30 Ways to Have a Green Summer

Today I have a special post by Mary K. Boehmer the creator of BeamGreen.com

Summer is right around the corner and here are some ideas to make it a fun and green summer!

1) Give Green. (plant a tree)

2) Have your family clean your house with non-toxic cleaning products.Play your favorite music loud on your iPod.

3) Veggie Challenge: Who can eat the most veggie/plant-based meals in one week? Whose plate is the most colorful i.e. red peppers, yellow peppers, purple beets, orange carrots?

4) Breakfast Table: Say one thing with your family you will do today to help the earth. Dinner Table: Re-cap what you did during the day to contribute to a greener, cleaner World for us all.

5) Eliminate Microwave Use: it genetically modifies your food.

6) Plant a Garden: If you live in a city plant in some flower pots.Plants and Flowers are GREAT air-purifiers and increase oxygen in the home. They are less expansive then the air purifying machines you buy in a store.

7) Stop buying bottled water. Invest in a home-system water filter. Goon a family mini weekend vacation with all the money you will save from giving up bottled water.

8) Say no to toxic nail polish for one month! Indulge in a "Buff"Manicure and Pedicure. This is for men and women and boys and girls!

9) Another option for Veggie Challenge! 30 Days of 1 Salad a Day -have at least one Salad a Day for 30 Days: the greener the salad the better!

10) Invest in a Mini-trampoline the entire family can use! I.E.Rebounding; its fun, healthy, and increases the flow of a person's lymphatic system which is the "garbage disposal" of the waste and toxins in your body.

11) Build an Organic Vegetable Castle out of Fruits and Vegetables. Decorate Castle with Maple Syrup and Chocolate Sauce.Serve as an appetizer at a neighborhood dinner party or children's play date. This also makes a great activity for ALL holidays. You can make veggie/fruit Gingerbread Houses at Christmas, American Flags on July Fourth! This is yummy and memorable and brings awareness to how much fun fruits and vegetables can be during special occasions.

12) Make homemade non-toxic eco-friendly SOAP : smells SO GOOD! This is a great thing for children to make and "sell" to friends and family.

13) Old School Lemonade Stand: UPGRADE: fresh lemonade made with agave or stevia! Give the money made to an eco-company, foundation or organization of your choice.

14) Make eco-trail mix! So many combinations!

15) Have an eco-picnic party. Gather friends from around the neighborhood pack an organic, local picnic basket and head to the park. Spend the day picking up trash around the park and then indulge in your yummy eco-picnic party. Play Frisbee or wiffle ball. Everyone MUST wear GREEN.

16) Flashlight Night! Turn off all the lights in your house for one night. Turn off all the computers, tv, phone. Turn on your flashlights. Sit around the living room and tell your favorite jokes!Feel good about the amount of energy you are saving.

17) Grow a tray of wheatgrass for PENNIES a week!

18) Bring someone in need a Vegetable Gift Basket from your local Farmer's Market; share with them what your favorite local, organic vegetable is and in turn ask them what their favorite vegetable is

19) If deciding what to buy learn what foods should be organic? Learn the difference between "most contaminated foods" vs. "least contaminated foods".

20) If you cannot afford organic or local - use 1/4 cup vinegar in a sink full of water to wash produce and dissolve pesticide residues from the skin surface.

21) The average distance food travel from place to place is 1,500miles - support small, local businesses and seasonal produce.

22) Learn about produce -"most perishable" vs. "least perishable"

23) Shopping Tip: When buying in a store, it is difficult to know how long a product has been on the shelf. The busier the store, the more likely it is that a product has been there for less time. Ordering from online suppliers or buying locally will generally mean a fresher product. Buying larger, bulk quantities will get you a better price and split a case with others to save money.

24) Have an Organic Cook-Off Dinner Party: Everyone bring a dish they made from organic or local produce and at the end of the evening you award a Top 3 Best Dishes. You can do this everyone month at someone house, and by the end of the year you will have your own Cook-Book of great recipes. Going Green and Healing This Earth is mostly about being kind to your neighbor, about connection, community, and unity.Buy sharing a meal with neighbors, friends, and family you are putting towards efforts of love, joy, and healing - healing that will heal this Earth. The more love there is, the more loving people who take ultimate responsibility for this Earth - the Greener and Cleaner this Earth will be. Start small. In the home Start in the Kitchen. Start with the Fridge. Fill the Fridge with local and organic produce, fill your bodies with life force, fill your communities with fun events that contribute to society AND WE CAN HEAL THIS EARTH. Now - in the next 10 years.

25) Learn to breathe deeply, especially when you are near sources of oxygen (the ocean, fields and forests, running streams, green-houses,air-purifiers that produce oxygen.)

26) Spend 20-30 minutes outside each day before 10am and after 4pm! Sunlight is a wonderful immune-system builder.

27) Enjoy nature: Build a Tree House.

28) Buy Organic Bras and reduce Breast Cancer.

29) Become Your Own Unique Eco-Savvy Individual! Everyone is part of The Green Movement! Blog! Volunteer! Recycle! Reuse! Reduce! Make a YouTube Video! THE POWER OF ONE CAN CREATE AN ENORMOUS RIPPLE EFFECT!

30) Love Yourself. Love this Earth. Do not do anything to this Earth that you would not to do yourself. We are all one. We are in this together. We are getting Greener every single day.