green winter

Tips for a less consumer-minded holiday season

Previously I wrote about how the winter holiday season has been over-saturated with stuff and overspending. I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up about how to combat a consumer holiday, but sorry, I got a little behind here. Life has been nuts lately. There’s still plenty of December left though and that means many chances [...]

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Inexpensive Green Stocking Stuffers for Kids – $10 or Less Stocking Stuffers

There’s no reason to spend a lot of money on stocking stuffers, even if you want to go green this holiday season. There are plenty of delightful green stocking stuffers for teens and younger kids that are $10 or less. STOCKING STUFFERS FOR BABIES Dandelion Soft Shaker Bear Toy - This cute rattle is stuffed with [...]

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Christmas consumerism and spending is out of control

Here are some consumer holiday spending facts to ponder… In 2010 consumers spent an estimated $648 million on Black Friday. This year, according to ComScore, consumers spent a whopping $816 million online alone, making Black Friday the heaviest spending day on the Internet so far in 2011. That’s a Black Friday sales increase of about [...]

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New Kamibashi String Dolls for Christmas!

Kamibashi is just about the cutest shop ever, and eco-friendly to boot. I especially love their String Doll Gang. The String Doll Gang is a band of awesome fun character keyrings, handmade with Fair Trade practices in Thailand. Each String Doll has his or her own special flavor and a power that is positive and [...]

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2011 Eco-friendly Holiday Greeting Cards

The best and greenest way to go when it comes to holiday greeting cards is to skip the store-bought paper cards and send e-cards or make homemade cards with recycled paper and other art supplies you already have on hand. However, since the holidays are quickly approaching, and since some people do green store-bought cards, here [...]

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2011 Green Family Holiday Gift Guide

Whether you’re looking for homemade eco-gifts, affordable green gifts, zooming green gifts for kids, the perfect green book or a stunning green play kitchen or eco-friendly dollhouse – you’re 100% covered with this eco-friendly holiday gift guide. Keep this page bookmarked, as I’ll be adding some new treats to it throughout this holiday season. Green [...]

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15 small steps that can help you save home energy during the fall season

Last week we had many days of sweater weather (yeah, already) and even had to turn on the heat twice. It seems early for the heater and extra blankets, but it was cold! This week we’ve had a little more sunshine, but the chill last week was enough to get me thinking about fall and [...]

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Autumn to do list: get ready for winter with low-cost or free weatherization

Autumn kicks off tomorrow, followed soon by much cooler weather. Of course, we all know that we need to make sure our homes are weatherized correctly in order to keep your family cozy, save money and conserve resources. Most weatherization changes actually aren’t too expensive. In fact, in the long run weatherization will save you [...]

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School Issues, Chocolates & Acorns… Oh My

It’s been a long, long week folks. Free School Issues: So, I’ve been absent once again, although for good reason this time. My son’s school, The Village Free School is facing a possible closure. It’s been a little frantic, to say the least. If Cedar’s school shuts down, Cedar’s going to be extremely upset, plus [...]

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Green New Year’s Goal – No More Bottled Water

Today we’re going to look a little closer at one of this year’s green challenges for eco-families – stop buying bottled water. WHY TAKE ON THIS GOAL? There are dozens of great reasons why you should quit buying bottled water. However, since we’ve already gone over that at Growing a Green Family, I won’t bore [...]