Almost four years ago, I tossed my first bottle of conventional baby lotion and banned plastic from our microwave.

My toddler son had just been diagnosed with a whole range of food and environmental allergies. This got us reading labels — and we quickly learned a lot about the impact that chemicals, hormones, antibiotics in foods, and other nasty stuff have on us and our kids.

The process was confusing, time-consuming, and complex–and it was filled with a lot of contradictory information.  And that was just the cleaning, food, and personal-care stuff!  When we decided to embark on a major home renovation focused on other ‘green’ things — like saving energy, saving water, reducing waste, and selecting products and services that were better for us and the planet — it got REALLY hard.  So hard, I decided to do a graduate program in sustainable design to understand it better!

I learned a lot about LEED® in my courses.  LEED is a system for developers, builders, and architects to earn points for incorporating green features into buildings.  If they do a really good job, their projects become LEED Silver, Gold, or even Platinum.  LEED® has sparked a boom in green building.

What I especially loved about LEED® was its framework, which made it easier to understand what to DO to live healthier and greener.  This simplified the impact of actions into categories and points — far easier to understand than carbon tonnage or kilowatt hours or volatile organic compounds. My Type-A side loved the checklists because it gave me ideas and I could measure progress.  My achievement-oriented side loved the idea of getting recognition for that progress. My Mom side loved the fact that I was doing something healthy for my family.

There was only one problem with LEED®.  It was totally irrelevant for the majority of decisions I was making on a daily basis as a mom. How many points for bringing bags to the grocery store?  How many for ditching my petroleum-based lipstick or switching to cloth napkins?  When I do these things, am I still just barely green or have I improved a lot?

I wanted LEED® for moms like me.  And for my neighbors and friends.  Because wouldn’t it be great if we had a system to rely on that was clear and easy to understand and helped us figure out what to do?   What about a place where we all had a way to share what we know, learn from others, and celebrate progress?  That had a trustworthy list of green products and services? And we could see what our friends, and others, thought about those products?

If that place existed, I could have totally avoided the all-natural deodorant that cost a lot and didn’t work, and the eco-tiles that turned pink when they got wet.  We would have made a quicker switch to low-flow faucets, because it’s actually easy to do, AND it’s really beneficial.  This service would have made our complex journey over the last four years easier and way more fun.

Well, it didn’t exist. So I decided to pull a group of amazing people together and build it. Today, we are opening our doors to you.  We know we are just getting started and there’s lots of room to improve, but the best way to do that is invite your help. You can get started with our fun, diagnostic quiz.

We call ourselves Practically Green because we believe Perfectly Green isn’t really achievable (not to mention impractical).  We believe people really do want to change how they live. They’re intent on going forward — at their own pace, budget, and schedule.

We’ve been testing this service with an amazing group of women from around the country.  We are now opening it to you, our friends, our colleagues, and our readers. We hope you try it out today and if you love it, please share with one person (or 10 or 20!). We know that’s how Practically Green will grow.

Thanks for already being one of our earliest fans and supporters. We consider you a founding friend!

Very truly yours,

Susan