Need a head start on holiday shopping?  Or maybe you’re ready to make a few green changes around your own home but not sure where to get started.  Well, you’re in luck.  Because today’s giveaway is a Taste of Green, Green Gift Bag…the green gift that keeps on giving.  It’s the perfect gift for a that eco-clueless friend, or your child’s teacher, or even for yourself.

Here’s what’s inside:

1. One 75 Watt Spiral CFL Bulb
2. One 20 oz. Green Stainless Steel Bottle
3. One Spray Bottle of Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
4. One Lime Green Baggu Bag

Wanna win it?  Just leave a comment in our Green Parents forum (Under the “Giveaway” discussion)  You have to be a member of Green Parents to enter, but I promise you, signing up for the group will be one of the easiest and coolest things you’ve done all week!  The forum is an awesome place to chat with other like-minded green parents and ask questions, offer advice, or just share a laugh. See you there!

One winner for this giveaway will be chosen at random on Nov 26th.  Good luck!

This just in! Tara is offering FREE SHIPPING to Green Parents from now until Nov 26th. Just enter The Green Parent FREE SHIPPING in the comments section of your cart. Even more….for every green gift bag sold through this offer, Tara will donate 5% of sales to The Green Parent’s charity of choice…Heifer International. So cross a few names off of your list while you help a very worthy organization provide farm animals to feed the world’s hungry.

“I need help with all of this green stuff.  Give me a list of ways to go green and the products I need to do it.”

or something along those lines.  My usual response to these types of comments is to offer ideas for saving energy and water and reducing waste around the home, along with a mishmash of product suggestions that might be able to help.  But I’m happy to report that from now on, my reply to these comments will be a bit more streamlined:  Jump Start To Green.

I know a lot of companies are coming out with green “kits” right now to help you go green.  And a lot of them are great.  But I can honestly say that the Jump Start to Green Kit is the very best one that I have seen to help folks go from zero to green fast! And the thing I like about it the most is that absolutely every single item in the kit is usable, practical, and meaningful in terms of helping you go green.  Even if you don’t need the kit, you should definitely check out their site (http://www.jumpstarttogreen.com) for handy-dandy facts like these:

• Installing CFLs can save you up to $12 per year in electricity costs per bulb
• Installing a toilet tank bank can save you up to $29 per year on your water bill
• Cutting showers from 8 minutes to 5 minutes, can save you up to $65 per year on your water bill and $236 per year on your electricity bill.

And guess what?  I get to help one of my readers get a jump start of their very own.  I’m giving away Jump Start to Green’s Essential Kit, which includes 10 eco-awesome items and is valued at $59.

Here is what’s in the kit:

• 4 CFL lightbulbs
• 1 insulated grocery tote
• 1 Kleen Kanteen water bottle
• 1 toilet bank water saver
• 1 shower timer
• 3 eco-sponges
• 1 junk mail reducer set (the forms and stamped envelopes you can submit to get your names off mailing lists.
• Eco-savvy info and guides (including a car sticker, green tracker, green guide,  and around the house reminders)

Wanna win?  Just leave a comment below.  Contest ends Sun, Oct 5th.

And the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:

27

Timestamp: 2008-10-08 17:21:03 UTC

Congratulations Brianna!!

No Home Depot in your area? Check out Earth 911 to see if there is a fluorescent bulb recycler in your area. You can also recycle CFL light bulbs at IKEA (as long as you buy them there as well) under their “take-back” program.

Another CFL recycling option is utilizing a mail-back program like the one offered by Lightbulbrecycling.com. For about $120, this company will send you a postage-paid plastic bucket which can hold about 30 CFL light bulbs. When the bucket is full, simply mail it in and they’ll make sure the bulbs are recycled properly. It’s a tad on the expensive side for the average household (and personally it would take me years to go through 30 bulbs) but might be a good option for a small business owner.

Now, you already know that CFL light bulbs are better for the planet and better for your wallet than traditional incandescents. And with all of these recycling options, there are no more excuses! Save energy, money, and the planet by switching over to CFLs.