OT - being green

What are some things you do to protect the environment?  I’ve been making a number of changes over the last year, and I feel pretty good about it.  Interestingly enough, things that are better for the environment often save money and are healthier, too.

Some things I do:

-          Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins

-          Use cloth rags instead of paper towels, most of the time (I still have some paper towels left from before I switched to cloth almost a year ago, so I use those occasionally for really messy things)

-          Take my own cloth bags when I go shopping (when I remember – I really need to put some bags in the car and just leave them there)

-          I stopped using those plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store if I am just buying one or two things, like one or two cucumbers or bell peppers.  They don’t need to be in an extra bag.

-          Make my own yogurt, most of the time, which I make in resusable glass jars so I don’t end up throwing out lots of plastic containers

-          Buying raw milk, which goes into my own reusable glass bottles, so no plastic milk jugs to throw out or recycle

-          Making my own cleaning products (mostly vinegar, baking soda and water)

-          Making my own laundry detergent

-          I hope to get a clothesline outside sometime soon so I can hang laundry out to dry!

-          Giving away things on Freecycle that in the past I might have just thrown out, like my old cell phone; donating old, stained towels to my local animal shelter; other things like that, finding someone that actually wants the stuff instead of just throwing it away whenever possible

-          Buying food products in glass jars instead of plastic when I can (things like applesauce, spaghetti sauce) and then reusing the jars for other things when they’re empty

-          Warning – this may be TMI for some – using reusable cloth menstrual pads instead of disposable pads (most of the time – I usually use disposable ones when I’m not at home because it’s just easier to deal with)

 

What are some things you do?  Or have thought about doing?  If there are things you’d like to do but aren’t doing yet, why not?

 I use cloth bags when grocery shopping. If I do need a bag, I'll grab a paper bag, if possible. 

I usually use those paper bags for Christmas presents. I usually do lots of baking, so it's easier to divide everything into those instead of buy 2-3 bags per family. Decorate with ribbon and a tag and voíla! Instant gift bag! 

I saw some mesh reusable bags for fruits and vegetables, so I may pick up some of those soon. 

I hope to start making my own mozzarella and goat cheese soon. I need to find a place that sells raw milk in my area. Only certain farms sell it, so I may need to trek a few hours away to get some. 

If I do get plastic bags, we reuse them for small trash cans. 

I'm a recycling freak--I'll recycle all sorts of food containers. The city I live in started a pay-as-you-throw trash bag program a few years ago, so in order to cut down on buying these special trash bags, we recycle just about everything. Also, my parents used to recycle a lot long before it was the thing to do, so it's been ingrained to recycle if possible. 

You can check out this website to look for raw milk in your area: www.realmilk.com/

I reuse the plastic bags from the store too, when I get them.  Mostly I use them when I scoop out the litter box.

I don't recycle right now and I want to.  They don't pick up recycling curbside where I live, so I have to figure out where to take my stuff to be recycled and take it there myself.  It's on my list of stuff to do but I haven't done it yet.

 Let's see....

I think there's a reason "Reduce" and "Reuse" come before Recycle. I think minimizing product consumption is more ecological than sending tons of new product back through a recycling plant.  So while I DO pay an extra $7 a month on my trash bill for a large 60-gallon Recycling bin, I tend to get the most out of whatever I can and repurpose things first.

Whenever I order a product online, I always save the box and all the packing material. While I do have my own branded shipping cartons, sometimes I get an order too large to fit into them, and so I reuse an old, larger box. And, of course, it's always handy to have boxes around for gifting. 

I use baking soda and vinegar as my main cleaners and reuse newspaper to not only fill my packages but to wash windows and clean out the dog kennel.

I don't use paper towels, sponges, or paper napkins. Instead, I have a couple dozen dish rags that I launder regularly, and a drawer full of "shop towels" for larger messes, as well as cloth napkins.

My kids take baths together.

I keep a basin of soapy water in my sink all day and drop dirty dishes into it as I go, so that they can soak.  This keeps me from rinsing the dishes individually, which saves water, and makes washing them much easier at the end of the day. 

I unplug all my appliances at the end of the day, before bed. All my outlets in the living room are controlled by a switch, so I just switch them off at night and it shuts down the power to my lamps, cable box, modem, router, tv, dvd player, wii, and laptop. In the kitchen, I go through and make sure everything--microwave, toaster, ipod dock, coffeemaker, etc are all unplugged.  Not only does this reduce the risk of an electrical fire, but it also keeps the outlet from sucking "vampire" energy even though the appliances aren't being used. My electric bill has gone down tremendously since I started doing this. 

I bought my kids a summer pool pass. Instead of using the extra water to set up a pool or a sprinkler at our house, we save the water and schlep them to the public pool instead.  Which happens to be 100 yards in front of my house. Bonus. No gas needed, just a stroll across the park in our swimsuits. 

I have a slug problem. My house attracts them like crazy.  But instead of laying down Buggeta or pesticide, I lined all our thresholds with good ol fashioned salt. Haven't had a problem since. 

I don't sort my laundry. Instead of having to do three loads--one for whites, one for darks, and one for linens, I throw it all together and do one load. Once a month, I'd do just one load for whites with a capful of bleach, just to keep things bright.  I haven't had any problems and it saves a lot on water and electricity. 

I use canvas shopping bags, and don't put my produce in the plastic bags at the grocery. I just pile it all in my cart. My son uses a reusable water bottle instead of juiceboxes, and plastic sandwich containers instead of baggies. His lunch is packed in a lunchbox, not paper bags. 

[ETA:  I'll admit, one thing I am blatantly NOT green about is my bottled water habit. I have a weird water-phobia thing where, unless it's from a brand new bottle, it feels dirty to me. So I go through a lot of bottled water. I buy MetroMin****er by the case. BUT, I reuse the bottles and put Crystal Lite, Propel, and iced tea in them once they're empty. I also like to cut them up and use the bottoms as little seed-pots for new sprouts. I recycle the bottles when they get too worn and flimsy.]

 My city charges $20/box of 10 large trash bags, and if we don't use them, they don't take our trash! Crazy! LOL

 WHAT?? That's nuts.  Do you have to pay a trash fee on top of that?

Ours is $17 a month for trash pickup, and then $7 extra if you want a big recycling bin as well. But we can put the trash out however we want--we can use the provided bin, or put it out in bags, they don't care.

That's the biggest racket I've ever heard. Lordy. 

 No, they don't do a separate trash fee, but $20/box is just redonkulous. It totally is a racket. It was supposed to close some budget issues, but we're going on 4 years of this, and they recently laid off over 20 school employees because of budget cuts. I don't get it. 

 Where my parents live, you pay for the trash bag, BUT not a monthly service fee.  That way you just pay for what you need.  

I should really unplug my appliances when not in use.  What I've thought of doing, but just never got around to it, is putting a number of appliances on one power strip, so I wouldn't have to unplug a bunch of individual things and then plug them back in.  Plus it would be easier to reach instead of having to crawl behind my couch or under the table and stuff to reach certain outlets.  How much would you say your electric bill went down doing that?

I use plastic sandwich containers instead of baggies too, and my partner takes his lunch to work in a reusable cloth lunch bag instead of paper bags.

 Can you get the electric company to come to your house to do an electrical use assessment? I think there is a program for increasing our energy efficiency, so they will come out and go through the house to see where you're using the most power, ways to cut back, etc.  

I live in an old three-family house, and the previous owner had all the extra electrical tied into their bill, so when my upstairs neighbors leave lights on, it's on my bill. No way around it, even when reminding them. They're pretty awful neighbors, but that's another issue.