It’s easy to become overwhelmed while adopting a greener lifestyle. For one, there’s a lot of conflicting information out there. And, two, it can feel like you need to change EVERYTHING about your life in order save the planet and your own health. It’s hard to know where to begin.

Here at Smart Green Tips, the focus is on saving the planet and saving money. Most importantly, when we do those things, we also save ourselves. Generally, what’s good for the planet is also good for us. But that philosophy uses a wide brush. I’d like to help you narrow it down, help you figure out which changes will have the most impact and which will be easiest to implement.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments, or by email, if you’d prefer. Where are you feeling overwhelmed? What questions do you have? What would make it easier for you?

Photo Credit: cmcgough

Smart Green Tips is here! The migration is complete and things should be all set. There are two things I want to let you know about:

1. Email Subscriptions: If you currently subscribe by email and want to continue to receive updates, please click here to submit your name and email address into the new form. Alternately, you can click over to the site and fill in the form at the top of the page. I mentioned in the last post that I’m moving email subscriptions from Feedburner to MailChimp. You’ll still receive new posts as they appear on the blog. There will also be special announcements and goodies from time to time available only to subscribers.

2. Reader Stories: Smart Green Tips will begin highlighting reader stories. If you have a story to tell about your how or why you’ve become a little greener, send them in. I plan to highlight one reader story per week. Just email your story to beth [at] smartgreentips [dot] com and put “Reader Story” in the subject line.

Stay tuned for projects, reviews, more tips, and of couse, reader stories. Thanks for reading!

Photo Credit: BFS Man

As this blog enters its 3rd year, I’ve been thinking a lot about how far it’s come and where it can go. When I started Smart Family Tips at the beginning of January in 2009 I wasn’t exactly sure where it would lead. I love to write and I love to research things. A blog seemed like a great place to share what I was learning about saving time and money with kids. I also wanted to share my family’s journey towards becoming better stewards of the earth.

Over the last two years, this blog has come to focus more on green issues than anything else. As I’ve learned more and connected with more people in the blogosphere, I’ve found myself more and more interested in how the environment (and our treatment of it) impacts our health and our future. In a survey I ran some time ago, I asked readers what they wanted to know more about. Overwhelmingly, people were interested in learning how to live better – in a way that is better for us and better for the planet. Many people commented that they do not have children, but they are just as interested in knowing more about food and product safety for themselves and their loved ones.

So here’s what’s coming:

Smart Green Tips: Smart Family Tips will now become Smart Green Tips. Everything will still be here and will look pretty much the same, but the new name will better reflect what this blog has become. I’m also hoping it will be a little more inclusive. I’ll still be writing about kids’ products & keeping our kids (and ourselves) safe in a country overrun with chemicals, but the focus won’t entirely center on “families.” Instead, the scope will be a bit broader to include all people, with kids or without.

Newsletter: I’m moving email subscriptions from Feedburner to Mail Chimp. You’ll still be able to subscribe by RSS, but if you want to receive updates by email, you can simply enter your address into the new form once everything switches over. The newsletter will be completely free. I’m making the change because it will allow me to more easily customize the information & updates you receive.

Everything should be migrated to the new domain, www.smartgreentips.com, within the next few weeks. If you forget and type in www.smartfamilytips.com, you’ll still end up in the right place.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. Contact me anytime with comments or suggestions. Thanks for being a part of the blog for the last two years. I hope you’ll hang around as things continue to grow.

Photo Credit: Tie Guy II