Green...How far is too far?

Can you be too green? I am all for going green (obviously duh) but really some people are taking this too far. So I just read an article about a new eco-friendly home trend called "family cloth."

Family cloth is the term used for machine washable fabric strips that are used instead of toilet paper. Yes you heard me right. No more toilet paper rolls. People cut up old t-shirts and sheets into strips that are placed in a receptacle next to the thrown. The used wipes are then placed into another receptacle, preferably something with a lid if you catch my drift (actually so you don't catch the drift.) Odor free? I doubt it. Even the Diaper Genie has issues. Don't forget that someone gets the "crappy" task of washing the used fabric with detergent and bleach.

So if you are open minded enough to try this family cloth thing remember not to drop it in the toilet or you will have to fish it out. I can hear the kids now, "Mom! I dropped the family cloth in the toilet!" Worse, they might just try to flush a twin sheet worth of family cloth and overflow the whole mess onto the floor. Sorry guys but the thought of this green alternative is making me GREEN.

There are eco-friendly toilet papers out there that are made with recycled materials and are processed chlorine free. See the list below:

Atlantic Packaging’s “Ambiance,” “Fiesta” and “April Soft” brand
Earth First (Available at Safeway)
Planet
Seventh Generation

If you are a hard core pro-environmetalist....let me know how this works out for you. I will be carrying my own roll just in case this trend takes off.

Back to NORMAL??? Normal is relative.

So hurricane gone, school is back in session, all my family has power. I already did my Halloween/fall decorating...I know it's a little early but I just felt like doing it.

So I ran across a few really cute blogs that I wanted to share with you (ok not sure who you is since nobody reads my blogs, but just in case I get an actual follower).

Clever Girl Goes Blog

More Of A Woman

Ike is gone and the mess remains

Ike came roaring through here at about 4am Saturday morning. Heavy winds and driving rain. We were very fortunate to be just at the west edge of the eye. We did lose power very early in the evening Friday, but were lucky enough to get it back in about 18 hours. Hundreds of thousands of people are still with out. Stores have no supplies and very few gas stations have gas. Schools and businesses are closed and curfews have been set. We have running water but are being told to boil water and/or use bottled water. The devastation on the coast, just about 60 miles south of here, is incredible. We are still in the busiest time of hurricane season so we pray the Gulf is spared here forward.

Hurricane Ike!! Yikes!!

Hurricane Ike is coming..time to bring in the plants and batten down the hatches.

Get Organized

I don't know about you but I spend so much time every day just picking up and putting things away I hardly have time for cleaning and laundry. With a husband, a young toddler, a middle schooler, and a teen, the house can get really cluttered.

I am on a quest to organize. I have a basket on the stairs for things the older kids need to take up to their rooms on their way up. Since the toddler is downstairs, except when sleeping, she has an abundance of toys she likes to disperse everywhere. I decided to try to teach her at this young age to be neater. I divided the toys into categories, bought some containers, and labeled the containers. Now we play with one group of toys at a time. We have a box for toys that make music, a box of puzzles, a box for dolls and doll things, and a drawing and coloring box. This keeps the house neater and it keeps the child from being overwhelmed by all the toys and she seems to spend more time on one activity.

Recycle - every little bit helps

If you wanted to live a little greener and start recycling do you know where to go?

My neighborhood provides a recycle bin to each home. The bin is for plastic bottles, cans, and newspaper. That leaves out many recyclable items. But where can I take things like glass, batteries, and cell phones?

So I was happy to find Earth 911 — a great resource for anyone who is looking for a local recycling center. Just go to the homepage and enter your zip code. You can narrow the search to find recycling centers for more than twenty types of items - from antifreeze and asbestos to toys and televisions. Don't forget those old broken cell phones. Just click on "more" for a list of items.

For those of you already using CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), remember they should not go into your regular trash.