Meet your produce people: Ever long for the days when we knew the milkman by name or got calls from the grocer about early season apples? Then you’ll be happy to hear that they’re not gone, they’re at the farmer’s market! The farmers and producers themselves staff most booths, so don’t be afraid to ask questions and make friends. Once they get to know you, they might set aside your favorite foods, offer recipes, and even introduce you to something new (ramp, anyone?).

Bring a basket: Two of my biggest pet peeves are bruised fruit and digging through my bag to remember if I bought something. That’s why I love using my basket at the farmer’s market: it keeps my food from getting smushed and right where I can see it. I’m partial to baskets made of grass, like this one from Vivaterra, but Reisenthal makes nice ones that are easy to clean and collapsible (available at reuseablebags.com).

Stop by the ATM: Few vendors at the farmers market are equipped with credit card machines, so be prepared to use cash.

Try the samples: Sure you’ve got the list, but you never know what you’ll find at the farmers’ market. Get ready to try fruits you’ve never heard of, unique blends of olive oil, and who knows what else. I love being surprised by my new favorite foods; yes red chili tortillas, I’m thinking of you.

Skip the plastic: Many vendors will supply plastic bags, but that’s the last place to put your brand new produce! Invest in some cloth bags that will keep your purchases grouped together without adding weight. EcoBags creates great produce sacks made from organic cotton in various sizes. Bonus: markets that offer small rebates for tote bags will give rebates on these small bags as well.

Go with friends: Nothing brings people together like food, and the farmers market is no exception. In addition to plentiful samples, local vendors will often set up shop and offer meal specials from their restaurants. So sit down and relax after navigating the food stalls!

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Soap nuts are literally nuts from the Sapindus genus of trees, also known as soapberry trees. The shell of the nut contains saponin, a natural cleansing substance that has been used for centuries around Asia for both clothing and skin.

In addition to being an effective cleaner, soap nuts are very gentle on skin so they’re great for people with allergies.

The nuts – which have been de-seeded and dried – are usually sold by the ounce and come with a small, fabric pouch. The pouch holds the soap nuts (4-5 per load) so they can be easily retrieved later.

The nuts can be used up to five times on average before they lose their potency. Based on your water softness, wash temperature, and necessary cleaning power the number and usage of your soap nuts may be different. Specifics can be found on suppliers’ websites (a few options below).

The first time I saw soap nuts, I thought: I don’t even want to touch those, let alone wash clothes with them. They were dark nuts, slightly sticky to the touch, and smelled…off. Not a bad smell, but not what I wanted to smell like. I forgot about them completely until my thoughtful sister gifted them to me one day.

I followed the instructions, hoped for the best, and expected the worst. To my utter surprise, my clothes were clean, smelled great, and the soap nuts didn’t smell as bad afterward either.

A couple washes later the shells of the nut fell apart, but worked just as well. My sister likes to put a drop of lavender essential oil in the bag too, but I prefer the natural scent. Disposal was easy: straight into the compost!

I heartily recommend soap nuts to anyone who has the courage to try them. I haven’t had great luck finding them in stores, but many suppliers sell them online.

Note for apartment dwellers: buy a couple extra bags so you can use your soap nuts on multiple loads at a time.

Soap nuts online:

LaundryTree: laundrytree.com
Maggie’s: maggiespureland.com
NaturOli: naturoli.com/soapnuts
Zamuta: zamuta.com
Carpet Cleaning In New York

Image courtesy of maggiespureland.com, Free Online Psychic Chat

Equally important, however, is the fact that any job can be a green one. It’s easy to incorporate environmentally efficient and effective processes into our daily work lives.

Net Impact, an international organization empowering leaders to use business to improve the world, recently released Making Your Impact at Work: A Practical Guide to Changing the World From Inside Any Company.

This free guide empowers you to make any job a green job. It is available through their website, NetImpact.org.

The study profiles 15 intrapraneurs, people who work within their organizations to promote sustainability initiatives. It also suggests a process to reach environmental objectives through team building, benchmark creation, and stakeholder engagement.

In addition to reading this guide, you can participate in Net Impact’s “Impact at Work Online Forum” or listen to monthly “Impact at Work” conference calls.

Check them out for tips and to share your own experiences!

Anyone can be an environmental intrapraneur and any job can be a “green” one. This guide will help you get started.

Image courtesy of ecolifeconsulting.com

The latest wave of attention focused on the plastic of the water bottle, specifically Bisphenol-A (BPA). This chemical has been linked to serious health risks like breast cancer. While health organizations are split on whether it poses a real threat, companies like Nalgene have already responded by removing BPA from its products.

However, let’s ignore the plastic and focus on the water.

Is the water within the bottle different from what we get from the tap? Yes.

Water, water everywhere, but only 1% to drink.

Water is an essential nutrient for healthy living. Our bodies are 60% water and need constant replenishment to perform vital bodily processes. Humans can live for weeks without food, but only days without water. Unfortunately, water is an increasingly scarce resource.

Even though 79% of the earth’s surface is water, only 3% of it is fresh water. Of that three percent, 2/3 is held in ice and undrinkable. In other words, only one percent of the water on the planet is fresh water and accessible. This small amount of water is increasingly threatened by desertification, overuse, and pollution.

Bottled water is another threat.

Companies that produce bottled water do so by privatizing the water source. Privatization is the process of changing a government owned system, such as public water, into one that is private with a for-profit agenda. Buying the public’s water source and bottling it exacerbates water scarcity. Another problem is that public water is repackaged and sold to those who can afford and access it.

The Tap Choice

Compared to bottled water, tap water is much less expensive, just as safe and more accessible.

Accessibility: Tap water runs in every building and water fountains are common in most public areas. If you’re going somewhere without water pipes, reusable water bottles can be filled beforehand.

Safety: Tap water is just as safe as bottled.

Cost: Bottled water is 500x more expensive than tap. Consider Dasani and Aquafina, two popular bottled waters, which are actually filled with reprocessed tap water. Makes you wonder what you’re paying for.

Taste: It’s objective, but multiple blind taste tests have shown that people cannot tell the difference between the two. Some believe using a filter, like Brita or Pur, helps with taste as well.

Status: Companies have worked very hard to create specific brands around their product, making a food product into an accessory. But that trend is reversing as more people buy and use reusable water bottles.

As consumers, we vote for our interests each time we use our dollars. Be a smart water drinker and vote for tap!

For more information, check out the following sources:

Environmental Working Group: a non-profit public information organization with extensive research on BPA
Blue Gold: a book and movie following the world’s water wars
Planet Green: take the water IQ quiz and learn more about water conservation

Image courtesy of cap.nsw.edu.au

Here are some great, versatile items that’ll help you when you’re on the go:

Tea Tree Oil

All-in-one miracle solutions might not exist, but tea tree oil comes pretty close. This natural oil is non-toxic, antibacterial, and disinfecting. It can be used to sooth many ailments including sunburns, blisters, and bruises. You can also mix a few drops with water to create a sterilizing solution. Desert Essence offers organic tea tree oil and related products.

All-Purpose Soap

I used to think “all purpose” was limited to washing the body, but that’s not true! Consider EO’s All Purpose Soap, available at Whole Foods Markets. This soap uses organic ingredients to effectively clean anything from “your car to your carrots”. I’ve tested it, and plan to use it as a body wash, shampoo and clothing detergent. I’m sure I’ll come up with other uses before the summer is out.

All-Purpose Body Balm

I have dry skin, so Revolution Organics’ All-Over Body Balm is my new wonder product. This certified organic and paraben-free balm comes in a solid, stick form making it easy to apply. Plus, no worries about it opening and spilling out in my bag.

SPF Products

You wear sunscreen everyday, right? Right? Right. Then this will just be a refresher: you must wear sunscreen! Daily use of SPF 15 will protect you from 92% of damaging UV rays, which can cause skin cancer. In addition to natural sunscreens, like Alba and Soleo, many products now come with SPF making it that much easier to apply and go.

Have other tips? Share them in the comments below!

Image courtesy of travelingted.wordpress.com