Brummet's Conscious Blog

Green Families  The Internet is a wonderful place and a powerful tool for today's society to teach children about the environment. There is no doubt that early influences can spark a lifetime of concern and participation throughout that person's life.  In today's schools and youth organizations, there are programs dealing with recycling, environmental health, litter awareness, gardening and ecology. Participating at home is possible too through  Social Science and Citizen Science projects that are offered through non-profits and educational institutions. For instance one program has volunteers going outside and counting how many of one species there are on a given day in a specific location. This information is valuable to ensuring their data is accurate.  There are plenty of other things we can do at home that can have an impact on our community - simply by looking at our "waste" as a resource.  Art classes make use of all kinds of materials that were formall...

Earthly Wrapping Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries are just a few of the occasions we celebrate with all sorts of surprises beautifully wrapped. Sadly both the task of wrapping and the recipient's unwrapping create a great pile of waste. Sweat pours down our faces as we try to force just a little more waste in our basket and we began to wonder what to do about it. Saving wrapping paper and ribbons from gifts you receive and reusing them for next year’s gifts is easier said than done. In the excitement of opening a present it is not on anyone’s mind to do it gingerly, is it? However, when we unwrap things carefully we can cut out the ripped edges and fold it for storage. Reusing these folded sheets of paper and ribbons can not only reduce, but often eliminate the need to purchase more in the future. You might even find your friends dropping by to see if you have wrapping materials for a gift they bought!  We can also get really creative and have fun with coming up with ways to ...

Recommended Resources Looking for resources to find support, advice, resources and caregiving options for parents??  Well... Look no further.  Every community should have a site like this one... Serving Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, this site offers events, resources, a thorough directory and more: https://helpwevegotkids.com -- and here are more resources for parents -- CanadianNanny.ca http://nannycanada.ca http://www.needananny.ca ~~   Visit the Brummet's @: http://BrummetMedia.ca ~~

-- Green Holiday - Green Gift Ideas --  Holiday gift giving has changed quite a bit over the last few years, as people have less money to spend and are more aware of the impact their purchases have on both the environment and society… and there are a heck of a lot of holidays to consider from birthdays, secretary day, anniversaries, and Halloween to Valentines. The collective impact of these special days can be huge.  Christmas alone is responsible for 25% more waste being sent to landfills. By recognizing the incredible waste that is generated the urgency to do something becomes apparent. With this in mind, we are offering several Green Gift related and Green Events related articles (Look for them between: late Oct-mid-Dec). this is the 4th article in the series, so far.  People are now embracing practical, ecological gifts that can provide some form convenience or financial benefit. At the same time, it is nice to find ways to alleviate the guilt felt during special day...

-- Green Holiday - Green Gift Ideas --  Holiday gift giving has changed quite a bit over the last few years, as people have less money to spend and are more aware of the impact their purchases have on both the environment and society… and there are a heck of a lot of holidays to consider from birthdays, secretary day, anniversaries, and Halloween to Valentines. The collective impact of these special days can be huge.  Christmas alone is responsible for 25% more waste being sent to landfills. By recognizing the incredible waste that is generated the urgency to do something becomes apparent. With this in mind, we are offering several Green Gift related and Green Events related articles (Look for them between: late Oct-mid-Dec). this is the 3rd article in the series, so far.  People are now embracing practical, ecological gifts that can provide some form convenience or financial benefit. At the same time, it is nice to find ways to alleviate the guilt felt during special day...

Alternative Gift Ideas Looking for the perfect gift for an upcoming holiday?  Something useful, that will help reduce waste?   Consider purchasing a set of sturdy, square bottomed, reusable, washable shopping bags. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including those that are created from recycled plastic bottles, coffee sack material, renewable crops such as bamboo or hemp, and many other environmentally friendly options.  Go a step further and purchase a set of smaller, fine-mesh produce bags – this gift will reduce, or eliminate, the need to use the clear bags offered in the grocery store’s fresh produce department. These are washable, see-through and made of a very fine mesh material, weighing next to nothing, so they will not affect the cost when scaled at the checkout. Just how many bags per recipient? Typically 12 bags will likely cover most of the shopping activities for a family of 2-3, while 6-8 bags is appropriate for an individual. Want another option ...

Life Purpose after Retirement  * Today's article was written by: Estra Roell  - a certified Law of Attraction Life Coach , certified Life Purpose Coach , Advanced PSYCH-K® facilitator and Happiness Generator Facilitator . Estra co-authored the books 101 Great Ways to Enhance Your Career  and How to Create a Rich, Successful and Fulfilling Life.  She's also the author of the e-book  4 Keys to Living Your Life Purpose . Visit her website at http://www.americaslifepurposecoach.com / to receive her free report on " Visioning Your Purpose and Heading Toward it Today ." Join her Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/discoveryourlifepurpose / Julie had been a middle school teacher for 35 years and, while she loved her work, she was happily anticipating retirement. A few months into it, she found herself at loose ends, with no real motivation or focus. Something was missing. And that something, she realized, was a sense of purpose. She enjoyed the freed...

World of Writing... Author Interview I'm pleased to announce that we are hosting yet another World of Writing Author Interview :) Do feel free to use the little search box on the right hand side bar of this blog (using keywords like: interview, world of writing or writing, publishing, marketing) for all kinds of advice, resources and interviews that we have published over the years.  Today we are featuring children's author John Roselli hailing from New York (US) who shows an incredibly strong sense of social responsibility. Mr. Roses, his pseudonym, writes about family, respect and honor. His aim is to educate and guide future generations down towards success. Through his " Children's Success " series and public appearances he teaches respect for others, respect for self and kindness to all. His greatest dream is to teach others that life’s potentials are available to all who dream and dare to chase those dreams. Visit is site to find teacher...

Alternative, Eco-friendly Gift Ideas Looking for the perfect gift for an upcoming holiday? Something useful, that will help reduce waste? Consider purchasing a set of sturdy, square bottomed, reusable, washable shopping bags as a gift item. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including those that are created from recycled plastic bottles, coffee sack material, renewable crops such as bamboo or hemp, and many other environmentally friendly options. ... Just how many bags per recipient? Typically 12 bags will likely cover most of the shopping activities for a family of 2-3, while 6-8 bags is appropriate for an individual. Go a step further and purchase a set of mesh produce bags – this gift will reduce, or eliminate, the need to use the clear bags offered in the grocery store’s fresh produce department. These are washable, see-through and made of a very fine mesh material, weighing next to nothing, so they will not affect the cost when scaled a...