Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Going Green







Our family has been at least alittle "green" before it was the in thing to do. It helps a little that Mike is an ENVIRONMENTAL consultant. We've always recycled and can't understand why so many people, in our neighborhood for example, don't. I'd like to try even harder to have less throw away garbage, and I am amazed each week when I see how much garbage other people in our neighborhood have (sometimes FIVE cans for example and we have garbage pick up twice a week!). Jonathan has been interested in garbage and recycling since he was three. When he was a preschooler his favoite vidoes to check out from the library were "Garbage Day" "Crunch, Smash, and Trash", and "There Goes a Garbage Truck". At 12, he still always runs outside (or at least to the window) when the garbage or recycle truck come. We recently purchased an eco-friendly reusable bag from Target (I was so excited that is only cost $1.49 becuase I was under the impression that the Publix ones were about $9, but I found out today the Publix ones are 99 cents...we'll be getting more). I also just pulled out some other canvas bags that we've accumulated and I plan to make a conscious effort to bring them with me when I go to the store. Mike and I met while we were in college and both working at the UCOON CO-Op Bookstore. We joke to this day how even back in the early 90's we used to say to the customers "do you NEED a bag" instead of "do you WANT a bag"...it made a difference. I always try to bag my own groceries and have never liked how many bags they try to give you at the store (a bag for milk? a bag for a bag of potatoes?). So while we've always tried to reduce the amount of bags we've used, we plan to do even better with the canvas bag system. We always d0 a pretty good job of reusing the plastic bags we do come home with as well. Even though we buy the regular kitchen garbage bags, we always use that as a liner and then we put in a small grocery store plastic bag to catch most of the garbage. That way we just take out the smaller bag when it is full and can reuse the big bag again. I am genuinely excited when we get a big store bag that can actually fit in the kitchen trash can. Well who'd've thought I could have so much to say about bags?



Originally this post was going to be about our new clothesline. One more way to help the environment (and save money too!). It's only been a few days, but as of right now Jonathan, Madi and I are all excited about the clothesline...we almost fight over who's going to do it (but I'm a nice Mom and so I usually let them win!). Jonathan actually said yesterday, "We should sell our dryer at a yard sale"...I don't plan on going that far, but every little bit does help. Getting the kids excited about laundry can't be a bad thing either. I'm sure the novelty will wear off right about the time that the summer heat comes, but fot now we're loving it!

7 comments:

Tiffany said...

The key is remembering to take your bags with you when you go to the store! I have never been very "green" but I'm working on it. I've been thinking about/planning to start using cloth napkins. I could easily make some and that would save money and paper.

Julie said...

That's a great idea, we have a lot of cloth napkins and don't usually use them...we can wash them and then hang them on the line!

Kirsten said...

I want a clothesline. That does seem like fun and eco friendly. Does it take a lot of time?

crispy said...

When we lived in California, we always hung our clothes out to dry. Even in the winter. I would just watch the weather and do my laundry on the dry days.

I haven't had great success in hanging my laundry out here. We live in a very tropical and humid climate.

I need to try it again. Especially now when the humidity is not as high.

Good for you. The more I think GREEN, the easier it is. I am amazed at how much I compost and don't have to throw away.

Julie said...

We had one years ago and I was too lazy to use it very often, but right now we're loving it! It is easy with helpers! Also with the sun and breeze in our back yard, I think clothes dry faster than in our dryer.

Michelle said...

Good for you! I love my clothes line--actually haven't even had a drier since we moved here 6+ years ago. Hurricane week leave me with piles of laundry, but mostly I do ok. :)
Kirsten, I find that each load of laundry takes me about 10 minutes or so to hang up, so multiply that by your #of loads. BUT instead of looking at it as an extra chore, I look at it as my 10 minute break in the fresh air. If I'm stressed inside I always come back from the laundry line in a better mood. :)
I've been planning to make more cloth napkins for about 6 months now...maybe this will be the week. Lol

Julie said...

I rolled up a bunch of our cloth napkins and put them in a basket on our counter, we've been using them today!