There are lots of ways to plan an eco-friendly birthday but today it’s all about cake design. If I decide I should work on my birthday I may be back with tips; if not look for those tomorrow.

If you’re planning an eco-friendly birthday you might as well go all the way and even make it a theme party. Here are some amazing cake ideas that can help.

You have to visit Pink Cake Box to read more about this cake below. Whenever I need a cool cake for a post my first stop is always Pink Cake Box and they never disappoint.

I can’t tell if this next one is real or not but if it is real it sure is sweet.

I really love this next one.

And because it’s not all about me; here’s a super easy World Tree Cake that you and your kids can make right now.

Simple and it would look great with decorations of little frosting apples or flowers. Get instructions here.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I did want to make sure and get in a little something about Buy Nothing Day in today before the big bad Black Friday hits tomorrow. I talked a little about this before but now the Buy Nothing website is in full swing. In case you haven’t heard of Buy Nothing Day it’s fairly self-explanatory. Created by the fun folks at Adbusters; Buy Nothing Day coorelates with Black Friday otherwise know as the biggest shopping day of the year.

I went out on Black Friday one year because Cedar needed some new clothes. Once was enough. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal because I was living in Humboldt at the time and there aren’t that many people there. There’s barely a mall (which I liked). However, on that one Black Friday I’m pretty sure the entire Humboldt area population was at the tiny kind of mall that resides on 101. It was insane. I swore I’d never go out again on Black Friday and I haven’t.

The whole point of Buy Nothing Day is to encourage people to do something better with their time than go out sale hunting on Black Friday.  The deal is to prove that we have better things to do with our time than participate in this mass consumerism ordeal that takes place each year. People buy too much stuff all year round but Black Friday is one of the biggest days of the year for actually encouraging people to buy too much. All the sales and all the ads that claim you need stuff that you honestly don’t. It’s all a bit much.

On the green side Black Friday is anything but earth friendly. This is one day where shopping can do double harm to the environment. Obviously here at THF we discuss the impact that products and the energy it takes to make them have on the planet. Consider the extra bad effects that will happen tomorrow:

Extra gas needed to get from place to place because people are stuck in traffic even more than usual.

Senseless items bought. This is fact. I’ve seen it in action. People go to this huge sale because they saw something they actually need on the sales ad. That in itself is not a bad thing. However, once you get to a store the item is gone — because of course the store didn’t stock enough and so to make up for the wasted time people tend to shop for other items that were not on their list in the first place.

An utter lack of peace. I don’t talk about peace and calm too much here but in many ways I feel that both are tied intrinsically to eco-living. Once you start to live simpler a certain calm does take over your life. You do feel more at peace because you aren’t competing with anyone on a who has what level and it’s an overall nicer way to live. Less clutter, less competition, more peace. Black Friday is anything but peaceful. People fight over stuff and you don’t get any lamer than that. This is stuff wars are made of. Sure it’s on a smaller level but come on. We don’t need to live like that.

Time. One of the best ways to encourage green living is to live a happy healthy lifestyle. People who are healthy and happy tend to be more balanced and want a healthier planet as well. There is no argument on earth that’s going to convince me that all those lines, all the shoving, all the people weaving at the stores on the very crowed Black Friday is a healthy way to live. Your time is worth more than that. Many people get Black Friday off only to spend it working at the mall. Instead take the day and go to the park with your family; play board games; talk… spend time not money. This is what encourages health and happiness not the fact that you saved $10 on a printer.

Tomorrow don’t go out to the stores.

On the biggest shopping day of the year make a difference by going against convention. If you need ideas or would like to learn more about how to participate by not participating check out the Buy Nothing Day website.

Other issue of note: Adbusters created a Buy Nothing Day commercial. They tried to buy airtime on MTV to air said commercial. MTV has refused saying it goes to far. Hilarious words for a channel that shows half naked girls, shooting guns in videos, and more.  You can see the BND commercial here and believe me in my opinion it doesn’t go far enough it’s no worse than a child’s cartoon. You can even send an email to MTV telling them just how lame this is.

If you stay home and buy nothing let me know.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

If you know someone who want to incorporate more green and doesn’t know where to start or if you just want to spread the word to family and friends who haven’t ever given green a thought than Greensender boxes can help.

This is by no means an all inclusive green gift; in that there’s so much more to going green than what comes in a Greensender box. However, if you’d like someone to start using actions to promote green this is a gift that steps in the right direction.

The Greensender Box is a box you can send to anyone that includes:

• An eco-friendly aluminum SIGG water bottle.
• A reusable grocery bag.
• An energy-efficient cfl light bulb.
• An organic cotton t-shirt.

It puts green into context more so than just talking about it. When someone gets this box they realize that these are some tools that can get them on a greener path. Visit Greensender to learn more.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

• Commercial sponges contain a lot of polyurethane which comes from petroleum thus they come from a non-renewable resource. Not to mention the toxicity factor of polyurethane.
• Manufacturing commercial sponges pollute the environment and later on they don’t degrade well. Our landfills will still be hanging out with your sponges years from now.
• If you use natural sponges for bathing or even cleaning that’s not eco-friendly either because natural sponges that come from our oceans are a vanishing resource.

All hope is not lost for sponge lovers. The best choice from an eco-standpoint are sponges made from wood pulp cellulose. If I buy sponges I find wood cellulose ones easily at Wild Oats and most health food stores carry them. I’ve even seen them at mainstream stores.

Some environmentalists will say that they’re not ok because of the wood used and some say it causes logging practices to continue. I don’t know for sure but… Making these cellulose sponges is a cleaner event than making polyurethane sponges. There’s less waste involved and less energy wasted overall — plus they’re not toxic!

However, tree advocates are not entirely wrong because it is wood pulp that’s used.

To be honest I don’t buy sponges all that often. I do think why use the wood if there’s no need and it’s still something to throw away when I could use a plain old rag. What you might do is go a week without a sponge and see if you miss it. Obviously this is easier if you have a dishwasher — although I’ve washed dishes by hand with old rags and my dishes were clean just the same.

By the way; Peggy over at Light Green Stairs is on this cool new green journey and her post debating paper towels vs. cloth vs. sponges inspired this post. She has a great blog so check it out.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

1. Buy less stuff.
2. Fix that leaky sink
3. Change one regular old light bulb to an energy efficient bulb
4. Visit the library instead of buying books
5. Buy in bulk
6. Grow an egg carton herb garden
7. Invest in a kitchen compost
8. Hand down clothing from bigger kids to smaller kids
9. Eat at least three vegetarian meals a week
10. Use a flea comb on the family pet instead of toxic chemicals or try this method
11. Rotate the tires every 8,000 miles on the family car
12. Recycle old school notebooks
13. Look for the star
14. Grow your own container lettuce — click on the picture to see more cool container ideas!
    
15. Just say no; to Post It Notes (come on, you know you have scratch paper around the house)
16. Attend a beach or neighborhood clean-up as a family (note: this will open in pdf, but is a great resource)
17. Install a low-flow shower head
18. Have a green picnic
19. Power toys with rechargeable batteries
20. Stop using plastic baggies
21. Use cloth diapers
22. The next time you go to a park take five minutes and clean up some trash that other people left behind
23. Play material free; think hide & seek, leapfrog, and tag
24. Quit buying coffee filters
25. Buy recycled pencils for school kids
26. The next time you feel like redecorating try rearranging your current stuff instead — you may not need to buy any new items
27. Take your ink cartridges to a recycling center (better yet, mail them — no gas)
28. Get your next load of veggies from a local farmers market
29. One evening this week turn off all the lights and the television; light a candle and tell spooky stories
30. Put homemade pudding in the lunch boxes instead of pre-made pudding packs
31. Find your perfect green home
32. Make Halloween costumes out of items you already have at home
33. Make a natural air freshener instead of buying a commercial product
34. Use both sides of a piece of paper
35. Mamas, if you wear make-up try going natural one day a week
36. Live within your means
37. Buy organic apples
38. Decide what you want before opening the fridge
39. Visit a forest
40. Make popsicles and eliminate cardboard and plastic waste
41. Buy recyclable toothbrushes
42. If you build a home, build green
43. Cancel the newspaper if you don’t honest to god read it
44. Gather up used plastic easter egg containers and reuse them next year
45. Quit singing in the shower
46. Purchase Fair Trade coffee
47. Shop for household items at a thrift shop
48. Weatherize your windows
49. Invest your money using green sensibility
    
50. If you need a Christmas tree get a living tree
51. Spend 10 minutes a day discussing green living issues with your children
52. Forget the yellow pages
53. Find out what birds are local to your area
54. Make sure empty toilet paper rolls make it out of the bathroom and to the recycling bin
55. Buy or make organic baby food
56. Cancel two magazine subscriptions
57. Paint the kitchen toxic-free
58. Buy unsliced American cheese instead of individually wrapped slices
59. Use both sides of and then recycle your tin foil
60. Look into greener transportation
61. Donate your old glasses
62. Take a walk, late at night with your kids (does nature look different at night?) what does it sound like?
63. Quit using drinking straws
64. Color hair naturally
65. Give a hug and some time instead of a new toy to a child
66. Use baking soda to freshen your toilet
67. Cancel your junk mail
68. Introduce yourself to one new neighbor this month. Ask them if they like the idea of a neighborhood clean-up, pot-luck, or other community event.
69. Use refillable shampoo bottles (most co-ops have this option)
70. Spend less; work less; and be with your children
71. Design, your own art instead of buying new
72. Visit five other green-minded blogs (see my sidebar for ideas)
73. Make soup from scratch using some leftover item in your fridge before it goes to waste
74. Support at least one green business
75. Plant a tree for each child in the family
    
76. Be a breastfeeding family
77. Visit a butterfly conservatory
78. Read TreeHugger and learn something wicked cool every day
    
79. Use the sunshine to make fruit roll-ups
80. Throw away mothballs and use cedar blocks
81. Turn off the lights when you go to bed
82. Make every long distance phone call count
83. Share an electric or push lawnmower among neighborhood families
84. Carpool to work and school
85. Create or join a community garden
86. Go see what’s new at the local recycling plant (call ahead)
87. Stomp around in the rain and see how many worms you can count
88. Take off your shoes in the house
89. Stop using real bleach
90. Give used toys to a good cause like a woman and children’s shelter
91. Play eco-friendly kid games on the computer
92. Purchase bulk peanut butter in your reusable container from the co-op
93. Stay put if possible; relocation is not very eco-friendly.
94. Use fewer fabric sheets; see if one half works as well
95. Install solar outdoor lighting
96. Build or obtain a rain barrel and paint it a beautiful color
97. Kids; become an official planet protector!
98. Learn what size of footprint your family makes on the planet
99. Read Tree Hugging Family (I had to go there)
    
100. Dream that a greener planet is possible in your children’s lifetime

What are you already doing as a family?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I love this picture. One, her kids are adorable playing near the lake, (pond?), river (much like the turtles but, you know, more human-like and less brownish) and two, it’s always great to see families outside in the great outdoors. I also really enjoy the look her son is giving her at the moment. Classic kid camera face.

Hilary writes green-style for b5media as well. She has a great blog called Eco Friendly Driver that covers all green things that go. Hey, that would be a good Dr Seuss book — “All Green Things That Go.” Maybe. Anyhow Hilary is a great writer and her blog is packed with tips and information about electric cars, money issues to consider, new hybrids, ethanol, and other way to drive greener, smarter, and better. Visit today.

Why not introduce your family here at Tree Hugging Family? Even send pictures like Hilary. I’d love to see them.

Lastly don’t forget to grab the kiddos and stop by last week’s Nature Detective game; a new one goes up tomorrow.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

I LOVE it, but you do not want to know how much it costs.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

1. Take a walk: For the more adventurous; go camping or take a hiking excursion. A walk will do perfectly though. I discussed the importance of getting kids outside before but it really is a simple tip. Kids care more about an issues when it becomes personal. Kids who love the outdoors will appreciate it enough to save it.
2. Conserve water: Here’s an easy place to start. Turning the water facet off while teeth brushing is one very small step that a child can easily do. If you leave the water on the entire time you brush (assuming you brush well) you can easily waste five gallons of water with each brushing. The bucket in the picture is a five gallon bucket. Look how big it is compared to the size of an average door; it’s huge!
3. Grow a little something: Growing herbs in a window planter or carrot roots in a see through tube is a great way for kids to see that plants start somewhere and that plants take real time and care to grow. It can help teach them that plants should be cared for and will also teach kids about light resources, clean water, and soil.
4. Make 100% recycled art projects: Save broken crayons, old foil, birthday wrap, and used stamps from letters (what else can you think of) and create something brand new and amazing. Need a starter project? Try solar crayons: Fill up a metal muffin pan or other mold with all the old broken crayons. Place in the hot sun and wait. Once they melt together remove them for big fun chunky rainbow crayons. Need one more idea; try this fun project.
5. Read: There are a million cool green kid books. Here are three:

• Compost, By Gosh!
• George Saves the World at Lunchtime
• The Tiny Seed

Picture via: Earthgirl Composting; a business serving Chittenden and Washington Counties in Vermont. BUT if you don’t live in Vermont still visit Earthgirl because I think she has just about the best idea ever with this business. It’s a great role model for your own community.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

You can do a lot with an green audit.

You can gain powerful information about how you’re currently living — that may include what type of consumer you are, how you think or feel about environmental topics, how your family is doing as green advocates, and how your home and community stack up (are they eco-friendly or eco-downers?).

You can use the information you gain from a green audit in different ways.

If you’re happy with how you’re living you don’t have to do anything or you can use the information to take action for positive change.

Maybe your green audit shows that you get an A+ in green living! In that case soy ice cream all around!

But honestly most of us need a little help. A green audit can show you where your family needs help and allows you to look for the tools necessary to make eco-friendly changes. There are tons of different green audits you can do. Over the next (however long it takes) I’ll be bringing a couple different green audits to Tree Hugging Family each week. I’ll cover different rooms of your home, your consumer and social habits, and other kinds of helpful eco-audits.

Information is the most powerful resource we have when it comes to saving the planet. Hopefully, your family will be able to take some time and complete some of the audits. I’ll be adding a “Green Audit” category to the side of the blog so if you don’t have time one week you can skip it and always go back when you do have time.

Know that you don’t have to change the scope of your home or life in a single week, month, or year. I’ve seen green audits completely freak people out but believe me change is gradual. Change that is gradual; even very slow is still positive. The most important thing is to try.

Small steps can change the world.

Stay tuned for upcoming green audits for everyone in your family.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Since I hope you’ll be sticking around I thought it might be nice to start this blog off with some background information and introductions.

What’s Tree Hugging Family all about anyway?

There are a lot of amazing eco-friendly blogs and websites out there; just look at my blogroll. What will hopefully help Tree Hugging Family to stand out is that my goal is to help make it easier for your entire family to go green. This is a blog for everyone; kids included.

A while back I was surfing around the internet and noticed that a lot of the websites my son and I visit are geared towards a specific age population. Either a site is for adults or for kids. There aren’t many that fall in between. I get why. It is hard to strike a balance between information that’s useful for adults and also useful for kids.

I’m going to try and find that balance here. Some of the issues and categories that Tree Hugging Family will be covering include:

• Quick & easy green living tips
• More complex green living tips
• Freebie green items
• Living lightly on the earth
• Eco-art projects
• Organic foods
• Natural health & wellness
• Eco-products for home, adults, kids, and babies
• Green travel
• Sustainable living
• Green gardening
• Simplicity
• How to live on less
• Creating family and green oriented communities
• Eco-celebrations
• Nature games
• Contests

I’m also going to be covering spotlight posts on various categories such as:

• Eco-communities
• Sustainable-minded websites
• Books and magazines
• Movies and shows
• Green-minded individuals

These are the issues I’m interested in seeing families take on together. Not all topics will be made for kids and not all will be ideal for adults — I’m trying to find that balance.

Many of these topics seem like they could be scrunched together but something to consider is that each small step your family takes is part of a much larger story. I’d like to offer something for everyone so if you think something is missing shoot me an email.

Again, welcome and I hope you do hang around to learn more about green family living.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family