Restaurants dole out crayons by the handful. I try to refuse them when I can, but more often than not we wind up adding crayons to our collection. Since I can’t bare to throw anything away, we have more crayons than any kid can use. In addition to restaurant crayons galore, we have an ever growing collection of broken bits. The craft gives all of those extra crayons and broken bits new life.

What you need:

• Crayons – lots of them
• Silicone candy mold

Remove the wrappers from your crayons and break into bits. Fill your mold with the bits. Place your mold on a cookie sheet (for support – trust me on this), and melt in the oven on 230 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes. (I put them in for 12 minutes, but they needed a bit more time so I watched until they were fully melted.)

TIPS

• If making crayons with little ones who won’t be able to help in the label removal process, remove the labels before inviting them to “help.” It is a process.
• For my mini heart mold, I used approx 2 1/2 crayons per heart. (So for a 12-hole mold, plan on 30ish crayons)
• Want bigger crayons? This mold makes 2 1/2 inch hearts.
• After you make crayons in your mold, you won’t want to make food. Some of the cheap crayons will stain the mold.

Once the crayons cool (several hours) pop them out and ta-da! You will be amazed how cool your new crayons look – I know I was! I’ve been wanting to do this with K for some time, and now that we finally got around to it I want to do it again with different shapes.

To make your own Valentines, download this printable. You will get six Valentine’s per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I printed mine on white card stock and backed with red card stock that I edged with fancy scissors, but I added red boarder to the printable so you don’t have to.

Hint – use rubber cement to adhere your crayons to the paper so the crayons will come off easily and cleanly.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In my laundry world, I already wash 70% of my loads in cold water (not cool, cold). Why? Because it helps preserve colors, limits shrinkage and, of course, the energy savings. But for my whites, sheets and towels – HOT please. It seems logical to me that hot water is necessary to really get things super clean, right?

Recently, I was introduced to Tide Coldwater. (I am not sure why I never noticed this option before, probably because I am such a creature of habit and only see what I am looking for.) So I did a little research into what makes Tide Coldwater special. Without getting into the scientific stuff, here’s what I learned…

While most detergents need hot (or warm) water to effectively dissolve (as in powder) or disperse (as in liquids) effectively, Tide Coldwater is formulated to dissolve/disperse in cold water. In fact, it has different enzymes and chemicals to compensate for the lack of heat. Ummm… Interesting…

In my research, I found an interesting article NYTimes dissucssing Tide Coldwater. This part intrigued me the most…

In trying to create Tide Coldwater, Procter’s scientists were confronted with a problem: hot water does help get clothes cleaner. In fact, thermal energy is one of three secrets to cleaning clothes, along with mechanical energy and chemicals.

“When you reduce one, you have to do better in the others,” said James Danzinger, a senior scientist who works on detergents for Procter & Gamble.

So the company set its scientists loose to find new chemicals to compensate, and what they came up with was a detergent, Tide Coldwater, with different enzymes and surfactants that work better in cold water.

So mom was right, with normal detergent I do need hot water for the cleanest clean. But what mom didn’t know, when she imparted all of her laundry secrets upon me, was that new formulas would allow cold water to also be effective.

I still plan to use the “Allergen” cycle on my washing machine (with hot, hot water) for sheets and towels to effectively kill those pesky dust mites my family is so highly allergic too. (Because that is one thing only heat can really do.) But according to my research, my whites shall soon find themselves a nice cold bath – with Tide Coldwater, of course.

NOTE – Tide Coldwater is available in regular and HE. It is also available in Free and Free HE. (Yeay for allergy suffers!)

Disclosure – I was provided a product sample and promotional item by SheSpeaks to facilitate this review, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Check out the deal here.

When I was young, my mother and I planted a garden every year (well, mom planted I played). It was a real flower garden with rows and rows of carefully tended to plants. Day after day mom tended to our flowers, and I enjoyed picking the flowers and putting them in vases next to my bed. It’s too bad I didn’t get the gardening skill from mom (she still has the prettiest roses around), but I did learn a lot from those gardening lessons (even if it wasn’t how to keep plants alive). I was free to explore my curiosity about nature and learning about moms plants gave me a natural respect for mother nature.

These days K’s natural curiosity for nature is rampant. Discovering what bits of nature she has brought home with her from the playground is an almost daily occurrence. So I was excited when the Go Green and Giggle Garden activity kit arrived. The kit contains a book filled with garden humor, a music CD and a mini gardening kit.

Created by Dana Mauro to help teach children about mother nature, the Gigglin Garden Gang is a cast of colorful joke-telling plants that invite kids to plant a mini garden of their own. When teaching little ones anything, the key is fun and by incorporating a colorful and bright book with a bit of music, this kit has everything a parent needs to make learning about gardening fun.

After reading the book (in the middle of the kitchen (right where we opened the box because she couldn’t wait another moment), K was ready to plant her seeds.  This was the part she had been waiting for, she was so excited. After “planting out seeds,” we placed our little garden on the window sill in her bathroom alongside our other current project, a little Santa head put that we recently planted grass seeds in. Then we were off to dance to her new music.

We can’t wait for our little seedlings to sprout. I can’t promise we’ll be able to successfully transplant our seedlings to the garden to grow sunflowers, but we will give it a whirl and have fun learning and trying. (Wish our little seeds luck!)

See more pictures from our activity in my Google + slideshow.

Connect with the stars of the book, Sunflower Suzi and friends,  on Facebook and follow GoGreenNGiggle on Twitter for more tips about teaching your kids about being green.

Disclosure – This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Scotch-Brite, the brand you know and trust, has created a line of effective cleaner products made from natural and recycled materials. Scrubbers are made with natural scrubbing fibers from the agave plant, a highly flexible, renewable resource that is used to make a variety of things, from sugar substitutes to tequila to ethanol. The Scotch-Brite Greener Clean Natural Fiber Non-scratch Scour Pads non-scratch scrubbing fibers are made 50% natural agave plant. The packaging is made from 100% recycled content.

Get your freebie here.

Bring in your old, broken or used incandescent holiday light strings to your local The Home Depot store for recycling. Get a discount for each recycled string on a single receipt, in-store purchase of LED lights. Limit 5 discounts per customer.

For more details on the program, head over here.

SaveMore is featuring two different deals today, either $30 of Peeled Snacks for $13, or $49 of Peeled Snacks for $19. If you are a new customer, use this specific link here and you’ll get a FREE $10 credit which you can use to score the $30 deal for only $3 (or the $49 deal for only $9). You’ll have through April 24, 2012 to redeem your voucher, and shipping is a flat rate of $7, or free for orders of $65 or more.

Check out the deal here.

Of course, her innocence only lasted so long, and by the time she got to preschool I sort of figured she is being exposed to all kinds of chemicals at school, and well… I got lazy. So I resorted back to buying old standbys and whatever was on sale, still grabbing the “green” stuff when it went on sale, but being less than perfect green with my cleaning.

With baby #2 set to enter the world any day now, I am back to my vigilant green self. Once again there will be a pristine new baby in this house, and I refuse to expose her to tiny little body to excess chemicals. Enter my new line of cleaning defense (again) – Green Works.

So what makes “green” cleaning product “green.” Well, they are actually made with plant-based ingredients (not straight-up man-made chemicals) that are also biodegradable. So, not only are they better for my baby, but since they biodegrade, they do not pollute our water system with more chemicals. If you aren’t familiar with the Green Works line of products, you will be happy to know that one, the products actually smell… good (not chemically) and two, they still get the job done.

My favorite Green Works product – cleaning wipes. I love cleaning wipes, easy and quick to use they cut through grime in one step (yep, lazy mom loves that I don’t have to spray and wipe, just wipe!). Oh and unlike other cleaning wipes, Green Works wipes are biodegradable, so I could totally throw them in my compost pile that I have been meaning to start for the last three years… Or at least they will break down quicker in the landfill.

For times when I have to do the two-step process (spray and wipe) the all-purpose cleaner is pretty great too. I use it on everything, glass counters, etc. Lacking that traditional harsh smell of other all-purpose cleaners, it still gets the job done.

The one product I don’t really use, or see the need for is the bathroom cleaner. It seems to work well enough, but I am partial to the all-purpose cleaner. Why I need a separate cleaner for my bathroom?

Green Works laundry detergent is HE safe (very important to me, considering my new Whirlpool washer), and (according to the website) “dermatologist-tested for sensitive skin.” Of course the second part is very important with a little one on the way, but it is also important to me because I have super sensitive skin. (This is the one area of cleaning that I am very brand loyal and careful about what I buy – all the time.) Generally speaking, I don’t like scented detergents (allergies), but I didn’t mind the light scent much. However, I have since learned that there is also a “Free & Clear” version that doesn’t contain a scent, and I would definitely try that version next time.

Oh, and given my recent discovery with OxiClean I was also very excited to learn there is a Green Works Oxi!

Look out house, you are in for a green cleaning.

Disclosure – I was provided with Green Works products to facilitate this review, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Already have your superhero’s costume for this year? Consider donating last year’s costume to a shelter for women and children to help make sure the kids there get to dress up for the big day too.

If you’re new to Mamasource you can sign-up for an account here, of if you already have a Mamasource account you can find the deal here.

If you’re new to Eversave you can sign-up for an account here, or if you already have an Eversave account you can find the deal here.

This week, let’s look at how you can upcycle your “trash” into art projects and treasures! (How much greener does it get?)

As a life-long pack-rat and wanna-be artist, this topic is the definition of my office/craft room. When it comes to art projects for kids, there is no need to go out and spend a lot of money on supplies and kits. All you really need are some basics and a little imagination. But the key to upcycled art projects is that you have to think ahead. You can’t just decide you want to make a project today, if you haven’t started gathering supplies. Here are some of my favorite things to upcycle into art:

• Toilet and Paper Towel tubes
• Empty Canisters (like formula and coffee can)
• Ribbon & Elastic Cording (from gifts, packages, etc)
• Tissue Paper (from gifts, store purchases, etc)
• Tissue Boxes
• Odd Socks
• Clothing (that is ripped and can’t be passed down)

Yes, it looks like a pile of trash. But with a little imagination… poof… a project to keep little hands busy and crafty!

Let’s look at a few of my favorite ideas for this “trash.” Toilet and paper towel tubes easily become telescopes, binoculars, a vase for “flowers,” and much more. Here is a project my daughter came home from school with this year. When they studied the nursery rhyme Jack be Nimble they created this “candle stick” to jump over.

Empty canisters make excellent drums. This adorable drum uses upcycled fabric, popsicle sticks and bottle caps too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq1pYZfvK_Y

Oh I could go on and on… which might actually inspire me to start blogging about some of our crafts…ummmm.

The point is, that you can keep trash out of landfills by using things found around the house to create art and entertain your kids. A win-win.

For those who think they aren’t creative enough to come up with projects on their own, check out the book Scrap Kins Build-it Book or any of these other books about recycled crafts for ideas.

For the final time, I want to remind you about the Scott Naturals 4-Week Test Drive and encourage you to try swapping your household paper products with the new Scott Naturals paper products made out of recycled and sustainable fibers. Scott Naturals products are made with recycled fibers and sustainable materials instead of 100% virgin fibers, and if we all swapped our current products for Scott Naturals for four weeks we would save 2 million trees.

And remember, just for clicking this link to learn more about the 4-Week Test Drive (and hopefully sign up), Scott Naturals will donate $1 to the National Wildlife Foundation — now isn’t that worth a click? Oh, and you can grab some coupons while you are there.

Last week’s winner – Congrats to Terra H who won last week’s month supply of Scott Naturals.

WIN it – Finally, to help one reader take the 4-week test drive challenge, I am giving away a Scott Naturals prize pack that includes paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes.

Mandatory Entry – Tell me your favorite art project made from things around your house.

Additional Entires: (Must do the mandatory entry first)

1. Take the 4-week test drive. (Remember, just for clicking that link $1 will be donated on your behalf to the National Wildlife Federation.)
2. “Like” TheSuburbanMom on Facebook. (Already a do, that counts too, just leave a comment below.)
3. Sign up for my newsletter. (You must confirm your subscription – thanks.)
4. Follow TheSuburbanMom on Twitter (@SuburbanMomClub) and tweet about this giveaway. “Enter to win a #ScottNaturals Prize Pack and take the #ScottTestDrive and go green! #giveaway @SuburbanMomClub http://wp.me/pQHaE-32c”
5. Comment on any other NON-giveaway post.

Contest ends May 9, 2011 at 11:59 pm. Open to U.S. residents in the continental U.S. only. Winning comment will be chosen at random by Random.org and contacted for shipping information. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure – This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

But I can’t throw things away! I hate making garbage, so I actually have (at least) 3 pairs of busted flip flops sitting in the bottom of my closet (taking up valuable space). I have been searching for a way to recycle these plastic/rubber wonders and recently found a solution that sends the flops to Kenya to be upcycled into art. I planned to write about that today, until I caught up on Ellen who shared this awesome info on her show last week. (I’ll pick up the Kenya story later this summer, but for now I have a FREE option for you to recycle your flops.)

I ❤ Ellen, I ❤ Old Navy, I ❤ TerraCycle and I am SO excited to tell you about this, I am giddy!

Old Navy has teamed up with TerraCycle to recycle old flip flops! The Flip Flop Replay program started on Earth Day and will run through May 21. In each Old Navy location, you will find a Flip Flop Replay collection box like this:

TerraCycle will then recycle your flip flops into playgrounds. Yes, playgrounds. And at the end of the campaign, four deserving schools will be given these recycled playgrounds. How amazing! My junk will make for play time for kids for years to come!

Rubber, leather and cloth flip flops are acceptable for this campaign, but no other sandals or other forms of shoes.

I’ll be headed to Old Navy this weekend to recycle my flip flops!!!

Although it isn’t the only motivating factor, one of the big factors in my wanting to be green is for my family. I want the best of everything for my daughter, including making the world a better place. (Don’t we all?) So, it is important to me that while I try to make my family green, I explain to my daughter what I am doing and I help her take little steps too.

When our kids are babies, we spend our days explaining our every little movement we make. We do this to help explain the world around them and introduce them to speech. Teaching kids to be green is no different. Even at the ripe ole age of three, my daughter knows what things can and are recycled in our house. How? We talk about it every day. It warmed my heart the other day when I overheard this exchange between my husband and my daughter:

“K, will you throw this away, please?”

“No, Dad we don’t throw away, it goes in recycle.” And off she trotted to the pantry to place the article in the correct recycle bin. (We separate our recycles into three bins.)

It’s adorable, and it tells me that I am doing something right.

If we are going to work together to keep the planet healthy and our resources available, we have to work with our kids to make a difference too. And just like learning to be green yourself, it just takes baby steps.

When learning to wash their hands and brush their teeth — teach them to turn off the water in between. If they learn to conserve water when they are learning to do these things, they will never know any different and won’t have to “unlearn” wasteful habits later.

When learning to throw things away, teach them to recognize that which can be recycled and where it goes.

When learning to turn on lights, teach them to turn them off too.  (I still have trouble with this one myself!)

And so on…

Here’s to a green family!

Don’t forget, Scott Naturals is still signing people up to take the 4-Week Test Drive and try swapping your household paper products with the new Scott Naturals paper products made out of recycled and sustainable fibers. Scott Naturals products are made with recycled fibers and sustainable materials instead of 100% virgin fibers, and if we all swapped our current products for Scott Naturals for four weeks we would save 2 million trees.

And remember, just for clicking this link to learn more about the 4-Week Test Drive (and hopefully sign up), Scott Naturals will donate $1 to the National Wildlife Foundation — now isn’t that worth a click? Oh, and you can grab some coupons while you are there.

Last week’s winner – Congrats to Erica B who won last week’s month supply of Scott Naturals.

WIN it – Finally, to help one reader take the 4-week test drive challenge, I am giving away a Scott Naturals prize pack that includes paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes.

Mandatory Entry – Tell me how you teach your kids to be “green.”

Additional Entires: (Must do the mandatory entry first)

1. Take the 4-week test drive. (Remember, just for clicking that link $1 will be donated on your behalf to the National Wildlife Federation.)
2. “Like” TheSuburbanMom on Facebook. (Already a do, that counts too, just leave a comment below.)
3. Sign up for my newsletter. (You must confirm your subscription – thanks.)
4. Follow TheSuburbanMom on Twitter (@SuburbanMomClub) and tweet about this giveaway. “Enter to win a #ScottNaturals Prize Pack and take the #ScottTestDrive and go green! #giveaway @SuburbanMomClub http://wp.me/pQHaE-313”
5. Comment on any other NON-giveaway post.

Stay tuned for one more posts with another more chances to win this prize pack.

Contest ends May 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM – There will be 1 more giveaways with the last ending May 9. Open to U.S. residents in the continental U.S. only. Winning comment will be chosen at random by Random.org and contacted for shipping information. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure – This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re new to Zulily you can sign-up for a free account here, or if you already have a Zulily account, you can find the deal here.

Here’s a picture of it in it’s little tote:

And here is a picture to show you how big it is, that’s an 18×18 couch pillow inside the bag. (Oh, and my little diva insisted that she and pig be included in the photo shoot!)

Like I said, and adorable bag that is totally practical. It is HUGE inside (and will support up to 40 lbs), but folds up into a tiny little thing (that only weights 2 oz). And I LOVE that I can’t loose the little tote. Oh, and did you notice the carabiner in the first picture, another nice feature. Another fantastic feature of this bag is that you can machine wash it! How smart is that.

Because the bag is soft sided, it is perfect wrapping gifts – think Mother’s Day or  a baby/wedding shower.

Buy it – The Blossom line comes in four spring time patterns and can be purchased from www.chicobag.com.

Win it – In honor of Earth Day, ChicoBags is going to give one lucky TheSuburbanMom a bag from the Blossom line.

Mandatory Entry – Please tell me what you would use this tote for.

Additional Entires: (Must do the mandatory entry first)

1. “Like” TheSuburbanMom on Facebook. (Already a do, that counts too, just leave a comment below.)
2. Sign up for my newsletter. (You must confirm your subscription – thanks.)
3. Follow TheSuburbanMom on Twitter (@SuburbanMomClub) and tweet about this giveaway. “Enter to #win a chic reusable tote from ChicoBags and TheSuburbanMom @SuburbanMomClub #giveaway http://wp.me/pQHaE-2ZI”
4. Enter any other current giveaway – located in the right sidebar.

Contest ends May 6, 2011 at 11:59 PM. Open to U.S. residents in the continental U.S. only. Winning comment will be chosen at random by Random.org and contacted for shipping information. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure – I received a bag to facilitate this review, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

With the temperature outside warming up (at least in the south) and the end of the school year looming, I thought this post was the perfect time to talk about greening your outdoor play time. Outdoor play is inherently green, but there are things you can do to make your play time even more green. Here are some ideas to green your outdoor play.

Bubbles - Blowing bubbles is a fav pastime for my three year old, I think we blew bubbles for an hour yesterday. But have you ever thought about the volume of package wasted with each little bottle of bubble soap? One way to green your bubble blowing is to skip the little bottles of bubbles, and like you do with the soap in your house, buy the giant bottles of soap to refill one or two bottles that you received in birthday party goodie bags. Even greener, make your own bubble soap! There are tons of recipes to make your own bubble soap online, here is one from the National Wildlife Federation. Since many recipes call for gylcern as a thickening agent, I like this one because it calls for sugar (something I actually have in my house).

1/2 cup of dishwashing liquid (Dawn or Joy)
2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of sugar

BONUS – Add a dab of food coloring for colorful bubbles.

Very green and very easy on the wallet. Plus it is fun.

Water Play - Another summertime fav is water fun and playing in the sprinklers. Make this cool activity green by continually moving your play around your yard to water the whole yard while you play. Then adjust your sprinkler timers to skip a watering. To really go green, try to time your water play for morning or late afternoon to avoid the hottest time of the day so more water will make it’s way to your plant’s roots.

Feed the Birds – Kids love to feed animals, and the classic pinecone bird feeder is a fun project for kids of all ages. Step one gets the kids outside souring the neighborhood for pinecones – an outdoor scavenger hunt! Next, generously spread goobs of peanut butter all over the pinecone, and then roll it in birdseed. Attach a string, hang in the trees and ta-da an easy outdoor craft to feed to birds (and squirrels).

Scott Naturals invites you to take the 4-Week Test Drive and try swapping your household paper products with the new Scott Naturals paper products made out of recycled and sustainable fibers. Scott Naturals products are made with recycled fibers and sustainable materials instead of 100% virgin fibers, and if we all swapped our current products for Scott Naturals for four weeks we would save 2 million trees.

To make taking the test drive even more appealing, Scott Naturals will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to the National Wildlife Federation for every click  to Scott Brand’s website to take the challenge. (All you have to do is click and $1 is donated on your behalf.) While you are there, I encourage you to take the test drive and snag coupons to save money on the Scott Naturals products.

The National Wildlife Federation also wants to encourage kids to get outside, and offers an “Be Out There” activity finder to help parents come up with fun things to do outside that is worth checking out.

Last week’s winner – Congrats to Jessie C who won last week’s month supply of Scott Naturals.

WIN it – Finally, to help one reader take the 4-week test drive challenge, I am giving away a Scott Naturals prize pack that includes paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes.

Mandatory Entry – Tell me your family’s favorite green outdoor activity.

Additional Entires: (Must do the mandatory entry first)

1. Take the 4-week test drive. (Remember, just for clicking that link $1 will be donated on your behalf to the National Wildlife Federation.)
2. “Like” TheSuburbanMom on Facebook. (Already a do, that counts too, just leave a comment below.)
3. Sign up for my newsletter. (You must confirm your subscription – thanks.)
4. Follow TheSuburbanMom on Twitter (@SuburbanMomClub) and tweet about this giveaway. “Enter to win a #ScottNaturals Prize Pack and take the #ScottTestDrive and go green! #giveaway @SuburbanMomClub http://wp.me/pQHaE-2Ys”
5. Comment on any other NON-giveaway post.

Stay tuned for two more posts with two more chances to win this prize pack.

This giveaway is over, but you can enter to win the same prize pack in week 3 here.

Contest ends April 25, 2011 at 11:59 PM – There will be 3 more giveaways with the last ending May 9. Open to U.S. residents in the continental U.S. only. Winning comment will be chosen at random by Random.org and contacted for shipping information. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure – This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

PS - Canadians, your Disney Stores will run the promo on April 23.

Since this is the first of the series and there is so much info to share, I am going to keep this week’s post pretty simple.

“Going green” means a lot of things to a lot of people. To some, it sounds like a cliché fad. Others find the whole idea daunting. Still others worry about giving up things they love and becoming too “granola.” And finally others believe that it is our responsibility as enlightened adults. So who is right?

The funny thing is that at some point in my life, I have felt going green was each of these things (and more). When I was young, I was super into saving the planet and was an early adopter of recycling. When I first got married, I felt as though all of the things we are “supposed” to do were just too much, and I didn’t want to give up my way of life. Later, I became jaded as “green” became a cool thing to do. And today, I believe it is not only our responsibility to do what we can, but my responsibility to encourage others to see past our own personal limitations to try one step toward being more green – just one step.

To me going green isn’t about changing your way of life today. It is about taking one step at a time, toward doing something that is better for the world around you. I have mentioned in previous posts my own amazement how these steps that seem so huge at first can slowly become a natural habit until you forget how green you have become. (For example, My Green Bag Story.)

In conjunction with Scott Naturals’ 4-week test drive challenge, I challenge you to take a step. Any step, toward doing something for the world around you. At the end of a month or two, think about how the step has become part of your life. Once that step becomes habit, consider taking another step. Like learning to walk, you too can learn to be green. (If after 20 years of working on my father, he now automatically recycles his Coke cans… you too can make a step a life habit. True story!)

So what is this 4-week test drive? Scott Naturals products are made with recycled fibers and sustainable materials instead of 100% virgin fibers, and the 4-week test drive is a challenge for people to swap their current brand of paper products made of virgin fibers (paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes) for those made from recycled and sustainable fibers. According to Scott, if we all swapped our current products for Scott Naturals for four weeks we would save 2 million trees.

My family is taking the test drive, and if you are up to the challenge, you can visit Scott Brand’s website to take the challenge and snag coupons to save money on the Scott Naturals products. Additionally, just for clicking on the link to check out the challenge, Scott will donate $1 (up to $25,000) to the National Wildlife Federation. (Yes, all you have to do is click and $1 is donated on your behalf.

After taking the challenge, be sure to enter to win a Ford Fusion Hybrid! (How cool would it be if a TheSuburbanMom reader won the car!) AND if you head over to the Scott Naturals Facebook page, you can enter daily to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card.

WIN it – Finally, to help one reader take the 4-week test drive challenge, I am giving away a Scott Naturals prize pack that includes paper towels, napkins, toilet paper and flushable wipes. (See how easy I want to make it to help you take a step?!)

This giveaway is now closed, HOWEVER, you there will be 3 more giveaways for the same prize pack over the next 3 weeks.

• Week 2 – April 19 – 25
• Week 3 – April 25 – May 2
• Week 4 – May 2 – 9

Contest ends April 18, 2011 at 11:59 PM – There will be 3 more giveaways with the last ending May 9. Open to U.S. residents in the continental U.S. only. Winning comment will be chosen at random by Random.org and contacted for shipping information. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure – This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Earth Day exclusive: On April 17, 2011, we’ll be giving away free reusable bags in stores (with purchase) to our first one million guests. Limit one per guest. Last year, most stores ran out within a few hours. So get yours while supplies last.

When you use a Target reusable bag ten times, you’ll keep 25 plastic bags out of landfills. Start saving now, and shop our exclusive collection of reusable bags.

You can find more info here.