This past Saturday morning I had a no-frills, no commitment day in front of me. As I climbed out of my pj’s and reached for my lazy weekend uniform, a gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans, I was of course bummed to discover that I’d neglected my laundry for the better part of two weeks. Which meant no clean hoodies and no comfy jeans.

What was left? An old pair of jeans that had been relegated to the bottom of the stack. What troubled me about grabbing for these jeans was not that they were hopelessly out of style, but that the last time I wore them was before the birth of my daughter, who was now working her way toward age two. Which meant that the odds of them fitting were slim, just like the jeans. Nonetheless, I slid them on and flinched as they started to squeeze my thighs. I pulled in my breath, buttoned them, and then immediately began doing the obligatory “stretch out these pants” squats. I lunged, I touched my toes, I grunted like a man, I hopped like a frog around the room. Much to my chagrin these pants would not budge.

They were old. Proudly purchased before every pair of denim on the shelf had spandex involved in its manufacturing. Ahhh, spandex, the DuPont dream invented in the late 1950’s. It has since revolutionized the clothing industry. All my other jeans have spandex, so they flex and give and puff up my post-baby ego because they stretch. These did not. These were old school, 100% cotton dungarees. ugh.

So of course this got my green wheels turning. As I hopped around the room trying to stretch these puppies out I started thinking about what was more eco-friendly when it came to jeans (I kid you not, this is how my day started, hopping and thinking). Textiles and clothing are a huge industry in a big scary world of manufacturing. So for the sake of sanity and space, let’s take a quick look at the basic american uniform, blue-jeans. How can we think green when it comes to these blues?

First, forget racing out for a new pair. We all know the agony of a new pair of jeans, they’ve got to be broken in, there is also the fear factor the first time we wash ‘em, will they shrink? So consider heading to a resale shop or thrift store instead. Garage sales are great for this as well. My favorite pair or maternity jeans I got for $2 at a garage sale. Someone else did all the squatting and jumping and breaking them in for me. Buy them used if you can. Perfectly faded and oh so soft already. Levi Strauss gets the credit for creating the first pair of jeans for miners sometime in the 1850’s. So with over 150 years of denim out there, should be easy to find a few good pairs.

Not into buying them used? If you head out to the store, consider denim made with certified organic cotton. Of all the crops grown worldwide, cotton crops account for a whopping 25-35% of all pesticides. ALL PESTICIDES! This is an enormous amount of chemical run-off that contaminates water supplies, impacts wetlands, wildlife, and our health. In the US, 5 of the 9-10 top pesticides used on cotton crops are known carcinogens. fabulous. Grabbing the organic denim is a wise move if you want to avoid this toxic trap. It’s also a wise move if you want to give sustainable agriculture a boost. Organic farming employs sustainable practices that respect the planet and the people who live here. Like you and me.

Some organic denim can come with a hefty price tag (this is what happens if you choose not so stock your product at every ill-lighted big box store on the planet). So, if you want to find a lower cost version (like under $100 – which to me still feels high), you can check out Levi’s Eco Denim line or another great line called Mission Playground. Also check out Fair Indigo, a company that offers denim that is both organic and fair trade, and also under $100.

Turns our there are organic, earth friendly ways to start your Saturday!

So Monday I was away from home for the evening and had to grab dinner on the run. I started to drive through the aimless suburbs that surrounded me, foraging for food. Love the Trio Salad at Corner Bakery and just happened to see one as the hunger pangs kicked in. Three cheers for Cous Cous, Asparagus, Chicken and of course the mixed greens. Once I saw their little striped awning I yanked my steering wheel and pulled across three lanes of traffic to make the proper turn. It was either that dramatic driving maneuver or spend the next four months circling the massive strip malls in the area that all seem to forbid the left turn that I would need to take.

As a side note, that drives me INSANE, the no turning and keep on driving thing. Why spread ourselves across two driving lanes and two turn lanes in both directions. And all the little arrows telling me I cannot turn anywhere. Makes me want to jump curbs and drive like the Mini-Cooper scene the Italian Job.

I pulled in. Turned off my car and got ready to open my door when another car raced into the vacant spot next to me. Almost took my little door off. The driver jumped out, yammering away on his cell phone, slammed his door and left his car running (with no one else in it) as he headed into the Corner Bakery. I stood there, thankful I still had a door, and seething at the fact that he was idling his engine. It was not cold out (meaning it was 30 degrees in February, a virtual heat wave in Chicago). There was no reason for this. 

Of course I did not have the guts to tell him how ridiculous he was. He stood in line chatting on his phone, wearing an enormously puffy North Face expedition weight down jacket. Totally unnecessary in the Chicago suburbs (especially when he would be getting back into a warm car). Everything about him screamed obnoxious. 

Of course I am being super wrong and judgmental here, but tell me you have not had those moments. The ones where you look a person up and down and snap to a sudden judgment, it’s not right but some people are begging us for these looks. It’s like they woke up in the morning and said “hey, how can I get you to notice me.” This guy was big and loud and obnoxious and he liked it that way.

It took forever for the gal at the counter to ring him up and another 5-10 minutes for his carry-out food to arrive. It was a full 20 minutes before he left. I wanted to walk up to him and tell him that he owed my kids 20 minutes of fresh air. Wanted to tell him that his coat belonged in the Himalayas on some deserving sherpa, not on his back. Wanted to tell him to pay attention to the world around him. 

But I am mostly a wuss in moments like these and truth be told, he was sort of scary, so I just glared at him and prayed that he would stop idling his car next time. 

So my thoughts on that day end up here. One, what does it take for me to say the things that need to be said. What if that guy was not scary at all and what if my little tap on his shoulder followed by a green tip was actually well received? Maybe I owe my kids 20 minutes of fresh air here too. Two, let’s not idle our cars. Sure, they burn less gas idling than they do racing 65 (or 75 or 85) down the interstate, but idling them releases unnecessary CO2 into the air. 

So let’s turn them off. Off in the pick up lanes at our schools, off as we wait for our kids to come out of the library or the dance lessons, off as we dash into the post office for just a quick minute. And in case you are wondering “well, if I am idling for just a short moment, won’t it waste more gas to just turn it on and off so quickly?” I’ve read and talked to a few car experts on this issue and rumor has it that with the technology in cars today, unless you are idling for less than 30 seconds, you should shut it off.

So let’s shut off the cars. Wanna be crazy green? Consider a campaign to make a “no idling” policy in front of your child’s school. What an odd thing to pick them up from a school, the place we hope fosters a better future for them, while we burn through their oxygen. Doesn’t make sense. Gentlemen, stop your engines.

So when I finally get the time to post something on this blog it is usually because I am sitting in my local coffee shop without my kids, feeling like I have reached some sort of technological nirvanna. Some bluesy song by Amy Winehouse or Adele is in the background, the hum of an espresso machine is cranking out another melody, and I am proudly sitting with my laptop, fingers in a frenzy, feeling like the sassiest mom on the planet. Never mind that I am wearing my glasses, the same sweatshirt I wore yesterday, the same jeans I wore yesterday, and cannot take my eyes off the cell phone in case the sitter calls. It does not matter that I have the ringer cranked up so loud my late-grandmother could hear it, I still fear missing the call from the sitter, the one saying that my son dove headfirst off the bunk bed onto the floor. So I neurotically check the phone, did anyone call, did I miss it, did it not ring? What if I miss the call because I am trying to be the coolest mommy ever! 

So anyway, I am there, I smell like coffee and it is sort of gross really, but I am slouched into the best couch in the shop, the one right in front of the fireplace. Suddenly I hear the sound of shuffling feet and look up to find a sort of sweet looking older man staring at me. I smile. I say hello. He does not smile back. He is holding a cup of coffee and says to me. “You are in my seat.” “Oh, I am sorry sir, were you here? I had no idea” I say back. Since he had just walked in and I’d been there an hour already, I did have an idea, I knew he wasn’t there, but what would I say? So I apologize and then keep on typing.

He proceeds to sit down, just inches from me, in a chair detached from another table. He coughs once and says “you have three minutes to get out.” “What?!” “You have three minutes to get out.” I’m miffed and for some reason, actually scared of this no longer sweet looking old man. I could have taken him out with my elbow, but I don’t. I smile. He does not. I begin to pack up my computer. All the other comfy chairs are taken. My moment has passed. 

Apparently, there is no age limit on who can run my life. My two year old, I take orders from him, my five year old, him too. My one year old daughter cannot even talk, but she can point and whine, so I do what she says. And apparently even if you are a ga-gillion years old, you can give me three minutes to evacuate the couch and I am gone.

I am no longer cool blogging mommy. My sweatshirt reeks like coffee so I now have to wash it. Better head home for some laundry. Which, in case you were hoping for an eco-tip, I’ll throw one in to keep you happy, if you wash your laundry in cold water you can save up to 1600 pounds of carbon emissions per year. Close to 90% of the energy it takes to wash a load of laundry comes from heating the water. If you simply wash in cold you can save huge on your energy bill and on your family’s emissions. But does cold get it clean? YES! Research shows that most detergents are designed to work as well in cold water and with all the HE washers on the market, a good wash in cold water will do the trick almost every time!

so that’s it. it won’t always be an eco-update. this was really about my evacuation from the coffee shop. sometimes funny things happen on the way to the blog.

So many people are asking this question today. In the growing pile of lost jobs, home foreclosures, and mounting debt, paying an organic grocery bill can seem ridiculous when salaries are shrinking and more pressing issues like paying for heat are in front of us. There are so many wonderful reasons to shop organic (better for you, better for the planet, better for your community) but many moms I know have reported episodes of sticker shock when heading into Whole Foods or their local green grocer. They know they need to do more for the planet and their families, but the price of organic foods can make this a tough transition.

So what does a wanna be Green Mama do? Is organic really the best for your family or is it just hype? Does healthy eating really have to break the bank? If I cannot afford an entire shopping cart filled with organic items, what are the essentials?

FIRST, organic is not the ultimate option for healthy eating. If you have the energy and ability, consider growing your own produce through a local community garden or in your back yard. Pesticide free, earth-friendly gardening is one of the best ways to provide your family cheap healthy food. Can’t commit to gardening? Shop your local farmer’s markets or join a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) with another family. This is a fabulous way to keep your hands clean while still eating, cheaper, locally grown produce that is good for you and good for the planet.You can find information on CSA’s here:   http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml

SECOND, locally grown food may sound good but what about milk and cereal and all the other organic stuff out there that takes more processing than pulling carrots from the dirt? Most of us do not have the resources or wisdom to raise a dairy cow in the backyard or process our own whole grain cereals. So what to buy when heading to the store? If you can only afford a few organic food items, here are some that offer a big healthy bang for your proverbial buck when it comes to your family and the planet.

1. MILK – organic milk is processed without growth hormones, pesticides, and a cadre of other nasty chemicals and lovely things like the waste from other animals. I’ve heard stories from moms who have switched to organic and report a reduction in everything from excema outbreaks to allergies once they made the switch. Studies have also linked hormones in non-organic milk to everything from the early onset of puberty to acne. Most kids I know drink a ton of milk. We go through 3-5 gallons a week at our house. It is a great commitment to them and to their planet to buy organic when it comes to milk.

2. BERRY FRUITS – the shape and size of some fruits (and vegetables) naturally hold pesticides better than others. You can be fairly when you buy bananas and other peel fruits that most pesticide residue is absent. Now this does not mean the earth was not damaged by these pesticides, but chances are when you eat a banana or a mango you are not ingesting those pesticides at the level you would be with other fruits. Now think of all the little cracks and crevices in your favorite berry. Pesticides can hide out in strawberries and raspberries especially, just hovering there waiting to devour your family’s health. Buy organic versions of these whenever possible.

3. PEANUT BUTTER – Peanut butter is another place where pesticides crop up en masse. Consider organic versions since most kids, sans those with allergies of course, eat PBJ sandwiches on a regular basis. Peanut farmers in the US douse their crops with pesticides and chemicals to combat the critters and mold that create a common threat to peanut crops. Purchasing organic peanut butter is a wise move.

4. FAIR TRADE COFFEE – Okay, so not all coffee is organic and I know this is an organic discussion, but if you want to add to your list an item that makes a huge impact on the world when purchased thoughtfully, it is coffee (and chocolate comes into play here too). When grabbing for that bag of beans, or even grabbing a freshly brewed cup from your local barista (with your reusable mug of course), purchase the fair trade version (which is often organic as well). Fair Trade products guarantee that the growers of your coffee or cacao bean got paid a fair wage, received health care, and possibly even education and social services for their work. Contrast this with giant corporations that clear-cut forest land and pay minimum wages to workers who were once private growers in their own right (ushered out of business by their current employer). Maybe your coffee is a bit more in price but you are giving a lot to another family, much more than the price variation between two bags of beans. Check out the Fair Trade Federation 

5. BAKING STUFF – Now organic whole wheat flour does not normally pop up on the top ten lists of what to buy organically, but I make a whole bunch of meals from one bag of flour and it gives me organic peace of mind for not a lot of money. For example, on mondays I whip up an enormous batch of whole wheat pancakes for my family and I freeze them and we eat them every morning all week.  So all week they have a pile of pancakes made with organic whole wheat flour, organic milk, organic eggs, and a dash of honey or sugar. I do the same with waffles. This is a great peace of mind for me as a mom. I’m filling their tummies on a winter morning with big, thick, healthy flapjacks and it gives me the sense of balance I need to get us all out the door and into our toxic world. So pick something like this that brings you that peace of mind and make it your fifth item.

Overall, organic is not the answer to everything. It is an amazing step in the journey of living with green integrity. Remember that often locally grown food, tomatoes from your backyard, and bread from the bakery down the street are the best. But sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of winter surrounded by pricey produce at Whole Foods, so here’s hoping these thoughts will help you grab the best that you can for your family.