FAMILY: Introduction

Do It Green Minnesota

Welcome to The Twin Cities Green Guide’s Family Introduction. Throughout this section, you’ll find articles about childrens’ toys, childbirth, activities, pets and population – all things to help “green” families survive and thrive in the Twin Cities. Enjoy!

Introduction

Green Tips

Use Reusable Gift Bags

Americans produce 25% more trash during the holiday season, including about 2 million tons of wrapping paper that use an estimated 30 million trees per year! Eliminate your gift waste with creative packaging ideas like making your own from reclaimed fabric!

See our full list of ideas for a No Waste Holiday!

Get Your Mayor Involved

More than 600 cities nationwide are not waiting for federal action on climate change—they are taking matters into their own hands. The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement is one way cities are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and urging government to take action. Read more about the agreement here, plus learn what Minnesota’s government is doing about global warming.

Support a Local Business

Did you know that roughly 73 cents of every dollar spent at a local business stays within the community, compared to 43 cents for non-local chain stores? When you buy from local businesses, you help that business employ community workers, support other local businesses, and contribute to the community’s overall health. Read more here about the benefits of buying locally.

Take Easy Steps to Save Energy at Home

The average Minnesota family spends over $4,000 on energy (includes natural gas, electricity and gasoline) and produces over 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Here are some easy ways to save energy:

Turn off lights and electronics (TVs, radios, computers) when leaving a room. This can help your family avoid producing 298 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of the year.
Be mindful of your heat and central air. Turning your furnace thermostat down just two degrees in the winter saves $53/year and prevents 569 pounds of CO₂, and you won’t even notice the change.
Unplug electronics and appliances while not in use, like cell phone chargers, video game consoles, and microwaves. Anything with a clock, remote or LED light is using energy all the time, even if it’s turned off. Power strips are a quick fix—and you can save $14/year.

Check out our Personal Energy Checklist for more great ideas!

Host a Clothing Swap

Swapping is a great way to eliminate waste and engage in reuse. Instead of throwing away items that you no longer want, you give them to someone who does, and instead of purchasing brand new items, you can reuse items you receive from others. Swapping can also be a way to provide items to people who cannot afford to purchase them, and it is a wonderful way to meet new people and build a sense of community.

Check out Swapping Made Easy for a full list of tips to hosting your own swap!

Support Strong Towns

The automobile era spurred the expansion of highways and the fragmentation of natural habitats and communities. Now, the suburban American lifestyle had led to an obesity epidemic, high levels of resource consumption, and oil dependency. Strong Towns is a nonprofit that helps cities focus on resiliency instead of growth. Find out more.

Lead Your Community to Sustainability

People in small towns, suburban communities, and urban neighborhoods all over Minnesota and western Wisconsin are banding together to make their communities more livable and sustainable. Are you ready to make sustainable changes in your community? This article offers many tips for getting started, including learning more about sustainability plus how to create an action plan for your city.

Plant a Rain Garden

Many people do not realize that rain carries pollutants from our houses, yards, streets, sidewalks and parking lots to the nearest storm drain, leading directly to local lakes, streams and rivers. Rain gardens are designed to have a center depression to help rainwater seep into the soil. This infiltration helps recharge groundwater and reduces polluted runoff.

Check out our article on rain gardens to learn more.

Go Green with Cloth Diapers

An average child will go through 8-10 diapers a day until the age of 30 months. That’s about 8,000 diapers, and a cost of about $2,500! A good set of 20 cloth diapers will cost an average of $350 and can be used for future children or even resold. Cloth diapers save you money and keep a significant amount of trash out of the landfill or incinerator.

Reduce Waste When You Travel

Travelers can generate a lot of waste and pollution, even with the best intentions. But it isn’t hard to make a few changes that can help us avoid a lot of trash and otherwise green up our time away from home. It is our responsibility to take care of the places we inhabit, and to show that we respect the place we are traveling to, that others inhabit.

Check out more tips on reducing waste while traveling!

How Our Food Choices Effect the Planet

How Our Food Choices Effect the Planet

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