1 post tagged “environmentally friendly”

What are your favorite ways to reduce, reuse & recycle?

Hmmm...this is hard, because I have lots of ways I like to practice my three R's.  In addition to the typical and over-cited curbside recycling and "I turn off the water when I brush my teeth," here are a few:

~I use GreenSaks for grocery and catch all bags.  They are the BEST when it comes to reusable bags.  They fold up very compact and tidy, but are so much bigger when unfolded than your average canvas bag.  Another plus, and probably the biggest reason they are my favorite is that they have a nice, sturdy base so that the bag unfolds to sit upright on its own without tipping over, meaning your produce isn't strewn about the trunk when you get home from the store.

~Mrs. Meyer's brand cleaners are non-toxic, biodegradable and are not tested on animals.  When I can't use baking soda or don't want the stink of vinegar as a cleaner, I turn to Mrs. Meyer's and her awesome line, which includes dish detergent, counter spray, all-purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner, window spray, abrasive stain scrub, carpet cleaner...and lots of others! I have also used Trader Joe's line of environmentally friendly cleaners, which I like a bit less than Mrs. Meyer's, but they're effective nonetheless.

earth-loving cleaners

~I hang dry the majority of our clothing on a drying rack.  The few things I do dry, I dry on low-heat or the air setting.

~I use toilet paper, paper towels and garbage bags that are all made from post-consumer recycled materials. Seventh Generation is one of my favorites, and although my husband complains that the trash bags don't hold up as well, I think it's worth it for the environmental impact it makes. For instance, when manufacturing plastic bags, the process of manufacturing from recycled material requires 40% less energy compared to bags made from virgin plastic. The 436 plastics production facilities in the United States emit over 37 million pounds of toxic air emissions and create over 2.5 billion pounds of production-related waste each year. (compliments of Seventh Generation's website). And yes, the toilet paper and paper towels aren't as downy soft as my old ones, but, it just seems inexcusable not to use them.

~My husband and I made the decision to live on the Air Force base because it saves gas and the amount of time we spend driving.  Even though it means I'm trapped in what looks like a 1960 rental, we only live a mile from where my husband works, so we've cut down on gas consumption by about 70%.

~I subscribe to a local farm, where I now get 90% of my produce, meaning nearly everything we're eating is ALL local and organic.  I've been incredibly happy with my CSA (community supported agriculture), and it's revolutionized both the way we eat, and the way I think about eating (i.e. beginning to eat vegetables by the season, which dramatically reduces the cost to the environment and the way food tastes). I paid $420 for a share of the farm this season, and it means that each Friday, I get a huge box of produce delivered to my neighborhood.  The CSA link will direct you to a website where you can search your local area for farms that have CSA programs.  My produce farm has even hooked me up with another local farm that sells eggs, and free range meat and poultry free of antibiotics.  I'm excited to try it out.

~ I quit eating beef.  Beef is the most wasteful food on the planet, and there just seems no reason to eat it when there are so many suitable food alternatives that are much more earth-friendly and WAY more healthy. Meat production is extremely resource-intensive - livestock currently consume 70 percent of America's grain production! Their grazing accounts for 800 million acres (40 percent) of U.S. land, and 18 percent of all water consumption is devoted to producing feed for livestock. Feedlot beef is particularly wasteful. Producing one pound of feedlot beef in California, for example, requires five pounds of grain and over 2,400 gallons of water. It also results in the erosion of five pounds of topsoil. (from newdream). If this doesn't make people rethink beef, I don't know what will.

yummy CSA produce

~I reuse lots of little things. My husband and I use the same plate for breakfast in the morning (since he gets up about two hours before I do). We reuse plastic baggies and ziplocs. I re-wear clothing that hasn't been stained or isn't smelly a few times between washings. I know these are the things that don't make much of a difference, but they seem like something.