5 Eco-Friendly Ideas for the Fall

The temperatures have cooled off. The leaves have started to turn orange and yellow colors. The garden is slowing down a bit. The warm Summer months have ended and we have entered a season of rest. Summer months are usually filled with lots of outside time, family travel, and just more activities in general. When the weather become cooler, we stay inside, we warm up together under a blanket and watch a movie, and we rest during the Winter. Here are some of the eco-friendly ideas we are implementing this Fall.

1. Upgraded Water Filter System

I finally decided to upgrade our old Brita water pitcher filter to a more robust and purifying system like the Berkey water filter system. I also purchased the fluoride and arsenic filters to help us to have the most pure water we can have in our home. I have been wanting this water purifying system for a long time and am so excited to finally have it setup and in use.

I chose the Big Berkey size, which is perfect for our family of 3. This provides enough water for at least one day. I can tell a subtle taste difference in the water between the old Brita water pitcher filter and the Big Berkey water filter system. I'm glad our family finally made this investment in more pure water.

2. Canning More

I have been canning homemade apple butter for a few years. I've canned some other vegetables, like peppers, in the past, but really have not gone outside this comfort zone. This year, after my parents brought me 4.5 boxes of homegrown, organic apples from their back yard, I had to venture out to try new recipes. In addition to the apple butter, I canned sliced apples and apple jam. It was not as hard as I imagined it would be.

As the Summer growing season wraps up and there is an abundance of harvest, I want to try my hand at canning vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, and salsas.

3. Using Our Food Storage Supply

Being prepared for an emergency situation, whether natural or man made, is something that is very important to me. I feel like there have been so many natural disasters this year. It is good to be prepared for those. I try to keep a short term food supply in the deep freezer, regular freezer, pantry and downstairs in the laundry room. Our laundry room has a huge storage closet. I purchased a few heavyweight plastic bins with locking lids to store dry goods. The plastic bins help to protect them from any critters or bugs.

One of the things I have not been as good at is using our short term food storage supply. Therefore, this is on my list for soups, stews, and crockpot meals as I use the beans, grains, and frozen meat.

4. Thrifting

I have been so surprised at the amount of nice and high quality items that I have been able to find at thrift stores. Initially, I got into thrifting because I was not able to find an older style of jeans at one of the popular jeans stores, but I found them at a local Goodwill. I knew the exact style and size that fit me so well. I found that style at thrift stores. Since I started thrifting, I have bought lots of adorable decor items for the home, stuff for the kitchen, and wooden toys for my son. Don't be afraid of the thrift store!

5. Drive Less, Walk More

Even though our neighborhood does not have sidewalks and we do not live in an area that has a lot of shopping and restaurants close to us, we still try to walk as much as possible. There is a little shopping center about one mile away. When I need something from one of the stores there, I will take my 3.5 year old in our BOB jogging stroller and either run or walk there. We also try to combine trips to store that are close so we are not driving from one place to another. Taking a toddler in and out of a car seat multiple times is hard enough! My son is at the age now where he can walk quite a bit and I take advantage of that.

These are 5 eco-friendly ideas that we are implementing for the Fall. Some of them we were doing already, but want to kick it up a notch.

What are some eco-friendly things your family is doing this Fall??
 

Tweet

Stainless Steel Canteen [review]

An average person spends approximately $1,200 a year on purchasing single use plastic bottles. These single use plastic bottles are then thrown away, filling landfills, or floating around in the ocean. Many varieties of reusable bottles are available today. Stainless steel is our preferred material for reusable water bottles because my toddler will also drink out of them. Xtreme Canteen is a double walled, vacuum insulted, stainless steel canteen that will keep a liquid cold for up to 14 hours.

Xtreme Canteen      

Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

Disclosure: I received the product to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and are honest. 

The Good	The Not So Good
Stainless steel cap and body	Doesn't fit in my car's cupholders
Generous size
Does not sweat or leak
Wide mouth opening

Xtreme Canteen is a 32 ounce stainless steel water bottle. The body is made from double-walled stainless steel, vacuum sealed, and painted with a coated with a special paint that ensures the canteen does not sweat. The paint has a little bit of a texture to it, but is not rough at all. The cap is made from stainless steel with a rubber gasket inside. Stainless steel is 18/8 food quality and is BPA free. The Xtreme Canteen is one of the few almost 100% stainless steel water bottles on the market. I love that I can feel comfortable that safe materials are used to produce this bottle.

The water canteen can be used for cold liquids and hot liquids. Cold liquids will stay cold for up to 14 hours (ice frozen up to 24 hours) and hot liquids will stay hot for up to 12 hours.

The wide mouth opening is one the features that I love the most. I had trouble cleaning my other water bottles because I cannot get the dish brush inside to the bottom. I do have a bottle brush, but it does not seem to work very well. The wide mouth opening of the Xtreme Canteen allows me to get the brush inside and clean the bottom of the canteen.

Usage: Fill with your preferred liquid, tighten lid. You can even use the canteen as a thermos for hot (or cold) soups. Basically, anything liquid could go inside!

Results: I have been using the canteen in my car. I fill it with water and it usually lasts me for 1-2 days. I am out and about every day with my toddler, so it's nice to have a generous sized bottle that we can both use. My 2.5 year old can drink from bottles and was even able to drink from the big mouth opening of the Xtreme Canteen. I like that the handle is made from stainless steel so it will not snap off over time (I've had that happen with a plastic Lifefactory top). So far, I have not had any leaking issues. I've had the bottle lying horizontal on the car seat and the seat stayed dry.



Though I love the generous size of the bottle, there are a couple of downsizes to it. The diameter is just a little bit for my car's cup holders. I probably wouldn't take this canteen in my purse when leaving the car because it is a bit heavy when filled with water.

I am using this bottle on a daily basis and love it! For less than $30, you can get a huge stainless steel water bottle that will keep cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot. Get an Xtreme Canteen to stay hydrated during your everyday adventures.

Tweet

Personal Water Filter for Camping/Hiking/Surviving [Review]

Every year, I go through a period of updating and supplementing my emergency preparedness kits. While I have had a kit in my car for a couple of years, I needed to add a bag for my toddler and add a bag to my husband's car. I also went through our 72 hour kit and added some necessary emergency items. One of the most important items in an emergency is having clean water. While you can store as much potable drinking water as your house will allow, having potable water while you are on the go is a different story. This is where water filters come in. A personal water filter is a pocket sized water filtration device that filters up to 1,500 liters of contaminated water without any added taste or chemicals.

Life Defender Water Filter       

Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
Ultra light, pocket sized, no moving parts	Plastic body could break during a fall
High waterborne bacteria/protozoa removal rate	Instructions contain grammar mistakes

The Life Defender Water Filter is a small, pocket sized personal water filter that you can take with you on-the-go or slip it into your bag (any bag). The water filter is ultra light - 2.1 oz. I really like that the filter is compact and light weight. I can even through it in my diaper bag or stash it in the glove box of my car. The plastic material is what makes the filter so light weight, though I would worry about the plastic cracking or breaking if the filter fell on something hard.

The water filter claims to filter to a market leading 0.1 microns with a 2.5 times higher flow rate (450 ml/min) than other leading brands. The filter removes 99.99999% of waterborne bacteria and removes 99.9% of waterborne protozoa through a chemical free hollow-fiber UF membrane with industry leading edge coconut shell activated carbon for superior filtration down to .01 microns. This means that you still get superior filtration with a higher flow rate in a pocket sized filter. Life Defender also claims to filter up to 1,500 liters of contaminated water without adding any taste enhancers or chemicals. This is very important to me. For a small investment, I can use the filter for quite a bit of time.

Usage: The filter is easy to use. You just need your mouth and some water.

1. Place the bottom end in water.
2. Suck through the mouth piece to begin the water flow out.
3. After drinking, blow out water to keep the filter clean and prevent from clogging.

Storage: Throw out residual water and leave caps open to dry. Keep in a cool and ventilated place. Do not expose to the sun. The filter has a shelf time of 5 years after production.

Results: The caps were easy to remove, though I could see the cap connection breaking after repeated use. The water filter itself worked as expected. It takes a few sucks to get the water flowing. Basically, you use the filter as a straw. The water flows through the filter and into your mouth. The unit is made from plastic, so it seems a bit flimsy, but I like the light weight aspect of it.

Opportunities for Improvement: The instructions need to be proofread for grammar mistakes and misspelling. Though I could tell the gist of the instructions, for a $25 product, I would hope that the instructions are crystal clear. I would also like to see the manufacture date so that I know when the 5 year shelf life is up.

The compact size, ultra light weight and superior filtration abilities makes this pocket water filter a good investment for any prepper, hiker, camper or someone who just wants to be a little prepared for any emergency. I would like to see the instructions be more clear and the manufacture date be published. The filter itself works well. I feel that for the $25 cost, the filter should be made from sturdier plastic and the instructions be more clear.

Disclosure: I received the product to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are honest.

Tweet

Ava Shower Filter [Review]

Let's be honest! Our water supply is not as clean as it used to be. Just because water looks clear doesn't mean that it is clear. Among chemicals dumped down drains, prescription medications flushed down the toilet, run offs from chemical plants, etc., we must take steps to clean out pollutants and toxins from the water in our houses. A shower filter that fits right on to the shower head is a great way to remove chlorine, fluoride, hard water and other contaminants using a patented KDF shower filter system.

Ava Shower Filter     

Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
Easy installation (need Teflon tape)	No filter replacement indicator
Filter lasts 9-12 months before replacement	Does not work as promised!

The Ava Shower Filter is an quick and easy way to filter the water coming out of your shower. The plastic covered system is easy to install and the filter lasts about 9-12 months (regular use). This shower filter claims to filter out 99.9% of Chlorine, Algae, Dirt, Fluoride, Lead, Chloramine, Bacteria, Arsenic, Chromium, Zinc, Copper, Selenium, Mercury and Heavy Metals and many more chemicals. The shower filter also reduces scum build-up using kdf.

To install the shower filter, you remove your existing shower head, wrap Teflon tape (not provided in my package) on the filter thread on the water pipe thread, screw the shower head on to the threads and connect the swivel collar to the water pipe. Basically, the shower filter goes between the water pipe and the shower head. Once hand tightened, use pliers to tighten the swivel collar until the shower filter is firmly in place.

We installed Ava shower filter in the basement bathroom. The positioning of the threats on the shower filter does not really change the height of the shower head, but it does move the shower head farther away from the wall. Since our master bathroom has an enclosed shower (no bath), we did not have much room left for the shower head to stick out about 3-4" more. For a bigger enclosed shower or a shower and bath combination, this would not be an issue.

Installation: The installation of the shower filter was not too difficult. My husband is not a plumber by any means, but he was able to install the shower filter within about 30 minutes, taking his time to ensure proper placement and seals. The Teflon or plumbers tape is very important to ensure a good seal and prevent leaks. I had to purchase Teflon tape because my package did not come with it (though Amazon description says that it does).

Results: The filter does NOT filter out contaminants! The shower filter claims to filter out 99.9% of the chemicals mentioned above. There have been mixed reviews on Amazon, even with those who tested their water before and after. I had a couple of water test kits that I received from free from a local hardware store. I thought I would try these first, using one before the shower filter was installed and one after the shower filter was installed. Basically, the results were about the same - no change in water purity.

We use a Brita pitcher, which is effective and does make the water taste better by removing water contaminants. I tasted the shower water before and after and there was no change in taste. This is another reason that I feel like the product does not work as expected.

It is questionable whether the filter filters out the contaminants as promised. The initial cost is $59.99 and the replacement filter costs $49.99. Since the filter makes up most of the system, I can see the higher cost for the replacement filter. Filtering shower water for chlorine and fluoride will cost about $50/year with this system. Since the product does not work as promised, I would not recommend purchasing this product.

 

Disclosure: I received the product to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are honest.

Tweet

How I Save the Bees [#CTWW]

I have always been scared of bees because of the fear of getting stung. I remember walking through a grassy field when I was a kid and getting stung on the bottom of my foot. Ouch! As I have grown into an adult and started to question more of the world around me, I realized there is no need to be afraid of bees. Society makes us think that bees are dangerous. People always seem to run away from them. If you leave the bees alone, they will leave you alone. I tended to the tomato container garden behind the purple cone flowers being frequented by huge bumble bees with no stings. The buzz of the bumble bees actually became comforting for me.

Let's change our perception of bees to being the source of our food. Bees pollinate the majority of food crops in the world. Therefore, the decline of bees should alarm everyone. What foods will we lose if the bees are not around to pollinate the majority of worldwide crops?

This week's challenge:

This week, take action to protect honey bees. Please choose at least one action from the following list:

• Plant at least one native, flowering plant in your yard. Avoid hybrid plants ... they don't produce enough nectar or pollen and are useless to bees and other pollinators.
• Plant a vegetable garden.
• Let pests live (natural pest controllers, like Lady Bugs, need them for food).
• Keep your lawn and garden pesticide-free.
• Eliminate chemicals in your home.
• Provide a year-round, clean source of water for bees (rainwater collection, a small garden water feature, bird bath, etc.).
• Leave some dead trees or plants in your yard ... bees will nest in them. Or, place a bee house in your garden.
• Buy organic food.
• Take up beekeeping.

As the gardening bug has already bit me for this season, I have been buying plants and planting, and buying and planting. I have spent a lot of time outside during the past week. As I do the daily "garden and yard tour," I have made notes about where I can apply the above actions to protect bees. Below, I cover what actions I have already implemented and the actions I am planning on implementing in the coming month.

Native, Flowering Plants
Every year, I purchase a 3-5 plants to plant in the garden bed in front of the house. I focus on perennial, cold temperature tolerant, flowering and deer resistant plants. A variety of different colored and sized flowers is important to attract different bees.

To Do - start a flower garden in the back yard, close to the vegetable garden. The blackberry and newly planted blueberries bushes also need some bees. Maybe I can add some flowering plants to the herb garden.

Question - how can I tell if the flowering plants are hybrid or not? I have been able to find some heirloom vegetable plants, but how do I know if the Shasta daisy or the phlox is a hybrid or not?

Vegetable Garden
Check! Vegetable garden, herb garden, blackberry and blueberry bushes in the back yard. Tomato container garden in front of the breezeway.

To Do - plant more herbs in the front garden bed (edible garden). They are deer resistant and edible.

To Do - expand the container garden in front of the breezeway is companion plants for the tomatoes.

To Do - add a water feature to provide clean source of water for bees.

Dead Trees and Plants
There is an area behind the back fence between us and the house behind us. Honeysuckle, wild grape vine, weeds and other random plants provide a natural habitat for animals, critters, and bugs. Whatever is too big for the compost or will take a long time to break down goes over the fence.

Chemical Free House and Yard
A bucket a day keeps the weeds away! I have reinstated the daily weed pulling, at least until I get most of them knocked down. I stopped using chemicals in the yard 3.5 years ago and after a couple of years of not pulling weeds, we have grown super weeds in the yard. Luckily, weed pulling is therapeutic and relaxing for me, so I have been spending 30-60 minutes outside during baby's naps pulling weeds.

>> Are there any features of your garden or yard that help to protect and sustain the bee population??

Tweet

Tips to Reduce Water Waste [#CTWW]

This week's challenge:

To begin, test your water conservation knowledge by taking this QUIZ. 

THEN ... Install at least one low-flow aerator on a faucet in your home. These are relatively inexpensive from hardware stores and are easily installed (just screw them on).

OR ... If you've already installed aerators on your faucets, choose one other way to conserve water this week. Need some ideas? Eat no meat, pork or poultry (they all require a lot of water to produce). Reduce or eliminate spending (except for true essentials). Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. Review your water bill history to determine periods of high use and make plans to reduce during those times (it's also a good tool for determining leaks). Fix leaky faucets or toilets. Consider removing some of the lawn (or all of it) and planting native shrubs, plants, trees, etc. When refreshing your pet's water, or changing the water in a fish tank, use it to feed your plants. Get creative and find a way to reduce your water footprint.

I am starting off this post about water conservation by admitting that I have reduced focus on water conservation. It all started almost one year ago when I gave birth. Conserving water took a back seat to taking care of a baby 24x7. Ok, ok, for months, I stopped watching how much water we were using. We now had a little bundle of joy that required cloth diapers, washing dirty clothes, and baths. 

The CTWW challenges brought me back into focus though. The challenges are a little voice in the back of my head, reminding me to reduce my footprint on the world. This week's challenge sparked my thinking about water conservation. Here is a list of my action items to reduce our water footprint. Some of these have already been implemented and some will be implemented in the coming month.

1. Reduce the amount of water used for washing cloth diapers by switching cycles.
2. Reuse grey water to water indoor plants.
3. Save grey water and add to water barrel for outdoor plants.
4. Use rain barrel to water garden.
5. Keep water pitcher in fridge.
6. Vegetarian with a splash of vegan fast for lent (and potentially longer!).
7. Do not water the lawn during the summer.

The most surprising action we already do is not watering the lawn during the summer. Why? Because in the 4.5 years we have lived in our house, we have never watered our lawn. How this slipped by my must-have-green-manicured-lawn husband, I do not know! But, I am not complaining!

My biggest goal for the Spring and the Summer is to fill the water barrel with grey water from household chores like water leftover from rinsing fruits and vegetables. I keep an old bowl and instead of running water and using a colander, I fill the bowl with water and wash everything in it. Sometimes, I have to refresh the water 2-3 times depending on how dirty the vegetables are, but the water will go into the watering can and/or rain barrel.

Awareness is the first step to finding creative ways to conserve water, our most precious resource. Just thinking about how much we use water on a daily basis, from hygiene to cooking and cleaning.

>> What are some ways that you conserve or can start conserving water??
  

  

Tweet

Speed Bumps and Solutions to Green Living [#CTWW]

This week's challenge comes from Reduced Footprints.

This week, please share road blocks to green living. If you're not struggling with any road blocks at this time, then please share ones which you've heard from others. For example, one of the most common reasons is that it's too expensive.

Then ...Take a look at the road blocks shared and offer solutions. The idea of this challenge is to help us all find solutions and "bust" all excuses for not living green.

Today, I am sharing some of the road blocks I have experienced on my path to more eco-friendly and green living. I am going to take after Jen and Joey and call them "speed bumps." I have learned to pick my battles because they are slightly bigger eco-friendly fish to fry (no, not frankenfish).

Speed Bump:  Paper
The amount of paper products used in our house is unimaginable. Sometimes, I feel like little evil elves come out at night to steal our toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels. There is nothing better than throwing away a used tissue and not having to worry about washing a handkerchief, but the guilt reminds me that paper used one time is very wasteful!

Solutions:
1. Purchase and use cloth napkins and rags (we already reuse old socks and washcloths for cleaning rags)
2. Offer, do not force, for others to use them

Speed Bump:  Heat

My husband hates to be cold (and I do also). If he could move to Florida or Mexico, he would in a heartbeat. The man walks around in short sleeves and shorts while I am sporting 2 wool sweaters over a long sleeve shirt. When we are at home, we keep the house at 67 degrees (68 degrees recently because it has been very cold). During the night, I bump it down to 64 degrees. One degree can make a big difference, but a husband complaining every 5 minutes might not be worth it.

Solutions:

1. Drink more hot tea
2. Put more blankets on the couch and the bed
3. Snuggle up to stay warm

4. Add eco-friendly insulation (long term solution)

Speed Bump:  Water

My husband's solution to the above speed bump (when I do not allow the temperature to be set above 68 degrees), is to take a hot bath. Oh, the amount of water that baths use is unbelievable! In addition to letting water run in the bathroom and in the kitchen when not actively using it also increases water usage.

Solutions:
1. Turn water off when I walk by (not recommended)

2. Offer to wash the dishes (use cold water, turn off when soaping up)

Final Note: I do not mean to call my husband out so much here because I am wasteful myself. My husband has come a long way in supporting me and being more eco-friendly. I am grateful for his support! I hope that we can continue to remove waste from our lives.

>> What road blocks or speed bumps have you experienced?  How have you dealt with them or going to deal with them?
 

Tweet

Winterize Your Home - Yard [#CTWW]

This week's challenge comes from Jen.

This week, prepare your home for winter. Do at least one thing which will ensure that your winter is Eco-friendly. Need some ideas? Click HERE. If you are moving into spring/summer, prepare your home for the warm months ... you'll find some ideas HERE.

Or ...

If you've already prepared your home for the cold (or warm) months ahead, we'd like to know what you've done. Please include tips, ideas and any do-it-yourself advice.

I plan on doing several posts about our "winterizing process." Yesterday, I covered Heating. Today, I will cover the Yard. Our yard is pretty big and we have some big, old trees that drop an unbelievable amount of leaves.  Let me tell you how we are preparing the yard for the winter.

Yard Improvements:

1. Mulched leaves placed in compost bin, compost piles, flower beds, and garden. Mulched leaves provide protection for plants during the winter. In the garden beds, they break down to provide nutrients for the next growing season.
2. Dried flowers and plants removed and placed into compost piles and bin to bread down.
3. Rain barrel drained and stored. I was able to water every single plant, bush, and young tree. Next year, I will disconnect the rain barrel earlier so that I do not have a full barrel of water and have to spend over 1 hour pouring, carrying, and watering every single plant. (great exercise though!)

>>  How are your preparing your yard for the cold weather months?
 

Tweet

Mighty Flavors with Mighty Leaf Teas [Review]

Mighty Leaf Teas have been part of my home tea collection for quite some time.  I am always impressed with the whole leaf pouches that produce the most delicious tasting teas. When I started buying more organic products, I was glad to find that Mighty Leaf Teas carries organic teas. Mighty Leaf Teas also expanded their tea collection by offering Iced Tea pouches.

What are Mighty Leaf Teas? (from Mighty Leaf website)

Mighty Leaf Teas are specially handcrafted Tea Pouches that are designed to release the essence of the tea.  Mighty Leaf Tea has a passion for creating unique handcrafted tea blends from around the world, using the best ingredients available. 

Each Tea Pouch has a unique blend of teas and flavors.  Take a look at the quality of the whole leaf teas:

Chamomile Citrus herbal tea

What Mighty Leaf Teas Did I Receive?

Mighty Leaf Teas was gracious enough to send me a variety pack of their Iced Teas and a few samples of their hot teas.

PRICES: Half Gallon Iced Teas sell for $6.35-$33.95, depending on what size you purchase. PROMOTIONS: Receive two free samples with every order. Sign up for email and receive 15% off your order. Mighty Leaf Tea Rewards Program - earn rewards by referring friends and family.

What Did I Think of Mighty Leaf Teas?

My standard iced tea routine is to measure the amount of water in the pitcher and count out tea bags. The tea bags float in the water and I have to take them out one by one. This process gets a little time consuming, especially if I do not have enough tea bags left. 

Might Leaf Iced Teas pouches change the game! Each whole leaf pouch brews up to 1/2 Gallon or 64 oz of Iced Teas. I love that I did not have to measure the cups or the tea bags. I placed the bag into the pitcher and poured hot water over it. How easy is that?!?

Let me tell you about the tea bag. The whole leaf tea bag is bigger to accommodate 64 oz. The string is longer so that you can place the tea bag in the pitcher and not drown the tag once you start pouring the water. The tag at the end of the string has instructions so that you can quickly gage how long you need to brew the tea. Easy, breezy!

The first iced tea I brewed was the Ginger Peach Iced Tea. This flavor is the current best seller. This tea is delicious both hot and cold. The Ginger and Peach flavor combination was perfect.   

My husband brewed the Chamomile Citrus herbal tea, another best seller. Although my husband is not usually a fan of herbal teas, he really enjoyed the Chamomile Citrus flavor. 

Did you know that Mighty Leaf also offers teaware? I would love to try the Chantal Tea Kettle, as my current tea kettle is ancient.  

Summary

You can still enjoy iced tea during the cold months. Mighty Leaf Iced Teas quench your thirst after raking leaves in the yard or playing in the snow with your kids. Choose Mighty Leaf Teas and you taste buds will thank you.

My Thoughts: I would highly recommend Mighty Leaf Teas to anyone. The variety of flavor combination will satisfy any tea lover’s taste buds. The best aspect of Mighty Leaf Tea is that I can reuse the bag several times because of the amount of high quality, whole leaves.  I also love that the tag on each tea pouch tells you the brew time.   

Opportunities for Improvement – Mighty Leaf has a lot of opportunities to continue expanding their organic teas to meet market demand. I look forward to seeing what new organic flavor combinations Mighty Leaf can create. 

What is the Man’s Opinion?  My husband, who usually turns his nose to “girly” tea flavors, enjoyed both the Ginger Peach and the Chamomile Citrus. I think I could convince him to buy more Mighty Leaf Teas! J

Rating:

Total green check marks out of 5.

Mighty Leaf Iced Teas 

Mighty Leaf Tea Pouches 

Disclosure: I received the samples from Mighty Leaf Teas in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my personal experiences. This review is objective and completely honest.

Tweet

Getting Crunchy with Katie: 5 Easy Tips for Eco-Friendly Travel

I have a few luxury comfort requirements when I travel:

1. Air conditioning in hot locations, heat in cold locations (definitely required)
2. TV or Internet (either one will do, although I could probably live without both)

These requirements are far from being eco-friendly.  I would probably never be able to vacation al fresco, off the grid, or in an eco-hotel in the middle of nowhere.  At the least, I need the comfort of the air conditioning and the indoors to escape the hot sun rays after being on the beach all day.  To offset the requirements above, I make a few small changes that reduce my impact on the environment when I travel.

Click over to Mommy Living the Life of Riley Blog to read about my 5 practical tips for staying green when I travel: http://www.mommylivingthelifeofriley.com/eco-friendly-green-living/getting-crunchy-with-katie-5-tips-for-eco-friendly-travel-stay-green-when-you-travel-too/

>> How do you behave differently when you travel?  What small changes can you make to reduce your impact on the environment?
 

Tweet