I was in a giant big box store yesterday and needed to buy some toilet paper but alas, there wasn’t a square of recycled paper in sight. Every brand of toilet paper, tissues, paper towels and paper napkins, were made out of virgin pulp – meaning they are made from trees that are cut down from ecological areas. It just doesn’t make sense that these companies are still cutting trees down when we have such little forest left! The virgin timber-based pulp industry is also the third greatest emitter of global warming pollution in the world.

Always try to buy paper made from 100% post-consumer content. There are many fantastic companies like Seventh Generation and the 365 Wholefoods brand, whom only use recycled content.  Also look for 100% post-consumer printing paper and legal pads at Staples.

For more fascinating information on paper and what actions you can take to help, visit
www.nrdc.org/paper

If any of you haven’t taken our survey yet, please do! It’s short and sweet and you get automatically entered to win a mega-prize at the end of this month. www.GorgeouslyGreen.com/survey

Is your Green growing, or are you just cruising? How are some of the bigger Green changes that you made earlier in the year panning out? I have to take inventory every now and again and pull myself up in areas where I’ve let bad habits creep in again  - but every time I take a short cut – like using a paper towel instead of a rag, or driving instead of cycling a short distance, it feels so bad. I have to periodically remind myself that choosing the most responsible/accountable action, whether it is buying an organic head of muddy lettuce rather than bagged “Spring Mix”, or turning down my A/C, connects me to the greater purpose of my life: to attempt to lighten my footprint in every way possible.

I’m also finding that in the current economic climate, so many of my Green actions, involve saving money. What are you doing this month that has a double green meaning? Have you found ways to reduce your monthly spending – if so, we’d love to hear.

When unpacking my groceries from my reusable bags, I have been getting more and more annoyed with all the little produce bags that find their way into my kitchen. I always plan to re-use them but never do - clearly some kind of mental block going on! I actually don’t bother to put half of the produce I buy into any bag - lettuces, yams, apples, just go in the cart loose, however, I obviously need a bag for green beans, plums, okra, mushrooms etc so I’m excited to try out my “produce” bags from www.reusablebags.com (LOVE!!) I saw a very virtuous and obviously Gorgeously Green girl, using them at Whole Foods the other day and I got inspired.
I’ve got two kinds: the organic cotton mesh, which looks like a shoe bag and will probably work for nuts, and beans from the bulk bins; and the net ones, which I prefer because the cashier will be able to easily see what’s inside.

Do any of you gorgeous girls use these kind of bags? They’d actually be really easy to make out of old t-shirts - ha! now I think about it, I just got my daughter a mini sewing machine, so when she’s next bored, we’ll rummage through the rag bin and get started!

I downsized my kitchen trash can a long time ago in the hope that it would encourage less waste - it worked! I now have a small can under my sink, in which an old grocery bag fits perfectly (there are even hooks for the grocery bag handles), however, I now don’t have any old grocery bags as I only use my Chico bags! Huh - I used to have the odd one find its way into my home from an unexpected stop at the hardware store, but now, because I keep a ton of Chico bags in my purse, I’m never caught unaware. So what to line the trash can with?
I’ve researched all kinds of possibilities and honestly, the best thing I can find for now is The Bio-Bag. It’s made of GMO free starch and biodegradable polymers (renewable), whereas a regular plastic bag is made from polyethylene (which requires petroleum and natural gas in its creation).
They make these bio-bags for your kitchen, pet waste, yard waste - everything. The only annoying thing is that as biodegradable as they are, it makes no difference to the landfill situation because nothing really biodegrades in a sealed landfill.
Let me know if you have any other bright ideas??
www.biobagsusa.com

I have just seen a horrendous amount of plastic over the past few days - totally unnecessary plastic eggs for Easter, many of which were just tossed in the trash after the kids were done prying them open. I just don’t understand the logic behind putting already wrapped chocolate eggs and candy, into more plastic. I know it’s all about the egg hunt, but you can still hunt for paper or foil wrapped eggs; and it’s surely not about hygiene because the eggs, as mentioned before, are already wrapped. When I was little in England, we got one large chocolate egg each and then we got to run around the yard hunting for little foil wrapped eggs and that was that. So next year I’m going to ask my family and friends not to buy yet more plastic and we’ll do it the old-fashioned eco way.

I often get asked whether its better to put food scraps down the waste disposal unit or to throw them in the garbage? The best option is neither. In an ideal world, you would compost 80 percent of your food scraps and feed the rest to the dog! But if can’t quite get your head around composting yet, you are probably better off throwing the scraps into the garbage and this is why: With clean water becoming more and more expensive and valuable, we really need to curb our use. Garbage disposals typically use a great deal of water. Also, the more waste we put down them, the more that ends up in the sewer system, which requires even more water and energy to clean. Large food scaps or globs of food, yuck - are also removed from this attractive swirling mass, and taken to the landfill anyway. So don’t think you are doing the planet a favor by tossing your scraps down the “gobbler” - it might seem to effortlessly spirit it away, but there’s a pretty hefty price to pay.

I was chatting with my friend Sarah (who you will meet on this blog), yesterday - about line -drying clothes. We were both raised in England, where despite the bad weather, it is the norm to line-dry your laundry. Living in sunny California, we can’t believe how few women have washing lines or drying racks in their yards. She said all her friends here only use their dyers. I wonder why? Is is because people think a washing-line looks ugly or “low-rent” or is it because we just can’t be bothered?
Granted, it takes a little more work: you’ve got to hang everything out, rather than just stuff it in a machine and some of your clothes may require ironing. Big deal! Special little cotton shirts, dresses or skirts need ironing anyway.
In the heat that we have here, clothes dry in less than 2 hours and try burying your head in a pile of air-dried laundry - it smells quite wonderful.
A little tip is to take in your laundry before its bone dry as it’s easier to fold and you can avoid having to iron sheets etc.
Come on gals, time to get Gorgeously Green, stop using all that fossil fuel and save a wad of cash too.

Water filtration can be a very confusing road to embark on. There are thousands of companies out there telling you why you need their product over and above everyone else!

My recommendation is to first buy a simple water testing kit. You can go to www.discovertesting.com and purchase the All-in-One Test Kit. It’s very easy to do. Now you can see how clean you tap water is or isn’t. I also tested the water from my fridge filtration system to see if it did what the filter promised. It may be that your water is fine, if so, don’t waste another penny buying bottled water. It may be that you need and want to install a filtration system. If so, I recommend going to www.pristineplanet.com and checking out their eco-friendly choices. Gook luck!

Spring Cleaning
This time of year always makes me want to throw open the doors and windows and give my entire house a thorough scub - very satisfying! You may have heard recent reports that air quality is often much worse in the house than it is outside. This is because of all the household toxins that can come from poor ventilation, toxic cleaning products, furniture, carpeting, pesticides and accumulated dust.
The first 3 things I recommend my clients to do in order to decrease their indoor pollution are:
1. Stop using any pesticides in your yard - they could get bought into your home on shoes!
2. Stop using air fresheners anywhere in your home as they often contain harmful chemicals.
3. Only use “natural” cleaning products that you know are free of all toxic chemicals.
I recommend:
Mrs Meyer’s products - they smell soooooo fabulous
www.mrsmeyers.com
Seventh Generation is a tried and trusted brand
www.seventhgeneration.com
For a natural air freshener, buy an electric aromatherapy diffuser. They use very little electricity and you get to pick whatever essential oil you love to scent your home. I love organic lavender for the day and geranium or ylang ylang at night.
Find all your aromatherapy oils and burners at:
www.mountainroseherbs.com