Eco-Friendly Family

Once upon a time, I thought that the Eco-Friendly thing meant that you had to be a tree-hugging, granola-eating soul whose name was something like Crescent Dragonwagon (there really is such a cool person!!) . Because of this, I had NO INTEREST in it whatsoever. Since I have learned that none of that is a prerequisite, I am slowly coming around to the whole Going-Green movement as being a really good way to go and the thing I want to be teaching my family. Thus, when I was given the opportunity to review Eco-Friendly Families by Helen Coronato, I was so excited.

Eco Friendly Families is a hands-on, practical guide for parents who want to raise their children to take care of the earth we have. If you are like me, a novice, and you want to make changes in your lifestyle that fit a more earth-conscious lifestyle, this book is just what you need! And in this day and age where most of us feel the need to economize, her tips are astonishingly good for your wallet as well.

Ms. Coronato helps with the basics as well as sometimes tougher challenges like how to you get your family on board. She also helps lay out how to make changes without getting overwhelmed, which has got to be at least half the battle to me. Some of these changes are presented through the Five Minute Makeovers in each chapter that are easy to do and simple to follow with children of any age.

In the book, there are ten easy read chapters involving everything from taking inventory when you are getting ready to go green, to small changes, Green goal setting each month, reducing waste, recycling, reusing, how to have a room by room eco-design, how to clean green and how going green benefits celebrations and more. It even has an area in the back of the book full of wonderful resources like websites, cleaning products and greener gift giving.

Not sold on reading it yet? Well, let's see if I can add a few more reasons to read for you. Some of the great finds and treasures you get inside the covers of Eco Friendly Families are:

• Not sure how you will possibly afford gifts for Christmas this year? Read Helen's Eco-Friendly Four on page 54 and learn how.
  

• Ever wondered how to get your kids more actively involved in housecleaning? Check out Helen's specific tricks and helpful hints starting on page 174.
  

• Ready to part with your wedding dress or formals but not to the local Thrift store? Page 89 can point you in the direction of how to donate them and make it worthwhile.
  

• Ever wanted to make delicious homemade applesauce? Check page 143 for her recipe and more.

• Are you in need of crafts to entertain some kiddos during the Holiday Season? Stopping by page 186 will get you brimming with great ideas.
  

See what I mean about making Going Green seem do-able? If you are like me, these are not all things you would expect in a book titled Eco-Friendly Families yet Helen Coronato has interwoven thoughtful and helpful ideas like these throughout the entire book. Described as a “guide your family to greener living with activities that will engage and inspire…from toddlers to teens...” this great guide can help you and your entire family live a happier, healthier life.

The book was just released on August 5, 2008 and you can get a copy of Eco-Friendly Families from Amazon.

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Or You Can Win a Copy Here!

The Prize: A copy of Eco Friendly Families by Helen Coronato.

How You Can Win:
Leave me a comment here letting me know something you do that is eco friendly. That's it!

Would like to up the odds of winning?

To earn more entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra entry. Please leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to my feed.
• Add me to your Technorati Favorites and I will do the same in return.
  
• Mention this giveaway and Book Week on your blog with a link back here.
• Place my button in your sidebar.

This giveaway is open to US addresses only. Good luck!

Who is eligible:

You must have a US mailing address. You don't have to be a blogger to win, just supply a valid e-mail address. Make sure to leave me that email address though because if I cannot get a hold of you, you cannot win!

When the giveaway ends:

The giveaway will run now through October 24th at Noon CST. I'll pick the winner using Random.org as soon as possible after that. You may choose to check for your nickname at Prizey.Fetch, a cool site that compiles winners in one convenient place:



Winners will have 3 days to reply before another winner is selected.

Bonne Chance!!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
[tagname tagname]

Make Life E-Z with EZ School Supplies: Product Review

Do you realize that school starts in a little over a month?

Hard to believe I know but at least here in Texas, very true. I am already going over in my head all of the things I need to work out like how to get two girls ready by 7:30 instead of one and the things we need to purchase like back-to-school clothes (like I talked about in my last Works for Me Wednesday ) backpacks and school supplies. Of course, you know me - I like to make things easier whenever possible. Well, have I found a winner in the easier department, let me tell you!!

Introducing:


EZSchoolSupplies.com will save you from running from store to store, trying to find every little item on your little darling's school lists and, more importantly in my opinion, keep you from having to hazard those life-threatening school supply aisles at Target and Walmart!!!

Let me do a little show and tell so you can know a little better what I am talking about.

The folks at EZ School Supplies were kind enough to send me a sample supply box so I would be able to give you information based on my actual knowledge. Anytime a box arrives, the girls are so excited that they have to get in on it. Obviously I was taking far too long to open the box.

When they opened the brown box, they discovered the school supplies came in a neat and tidy EZ Pack. The box alone was a treat! Made of sturdy cardboard and designed with all sorts of helps to record your child's year, the box is created to be a memory box once it had completed it's job delivering the supplies. Someone was really eating their Wheaties the morning they came up with that idea!

Of course, my girls were not to be deterred from opening the goodies. The products were securely packaged so that there would not be any damage to the items while in transit.

The supplies were all name brand items like Crayola, Fiskars, Mead and more.

End result: A bunch of very happy campers ready to break out the books with a Mama who is delighted at the prospect of handling all of this from the comfort of my own home.
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If my good experience thus far is not enough to convince you to start ordering from EZSchoolSupplies.com , then let's talk money.

Being the somewhat practical and frugal soul I am, I would favor shopping with these folks just for saving the gas alone. After checking the prices EZ School Supplies offers against other retailers of school supplies , they are comparable overall. But let me help you a little further.
I have an exclusive discount code you can use to save ten percent on your purchase from EZSchool Supplies, and the best part? The discount code NEVER EXPIRES! So if you are 'lucky' enough to have teachers who run out of glue sticks and erasers in February, you can come back here, get the code, and save another ten percent! Doesn't get too much cooler than that, does it?

****Here's the code: Use this code at checkout to save ten percent- EZMB067****

Are you good now? Need a little more incentive? This can be a fundraiser! For every pre-approved, pre-packaged EZPack that is purchased, the school’s parent support group-like the PTA, PTO, School Booster Club, etc. - gets back TEN PERCENT of the purchase price, either in cash, or in additional supplies. So you buy the school supplies you need, and your school gets cash it can use for student programs, or extra supplies! The deal just keep getting better!

This is not just available to parents, schools and fund raising groups related to public schools~~~Homeschoolers
can benefit from all of this too!



In closing, what do you need to do, hmm?

All together now -
Save time, Save gas, Save money,and Save your nerves!

Order from EZSchoolSupplies.com!!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod!
Review+EZSchoolSupplies.com

Homeschoolers Need Love Too!!!

**This was a recent review I did for fun on my other blog, 3 P's in a Pod.**

I saw this on The Girl Indie Blog and had to laugh. This actually touches on one of my pet peeves. See, I have many friends who Homeschool their kiddos and while it is not something we do, I can see a lot of merit to it. My pet peeve though is the folks who do it but do their kids a huge injustice by not socializing them, not keeping up with their studies and basically raising illiterate children. (I'll now step away from that soapbox:).

This shirt is just one of many cute items the Homeschool Boutique sells allowing families to show their Homeschool pride. They have one that says "100% All Natural Homeschool Chick - No Preservatives Added" and a cute Mom shirt with a 'Survivor'-style logo saying "Mom Survivor Homeschooling Tribe" not to mention many others.

Their products look to be good quality, created by a Homeschooling family themselves. They accept Paypal as well as many different credit cards as forms of payment and they ship the products within 48 hours of purchase.

So for all of my Homeschooling buddies, those I don't know or any Homeschoolers that you know, stop by the Homeschool Boutique and see how many creative and fun products they carry because, after all, Homeschoolers need some love too!!

Homeschool+Shopping