Eco-Active Family

This piece originally appeared in my Green and Simple column on the Old Town Alexandria Patch. When thinking about ways to have a more positive planetary impact, don’t forget your feet! I must admit, it is a question I had not spent much time pondering until very recently. On an errand at T.J.Maxx a couple of weeks [...]

Do you Freecycle? I’d first heard of Freecycling (the free exchange of mostly used, but still-usable goods within local communities in an effort to keep stuff out of landfills) a couple of years. Since we live in a small townhouse with limited space and had what we needed for the kids, I didn’t want to be tempted to acquire things we really didn’t need or have space for, so I kept my distance. But …

I have a confession to make… In my last post, In the Kitchen: Pitch the Paper, there was an obvious and intentional omission. In my plea to pitch paper napkins, missing was a corresponding plea to pitch the paper towels. The truth is that we’ve been struggling with this one. And since this blog is [...]

… According to the Green Book, “U.S. Households dispose of nearly one hundred billion plastic bags annually, millions of which end up littering the environment and harming endangered marine animals. By reducing plastic consumption by just two bags per week, you’ll throw away at least one hundred fewer bags per year. If tied together handle to handle, these plastic bags would make a rope long enough to wrap around the earth more than 126 times.”

So, what can you do?

We all use batteries in our homes and offices to power everything from flashlights and smoke detectors to remote controls and children’s toys. And, while most people know that batteries should be disposed of differently than regular trash, many don’t take the extra steps to do so. This means that oodles of discarded batteries end [...]

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute video that explores all the stuff that we’ve accumulated — where it comes from, how it’s produced, and where it goes when we dispose of it. I was first introduced to this video earlier this year and shared it with friends, family and colleagues during Earth Day celebrations, [...]

I just returned from a shopping trip to Costco. One of the ways our family saves time, money and resources is by buying in bulk. We’ve all heard the benefits of buying products in larger sizes and refillable containers to reduce packaging and waste. And, while I appreciate the value of doing so, I’ve been [...]

Today I engaged in one of my favorite fall (and spring) rituals… As much as I love nature and the great outdoors, this one’s an indoor gig. It was my bi-annual trek to the first of my favorite consignment sales. With three kids, ages six and under, clothing and other childhood gear can tally up [...]