Just trying to check in even though I don’t have a big post ready.  Here’s what I’m doing/planning to do in the GPP vein…

• No ‘Poo.  I’m late to jump on this bandwagon but it’s something I’ve been thinking of doing for… ever.  My hair is fine and has just enough curl to it to always have a halo of fuzzy frizz whenever it is freshly washed.  I never really have been a daily shampoo’er anyway, mainly because my  hair only really starts looking good by day 3, and really starts to look great when it feels DIS-GUSTING.  Yesterday, after almost a week without washing it, I did my first “treatment” – a wash with baking soda paste and a rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar – as per the instructions from one of my favorite bloggers, Crunchy Betty.  It’s still too early to tell for sure, but so far I love it.  My hair after washing/drying yesterday was less frizzy with NO product in it than it usually is after a regular shampoo with anti-frizz product!  My scalp feels clean and tingly (might have helped that my baking soda had lavender infused in it; next time I might go for mint and/or eucalyptus for some nice tingle!) and my hair is nice and soft and continues to look and feel good today.
• In beautiful coincidence, my mom and I helped my son concoct his first “volcano” yesterday using – you guessed it – baking soda and vinegar!
  
• Daydreaming about gardening.  Trying not to spend all my time and energy on Pinterest adding to my already huge garden board.  I’ll post more about it in the future but I think this year we’re really going to keep it “simple” – tomatoes, maybe a companion crop, and then lots of herbs.  I’ll leave everything else to the nice folks at the Farmers Markets.
• Also daydreaming about hitting the road in a wee camper such as this one:
  More on that in future posts as well.
• Looking into Maca Root, which, if it works, may help me with one or more of a bunch of ills that have gotten to me.  Anyone have any info or experience?
• Loving this sunshine and the occasional super-warm days we’ve been having… and then shifting polarities to sadness and blah every time we get another chilly, cloudy day.
• At the request of some readers, as well as my own desire and need for it, creating a list of dye-free recipes and products.  If you have any to add, please comment!  I’ll be putting the list up soon-ish.
• Testing out the Safeway (grocery store) app on my phone and the more I use it, the less frustrated I get with it, and the more money I save!  (Still spending too much at the grocery store though.)  Last visit I saved 28% off my bill, PLUS filled my gas tank at their station with a discount of 60 cents off per gallon!

Where has the past month gone? I’m so sorry I’ve been so quiet. Is anyone still keeping up?

I’ve been super-busy lately, between my downsizing (follow along at www.penniesforpackrats.blogspot.com) and Hurricane Sandy (we’re safe, but there was a lot of preparation work to be done beforehand just in case, and I’ve been trying to help out those who did not fare as well. Another storm [Nor'Easter] due tomorrow – please keep all those in need in your thoughts.)

I’m going to try to post more even if it’s just a quick thought or link – just to keep in the habit even when there isn’t enough time for the in-depth posts I really like to write.  Here’s a freebie for today:  10 FREE holiday cards from tinyprints!  Perfect for the “old schoolers” in your family who still really appreciate a paper, snail-mail card.

Finally, the results you’ve all been waiting for?  Thanks so much to everyone who participated, and congratulations to the winner of the Amazon gift card, chosen randomly using an online number generator...

kaz33@……

photo by Brandon Doran via flickr

Congrats!  Use the gift card/code/whatever it is to buy something that makes you happy!

Now, on to the results.  I picked through and posted a few replies for each one – if you don’t see yours here, have no fear!
1. What’s the most “extreme” thing you’ve done (or will admit to doing, anonymously if you like) to save a buck or a tree or one of Mother Nature’s little critters?

• I honestly have no problem picking food up off the floor so that it doesn’t go to waste when my son throws it in a fit of temper.
• I’ve placed 10 stray cats, and adopted 5. So, at one point I had 5 cats in a studio apartment – tons of fun!!
• not buy what i really want
• this isn’t really extreme….but run up and down the driveway in the rain to get the worms off before they became easy pickings for the robins or drown. Save the worms? Doesn’t really sound as extreme as save the whales…
• Lots of stuff, but what comes to mind is seeing buggies in some organic produce and considering it protein.
• Reused Newspaper sleeves to collect dog poop.

A lot of you mentioned “getting over” your “fear” of bugs in one way or another in the name of being green!

2. What’s the most extremely green thing you’ve ever heard of someone else doing?

• Elimination communication.
• Pooping in a bucket, and expecting guests to do the same, and reusing washcloths for toilet paper. They HAVE a working toilet. She also saves and buries her menstrual blood.
• I dunno. I think the survivalist people are kinda cool in a “holy crap they have a lot of time on their hands” way.
• The Tiny House movement. I love the idea but living in under 100 sf with under 100 items would make me batty.
• Completely paperless office environment.

3. What, to you, is “taking it too far?”

• Sacrificing your sanity lol sometimes you just HAVE to use a paper towel.
• Eating out of a dumpster because it is “cheaper” that way.
• Being sanctimonious about it.

4. What green/budget-friendly idea have you been wanting to check out, but haven’t gotten around to yet?

• Electric car
• Making my own laundry detergent.
• Rain water collectors and a composting contraption.
• Eco Nuts Organic Fragrance Free Hypoallergenic Laundry Soap, 100 Loads
• Gray water kit to use the water from the sink to flush the toilet
• Rain barrels

5. What kind of huge green investment would you make, either personally or to help the world, if you were handed a big (enough) wad of cash?

Going solar was a biggie!

• Solar panels, wind turbine and a grass roof for my house.
• have a house that is completely run off of renewable energy. Solar panels, windmill, geothermal, the works.
• If I lived somewhere with more sun I would go solar or maybe install the large underground gray water storage tanks. Water is going to be the #1 issue real soon!
• Solar panels, completely earth-friendly home. With a REALLY big wad of cash? Water and crops and teaching in third world countries to help them become self-sufficient.
• Electric – either windmills or solar

Thanks again everyone for playing – that was fun!

Sorry I’ve been a little neglecting of GPP the last week or two – I am knee deep in stuff-culling as you can follow along with on my other blog, Pennies For Packrats.  So far I’ve only made a dent, but a dent is a dent is a dent!  Come cheer me on there too!

Hi readers, old and new!  Just pinching together a few seconds of free time after a week plus of non-stop work – manual labor in 95+ heat!  One more day and my son Mr. Adventure and I are leaving on our first mini-road-trip together.  Taking my netbook with me and I am hoping to take advantage of some free time (and free wifi) to catch up.  I have lots of ideas and half-finished articles I’ve been waiting to share with you!

Hopefully you’ve already entered to win the $100 Amazon Gift Code from my last post.  If not, do it!  You could be a hundred Amabucks richer and maybe find some new bloggers to love!

Any great green finds or problems lately?

Hey strangers!  I’ve been buried in real-life duties lately and barely able to get online, let alone compose any posts.  Neglect is carrying over to my real-life as well – the dishes are stacked in the sink, the garden is full of weeds… but it happens, right?  I’ll catch up.

Meanwhile, I wanted to let you know about two easy chances to WIN!

The first is ongoing until I say so – just a little survey and a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card from Green Penny Pincher.   Check it out now – it’s quick, easy, and dare I say fun?!  Spread the word – anyone can enter!

The second contest is a lot bigger… with a lot bigger prize.

WIN a $100 Amazon Gift Code!

This contest runs from RIGHT THIS SECOND until 11:59pm EST on July 15, 2012… Ready?  On your mark, get set…

Welcome to the Jumpin’ Outta June Amazon Gift Code Twitter Giveaway hosted by MamaNYC!  (Thanks for organizing, MamaNYC!)  Over 40 bloggers have teamed together to celebrate the end of JUNE – and help kickstart one of YOUR summers with an awesome Amazon Gift Code giveaway! All you have to do is follow our Twitter accounts in order to gain entries in this giveaway! Sure, we also tossed in some other options, but this giveaway is all about Twitter!

One lucky winner is going to receive a $100.00 Amazon Gift Code! Amazon sells a bit of EVERYTHING, so you there are so many ways you can take advantage of this prize… including shopping in the Green Penny Pincher Shoppe where I feature some of my favorite green items – and as always, any purchases you make at the Green Penny Pincher Shoppe send a few bucks my way to help me maintain this blog.

This giveaway will run from June 29-July 15th, which should give you more than enough time to hop down the Rafflecopter and follow all of our Twitter accounts.  Open Worldwide; Winner will have 48 hours to confirm prize. If you see our event button – no need to enter again! We are all using the SAME Rafflecopter, so your entries are only needed on one of our blogs.

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.s. Mr. Penny Pincher was able to DIY the central air conditioning unit and fix it ALL BY HIMSELF for < $50!  I’m so proud… and so cool.

We’re pushing 100 degrees here in Delaware and OF COURSE our central air unit chose this week to putter out.  While my favorite husband is outside attempting to fix it, Baby Mr. Adventure and I are hiding out in the only 2 rooms in the house cooled by a window unit.  I have lots of projects (and posts) brewing, but it’s just too stinkin’ hot.

Instead, how about a quick survey – how far would or wouldn’t you go to be green? – and a chance to win an Amazon gift card?

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY 

VAMPIRE energy… MWAHAHAAHA!

The Modlet

Meet “The Modlet” by ThinkEco.  Modlet stands for “modern electrical outlet.”  It does what the modern electrical outlet SHOULD do, as a retrofit to your already-installed old outlets.  You plug the modlet into your existing outlet, then plug your appliances into the modlet.  The modlet turns off your appliances when they are not needed, saving you energy and money.

How?  Funny you should ask.  It does this by connecting wirelessly with your computer.  Using ThinkEco’s online software, you can view your home’s energy consumption in real time on your computer or smart phone.  Set your modlets to your schedule and they will turn off at the specified times, eliminating standby and vampire power drains.

I can think of a million places I need these in my house – but definitely on my computer printer and our entertainment system, which we have a bad habit of leaving on by accident (and even when we don’t, it only goes to standby.)

For the very privileged of us who get to live in NYC (I’m already jealous!) Con Edison has teamed up (for the 2nd year now) with ThinkEco for a program called CoolNYC.  From their site:

“Now in its second year, coolNYC is a program that enables Con Edison customers in the New York City area to participate in an exciting load reduction and management program, so that you can better control your window air-conditioner energy use. As part of the program, participants will receive the smartAC kit FREE of charge along with a $25 thank you gift at the end of the summer.”

 (More FAQ answered on the CoolNYC site)

  Click here to sign up for the CoolNYC program.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, this investment isn’t cheap, but used wisely and where most needed, it should pay for itself fairly quickly.

Best Buy sells the Home Starter Kit (1 modlet + 1 usb receiver + software) and additional modlets.

ThinkEco modlet Starter Kit – White Simple, smart savings. Saves you money and energy while wirelessly connecting you to your home electronics whether you’re at home or on the road. Intelligent software designs a savings plan for you, automatically turns on/off power to appliances and allows you to view appliance energy usage for seamless home energy management. Just set it and forget it.

ThinkEco modlet (expands modlet Starter Kit) – White Save more money and energy by adding modlets to your Starter Kit. modlet is an energy saving outlet that wirelessly connects you to your home electronics whether you’re at home or on the road. Intelligent software designs a savings plan for you, automatically turns on/off power to appliances and allows you to view appliance energy usage for seamless home energy management. Just plug in and save.

$49.99/44.99 – free shipping)

The Home Starter Kit (1 modlet + 1 usb receiver + software ) sells on the ThinkEco site for $50 (additional modlets are $44.95), while the Business Starter Kit (5 modlets + 1 usb receiver + software) sells for $365.

There are lots of options for energy savings and monitoring – here are a few from Amazon…

Do you have any energy-saving tips and tricks you’d like to share with the class?

I am most definitely not even a little ambidextrous.  Because of that, I have never been good at 2-handed flatware use, and have always resorted, whenever possible, to cutting my food with the side of my fork, much to the chagrin of my mother.  I always thought, “how great – though potentially dangerous – would it be to have a fork with a knife on the side?”

Apparently someone was listening.  Meet the Knork.

Living Social has a deal going right now – Pay $20 for $60 to spend on anything at knork.net - may even be used toward shipping!

From the knork.net site:

A Knork Education

Innovative creativity can come from anywhere.  And that is what happened the day Mike Miller went to a pizzeria with friends and struggled to eat pizza neatly with a normal fork–while trying to impress the ladies joining them for dinner.  He noticed an employee using a pizza slicer, imagined how that functionality could exist on his fork, and the rest is flatware history.

KNORK Flatware is ergonomically designed to correctly fit the way we naturally eat.  Its patented design combines innovation and function to produce a complete line of modern flatware designed with comfort, style and stability in mind.  Each piece features attributes unique to KNORK including smooth stem fingertip platforms, ergonomic shape and a heavier, balanced design that won’t bend or fall from a plate.

The FAQ (through the link above) assure me that the Knork will NOT cut me, and that it is dishwasher-safe stainless steel (aside from their plastic line, which I know no Green Penny Pinchers are interested in!)

I don’t know how green these really are, or how penny-pinching other than this great deal today through Living Social, but I am (probably a little too) excited about the Knork!  I may just have to break down and order some!  Get this deal while it’s hot and get your knork on, too!

Here are a few other, greener, penny-pinching-er deals as well…

Grab Green Home - $15 for $30 to spend at GrabGreen.  $6.50 flat rate shipping to the Continental USA.

Bambeco.com - Take 20% off all orders! Use Code: TAKE20 at checkout! (through 5/31/12)

Green Living Every Day - Save $15 on SolarGorilla Portable Charger for Netbooks, Laptops and phones.  Also, 15% off Everything in the Eco Coffee Shop

Tiny Prints - 3 FREE Stationery Samples!

LivingSocial has a great deal going right now:  Pay $15 for $30 to spend on non-toxic cleaning products from GrabGreen.   (Shipping is a flat rate of $6.50)

I’ve never tried these products but this is a good opportunity to do so, and they sound great!  Click here for more information on Grab Green company and their products, including what ingredients they do and do not use.

Or, if you’d rather DIY, check out these past Green Penny Pincher posts filled with lots of recipes and hints!

HOMEMADE CLEANING PRODUCTS from Green Penny Pincher
Part 1: The Kitchen
Part 2: Walls, Floors, & Other Surfaces

Note:  If you DIY these cleaners or any other items, be sure to first read Crunchy Betty’s very important information regarding the water you use!

 I’m intrigued by some of these combinations, though!

All Purpose Cleaner Thyme with Fig Leaf 16 oz Your Price:$5.00 On sale:$4.00	Dish Soap Tangerine with Lemongrass 16 oz Your Price:$5.00
Lavender with Vanilla Laundry Detergent Kit Your Price:$25.00	fragrance-free laundry kit Your Price:$25.00

If you grab this deal, please stop back to let me know what you think of these products!

Mountain Rose Herbs recently debuted new sustainable packaging for their line of organic teas.  These beautiful new tea boxes are made from recycled newspapers!  All of their 4oz teas will now arrive boxed in this recycled loveliness.

What’s so special about this tea?

The Box:

- 100% post-consumer waste recycled newspaper
- Reusable
- Recyclable
- Biodegradable / Compostable
- Printed with soy ink and water-based varnish
- Recyclable labels

The Tea:

- 100% Certified Organic Ingredients
- Earth Kosher Certified
- IMO Fair For Life ~ Fair Trade Certified varieties
- Time-tested formulas handcrafted by us for over 20 years
- 65 green, black, red, white and herbal blends to experience

Sip sustainably and help  support organic agriculture one cup at a time!  Read on about the many varieties available, then enter to win Mountain Rose Herbs’ Peace Tea and 21st Century Tea!  

(more…)