Read all my previous Easy Green Tips and then read 10 more easy ways to go green, starting today.

1. Turn the heat/air conditioning off as often as you can. Open the curtains open during the day to get the sunshine (and warmth) in and use an extra blanket during cooler nights. Or don’t turn the air conditioning on – open the windows during cooler nights and close them on the morning and keep the curtains down to keep it cool.

2. Buy local produce. If you shop in the supermarkets, ask the manager to source local products.

3. Make signs to put on the mirror over faucets to remind family members to turn off water when they are brushing their teeth. (You can save an average of nine gallons every time you do this.)

4. Read your news & gossip online. Cancel subscriptions to newspapers or magazines you don’t really want.

5. Go online to CatalogChoice.org to free your mailbox from junk mail.

6. Join a group like Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Kids for Saving the Earth, the Wilderness Society or Co-op America.

7. Talk to the principal at your children’s school about instituting environmental education in the curriculum and apply for a 20,000 grant for your school for eco-friendly projects at Earth Day Every Day.

8. Check to see that your tires are correctly inflated.

9. Sign the “Birds and Climate Change: Ecological Disruption in Progress” petition at Audubon.org.

10. E-mail your state or national representatives about a green initiative.

Read more green tips at Celebrate Green.

America’s favorite Mom Kelly Ripa reveals
how she balances motherhood in an exclusive
interview with Skimbaco Lifestyle.
Chance to win Electrolux appliances !
Great tips how to go green!

Did you know that just by choosing an energy efficient washer from Electrolux you could save 83% energy and 56% water? Think how much that ends up reducing your footprint to our environment and leaves green in your wallet on a yearly basis!

Electrolux started an online campaign for us to pledge our commitment to living green by planting a virtual flower.

For every virtual flower planted at electroluxappliances.com, Electrolux will donate $1 to Global Green USA to support green schools initiatives across America.

You can plant a flower once a day and every time you will enter to win an Electrolux washer and dryer set.

The Plant A Flower Campaign was kicked off by Kelly Ripa right on time for the Earth Day. At the same time Kelly Ripa and Electrolux launched the Electrolux’s newest eco-friendly washer & dryer in limited edition color “Kelly Green”. Forget about “Kelly bag” – the newest hot items every modern mom has to have are the washer and dryer in “Kelly Green”.

I would have had an opportunity to interview Kelly Ripa in person earlier this week, but I had to cancel meeting Kelly on last minute – I was so bummed, but she was so nice to answer my questions with the video (below)! I was planning on editing the video with my actual questions for her – but who wants to see me – you all want to see Kelly anyway, so I just decided to leave the video as it is, and write my questions here.

Skimbaco Lifestyle asks Kelly Ripa:

What is your favorite product from the Electrolux product family?
How do you go green in your every day life?
Tell us more about the Virtual Flower campaign.
One of the biggest questions the Skimbaco Lifestyle readers and me struggle is the work/family balance and you seem to handle it so well. What is your secret?

And Kelly Ripa answers:

Thank you so much Kelly!

Check out even more fab interview with Kelly – Mom Generations’ Mom Fashion Expert Audrey’s interview with Kelly Ripa.

Remember to Send a Virtual Flower and enter to win the sweet set of Electrolux Washer & Dryer in Kelly Green and read my other easy green tips for the Earth Month. And stay tuned for all other amazing featured moms in the Skimbaco Mother’s Day 09 special.

I remember when I was a kid, my dad was so excited about the product launch of rechargeable AA batteries that he bought the charger and rechargeable batteries for my mom for Christmas. While that might not have been the most romantic gift to my mom… it was something that all I learned to use since I was a kid.

We all use batteries for something, whether it’s the remote, the GPS, the kids’ toys or the digital camera – and probably for most of us it’s all of the above. You can recharge the rechargeable batteries for 100 times – think about it – it’s 100 times less batteries to dispose! This is a huge help to our environment and not to even mention to your wallet.

You can get the Energizer charger and a pack of rechargeable batteries (pictured above) for less than twenty bucks and the extra rechargeable batteries cost around 9 dollars a packet of four, they really are an investment that will pay back after a few recharges.

If you already don’t own a battery charger, why not make that investment this month in honor of the Earth Day? It’s a simple way to trash less, and save money doing it too. Plus – you never have to worry that you run out of batteries again – you will just have to wait until they have charged again, and you are good to go! The plus of the Energizer pictured above – it even looks stylish and you can match it with your decor.

A friend of mine, Colleen of Classy Mommy is a brand advocate for Energizers this year, and she just posted a fun and educational video how to safely dispose of batteries – in case you have been wondering how to dispose the old batteries safely.

See all Easy Green Tips

10 easy tips how to reduce the use of paper in your every day life.

MAIL AND HOME OFFICE

1. Think before you print! Don’t print anything unless you really have to – if you do, use both sides of the paper. And important tip: always use print preview!
2. Pay your bills online – most companies offer easy online billing.
3. Cancel some of your magazine subscriptions and especially shopping catalogs you receive. You can do it yourself by going to OptOutPrescreen.com, or CatalogChoice.org.

Shopping bags $15.99

SHOPPING

4. Buy products that are smartly packed in as little paper as possible.
5. Use re-usable shopping bags and say no to paper and plastic at stores. In case you will get paper shopping bags, use them to collect recycable paper and recycle them. The brown grocery bags are also great as packing material when you mail something, they are great for kids crafts and home made gift bags.
6. Buy food in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging you are using.

AT HOME

7. Set your home for easy recycling – if it’s convenient, you are more likely to do it.
8. Don’t use kitchen paper towels. Use a cotton towel you can wash all over again to wiping the kitchen counters, another one for drying your hands, and a third one for cleaning. Or go wild and get one of them Sham-wows that are luring us on TV to dry everything like magic. No guarantees, but at least they sound amazing.
9. Don’t use paper napkins – choose washable fabric napkins you can use year after year.

10. One paper product I know you won’t go without… toilet paper. Opt for White Cloud toilet paper, which is made of 100% recycled fiber – finally an eco-friendly toilet paper product in the US!

Guest post by Lynn Colwell

Easter brings thoughts of spring and rebirth, so there’s no reason not to celebrate it with the Earth’s best interest at heart. Since for many families, Easter wouldn’t be the day without the basket, here’s how to transform this traditional hit, into a gift that truly is worth celebrating.

Instead of buying a new plastic or woven basket made in a country far away, this year, how about using your imagination? Choose an item that can hold the goodies, decorate if you like and you’ve got a unqiue, no-cost container. How fun would it be for your kids to go on the hunt with one of these?

* A purse
* A backpack
* A scarf tied to a hobo stick
* A decorated paper bag or shoe box (add a handle if you like)
* A fabric bag of any kind
* A pot (decorate by drawing on a strip of paper the height of the pot, then fasten with tape)
* A boot (Kids rain boots are especially cute. Tuck some fabric inside to keep goodies clean.)
* A paint can (again, add fabric inside if you like)

If you’re the traditional type and like the look of grass, instead of buying the plastic stuff, why not try:

* strips of fabric
* real grass, either wheat grass or grass from your yard
* shredded recycled paper
* green scarf
* strips of organic nori (seaweed availbalbe in paperlike sheets)
* green napkin, washcloth or dish towel

As for filling the basket, you’re probably aware that Easter is the second biggest holiday for candy sales next to Halloween. Sweet treats are fine, but how about choosing high quality over quantity? And just one over handfuls? Fortunately, this year, there are many great Easter treats that are better for kids and the Earth. Here are just a few:

* Organic vegan bunny and eggs from Allison’s Gourmet
* Organic jelly beans from Nuts Online
* Fair trade Yachana Gourmet Jungle Chocolate with Raisins and Coconut from Planet One Gifts.

Once the candy is taken care of, you’ll most likely want other items to fill the basket. Considering the economy, you might come up with activites you can do with your child that cost nothing, write them on slips of paper and add to the basket. We bet if you ask your children in advance, what special activities they might enjoy, you’ll have enough for months of fun. Suggestions:

* Stay up late with you one night.
* Bake something special together.
* Make up a game.
* Make popcorn and enjoy a movie on TV.
* Sleep outside under the stars.
* Have a tea party
* Create a mural
* Create and enjoy an “art” day using only items you have on hand

If you do want to purchase some special items for the basket, instead of heading to the dollar store, consider whether spending $10 on plastic toys that will break quickly is better than spending the same amount on one quality item that your child might enjoy playing with long after the holiday has passed. If you’re with us that the latter is worth investigating, here are a few ideas:

* Seed packets and a garden implement or two
* Felted egg kit from A Child’s Dream Come True
* Fair trade egg shaker from Down to Earth Toys
* Wooden play eggs from A Toy Garden
* Paper mache nesting eggs from Magic Cabin
* Organic finger puppets from I Play Baby Wear
* Handmade decorative eggs from you or Etsy
* Seeded paper or cards that can be planted from Botanical Paper Works

More ideas for Easter baskets and festivities are available at Celebrate Green

Guest post by Lynn Colwell. Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at CelebrateGreen.net.

Why buying water bottles is such a big deal?

Facts from FilterForGood.com:

– Americans used 50 billion water bottles in 2006 and sent 38 billion water bottles to landfills, the equivalent of 912 million gallons of oil.
- If laid end to end, that’s enough bottles to travel from the Earth to the Moon and back 10 times.
- If placed in a landfill or littered, those bottles could take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.
- The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes.
- In 2006, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38.
- Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles in 2006. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles — more than $1 billion worth of plastic — are wasted each year.

But.. there is one but: You want your water to go!

Your best choice is a stainless steel water bottle.

Stainless steel bottles last a lifetime and are easy to clean – and water will always taste the same – good and clean.

Why not plastic?
Plastic water bottles contain chemical (bisphenol A or BPA), which can be very harmful to our health. BPA has been connected to causing hormonal problems and even cancer. Even though most reusable plastic bottles are recyclable and are a better choice than buying bottled water, the stainless steel bottles last so much longer, practically forever, that their lifespan way wins the plastic bottle’s.

My favorite stainless water bottle brand is Sigg, they have so many cool styles and sizes.

Water is good for you and while you are doing good for you – take a step for better environment too. Instead of buying bottled water and filling the landfills with the empty water bottles, start using an at home water filter system. Many fridges come with them nowadays, and so do some new-built houses, but you don’t have to make expensive investments to get clean water at home – from your faucet. Enter the world of Brita.

I am a huge fan of Brita products, we have been using the Brita water pitchers for ten years. And I now also have a faucet filter to get clean water for cooking and for my coffee easier as well.

Brita products turn your ordinary tap water into healthier, good tasting water within seconds. The water filters are light weight plastic, and we have never had one to break yet. The pitchers cost around 35 bucks, and the filters that you need to change every 4-8 weeks, depending how much water you use, cost 6-8 dollars each. (I found Brita coupons at AFullCup.com if you want to save some green while you go green!)

Save the environment and save money by getting the Brita water filter.
Some facts from FilterForGood.com:

– One Brita pitcher filter can effectively replace as much as 300 standard 16.9-ounce bottles. So you can get great-tasting water without so much waste.
- The average Brita pitcher filters 240 gallons of water a year for about 19 cents a day. Put in perspective, to get the same amount of water from bottled water would require 1,818 16.9-ounce water bottles a year.

Brita takes it seriously to be environmentally conscious, they also offer a program how to recycle the old filters.

Thanks to Walmart to sending me another Brita pitcher to test – little did they know I was already a fan for life.

Photos: Brita

Happy Earth Day!

What is Earth Day?
Earth Day was created in 1970 in the US to spark a revolution against environmental abuse. Global warming is real and we’re part of the problem. Now, we need to become part of the solution.

Since the 70′s the Earth Day has spread all over the world and is celebrated in hundreads of cities world wide with special events. People all over the world know that there are problems we need to work on and this is our special day to look at the planet and see what needs changing. Read more at www.earthday.net.

10 Easy Ways You Can Do Every Day to Save the Earth

1. Don’t buy anything disposable.
Use lunch boxes instead of zip-lock bags. Use a sponge to wipe the kitchen counter – not paper towels. Take your coffee in a thermos, not in a paper cup.

2. Buy in bulk and not individually wrapped products.
Choose products with less packaging. Reduce mail – Don’t order catalogs, see the products online.

3. Reuse or recycle the packacing or boxes you get.
Jelly jars are great for storaging crayons. Egg cartons are great fire starters and perfect for kids’ crafts.

4. Buy less but better quality.
Buy better quality products, which will last longer.

5. Repair old items instead of just throwing away and buying a new one.
Call the manufacturers – most have repair services.

6. Recycle your old things, like clothing – donate it or sell it on yard sales or eBay.

7. Save water.
Only wash full loads of dishes or clothes. Sweep your driveway instead of hosing it. Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth.

8. Save energy.
Get Energy Star rated appliances and light bulbs. Turn off the light/monitor/TV/etc. when you leave the room.

9. Choose lower emission vehicles and drive less.
Don’t keep the car running while waiting your kids in the school pick-up line, car pool with friends and make a shopping list to avoid many trips.

10. Buy organic.
Less pesticides and fertilizers. No antibiotics, growth hormones, and feed made from animal parts. Better for you, better for the Mother Earth.

Want to know what kind of footprint you are leaving? Do the three minute survey to get your Live Impact Score.

Read all of my easy ways to save earth.