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How can YOU change YOUR WORLD?

by | Apr 22, 2009 | Authentic Living

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How can YOU change YOUR WORLD?

Photo: HGTV Green Home Giveaway

I think I have the most insightful, brilliant and inspiring blog readers ever (and I am not just saying that because you took pity on me yesterday. But I truly do love you for that!)! You all RAWKED the green tips last week! I really enjoyed reading through all of the ideas. You shared some really great tips! I am seriously motivated and inspired to try some new things!

I love that so many of you recognize that “going green” isn’t just politics, it is about good stewardship of what we have. So many good reasons to be frugal, healthier, more responsible and yes, green!

If you missed the Small Steps to Green living post and want to learn what the buzz was all about,  I’d encourage you to take the time to look through all the comments on that post! You’ll be inspired, I’m sure! I have excerpted a few of them here for fun…

Kim at Forever, Whenever:
Well, we’ve moved to a house less than half the size of our old one…

Lisa:
We stopped treating our lawn. Dandelion yellow is the new green…

Pam Moore, Ramblings of a Happy Homemaker
We are progressively becoming more “green” – not for the sake of being trendy, but rather for our health and the cost effectiveness…I make all of my own cleaning products and laundry detergent (which are amazingly more effective than store bought)…

Annie:
…we should be good stewards of what has been given to us…there’s nothing new about that. Living as our grandmothers did and taught their daughters and ultimately us, is good sense. Such as: make do or do without. If something still works, or can be repaired, we don’t need a new one….

Stephanie, Semi-Crafty Knitter
My favorite green tip would be to replace paper towels with reuseable micro fiber clothes. They are the BEST…

Heather of A Place of Quiet Rest
We do enjoy caring for this Creation in practical ways – if that’s being ‘green’ we’ve been ‘green’ for a long long time, hanging up the laundry, using natural products, avoiding chemicals, collecting ‘gray’ water… We just call these little things we do stewardship – but whatever you call it, it’s a lifestyle choice and not a passing trend.

Allison Schrade:
…my favorite way to save energy is to have “black out” nights. The tv and the lights are turned off, along with the computer and we enjoy the quiet, the candlelight, and either read a good book or play a board game. Or we may have a campfire in the backyard and toast some marshmallows.

Missy, Sweet Funky Vintage
…I switched my kids lunchboxes to re-usable bento boxes so that I am no longer using so many plastic sandwich bags and ziploc bags…I also switched to using a reusable aluminum thermos instead of juice boxes.

How can YOU change YOUR WORLD?

Photo: Reusablebags.com

And now, for the winner of the $100 cash prize:


    While all of your tips were inspiring, only one winner of the $100 (generously offered by SunChips!) could be chosen. And because I couldn’t possibly choose one on my own, I used a random number generator to select the winner!

    THE WINNER OF $100 is comment #80:

    Cherri of What A Wonderful Life
    We try to make less trips to the store (which requires more planning) or we go on our way home from somewhere else. We recycle our grocery bags, (been meaning to get the canvas ones), we use energy efficient light bulbs, we don’t by bottle water anymore in the plastic bottles (we try to use glass bottles and reuse them) and we are planting some veggies this year. We just got a rain bucket to use for watering the outdoor trees and plants.

    Congrats! Thanks for entering!

Thanks to SunChips for this contest and for bringing us together to share ideas.

If you thought $100 was a great prize, how about $20,000? Read on!

SunChips has been making its own small steps towards big change. They have started using solar power to make their snacks in Modesto, California.  SunChips is committed to using fully compostable packaging by the year 2010. They are also helping to turn one tornado-devastated Kansas community into a model eco-town. They have donated $1 million towards the solar-powered SunChips Business Incubator which will house 10 local businesses and help rebuild the Greensburg local economy.

Those are some of SunChips small steps.

Now, they want to inspire others so that the Green Effect spreads.

Green Effect Contest

Win $20,000 to Put Your Green Idea Into Action!

SunChips has created The Green Effect, a national initiative about the small steps any one of us can take to help our communities. They have partnered with National Geographic to help make it happen.  They’ll be awarding five grants of $20,000 to five people or groups that have compelling ideas for green change in their communities.

A panel of judges will pick four winners, and online voters will choose the fifth. Each winner will take home $20,000 to put their green idea into action.

What could YOU to make a change in your community with $20,000? Share your idea and you could take home the green.
Find all the contest entry details here.

How can YOU change YOUR WORLD?

13 Comments

  1. Palabuzz

    I missed the contest but I won’t despair because I have a chance to join another contest.

    Reply
  2. Kim

    The comments did give me some great new ideas. Small steps made by everyone really can make a big difference. We are working on making our life much more simple around here, and we’re learning that it takes some work to get there. Oh, and I love that reuseable bag. It looks big enough for me to use! :-)

    ~Kim

    Kim @ Forever Wherevers inspiring blog post..Daily Thanks – Small Things

    Reply
  3. Melissa

    I really love the idea of simplifying life. I got so many great ideas from those comments! Returning to a life with LESS sounds so appealing! And I loved all the comments about making healthy choices for our families too…being careful about the products we use and feed our family is SO important!

    Reply
  4. Jen

    The entire green trend just rubs me the wrong way. So many are doing it because it’s trendy and in many cases isn’t really green at all. It’s just an excuse to buy more stuff.

    The green label is about as ridiculous as the organic one. Just because it’s advertised that way doesn’t mean it is better.

    Jens inspiring blog post..My Neighbor Totoro

    Reply
  5. Sarah Mae

    Oh crud, even 20,000 won’t make me go green! I know, I know, I’m awful, but I just can’t bear it. I do recycle (most of the time).

    Reply
  6. Cherri Engle

    I can’t believe that I actually won the contest. I was so inspired by all the other comments as well. I work for an herbal manufacturing company and we, as a company, have made some amazing strides as a corporation to go ‘green’ as well. I love that it is easy to try to be green at home as well as at my job. Thanks again for the $100. I greatly appreciate it.

    Cherri Engles inspiring blog post..Softball anyone…

    Reply
  7. Jackie

    Small changes can make a big impact. Every bit helps. “Going Green” and “Organic” are buzz words, but ones I can life with because the message is good. There’s no need to spend money on “going green” and it doesn’t take a huge change in lifestyle as some people think. If my guy can do it, anyone can!

    Jackies inspiring blog post..Happy Earth Day!

    Reply
  8. PamperingBeki

    Yes, it’s about living simply and being good stewards of what we’ve been given!

    And it all just makes more sense to me. You save money, it’s better for the environment, it teaches great lessons to your kids about not wanting or “needing” so much stuff… Living greener just makes more sense.

    PamperingBekis inspiring blog post..Girls gone Mild.

    Reply
  9. Kathleen

    Being aware that every action has an impact on the earth is empowering and inspirational. Just think – if eveyone lives a bit more green, the overall effect will be tremendous!

    Kathleens inspiring blog post..Celebrate Earth Day!

    Reply
  10. anne

    I try the best that I/We can…recycle bottle, cans, papers, cardboard..have a bin for our grass cuttings (we have alot) I don’t drive at all…so walk or bike ..unfortunately husband as to fly for work!

    I do not have a compost bin yet, just trying to find space for one, so hopefully soon do that as well.

    Don’t get bags from supermarkets, take our own, but if I do use theirs, I recycle them either by using them as bin bags or, take them to my friends ceramic shop so customers can take home their wares..but then they bring them back anyway!

    annes inspiring blog post..Paris with Friends……..

    Reply

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