With all this snow as we head into March, I just can’t get our next tropical vacation out of my mind. While many of us may have green habits at home, there are also a number of ways to go easier on the planet while traveling for spring break, etc. I’ve tried a number of the 8 easy green travel tips in the list below and often times find that they are convenient and sometimes even save money!

1. Bring a reusable water bottle with you to fill up over and over again (you will need it empty to get through airport security) so you won’t find yourself stuck buying plastic water bottles everywhere you go
2. When staying at a hotel, hang up your towels and re-use your sheets for as long as possible- this saves water and energy used for daily washings
3. Pack lightly- not only will you have to carry less around, but you will likely save money at the airport on baggage and reduce fuel usage
4. Bring your own toiletries in small, reusable bottles so that you don’t need to use the ones provided at hotels (you can also enjoy the quality, hopefully healthier (less chemicals) products that you use at home
5. Take public transportation such as local buses and trains (this can be a huge money saver!) or if you’re not going far- walk! This is by far the healthiest option!
6. Use the restroom before boarding a plane since every flush in a plane uses enough fuel for a car to go six miles
7. Check to see if there is eco-friendly lodging where you are staying such as those options listed here
8. Shop for local products and souvenirs (support local businesses and materials that did not travel far to their destination)

Sources:
http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=737&category=44
http://greenliving.about.com/od/travelinggreen/tp/top_green_travel_tips.htmhttp://climate.weather.com/articles/dctraveltips2009.html

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I started doing some digging to find healthier, more eco-friendly ways to celebrate this holiday. The following items are still romantic gift/date ideas, but go easy on our bodies and the planet:

• Make a home-cooked meal for your sweetheart, complete with as many organic, local foods as possible (this will also keep you from long, unromantic wait times at restaurants)
• Give the gift of red wine; it is romantic and offers a number of health benefits (organic wine with no sulfites added is best). If you are in Michigan, check out Peterson & Sons, a local winery making fruit and red wines with no sulfites added.
• Purchase hand-made & natural aromatherapy oils, massage oils, and candles while supporting individual sellers on etsy.com
• Purchase organic flowers if possible as it not uncommon for roses to be grown using thirty pesticides!
• Make your own Valentine’s Day cards for your loved ones using recycled paper and magazines you’ve finished reading
• Fill a basket with pampering items for your loved ones with healthy soaps, body washes, bath salts, and lotions from your local health store or farmer’s market
• Spend time together outdoors doing an activity such as ice skating or skiing (depending on the weather you have right now!) Michigan is currently buried under a good amount of snow!
• Snuggle up on the couch with a romantic movie and munch on old-fashioned popcorn popped on the stove

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/valentines-day-roses-47021104

I took a “green” quiz today to test my lifestyle at wholeliving.com and it was actually quite interesting. All you need is a piece of paper, writing utensil, and about 5 minutes. There are 12 questions about recycling, buying organic food, the types of house cleaners you use, how you get around, etc.

I scored a 28 (which is good), but know that I can do better in certain areas- such as always shopping with reusable bags (more to come on this in the next couple of weeks) and getting around on my own two legs or with public transportation (this would also be good exercise for me!). Unfortunately, this is hard to do in a Michigan winter although I have seen a few people actually biking out in the snow…

After you find out your score, there are some great tips on how to live “greener” such as setting up an recycling system in your home for plastic, glass, cardboard, and paper. My system is easy- collect enough to fill my entire car and then make a trip to the recycling center near my work.

Some other good ideas noted include purchasing items with less packaging materials and avoiding unnecessary chemicals such as those in cleaning products (we have a variety of homemade/natural cleaning products on our site if you haven’t checked them out yet). Let me know if you have any other neat ideas- there is always room for improvement!

I was browsing Natural Awakenings Healthy Living this morning and came across a great tool for finding local recycling facilities. All you have to do is input the type of item you want to recycle and your zip code at Earth911 and it will generate a list of nearby options.

You will find that Earth911 has over 250 items (from electronics to automotive supplies) to search and each recycling facility it locates for your area is listed with complete information (address, phone number, website, etc.). You can also locate places to drop off the basics- paper, plastic, cardboard, and glass.

This is a great tool, especially for those of us (me included!) that do not have curbside pick-up of recyclables. To avoid a monthly fee for pick-up, I load up my car every once in a while and head to a nearby drop-off location. Even so, I still tend to have long-term collection of things I’ve not yet found a convenient place to recycle, such as dead batteries and burnt-out light bulbs. I think Earth911 will help me finally get these items where they belong!

It seems like there is always someone I know having a birthday, an anniversary or a baby.  The constant gift-giving results in quite a bit of wrapping paper and countless cards being sent to decompose in a landfill.

When I heard about a special paper that contains flower seeds, I looked into it and discovered that there are cards, envelopes and gift boxes available for sale, too!  These products are made from lotka paper, from the Daphne bush which regenerates in as little as four years and is therefore considered a renewable resource.

On average, people use nine trees worth of paper products each year.  Using renewable products will help decrease your impact on the environment.  You can find out more about lotka paper, as well as banana, mulberry and mango paper and other natural products, on the Sweet Organics and Naturals website.