I was in a giant big box store yesterday and needed to buy some toilet paper but alas, there wasn’t a square of recycled paper in sight. Every brand of toilet paper, tissues, paper towels and paper napkins, were made out of virgin pulp – meaning they are made from trees that are cut down from ecological areas. It just doesn’t make sense that these companies are still cutting trees down when we have such little forest left! The virgin timber-based pulp industry is also the third greatest emitter of global warming pollution in the world.

Always try to buy paper made from 100% post-consumer content. There are many fantastic companies like Seventh Generation and the 365 Wholefoods brand, whom only use recycled content.  Also look for 100% post-consumer printing paper and legal pads at Staples.

For more fascinating information on paper and what actions you can take to help, visit
www.nrdc.org/paper

If any of you haven’t taken our survey yet, please do! It’s short and sweet and you get automatically entered to win a mega-prize at the end of this month. www.GorgeouslyGreen.com/survey

Is your Green growing, or are you just cruising? How are some of the bigger Green changes that you made earlier in the year panning out? I have to take inventory every now and again and pull myself up in areas where I’ve let bad habits creep in again  - but every time I take a short cut – like using a paper towel instead of a rag, or driving instead of cycling a short distance, it feels so bad. I have to periodically remind myself that choosing the most responsible/accountable action, whether it is buying an organic head of muddy lettuce rather than bagged “Spring Mix”, or turning down my A/C, connects me to the greater purpose of my life: to attempt to lighten my footprint in every way possible.

I’m also finding that in the current economic climate, so many of my Green actions, involve saving money. What are you doing this month that has a double green meaning? Have you found ways to reduce your monthly spending – if so, we’d love to hear.

Great grilling veggies are in super-abundance right now - I came back from our farmer’s market on sunday loaded with zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers in every color imaginable. My favorite sunday night dinner is simple grilled vegetables with garlic aioli and a beautiful crispy baguette- simple and eco-friendly!
I have found the best grilling pan ever: It’s the 11″ Square Grill Pan by Cuisinart (Their new Green Gourmet Hard Anodized line). It provides super-even cooking, so the veggies stuck at the edges get brown at the same time as the central ones! These pans are PTFE and PFOA-Free (the dodgy compounds that you want to avoid), and yet the eco-friendly ceramic interior, makes them perform as well, if not better, than a regular non-stick pan. I still love my big old cast iron skillet that I found in a yard sale, however, it’s great to finally find a Green line that will cope with all those sticky situations.
www.cuisinart.com

What are all you girls grilling up this August? If you get the chance - visit the “Ecolicious” section on our message board and share some of your summer grilling tips and recipes.

How Green is your workout? Do you only use the gym or have you found Greener ways to stay fit? I bicycle almost everyday and walk ten times more than I used to and I have to say, I feel a lot stronger. I also do a lot of yard work, which I believe is a fantastic workout because I’m using muscles that I wouldn’t even know existed if I stuck to the treadmill and a few free-weights. Check out this fantastic organization in England called The Green Gym www2btcv.org.uk You simply volunteer and they take you for a good, tough, outdoor workout, which revolves around hardcore gardening or working in conservation areas: you can spend hours, sawing, clearing pathways, dragging heavy logs and things you would not have dreamed you could physically do. You also get to feel great because you are doing something hugely valuable with your time, while toning your tush!
If you do visit a gym, try to bicycle or walk there and always remember your reusable water bottle.
Let us know if yard work or gardening is providing a good workout for you too??

Someone has posted on the message board “what changes have you made since reading Gorgeously Green?” It is so inspiring for all of us to hear your changes - big and small. Nothing is too insignificant to be shared. My husband loves to Scuba Dive and he has switched to using eco-sunscreens to help protect the coral and the fish. So let us know what you and all your loved ones are up to?
Don’t forget to enter July’s Competition as there’s still a few days left.
Sophiex

I am an avid reader - I would rather read than watch TV any day, however, until last December, I was running out of space: they were piled everywhere - always 5 or 6 by my bed, piles of them toppling over in my office and all my bookshelves stuffed. Then my husband gave me The Kindle and it changed my life. I love this little device, which stores up to 200 books! It has it’s own internet system, so can connect you to Amazon’s Kindle Store (of course!), in just a few seconds and you can download any book that takes your fancy in less than 30 seconds - a little dangerous for a bookworm like me - I simply LOVE to browse this little store! It’ll cost you about half the price of an actual book, which is fair-game considering you can’t hand the book on to anyone. If you research like me, you can bookmark and highlight, which is extremely useful. It’s an absolute Godsend when traveling because I used to have to take extra baggage to carry all my reading matter. Now - I simply slip my nifty little Kindle into my purse and as soon as we’ve reached cruising altitude, out it comes and keeps me amused for hours.
Pretty eco-friendly too - considering the paper-less aspect and guess what? You can even download Gorgeously Green!
As we’re getting to the end of the month, just a few days left to enter July’s contest, so don’t forget.

www.amazon.com

When unpacking my groceries from my reusable bags, I have been getting more and more annoyed with all the little produce bags that find their way into my kitchen. I always plan to re-use them but never do - clearly some kind of mental block going on! I actually don’t bother to put half of the produce I buy into any bag - lettuces, yams, apples, just go in the cart loose, however, I obviously need a bag for green beans, plums, okra, mushrooms etc so I’m excited to try out my “produce” bags from www.reusablebags.com (LOVE!!) I saw a very virtuous and obviously Gorgeously Green girl, using them at Whole Foods the other day and I got inspired.
I’ve got two kinds: the organic cotton mesh, which looks like a shoe bag and will probably work for nuts, and beans from the bulk bins; and the net ones, which I prefer because the cashier will be able to easily see what’s inside.

Do any of you gorgeous girls use these kind of bags? They’d actually be really easy to make out of old t-shirts - ha! now I think about it, I just got my daughter a mini sewing machine, so when she’s next bored, we’ll rummage through the rag bin and get started!

If you’re single, Gorgeously Green and desperately want to find a like-minded mate - help is at hand: you can go to www.greenspeeddating.com and try your luck. This interesting LA-based website organizes events, where you meet up with 20 or 30 people of the opposite sex and have 3 minutes to talk to each of them. At the end of the session you write down the people who you would like to meet again, and email addresses will be duly exchanged. I like the fact that there’s no embarrassing rejection involved, so the only thing it’ll cost you is a mere twenty bucks, which will help supply solar energy to rural Nicuragua. If you can’t find an event in your area, they’ll show you how to host one.
If you’re more comfortable with the online thing, you can try www.greensingles.com which has been pairing up greenies for almost 20 years, and www.green-passions.com

If you have any funny Green dating stories - we’d love to hear!

Don’t forget July’s contest - we’re getting a fantastic response and remember that there’s nothing more important than spreading the eco-message in every way you can. For every one person that you turn on to a green way of living - hundreds of people may be inspired by their actions.

Have you noticed whether or not your grocery bills have gone up? Mine certainly have - so I’ve spent the last few days looking for some bargains. I’ve noticed that Safeway/Vons often have many of their “O Organic” items on sale if you’re a club member, same with Ralph/Kroger’s
“Naturally Preferred” line.
My farmer’s market is more inexpensive than the grocery store for produce, especially now when all the incredible summer fruits and veggies are so abundant - I loaded up yesterday with heavenly heirloom tomatoes, locally produced goat cheese and bunches of organic basil (pesto!).
The only problem was schlepping it all back to my car: the heavy bags almost snapping my arms off! So I’m off to purchase a Hook and Go. I saw a few people hooking all their heavy bags onto this ingenious contraption, which you can fold up and put in your trunk when you’re done.
Check it out: http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/hookandgo/index.htm

Have you noticed that all you utilities have gone up this year - in some cases, quite dramatically. How are you coping with this, coupled with the extraordinarily high cost of gas? I’d love to hear about some of your energy-saving endeavors this summers. Here are some of the main things that I’m doing: I air-dry all my laundry, I use my washing machine just 2 days a week (instead of almost everyday), I pack my dishwasher to the max and turn on every 3 days and I try to use ceiling fans instead of the A/C. I’m also about to replace the seal on my fridge and turn it down a few degrees, given that its the SUV of the kitchen.
For those of you who have been implementing these kind of energy-saving practices in your home for a while - have you seen any difference in your bills?
Don’t forget to enter this month’s contest, as the prizes are fantastic and you are really helping to spread an important message!