by Wendy Brandt Martinenas

If the thought of having a very pleasant day and mingling with genuinely nice people peaks your interest, would you be even more interested if at the same time, you could pick up tips on how to save money and live a healthier life?  You can do all this at Fairfield Earth Day coming to Fairfield Warde next Saturday April 28^th. Now in its 14^th year, this is a celebration of our town and earth that draws well over 1000 people each year

Eating delicious organic food, seeing the infamous Trashy Fashion Show, listening to live music and seeing an electric car are a few of the fun things you can do. Mingle with one of the 60 or so Exhibitors and pick up valuable green tips.  Don’t know what to get for Mom for her upcoming day?  Here you can find reasonably priced and health inspired gifts for purchase.  Want to get educated on how local townsfolk are contributing our community’s green movement and the latest green trends?  Listen to presentations and participate in round table discussions.  There is something here for everyone!

Years ago I left Earth Day with a recycled blue jean pencil with two kids with big smiles on their faces.  Today I am on the committee and an Exhibitor with a green orientation to an otherwise traditional business. Fairfield Earth Day has been a good  learning ground for me and even as someone who works the event I still look forward to it as one of the most relaxing and enjoyable days of my year.  I hope you will join us at Fairfield Earth Day and don’t forget to stop by and introduce yourself to Snappy Green!  David and I are both going to be there and we are looking forward to meeting you.

wendy@ctgreenrealestate.com  William Raveis Real Estate

See how green your home and lifestyle is compared to others with the Practically Green Quiz and Score Card website. But this website is not just about getting a score but is here to educate you on more ways to become sustainable responsible. Each Green Action comes with three parts:

• Learn Why ~ explains the benefits of the green action
• Learn How ~ provides information on how to achieve the green action
• Products ~ provides links to help achieve green action

Practically Green is also interactive where you can:

• Suggest a green Action ~ the other great part of this website is it is always growing, if you see something missing “Suggest an Action”.  There are hundreds of green actions at Practically Green but with your participation there will be more, already I have suggested a dozen new green actions, you should too.
• Earn Green Badges ~ a fun way to keep track on how you are doing.
• Create Green Goals ~ will set a green action on your calendar.

Go now to the Practically Green community and see how well you are doing with you sustainable healthy lifestyle.

David Popoff is a Realtor ~ Green designee in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut.

With spring almost here, it’s almost time to enjoy our yards and if you’re thinking of composting, now is a good time to get educated and get whatever you need in place.  Compost is organic matter that is used to fertilize soil.  It’s great for your garden, your wallet and the environment.  Think of compost as health food, helping your garden grow richer and stronger in a natural way without harsh chemicals.  You can use it for potted plants and mulch too.

I always thought that compost was comprised of food scraps and garden clippings only.  However, below is a list of 81 things you can compost, including surprises like dryer lint, wine corks, pencil shavings, crepe paper streamers, white glue, plain paste and junk mail. Who knew?  So between composting and single stream recycling, we can eliminate a good chunk of waste we send to our landfills.

Starting to compost requires an initial monetary investment for a kitchen scrap container, a bin and depending on what you want: supplies such as chicken wire, an aerator, a pile turner or a ph tester to name a few.  Once you realize your return on investment, from purchasing less to eventually no fertilizer, composting is essentially free.   If you are redoing your Kitchen, check out these compost friendly designs.

81 things you can compost from mothernaturenetwork.com

• Dryer lint
• “Dust bunnies”
• The insides of a vacuum bag (just empty the bag into the compost bin)
• The contents of your dustpan (just use discretion)
• Coffee grounds
• Coffee filters
• Tea bags/loose leaf tea
• Soy/rice/almond/etc milk
• Nut shells (but not walnut, which may be toxic to plants)
• Pumpkin/sunflower/sesame seeds (chop them to ensure they won’t grow)
• Avocado pits (chop them up so they won’t sprout)
• Pickles
• Stale tortilla chips/potato chips
• Stale crackers
• Crumbs (bread or other baked goods)
• Old breakfast cereal
• Bran (wheat or oat, etc)
• Seaweed/nori/kelp
• Tofu/tempeh
• Frozen fruits and vegetables
• Expired jam or jelly
• Egg shells
• Old, moldy “soy dairy” and other dairy substitutes
• Stale Halloween candy and old nutrition/protein bars
• Popcorn kernels (post-popping, the ones that didn’t make it)
• Old herbs and spices
• Cooked rice
• Cooked Pasta
• Oatmeal
• Peanut shells
• Booze (beer and wine)
• Wine corks
• Egg cartons (not Styrofoam)
• Toothpicks
• Q-tips (not the plastic ones)
• Bamboo skewers
• Matches
• Sawdust
• Pencil shavings
• Fireplace ash (fully extinguished and cooled)
• Burlap sacks
• Cotton or wool clothes, cut into strips
• Paper towels
• Paper napkins
• Paper table cloths
• Paper plates (non wax- or plastic-coated)
• Crepe paper streamers
• Holiday wreaths
• Balloons (latex only)
• Raffia fibers (wrapping or decoration)
• Excelsior (wood wool)
• Old potpourri
• Dried flowers
• Fresh flowers
• Dead houseplants (or their dropped leaves)
• Human hair (from a home haircut or saved from the barber shop)
• Toenail clippings
• Trimmings from an electric razor
• Pet hair
• Domestic bird and bunny droppings
• Feathers
• Fish food
• Aquatic plants (from aquariums)
• Dog food
• Rawhide dog chews
• Ratty old rope
• The dead flies on the windowsill
• Pizza boxes and cereal boxes (shredded first)
• Toilet paper and paper towel rolls (shredded first)
• Paper muffin/cupcake cups
• Cellophane bags (real cellophane, not regular clear plastic)
• Kleenex (including used)
• Condoms (latex only)
• Old loofas (real, not synthetic)
• Cotton balls
• Tampon applicators (cardboard, not plastic) and tampons (including used)
• Newspaper
• Junk mail
• Old business cards (not the glossy ones)
• Old masking tape
• White glue/plain paste.

wendy@ctgreenrealestate.com    William Raveis Real Estate

For more on this subject see:
Radon Facts: What Is It?
Factors Affecting Indoor Air Quality

Is the water fountain as we know it outdated?  According to JWT Intelligence, in 2012 we’ll be seeing a proliferation of Hydration Stations in public places where people can fill reusable bottles.  If you want the same setup at home, consider either a  whole house water filter, an under-the-counter filter which is a less expensive alternative, a faucet filter or the the least expensive and most common option, the Brita pitcher.  The automated filters are beneficial in that they filter more substances than pitchers.  While they certainly require a monetary investment, the under the counter version is reasonably priced and an adequate solution given that the most convenient and logical water source in our homes is in the Kitchen.  If interested, check out Culligan, a comprehensive resource in our local area.

To incent more college campuses to install hydration stations, like  the College of St. Benedict in the above video, Brita has implemented a Hydrate U program where purchases of custom-branded Nalgene bottles help the school to earn a free Brita®Hydration StationTM.  Don’t forget your water bottle.  Sigg is a also a good one and available at Whole Foods.   Here’s the healthy drinking in 2012.

wendy@ctgreenrealestate.com    William Raveis Real Estate