Ready, Set, Green - Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living - Book Review

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AppId is over the quota

I've got to admit that I am usually skeptical about books that show you how to go green. Sometimes the suggestions are so bizarre that you can just about guarantee that no one will be taking them seriously. So you can imagine that I was pleasantly surprised that the book, Ready, Set Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living by Graham Hill and Meaghan O'Neill of Treehugger provided many usable suggestions for the greener lifestyle.

The "Save the Planet in 30 Minutes or Less" lists of suggestions, followed by "So You Want to Do More" lists, are extremely user-friendly which can help gain buy in from readers. Symbols are also used to indicate benefits to gain from the efforts. And the benefits aren't just green. They include saving money, saving time, and improving health, too. Brilliant and missing from many other works of the green genre.

The ecofriendly factoid and myth buster box items highlight interesting and useful information. Background data is presented in an informative and less judgmental manner than I have seen in other works. As well, the focus on how it impacts the reader helps drive the points home.

There were really only two issues I had with the book.

First, there was the obligatory ride your bike suggestion. As I am writing this review, it is now 8 degrees Fahrenheit with a predicted high of 14 tomorrow here in Chicago. This one (and walking) usually falls on deaf ears, except in warmer seasons, in climates like this. Additionally, urban sprawl with high speed highways and no bike lanes often makes it a dangerous endeavor, especially in early morning or evening. These types of efforts will require entire community and governmental support to become workable.

Second, many of the products suggested are obscure brands that you will not find at your local Target or grocery store. So if I have to order them and incur shipping costs, both financial and environmental, have we made progress? The limited availability of more earth friendly and socially conscious product choices in highly frequented retail outlets is one of the major challenges to the green consumer movement.

Because of its incredibly user-friendly format and clearly presented and useful information, Ready, Set Green is a must-read for those who want to learn some real world ways to go green.

Heidi Thorne is a promotional products marketing expert, speaker and author with over two decades experience in the fields of sales, marketing, advertising and public relations. Her Promo With Purpose concept shows marketers how to make more effective and cost-effective promotional choices based on their objectives, values and image.

Want more branding and marketing news and ideas for your business from Heidi? Sign up for her free Promo With Purpose Today e-newsletter (by email or RSS news feed) at http://www.promowithpurposetoday.com/.

The Complete Idiot's Guide To Simple Living by Georgene Lockwood

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AppId is over the quota

In this hustle and bustle time we live in, sometimes it seems that our existence only becomes more complicated as each year passes. With more and more things and experiences to engage in and with, are we really enjoying life and living more? Or do all of the fancy gadgets and widgets and this and that, and gazillions of choices just increasing our stress and making it difficult to actually enjoy the important stuff? If you have asked yourself how to prioritize and then minimize the stuff in your life, or how to earn a life and not just a living, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Simple Living" by Georgene Lockwood might just be the book to help you set yourself on the path to a more simple, but enjoyable stress free life.

I like this book because it lays out in clear simple language, what simple living is and why it can make your life not only easier, but more enjoyable, enriching, and stress free. (Or at lease reduce the stress you may be experiencing due to the complexities of our modern world)

Part One of the book outlines what simple living is. Chapters focus on consuming passions and how the world became un-simple, simplicity and the spirit, what's old is new again, culture shock regarding lessons from alternative living, and finding your own simple living way.

Part Two it titled Your Money IS Your Life and has chapters on gaining your freedom by going debtless, earning a life, not just a living, the simple truth about where you live, how living with less can mean more, and organizing your finances.

Part Three is about simple living basics. These chapters focus on food, fashion (your clothes), and your home. Very practical ways to live more simple in these areas. There are also chapters on getting off the grid, if you decide that is for you, and a chapter about your automobile.

Part Four, Family, Friends, and Community focuses on simple living and relationships. Learn strategies on raising kids the simple living way, entertainment and recreation, and your circle of community.

The final part of the book, Part Five, What If Everybody Did It, contains chapters that discuss the politics of paring down, new directions in education, living with natural order on our planet, and a definition of rich and how to define wealth for the simple life. There is also an appendix that provides a really good resource guide regarding the topics in the book.

If life is just too chaotic for you these days, and you desire to simplify, the tips, suggestions, and strategies found in "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Simple Living" may be just what you are looking for. It's a good book on paring down and living a simpler life.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a writer, speaker, and mediator who teaches how to live, take action, and get things done through the Warrior's Edge. He is an expert on conflict and mediates and teaches conflict resolution and negotiation. Additionally, he teaches physical conflict skills in his Hapkido and Self-Defense courses, lectures, and seminars. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking series, and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles and reviews and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com/ and http://www.yourwarriorsedge.com/