It’s Not Easy Being Green…But We Can Try December 3, 2009
The “green” life has interested me for a while. I’d love to grow my own vegetables, use homemade compost for fertilizer, collect rainwater in barrels, and take reusable shopping bags to Wal-Mart. Heck, I’d love to stop going to Wal-Mart altogether and frequent only local farmer’s markets. I’m not there yet.
Our family tries, though, to take the following environmentally friendly actions as consistently as possible:
1. Recycle all acceptable items (in our area, this includes glass, most plastics, paper, and cans).
2. Use washable cloths rather than paper towels (I still haven’t let go of paper napkins).
3. Use cleansers derived from natural sources (such as Method, my personal favorite).
4. Turn off lights when not in use.
5. Switch on the television only when people intentionally watch it.
6. Shut down our computers each night.
7. Keep the thermostat set at energy-saving temps (at least, the recommended 68 or below in winter; summer is a different beast here in central GA).
Inspired by a dear friend, I am also looking into toiletries that don’t contain harmful chemicals. Sweet Southern Belle pointed me to this site where you can look up your favorite products and see how they rate on a danger scale from 1 (safest) to 10 (most dangerous). Like her, I’ve ordered homemade makeup from All Natural Face on Etsy and tried a few organic hair and face products. We’ve used our regular products for years and years with seemingly no ill effects, but at the same time, it appears that many people suffer from cancer and other diseases whose causes aren’t necessarily known. I know the connections aren’t certain, but it stands to reason that if we pour these chemicals into and onto our bodies, eventually some harm will result. At any rate, I figure the safer products are worth a try.
How do they compare? Well, I miss the delicious smell of my regular shampoo. I didn’t mind Avalon Organics Shampoo’s lavender scent so much until my husband pronounced that it reminded him of wet paint. The texture also takes some getting used to, but my hair has nearly adjusted. I’m still waiting on my makeup to arrive, but the samples my friend gave me looked great and felt clean and fresh. Next up? Maybe deodorant and toothpaste.
I also want our family to try more whole foods and organic products. Still, how can we be certain the “organic” label isn’t merely a ploy for more money? Is anyone else trying these things? What are your thoughts?
I love this stuff! It’s taken us years to make all of the changes we’ve made, but I do think it’s worth the hassle.
Switching to cloth napkins sounds much harder than it really is. Here’s a trick we learned from a friend: buy four different napkin rings, one for each of you. Then you can reuse your cloth napkins for a few meals. You keep track of them by putting them in their napkin rings and just leaving them on the table or counter. Your girls will probably like this, too. We bought a large pack of plain cream napkins from Bed Bath and Beyond. Buy at least a dozen. They take up almost no room in the washing machine. (That said, although we use way less than we used to, we do still use paper towels occasionally. Mostly for hairballs.)
I have to confess that I hate Avalon Organics shampoo. It made my hair dull and greasy. I liked the Burt’s Bees Grapefruit and Sugar Beet shampoo a lot, but it’s hard to find up here. So right now we’re using Kiss My Face, which is also good. Another trick is that I only wash my hair every couple or three days, and once I week I wash it with baking soda and water. The washing less takes a couple of weeks to get used to, but in the end it made my hair feel so much nicer. I’d been told for years to try it, and when I finally did I loved it. But it takes a few weeks for your scalp to adjust and stop producing so much oil.
Another really easy thing you can do is put as many of your electronics as possible on power strips. Turn the strips off when not in use. Most electrical appliances (like the microwave and VCR and whatnot) suck energy even when not being used. We started this one year in New York and immediately cut our electric bill in half. We also switched over all of our light bulbs, which you’ve probably already done, but it helped.
We don’t buy organic. Or at least not consistently. We worry more about where our food comes from and try to buy locally when possible. We eat very little non-local food now. This year I even froze a bunch of local summer stuff for the winter, which was surprisingly easy. We feel like a lot of organic products are covered in the oil it took to ship them from South America. It does depend on the product, but since we don’t have the time to research everything we buy, we go with local fresh produce for the bulk of our diet. We buy as few processed foods as possible. And when we do buy processed foods, we try to buy from companies that are produced in our region and preferably organic or that we believe operate ethically. Anyway, does Macon have a farmer’s market? Or can you join a CSA?
I think the thing I want to work on next is getting off of paper towels all together. We just need to keep more rags around, really, so that they are as easy to grab as the paper towels when the cats make a mess.
Holy cow. I’m sorry I wrote so much. This is a big part of our lives, so it’s always fresh on my mind. Sorry!
We grow our veggies in our garden. We have plenty of fresh cow manure for fertilizer! If you need any, it is free for the shoveling anytime!
I left a long reply on fb! Your are doing great…keep up the good work!
Heidi- I may actually take you up on that for my garden next year!