Let's talk being green

[leahb12]

So with the idiot president's plan to ruin the environment, I'm on a kick to do as much as I can to be green, but I need help. What do you do or want to do to be more green?

Here are some things that I do:

I don't use many chemicals in my house. I use vinegar to clean just about everything.

DS1 takes his lunch in a lunchbox with reusable containers. We all use reusable water bottles.

I recycle as much as I can (our county recently stopped recycling glass...bummer).

I need more ideas! I use way too many paper towels, so I know I need a solution to that. I also need to get some kind of reusable snack bags for DS2's preschool snack.

[kaf7]

We recycle and compost and grow our own veggies in summer. But I do a lot of laundry and we have 2 vehicles so I am not sure how it all washes out. We are on a well and I drink our well water. Most people around here use bottled. I use kids face clothes to wipe up after meals and little spills around the kitchen. They go in the laundry pile daily. That might help with your paper towel problem leahb12. Once they get too old and stinky I use them for bathroom cleaning type jobs.

[tikoberry99]

I use mostly white vinegar to clean and make my own laundry detergent.

I cloth diaper and use cloth wipes. If I ever get my period again I'll use cloth pads as well.

We recycle and use reusable bags. CA just started charging for plastic bags so we are remembering our reusable bags all of the time now.

I've decreased our consumption of beef and try to buy wild game instead like venison, elk and wild boar.

I only buy organic food as well.

I belong to a csa and get my organic produce bi weekly...supporting local organic farming.

I only buy sustainable fish and we try to fish our local creeks in the spring and summer for rainbow trout.

We also hand pull or use a weed wacker instead of chemicals.

I let the spiders live in my house so they can kill the other bugs so I don't have to use chemicals.

We only use glass...no plastic containers, plates or cups and I carry stainless steel straws with me when I know I'm going to buy an iced coffee.

We compost using a worm bin and I try to grow some veggies every spring.

Only led light bulbs...

And we just bought a partial zero emissions car (subaru imprezza) which is awesome because we can apply for a carpool lane sticker!

I watched a documentary on plastic a few weeks ago and I've become pretty aware of all the plastic we use on a daily basis so we've been trying to decrease our plastic use...Hence stainless steel straws in my diaper bag!

[leahb12]

tikoberry99 That's awesome that you use so little plastic. I also use reusable grocery bags. I used to make my own detergent. I should start again. How do you make yours?

[luvboston]

We use unpaper towels
Cloth pads
Cloth diaper, cloth wipes for just pee
Reusable snack bags
Cloth napkins
We don't eat any beef and basically only eat chicken.
We only eat organic and do a Csa type thing for local fruit and veggies in the spring/summer.
No plastic bottles or containers here we exclusively use all life factory BC u can replace the glass if it breaks.
We are supposed to be getting solar
We are also on a special electric plan where you don't do laundry etc during certain times to reduce emissions from the plant.
We bring all our food containers home to recycle and basically only throw away food waste and poopy wipes.
Our town is starting a communal compost soon.
Make our own hand soap

[tikoberry99]

Jan 25, 2017 22:08:22 GMT -5 leahb12 said:

tikoberry99 That's awesome that you use so little plastic. I also use reusable grocery bags. I used to make my own detergent. I should start again. How do you make yours?

I use I box of borax, I box of baking soda and shred one bar of dr bronner soap and mix in a container. I bake the baking soda for an hour on 400 so it turns to washing soap.

[leahb12]

Thanks tikoberry99 The recipe I used was similar but I made it into a liquid. It was kind of a pain. I'll try yours. So you really just bake the baking soda? That's interesting.

[mg0202]

I am a vegetarian. The rest of the family eats very little meat. I try to use products that have not been tested on animals.

We recycle and compost. The compost goes to grow vegetables and we also buy from the farmers market. I bring a reusable water bottle to work and have reusable snack packs. I bring my lunch to work and bring my own silverware so I am not using the plastic utensils.

We have reusable shopping bags I bring to all stores, not just grocery. I try to consolidate trips and map them out for less driving. We have a car that is part electric (20 miles) then switches to hybrid.

[kensie5226]

Reusable everything as much as possible.
Cloth wipes at home.
I quit my Nespresso b/c of the pods.
We recycle everything.
We carpool when we can.
I try to eliminate chemicals where I can.
I'm aware of where my food comes from.
We try and grow a few herbs in our limited space.
MH is from CA so we're careful with our water usage.

[tikoberry99]

Jan 26, 2017 7:18:10 GMT -5 leahb12 said:

Thanks tikoberry99 The recipe I used was similar but I made it into a liquid. It was kind of a pain. I'll try yours. So you really just bake the baking soda? That's interesting.

Yes I spread it on a cookie sheet and bake for an hour on 400...no idea if it does anything lol!