Expansion Plans
Find Us
Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE
Redmond, WA 98053
425-868-7805
info@mchkids.com
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Green School Helpful Hints Columns
3/5/2009:
For the greenest perk, buy coffee that’s organic (no nasties) and shade grown (no need to
clear-cut forests), brew it with filtered tap water through a reusable filter (no paper waste)
or use a filter-less method, such as a French press, then compost the coffee ground or use
them to fertilize your garden. (www.pageaday.com)
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water . . . Its substance reaches
everywhere; it touches the past and prepares the future; it moves under the poles and wanders
thinly in the heights of air. It can assume forms of exquisite perfection in a snowflake, or
strip the living to a single shining bone cast up by the sea.” -Loren Eisley, The Immense Journey
3/5/2009:
Perk up your workspace (and home) and improve your air quality at the same time with a nice
green plant, which will suck up pollutants, humidify the air, and improve your mood to boot.
Of course, you may need a variety that can survive under fluorescent lights. Try a Pothos,
Aglaonema, Dracaena “Janet Craig” or “Lisa,” ZZ Plant, or parlor palm. Plants grow slowly in
limited light, so they shouldn’t be watered, fertilized, or repotted very often. Check the
soil dampness with a finger before you pour it on. (www.pageaday.com)
“In the end, we conserve what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand
only what we are taught.” -Senegalese poet Baba Dioum
2/27/2009:
If your recycling bin is stuffed with catalogs you never read, put an
end to the pile with the free Catalog Choice service. Catalog Choice lets you select the
catalogs you don't want to receive and sends your requests directly to the merchants. Over 53
million trees are consumed each year to produce paper catalogs. The production of all those
catalogs results in 56 billion gallons of wastewater. And when all those catalogs are thrown
out it's approximately 4.1 million tons of waste, equal to the annual waste of 2 million
households. An emptier mailbox means less pollution, less waste and less of the emissions that
cause global warming. Rather than spend a morning calling companies and asking to be removed
from their mailing lists, go to catalogchoice.org and spend 10 minutes selecting the catalogs
you don't want to receive. Catalog Choice will contact the merchants for you and they'll stop
sending you catalogs you don't want! (www.simplesteps.com)
2/13/2009:
Replacing paper napkins with cloth is flawless environmental etiquette,
and you can toss them in with the rest of your laundry. If you choose bright colors and prints
that camouflage stains, the napkins will look nicer longer—and you can probably get away with
using them a couple meals in a row before washing. For green brownie points, don’t buy them
new; make them from fabric or old garments you have around the house—just choose natural
fabrics, which will be more absorbent. (www.pageaday.com)
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed,
it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Anthropologist Margaret Mead
2/6/2009:
Drinking tap water is so much better for the planet than buying bottled.
Start with a visit to www.ewg.org/tapwater to see how your state’s water rates and learn about
possible contaminants, then buy a filtration system accordingly. If you water gets good marks,
and your biggest concern is the omnipresent chlorine (added to keep the water from picking up
contaminants), try filling a pitcher and letting it sit, uncovered, on the counter overnight.
The chlorine will evaporate—and later, when you stash it in the fridge, a (covered) pitcher of
water saves energy by helping to regulate the temperature.(www.pageaday.com)
1/30/2009:
Next week we'll be participating in National Green Week. National Green Week is an exciting
opportunity to raise awareness and create new habits community-wide when it comes to reducing,
reusing, and recycling. On Wednesday, February 4, we'll be going wastefree. Please pack your
child's lunch with reusable tupperware and trash-free packaging. We'll be weighing our waste
before and during NGW, hoping to reduce this number significantly throughout the week and
especially on Wednesday. Keeping our earth clean is a common goal we can all share - children,
parents, and teachers , so please take this opportunity to join our green efforts. For
resources and tips, go to www.wastefreelunches.org and www.nationalgreenweek.com. Questions?
E-mail Ms. Jessie.And remember to go green
next week-and beyond!
1/23/2009:
• Resolve to never drink coffee out of a paper or plastic cup again. Already have a reusable
coffee mug? Buy two more. That way you’ll always have one on hand, and clean, for transporting
coffee you make at home or buy on the way to work.
• Recycling only makes sense if consumers “close the loop” on the other end of the manufacturing
process by buying products made from recycled materials. Offer to order the supplies for your
office or department, and shop around to show you can save money, or at least spend the same
amount. Don’t forget about paper towels and toilet paper. (www.pageaday.com)
Try: www.thegreenoffice.com or www.recycledofficeproducts.com
1/16/2009:
• To eliminate packaging waste, resolve to switch to concentrated forms of everyday necessities,
such as laundry detergent, juice, and bouillon cubes. Also resolve to buy dry goods like flour,
sugar, pasta, legumes, and spices in bulk, and avoid all products with excess packaging,
recyclable or not.
• Resolve to eliminate all commercially manufactured, chemical-laden cleaning products from
your home. Begin the transition by buying a jumbo-sized box of baking soda, which you can use
to scrub almost anything; you can even dilute it with water to make a cleansing spray. A short
list of other nontoxic products will keep your home sparkling with zero threat to the environment.
(www.pageaday.com)
1/9/2009:
Resolve to
give up dry cleaning this year. You’ll avoid the toxic solvent perchloroethylene (or “perc),
known to cause a host of health problems and labeled a probable human carcinogen. You can hand
wash many items labeled “Dry Clean Only” - even wool, silk, and rayon; find instructions on the
web. For items that you just can’t handle at home, find a “wet cleaner” or CO2 dry cleaner in
your area. (www.pageaday.com)
Find a list of green cleaners nationwide at www.epa.gov/dfel/pubs/garment/gcrg/cleanguide.pdf
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