Green Gifts: Day 3

There was a "Friends" episode in which the girls were broke, so they baked for everyone as the holiday tips. Of course, zaniness and hilarity ensued. Their newspaper guy tore up their newspaper and their mailman smashed their mail and Ross blamed their "bad" gift as the reason their Super wouldn't fix their heater. The joke of course was that the super LOVED the heart-felt-ness of the gift.

Baking some yummy treats show that you took time out of your life to put love and care into the gift. Put them in a cool reusable container or tin or basket, again with those nice cloth napkins. Baking doesn't have to be a big bad chore; make it fun and involve the family too. Warm up the chilly home! There are all kinds of benefits! You can control the ingredients, in case anyone has allergies. You can go to the farmers' market to get local ingredients. (That's a two-fer!) For those people that just love cookies, and maybe do not have the time or wherewithal to make them themselves, this is a GREAT gift.

They don't have to be cookies. Do cupcakes. Do banana bread, zucchini bread, whatever. Make it your signature. Make it something the recipients look forward to! There is a lot to be said for the homemade gifts. It's time we got back to things like that. Let's make this mean something again. It's what the holidays are about, or used to be anyway. Let's turn it around, and make life a little greener at the same time.

It's getting cooler. Be greener! Easy Tip #2!

Ahhh, Fall. Falling leaves, falling temperatures. Rising heat and rising heating bills. There are ways to be a little greener, and to save energy, and to save money all at the same time.

The first easiest way to keep the heat turned down but not freeze is super-obvious and easy: layer some clothing! Make sure you have nice warm socks or slippers on your feet, and pull on a comfy sweater or hoodie. Yes, it is that easy! Before you touch the thermostat, take stock of what you have on and decide if maybe you can't skip the energy bill and bundle up a little. Now, I'm not suggesting you look like the Michelin Man and lose the ability to move your arms or fall over and can't get up like "A Christmas Story", but be reasonable. if you're cold and you have on a t-shirt... well... c'mon.

Another easy way to warm the home and hearth a little: bake! This is a really good way to warm things up without cranking the heat. It helps for a few hours, anyway. And who doesn't love cookies or pies or nice hot yummy casseroles? Banana bread? Pumpkin bread? You'll be the hit of the office or the neighborhood if you gift these things you lovingly baked. You can prepare meals or soups for the coming week, thus being greener with your cooking and better with your time and money... no take-out all week. No use of plastic forks and Styrofoam and take-out plastics. (See how many ways you save by the littlest of actions? It really is a domino effect.) And get the kids involved with the cookies. It's great family time that they will treasure all their lives, and it gets them off the computer or gaming systems for a time, thus saving MORE energy on the electric bill.

It's the little things. A lot of good stuff snowballs when you do green things. So get out there and do it!