Accidentally Green

Making Healthy Decisions That Honor God and Happen to Help the Environment

Improving My Financial Stewardship

I’ve tried to spend most of my life being a good steward of the gifts God has given me. So last spring I was surprised to be confronted with the realization that I have not been a good steward of my family’s finances. And I knew I desperately needed to change. As I moved load after load of boxes and belongings to our new house, I knew my family had a lot of possessions. I tried to reason that it was because four people tend to own a lot of things. But once I hauled filled boxes to our ... Read more

The Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Important Paperwork Challenge

In 2013, Accidentally Green is getting back to the basics one step at a time. On Fridays, I’ll announce a challenge for the week – something to help you make small but healthy changes. The tasks also will help you reduce, reuse, or recycle something in your life. Last January I confessed that managing paperwork – and paper clutter – was an ongoing struggle for me. Like laundry and dirty dishes, as soon as I think I have it under control, then it starts piling up again. I am ready to take ... Read more

Getting Back to the Basics

If there’s one thing that bugs me about Accidentally Green, it’s the perceptions that other people have about me. Because I write about healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment, most people assume that I’m all green, all the time. I’m not. In fact, as the name suggests, I’m only accidentally green. I live a normal life. Six years ago I happened to learn about a bunch of toxins normal Americans typically are exposed to – and I decided that I needed to change for ... Read more

Giving the Gift of Experience

Every now and then, when you want to give an extra special gift, consider giving an experience gift. The gift can be one of two ways: You can give your own time and treat your recipient to some sort of an experience with you. You could choose: Dinner out, A concert or sporting event, An afternoon at a museum, A shopping spree together, or A destination vacation.  Based on my own personal experiences, it’s great to give and receive this kind of a gift. It does ... Read more

Green Gift Ideas

As part of Works For Me Wednesday, here's a host of green gift ideas that I would adore. If you know someone who is switching over to a healthier lifestyle, these presents just might make your environmentally-friendly loved one smile: Glass or stainless steel food containers with lids; Cloth napkins; Samples of all-natural products like shampoos, soaps and lotions; All-natural lip balm; Essential oils; Coir welcome mat; Raw honey; Real maple syrup; A quarter of grass-fed, ... Read more

Creative Christmas Gifts for Children

If your family is anything like mine, your children don’t really need a whole bunch of new toys for Christmas. In fact, they probably already have more than enough toys. Children love to receive gifts on Christmas, though. (And birthdays, and any other holidays you choose to give gifts.) The good news is you can choose to give gifts that don’t clutter their toy boxes. Here are some creative gift ideas for children of many ages: Help children express their creativity with art ... Read more

Planning a Disaster-Proof Gift

I don’t know about you, but over the past few months I’ve been thinking more about disaster readiness. First it was Hurricane Sandy. And then, of course, Friday's horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. If my family would be affected by a natural disaster I would not be ready. At one time in my life (pre-K … before kids) I had a nifty emergency kit put together. It included a bag of clothing, some cash, flashlights, and a stash of canned food and bottled water. When I needed to change the ... Read more

Virtual Gift Ideas That Help Others

Believe it or not, Christmas is less than two weeks away. (Breathe. Don't freak out.) Are you still trying to think of thoughtful gift ideas? The easiest way to give meaningful gifts is to make charitable donations. At this time of year, most organizations are offering unique ways to make this possible for shoppers. You can buy goats or ducks or pigs or fruit trees for needy families around the world. World Vision, Compassion International, World Help and Heifer International are ... Read more

Greening My Family’s Birthday Celebrations

This past February, I did not throw an environmentally friendly birthday party for my son. Nope. Preoccupied and busy, I went to the store, bought all the Spiderman paper plates, paper masks, paper napkins, paper cups, paper invitations, and stickers I could find. I used crepe paper and balloons. I didn’t recycle any of it when the party was over.And when it was all said and done, I felt guilty. Part of my guilt was brought on by the whole fact that I write a blog called Accidentally Green. ... Read more

Hitting the Jackpot With Food Gifts

I am all about consumable gifts this year. I don’t want to add to someone else’s clutter, so Consumable Christmas, here we come! One of my favorite kinds of consumable gifts is anything to do with food or drink. You can get as simple or extravagant as your budget will allow. Here are some food gift ideas I've given and/or received in the past: International interests Pick one  nationality, and go crazy with the cuisine. Make an Italian gift with pasta, sauces, cheese, and bread. A ... Read more

This Holiday Season, I’m Crazy About Consumable Gifts

A few years ago, I heard about a woman who chose only to give consumable gifts. Her rationale was simple – since she didn’t want extra “stuff” in her home, she didn’t want to give others extra “stuff” either. Her logic resonated with me. While holiday trinkets may be charming – and some of them definitely are – does anyone truly need another candy dish, picture frame, or mismatched mug? Even certain useful gifts like blankets, socks, or gloves end up being just another item to put ... Read more

Can Raw, Sliced Onions Cure a Cold?

If you regularly follow Accidentally Green, you might have noticed I’ve been making a lot of changes lately. First it was the redesign. Then it was the weekly e-mail newsletters. (Are you receiving them? If not, you really should. Sign up now so you won’t miss out on any exclusive content. Just add your e-mail address to the box over on the top right.) Starting today, I will write a Works-for-Me Wednesday post to let you know what I've been trying. Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, everyone ... Read more

.
.