Green Your (Fill in the Blank)

If you read Suburban Zen regularly, you know I'm very interested in the topic of sustainability. With children in the house, I feel a responsibility toward organic and sustainable living for three reasons: to build a healthy home for my family, to do what I can to ensure that future generations inherit a clean and healthy planet, and to set a good example for my children.

Being a working mother of three, sometimes I find something other than sustainability becomes a priority in my decisions -- I've been known to buy the little individual bags of Grahamy Bears for the convenience of it. However, I do try hard. The biggest challenge is sorting through the volumes of information to decide what's right. A resource that I rely on regularly is the website GreenYour.com. This site allows me to find ideas for greening pretty much anything, just by typing the subject into their search box. For example, a search for "Green Your Family Dinner" returned this:

Tip: Grow your own organic vegetables
... trips to the gym, and the environment. Get the whole family involved—kids like growing vegetables, although they usually like ... makes it handy to harvest fresh vegetables for tonight's dinner! How big should my garden be? Start small. ...

Tip: Choose organic coffee
Organic coffee is harvested sans chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Choosing organic coffee allows you to savor what many believe is not only a more flavorful cup o' joe, but also a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative to standard brew ...

Tip: Choose reusable food service items
... snacks : Whether you’re packing daily lunches for the family or sharing coffee with a colleague, stay away from throw-aways like ... meals : When hosting family and friends for a holiday dinner, skip the paper cups and napkins and use reusable ones instead. You may ...

Tip: Choose a high chair made from sustainable materials
Your baby's perch at the dinner table may look green after a meal of pureed peas , but plastic and ... toxic chemicals protect indoor air quality and your family's health. Many high chairs are made of plastic, which is a ... them soft is a form of polyurethane (part of the urethane family of chemicals), that can contain many toxins, including (but not limited ...

Tip: Use paper product alternatives
... : Whether you’re in need of napkins for tonight’s dinner or this weekend’s party, look for reusable cloth napkins and put away ... ? Read emails on-screen, send electronic letters and family updates instead of paper cards, and pick up e-books (online, that is) to ...

Tip: Choose nontoxic baby dishes and utensils
... is playing a spoon-on-bowl symphony to serenade your dinner, it’s easy to see why plastic is often used to make durable ... gas belonging to the VOC (volatile organic compound) family of chemicals. It is widely used in personal care products, building ...

Tip: Shop locally
... caught fish and local farm meat for your next family meal. Ultimate local choices - DIY Avoid shopping ... travel the average 1,500 to 2,500 miles, it arrives on the dinner table shortly after it was picked, ensuring that it's much fresher. ...

Each excerpt links to a larger article with great information drawn from many different sources. There are three types of information that searches return:
Facts which aggregate research on environmental impact
Tips provide recommendations and simple steps to help you take action
Products list products and resources that have been vetted by the GreenYour editorial staff of experts and meet their green criteria.

While I still have to do most of the work, it's nice to have a resource I can rely on to point me in the right direction. I'm hoping that the Green Council will spawn a whole series of sites like this: IronYour.com, PutAwayYour.com, CleanYourHouseforYou.com. When you think about it, the possibilities are endless.

Print this post