I am toying with timing my shower to see if it's five minutes (unlikely). I haven't quite gotten there as I love my hot shower and want to enjoy it as much as possible. And since I'm in confession mode and to show you how much I love my shower, we did have a double shower head until recently, when the plumber told us that was why we kept running out of hot water :)
So the reality is that water conservation is a struggle for me. And since I love to shop, I decided a while ago that we would try to create less physical waste from showering. This means we switched to bar soap, preferably local with only a paper wrapping or no wrapping. Also we switched to bar shampoo. There is a cool company from Britain called Lush that makes awesome bar shampoo. They are the best I have found for giving a good lather like liquid shampoo. Sadly, I think their Squeaky Green bar is a bit of a waste of money as it has lots of herbs in it and they make is go faster- and they leave a mess in your shower. But their other varieties are great.
I was in a bit of a dilemma as to what to do with the liquid shampoo and body wash I already had as I have a tendency to stockpile (because I'm slighty paranoid about natural disasters). In the end I decided to use them up unless they had BHT or parabens- more on this later. Changing shower products has been an easy switch. A bit harder was trying to find a sponge I like cause I don't know if getting a natural sponge is any better than a synthetic one as they never seem to say if they are sustainably harvested. Of course this is a bit of a procrastinating distraction from taking shorter showers, but I'm getting there... really.
Note: Another shower change that is not so bad is to wash your hair every other day. I do this off and on and don't feel too greasy. If you really like to shower daily but want to shower less, you can bathe one morning and then bathe the evening of the next day, which is what I do. Now you know my *dirty* secrets so I expect you to keep them to yourselves :)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Bags, bags, and bags
Reusable bags.
Reading this topic you may think... there's an idea that's been around awhile. It's so mainstream that almost every major grocery store chain will sell them to you. In fact they have been around long enough that the other day in the grocery store I noticed that they sell reusable bag cleaning spray. An accessory for your accessories- really?
But if you are just starting to be more eco-friendly or even if you are not, I still think this is something to talk about. First because this is a good thing to do and people who do it all the time should get some kudos. And secondly, because it's hard to do. I have read lots of books where people get reusable bags as part of an environmentally friendly movement and sometimes it is just stated like an easy change. But in my experience it's not. This is something that takes effort. I have grocery store bags and I can't count the number of times that I have been in the grocery store and not remembered them. Or I even brought them but then got more groceries than would fit in the number of bags I selected to bring. Having a toddler with me or being short on time exacerbates this problem. Now I keep them in my car and am making a concerted effort to remember them every time. My goal is not to come home with plastic bags ever, but I am still working on it. In the meantime I use the plastic bags for cat litter, dirty diapers, trash bags, lunch sacks, package padding, etc. They are pretty handy at times so if you get them don't despair.
One of the best items I ever bought was a reusable bag that folds up and can be kept in your purse. This is good for most women although if you are a guy or carry a small purse it might not work for you. Personally, this has saved me on many occasions. But I still have to remember to use it. And salespeople are quick with the plastic bags. Sometimes by the time I've remembered they aready have it all bagged up. I try to refuse a bag at all at times. The other factor here is embarassment. At the grocery stores around me bring your own bags is not unheard of. I feel pretty comfortable doing this. Except the time I pulled out my stack of bags and as the lady bagged my groceries she noticed that I had not one, but two reusable six-pack wine carriers- so I felt like a total lush. Sort of like yesterday, when I bought beer on a grocery run with my toddler. But I digress... At other stores, like clothing stores, they give you funny looks when you pull out your own bag. Not that this should stop you, but if you are shy like me it's definiately something you have to deal with. I still am.
I encourage you to get a foldable, reusable bag and use your reusable grocery bags. It is a big step, because it takes some memory and habit changes. If you do this all the time, please share tips on remembering your bags.
Reading this topic you may think... there's an idea that's been around awhile. It's so mainstream that almost every major grocery store chain will sell them to you. In fact they have been around long enough that the other day in the grocery store I noticed that they sell reusable bag cleaning spray. An accessory for your accessories- really?
But if you are just starting to be more eco-friendly or even if you are not, I still think this is something to talk about. First because this is a good thing to do and people who do it all the time should get some kudos. And secondly, because it's hard to do. I have read lots of books where people get reusable bags as part of an environmentally friendly movement and sometimes it is just stated like an easy change. But in my experience it's not. This is something that takes effort. I have grocery store bags and I can't count the number of times that I have been in the grocery store and not remembered them. Or I even brought them but then got more groceries than would fit in the number of bags I selected to bring. Having a toddler with me or being short on time exacerbates this problem. Now I keep them in my car and am making a concerted effort to remember them every time. My goal is not to come home with plastic bags ever, but I am still working on it. In the meantime I use the plastic bags for cat litter, dirty diapers, trash bags, lunch sacks, package padding, etc. They are pretty handy at times so if you get them don't despair.
One of the best items I ever bought was a reusable bag that folds up and can be kept in your purse. This is good for most women although if you are a guy or carry a small purse it might not work for you. Personally, this has saved me on many occasions. But I still have to remember to use it. And salespeople are quick with the plastic bags. Sometimes by the time I've remembered they aready have it all bagged up. I try to refuse a bag at all at times. The other factor here is embarassment. At the grocery stores around me bring your own bags is not unheard of. I feel pretty comfortable doing this. Except the time I pulled out my stack of bags and as the lady bagged my groceries she noticed that I had not one, but two reusable six-pack wine carriers- so I felt like a total lush. Sort of like yesterday, when I bought beer on a grocery run with my toddler. But I digress... At other stores, like clothing stores, they give you funny looks when you pull out your own bag. Not that this should stop you, but if you are shy like me it's definiately something you have to deal with. I still am.
I encourage you to get a foldable, reusable bag and use your reusable grocery bags. It is a big step, because it takes some memory and habit changes. If you do this all the time, please share tips on remembering your bags.
Step 1: Easy Changes
Since I've been a teenager I have been interested in "saving the animals" and "helping the environment" but I didn't really know what to do and as I became an older teenager and then college student these ideas were pushed out of my mind in favor of boys, friends, and getting a job. After living on my own for awhile I started to think about choices I made at the grocery store. This was the first step for me. Standing in the grocery store aisle looking at the paper towels and thinking, "I guess it would be better to buy the recycled ones." It was a very small step, but when you are just starting out it is a step in the right direction. Eventually, I switched to recycled paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, and paper napkins. Currently, we are thinking about trying to be even better about some of these products and maybe doing things like making our own tissues, but that will come later.
I tried buying biodegradable trash bags, but that was a fiasco! If you use these corn-based bags and go away for a few days with trash in them, they will start to biodegrate- right there in your trash can- and that is a big mess! So I gave up on that for the time being.
Other small and basically painless steps were to buy environmentally-friendly cleaning products. In the end I have learned that a better step is to go to cleaners you make yourself.
Vinegar and baking soda can be used to clean most things and they are cheaper than products that are say they are good for the environment but may have questionable ingredients and are also at a premium price. Over time I have learned that even green products are not always as green as they say and often have ingredients that you don't have a clue what they do. Vinegar and baking soda are pretty straight forward and I have faith in the idea that they have been around a long time and I have yet to read that they cause toxic mutations to our DNA :) If you are interested in this, there are lots of recipes on the internet about make-your-own natural cleaners. I will say that we keep straight vinegar in a spray bottle to clean up the kitchen, although I do use bleach if we have meat. It works great as a fabric softener and to clean your glasses as well as a floor cleaner.
Reality check: I will include my own foilables and admit that I give in to the marketing glitter at times (or many, many times). Recently, I gave in and bought fabric softener because our laundry was a bit musty. This happens when you get busy and forget to change the loads- shame on me. So I got what I thought was Method Fabric Softener and was adding it to the clothes. Until today when I realized I has bought detergent (the Method bottles look pretty similar and I got confused). The end result was that I was adding double soap to the loads. Now I feel pretty dumb and think I will go back to the vinegar.
Also instead of softener or in addition to it, you can buy wool dryer balls. These are awesome because they are quieter than plastic ones and also I think that plastic gives off weird chemicals when you heat it up. I have three and that is a good number for an average load. I have heard you can take a wool dryer ball and add a few drops of essential oil and then put it in an old sock. This way you can have a nice smell to your clothes and the sock protects your clothes from getting oil on them. I have not tried this yet so please let me know if you do.
Product endorsement: I don't get any money from any companies to say I like stuff so this is my true opinion. I will tell you actual products I think are good from time to time. This one is for the Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop. It's $36 at Amazon athough I got it at Target. I like it because you can use your own cleaning solution (we use vinegar). It has pads for sweeping and for wet mopping. Personally, I think the sweeping pads have not been that great. The wet mop pads work well for both. We just dry mop up the crumbs and then dustbust up the pile at the end. It is a lot better than the Swiffer disposable pads.
Stay tuned for further ideas from this environmental/ shoppaholic/ materialistic-tendency-fighting girl :)
I tried buying biodegradable trash bags, but that was a fiasco! If you use these corn-based bags and go away for a few days with trash in them, they will start to biodegrate- right there in your trash can- and that is a big mess! So I gave up on that for the time being.
Other small and basically painless steps were to buy environmentally-friendly cleaning products. In the end I have learned that a better step is to go to cleaners you make yourself.
Vinegar and baking soda can be used to clean most things and they are cheaper than products that are say they are good for the environment but may have questionable ingredients and are also at a premium price. Over time I have learned that even green products are not always as green as they say and often have ingredients that you don't have a clue what they do. Vinegar and baking soda are pretty straight forward and I have faith in the idea that they have been around a long time and I have yet to read that they cause toxic mutations to our DNA :) If you are interested in this, there are lots of recipes on the internet about make-your-own natural cleaners. I will say that we keep straight vinegar in a spray bottle to clean up the kitchen, although I do use bleach if we have meat. It works great as a fabric softener and to clean your glasses as well as a floor cleaner.
Reality check: I will include my own foilables and admit that I give in to the marketing glitter at times (or many, many times). Recently, I gave in and bought fabric softener because our laundry was a bit musty. This happens when you get busy and forget to change the loads- shame on me. So I got what I thought was Method Fabric Softener and was adding it to the clothes. Until today when I realized I has bought detergent (the Method bottles look pretty similar and I got confused). The end result was that I was adding double soap to the loads. Now I feel pretty dumb and think I will go back to the vinegar.
Also instead of softener or in addition to it, you can buy wool dryer balls. These are awesome because they are quieter than plastic ones and also I think that plastic gives off weird chemicals when you heat it up. I have three and that is a good number for an average load. I have heard you can take a wool dryer ball and add a few drops of essential oil and then put it in an old sock. This way you can have a nice smell to your clothes and the sock protects your clothes from getting oil on them. I have not tried this yet so please let me know if you do.
Product endorsement: I don't get any money from any companies to say I like stuff so this is my true opinion. I will tell you actual products I think are good from time to time. This one is for the Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop. It's $36 at Amazon athough I got it at Target. I like it because you can use your own cleaning solution (we use vinegar). It has pads for sweeping and for wet mopping. Personally, I think the sweeping pads have not been that great. The wet mop pads work well for both. We just dry mop up the crumbs and then dustbust up the pile at the end. It is a lot better than the Swiffer disposable pads.
Stay tuned for further ideas from this environmental/ shoppaholic/ materialistic-tendency-fighting girl :)
Why the Green Apple?
So what's this blog about you may (and probably will) ask? Well for awhile now my family and I have been trying to be more environmentally friendly. We have read books about it, changed the way we eat, changed what we bought, and we continue to struggle with being green(er). In reading books about people trying to be green, I have found that some people (mostly the ones trying to sell books) make some drastic changes and they stick with them for awhile but then it is too much and they backslide. And that's totally understandable if you are trying to live off the grid or get rid of your frig or make no trash... that would be hard to keep up.
I wanted to try for permanent changes that we can keep up long-term. And I thought that there must be other people trying to be more environmentally friendly but also trying to live in the real world. So this blog will be about changes my family has made or is trying to make and how they work and how much we stick with them. I will be truthfull about things that just don't work and while I like the idea of being less materialistic, I won't tell you that I will give up shopping. Instead we will work on buying products that are better for the environment or buying less or making our own. I want to make a lifestyle I can live with and share my ideas about this with people who are also trying to do this but at the same time not go crazy. I hope through this blog I can give you ideas that are green but also sustainable for us and the planet.
P.S. The Green Apple is because my toddler daughter loves green apples :)
I wanted to try for permanent changes that we can keep up long-term. And I thought that there must be other people trying to be more environmentally friendly but also trying to live in the real world. So this blog will be about changes my family has made or is trying to make and how they work and how much we stick with them. I will be truthfull about things that just don't work and while I like the idea of being less materialistic, I won't tell you that I will give up shopping. Instead we will work on buying products that are better for the environment or buying less or making our own. I want to make a lifestyle I can live with and share my ideas about this with people who are also trying to do this but at the same time not go crazy. I hope through this blog I can give you ideas that are green but also sustainable for us and the planet.
P.S. The Green Apple is because my toddler daughter loves green apples :)
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