The bag blog is an open exchange of ideas on sustainable packaging, green initiatives and the earth in general. Pull up a chair, have a read and have a say.
Happy Pursuit of Happiness Day! While that might sound redundant, one can never have too much of a good thing when it comes to happiness. That’s why we’re happy (pun intended!) to launch our Frosted Mini Spooners® “12 Layers of HappinessTM” campaign, in honor of the first annual National Pursuit of Happiness Day.
Now, we’re experts on one thing: cereal. That’s why we bake 12 tasty whole grain layers into each of our Frosted Mini Spooners biscuits, resulting in a flavor and texture profile that compares favorably to other shredded wheat cereals.
When it comes to happiness, Dan Baker Ph.D. is an expert. He literally wrote the book on it, called What Happy People Know. In addition to being a best-selling author, Dr. Baker is the founding director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch, and an advisor to family owned businesses, organizational consultant, lecturer, author, and executive/life coach. In his book, Dr. Baker outlines 12 qualities that lead to happiness.
12 layers…12 qualities…what a fabulous coincidence! As MOM Brands marketing whiz Linda puts it, “To us, a biscuit with more layers and more toasted flavor is a better tasting biscuit, and a happier biscuit. Dr. Baker’s pioneering work on the study of happiness and these 12 qualities that are common among happy people seemed like the perfect fit to work together and help our fans learn more about all-around happiness – both the 12 layers of happiness in a Frosted Mini Spooner biscuit and the 12 qualities to a happier life.”
Join us in the pursuit of happiness, starting with Dr. Baker’s Happiness Quiz. Over the next several months, we’ll keep the layering on the fun with weekly tips and fun giveaways. We’ll even feature exclusive happiness insights from Dr. Baker right here on the blog.
Editor’s Note: Today’s fun-filled post comes from our monthly guest contributor Kate, at Perpetually Nesting. As a busy mom of two toddlers, Kate knows a lot about whipping up a good time from scratch.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Springtime is for Children. When you think of it, spring, in all of its newness, speaks the language of childhood. Everything is green and being born; every branch is bursting with life. And all around us, there are opportunities for free learning and family fun, which is why springtime is my favorite season to spend with children. Here are 4 free (or nearly free) active learning experiences to have with your family this season:
1: Go on a Hunt! In springtime, hunting doesn’t have to mean guns and animals. Kids are the perfect natural food hunters – they are close to the ground and usually have very sharp eyes. Our family makes a habit of natural treasure hunting for edible goodies every spring. We go morel hunting in late April, search for fiddleheads in May, and find wild berries throughout the summer. There’s always a delicacy growing, you just have to plan and look. This activity allows our kids to learn about the earth up close, and our family gets a special bonus with wild delicacies at the dinner table. This is the perfect pastime for foodie families! Learn more about what grows naturally in Minnesota, the home of MOM Brands.
2: Grow Something! Whether you are an avid home gardener or can’t seem to keep your houseplants alive, a variety of family activities exist that can help your kids learn how to grow food at home. My family loves DIY gardening, and the whole family participates. We draw much of our inspiration from Patti Moreno, of Garden Girl TV.
3: Explore! No matter where you live, cities and communities seem to come alive in the Spring-time. Take this opportunity to create new family traditions! Head to a local art fair or a food festival. Join a community garden or check around for local parades. Ever been to the Mayday festival? We’re going this year!
4: Jump in the puddles! Even on a rainy day, kids don’t melt! Grab those galoshes and jump in the puddles. We go outside even when it’s rainy, and try to create teachable moments no matter what the weather channel predicts. Hail? Cool! We collect it in cups. Rain? Great! We go outside and play in it. We always make sure to have appropriate gear – fleece, raincoats, rain boots. We put away our serious attitudes and look at our season with new, youthful, curious eyes. We take advantage of the April showers.
No matter what the season looks like in your community, I am sure the springtime holds new possibilities for learning and fun. What are you up to now that you have shed your winter layers? Any free fun activities on your agenda that I’ve missed?
By now, you green-leaning gals and guys know that Earth Month is well underway. But it might be news to you that this month kicked off a day early, with Earth Hour. Earth Hour got started in 2007, halfway across the world in Syndey, Australia. This hour is celebrated by turning off the lights. People cast a vote for a healthier planet by going dark for one hour.
Over at the Mom Goes Green blog, we found a fun recap of how enlightening this hour of darkness can be (pun very intended)! The post shares how a record number of locations participated in this year’s Earth Hour: over 6000 cities across the globe! (It also includes a nice shout-out to our friends at TerraCycle.)
Was your city on of them?
If you had one additional hour each day to dedicate to helping the planet, what would you do with those 60 little minutes to make a big change?
Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from our lovely guest contributor, Kristine Munroe-Mahoney. Kristine is the Community Manager at KeenForGreen.com. She is passionate about going green along with her son, Isaac, and her husband, Matt. She lives outside of Boston.
A few years ago, my husband and I became interested in gardening. I always thought that I had a brown thumb but I was eager to try. I thought it would be a fun way to save money, spend some quality time outside, and know exactly where our food comes from. As soon as I ate that first fresh backyard tomato, I quickly learned just how wonderful gardening can be.
We work hard to keep our gardening practices as green as possible. There are lots of simple ways to make your gardening experience an eco-friendly one. It will save you money and you’ll have fresh wonderful fruits and veggies at your fingertips all summer long!
Water Consumption
You can cut down on your water consumption without depriving your garden of the water it needs. Consider setting up a rain harvesting system. You can also keep a bucket in your bathroom, collect shower water while the water is warming up, and use that water for your garden.
Be mindful when you water your garden. If your home is set up to use a timed automatic sprinkler system, make sure to turn it off when it rains. If you’re watering by hand, learn when is the best time of day for you to water your garden. Vegetable Gardener has helpful tips on watering a garden.
Compost
Reuse those kitchen scraps and turn them into something wonderful for your garden. You can compost so many things – from coffee grinds to stale bread. Set up a simple countertop container for your kitchen and a compost bin for your backyard. It will turn into rich, free soil and you’re putting food scraps to good use.
Mulch
Joe Lamp’l, host of Growing a Greener World on PBS, is a firm believer in mulch. In fact, he says that all you need to grow a green, successful garden is compost and mulch. Mulch is great for your garden because it keeps soil moist, suppresses diseases, breaks down, and allows you to use less water. Plus, it looks nice and I love the smell!
Avoiding chemicals
In many areas, it’s easy to avoid the use of chemicals. Many household items can be used instead. Vinegar can help kill weeds. Chili powder and the cinnamon help keep bugs away and beer will kill slugs.
Figure out what to plant
Learn what grows well where you live. Your climate and local soil will determine what will grow successfully in your garden. Get to know some of the employees at your local nursery because they can be excellent resources for this type of information. They might also be able to tell you what is easiest for a beginner to plant.
Have fun!
Gardening is a really rewarding experience, so try to enjoy yourself while gardening. Be patient and cut yourself some slack if your yields end up being low or even if you kill a plant. There’s always next year!
Last year, we celebrated Earth Month with a not-so-average post which was this humble little blog’s second post, ever. So, not only are we celebrating this most earth-friendly of months; the Bag The Box Blog is also celebrating its first birthday!
In honor of both, some tips from around the web for joining us in celebrating our planet:
1. Trade your paper cup of joe for a reusable mug. My favorite motivation is this cute, catchy video from Starbucks. (You’ll be whistling along by the time it’s over!)
2. Take Kiwi Magazine up on their challenge to “Unplug It!” Each week they offer a new challenge, but this week’s seems perfect. Unplug your gadgets, and then unplug FROM your gadgets to enjoy the gorgeous spring weather!
3. Cook up some tasty, eco-friendly Spring recipes from the 28 tasty dishes featured over on thedailygreen.com. With the warm Spring weather, you can dine al fresco!
What are your plans for celebrating Mother Earth this month?
We did. Along with others who reduce needless packaging right from the start.
What we’re talking about is called “precycling,” the proactive approach to reducing waste from the beginning instead of finding more eco-friendly ways of disposing of it in the end.
We’re certainly not alone in talking about this. The eco-experts at Earth911.com just published an article titled, “Waste Less, Save More with Precycling” discussing the familiar three R’s of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, with an emphasis on the order in which those R’s are listed.
The precycling perk? It also saves money. The article outlines some wallet-friendly tips that help eliminate waste from your shopping habits.
Reducing waste really is #1, read the full post here to find out why.
With record high spring temps in parts of the country, it almost feels like summer when spring has only just arrived!
While everything outdoors is getting a little greener, it’s time for indoors to get a little cleaner. Luckily there are some very easy ways to bring a little more green to that clean; just check out these ideas from our blog buddies around the web:
Mom Goes Green has some tips for earth-friendly spring cleaning, including several recipes for make-at-home gentle cleaning products. Bonus: if you make it, you don’t have to buy it, and you know we love less spendy options!
Not to be confused with Waterworld Day (where presumably people stay home and watch an old Kevin Costner flick), today, March 22, 2012, is World Water Day.
Founded by the United Nations in 1993, World Water Day is about paying attention to how we take care of our fresh water resources.
Today marks awareness of how much we depend on water for almost everything we do: it’s about more than the 8 glasses we all drink per day (that’s a nudge to stay hydrated), and the water we use to bathe, cook, and clean. Water is a critical component of the things we eat, consume, and use. Food choices and even the amount of paper you use can impact the world’s water supply. All told, the average American household uses 350 gallons of water EVERY DAY.
Crazy, right? That’s just the start. But there are easy things you can do to positively impact the world’s water supply. (Like reducing junk mail…and who wouldn’t love less mailbox clutter anyway?) Check out this infographic from Whole Living Magazine for more information and easy ways to make a difference.
Editor’s Note: It’s a madly awesome March so far, and our good friend Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, is here to share his “bracket picks” for the Elite Eight of Sustainability:
There are so many vibrant organizations, people, and innovations that could be named the Elite Eight of Sustainability. When Bag The Box asked for my picks of the Elite Eight, I knew I was going to have a difficult time. I’ll admit my final list is missing some great picks, but here are my final choices for the Elite Eight of Sustainability.
Runa Tea (organization): Runa was born from the traditions of the Kichwa people of the Amazon – sharing conversation and music over the tea. A group of students imagined that they could make a sustainable business that would both bring this idea around the world and support the Kichwa. Today, Runa has planted more than 150,000 new trees, conserved rainforest, and brought stability and higher income to struggling locals.
Ocean “gyre” plastic (eco-innovation): The gyre plastic from the middle of the Pacific is just sitting there. Time to start putting it to use: Method soaps is starting to use gyre plastic for all their packaging instead of making new. Not only does this lessen the carbon footprint of their production, it helps lessen our previous impact.
Back to the Roots (organization): Just as they were about to become big-time bankers, two college seniors decided to experiment with growing mushrooms in coffee grounds instead. Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora have now enabled people across to organically grow their own mushrooms – talk about eating local!
A Liter of Light (eco-innovation): A Liter of Light is a project from the MyShelter Foundation that distributes light made from soda bottles throughout slums in the Phillippines. This serves two awesome purposes: reusing soda bottles instead of going to the landfill, and giving light to places that would otherwise be in the dark or have dangerous electrical issues.
Image courtesy of http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/
HA Schult: Schult makes large human replicas entirely out of trash, and they’ve appeared across the world, including New York parks and the Great Wall. To me, these lifelike representations of trash show our impact on the Earth and emphasize just how strong that trashy impact is.
Wasteland Movie (documentary): Wasteland documents Brazilian artist Vik Muniz’s efforts to create art from a Brazilian landfill with the help of local scavengers and garbage pickers. All of his work is auctioned and sold to the benefit of those locals.
Trash Track (eco-innovative project): Trash Track combines technology and garbage to track the life of a piece of trash and show where our waste actually ends up. On top of the fact that we’re wasting the trash we throw out, it ends up traveling hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles, leaving an even larger carbon footprint than we originally think.
Image courtesy of http://www.wastelandmovie.com/
Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre: Styrofoam is one waste stream that TerraCycle is looking to solve for, but maybe one day we won’t have to, thanks to Ecovative. Bayer and McIntyre created a substitute for Styrofoam that is actually grown from mushrooms, which could effectively replace Styrofoam and similar non-eco substances.
What is the very first thing to pop into your head when you think of green this time of year? Undoubtedly this weekend’s festival of all things Irish!
Whether you plan to parade beside a green river or go searching for shamrocks, there is sure to be plenty of green in store. Here are a few ideas from around the World Wide Web:
2: Shake off the winter shuffles with a local road race. Lots of cities offer holiday themed runs for all activity levels, many include races for the whole family—even pets! Find a St. Patrick’s Day race near you.
3: Peruse Pinterest for some festive fun. The “Holiday” category is serving up some mouth-watering St. Patty’s treats that you can make no matter how kitchen-savvy you might be. These kiwi shamrocks are a beyond-easy, healthy treat and these delicious-looking smoothies would be a great homemade alternative to a frosty green trip through a certain fast food drive-through…
What are your favorite St. Patty’s Day traditions?
Happy Pursuit of Happiness Day! While that might sound redundant, one can never have too much of a good thing when it comes to happiness. That’s why we’re happy (pun intended!) to launch our Frosted Mini Spooners® “12 Layers of HappinessTM” campaign, in honor of the first annual National Pursuit of Happiness Day.
No matter what the season looks like in your community, I am sure the springtime holds new possibilities for learning and fun. What are you up to now that you have shed your winter layers? Any free fun activities on your agenda that I’ve missed?
