Mommy Goes Green

If you’re a green mama in Portland, here are some great events for you this fall:

The Eco-School Network is a group of parents in the Portland Metro area who are interested in bringing earth-conscious practices to a school’s operations and a child’s experience there. All members have taken the Agent of Change class, which offers important skills for creating change and a shared framework for consultation on projects within schools.  We will be offering a FREE school-focused class just for moms, from noon to 1:45pm on five Mondays: October 18, 25, November 1, 8 (break), December 6. 

The Green Sprouts Organic Baby and Family Festival is a fun, festive and educational one-day event for the whole family that celebrates and promotes the nurturing of life through nature. From pregnancy to childhood, parents can learn about and explore eco-friendly, community-involved, natural, and healthy options to raising their families.  Sunday, September 26th at Peninsula Park.

Set your DVR for CNN on Tuesday and Wednesday night, June 2 and 3 at 8PM EST.  Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be exploring ‘Toxic America’ in a 2-part series. Tuesday night will investigate Mossville, a community in Louisiana, that is surrounded by 14 chemical plants that continually leak chemicals known to cause cancer.

For moms, part 2 in the series will be even more interesting. Toxic Childhood will look at the effect toxic chemicals have on children, unborn and born.  Did you know unborn babies have over 200 chemicals already in their bodies?   These chemicals include bisphenol-A ( found in plastics ), lead ( found in water, toys, paint ), flame retardants ( found in children’s pajamas, furniture ), and PFOA (found in Teflon coated pots and pans ).  

Don’t miss this informational documentary – and get your spouse and family to tune in.  It’s a great way to educate everyone in your children’s life.

For the past several weeks, I’ve had many companies and PR agents ask if Mommy Goes Green was planning to do anything for Earth Day.  I’ve responded a few times that “every day is Earth Day around here” (with a smile).  Unfortunately, many people only recognize Earth Day once a year and that day is today - it’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

One of the best things about Earth Day is all of the freebies, discounts, coupons and sweepstakesthat encourage people to try new eco-friendly products or services – that hopefully will become their new favorite!  Last Sunday, I posted a bunch of Earth Day Freebies and on Tuesday, a list of home and garden deals.  I’ve taken advantage of them this week and purchased some new makeup, cleaning supplies, personal care products and lawn care products that we’ve been wanting to try – and tell you about.

Starting tomorrow, Coupon Craze will be posting over 100 offers planned to go live exclusively for Earth Day.  I’m not sure what to expect, but you know I’ll be heading over there tomorrow to see what’s on sale.  According to Coupon Craze, green retailers are still relatively new to the coupon industry so offers tend to have less fine print than coupons in other categories. For example, many of the coupons don’t have a minimum spending requirement, which means you’ll can save whether you spend $20 or $500.

WIN IT!

In the spirit of “Going Green for Free”, Coupon Craze is offering our readers some great prizes!

• 1 Grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to their choice of either Origins or Patagonia!

• 3 winners will get a $50 credit in their name to CarbonFund.org to help them offset their carbon footprint. You can use the credit to balance out the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions you cannot reduce. For example, $50 of CarbonFund.org credit is equivalent to 5 metric tons of CO2 or:

• More than 5 roundtrips from Los Angeles to New York
• Approximately the emissions an average American passenger vehicle emits in a year
• Over half the emissions from the average American home’s electricity use

You can enter in any of the following ways:

• Leave a comment telling us your money saving tips for being green mama! 
• Follow us on twitter @mommygoesgreen.
• Retweet this contest.
• Become a Facebook fan.
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.

Leave your comment by Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Contest open to all U.S. and Canadian residents, ages 18+. We will choose 4 winners, at random, and notify them by email. Privacy Policy.

 If I had only known about Cocodot 4 months ago, our friends and family would have all received a Cocodot birth announcement completely personalized with my son’s name, birthdate, weight and sweet picture.  Cocodot is the new way to send paperless invitations and greetings.  I like the fresh designs – they’re unique and modern.  I love the cost savings – particularly significant when you’re sending 100+ announcements.  And I know that I didn’t waste a piece of paper that got thrown in the recycle bin (or worse – thrown in the garbage can).

Beyond the basic invitations, Cocodot has event management features, social stationery, and Facebook integration.  For weddings, you can communicate with your guests with engagement announcements, save the dates, invitations and thank you cards. Imagine the cost savings (now imagine putting that extra money into that wedding dress you have your eye on).

Cocodot is membership based.  Single cards are 99 cents, single events are $19. The Classic annual membership is $29 for unlimited greeting cards and for the party planner – the Deluxe annual membership is $49 for a limited time (normally $99) . 

If you want to try it out (and you should!) you can get a FREE Cocodot invitation in honor of Earth Day by entering cocoEarth2010 at checkout, now through May 15th for a free party invite, which can be created, personalized (even with your own photos!) and delivered to an unlimited amount of guests within minutes.

When you do use Cocodot – send us your invitation or greeting at info at mommygoesgreen (dot) com. The 10th person to send theirs over will receive a gift in the mail!  We’ll contact you directly for your mailing address.

If you plan on going green in your garden or home this summer, now is the time to purchase those items!  Earth Day (tomorrow!)  has mass retailers selling eco-friendly products at great prices. 

Home Depot

• 120 Gallon E-Composter with Base $49.97
• 57 Gallon Ruscany Rainwater Barrel $98
• 4×4 Raised Garden Bed Kit $29
• Ortho Ecosense Lawn Weed Killer $10
• 64 oz Ecosmart Home Pest Control $8.99
• BOGO All Organic Veggie, Herb and Flower Seed Packets
• Solar LED Walk Lights $3.88
• Martha Stewart Cleaning Products $3.98
• Honewell Programmable Thermostat $29.98
• Lutron Skylark Eco-Dim 600 Watt Dimmer $22.88
• TCP 14 Watt Soft White CFL Bulb $1.97

Target

• GE Energy Smart CFL light bulb $5
• Seventh Generation Dish Soap $2.49
• Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent $12.99
• Waterpik EcoFlow Showerhead $25

Fred Meyer

• Fiskars 48 gallon Rain Barrel $89
• Eco-Friendly Hoses $9.99 – $34.99
• Eco Fiber Bamboo Gloves $3.99
• Rain Bird Drop Patio Plant Watering kit $23.99
• 120 Gallon E-Composter $34.99
• 1  Gallon Kitchen Compost Carrier $16.99
• Easy Go Eco-Friendly Multi-Purpose Cart $26.99
• Concord Black Solar Light $4.99
• Earthwise Corded Electric String Trimmer $24.99
• Eartwise 3-in-1 Cordless Lawn Mower $289
• G-Oil 2 Cycle Engine Oil $5.99
• G Bar & Chain Oil $9.99
• Herbs in Pots 2 for $3
• Organic Veggies or Tomatoes in Pots 4 for $9
• All Seventh Generation Products 30% OFF

For Earth Day only freebies, check here.

VALID 4/18 ONLY

Target - Get a complimentary reusable shopping bags with each purchase on April 18.  Bags are made from 100-percent, post-consumer recycled PET bottles.

Home Depot - On 4/18 only, free faucet aerator to the first 250 customers.

VALID 4/22 ONLY

Disney Store - Take 6 empty plastic bottles or soda cans into the Disney Store and receive a free baseball cap make of 100% recycled materials.

Pottery Barn Kids - Earth Day celebrations will include Earth-friendly activities and stories.  Kids will get a surprise they can plant at home!

Walgreens - $1 inkjet refills on April 22. Use instant value coupon code #6365 to download a coupon.

Origins -  One day only – 4/22. Bring your current skincare to any Origins counter and we’ll trade it for a full-size of one of our gentle, high-performance cleansers. Choose either: Checks and Balances™ Frothy face wash Or a Perfect World™ Antioxidant cleanser with White Tea. Value up to $20!  For New Yorkers, get a free ticket to a Macy Gray concert.

EVOS – Come to your neighborhood EVOS on 4/22 from 10am – 10pm and get a free homemade organic milkshake in celebration of Earth Day. 

Stonyfield Farms – Make an Earth Day resolution and download a free Jack Johnson MP3 recording that has never been released.

Planet Smoothie - The first 30 customers at each location will get a free, reusable MacDaddy Mug with the purchase of any 32 ounce smoothie.

True Green – Free set of laundry dryer balls with code ‘EARTH2010′ – must pay for shipping.

CouponCraze- According to Eco Office Gals, over 100 deals are going live on 4/22.

A lot of stores have eco-friendly products on sale this week so try some new products and stock up on your favorites! 

Or if you love sweepstakes, visit Ecobungafor loads of eco-friendly prizes up for grabs this week!  We currently have two: Win a copy of Green Mama or The Six O’Clock Scramble to the Rescue.  

Starbucks is hoping that in 5 years – by 2015 – all their beverages will be served in reusable or recyclable cups. To promote the initiative, they are giving you a FREE cup of joe!  Tomorrow, April 15th, bring a reusable cup to Starbucks and they’ll pour you a free cup of brewed coffee!

I’m a sucker for chick flicks but with 2 young children, my movie nights are numbered.  I reserve them for movies I really want to see and The Back-up Plan is one of them.  It stars Jennifer Lopez and I love her chick flicks like  The Wedding Planner, Monster-in-Law, and Maid in Manhattan.

So I’ve entered to win a private screening of the movie – with 50 of my favorite girlfriends – and so can you.  Two ways to enter:

1.  Enter online.

2.  Enter via twitter.

Free to the public, the Energy Trust Better Living Show, the Northwest’s largest sustainable lifestyle show, takes place Friday, March 26 from noon – 9 p.m.; Saturday, March 27 from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; and Sunday, March 28 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Portland Expo Center. The Better Living Show is designed to empower attendees to become more thoughtful consumers and lessen their impact on the environment by learning about sustainable, healthy and practical lifestyle products and services.

• eco fashion shows
• beauty demonstrations
• performance by ‘The Green Children’
• OSU seminar series
• Portland’s top chefs at the NW Natural Kitchen Stage
• PGE Planet Kids corner

As part of the Cotton From Blue to Green program, Gap is giving you a 30% discount off any new denim purchase.  Starting TODAY, March 5 through March 15, when you take ANY piece of denim to a Gap, babyGap or GapKids store, you’ll receive the discount.  Old denim will be converted into insulation and then donated to communities in need.  Over the past 5 years of the program, enough insulation has been donated for over 540 homes.

I’ve been cleaning out my closet this week and this is the perfect opportunity to trade in some old jeans for a sorely needed new pair!