Welcome to the first edition of the Green It! Carnival. Taking the steps to living lighter on our planet can often seem like swimming upstream. The goal of this carnival is to make going green easier for YOU by sharing tried and tested, down-to-earth tips, experiences, challenges and goals of real people and real families who are going green. Please share today’s carnival with friends, family and fellow bloggers. There is nothing like team work and hopefully, through this carnival and our individual blogs, we can provide a green living support network for each other and our readers.

Green Tips:

Jessica of Practical Nourishment presents an extensive and well considered list of tips for Creating a Healthier Home. This is a great read for those new to living green, but with plenty of reminders and ideas for even the experienced green living home.

Sommer at Green & Clean Mom focuses on giving your littlest one a party; however, her great ideas in Give your little grasshopper a green birthday party! can be easily extended to just about any kind of entertaining.

TerrahDawn from Natural Thangs shares with us tips for living green from the Jane Goodall Institution. I have to make an off subject comment here — I absolutely adore Jane Goodall and if you have not yet read her book Harvest for Hope, I highly recommend finding yourself a copy.

Looking to cozy up your home dining atmosphere or cut out on paper napkins? Jonah Lisa at the Toby Show has the solution with the plans to make your very own Pretty Cloth Napkins.

Perhaps you’ve been eating too much junk-food and your digestion is off kilter. Or maybe you need to find a use for your yard’s never ending gift of dandelions, and you’d like to be rid of them without using dangerous chemicals? Ellen has the perfect solution: Dandelion: Herbal Liver Cleanse, Better Digestion, and More!

Not on board with a liver cleanse, but you still want to clean up your diet and your digestion — then eat organic! Katy at Non-Toxic Kids has put together a great organic resource with: Helping Your Kids Stay Safe, Healthy and Smart: What to Buy Organic (as much as you can!).

Did you know that April is National Garden Month? Read up at Suite 101 for motivation to start your own garden!

Zork reminds us to not take life or being green too seriously with his humorous post: UFO Recession Tip 51 - Get a Better Shower-head.

Green Experiences:

Inspired by the monthly vegetarian challenge? Lane of Vegan Bits presents her family’s experience with being vegan in Food For Vegetarian Thought.

Green is the new black when it comes to reusable bags. If you have yet to give up your plastic or paper, you need to read Plastic Bags Blow! by Jonah Lisa at the Toby Show.

Are you a diva that just can’t be seen with a slouchy reusable bag? Frankly I don’t see how plastic or paper is more stylish, but if you fit the bill of fashionista and you are looking for “just the bag,” D Robinson may have the solution for you with: The fashionable way to be kind to the environment.

Maybe the world would be a greener place if we had more female mechanics? Jody at Ask Patty presents an inspiring story with: High School Girl Converts Car to Bio-fuel Power.

Sommer at Green & Clean Mom has taken the first step to convincing companies that consumers do care about the environmental impact of their advertising campaigns. Hopefully after reading Mobile billboards…do they hurt the environment and why would the Sierra Club use them? you’ll be inspired to make a few phone calls of your own.

Green Challenges:

Wouldn’t it be great if we could get rid of unnecessary paper? Debra challenges us to find a solution in being Paper-Less or Paper-Free?

Louise at The Human Imprint shares yet another reason to compost in How much food do we throw away? — not so long ago it was a “crime” to leave unfinished food on one’s plate. With obesity epidemic in the US & Britain, this is not always recommended, but perhaps it should be a “crime” to leave any food scraps uncomposted.

This submission didn’t really fit the bill, but it is an interesting little clip of a somewhat wacky team and their “solar taxi.” If this peaks your interest check out Jackson’s post at the Alternative Channel Blog: The Sun Goes Around the World.

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