We talk pretty big around here, even if we do tend to focus on the smaller things that each of us can do to minimize our impact on the planet, and I’ve always been bothered by an inability to actually do a lot of the things we encourage on these here electronic pages. You see, for basically all of our adult lives, the lady and I have been what you’d call renters, a species saddled with severe limitations on the influence they have over their immediate surroundings.

That changed just this month, however, when we moved the detritus of our lives into a modest home in the suburbs. When the plumbing goes wrong, we get to fix it (a fact we’ve already confirmed.) But this also means we get to take a stab at turning our little slice of Georgia into an abode worthy of The Greenists.

What we’ve done so far:

Planted edibles. This actually started a month before the move so we’d have a head start. At the end of March I constructed an Earthtainer, a tomato planter made of plastic storage bins designed so that virtually every drop of water that goes into the system is utilized by the plants. That sucker’s six feet tall already. Once we moved in, I decided to stick with container gardening until we’re sure where the best sunshine is in the yard. Aside from the tomato plants we’ve got peppers, cucumber, zucchini, strawberries, garlic, cilantro and basil. I’ve put an inordinate amount of scheming into these future vegetables, so I really hope they work out.

Changed out some light bulbs. Somebody in this home’s past was really into dimmer switches because there’s one on virtually every light. This is problematic because standard CFLs don’t do dimmers. Enter the LED. Obviously the future of lighting, LEDs are still somewhat expensive. Enter The Home Depot. HD has a two-pack of LEDs for $10, which isn’t bad at all if they last 20+ years as advertised while barely sipping the juice. We got some. They’re awesome. Can’t wait to have them everywhere, but that’ll take a little time in our case (unless Home Depot will entertain a tomatoes-for-LEDs trade.)

Installed an attic vent fan. This was my big “ME MAN- ME USE TOOLS” project to get the ball rolling. Roofs are good for keeping the rain off, but they also trap some insanely hot air under them when the sun gets cooking. The gable-mounted vent fan kicks on when it hits 105 up there, blowing the hot air out. Should keep the house a bit cooler and save us money.

Opened the dang windows. The way these windows were sticking, it’s pretty clear the previous owner wasn’t a big “air it out” type of guy. Some people just don’t bother to open their windows even if it means letting the AC run when it’s 70 degrees out. One of the things we most looked forward too after living in a windows-on-one-side apartment was the simple ability to create cross-ventilation, and it has been glorious.

Started composting. There were two plastic garbage cans here when we moved in, plus a recycling bin. I figure between recycling and composting we actually won’t have very much garbage, so I repurposed the second can as a compost bin. We’ll probably outgrow that soon enough, but in the meantime I drilled some holes in the sides and am taking strange delight in the simple act of throwing vegetable scraps away.

And I’m proud to say that I’ve already plumbed the Greenists archives for a few pointers here and there. Anything else we should be doing in the short-term?

Going green is a lifestyle you have adopted and made your own, but sometimes it may be hard to get your child on board. Children are less likely to go green on their own. Here are 7 ways you can help your child follow in your carbon footprint:  

1. Make it fun: There are plenty of ways to make going green fun for your kids. Start by taking them to fun events like local farmers’ markets that tend to cater to children with games or face painting. There are lots of games and books for children that teach them how to go green, too.

2. Keep it positive: Always keep it positive with children in all you do, especially teaching them the ways of going green. You want your child to see this as a fun and positive way of life.

3. Educate: The more your children understand why and how they can go green, the easier it will be for them to do. There are plenty of kid eco-friendly books explaining to children the need to go green, in addition to your lessons.

4. Lead by example: Monkey see, monkey do. You learned the last time you let a bad word slip out of your mouth that your children pick up on everything you do. Knowing that your kids mimic your moves, use that for good. You practice going green; your child will follow.

5. Make it easy: If you make green chores or tasks difficult for your child, in most cases they will get discouraged and give up. Give them something easy to start off with, like recycling different household products.

6. Rewards: It is okay to reward your child for good behavior and practices. If you notice your child taking the time to be eco-friendly at home, then reward them with a small prize.

7. Make it part of everyday life: It takes a short amount of time to make something a habit and routine. The more you make going green part of your everyday life, the easier the transition.

Going green is easy, and the younger you start teaching your child, the easier it will be. Remember to show them how and why it is important to do so and lead by example. Have fun with it and keep it interesting!

Christine Kane from internet service providers is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide variety of subjects for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00@gmail.com.

We all know that having a long, MSDS sheet-sounding name doesn’t necessarily mean something is bad. Take dihydrogen monoxide, for example (it’s water).

But what about when the opposite happens, with seemingly harmless ingredients that can actually be irritating, contain higher emissions than you’d think or are otherwise not so enviro-friendly? How do you know the difference? It’s a great question, really (and as an enviro-nut, a fascinating one to me): is your “green” cleaner really green – and is all-natural always better?

Here’s a quick sample of some common “green” cleaning ingredients to watch for and why they might not be as healthy as you think. (Please note that this is NOT a comprehensive list of cleaning ingredients; always check ingredients for safety issues.)

D-limonene – Typically, this is shortened to lemon oil for marketing purposes, though it can be another citrus oil. Lemons seem harmless enough, but limonene, which is a terpene, is volatile and can be a skin irritant. In addition, if used as a spray, it may mix with particles in the air to form formaldehyde, a carcinogen.

Ethanol – You drink it, right? So how bad can it be in a cleaner? Well, it may be flammable, for starters. Use great care in using this product around sources of high heat. Ethanol is also a real problem if swallowed, obviously, so if you choose ethanol-containing cleaning products, keep them well out of the reach of children and pets.

Perfume – Don’t even ask. Actually, let me amend that: do ask. Call or e-mail the manufacturer to find out exactly what the perfume is and how it was derived. If the company won’t give you that information, keep looking down the cleaner aisle.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) – Don’t “a-ha!” so fast: here’s a common sudsing agent that may give us less to worry about than we thought. Yes, SLS is harsh as a cleaning agent and can definitely be an irritant. But OSHA has cleared its former negative indictment of being a “potential carcinogen.” Snopes has some good information on this; check it out.

Cinnamon Oil – Another ingredient that may hurt more than it helps. Cinnamon sounds just so innocent, doesn’t it? (Not to mention yummy.) But cinnamon added either as an oil or as a dry ingredient added to a wet cleaner can actually cause skin burns. Ask me how I know this (ouch). Watch out and use gloves. And don’t eat a cinnamon stick whole. That’s another story I’m not going to tell!

Borax – Borax, or sodium borate, is commonly used as an ingredient in laundry detergent, and is also used in pottery, toothpaste and soap. It’s also an effective anti-fungal, and a large amount turns it into a herbicide. Many people confuse borax with boric acid, which is a mild insecticide. All these “-cide” properties makes it a less-than-kind cleaner for the environment, but it is safe if used properly. In years past it was used in food preparation, but ingesting a teaspoon is enough to seriously harm a young child, so definitely don’t store it in your pantry! I would stay on the safe side and not use it in a homemade dishwasher recipe, either.

Some Go-To Green Housecleaning Recipes

If you love concocting your own cleaning products, here are two I rely on, and they’re so easy:

Simple Household Disinfectant

• 2 c. water
• 18-25 drops tea tree oil (depending upon the strength you want)
• 2 tbsp. castile soap powder

Pour the water into a spray bottle. Add the soap; shake very well, about 2-3 minutes. Add the tea tree oil and very gently shake. Use a small amount on surfaces at first so you know whether the product will be gentle enough not to harm the finish.

Baking Soda Paste Stain Remover

• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp. water

This works particularly well on porcelain counters. For a more stubborn stain, use a little less water for a thicker product. Mix baking soda and water together and rub gently on stain; allow to sit 10-15 minutes. Wipe away carefully so as not to harm finish.

Oven Cleaner

• baking soda
• water

In the evening, liberally apply baking soda in the oven, then spray with water. In the morning (or after 8 hours), wipe clean. For really tough stains, mix baking soda and vinegar, and wipe after a few minutes. I actually line the bottom of the oven with tin foil (reflective side up), and replace when necessary.

As always, enjoy and be well!

Chris Molnar is a writer and volunteers for a variety of environmental organizations, and  is a work at home Dad of two children. On the lighter side, he edits Themeaparty.com, a birthday party website for kids. All his cleaners are homemade concoctions – one tip is to NOT use too much dish soap on a tile floor recipe. It took three rinses before most of the suds were finally wiped clean!

When I was asked if I wanted to take a look at the cookbook Quinoa Cuisine, 150 Creative Recipes for Super-Nutritious, Amazingly Delicious dishes by Jessica Harlan and Kelley Sparwasser I jumped at the chance! I’m a big fan of Quinoa, but I don’t use it this often and thought it would be fun to find some other things to do with such a versatile, healthy ingredient. So today for Meatless Monday I’m going to share with you a recipe from the cookbook for Spinach and Black Olive Calzones made with Quinoa flour and let me tell you these are fabulous!

They also have some really great sounding recipes for things like Hummus, Thai Summer Rolls, Spicy Chicken and Waffles, Mushroom Soup, Grilled Quinoa Cakes, Chile Rellenos, Eggplant Parmesan and even desserts like Triple-Chocolate Bundt Cake and Funnel Cake Bites all incorporating quinoa! But for now sit back grab a fork, and let’s talk some Calzones!

What You’ll Need for the Quinoa Pizza Crust:
1 1/4 cups of warm water (about 110 to 120 F)
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon of honey
2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour, as needed, divided
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour

1. Place the warm water in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast, honey, and 1 cup of bread flour. Let sit in a warm place until foamy, about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and quinoa flour. Gradually add the remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough forms a slightly sticky ball. Turn out onto a well-floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if needed. The dough will be slightly sticky. Form into a ball.

3. Drizzle the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil into a clean bowl. Place the ball of dough in the bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour. Use in your favorite pizza or calzone recipe.

What You’ll Need for the Spinach and Black Olive Calzones:
2 recipes Quinoa Pizza Dough (see above)
Cornmeal or semolina flour, for baking sheet
4 cups of prepared pizza sauce
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
1 cup sliced black olives
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

1. Prepare pizza dough according to the recipe instructions, making a double batch.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 F; if you have a pizza stone, put it in the oven before preheating. If you don’t have a pizza stone, sprinkle a rimmed nonstick baking sheet lightly with cornmeal or semolina flour. Heat the pizza suace in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

3. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the other pieces covered with towel or plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, use your hands to pat and stretch a piece of dough into a flat oval about 12 X 8 inches. Arrange a quarter each of the spinach and black olives on half the oval, leaving a edge of about 1 inch uncovered. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and drizzle with about 1/4 cup pizza sauce. Fold the dough over the filling and, beginning at one end, roll the edge to seal. Tuck the rolled edge under the calzone. Carefully transfer the finished calzone to the baking sheet or slide onto the hot pizza stone in the oven.

4. Repeat with the remaining dough and the filling. Bake the calzones until the dough is golden and they sound hollow when tapped, about 15 minutes. Serve hot with the remaining pizza sauce spooned over.

Notes: I used sea salt instead of kosher salt. I also sprinkled the tops of my calzones with oregano and Parmesan cheese.

Image credit: milajake

I know we usually save the videos for A/V Fridays, but I recently watched a brilliantly simple TED talk that I think is worth sharing on a Thursday. If you’ve got four minutes and 28 seconds to spare, go watch it now. The gist is that if you use paper towels to dry your hands, you’re probably doing it wrong, and if you switch to Joe Smith’s “Shake! Fold!” method (which guarantees you dry hands using only ONE sheet of any thickness and size), we could save 571,230,000 pounds of paper a year. That’s no small figure. It is, however, a small change, and the small, easy changes that make a big difference have always been some of my favorite posts on The Greenists. So bookmark that for later if you must, but seriously, watch that video. You’ll hear Joe saying “Shake! Fold!” every time you wash your hands in a public restroom from here on out, and you will use way less paper as a result; I swear.

For the record, I do avoid using paper towels at all as often as I can, and I’m sure you probably do too. I keep a tea towel on a magnetic clip under my desk at work; I would never think to waste a paper towel to dry my hands at home; and it annoys me no end when people reach for paper towels in the gym locker room when they’ve got a washable cloth gym towel hanging out on a bench ten feet away. But it drives me crazy to leave a public restroom with wet hands (or damp jeans from trying to dry them on my legs), so I’ll admit that I cave to using paper towels outside the work/home/gym/friends’ homes venues. Now, however, at least I use only one when I do so.

Of course, people use paper towels for more than just drying their hands. I was guilty of using them as napkins at home until I finally cut up an old towel into napkin-sized rags a few years ago. And there have been plenty of times when I spilled something messy in my kitchen and decided grabbing a paper towel was just faster and easier than dirtying and rinsing a rag. But I have not used a paper towel in my house in over six months now, because of one ridiculously simple tip that I will now share with you. Are you ready? This is pretty earth-shattering, people. I merely have not refilled my dispenser!

I think the only reason I ever went for paper towels instead of a rag to clean up a spill anyway was that I’m lazy, but you know what? Climbing up on a chair to reach the spare paper towel roll in the cupboard above my fridge, and then taking the plastic wrap off the roll and properly installing it in the dispenser is actually a lot more work than grabbing and subsequently rinsing out a rag. Laziness has worked in my favor for once! And the planet’s favor too! Woo-hoo!

I’m sure eventually I’ll find some seemingly valid and worthy reason to open that spare roll in my cupboard and pull a towel off of it, but I’ve decided that when I do, that roll is going right back in the cupboard immediately thereafter. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s a trick that’s totally working for me.

So my best tip for cutting down on paper towel use? Simply don’t keep paper towels around (or at least within easy reach) at all.

Like I said, the simplest, seemingly-too-obvious-to-even-mention tips are some of my favorites. What’s a “Hi; call me Captain Obvious” tip you’d like to share?

One of my favorite presents I received last Christmas (from fellow Greenist Allie!) was a pair of Punjammies. These flowy cotton pajama pants were too thin to wear during the winter, but now that it’s warmed up, I’m rocking them all the time. But not only did Allie give me something comfortable and cool to wear while I’m working at home during the day; she also opened my eyes to a wonderful charity.

Punjammies are a product of the International Princess Project, an organization that employs Indian women who were once enslaved as prostitutes. Most of them grew up poor and were lured into the sex business by someone promising a well-paying job that would help them support their families. But instead, they are forced to sell their bodies, beaten if they refuse. Those who escape often have a hard time finding an honest job — they have little or no marketable skills, not to mention the emotional and physical scars they bear.  

The mission of the International Princess Project, which sponsors the production of Punjammies, is to rescue these women from slavery and give them the opportunity to support themselves with dignity at a fair wage. Many women learn how to sew, and each pair of Punjammies is “made with hope” by one of these women.

The pants themselves are 100% cotton with an elastic waistband and drawstring. There are all sorts of fun designs and colors to choose from, and the bottoms come in shorts, capris, or full-length pants. There are tops, too — hoodies, racerback tanks, scoopneck Ts, and blousy-fit Ts, all in cute designs and colors. Prices range from about $20 to $35 — a bit more than I’d normally pay for pajamas, but since it’s for a great cause, I don’t mind shelling out a bit more. Each product comes with its own little drawstring bag, too.

So what’s the green benefit? Many of these articles of clothing are made from 100% organic cotton, but this isn’t a green charity per se. But I still wanted to write about it here because it’s such a good cause. Next time you’re buying a present for someone or just looking for a treat for yourself, consider Punjammies — you’ll be supporting women who need our help.

Writing Paper

I love writing paper. There’s nothing like the convenience of grabbing a notebook or a piece of loose leaf paper and scribbling down my latest brilliant (or not-so-brilliant) thought.

Unfortunately, I’m thinking my way to a pulverized tree. According to the website Conservatree, each tree can yield just over 8,000 sheets of paper. That’s 16 reams of paper or 80-100 sheet notebooks. Maybe that sounds like a lot of paper to you, but to me, that sounds like a productive week. Luckily for me, and the trees, many of the places I write for, both academically and professionally, will allow me to fileshare and submit my work digitally.

Even if you’re not much of a typist or if you need to use sketches and figures in your writing, a good tablet computer with a stylus will let you write freehand on the touch screen itself, saving paper and giving you the benefit of spell check (woohoo!) while you are working. For those occasions where you absolutely must use paper, paying a few extra cents and getting the stuff that’s recycled can help with your eco-guilt.

Billing Statements

Okay, chances are you don’t get 8,000 billing statements in a given year, but if you put together yours with your neighbors, coworkers and friends, we’re probably getting into tree-saving territory. Now that just about every company offers paperless billing, you have the option to save those trees, as long as you’re responsible enough to keep an eye on your bank account without those bills to remind you when money is being deducted.

There are other benefits to paperless billing, too. Sometimes companies will offer you an incentive like a gift card or sweepstakes entry for going paperless. You also get to save postage and checks, and save yourself the problems you would incur if a statement were to be lost in the mail. Also, as the Little Green Blog points out, you’ll have a much slimmer file cabinet.

Other Paper Products

Okay, as I said, I don’t expect you to go without toilet paper; heck I’m not even going to ask you to go to cloth diapers (although you would save a lot of landfill space).

Let’s take a look at paper towels, though. Do you really need to use a paper towel for every spill? Wouldn’t a nice reusable washcloth be just as good, or better? Again, you’ll save a few bucks, too, as all those rolls of paper towels start to add up in cost. If you must use paper towels, there are recycled options available.

Saving trees doesn’t have to be painful, and it can really make you feel good about yourself and what you’re doing for the environment. Using options besides paper, or using recycled paper, can make a big impact on your environmental footprint.

Best of all, cutting down on paper use can sometimes help you to save the most important paper of all–the green kind with pictures of presidents on it.

We are not strangers to the wonders of rice and beans here at The Greenists.  When it comes to meatless meals, it doesn’t get much more simple or inexpensive.  Combined, rice and beans provide a complete protein as well as essential nutrients and soluble fiber.  Plus, they’re easy to make and super yummy.

To take the stress off meal time, we’ve been making a big batch of rice and beans a few times a week and planning our meals around how we can dress them up.  Calabacitas are my favorite addition and so easy to make.

I soak dried beans overnight.  I do two packages at once and like to combine small red beans and pinto beans.  I brown one chopped onion in olive oil in the bottom of a big pot and add the beans and water to cover them, bringing the whole thing to a hard boil for a few minutes.  After boiling, I transfer them over to my crockpot and cook on high for four hours before taking it down to low for another three or four hours, until the beans are soft.

While the beans simmer in the crockpot, I add salt and spices like turmeric, cayenne pepper, chili powder and ground coriander, and a pinch of baking soda to “de-gas” them.  I also add vinegar and 1/2 a bottle of (gluten-free) beer.

I know this sounds involved, but two bags of beans will last us most of the week, so a little bit of effort on a Sunday afternoon has a great payoff.

When the beans are close to done, I boil up a pot of rice, pre-heat the oven to 450 and get started on the calabacitas.

My calabacitas recipe usually looks like this:

• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 package of frozen corn
• olive oil

Neil illustrates why even though you may love your new hybrid car, you shouldn’t LOOOOVE your new hybrid car.

Possibly offensive/NSFW, if you/your boss doesn’t have a sense of humor when it comes to simulated car humping.