Articles tagged “Green Holidays”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Sell, Trade Your Gift Cards By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Jan 23 2008 If you received a tidy stack of gift cards over the holidays that you have little use for, consider trading them in for gift cards to stores you actually frequent, or better yet, sell them to other folk for cold, hard cash, which is always handy, no matter what the occasion. Plastic Jungle will pay up to 65 percent of... + READ MORE

Make a Restorative Broth By Kelly Rossiter IN Food & Health Dec 31 2007 Here we are on the brink of the new year. Even if you are hale and hearty you can use it as a base for vegetarian soups, or toss some ravioli into the broth for a light supper.The Restorative Broth 1 big head of garlic6 sage leaves2 bay leaves2 thyme sprigs2 parsley branchesSea salt and freshly ground pepperyour... + READ MORE

Take Back Your Post-Holiday Fridge (Part I) By Collin Dunn IN Home & Garden Dec 27 2007 Fun and festive as the holidays are, they have an uncanny knack for adding extra stuff to our lives. Many raw fruits and vegetables like squash, root vegetables, apples, and onions don't need the sanctuary of the crisper or even the low temperatures of the fridge to remain fresh. + READ MORE

Make a Warming Cider Punch By Kelly Rossiter IN Food & Health Dec 27 2007 New Year's Day has long been a traditional day for open houses in Canada. Mulled Holiday Apple CiderServes 8 to 10 1 cup water2 cup sugar or brown sugar2 litres fresh cider or apple juice1 orange24 whole cloves4-5 cinnamon sticks of 1 tbsp ground cinnamon3 or 4 bay leaves2 or 3 branches rosemary or 1 tbsp dried6 or 8... + READ MORE

Celebrate Boxing Day Properly By Lloyd Alter IN Work & Connect Dec 26 2007 Lining up for the Boxing Day sales. Photo credit: dgodin It's Boxing Day in the old British Empire, a statutory holiday that some think is the best day of the year, because they get to play with their gifts without distraction.It is the day when the lords of the manor would hand out boxes containing cloth, grains, and... + READ MORE

Reuse Leftover Wrapping Paper By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Dec 25 2007 Although Heidi's luscious gift wrap isn't made from recycled paper, the designer has some creative ideas for using every last scrap of leftover wrapping paper, saving some of the 5 million extra tons of trash Americans create between Thanksgiving and New Year's. + READ MORE

Last Minute Gifts: Make Homemade Bath Salts By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Fashion & Beauty Dec 24 2007 For an easy, inexpensive, and ultraquick last-minute Christmas gift, try your hand at making fragrant, luxurious bath salts for soothing rankled nerves, a common affliction during the holidays.Alternatively, cut a circle measuring at least 8 inches in diameter out of unbleached cheese cloth, and instruct your gift... + READ MORE

Things to do on Christmas for Non-Christians By Lloyd Alter IN Work & Connect Dec 24 2007 Not everyone does Christmas-a large percentage of our population celebrates other holidays. In the United Kingdom, over 6500 people volunteered last year to help out with Crisis Open Christmas, noting "If you are homeless or living in hostel accommodation, Christmas can be a lonely and depressing time." + READ MORE

Turn Your Cereal Box into a Gift Box By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Dec 20 2007 Give your holiday gifts some extra snap, crackle, and pop by tapping into that stack of used cereal boxes clogging up your recycling bin. + READ MORE

Design a Sustainable Gingerbread House By Collin Dunn IN Food & Health Dec 19 2007 Thanks to our sister site TreeHugger, we see that sustainably designed gingerbread houses are all the rage these days. What better way to learn a thing or two about how green buildings work than doing a little research-we recommend National Resources Defense Council's green building section or tips from HGTV Pro's... + READ MORE

Plant a Tree with Every Book You Read By Collin Dunn IN Work & Connect Dec 17 2007 Books are always popular gifts this time of year, and we like the idea of giving the gift of knowledge, but it remains that books are printed on paper, and paper comes (mostly) from trees. And the new trees do more than just give us something to hug, including (but certainly not limited to) carbon dioxide absorption... + READ MORE

Enjoy a Zero-Sum Holiday Season By Collin Dunn IN Home & Garden Dec 10 2007 Many of us have a relative or friend who insists on gifting the same thing each year. To make it a little easier, it doesn't have to apply to every gift you get; consumables that you'll use up and one-of-a-kind gifts that don't replace anything you already have don't have trade spots with something you've already got. + READ MORE

Adopt an Animal, Earn a Cookie By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Work & Connect Dec 7 2007 Make a donation in someone's name and have something for them to unwrap, so they're not disappointed that they didn't get "a real gift": Adopt a penguin, polar bear, or seal-among other sea creatures-at Oceana's Web site and receive a cookie cutter in the shape of your adopted pal, as well as an exclusive sugar-cookie... + READ MORE

Drink to Health, Love, and the Environment By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Food & Health Dec 4 2007 Before you raise your glasses this holiday, consider getting wines that toast the environment even as you imbibe. The Organic Wine Company: A family business that imported the first French organic wines into the United States Difficulty level: Easy + READ MORE

Win Arguments with Difficult Relatives By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Dec 4 2007 If you expect to be the lone environmentalist at the dinner table this festive season-and you're dreading the jabbing arguments that will undoubtedly fly your way as you poke at your mushy peas and mashed potatoes-practice cracking the tougher nuts on your family tree with Sierra Club's holiday survival guide. + READ MORE

Repair Your Christmas Lights By Collin Dunn IN Tech & Transport Dec 3 2007 Part of the Planet Green mantra goes something like "'Tis better to fix and reuse than to throw away." Thankfully, at a site called Cyphers by Ritter, there are very thorough instructions for fixing busted strings of LED lights and the more traditional (but more energy-intensive) incandescent bulbs.Read them and repeat + READ MORE

Avoid Shopping Binges, Impulse Buys By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Dec 3 2007 We've all been there: It's easy to get swept up in a shopping high, especially during the holidays. To prevent yourself from getting caught in the holiday frenzy, Engs has listed some of her shopping dos and don'ts: 1.Leave you credit cards at home and pay for purchases only with cash, checks, and debit cards. + READ MORE

Build an Electronic LED Hanukkiyah By Lloyd Alter IN Home & Garden Dec 3 2007 Christmas trees used to have real candles, but moved to electric lights and now LED lights for obvious reasons. They are traditionally lit in a sequence; one as the lighter candle (the higher shamash) which is used to light the other eight, one of the first night, two on the second etc, totalling 44 candles over the... + READ MORE

Take Inventory of Your Pantry and Donate the Duplicates By Collin Dunn IN Home & Garden Nov 28 2007 It's awfully easy to get overwhelmed with stuff-decorations, food, gifts, and more-around the holidays, and if you're not careful, too much stuff can become more and more clutter. And though holidays are typically donation centers' busiest time of year, this exercise should be repeated several times throughout the year; + READ MORE

Wrap Your Presents in Reusable Gift Bags By Jasmin Malik Chua IN Home & Garden Nov 27 2007 The holiday season offers little peace and goodwill for the world's forests. Give a tree a break this yuletide by wrapping your winter bestowals in reusable fabric gift bags-you can easily whip up your own with some basic sewing know-how. + READ MORE