The 10 Day Simple Green Holiday Challenge

 10 Daily Guides Will Cover All You Need to Know

Day 1 – The Yummy Stuff – Food
Day 2 – The Pretty Stuff – Natural Foliage, Wreaths, Centerpieces
Day 3 – Your Holiday Table – Plates, Silverware, Glasses, Napkins
Day 4 – Twinkly Things – Lighting and Candles
Day 5 – Make it Pretty – Gift Wrapping 
Day 6 – Oh, Tannenbaum – Fresh, Live, or Artificial Christmas Trees?
Day 7 – Drink Up – Organic Wine, Beer, Spirits, & Other Beverages
Day 8 – Low Waste, No Waste – Making Food Go Farther
Day 9 –Good Smells – Natural Scents & Fragrances
Day 10 – Green Cleaning – Non-toxic Clean Up to start the New Year right

Here’s what “Day 2 – The Pretty Stuff” looks like, just to give you an idea about how nice this is!

 

Ready to Sign Up?

You’ve got two great options: One is Free, One is a Premium that Costs a Little, but…
You Get a Lot More

Want the Free Option? Sign Up Right Here! ⇓⇓⇓

Sign Up, Then…

√ Get your free daily tips. Every day for 10 days, you’ll receive an easy-to-follow Holiday Challenge Daily Guide.

√ Simplify, save and go green. Each guide will focus on an individual action you can take that will simplify your celebration, save you money, and help you go green.

√ Get more info if you want it. The guides will also include links to more helpful information if you want to learn or do more – that’s totally up to you.

√ Enjoy discounts. Each guide will contain valuable discounts on safe, green and non-toxic products, books and other items that you can use for yourself or others.

 

Want MORE? Get the Premium Option for only $19.99. Get It Here! ⇓⇓⇓

$19.99. That’s less than $2/day!

SIGN UP NOW!

In addition to all of the great benefits you’ll get with the free option, you get MORE when you sign up for the Premium challenge, including:

The Premium Giveaway – Your premium automatically enters you into the Giveaway raffle for a chance to win one of the fabulous prizes, worth almost $450, that are available through the Simple Green Holiday Challenge.

Premium Challenge Giveaways include:
 $50 gift certificate from Miessence Organics, plus free FAST superfood to support a healthy diet
Fabulous Organic Teas Bundle from EarthMamaAngelBaby Organics, which includes 8 boxes of soothing, delicious, organic and non-GMO teas
Wild Planet Seafood Deluxe Sampler Pack, containing wild canned tuna, wild pink shrimp, salmon
AspenClean Whole House Non-toxic Cleaning Kit
Garden in a Can Gift Set from Back to the Roots
Grow Your Own Mushroom Farm from Back to the Roots
Urban Market Bags – Set of Three in Clip-On Stuff Sack
Island Thyme Botanical Bodycare Gift Basket
Baby Hero Organic Baby/Toddler Clothes
Moms Clean Air Force Swag Bag
Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World
The Healing Foods: Nature’s Pharmacy for Better Health
Spit That Out: The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids in the Age of Environmental Guilt
Secret Weapons for Non-Toxic Stain Removal

and more!

A Big Green Chat with Diane – Want to talk over the green changes you want to make in your life with someone who’s probably been through everything you’re going through now? Your Premium entitles you to a 30-minute chat with me about all things green. I’m happy to help you clear up confusion over what products to buy, what green swaps to make, and hear what you love about living green – and what drives you crazy!

 Charitable Holiday Gift Guide – Get through all 10 days of the Challenge, and on Day 11, you’ll receive our special Charitable Holiday Gift Guide, packed with great suggestions and links so you can make stress-free last minute donations or choose meaningful gifts for people you love.

10% Discount on Our Upcoming 2017 Green Spring Cleaning and Home DeTox Program – We’ll be showing you how to detox your home and swap out cleaning products full of questionable chemicals for those that are safe. There’ll be lots of bonuses and discounts available then, too. Be among the first to find out about it,

10 Day Simple Green Holiday Challenge – Additional Free  Bonuses
 In addition to the great tips you’ll get every day for 10 days, you’ll receive these additional bonuses:

• Facebook Group – Have a question? Need more specific suggestions? Have some great ideas to share? Just want to vent? Do it all on the Big Green Purse Facebook Page.  

• No Stress Priorities Checklist – Your Own Personal Simple Green Holiday Priorities Checklist. Once you sign up, you’ll receive our Priorities checklist designed to help you organize your activities and prioritize what you most want to accomplish during your Simple Green Holiday Challenge.“You inspire a green “consciousness” in every woman, man and child who hears your message. As you make clear…all of us can make a difference. You make it seem easy and effective to take action. Thank you!!”  Roselyn O., Arizona

Sign Up Now! 

or…

I want to get entered in the Premium Daily Giveaways, plus get the discount on the upcoming Green Spring Cleaning and Home Detox Program, plus the Charitable Holiday Gift Guide! 

 Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

The post The 10 Day Simple Green Holiday Challenge appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Clean Air Partners is a nonprofit partnership in Baltimore/Metropolitan Washington region that helps reduce air pollution through simple, everyday actions. For more information and to access easy ways you can keep your air clean, please visit: www.cleanairpartners.net.

More resources for your green holiday:

> Use our Green Holiday Shopping Guide to make this year’s shopping easy.

> Find a green gift for everyone on your list by shopping hundreds of Big Green Purse-approved items on our Amazon store.

> And as you’re preparing to wrap those gifts, don’t forget to read our tips on how to cut down on holiday waste!

The post White Xmas or Smoggy One? This Energy-Saving Green Guide to the Holidays Will Help Keep It Clean appeared first on Big Green Purse.

We want to invite you to use our special Amazon links
for your holiday shopping. Here’s how!

 Start in the Big Green Purse Amazon Store.

We’ve identified hundreds of non-toxic, organic, non-GMO, energy saving, no waste products just for you.

From cosmetics and clothing to electronics and kitchenware, we’ve found the greenest items Amazon has to offer.

Our Amazon links for your holiday shopping will also take you to gardening, bath and body, purses and briefcases, and even pet care.

If you want to buy it on Amazon, you’ll probably find it in our store.

Go directly to Amazon. 

If you know what you’re looking for, or just want to browse, click on this link and it will take you directly to the general Amazon search page.

You can still shop for environmentally-friendly products, but you can search for other items as well.

Why are we sharing our Amazon links with you?

First and foremost, we want to make it easier for you to find a greener, cleaner version of whatever you buy. We believe shifting spending to the greenest products and services available creates big incentives for companies to reduce pollution, limit their use of toxic chemicals, and save energy. When you use the power of your purse, you send a strong message to manufacturers that if they want your business, they’ll need to clean up your act.

The Big Green Purse Green Shopping Guide Principles offer some useful guideposts for using your purse or pocketbook to make a difference.

But also, in the interest of full disclosure, we make a teeny tiny commission on purchases made using our link. Those commissions help us continue to bring you excellent, unbiased content every day without fail.

In fact, if you want to share our links with your friends and family, we’d really appreciate it.

Thanks very much. And, happy holidays!

The post 2 Ways to Use Our Special Amazon Links for Your Holiday Shopping appeared first on Big Green Purse.

If you want to buy green gifts for your friends and family this holiday season, free coupons offering discounts can make them a lot more affordable.

Working with the free coupons site ChameleonJohn.com, as well as other companies we know, we’ve identified 9 companies that offer discounts on energy-saving, water-saving, non-toxic and organic products, plus low- or no-cost shipping.

There are many more retailers and manufacturers that offer discounts and free coupons. This list will give you an idea of the options you have for using discounts to reduce the cost of some green goods.

I’m a big advocate of shifting your spending to motivate manufacturers to go green. Discounts offer one way to get started.

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What You Need to Know Before You Sign Up for Free Coupons…

→ You will have to sign up for each company’s free e-newsletter in order to gain access to their discounts, but you can unsubscribe at any time.

→ Once you sign up, when you click on the discount, a code will come up that you will then paste into your shopping cart at the time of check out.

→ One advantage of a coupon aggregator like ChameleonJohn is that you can see the variety of coupons available on that day from many retailers.

→ If your store is not represented by ChameleonJohn, check the store’s own website directly.

→ Don’t miss the coupons delivered with your local newspaper.

Most stores offer coupons at one time or another. Sometimes they’re product specific, but often, they allow you to take a percentage off your total sale, or will give you $10 off when you spend $25, or some other arrangement.

  The Big Green Purse Shopping Principles can help you figure out what’s green, and what’s being “greenwashed.”  You can find them here.

[box] How to Find Eco-Friendly Products So You Can Use Free Coupons

√ Go to the website of the retailer or product manufacturer.

√ Find the search bar.

√ Type in whatever item you’re looking for, and hit enter. It will take you to the correct product page, if one exists.

√ If you decide to make a purchase, paste in the discount code you got from ChameleonJohn.com or the retailer’s own sites.

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9 Retailers That Offer Free Coupons
You Can Use to Buy Green Gifts and Other Goods

Overstock.com – Overstock offers a wide variety of coupons and discount shipping options, but there’s no telling what they have in their overstock inventory at any given time. Since they sell home goods and clothing, search for items like organic clothing or recycled furniture. I typed in “recycled cotton” and up popped this rug made of cotton recycled from the textile industry. Don’t buy just what they have, since you have many other retailer options to choose from. Stick to your search criteria.

Kohl’s – Like Overstock, Kohl’s sells housewares, bedding, clothing, and other household goods. However, unlike Overstock, they’re more likely to have a consistent supply of goods. I recently searched for “organic cotton sheets” at Kohl’s and found a good variety of options, plus organic cotton towels and mattress covers.

Gardener’s Supply Company – Compost bins, water irrigation systems, seeds, compost, garden ornaments, organic fertilizer – you name it, if it’s for the garden, Gardener’s Supply probably has it.

Take advantage of their holiday coupons to get ready for spring planting and gardening season.

Indigo Wild – If you’re looking for plant-based organic soaps and cleaning products, the Zum brand from Indigo Wild is a great place to start.

Nest -Nest is an amazing product that keeps your family safe from fire and carbon monoxide leaks. Nest can also help you lower your energy bill by allowing you to keep an eye on maintaining your usage when you are away from home. With the coupon offered on ChameleonJohn, you can save 50% on the Nest learning thermostat including free shipping on orders above $40.

Method – If you’ve wanted to try Method products and see what all the fuss is about, use a coupon. Non-toxic hand soap, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent and other cleaning products come in stylish containers you won’t mind having out on your countertop.

BabyEarth – When you visit this site, click on the EarthFriendly icon. Then look for products like glass baby bottles, silicon forks and spoons, cloth diapers, and organic baby clothes. Be aware that other products listed on their “eco friendly” site don’t really offer any environmental or health benefits per se, so be discriminating when you shop.

Rubbermaid – Though this company is known for its plastic containers, its line of glass containers with leak-proof lids makes it a healthy and eco-friendly way to store food. Container sizes range from one cup to 11.5 cups. Remember, skip the plastic bottles and jars, even if they say BPA-free, and stick with glass.

Home Depot – From lightbulbs and lighting fixtures to home insulation and no VOC paint, Home Depot sells it all. Use their coupons to try LED lights that you thought were too expensive, or premium green cleaning products that are free of synthetic fragrances.

As you might imagine, most retailers these days sell at least some green goods. They almost all make coupons available, especially during the holidays.

If you’ve wanted to try the eco version of a product, or you want to give a green gift, you should be able to find a coupon or discount to help make the purchase affordable.

Sponsorship Disclosure: We worked with ChameleonJohn.com to bring you this information. All editorial opinion is our own. Sponsorships help us provide you with tips and expertise at no cost to you. Thank you.

The post These 9 Companies Offer Free Coupons for Your Green Holiday Shopping appeared first on Big Green Purse.

But when you shift your spending to greener products and services, don’t you want to know that your dollars are really making a difference?

Use this simple green shopping guide to help you make healthier and more eco-friendly choices when you shop for the holidays.

Green Holiday Shopping Guide

√ Nix “natural.” Everybody likes the idea of “natural” – which is why marketers slap the words on products that couldn’t be further from their natural state. Don’t get sucked into buying something just because the packaging claims it’s “natural.” Instead…

Green Shopping Solution: Buy certified. While “natural” doesn’t mean much, products whose environmental attributes have been certified to meet rigorous standards by organizations independent of the manufacturer can more readily be trusted.

Look for companies whose claims that their goods are organic, Fair Trade, humane, non-toxic, or designed to help protect forests and wildlife have been independently certified.

We put together a list of labels you can trust here.

√ Banish battery-powered gadgets and toys. Batteries leak cadmium, lead and other heavy metals when they’re thrown away. They usually come wrapped in plastic and cardboard, creating more trash as soon as you buy them. Plus, you have to keep replacing them; in some cases, the cost of batteries over the life of a product ends up amounting to more than the product itself.  

Avoid toys, gadgets and appliances that require short-lived, throwaway batteries. If you must give a battery-powered gift, include rechargeable batteries and the recharger to go with it.

Green Shopping Solution: Buy solar- or hand-powered. Among your options: hand-cranked radios, coffee grinders, blenders and juicers. Vintage-style razors with replaceable razor blades.

A French-press coffee pot that uses no electricity (we sell a few in our Amazon store, like the one pictured here.)

More interested in solar? Try solar-powered chargers for cell phones, flash drives, and radios.

√ Revise wrapping paper. Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than at any other time of year, reports the Stanford Recycling Center. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!

If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Plus, if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

Green Shopping Solution: Use reusables. Can you wrap your gift in cloth? Try decorative towels, large napkins, festive scarves and bandanas, tied up with shoelaces or ribbons.

Use reusable shopping bags, lunch boxes, and cookie tins, too. If paper is your only choice, choose wrapping made from recycled paper.

√ Skip synthetic fragrances and air fresheners. Ironically, even though these products are supposed to make things smell better, they actually make it more difficult for many people to breathe, especially those who suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems.

Want your home to smell like Christmas? Simmer a small pot of water, cloves and cinnamon sticks over the stove. Need to smell better yourself? Dab a drop of essential oil from your favorite flower (mine is lavender) behind each ear and on the inside of each wrist.

 Green Shopping Solution: Buy phthalate-free. Phthalates are often the building blocks for synthetic fragrances. They’re also found in nail polish and many other personal care products.

The downside? They’re nasty chemicals considered a reproductive hazard in Europe and the state of California.

You can find a wonderful variety of phthalate-free nail polishes, perfumes, make-up and other personal care products in our online store, for starters.

√ Bump BPA specifically and plastic generally. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is like phthalates – an “endocrine disruptor” that could destabilize your reproductive system. It’s usually found in plastic, especially plastic water bottles, some baby bottles and nipples, and rubber and plastic toys. If what you want to buy is plastic or rubber, check the label for the words “BPA Free.” Better yet…

Green Shopping Solution: Buy stainless steel, aluminum, glass, or wood. Instead of plastic water bottles, choose stainless steel, aluminum, or glass bottles that come with a protective sleeve to reduce the chances of breaking.

Choose glass or stainless steel food serving and storage containers, too.

You can find wonderful toys made from wood and decorated with lead-free paint from many American companies.

The post The Only Green Holiday Shopping Guide You Need appeared first on Big Green Purse.