Getting back to nature is so important, especially when the weather is nice.  I wanted to share this sunset photo with you.  Plan to get away even if it is just for a day or afternoon.  Avoid the mall and shopping crowd, go to a local park or beach.  Bring a journal or notepad and jot down some goals you've reached this year and for those goals which you haven't even started, you still have another five months to go.  

Times stops for no one.

I am a huge fan of my local library.  To a point that the librarians know my family by name.  In addition to borrowing books, I have hosted and attended local events in the community room.  With the continual onslaught of online books and rise in internet use, many wonder whether the local library will be obsolete in the near future.  I hope that communities will always support the local library.  Maybe like my children's school, the local library will be renamed and rebranded as a media center where individuals gather and to browse computer, electronic, internet and other resources.

Unfortunately, many of us are the silent majority in that we hate the idea of losing a local library but rarely voice our concerns to legislators.  There are several ways to support the local library such as follow:
1) Go to the library and borrow more books and resources.  Libraries keep track of their usage and can justify continual funding if there is a rise in use of their resources.  So each and every checked out book counts.
2) Donate used books.  Most libraries will provide receipts for your used books and such donations are tax deductible.
3) Host a library based community event.  If you are looking to organize a local community event, consider having it happen in the library, as long as your event is open to the public and is not special interest specific (each library has its own rules so check), you will be able to use the conference room for free.
4) Ask the librarian to see what other ways you can help.  Volunteering at the local library is a great way to help out especially for teenagers looking to build a resume. They are often exposed to new literary genres and begin to participate in local community events because of the awareness of such events from their local libraries.
5) Write your suggestions in the suggestion box as often as possible.  The library staff uses these suggestions to gauge and prioritize their funding allocation.  
To find out more about your local library and to attend any of their events, please visit http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/

Celebrations are a joyous time in our lives.  These various occasions calls for quite a bit of preparation and planning.  The following are simple steps for you to keep your celebrations eco-friendly all year long.  This also saves money as you plan your upcoming home entertainment events as well.

1) Buy and use decorations that can be relevant for various occasions
For example, I have three table clothes (in red, golden yellow and blue) that can be used for various celebrations (Valentine's Day, Christmas, Birthday parties, Fourth of July, etc.).  By keeping to a versatile color scheme, you save on money and time (don't have to shop for new decorations each time you have a planned party).

2) Use the chinaware not paper plates
For some reason, some people equate casual parties with paper plates usage.  Break this trend and use your dinnerware.  The amount of time it takes you to toss the bags of garbage filled with paper plates, you would have already loaded your dishwasher with the dinnerware.  Also, when paper plates are available, individuals tend to use new ones for second servings and generate even more waste.  For some reason, individuals are able to better keep track of actual dinnerware.

3) Have a dozen permanent markers available for marking up the plastic disposable cups so individuals are less likely to use new ones.  For your more sophisticated parties, consider using actual glasses.

4) Lower your thermostat
When there are more people at a home or single location, the crowd generates heat so you can lower your thermostat and people will not notice the five degree difference but you will notice it in your utility bill.

5) Use actual household plants for centerpieces instead of fresh cut flowers or consider displaying various bowls of fruit.

6) Designate a recycle garbage can and label it accordingly.  Instead of having possible recyclable bottles and other recyclable items tossed out, a simple designated recycle garbage can will enable guests to clean up and recycle responsibly.

7) Forget about giving away party favors and if you really feel compelled to give party favors, make them eco-friendly.
I've attended a fair number of kids' birthday parties and don't really want another bag filled with dollar bought plastic toys that break easily and are basically glorified landfill items.   So, avoid giving away party favors and if you really feel compelled to give something away consider giving away one or more of these eco-friendly items: mini-bag of seeds, recycled crayons, homemade mini-journals, BPA free water bottles, recyclable lunch bags, recyclable shopping bags/totes and  cloth made coin pouches.

Eco-friendly items to always keep in the trunk of your car
How many times have you drove up to the supermarket parking lot and remembered that you “forgot” to bring your recycled shopping bags?  The following is a list of “must pack” items that you should always keep in your trunk of your car before you leave your driveway.
1)    Recycled Shopping Bags – great for supermarket shopping and clothing shopping as well.  Refuse to take that GAP, OLD NAVY , ANN TAYLOR LOFT or other brand name shopping bag, instead use your own.  

2)    Empty and Cleaned Pyrex Storage Containers – bring these containers with you the next time you go to a restaurant and refuse to take the non-eco-friendly plastic doggie bag/container home.  Instead, use your own container.

3)    Filled Water Bottles – Stop making impulsive drink purchases by having a filled water bottle in your car before you start your trip.  You will save money and the environment.

4)    Clothing Hangers – Always have some clothing hangers ready in your car trunk so you can bring them to your dry cleaners and have your newly dry cleaned clothes hanging from your own hangers (don’t take those metal hangers with you).

5)    Loose Change/Coins Container – Always have a loose change/coins container in your car and make sure you use them for small purchases.  The average American loses over $50 a year in loose change by misplacement or dropping the change in transit to their destination.

6)    Notepad/Pen – Use the notepad/pen to track purchases (e.g. gas and other small purchases). You can avoid printing unnecessary receipts and de clutter your car.  The next time you are given an option, decline having a gasoline receipt and jolt down the amount you paid in your notepad instead.

7)    Colored Pencils/Notepad – Have a set of colored pencils and notepad handy for each of your children stored in the car, encourage them to entertain themselves by drawing pictures or planning the next family trip.  This enables you to avoid “throwaway” toys and impulsive purchases at supermarkets or grocery lines.

8)  Extra change of clothes and jacket - For seasoned parents, this suggestion is a no-brainer.  Kids make a mess and tend to get their clothes dirty so have a spare set of clothes for each child so you don't have to worry about impulsive clothing purchases if the weather suddenly changes on you.

My goal is to reduce the use of plastics in 2011.  I have researched ways in which I can reduce the use of plastics at home and came up with the following:
- use glass reusable food containers for leftovers
- purchase large economical size of dishwasher liquid
- purchase laundry detergent that comes in paper packaging that is recycable


Also, I have found great ways to reduce the use of disposable plastics by using reusable cloth sandwich bags instead of the plastic storage bags.  Think about it, when you pack a sandwich for lunch, you literally use that bag for about 3-4 hours and then it is discarded.  It is such a waste of money and resources.  There are a number of great cloth sandwich bags available and sold at the www.etsy.com website where local boutique vendors post their wares.  You can also make your own eco-friendly reusable cloth sandwich bags, too!  The challenge of using such cloth bags is when you have sandwiches with condiments.  You can avoid packing a sandwich with condiments (e.g. mayo, mustard or ketchup) by having an economical size bottle stored in your office pantry refrigerator.  Just add the condiments when you are ready to eat the sandwich.

Being more eco-conscious has made me more aware of the various efforts that contribute to a more eco-friendly world from conservation (use less of what we already have) to reusing and recycling what we already have.  An area that I have been focusing alot of my efforts these days is new materials made from recycled goods.  There needs to be a greater demand of recycled goods in order to ensure that these goods do not wind up in landfills.  Therefore, I will be covering a number of items that are made from recycled goods in my blog as much as possible.

One great company, www.reusejeans.com offers great eco-friendly products such as jeans, shorts and skirts.  Their fashionable products are made from 80% of recycled fabric.  I love their jeans.  They look and feel great.  It's exciting to see high end fashion companies dedicated to eco-friendly efforts.  By taking eco-friendly initiatives mainstream, people have more eco-friendly choices to choose from.  

With the end of Halloween, the end of year holiday season has just begun.  I'm looking forward to celebrating the holidays this year.  However, it is so easy for me to get caught up in accumulating stuff that I always have to list my priorities in order to stay focused.  As a family, we came up with a holiday priority list which did not include the need to buy any more stuff, instead it focused on our family priority of exploring as many national parks and trails as possible.  We recently rode our bikes on the American Tobacco Trail and absolutely love the experience!  

It is like riding through an enchanted forest with nothing but magnificent trees surrounding you.  For more information about the trail, please visit www.triangletrails.org.  The trail is free and open to the public.  On a good day, you can also see people riding their horses next to the bike riders.