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Gathering Home Tips for Giving Thanks

Greening up your Thanksgiving and other Holiday celebrations is easy.  Here are GH tips for just that!

~Use e-card invitations (like evite.com)  to let guests know your plans.

~Suggest ride sharing to your guests.  Encourage fewer emissions!

~If you go the route of the traditional roasted turkey, search out a local farmer (www.localharvest.org) who will supply you with a fresh, free-range, organic bird.

~Serve only organic (and local, if you can) foods.

~Enjoy organic wine (some wineries listed here) or sparkling organic cider.

~Decorate your table with nature – gourds, mini pumpkins, dried grasses, and dried hydrangea blossoms.

~Burn soy candles (make sure the wicks are lead-free by cutting the tip off -- or pinching if you’re still in the store --- to see if you spot a silvery gray metal running through the center of the wick. Don't buy them if you spot the lead!

~Jive to the sounds of eco-friendly music. Green bands take the bus to their gigs to reduce carbon emissions (and many are bio-fuel powered -- the busses, not the bands); they play handmade instruments and are acoustic!

~Recycle everything you possibly can.  We know how tired you can be after hosting an event.  It helps to designate a large container on your back porch or in your pantry for recycling. That way you can address it the next day.

~Donate leftover food to a food bank.  

Have a great Thanksgiving !!!

The GoodGuide, A Great Product Resource

If you're like me, you've wondered about the safety of the products you use (shampoo, soap, lotions and cleaning supplies). You've likely done some research too and found out how difficult it is to get information on a product and the company that makes it in order to make a truly informed decision.  Luckily, have discovered the Good Guide.  It's currently in beta testing, but has already rated over 65,000 products, including personal care and household chemical products.  They use 600 criteria related to health hazards, environmental performance, and social issues.   The site is very easy to use: you can search or browse through the products, make a shopping list, and send the list to your cellphone!  This will make your shopping trip a socially-responsible breeze.  To stay up to date and involved, you should subscribe to the GoodGuide Blog.  You'll gets news about products, companies, and practical ways to sort through the huge amount of infomation about socially responsible business practices.

"GoodGuide strives to provide the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of products and companies. GoodGuide's mission is to help you find safe, healthy, and green products that are better for you and the planet."

Recycle Your Old Electronics Items

Sam's Club has started an electronics recycling program that allows members to earn gift cards for trading in old electronics gear to be recycled or reused.   The program is similar to the ones already being offered retailers, Costco and Office Depot (though neither of these require a membership). The Sam's Club program accepts:

• Desktop and notebook computers
• LCD monitors
• Printers
• Digital cameras and camcorders
• MP3 players
• Video game consoles

After you enter information about your product, a trade-in value will be assigned. Free shipping is offered, and once the item is received, Sam’s Club will mail back a gift card. Even if the item has no trade-in value, it will be accepted for recycling. A great program, check it out !

Find out more about electronics recycling at the National Center for Electronics Recycling . 

Give Thanks for Heritage Turkeys !

This Thanksgiving, why not try a traditional heritage turkey. Prized for flavorful and succulent meat, heritage turkeys cost a bit more than conventional birds, but they are allowed to roam, fly, and breed naturally. Commercially farmed turkeys are bred and fed to ensure they bulk up to an average of 25 pounds in just four months. That rapid weight gain causes skeletal and muscular problems, leg disorders and other health issues that prevent turkeys from reproducing naturally. Heritage turkeys are given more than 28 weeks to reach a marketable weight naturally, and their purchase also supports the small family farms that have committed to preserving these dwindling breeds. Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch turkeys, available through hertitagefoodusa.com, have a lineage that can be traced back to the 1800s. Or search localharvest.org for heritage turkey farms near you.