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Where to Find Eco Advice for Normal People

by the simple mom on May 14, 2008

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Green is the new jeans-and-flip-flops these days. As in, it’s the norm to be a mom who’s environmentally-conscious, yet not wear corn rolls and insist on not showering until global warming ends. You’re no longer in the minority when you care about toxins in plastic or reducing waste. It’s just common sense.

jeans_flip_flops.jpg
Photo by *sean

I personally have a lot to learn. All the talk going around about carbon footprints and household product chemicals can be really confusing. For me, anyway.

I recently found Ideal Bite. It’s a site dedicated to providing easy-to-understand advice about everyday things people can do to positively impact the environment. Their motto is “a sassier shade of green.” Isn’t that cute?

I just subscribed to Ideal Bite’s Daily Tip. They’re short, they’re witty, and they’re useful. And they’re free! Woo-hoo for that.

I seriously didn’t need one more thing added to my in-box, but I like that I can peruse their daily tip, archive it if it’s helpful (thank you, Gmail!), or delete it and move on if it’s not. They tend to be about frugality and health while focusing on eco-savvyness (yes, I just made up that word).  They obviously have advertisers around their content, but if you can get past that, there really is some good content.

Here are a few examples:

• If you think you’re all out, cut the toothpaste tube in half - you’ll be surprised how much is left.

Add a little water to your almost-empty shampoo or conditioner bottles, and you can use them a few more times.

• Did you know that staples are recyclable? That means you don’t need to remove them before you throw your paper in the recycling bin.

Turn off your car if you’re going to be idling longer than a minute (like when you’re waiting to pick up your kids from school). It uses less gas to turn on and off your car than it does to idle. It’s estimated that Americans use 2 billion gallons of fuel while idling each year - that’s $100 in gas per driver per year.

I love this little snippet from their “about” page:

Ideal Bite offers bite-sized ideas for light green living – ideas for real people who lead busy lives and want to make small changes that add up to big results. … The secret sauce? A spoonful of “incremental environmentalism” combined with a keeping-it-real attitude.

I think I’m going to use that phraseology about myself now, kinda like calling myself “chewy granola.” I’m light green.

So I recommend signing up for Ideal Bite’s Daily Tip. It works for me!

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Jane 05.14.08 at 7:14 am

Thanks for the link! I want to be light green too!

Janes last blog post..

2 simplemom 05.14.08 at 7:43 am

@Jane - You’re welcome! I like the disaster kit you’ve featured on your blog. Thanks for posting about that.

3 Jen 05.14.08 at 7:53 am

I love Ideal Bite too…I’ve blogged about it before. The tips are pretty down-to-earth!

Jens last blog post..He’s Crawling!!

4 Jendeis 05.14.08 at 6:09 pm

Thanks so much for the referral. I’m looking up green stuff now for my company to participate in. :)
Jendeiss last blog post..Sloop John B

5 Megan@SortaCrunchy 05.14.08 at 6:38 pm

Love this! I have found that by taking little steps towards a life more green, it gets easier and easier and you really WANT to make eco-savvy choices. Great link. Thanks!

Megan@SortaCrunchys last blog post..WFMW: Take the Pledge!

6 simplemom 05.14.08 at 7:15 pm

Glad this little tip might help you guys! Let me know what you think of Ideal Bite. I’m brand new at it, too, so I’m still just learning. As if I needed another site to explore…

7 Momma @ Tales From The Road Less Traveled 05.14.08 at 10:01 pm

OOOOH.. Thanks for this! I’m signing up now~!!

Momma @ Tales From The Road Less Traveleds last blog post..10 Ways To Reduce Spending Painlessly

8 Audra Marie 05.15.08 at 4:21 am

I’ll have to check that out. Thanks. :) I think I can do light green - at the very least - pale green. :)
Audra Maries last blog post..Contest and Fundraiser

9 Jennae @ Green Your Decor 06.10.08 at 5:19 pm

These are some great tips. Ideal Bite is great, and the tips very useful and down to Earth. Going green does have to be as hard as it seems, and sometimes the most simple things can have the biggest impact. And at least we are all aware that going green is more than just the latest trend…it’s a way of life :)
Jennae @ Green Your Decors last blog post..Lovely Lighting: Recycled Cardboard Lampshades

10 Ina 07.29.08 at 7:48 pm

cool resource!

just want to mention that it’s corn rows, as in the lines of plants in a farm field that the little braids resemble, rather than corn rolls, as in yummy carbohydrate snacks. ;)

and environmental consciousness was the sensible, smart and decent thing all along, fashionable or not.

ing direct

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