Today’s Green Tip By Summer:

If you’re thinking about giving a movie or music then you might want to rethink your method. Their data is stored on plastic CDs and DVDs which do not yet classify as recyclable. With these mediums you have the case, disc, included papers and ads as well as the playing device.

For digital music try a Zune; you still need a player like you do for a CD but you have less since all the music is an MP3 format. The membership for a Zune pass is $15 per month or give a year for $150 (that’s two months free!). You can play music on your computer or you simply use a Zune or Windows Phone 7 of your choice then your receiver can download the music of their choice AND they also get to keep 10 songs per month in addition to just “borrowing” music. You can also get an iPod and use iTunes.

For movies you can stream Netflix on your computer, mobile device or video game console – Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. Your receiver may have one or more of these devices already; this also saves the paper and plastic of all case materials. For $8 per month you can give streaming movies and for $10 per month you can give steaming plus one rented DVD out at-a-time with exchanging as often as desired via prepaid envelope from the USPS. Streaming and renting DVDs cuts down on physical waist, though streaming alone offers the most environmental solutions as there is no gas and emissions used to deliver the DVD mail as well as less DVDs required for purchase by the rental company. Streaming has the bonuses of immediate viewing and no broken discs too.

Many large companies like Disney Warner Brothers and Amazon have digital copies of movies that you can buy on-line. Oh and Microsoft sent me some information telling me that you can get movies from Zune over the Kinect. Since its launch on November 4, Kinect has been one of the hottest products on the market with over 1 million devices sold in the first ten days alone.

· The magic of Kinect is that it’s instantly fun and promises so much more, from fitness, sports and dance, to controller-free music and movies from Zune, live sports from ESPN, and connecting with family and friends through Video Kinect.

· Recognized by respected parenting and industry organizations including the National Parenting Publications Awards and Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New Grand Award,” Kinect gets the entire family off the couch (no additional controllers/gadgets/gizmos required) for less than the cost of 4 tickets to the Nutcracker.

Moreover, Xbox 360 continues to deliver the best blockbuster game experiences with six games on the Top 10 bestselling games list for October, including “Halo: Reach” and “Fable III,” which are exclusive to Xbox 360. More and more games are also available over download.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.