I'm not as crunchy or granola than some, but I do try to do my part to make our life a little greener.
I used to buy sponges for the dishes ALL the time...and where did they end up? In the garbage. Now I make our sponges and dishcloths...and they work great, last a LONG time and are made of cotton instead of whatever chemical compound those packages SOS sponges where made of.
When I clean, for the most part, I use Vinegar. I kind of love it. For mopping, I use hot water, vinegar, and a touch of dish soap...and a couple drops of essential oil.
We use our reusable bags everywhere...I mean EVERYWHERE!!! We empty them then set them by the door to put back in our vehicle so we will always have them. I love that almost everywhere offers 5 cents to 10cents off per bag you use. Even Target!!
We used to buy bottled water ALL the time. And we had plastic bottles everywhere. I hated finding them under my bed, in the car, on the sofa. So about a year and a half ago, we bought a Brita. It took some getting used to..(remembering to fill it up with water all the time) but we love it. No more plastic bottles for the trashcan!!
And lastly, a little less than a year ago, a drugstore was built on a corner about a quarter mile from my house, and a few years before that a grocery market was built a mile from us. When the weather is nice and we need a few things, I load the kids up in our duo glider, and hoof it. No gas used, and I get some serious mileage in!!
In what ways are you green...or greener?? I'm always looking for new ideas.
We do the britta, vinegar, and your sponges too (the best.) I'm not as good about the bags but have several. I keep a recycle trash can next to the kitchen trash and honestly, the recycle fills up faster. I unplug stuff that isn't in use and switched my light bulbs.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said "I kind of love it," about the vinegar. That's what Kara told someone on American Idol last night and I think it's a catchy phrase. Anyway..
ReplyDeleteI recycle, and like Angela, my recycle bin fills up about twice as fast as the trash.
We use the reusable bags- most of the time. Every once in a while I'll ask for plastic or paper depending on what kind of trashbags I need. :-)
I use these dryer ball things that are supposed to dry your clothes faster and eliminate the need for dryer sheets (which I don't use anyway)
I'm not all that green, though, probably many more ways I need to improve. I'd LOVE to start composting, but just haven't gotten the right sized bin for my lifestyle. There's one at Costco for $250 that I really want, but I have to justify paying that much!
ooooh, we switched our lightbulbs too...and I try to unplug everything not in use as well. I need to look into the dryer balls, my husband is a dryer sheet junkie...
ReplyDeleteI need to compost. my parents are really good about that.
thanks for your comments, ladies! :)
oh, and i didn't even know Kara said that...i've been saying it..."before, before it was popular." ;)
ReplyDeleteWe do the lightbulbs, and cloth diapered for about 6 months, getting ready to start doing that again, we got the aluminum water bottles to use instead of the plastic ones, we use cloth napkins instead of paper towels, when we did cloth diapers we started using cloth wipes, and since we went back to disposables we have been using the cloth wipes as tissues or washcloths, we got new washer,dryer and dishwasher that are all supposed to be more energy efficient, just started using the vinegar to clean, I don't mind the smell but am the only one in my house to not too. We have the reusable bags, but they keep getting left in the car.
ReplyDeleteI don't do nearly as much as I should...and the vinegar thing--you are a strong woman! :) i do the usual--and we put the bags in front of the house too. I didn't know that bout Target! and your sponges...yes, must try. But one thing we do is that we take the kids' water bottles everywhere we go, and try to not use up more "kids cups," that get tossed so quickly after use. Thanks for the ideas!
ReplyDelete