Contest Closed: Earth Fare’s $50 Giveaway
A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader. With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!
A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet. I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.
So how do you win?
1.) Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way. You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch? A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.
Me? I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink. Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink. Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!
2.) Want a second way to enter? Twitter fans have the advantage here. All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):
Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!
Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.
One comment on being green = one chance.
One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.
I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!
Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue
(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be contacted via email. Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS. Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.
Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation. Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received. Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)
We also buy the refills instead of new sinkside bottles and look for other ways to save money and help out the environment. We replaced our standard thermostats with programmable ones and set them so to heat/cool less when we are not home and overnight. The savings in electrical costs will pay for the thermostats after a few years while we consume less electricity. We also use refillable water bottles in our lunch bags instead of buying bottled water or soda.
tweeted @unthunk
We are being more diligent in unplugging the devices we are not using so the vampires do not drain the electricity all night and day.
tweeted @ninaebutler
We’ve been learning more about foraging and identifying all the edible plants, especially that grow on our property. It’s kind of fun to tell people that the delicious salad they’ve just eaten is, technically, weeds.
tweeted @devonmorgan
I use cloth napkins and a reusable spork for the lunch I bring to work each day.
It started out small for our family, first with getting a free reusable shopping bag here and there. Now that is all we use, and I have quite the stash of them! We use refillable water bottle also, and water filter pitcher, so we consume 0 bottled water. We then started recycling more and more, and our children love finding ways to use boxes, etc. I recycle my printer cartridges, and give the kids all my scrap papers to use in crafts, etc. I also bought a larger jug of laundry detergent when it was on sale(the kind that lays on it’s side and dispenses detergent). I know buy smaller bottles(which I pay next to nothing for) and refill my big jug! Then recycle the smaller bottles. Saves me money and it so convenient!
Tweeted @truenorthphoto
I leave a large bucket outside on my back porch to catch rain water and that’s what I use to water my porch/patio plants. It really helps not having to waste water from my hose & I usually get the perfect amount to get through all of my plants for that week!
I use Virgin Coconut Oil in place of many things like conditioner on hair, soap, lotion, cooking oil, shaving, deoderant, my teeth and more. Now I don’t need to buy all those other things.
I use reusable bags whenever I go to the grocery store and Target to reduce my use of plastic bags.
We compost EVERYTHING we can, and have set up larger recycle bins to accommodate what we can’t compost. What we can’t recycle, we re-use in our home (I used old dresser shelves as mini-raised garden beds!), or donate to community shelters (toys, clothes, etc.) and hold community swaps with friends. We throw out maybe one bag of actual trash every 3 weeks.
tweeted @ bookish_type
We use reusable shopping bags. I got the Envirosax ones, which are small enough to fit in my purse, so it’s much easier to remember to bring them along. We also started using cloth napkins.
I make my own cleaning solutions with white distilled vinegar and water or use baking soda. You can use these two products to clean pretty much anything, and they are much cheaper to buy than regular cleaning products. Plus greener, too.
tweeted @TzipporahLiba
We don’t use our heater in our house until we can see our breath inside! We have plenty of blankets and layers.
Also using reuable bags, buying refils and using vinegar to clean instead of scary chemicals!
tweeted @tfb1978
I tweeted! @getgreenbewell
Thanks Earthfare for doing this promotion!
tweeted
@RawKelly
I just use less STUFF! Granted, I’ve gone green in cleaning, buying personal care products, food, etc. but if you step back and just realize how many things you’re buying or how much waste you might accumulate in a day (even just using too much shaving cream or toothpaste is a waste)and then try to make a change, then you’re still going green and saving money, by the way!
I make my own glass & surface cleaner using white distilled vinegar mixed with an equal amount of water, then add essential oils in to add a nice scent (I like lavender & sweet orange). Of course I repurposed an old spray bottle instead of buying new!
walk instead of drive whenever possible or carpool, carry a bag always in your purse, keep the barrel outside, have an organic garden, reuse, recycle, compost, steam clean (no chemical)
At our house we do the yard work without any carbon-spewing motors or even electric gadgets. Pruners, clippers, shears and hand saws keep the shrubs and trees trimmed; a scythe is swung to keep down the odd weed; a good ol’ fashioned rake is used to collect the multitude of leaves. No hedge trimmers, weed whackers, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, etc. @cdeuce62 doin’ it Old School!
I now make my own laundry soap, my own all purpose household cleaner, my own window cleaner, my own bug spray, among many other household cleaners/items. I have tweeted you info also. *big smiles* My twitter name is AiGLady
If I forget my reusable bags, I buy another at the store. Because I’m forgetful, this happens a lot, so I give the extras to friends who don’t use them already. I’ve converted several people this way. Best thing to do, put them in their car so the bags are there the next time they go to the store.
@itswendylou
When I actually pack my lunch, I use all reusable containers — no Plastic baggies or disposable silverware. I also buy most of my kitchen staples from the bulk bins at great stores like Earth Fare!
Tweeted @cewillia.
we purchase organic produce by the case from earthfare and our other local HFS. the stores provide at least a 10% discount for buying by the case and it saves us from making extra trips to the store all week
tweeted! thanks
@om_sweet_om
We have tried to find inexpensive ways to go green. We finally have access to a recycling center, so we now recycle paper, newspaper, bottles, and plastic. We have removed our name from mailing lists so that we have less excess paper arriving in the mail. As many others have said, the reusable bags are wonderful (and much easier to carry than the store’s plastic bags). In addition, we buy only what we need (not more), have started our own garden, and try to keep our utility usage (electric & water) to a minimum by turning off what we are not using.
Tweeted @fair_island
tweeted @estamj
I cut up worn-out t-shirts and reuse them as dust cloths, napkins, paper towels, etc. They don’t add much to the week’s laundry, and I save a lot of paper products!
@itswendylou
@marynations
Guys, I COMPLETELY hope you are all reading each others tips! These are great ~ environmentally friendly as well as GREAT tips for saving yourselves money!
I’m going to have make a whole post after the contest of the ideas you all have! Cheers, and stay tuned!
Ditto the reusable shopping bags. Shopping for 2nd hand shoes and clothes instead of buying brand new! Especially for kids, although I have found some for myself that are technically “used” but have no wear! Doing toy swaps before birthdays and Christmas instead of buying new, exchanging movies/music/books via Swaptree, and donating what we don’t use/need instead of throwing it away!
Hey Ashley Sue,
Use the dispose-all in your sink as little as possible.
Why you ought not use it as a trash can:
* Less trash going in means the water utility spends less energy cleaning it out.
* It saves you electric energy.
* It encourages composting.
* You can multiply the benefits by encouraging your family members not to use it, too.
Cool project. Thanks for doing it.
-David @BourneMedia on Twitter
I grow most of my own foods or try to purchase them locally. I grow some things year round in my kitchen!
I tweeted. @Frugalfarmfam
I tweeted @h0zae. Re-Usable bags. Refilling common items like coffee, creamer, dish soap, hand soap etc. Started a Small Garden with easy to grow vegetables.
I air dry most of my clothes indoors on two rails in my laundry room. It’s really not that much trouble and saves a bundle.
@hozae tweeted.
Saving glass jars to reuse for keeping things like buttons, nails, paperclips, rubberbands, soup broths, and practically anything else that will fit inside a jar. Also, I’m so glad to say I’ve recently, after years of trying, turned my parents onto recycling. Yay!
@jenbowen
@AiGLady tweeted
@BourneMedia tweeted
@shefly
@cdeuce62 too
tweeted! @jbirdmama
something green too… i give my baby lots of naked time (less diapers!!) =)
@alhalpern
I just bought a programmable automatic thermostat for my house. Home Depot has them on sale right now and I’ve been meaning to pick one up. It automatically turns the heat way down when I’m in bed and covered up, then a little while before I rise it turns the heat up some so the house is not so cold.
tweeted @themichelles
I also got an insulation cover for my hot water heater. Cost about $25 and it really makes a difference in energy used for heating water.
tweeted it! @anotions
just bought a new showerhead to conserve water, I recycle, reuse plastic bags, use reusable bags, etc.. I don’t do much, but every little bit helps, and I have goals of doing more
Your liquid soap packaging reducer reminded me of my own little soap-saver: I have rediscovered the joy of bar soap! Just a thin little wrapper is discarded, much less packaging than liquid soap. Plus, I buy soap locally, from Faerie Made. Wonderful stuff, so indulgent and there’s no waste left over.
Bar soap! Bar soap! @tbeckett
@sugarhollow
Thank you all for your suggestions! You’ll see info coming up with all of your input!
Until then, a HUGE thanks to Earth Fare for sharing this gift card giveaway with Green Grounded readers and visitors!
Cheers to Earth Fare, cheers to help during tough economic times, and cheers to all the lovely ways to live a little greener and tastier!
And the win from Random.org is…
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#59!!!!
Angela, aka @anotions!