It’s May and that means that the hot summer months are right around the corner. Unless you’re in Arizona like I am and the hot months are already here. If you live in a warmer climate and the thought of high summer utility bills has you shaking in your flip flops, check out my tips on preparing your home for the hot summer months, which appears today on the SCJohnson.com Green Choices blog.

I live in Arizona and that means that I’m getting ready for the high energy bill months. As spring turns into summer, the first thing on my chore checklist is to prepare my home for the hot summer season. Anything I can do to reduce my energy use not only saves me money on my monthly electricity bills but it also helps reduce my environmental impact.

Arizona’s wildfire season seems to have started early this year with several good-sized fires already burning thousands of acres of land. I have personally visited one fire, the Sunflower Fire burning northeast of Phoenix, and the images I’ve seen are truly amazing. This is nature in its raw and violent forms. The windy conditions have helped the Sunflower Fire spread rapidly, already topping 12,000 acres. The fires themselves also create mini weather systems, I’ve seen fire tornados and today the pyrocumulus cloud created by the giant plume of smoke was visible from many parts of Phoenix.

Here are a few of the images I’ve capture of the fire. For more, please visit my Sunflower Fire Flickr page.

I tackle one of my favorite summertime activities in this week’s SC Johnson Green Choices blog post – grilling!

Summertime is outdoor grilling time but this year I challenge the grilling lovers of the nation to make healthier and more eco-friendly choices. When I visit the local hardware store I see row after row of propane-powered grills and while this is a better choice than the old-fashioned charcoal grills of my youth, there are actually better options out there.

Read the entire post: Eco-Friendly Grilling Ideas.

Photo: E. Bartholomew/Flickr

I just walked down the hallway and noticed a basket with money in it and a sign with a hastily scribbled “Donate to Charity” written on it. I asked Ava what she planned to do with the money and she said “Doh, donate it to charity.” Okay, thank you Captain Obvious but I could have done without the “Doh”. Unfortunately she’s launched her impromptu charity donation drive in a relatively low-traffic area, average daily traffic is four persons. Yes, Ava, her brother Alexander and my husband and I are really the only people that will see her charity drive.

I’m still proud of what she’s done and once she picks a charity (my guess is that she will choose Ballet Arizona) I will make a donation of what she collected and then add some extra money from her daddy and I.

My newest SCJohnson Greener Choices blog post is now love – Recycling Your Children’s School Supplies.

The end of the school year is upon us and that means packets of papers and bags of gear are coming home from the classroom. Leftover crayons, partially used pencils, half used notebooks of paper and stacks of artwork will make their way into my laundry room on the last day of school, but this year I have a plan. I already know what I’m going to do with all of these extra school supplies.

Yes, your kids can help you save money on your energy bills. One fun way is to appoint one of your children as the guard of the light switch. Check out this and more in my latest SCJohnson.com Greener Choices article, Conserving Energy: Kids Can Help Too.

Here in Arizona, the temperatures are already starting to climb and the 100 plus-degree days of spring and summer are right around the corner. This means that our electricity bill is going to go up and our family will be back into our focused energy saving mode. Conserving energy really is a family affair in our house and although my children are now 10 and 8 years old, they started building energy saving habits at an early age.

Two new recalls from the Consumer Products Safety Commission came through that I wanted to share: rattles made by the Manhattan Group and Bunny Sippy Cups from Target.

Name of Product: Whoozit® Starry Time Rattle

Units: About 3,000 in the United States and 150 in Canada

Importer: Manhattan Group LLC, of Minneapolis, Minn.

Hazard: The clear spheres on each end of the rattle can break, releasing small parts, posing a choking hazard to small children.

Injuries/Incidents: Manhattan Group has received two reports of rattles breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Whoozit® Starry Time baby rattles. The plastic rattles feature three colored (orange, aqua blue and purple) stars stacked front to back between two clear spheres on a flexible stem. The rattle measures about 5-1/2-inches long. Each clear ball, located at the end of the rattle, measures 1-3/4 inches in diameter. The clear rattles contain small multi-colored beads and a white plastic disc featuring a blue smiling character face inside. The name of the product is printed on the hang tag.

Sold at: Specialty toy and baby stores nationwide, in Canada, and online at www.manhattantoy.com from September 2011 through March 2012 for about $15.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take these rattles away from young children and return it to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Manhattan Group toll-free at (800) 541-1345 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.manhattantoy.com

Name of Product: Target Home Bunny Sippy Cup

Units: Approximately 264,000

Importer: Target Corporation; Minneapolis, Minn.

Hazard: The ear on the bunny sippy cup can poke a child in the eye area while using the cup for drinking, posing an injury hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Target has received six reports of incidents where the plastic ear poked children during routine use of the product. Cuts and bruises were reported in three of these reports.

Description: The recall involves two styles of Target Home Bunny Sippy Cups. The cups come with handles on both sides in pink and blue, female and male. Each contains a corresponding white bunny head screw-on lid and one bent ear and one straight ear. The cups can be identified by imprints on the bottom: “TARGET 200020683″ for pink and “TARGET 200020884″ for the blue.

Sold exclusively at: Target stores nationwide from February 2012 through April 5, 2012 for $3.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled sippy cups and return them to any Target store for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Target at (800) 440-0680 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.target.com

Both my son, Alexander, and I reviewed a new fiction novel about climate change, Iglu by Jacob Sackin. The review is online at MNN now: Book Review: Iglu by Jacob Sackin.

I often have the opportunity to review books but rarely do I receive a book that not only piques my interest but also draws the eye of my 10 year-old son. Iglu by Jacob Sackin is one book that both my son and I enjoyed. Set in 2140, Sackin examines what may happen to Alaska’s Inupiaq tribe if most of the ice in Antarctica and Greenland melts.

Head on over to the Mother Nature Network to read the entire review.

I’ve joined the SCJohnson.com Greener Choices blog team and my first three posts are already live. If you have a minute I’d love for you to visit the site and read what I have to say – to entice you to click here are a few teasers.

Downsizing Your Child’s Toy Box

One of my favorite pieces of advice to new parents is: “don’t let the toys get out of control.” No one told me that when my son was born and by the time I had my daughter two years later, the playroom looked like a ransacked toy store. Thankfully, my children were still young and I was able to enlist their help in our annual clean sweep of the toys. If you follow these steps at least once a year, you won’t end up being overrun by toys like I was.

Healthy and Homemade School Lunches

The boring brown bag lunches of my youth have been replaced with fun, healthy and homemade lunches. There is a whole industry dedicated to lunch-sized snacks including pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, kid-sized granola bars and individual bags of chips, fruits and veggies.

Creative Ideas for Reusing Old Sports Gear

One thing that all parents can count on as a certainty of life is that our children will outgrow everything they own. This includes outgrowing their old sports gear. Sure, you can donate an old set of football pads or an outgrown tennis racket to your local Goodwill but there are also some fun ways that you can reuse these items around your house.

Oh…my…goodness. As a mom I like to look back at pictures of my children from years past but I love watching older videos. In April 2009 Alexander started recording green tips and what can I say – the 10 year-old Alex of today looks and acts so much more mature than this darling little 7 year-old Alex. I know that three years is a lot, nearly one-third of his life, but goodness his little voice just makes me grin. Love you Alex!!