For the last week Kirk and I have been mulling over Earth Day and our habits and philosophies. We have considered our contribution to the conservation of our earth and pocket book as well as the health of our family and planet. Unfortunately, we began focusing on what we were failing to do instead of what we are excelling at. We feel very bad that we don't recycle, vegetable garden or use cloth diapers. So I decided to tally up the things we are doing right for our planet and our family. I feel much better!
I have been critically thinking about my use of plastics and how to minimize my use. This started on Earth Day 2009 when I learned on
Oprah that there is a garbage swirl in the middle of the Pacific Ocean . It is approximately the size of Texas and is composed of mainly plastic. It is hurting animals and disgusting. I was greatly disturbed.
Here is what we have done or are doing:
Ongoing or Done in the Past:-Buying organic food and products whenever available and in our price range.
-CFL's have been replaced in every socket that an incandescent has burned out in our home. We are now looking to start using led light bulbs from now on and we purchased led Christmas lights.
-Built our deck out of
Trex decking which is wood pulp and recycled milk jugs. We love it and love that we don't have to seal it every year.
-I use a reusable lunch box and have a camping set of utensils I got at REI.
-Using cloth napkins every day, folding them in person specific shapes after meal and storing them in a drawer for the next day. Washing them once a week.
-Put in a programmable thermostat
-Bought
Energy Star and low water usage washer and dryer
-Bought my
Saab 9-5 Turbo which gets 30 mpg.
-Carry a
Chico bag in my purse.
-Try to keep small appliances unplugged as often as possible.
-Buy trees every year to help out a friends eco project of restoring the Rio Puerco with
Wild Earth Guardians.
2008-Purchased a membership at
greendimes.com, now Tonic mailstopper to reduce our junk mail.
-Opted out of credit card offers for both of our social security numbers.
-Bought
SIGG bottles for Kirk and I
-Bought reusable bags from
Trader Joes's-Bought recycling bins at
uline.com and recycled on our own for about three months
-Started buying beer locally at
Second Street Brewery in glass growlers
-Used as much hand me downs for Leah as possible
-Breastfed Leah for seven months.
-Donated items to
Salvation Army-Using natural, organic or earth friendly bath and body products for Leah. Our favorites are Infant Foaming Baby Shampoo from
Mustela and
Burts Baby' Bees whole product line. Burts Baby Bees smells delightful and Leah's skin doesn't get flaky like she did when using well known baby products. The Mustela shampoo is $11.00 for a bottle but we are still using the same bottle 13 months later and estimate it lasting at least another 3 months more. Bargain and less plastic in the landfills.
-Used my brothers extra tv that was just sitting around until we could afford to buy a new led flatscreen and there was a good sale.
-Bought
Energy Star and water friendly dishwasher and refrigerator.
-Kirk and I switched to earth friendly
Burt's Bee's shampoo and conditioner.
-Bought an
energy saving curtain for our east facing sliding door.
-Started using a
Brita water filter instead of buying distilled or bottled water.
2009-Bought recyclable toothbrushes from Preserve, they use recycled plastic from Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups to make the toothbrushes and have a return program for used cases and toothbrushes to be recycled again.
-Committing to buying earth friendly toothpaste from
Tom's Natural from now on.
-Bought a
SIGG bottle for Leah
-Bought chlorine free diapers and wipes from
Seventh Generation.
-Started buying organic milk in glass bottles
-Picked up trash along our property and along our road
-Weatherstripped our back door that was drafty
-Bought one
gladrags to see how they are, i'll have to update when I've done more research, ladies. So far, so good.
-Fixed our drip irrigation system so we don't over or under water our plants.
-Checking into using FSC and recycled paper for print jobs I do for my graphic design business.
-Started doing yoga weekly.
-Perusing
treehugger.com-Lowered our water heater temperature and committed to buying a water heater blanket soon.
Considering-Going to the farmers market more
-Buying a hybrid, high mpg car for Kirks commute
-
Bamboo utensil set, containers and reusable lunchbox for Kirk's lunch
-
Composting-Planting a garden
-Planting my own flowers instead of buying "ready gorgeous" geraniums in plastic pots from nursery
-Borrowing books from library instead of buying them
-Buying
reusable plastic plates and utensils for partyware
-Trying to find an earth friendly way to deal with our acre of weeds besides pulling them
-Buying
Snack Taxis to reduce our use of reclosable plastic snack and sandwich bags.
-Switching to rechargeable batteries
-Getting rid or the rest of our toxic cleaning supplies. I haven't bought any in years but they last so long.
-Cloth diapers for when Leah and I are at home during the week.
-Making our own yogurt...I grew up on this stuff, it is an acquired taste but amazing once you do.
-Considering buying a supply of
bar mops to wash and reuse instead of using a lot of paper towels.
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