Pick Up Your St. Andrews Shopping Bag!!!

Don’t worry about having to pay for a reusable bag at the shopping center… just pick up your very own St. Andrews‘  shopping bag!

It’s nice-looking, its reusable, and you can carry it to any store!!!

Come by during our office hours and get one!!!

(photo courtesy of Project GreenBag from Flickr)

A Green Party

Are you really into Going Green? Do you also want to throw a party? Dinner parties can be fun and a place where you can connect with others. A lot of trash can pile up during the preparations and aftermath of a dinner party. If you really think of it you use a lot of paper and probably cans and bottles. There is a great article that can help you throw a great green party.

Here are some tips:
Send invitations via the Internet.
Plan a sustainable menu.
Decorate with the Earth in mind.
Send guests home with a little something.

Click here to read more.

Green Home Products

By purchasing green products for your everyday consumer needs, such as home products, food and personal items, you’ll be making a contribution to the environment.

Green products are divided into several broad categories based on similarities in certification standards:

Personal products (accessories, clothing, cosmetics, bath, and bedding) – For clothes, find items made out of organic, natural and recycled materials. For cosmetics, choose ones without aluminum and other similar elements, and without animal testing.

Home (cleaning supplies, appliances, furniture, home improvement, housekeeping, kitchen and garden, and pest control) – For home appliances, look for Energy Star qualified models. When buying housekeeping items, choose products made with biodegradable ingredients in a recyclable container.

Electronics (computers) – Look for electronic companies with a responsible recycling program. Look for Energy Star models or other labels.

Food and drink – look for meat and poultry products made from grass-fed animals, and that involve organic meat production, and safe animal waste composting. Buy local whenever possible. This saves energy to preserve and transfer produce to supermarket shelves. Buying local strengthens your community by investing food dollars close to home.

Automobiles – New car technologies, such as hybrid cars, allow us to reduce toxic emissions and increase fuel efficiency.

Do you buy green? If so, what do you buy?

Read more about “buying green”

Make Your Own Green Deodorant

Let’s face it, I think we all need a little help when it comes to underarm odor. And if you’re going green like me, you might be thinking that no deodorant is the most eco-friendly deodorant because you’re not creating any plastic waste from the stick’s casing, and you’re not taking any scary health risks from all of the aluminum compounds in store bought deodorants that have been linked to Alzheimer’s and
Breast Cancer.

So here’s a green alternative that you can make yourself that has good results:

1. Mix together ¼ cup of cornstarch with ¼ cup of baking soda
2. Optional: add your choice of essential oils if you’d like your deodorant scented
3. Add 2 tbsp. of coconut oil and a few drops of skin-softening, vitamin E
4. Blend everything together until it form a silky mass
5. Pack the mix into an old deodorant stick casing
6. Get creative and create your own clever label to stick on the front of your homemade odor-eater.

Try this out and let us know if this green deodorant worked for you and your family. Read more about it here, http://www.instructables.com/id/Deodorant/

The Low-Down On Hybrid Cars

If you’re in the market for a new car, now is a good time to consider getting a hybrid vehicle instead of the traditional gas combustion rig. PlanetGreen.com has an entire section devoted to hybrid cars, from how they work to choosing the best one. Save on gas while lowering your carbon emissions. There are tips on how to drive greener, too, until you can afford that fancy hybrid.

Do you have or want a hybrid car?

Recycling Cardboard

Cardboard is one of the most commonly recycled materials.  The durability, long fibers and overall high quality of cardboard allow it to be recycled into an array of paper products such as new cardboard, paper, paperboard and more.

Check out ways to recycle cardboard boxes and where.

The 5 Rs of Living Green

We all know “recycle, reduce, reuse,” but there are two new Rs to keep in mind these days too. Now, as enviornmentally conscious consumers we have the power to “reject” excessive packaging and materials and “reward” companies who are socially conscious by letting them know you notice and appreciate their efforts. Do you live by the 5 R’s?

Check out a full breakdown of the 5 Rs here.

Light It Up with Fluorescent Bulbs

You keep hearing the term “Go Green” all over the news, in magazines and on billboards but just how do you do that?

You can actually do something very simple to get started on the “Going Green” path: simply purchase compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

CFL bulbs are those funny-looking bulbs with swirls of glass tubing, lit with argon gas and mercury vapor. They are slightly more expensive than traditional incandescent light bulbs, but they pay for themselves in six months and can last 10 times longer than the incandescent light bulbs you’re using now.

That means if you have a light fixture you use quite a bit and find yourself changing the light bulb in it every six months, using a CFL bulb means you won’t change that bulb again for five years. The higher the wattage of a CFL bulb, the longer the bulb will be, with more fluorescent glass spirals. That means a 40 watt CFL bulb is smaller than a 100 watt CFL. You can even purchase CFL bulbs for recessed lighting.

And since CFL bulbs use less energy, you will eventually notice a dip in your energy bills in the coming months and years.

No need to replace your incandescent bulbs all at once; that would be quite an expense. As your incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with CFL bulbs. Don’t forget that since each CFL bulb utilizes a small amount of mercury, you can’t just throw away a burned-out CFL bulb, it must be recycled. Many recycling locations will take your used CFL bulbs at no cost or give you a discount on future CFL bulb purchases.

Worth Your Salt

While it serves a role for seasoning food, salt is also one of those substances important to the body’s health.

Besides being a chemical needed by the body, the generic table salt bought at the store is typically fortified with iodine, another needed component. It quite literally makes everything taste different.

Salt has a long history as a preservative, because of its ability to kill mold and bacteria. Salt water can be used to clean minor wounds as well for this same reason. It stings to get in the ocean with a stubbed toe, but know you are aiding in the healing process.

There are also thousands of household uses for salt.

Like baking soda, salt is an abrasive and absorbent – use it to scour a stainless steel sink, or pour it down the disposal. You can even pour it over a stain on the carpet and blot it up later.

Salt’s long history in both culinary and household uses should serve as a reminder that using it is much safer than many of today’s cleaners. You might throw up after drinking a mouthful of salt, but the effects are much more benign than a mouthful of bleach to a child!

Do you have any uses or recipes where salt is featured?