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The iconic trillium is a lovely sign of spring. Copyright iStockphoto

Is winter over yet? Just when I think I’ve cleared my last shovelful of snow, another snow or snowy rain event dampens my optimism. But I’m keeping my eyes out for those early signs of spring: birds coming home from southern climes (how have feathered friends who go to the Gulf of Mexico fared?), buds swelling on tree branches and green shoots peeking through the soil.

If you’re also on the lookout for our spring and summertime friends, you may want a field guide to help you identify them. I have two field guides up for grabs: “Annuals and Perennials: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia” and “Trees and Shrubs: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia” both Firefly Books by Geoff Bryant and Tony Rodd, $19.95 each.

UPDATE: CONTEST CLOSED. Congratulations to Sharon and Charlene on winning their field guide!

What signs of spring do you enjoy looking for?

Simply write me a comment to be entered to win a field guide. Two commenters’ names will be drawn. The contest closed at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 11. Employees of Homemakers magazine and Transcontinental Media and their family members were not eligible to win.

Win a set of reusable bags!

[Please note, this contst is now closed. Congrats to the winners!]
I LOVED working on “Borne to Shop”, an article in the current issue of Homemakers magazine (November 2010) showing my picks for the best bags for every type of shopping adventure (such as the farmers’ market, the big grocery shop bag, the gift bag, the chic shopping bag). It’s encouraging to me that so many companies are making stylish alternatives to plastic bags!

A few bags I really like didn’t make it into the story. You can’t fit everything on the page!

My favourite bag to accompany a short grocery list isn’t really a bag at all — it’s a basket. Riesenthel makes strong, collapsable baskets ($49) in a range of colours and patterns. I take mine into the grocery store, fill it full of groceries, unload the basket at the checkout, then load it back up as the cashier rings in each item. I love it!

My favourite shopping pouch, for use as a wallet or pencil case, or for buying small, loose items such as garlic or herbs, is made by Blue Q. Like the gorgeous tote shown in Homemakers, this zippered pouch ($6) is made from recycled plastic. (The pouches come in many prints; I find this one hilarious. It says, “Boss Lady. Rein ‘em in.”

My favourite backpack is this cute LilyEColo bag ($49.95), made in Quebec. While it makes a great weekend purse, I’d like this bag for cycling trips, where I’m out picking up a few things and generally doing errands.

And I’m excited to tell you that Judy Lazar of Credobags in Montreal has offered some of her fabulous Credobags as a prize to Eco Logic readers. Credobags makes my favourite produce and bulk food bags. I have two prizes to give away, each worth over $50, including two sizes of organic cotton mesh produce bags and bulk bags; one winner will also receive a wine bag and a lunch bag while the other will receive a large canvas shopping tote.

UPDATE: The lucky winners are Mona and Cheri Gallant. Thanks for your comments, everyone! CONTEST CLOSED at 5 p.m. on October 15. Sorry Jen, employees of Homemakers magazine and Transcontinental Media and their family members are not eligible to win.

In an effort to persuade all of us to use less electricity, The Ontario Power Authority, WWF-Canada and Air Miles have colllaborated on an energy conservation campaign. The Power Pledge campaign rewards Ontarians for pledging to take simple actions that will have lasting financial rewards and help fight climate change.

What kind of pledge would like they like us to make? Well, for example, to reduce phantom power in our homes. Phantom power is the electricity used by electronics and appliances even when they’re switched off — a problem that accounts for as much as 15 per cent of a home’s monthly energy use! To take the pledge, click here.

According to campaign materials, Ontario residents who take the Power Pledge by August 31 will earn 20 Air Miles and can direct an additional 10 reward miles to one of three participating charities (including WWF-Canada).

To inspire you to get started, the Power Pledge campaign members are offering Eco Logic readers a prize pack worth approx $250, including:
- A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
- 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
- A cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
- Cold-water laundry detergent

To win, comment to this post about household energy use. Send me a tip on how you’ve reduced your energy consumption or what you pledge to do, or send me a question about reducing household energy use (which I will pass along to Ontario Power Authority). I’ll pick a random winner on Wednesday, May 26th at 5 p.m. Good luck!

I took the pledge; apparently if I do everything I promised (I’m doing most of the list already) I will save 4,164 kWh/year in energy savings, which would mean saving $433 a year on electricity (maybe more, since I’m with Bullfrog Power). Not a bad start!

Happy Thursday, readers!
I have a contest for you to help alleviate those January blahs. (The days are getting longer now! Really!)

I have two family packs of Otterbottles to give away in today’s contest. You could win five stainless-steel water bottles that come with both screw lids and sports caps. They are adorned with cute designs suitable for men or women.

To enter, just post a comment below about how you try to avoid excess garbage. You know, the stuff that you can’t recycle, compost, donate. The stuff that just goes to the landfill.

I’ll e-mail the first two writers to be published below regarding sending you your prize.

Today I have a contest giveaway thanks to PC GREEN! They’ve provided two terrific prize packages full of cleaning products and paper products.
To win, just post a comment here on how you try to clean green. The first two comments to be posted will win.

For tips on healthier, greener cleaning, have a look at this article on Homemakers.com.

Now that it’s warm enough (here in Toronto, at least) to open the windows, it feels like it’s time that I  freshen up the house (using green cleaning techniques and products, of course). While I’ve kept my floors, furniture, kitchen and bath surfaces and the other usual suspects fairly clean as I described earlier, I’m sure there are a lot of areas I’ve missed.

I’d love to hear about your cleaning challenges – do you have areas that are really hard to clean, or have you discovered an obscure, forgettable spot that get really dirty? Have you figured out a great way to deal with the problem?

Send in your comments — the first three posted to the site will win a prize package of President’s Choice G.R.E.E.N. household products, including dish and laundry detergent, water filter system, cleaning and paper products. And I’ll add the lastest issue of Homemakers magazine!

I’m getting really excited about all of the lights out statements happening around the world for Earth Hour (this Saturday night at 8:30, whatever your time zone). Positioned as an opportunity to tell global leaders that people want to tackle climate change, I think that, with some of the major statements planned, this will be a landmark year. Lights are going out on the Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Giza, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Acropolis in Greece, the CN Tower — even the Las Vegas strip!

While reading up about the event, I’ve found out about a few related contests:

World Wildlife Federation, which runs Earth Hour, is offering a chance to win a trip for two to visit the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. To enter, just register with their Earth Hour site.

For Toronto dwellers, there’s the “How Low Can We Go, T.O.?” contest, a chance to win an “Earth Hour Conservation Pack.”

Canon Canada’s Nurture Nature Awards are open for entries starting on Earth Hour. Just submit a proposal consisting of a short video and a brief written plan on how you intend to positively impact a threatened habitat in your area. Each winner gets a cash award of $20,000 to fund their project, as well as a Canon digital SLR camera and a Canon video camera so they can document their progress and the final results of their project. The contest closes on Sept. 1, 2009.