When you are looking for ways to do your part in saving our environment this Holiday season, there are many different things you can do. But one that many people never think about is printing up their own Holiday / Christmas Cards and gift tags – but this is a great way to save yourself some time, money, and help save the environment all at the same time. Most of us already have a personal computer and printer in our home – and that is all you need to get started printing your own Holiday Christmas Cards and gift tags.
Of course, there are many different software suites available, and Hallmark even provides some great software, as well. But the truth of the matter is that it’s not necessary to spend the extra money on greeting card software – remember, besides saving our environment we’re also trying to save some money here, too.
Nearly every operating system comes complete with a basic painting program, and this is really the only software you need. Of course, having access to Adobe Photoshop or one of the other professional graphic suites is nice, too, and can really help to spruce up your Holiday Christmas Cards and gift tags.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Green Blog Gift Guide: Presenting Your Presents
How exactly to give your gift is an important decision – do you want to use fancy, sparkly wrapping paper, or do you want to give your gift in a bag? How about a giving out a gift basket to your loved ones for this Holiday Season? As you can see, there are a lot of options when it comes to actually presenting your presents on Christmas.
If you decide to go with wrapping paper, you may want to consider using old newspapers. Not only will this save you money from not having to go to the store and buy wrapping paper, but it’s a great way to get rid of your old, unwanted newspapers. For children, you might want to wrap their gifts using the funny pages – this assures a colorful and fun present right from the start. However, gift boxes and gift baskets have become far more common these days, and you may even want to forego wrapping paper altogether for one of these alternatives.
And lastly, always remember to minimize the amount of materials you do use when wrapping your presents, and try to save your gift boxes, bags and baskets to reuse them next year. Finally, recycle all of your Christmas wrapping paper, no matter what material was used. By keeping the three R’s in mind, you can help make this a great Holiday season not only for yourself and for your loved ones, but for our environment as well.
If you decide to go with wrapping paper, you may want to consider using old newspapers. Not only will this save you money from not having to go to the store and buy wrapping paper, but it’s a great way to get rid of your old, unwanted newspapers. For children, you might want to wrap their gifts using the funny pages – this assures a colorful and fun present right from the start. However, gift boxes and gift baskets have become far more common these days, and you may even want to forego wrapping paper altogether for one of these alternatives.
And lastly, always remember to minimize the amount of materials you do use when wrapping your presents, and try to save your gift boxes, bags and baskets to reuse them next year. Finally, recycle all of your Christmas wrapping paper, no matter what material was used. By keeping the three R’s in mind, you can help make this a great Holiday season not only for yourself and for your loved ones, but for our environment as well.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Green Blog Gift Guide: Battery Chargers
Battery chargers make for great “Green” or environmentally-friendly gifts for the simple fact that nearly everybody has a use for batteries – flashlights, remote controls, smoke detectors, they all take batteries, as do many children’s toys. By giving the gift of a battery charger to a friend or family member, you’ll not only save them money in the long run by not having to buy new batteries, but they will also be helping to save the environment, as well. Below are some great battery chargers offered by Amazon.com
- and of course you can read the user reviews about each one to make sure that it is exactly what you are looking for!
La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger
This seems to be the most popular solar charger, and it comes with tons of accessories, including 4 AA and 4 AAA rechargeable batteries. This is a great way to get started with rechargeable batteries, and it makes a great gift idea. Best of all, it’s less than $40!
However, if you are looking for a gift idea that is even more “Green” and environmentally-friendly, then this solar powered battery charger is the perfect choice!
4 Battery Solar Charger by SunJia
It features all of the same charging capabilities as the one above, only this works on the power of the sun!
- and of course you can read the user reviews about each one to make sure that it is exactly what you are looking for!La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger
This seems to be the most popular solar charger, and it comes with tons of accessories, including 4 AA and 4 AAA rechargeable batteries. This is a great way to get started with rechargeable batteries, and it makes a great gift idea. Best of all, it’s less than $40!
However, if you are looking for a gift idea that is even more “Green” and environmentally-friendly, then this solar powered battery charger is the perfect choice!
4 Battery Solar Charger by SunJia
It features all of the same charging capabilities as the one above, only this works on the power of the sun!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Holidays Are Approaching Very Quickly...
The holidays are approaching very quickly and everyone here at the Green Blog would just like to wish all of our viewers a safe and Happy Holiday season! Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and soon after that Christmas – and before you know it we will be celebrating the New Year! They just keep going by faster and faster every single year, don’t they?
Anyway, you can expect some more frequent updates here on the Green Blog, even throughout the Holiday season. We’ve got some great environmentally friendly gift ideas coming your way, and of course a whole lot more! So stay tuned to the Green Blog for much more coming very soon!
Anyway, you can expect some more frequent updates here on the Green Blog, even throughout the Holiday season. We’ve got some great environmentally friendly gift ideas coming your way, and of course a whole lot more! So stay tuned to the Green Blog for much more coming very soon!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Healthy Halloween Treat Alternatives
In just a couple of days your kids are going to be bombarded with more candy than they even know what to do with – it’s inevitable; Halloween is upon is. But here are some good ideas for treats you can hand out that won’t rot the children’s teeth, and won’t keep them up all night with a sugar buzz.
Glowsticks make great Halloween treat ideas because not only are they a valuable safety device, but they come in all sorts of shapes and colors, and kids love them! Drop one or two of these in the children’s bags and your house won’t be egged this year!
Small flashlights make great Halloween treat ideas, too – especially those small, inexpensive keychain flashlights. Nearly all children love playing with flashlights, and again, with the safety factor involved, this is a great idea.
Inexpensive Halloween masks or make-up kits can be given out in place of candy, too. While they probably won’t get much use out of it for this year’s Halloween, they can hold onto the stuff for next year, or even use it for dress-up at some other time of the year!
And that’s just a few ideas of some of the things that you can use to replace Halloween candy. Using your own imagination, I’m sure you can come up with a lot more!
Glowsticks make great Halloween treat ideas because not only are they a valuable safety device, but they come in all sorts of shapes and colors, and kids love them! Drop one or two of these in the children’s bags and your house won’t be egged this year!
Small flashlights make great Halloween treat ideas, too – especially those small, inexpensive keychain flashlights. Nearly all children love playing with flashlights, and again, with the safety factor involved, this is a great idea.
Inexpensive Halloween masks or make-up kits can be given out in place of candy, too. While they probably won’t get much use out of it for this year’s Halloween, they can hold onto the stuff for next year, or even use it for dress-up at some other time of the year!
And that’s just a few ideas of some of the things that you can use to replace Halloween candy. Using your own imagination, I’m sure you can come up with a lot more!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Some Halloween Safety Tips...
For kids, the most important part of Halloween is of course all of the candy you get from Trick-Or-Treating. But parents have a whole separate concern – and that is keeping their children safe while they are out at night Trick-Or-Treating. Even while accompanied by adults, accidents can happen and children can get hurt – but there a few steps you can take to minimize the risks and dangers to your child while Trick-Or-Treating.
First of all, try to avoid walking in the streets. If you have no other choice, stick to the sides of the road and if you see or hear a car, get out of the way immediately. Your kids should have glow sticks hanging around their necks at all times while Trick-Or-Treating; not only will this allow them to see a little bit better in the dark, but it will allow you and others to spot them easily, as well.
And remember as a parent to always inspect the candy your children are given before you allow them to eat it. While you don’t have to actually go through and taste test each individual piece, you should definitely take a few minutes of your time once you get home to look over every item in their candy bag. If you notice anything suspicious, throw it out – there simply is no need to take the chance.
First of all, try to avoid walking in the streets. If you have no other choice, stick to the sides of the road and if you see or hear a car, get out of the way immediately. Your kids should have glow sticks hanging around their necks at all times while Trick-Or-Treating; not only will this allow them to see a little bit better in the dark, but it will allow you and others to spot them easily, as well.
And remember as a parent to always inspect the candy your children are given before you allow them to eat it. While you don’t have to actually go through and taste test each individual piece, you should definitely take a few minutes of your time once you get home to look over every item in their candy bag. If you notice anything suspicious, throw it out – there simply is no need to take the chance.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Closer Look: Joe Biden on the environment
Well we’ve covered Barack Obama’s views on the environment, we’ve covered John McCain’s and we’ve even taken a look at Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s views on the subject. Now we’ll see what the Democratic vice presidential nominee and the least popular figure of this whole race, Joe Biden has to say.
First of all, according to the Humane Society, he scored an 80% on their scorecard when it comes to animal protection. He voted yes for mercury regulations on smokestacks (and has said publicly that the EPA needs to do a better job cleaning up existing mercury deposits), and no on funding for additional forest roads. Joe Biden has also voted yes on California desert protection and EPA risk assessments, as well. He is working to end commercial whaling and illegal trading of whale meat, and he is for stronger penalties for the humans involved in animal fighting.
Overall, he is a good match for Barack Obama – just as you would expect. And even though the Democrats appear to be holding a sizeable lead over their Republican counterparts, it’s still anybody’s race – and with less than a month left until the election, we’re not going to have to wait very long to find out who is going to come out on top.
First of all, according to the Humane Society, he scored an 80% on their scorecard when it comes to animal protection. He voted yes for mercury regulations on smokestacks (and has said publicly that the EPA needs to do a better job cleaning up existing mercury deposits), and no on funding for additional forest roads. Joe Biden has also voted yes on California desert protection and EPA risk assessments, as well. He is working to end commercial whaling and illegal trading of whale meat, and he is for stronger penalties for the humans involved in animal fighting.
Overall, he is a good match for Barack Obama – just as you would expect. And even though the Democrats appear to be holding a sizeable lead over their Republican counterparts, it’s still anybody’s race – and with less than a month left until the election, we’re not going to have to wait very long to find out who is going to come out on top.
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