Home Delivery

Does home delivery save fuel and packaging? I love home delivery. With the exception of clothes and shoes (which are a little iffy), I find it efficient to have the basics delivered. I don't like to hunt through the grocery store for small items like spices, seasonings, cleaning products, and lotions. I find myself standing in the isle at the store looking through the scents and reading the ingredients. By the time I find laundry detergent and hand soap, I've forgotten the lettuce that I originally needed.

It's fun to shop at home as I look through the cabinets to see what I really need. I can buy at once and then look forward to a home delivery in 2 or 3 days. I group the products I am buying usually with orders from friends and family to lessen the packaging. I like to share what works and the products that are less effective. Do you find home delivery more efficient? Do you like to make quick stops at the store, or plan your shopping for a week or two at a time.

Living naturally for a safer environment,
Nancy Miller
ID#384397
Independent Watkins Associate
www.thrivingnaturally.weebly.com
www.watkinsonline.com

Solar Clothes Dryer

Recycling is important, but saving more by doing less is even better. The most energy efficient way to dry clothes is by using the electric clothes dryer less rather than tossing out the old one and buying a slightly newer more energy efficient model. It was a bit of deja voux standing out in the triple digit heat today while hanging a few clothes to dry. It used to be necessity. Now I'm using my solar clothes dryer, and I'm glad I can put all of that heat to good use.

Oddly enough, it was my daughter who got me started thinking about solar drying. I was still enjoying the fact that I didn't NEED to hang up the towels to dry. They came out very soft from the electric dryer. Then when I saw my daughter hanging cloth diapers on the clothesline, I thought she was just working too hard. Not only was she conserving on her use of paper products, she was using solar energy. I finally realized that she is inheriting the planet from us. If she can conserve while raising two small children, I could begin doing my part.

Gloves off to cleaning

I now take my gloves off to cleaning. No more smelly toxic cleaning solutions that require gloves and adequate ventilation. I can enjoy soothing Aloe and Green Tea Biodegradable Cleaning Cloths and Lavendar Scented cleaning products. Greener living is more pleasant when using natural products that are healthful and soothing.

The last time I was cleaning, I began thinking about all of the little things I have been doing to make a smaller imprint on the environment. At the same time I realized that using harsh toxic cleaning products is probably one of the worst things I could be doing for my own health and for the environment. I seem to get some of my greatest inspirations while cleaning or walking. I started thinking about how I could enhance my coaching business by having a product that promotes healthful living, but I was having trouble finding a company that had a diverse product line. Then I remembered Watkins. My grandfather actually sold Watkins Products many years ago. One of Watkins themes is "across generations." Before we called it "Green" Watkins Company was selling natural products.

So I took the leap for a mere $39.99 and became a Watkins Associate. I will share products from time to time that are helping me live a "greener" lifestyle. If you would like to use and promote Watkins Products, you can contact me at

phone: (916) 686-2317 or
email: success@lifeworkplan.com

Please call during regular business hours. If you would like to try one of Watkins natural products you can use their website at: www.watkinsonline.com to browse through the online catalog. Use my Watkins Associate ID #384397 when you place your order. I will keep you updated on the products that I most enjoy using.

Do you have a "green" business or career? I'd love to hear about it.

Living naturally for a safer environment,
Nancy Miller
ID#384397
Independent Watkins Associate
www.watkinsonline.com

Virtues of a Towel-O-Matic

As I was checking my blog on WordPress, I noticed a link to an article describing the virtues of a $60 Towel-o-Matic.  This fabulous device makes it easier to use paper towels anytime with it's automatic dispensing system. As I read it, I was thinking about how it is already so much easier to grab a paper towel than to use cloth. I certainly don't need help adding more paper to the environment. I find it too easy already. I might even need to take my paper towels off of the handy dandy slow moving dispenser in my kitchen just to move them out of reach. Then I could easily dispense towels out of my towel drawer.

Wordpress attached many such links that were not only not related to Being Greener, but also articles that were really more about how to consume than how to be green. I've moved the blog to Blogger because I feel like I have more control over tags and links that are attached to my blog. I am constantly being bombarded by information irrelevant to or counter to my values. I hope this blog will be a place to add links and comments about being greener in business and general consumption. Share your ideas and websites.

Working in the garden

While working at the Community Garden, I've talked to several people who are unemployed. They are spending hours growing vegetables for themselves and those in the community who need food. What a great way to supplement your income with healthy food while doing volunteer work. It's good for the mind, body, and soul. It might even help your resume. Employers like to see that people are busy and doing good work. At the same time they are helping the community to be greener. What a deal!

Eating at home

Is making a home cooked meal being greener? Last week my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids drove from New Mexico to California. After a long drive they were welcomed with homemade chicken soup and fresh picked strawberries from a neighborhood stand. While we were enjoying a wealth of vegetables, flavor, and conversation, I thought about how this was nicer than take out--and a lot less trash.

Trash bags have gotten strong enough to hold large amounts of garbage without losing anything out the bottom. Packaging has gotten more and more bulky, and the trash keeps building. Using fresh vegetables from the neighborhood or grocery store saves on paper, plastic, and sometimes even foam.

Filling up the recycling bin or even the compost instead of the trash can is a small step to being greener. Fixing a meal at home is a quick healthy way to bring the green home.

Greener in 15 Seconds!

I must admit that I love conveniences, gadgets, and electronics. I like to spend time on my business, and I am happy to find anything that saves me time in the kitchen and in my home. Like many Americans I was very happy when I could afford a dishwasher and microwave, but soon found that even loading the dishwasher on a regular basis was time consuming. Colorful paper plates were a great solution. They were no longer just for picnics and large gatherings.

A change began slowly a couple of years ago when I went to an Earth Day Celebration in Davis and found myself eating a deliciously drippy burrito with no napkin. When I asked the vendor for a napkin, he said they were not using any paper at the Earth Day event. To my surprise I could easily sit on the grass and let nature absorb the excess from my lunch. I began to think about cutting back on paper, but I still wasn't ready. When I visited my daughter in Ohio, she wasn't using paper even for diapers! That was a throw back to when she was a baby. After doing without paper for a few weeks during my visit, I realized it wasn't that hard--and some things are just worth the effort.

That brings me to my trip to San Antonio this week for the Career Management Alliance Conference. Carol McClelland's presentation on Green Careers inspired me to think greener. After using a few paper towels at the airport to dry my hands, I saw the sign on the air blowing hand dryer that said, "save trees." I was in a hurry and I wasn't sure if this was the best time to start saving trees, but I used the hand dryer anyway. I found that it only took 15 seconds to start saving trees. I can do that!

When I got home I thought about buying paper plates for the company I was expecting the next week. We would have a lot more dishes and the dishwasher wouldn't be fixed for a couple of weeks. Then the picture of bags of paper plates filling the trash can came to my mind. In contrast I pictured us having fun washing the dishes and recruiting the help of my 4-year old grandson. Washing dishes could be a relationship building activity. In 15 seconds I started being greener and now it is hard to stop. I'll keep posting on my challenges and successes.

Share some of the ways you are living greener and inspire others.