it for you — and plant five trees on your behalf). Want to learn more about combating junk mail? This New York Times article is a good place to start.
4.) Get rid of your gas guzzler. Hybrid vehicles are hot right now, but you can take transportation to an even-greener level by exploring biodiesel or raw-vegetable oil-fueled cars and trucks.
5.) Get your kids in on the act. “Design Squad” on PBS is holding a “Trash to Treasure” competition for kids age 5 to 19, with a $10,000 prize going to the designer of the best re-engineered invention made using everyday materials. For more information, check out pbs.org/designsquad
Want to do more? Get involved with the Greenies Group at Work It, Mom!, and share your ideas for Earth Day there (and here, in the comments)!
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Most of these ideas are so practical and a great reminder. I love using vinegar for cleaning, and not just for the humidifiers (which have FINALLY been boxed up again). As for changing my car fuel option, well, I just don’t see that happening here any time soon. DH does commute via bike and train all year (a big deal considering where we live) and I often - ok, not always but often - make an effort to conserve gas by driving slower on the highway.
A fun thing we do in our house is let the girls help with recycling. When junk mail and newspapers come in and are finished with we let them put them in the bin. And not just because I’m too lazy to do it myself!
Mandy | April 17th, 2008 at 9:01 am