Don’t worry, there’s nothing naughty about this week’s Green Goal!  Put simply, a naked lady party is a get-together where friends can trade clothing and accessories they no longer want but are still in good condition.  You’ll get new-to-you outfits that don’t cost a dime, declutter your closet, and keep perfectly good clothing out of the wastestream!

For your Green Goal this week, start planning your own naked lady party!  There are a number of ways to organize a naked lady party — see the links at the end of this entry for more tips — but here’s a basic step-by-step list for hosting a successful shindig:

1. Invite friends.  The more people, the more clothes, but make sure you have a big enough space!  I find that my best naked lady parties have about 10 people.

Some people like to invite friends based on size, but keep in mind that women of all sizes can share cardigans, shoes, scarves, purses, and so on with each other, so don’t feel pressured to only invite certain sizes, particularly if your friends are handy with a sewing machine!  Much of what I bring is either too small or too large anyway.

2. Clean that closet! If you haven’t worn it in ages or if it just simply doesn’t fit, pass that sweater on to someone who will give it the love it deserves.  It helps to keep a bag or box in your closet, so whenever something doesn’t fit you can toss it in the bag for the next naked lady party.

3. No soiree is complete without snacks!  You’ll want to wait to get started on the clothes-swapping until everyone has arrived, so make sure your guests have plenty of snacks to munch on or ask that everyone bring a treat to share.

4. As people arrive, dump all the clothes into a big pile in the middle of the room.  When you’re ready, have everyone gather around and start digging through the pile for new clothes!  Having good lighting and a mirror handy for people to try things on is a good idea, too.

5. Donate leftover clothing to your favorite local charity.

Resources:

Easy Peasy Tip: Host a Clothing Swap!
getcrafty.com: Naked Lady Party
Like an all-girl pillow-fight minus the pillows
Have a Naked Lady Party to get Ready for Spring

In response to our recent No-Poo post, commenter Jadea suggested making your own hair care products as a way to avoid icky chemicals and excess packaging.  I had planned to write about Farmer’s Markets this week, but since it feels like November outside here in the Pacific Northwest and I can think of nothing better than a hot shower, your Green Goal this week is to try out one of these eco-friendly hair recipes.  And of course, please share your favorite natural haircare tip in the comments!

Rosemary Rinse for Oily Hair

Ingredients
1/4 cup organic dried rosemary

Directions
Simmer rosemary in 1 1/2 cups of water. Strain mixture and discard rosemary. Use remaining mixture as the final rinse after shampooing.

Ginger Dandruff Treatment

Ingredients
Ginger root (grated)
1 teaspoon organic sesame oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions
Squeeze ginger root through press to obtain one tablespoon of juice. Mix all ingredients. Apply to scalp and let dry before shampooing. Repeat three times a week for best results.

Color-Enhancing Rinse (Red)

Ingredients
1/2 cup carrot juice
1/2 cup beet juice

Directions
Rinse thoroughly (and carefully — beet juice can stain!) through hair after shampooing to add or enhance a red tint.  Brunettes: Try a rinse of black tea or coffee to add shine and deepen color.  Chamomile and lemon juice will brighten blonde hair.

Banana Avocado Mask for Dry or Damaged Hair

Ingredients
1 banana
1 egg
1/2 avocado
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp buttermilk
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Mash banana, egg, and avocado in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Apply to hair from roots to tips. Leave in for 30 minutes and then wash out with a moisturizing shampoo.

Nourishing Tea Treatment

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp ground lavender
Dry contents of 2 peppermint tea bags

Directions
In small saucepan, heat olive oil, lavender, and peppermint tea. Do not boil. Massage into scalp over damp hair. Cover hair with shower cap or towel to keep in heat and leave in for 20 – 25 minutes.

Sources: LongLocks, SheKnows, Stash Tea

If you’re like me, you don’t have plastic produce bags to bring to the grocery store to reuse because they’ve all been used to store leftovers, trashed, or just plain lost.  And so every time I got to the store I end up needing another plastic bag for my veggies.  My way of solving this problem is to not use any bags at all.  Just plop the product in my shopping cart and go!  The problem with this is that the produce goes bad so much more quickly.  And I hate wasting food!

Turns out, there are ways to keep your veggies fresh without using a new plastic bag every time you go to the grocery store!  The Green Phone Booth has a handy guide to to keeping produce fresh and to keep you plastic bag free!   One great tip is cutting and storing your carrots in a container with water.  This keeps them crisp — and readily available for snacking.  My parents always did this and until now, I never knew why!  Ah, the wisdom of parents, you never know its utility until long after its been passed on.

Your mission this week?  Try out these alternative methods to produce storage after your next grocery run and see how many plastic bags you can avoid. Or share tips of your own in the comments!

Last fall, Alex and I stumbled across the Instructables guide to going no-poo and challenged ourselves to go without shampoo (‘no-poo’) for a month.   Instead of shampoo, baking soda is used to clean the scalp, with a vinegar rinse in place of conditioner. Now why exactly did we choose to do this?

Think about conventional shampoo: it comes in plastic bottles, costs a little to a LOT of money, and contains some icky chemicals that you’re not only exposing to your skin, but are washing down the drain into our water.  Not to mention the fact that using shampoo on your hair every day causes it to dry out and become damaged! Your scalp produces oils for a reason, and frequent shampooing can throw off your natural balance of oil production, requiring even more frequent shampooing.  A vicious cycle!

Going no-poo means not only using baking soda and vinegar in place of conventional shampoo, but also washing your hair less often.  During our shampoo-free month, I rinsed my hair thoroughly with water almost every day and washed with baking soda and vinegar only about once a week or less.

The first few days took some getting used to: my scalp was accustomed to daily shampooing and one of the side effects of going no-poo is increased oiliness while your scalp readjusts.  It helps to brush your hair often to move the oil from your scalp down to the drier ends.  There are a whole lot of green bloggers who have experimented with going no-poo — from The Crunchy Chicken to Life Less Plastic — with a variety of results.

Personally, I could only manage about two months of no-poo — and I even “cheated” once or twice when I wanted to wash my hair for important occasions.  My hair felt super healthy without shampoo, and looked great  — but only the day or two after using baking soda and vinegar.  The rest of the time I looked like I hadn’t bathed in weeks.

In the end, vanity won out for me and I gave up my no-poo lifestyle.  But I decided to stay “low-poo”: less frequent washing, and no shampoos/conditioners with harmful ingredients or excess packaging.  Shampoo bars — often sold with little to no packaging — are a great option, and seem to last forever!  I’m still using the same bar I bought almost six months ago.  You can also find shampoos in bulk at most co-ops or natural foods stores.  Just make sure you run a background check on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database before you buy; with all the “natural” products out there, falling for a greenwashed shampoo is all too easy!

Your Green Goal this week is to take inspiration from the no-poo movement and reduce your impact when it comes to keeping your locks clean.  Find a more eco-friendly shampoo, wash your hair less frequently, or even try out no-poo.  And of course leave us a comment to let us know how it went!

The weather is beautiful again, which makes this the perfect season to spend time outside!  Your Green Goal this week is to make one trip on foot or by bike, instead of driving or taking the bus. There are many benefits to using alternate forms of transportation.  Not only are biking and walking awesome forms of exercise, but you’ll be traveling independent of environment-destroying gasoline or electricity.  You’ll see and experience your town in an entirely different way.  You can interact with your community, discover places you never knew existed, and even pick fresh fruit!

Often people are afraid of looking sweaty when they get to their destination.  Try short distances at first to become more comfortable with what clothes you need to wear and how much extra time you might need to give yourself to cool off.  You will soon end up feeling energized and good about yourself when you arrive at your destination!   Don’t forget a helmet — and bike lights, too, if you plan on biking at night.

Here at GladRags we love biking everywhere!  Of course we do have the advantage of living in Portland, OR, a biking mecca.  Tomorrow I am representing GladRags at Bike Economics: a fundraiser showcasing local, woman-owned, bicycle-oriented businesses.  I am really excited to connect with other bicycle-loving women in my community.  If you are in Portland, you should join us!

Do you bike or walk everywhere?  What obstacles did you face when you started?  Comment and let us know what biking and walking is like where you live!

 When birthdays and holidays roll around, it’s all too easy to splurge on all kinds of expensive, brand-new goodies for our friends and family.  Somehow, in all the excitement we can forget to shop consciously.

And the silly thing is, we do all this because we want our friends and family members to know how much we love them!  But there are plenty of other ways to show we care that are better for the earth — and our budgets.

Your Green Goal this week?  Give consciously, not extravagantly, with these easy tips:

• Try making something meaningful!  If you don’t consider yourself an artist or crafter, don’t despair.  Framed photographs and mix CDs can make great personalized presents.  When I was little, my mom would leave me poems on holidays — I remember them far better than any gift I ever received!

• Give activities!  Does your friend really need more stuff?  Most people I know feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of “stuff” in their lives.  Instead of the latest gadget, why not give tickets to a concert, make a delicious dinner, or head out for a hike together?  Memories last far longer and take up way less space than “stuff” will!

• Think about it!  Before you buy, ask: is this something my friend will enjoy for a long time?  If you can see it getting broken or given away in the near future, choose something else!

• Shop vintage!  Some people equate thrift stores with junk, but there are so many inexpensive treasures to be found — and part of the fun is the search.  Plus, you won’t be contributing to increased production and shipment of new products.

• Skip the wrapping paper!  With reusable options like cloth gift bags, why choose to add more waste to the world with single-use wrapping paper?  And to help you with your Green Goal this week, we’re sharing a coupon for 20% off our reusable Gift Bags in Floral and Pizzaz  — so there’s no excuse for wrapping with paper!  Just enter coupon code MAMAMIA (valid through 5/9) when at checkout to get your discount!

What’s your favorite green gift idea?  Let us know in the comments!

When I think of house plants, I immediately think of Jon Arbuckle tirelessly watering and talking to his ferns, trying to get them to grow.  Of course, he was always thwarted in his attempts.  But maybe Jon had the right idea…

In a 1980s study conducted by NASA (yes, NASA! They were looking for ways to keep air inside orbiting space stations clean), researchers found that common house plants can help purify the air inside buildings by filtering chemicals like trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde from the air.

While there’s currently some disagreement over whether or not house plants can actually improve indoor air quality, I’m inclined to believe that having plants in your living space provides some kind of benefit — whether through improved air quality or just through improved mood.  And who can deny that a thriving plant makes a room look so much more inviting?

Your Green Goal this week?  Head to the nursery and pick out a plant!  Here are a few of our top picks for easy to care for house plants (unless you live with Garfield, that is):

• Heart Leaf Philodendron
• Chinese Evergreen
• Warnecki
• Dracaena
• Golden Pothos
• Mother-in-law’s Tongue / Snake Plant
• Spider Plant
• Aloe

Of course, if you have kids or pets, please take extra care in picking out plants as some can be toxic if eaten!

I’ll admit: if I’m rushing to grab a coffee, I almost never remember to bring a reusable cup with me.  I end up having to toss my paper cup in the trash, and my latte never tastes as good — what is it with disposable cups that just makes hot drinks taste funky?

Fortunately, with a few simple changes, you can practically eliminate the last-minute-coffee-dash from your life!  I now only toss a few paper cups per year — usually in the airport terminal waiting for an early morning flight — and all without any reduction in my coffee habit.*

If you can, have coffee at work instead of picking up it up on the way.  You’ll eliminate the need for a paper cup and have one less stop during your commute.  If your workplace won’t allow a coffeemaker, try having your morning cup at home or bringing it with you in a thermos or to-go coffee mug.

But think about this: what did people do before disposable coffee cups? They went to cafes with friends and sat down.  When did our lifestyles become to-go only?  The Slow Food Movement is one of many groups that encourages people to savor and “know” their food by combining pleasure and responsibility.  For this week’s Green Goal, try making a slow-coffee date with a friend, family member, or even just yourself and a good book!  Take time to sit in a coffee shop or at home, slowly enjoying your coffee — no rushing allowed.

Too busy?  Two of my friends frequently have early morning coffee dates, where they wake up early to meet at a nearby shop shortly after it opens.  They’re able to chat over their lattes for more than half and hour before each heading to work!  Get creative and you may find you have more time than you think!

*This probably warrants a Green Goal of its own, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go there yet.

When I first heard that many canned foods are now known to contain BPA leeched from the can lining, my mind immediately went to my favorite last-minute party snack: homemade hummus.  I always have a can or two of garbanzo beans, some garlic, and olive oil and can easily whip up a yummy batch in ten minutes or less.  What would I do without canned beans in my pantry?

I’m a little embarrassed to admit I’ve never used beans that didn’t come from a can.  It’s so convenient!  And fast!  And apparently, filled with dangerous plastics.  Of course, the added waste of the cans (even when you recycle) and the greater cost compared to dry is even more reason to steer clear of canned beans.

So I hope you’ll join me this week in committing to replace a can of beans in your cooking with dry beans!  I found a great chart that tells you how long to soak and cook many types of beans here.  Be sure to let us know in the comments if you try this week’s Green Goal — and share with us any green tips of your own!

Here are a few tasty-looking dishes to inspire you:

Spicy Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili
White Beans with Roasted Tomatoes
Adzuki Bean Miso Soup

What’s your favorite bean recipe?

If we’ve learned anything from the amazing Bea of The Zero Waste Home, it’s that recycling should be a last resort; out of the 3 R’s — reducing, reusing, recycling — reducing the amount of waste you produce has the most positive eco-impact.

While cutting back on what we choose to consume is one step, what about things you didn’t even want in the first place, like junk mail?

This week’s Green Goal is to analyze the contents of your mailbox.  Take some time to really pay attention to the items that go straight from your mailbox to the recycle bin, then follow the steps below based on your findings!

Junk Mail

Register with DMAchoice to handpick which direct mail offers you’d like to receive — or remove your name from its direct mail lists entirely.

Credit Offers

Head over to OptOutPrescreen.com to stop receiving unsolicited offers of pre-approved credit or insurance.

Statements

Many utility companies, banks, and credit cards offer paperless billing.  Take advantage by signing up for e-statements whenever possible.

Catalogs

Removing your name from the Direct Mail list won’t stop you from receiving catalogs from companies you’ve purchased from in the past.  You can either contact the company directly or see if you can cancel the catalog through a site like Catalog Choice.

Yellow Pages

Enter your zip code into The Yellow Pages Association’s site to get information on how to opt-out of the yellow pages delivered in your area.

Everything Else

You can try writing “refused” and sending the junk mail back, or call the company responsible for the mailing and request to be taken off their list.

Keep in mind that most of these tactics to eliminate junk mail can take up to six weeks to go into effect, so you won’t necessarily see a decrease right away.  But with a little bit of monitoring, effort, and patience, soon the only things you’ll find in your mailbox will be birthday presents and postcards from friends!