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Going green?
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Anonymous
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One important thing you can do to help the environment is to buy organic products. I have been in the process of going organic when it makes sense and I blog about this at http://www.organicmania.com I blog about things like good organic products, sales on organics, as well as about products and practices that make no sense.
Good luck with your resolution! -- Lynn |
HrCreuzi
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One simple thing you can do is use cloth bags at grocery stores. Don't use the paper or plastic- cloth is much more durable and can be reused for a very long time.
When you go out to eat take your own containers for any leftovers. There's a large debate over whether "green" disposables or cloth diapers are better for the environment (I'm in the cloth corner). Research your options and switch from the conventional diapers. A lot of going green is being an educated consumer and controlling your spending. We haven't purchased a lot of the toys and such that people say we need for a new baby. Do you really need all the things people say you will or can you find an alternative? Good luck! Going green doesn't have to be a major overhaul or super expensive. Sometimes it's the small changes that make a difference. Heidi-rose |
Anonymous
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sorry, I am being lazy and not logging in but I too am trying to go down this path (and I blogged about it a little too, you might like my recent posts on green cleaners you make yourself and my favorite bloggers who are making daily enviro changes, it's kind of like a new year's resolution reading list!). www.surelyyounest.com
also, as far as little changes that have a big impact: walking more, driving less turning your heat down getting storm windows/more insulation (costs $$ tho) taking fewer showers, washing your clothes less frequently (wear things more than once) eating lower on the food chain (go veggie 1-2x/week if not more) as a PP said, bringing reusable bags getting local/organic food eating fish that's not overfished using green cleaners/making yr own reusing stuff, and like PP said, resisting instead of buying, and when buying, going 2ndhand freecycling stuff instead of throwing it away composting your wet trash HTH Jessica |
HrCreuzi
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Possible green disposables:
7th Generation- they don't use bleach so the diapers are a beige color. They do use a gel for absorbency (similar but slightly different from Pampers). I've used these for when people refuse to use the cloth and have found them effective. I've never purchased them- we got about 5 bags as a gift (from the people who won't use the cloth). Tushies- they use a wood pulp for absorbency (don't worry, it doesn't look or feel like wood). I haven't used them but know a lot of people swear by them. G-diapers- use a cotton pulp for absorbency not a gel. And sorry, never used these. I don't know of other types of disposable diapers, but if you google these it should get you started. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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Good for you! So many people get worse when they have babies - disposable bibs, table covers, etc.
Here's something we started doing recently that amazes me I didn't do sooner: Use all cloth napkins and towels in the kitchen! We have about 20 in circulation, and wipe grubby hands and mouths with napkins or kitchen towels. We have no paper products at all in our house (well, except toilet paper and tissues...) We put all the towels and napkins in one load of wash a week - and it usually shares the load with other clothes so we're not using extra water. It amazes me that I used to buy napkins by the 500 pack. Just think of all those trees!! And it's so much cheaper too - buy your napkins just once instead of 12 times a year. Also - for kids parties (and adults too) use real plates, silverware and cups. We bought a ton of melamine plates at Target, so we can have 20 kids over and give everyone a real plate. We also a few packs of "disposable" sippy cups (that we reuse over and over and over) that we pull out for parties. Why fill a trash bag just because you're having a celebration? Again, we use real napkins for parties too. It's seems a bit glamorous, and it's so much earth-friendlier. |
Anonymous
| PP again - another idea: when you're furniture shopping or buying stuff for your house, buy antique furniture and vintage hardware. Depending on your style and tastes, there are modern looking vintage products, or 17th century antiques. You can't get greener than that! |
Anonymous
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Hi there -- you probably already eat organic but I liked this Well column on the subject --
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/five-easy-ways-to-go-organic/ You also might want to look into using the Keeper or the Diva Cup instead of tampons/pads. I'm going to try to set up a composter myself this spring -- you can get ones that are compact and that rotate in case you don't have a big yard to box off a corner of. |
Anonymous
| ...and also, buy used clothes for your child -- there are great consignment stores around dc -- and then sell or pass on yours to another family |
Anonymous
| Cut off your junk mail as much as possible. Switch to online banking/ebilling. Lower your thermostat and/or put it on a program so you aren't heating/cooling an empty house. Do an energy audit of your house--maybe you need to add more insulation to your attic, hot water heater, etc. Wash your clothes on cold. Buy less crap you don't need. Buy products made from recycled materials to close the recycling loop. Vote. |
Anonymous
| unplug appliances when not in use. |
Anonymous