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green living blog

Better Green Education Choices for Youth

by Jennifer on December 11, 2009

Public schools are not the best choice if you’re looking to raise green kids. Not that we can only blame schools. How we act as parents matters more in my opinion, because our kids mimic our behaviors, but schools do play a role in green living. Most public schools don’t live up to their green potential based on time, money and staff constraints.

There are better educational choices than public schools for raising green kids. For example…

FREE SCHOOLS: I often talk about my son Cedar’s free school at my various green-minded blogs, but I think it’s confusing to people who are new to the idea. So today I’ve got a video which can hopefully help sort it out a little.

The school Cedar attends is a free school. Free schools are not as a rule, green-minded specifically, but in my opinion a free school education naturally leads kids to being more involved in their community which is a great first step on the path to green living. Kids who care about their peers, their community, and who know that they can make a difference are more likely to make positive choices about everything, because they know their choice affect change, green living included. However, note that because free schools focus on choice vs. pushing a topic, you should be spending time on green living topics at home to help plant the seed in your child’s mind.

Cons of free schools include limited availability of free schools across the country, a higher cost to parents (although many free schools offset those costs if parents volunteer), and they’re not for everyone. You really need to believe that your child is entitled to choices, respect, and responsiblity or a free school won’t work for your family.

Below is a video about the free school that Cedar attends. BTW he’s the kiddo in the blue baseball hat :)

NOTE: My son’s school which is highlighted in the video above is located in Portland, Oregon. IF you’re not a PDX local you might want to do some more research about free schools at The Albany Free School website. The Free School in Albany, New York is the longest running inner-city independent alternative school in the US and they offer a huge page of Radical Education Links which offers links to other free schools along with links to info about free schools.

ECO-CHARTERS: Keep on reading this post!

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Green Home Audit: excess packaging in the bathroom

by Jennifer on October 23, 2009

In My plan to cut out excess packaging, I discussed my plans for cutting out excess packaging this year. However, first I need to know which packaging I have that’s excessive and can be cut, so a small green home audit about said packaging is in order.

soap with natural ingredients

I went through my bathroom and found the following packaging – along side each I’ve made notes about which I can cut and which I’m not so sure about.

Packaging in my bathroom:

  • Organic Body wash – this was an unnecessary impulse buy and one I don’t need it and two I can cut it by using unwrapped bar soap, homemade body wash, or fill a reusable container with body wash at the natural food store.
  • Organic Shampoo – I rarely use shampoo and don’t need a special kind so I can get a refillable bottle instead.
  • Conditioner – I have naturally curly hair (blah) and use a super charged, really good organic conditioner. Since I can’t find a decent conditioner in bulk, I don’t know if I can cut this. One option is to make my own conditioner. I make hair masques, but I’ll have to look into conditioner.
  • Organic face wash – I should make my own like I used to, but not sure if I want to. I like my current face wash.
  • All natural facial grains – I LOVE these facial grains, but I can make my own in a reusable container, they’re not as good IMO, but close.
  • Organic shaving cream – well, I could quit shaving, or figure out how to make my own. This is a bath product I haven’t ever tried to make though, so I’m not sure. We’ll call this a maybe.
  • Razors – I use recycled razors from Preserve. Right now I like shaving, so I suppose I’ll keep them, but I don’t love how the Preserve razors work. My goal is to find an eco-razor I like better.
  • Bath scrubby – I usually have a washable bath scrubby in the tub, most of the time made of natural hemp – right now though for the last year I’ve been using one made with organic cotton fibers. Since I use them to death and rewash, I’m not concerned.
  • Lip gloss – OMG I have so much lip gloss that it’s embarrassing. I LOVE lip gloss, especially my Tarte lip gloss. I think though what I’ll do is just commit to buying new Tarte and one take along organic lip gloss when I run out, then recycle the packaging. Another option is to make my own lip gloss more often.
  • Deodorant – This is one of the biggest baddies in my bathroom. I don’t buy organic or natural because I’ve never found one I like that works. Trust me, I’ve tried a ton too.  The perfect goal would be to find a healthier one that works in less packaging, but I’m not holding my breath.

    • Keep on reading this post!

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My Green Product Rating System

October 12, 2009

I’ve reviewed a ton of green products over the years and have pretty comprehensive review criteria in place. Since I plan on posting green product reviews here I figured you’d like to have some idea about how I rate products so I’ve compiled the following info…

All the green product I review are rated on a [...]

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Welcome!

October 9, 2009

What is Growing a Green Family all about?

When I first got interested in green living years ago I found a lot of green sites and blogs that made sense for individuals but not families in particular. That inspired me to help launch another green blog, that I’ve been writing at for years. However, Growing a [...]

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