Anyone Going Green? Ideas please...

[StephMK]

....if you can't say anything nice


Anyway, where do you find good sized cloth bags? I would love to do this for our groceries but not sure where to look. I haven't seen any at our grocery stores here and the craft style canvas ones don't seem roomy enough.

We recycle, use CFL bulbs, have an HD W/D & new energy saving appliances. I really want to get into gardening, composting & saving rain water but that will have to wait until next summer. We'll be gone & DH won't keep up w/it. '

Thanks for all the great tips & websites to check out!

 

[rparmfamily]

I ordered 20 Chico bags (thru a co-op) for my groceries, I love that they are compact when not in use!

We try to do the 3 "R's" as Jack Johnson sings about, LOL!!
Reduce Reuse Recycle!

Any of you MDC mamas, LOL?

 

[ZPT1022]

We use geothermal heating and cooling. The waste heat from the process heats our hot water. Our hot water is stored in state of the art Marathon plastic hot water tanks. When everyone else complains about their natural gas bill, I just smile.

how did you convert to geothermal?? I can't do it in my townhouse, but I am keeping a list of things for our dream home

-Use cloth diapers. They're not what you think. Velcro on just like a sposie diaper and wash right up in your washer. No toilet dunking either. PM me for more info on that.


-Reuseable cloth swiffer pads


-use basic cleaners: ammonia, bleach, baking soda, vinegar, fels naptha laundry soap, borax, dawn, washing soda & oxy clean are all I use
.

I cropped for space but a few questions. What is your favorite way to clean the cloth diapers. I need to try something new with ours.

Please tell about the reusable swiffer pads. Is this something you made or bought??

Did you mean to say non chlorine bleach or do you use regular bleach? We try to avoid regular bleach, as it is quite harsh, plus the NC Bleach works better!

Family cloth is cloth wipes that you use as toilet paper. Yes, you need to wash them. It really isn't as gross. There is no smell and everything comes clean. As I said before, I use cloth everything. I am also buying an energy star certified home and will have a front loader. I use cloth pads and have a diva cup, but don't use it much. I just ordered some sea pearls to try. I also use cloth grocery bags and CFL's.

what are sea pearls????

Cloth diapers and menstrual pads...personally, I think they are disgusting now that we have the technology to avoid using them.

The Keeper is just plain weird (and gross IMO).

The "Family Cloth" tops it all though...that is just NAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!!!! What about your houseguests? Do you expect them to wipe with your dirty rags too?

There are some modern conveniences that are just worth the price to our wallets and the environment!

why are you on this thread if all you have are negative comments??

No one knocks you for making choices you think are best for your family.

I'd also like to add about the cloth diapers, that they are much easier on baby's skin. We liked the environmental benefit but when my twins were born they wore preemie diapers for almost two months. Regular Huggies Preemie diapers. They had so much diaper rash and nothing helped. As soon as we switched to cloth we stopped having problems. Sometimes you just have to do right by your kids too.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Okay -- I had to find out what Sea Pearls are...drumroll please...

Natural Sea Sponge Tampons!

 

[MELSMICE]

Okay -- I had to find out what Sea Pearls are...drumroll please...

Natural Sea Sponge Tampons!

Reusable!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are some things I just couldn't or would choose not to do. I don't think I'd use family clothe wipes, a diva cup or sea pearls. Just my personal choice again, but I'll use disposable.

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

Okay, I'm a bit of a closet hippy...but I'm trying to "go green" anyway that I can. Here's what I've done so far, maybe you can add your ideas:

I bought cloth bags to take the the grocery store (found a great deal on ebay...now if I can just remember to bring them in with me!

(If I forget bags) and I'm only getting a few items (like at the drug store or gas station) I just put the items in my purse and tell the cashier to save the bag.

We are recycling all we can (in our area), so I have a sign on the trash can lid in the kitchen reminding everyone what we can recycle and bins set up in the garage (I labeled them and everything so it's a no-brainer for my family!)

I'm even recycling things we can't recycle like jar lids, plastic coffee containers, etc. by starting a misc. bin for "art projects"...no telling what we can use that stuff for!

I'm pouring my coffee grounds in my garden every morning (I'd like to start a compose pile...maybe that can be a new project!)

I'd love to hear your ideas!

I try in little ways to be aware of the enviornment - including not taking bags at shops when I only have a few items, and I have the cloth shopping bags. I know I can do more and I do try to be 'aware of the earth' every day. I also buy stuff from this company that sells products that are earth friendly.

The company is called The Seventh Generation and they have houshold products - including baby stuff, cleaners, toilet paper, etc and ALOT of information on Living Green.
They feel (as the Indians do) that the decisions we make today will impact the next seven generations - so think wisely when making decisions that effect the earth.
Heres the link: http://www.seventhgen.com/ - which will tell you which store you can get their products from.

Ever hear the phrase Think Globally, Act Locally? Well, it was coined by Friend of Earth Founder, David Brower. His website is: http://www.foe.org/ Check it out - very interesting!

Well, that was my plug for the day

 

[ZPT1022]

Reusable!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are some things I just couldn't or would choose not to do. I don't think I'd use family clothe wipes, a diva cup or sea pearls. Just my personal choice again, but I'll use disposable.

It's nice that while you say it's not for you, you don't slam anyone else for their choice Maybe I take it personally but I've heard so many snotty comments over the last few years about cloth diapering that I'm a bit sensitive to it all, and I'm getting annoyed. So thank you

 

[ladysoleil]

Cloth diapers and menstrual pads...personally, I think they are disgusting now that we have the technology to avoid using them.

The Keeper is just plain weird (and gross IMO).

The "Family Cloth" tops it all though...that is just NAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!!!! What about your houseguests? Do you expect them to wipe with your dirty rags too?

There are some modern conveniences that are just worth the price to our wallets and the environment!

Depends on the person. I actually think the Diva Cup/Keeper is a lot more sanitary than tampons or pads- worn correctly, there's no odor or mess. Unfortunately it just doesn't fit me well so I can't use it, and also unfortunately, it's expensive to buy, although it lasts for years so it pays for itself very quickly.

I wouldn't go as far as the "family cloth", though I don't think it's any nastier than diapers. Whether you use cloth or disposable, you're still handling something that contains human waste, and you're still keeping that soiled item in your house temporarily, whether it's in a diaper pail waiting for laundry or a diaper pail waiting for disposal. If you can wrap your head around having diapers in your house, cloth pads or "cloth" whatever isn't that different. It's not for me, my booty is a big fan of Cottonelle, but to each their own.

(I am hoping the tag fairy doesn't catch that last part...)

 

[Pigeon]

Stopped junk mail and opted out of credit card and insurance offers permanently. (save some trees and my postwoman's back)

How, oh how, do you do this? I get so many stupid credit card offers! Not only do they consume trees, but I'm paranoid about identity theft, so we waste electricity shredding them all.

We do many of the previously mentioned things, but the most important to us are:

We believe strongly in ZPG, and our two were adopted.

We drive small, fuel efficient cars, and up until a neighbor recently moved away, I carpooled to work.

We have no air conditioning, and use a programmable thermostat for the winter.

We bought a share in a CSA farm this summer and are getting veggies for 5 months that are organic and locally grown. We also garden and compost.

We use no pesticides or herbicides on our lawn. Chemlawn is the devil.

 

[MELSMICE]

It's nice that while you say it's not for you, you don't slam anyone else for their choice Maybe I take it personally but I've heard so many snotty comments over the last few years about cloth diapering that I'm a bit sensitive to it all, and I'm getting annoyed. So thank you

You're welcome. I used cloth diapers with my first DD & got many comments about it, so I know the feeling.

I prefer not to judge anyone that makes a different choice than I do. I'll do what is right for me & they can do what is right for them.

It's not for me, my booty is a big fan of Cottonelle, but to each their own.

(I am hoping the tag fairy doesn't catch that last part...)

The first thing I thought of when I read your post was, "Where is the tag fairy now!!!"

 

[faberj]

I drive I hybrid vehicle
I have all energy star appliances
I use the 7yr light blubs throughout my house
We recycle (paper, cardboard, cans, glass, plastic)
Plan our trips and car pool to and from work

 

[MELSMICE]

We believe strongly in ZPG, and our two were adopted.

What is ZPG?

 

[VanessasMom]

Cloth diapers and menstrual pads...personally, I think they are disgusting now that we have the technology to avoid using them.

The Keeper is just plain weird (and gross IMO).

The "Family Cloth" tops it all though...that is just NAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!!!! What about your houseguests? Do you expect them to wipe with your dirty rags too?

There are some modern conveniences that are just worth the price to our wallets and the environment!

hmmm, I guess you wouldn't think it was so nasty if you and your child were allergic to the harsh chemicals and cancer-causing agents in paper diapers, pads, tampons and toilet paper.

We use our family cloth only for number 1, poopy is the harsh toilet paper. And, our houseguests are well aware of the family cloth. Toilet paper is on the roll and they have the option to use what they feel comfortable with. We, unlike you, do not force our lifestyle and views upon others.

Thanks for your uneducated response. I guess ignorance really is bliss.

 

[loveabargin]

Anyway, where do you find good sized cloth bags? I would love to do this for our groceries but not sure where to look. I haven't seen any at our grocery stores here and the craft style canvas ones don't seem roomy enough.

I bought some off of ebay and I LOVE them...I keep them in the back of the mini van. Here's the one's I bought (I'm not connected to this seller in any way, just telling you what worked for me);

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...Sell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

 

[Pigeon]

What is ZPG?

Zero Population Growth

 

[VanessasMom]

how did you convert to geothermal?? I can't do it in my townhouse, but I am keeping a list of things for our dream home



I cropped for space but a few questions. What is your favorite way to clean the cloth diapers. I need to try something new with ours.

Please tell about the reusable swiffer pads. Is this something you made or bought??

Did you mean to say non chlorine bleach or do you use regular bleach? We try to avoid regular bleach, as it is quite harsh, plus the NC Bleach works better!



what are sea pearls????



why are you on this thread if all you have are negative comments??

No one knocks you for making choices you think are best for your family.

I'd also like to add about the cloth diapers, that they are much easier on baby's skin. We liked the environmental benefit but when my twins were born they wore preemie diapers for almost two months. Regular Huggies Preemie diapers. They had so much diaper rash and nothing helped. As soon as we switched to cloth we stopped having problems. Sometimes you just have to do right by your kids too.

Cleaning cloth diapers:
~Prewash in cold/cold with 1/4 cup baking soda
~Wash in hot/cold with 1/4 cup phosphate free detergent and 1/4 cup baking soda. Put vinegar in the rinse cycle.
~Second cold rinse
~Dry in the dryer or line dry and then fluff in dryer for 10 minutes.

Reuseable swiffer pads can be easily made by cutting microfiber cleaning cloths into the correct size and serging or zigzag stitching the edges. Cloths can be bought in a pack at Walmart or sometimes even the dollar store.

Yes, I use NC bleach too.

 

[budbeerlady]

We bought a share in a CSA farm this summer and are getting veggies for 5 months that are organic and locally grown. We also garden and compost.

We use no pesticides or herbicides on our lawn. Chemlawn is the devil.

I hope you like the CSA, we did this the prior summer. It was good but too much for just 2 adults. (Way too much Argula for us, I ran out of ways to cook it.)

 

[StephMK]

I bought some off of ebay and I LOVE them...I keep them in the back of the mini van. Here's the one's I bought (I'm not connected to this seller in any way, just telling you what worked for me);

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...Sell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

Thanks so much!! I just ordered 10 of them, great investment. My DD13 is a little skeptical but she'll come around. Do you get any hassles from store clerks when you use them?

I think cloth napkins will be my next purchase & we already use mostly dish towels anyway.

Thanks for the pp that mentioned using tops as art projects - great idea! I'm also saving plastic jars for the kids to use to collect bugs, rocks, etc. before they go to recycling.

For those that compost, how big is a container? We'd have to contain it as our dogs would always be rooting around in it. The beagle will eat anything. I remember my grandparents compost pile was just a heap behind their shed & they had beautiful flower & veggie gardens.

 

[Pigeon]

I hope you like the CSA, we did this the prior summer. It was good but too much for just 2 adults. (Way too much Argula for us, I ran out of ways to cook it.)

I'm actually splitting the share with a friend because I was afraid this might be the case, particularly since we do a little gardening, too. We are two adults and two kids. The CSA is fine with people splitting shares--they actually encourage it for first timers. I figure it will be a good way to increase our veggie intake.

 

[Tarheel Tink]

How, oh how, do you do this? I get so many stupid credit card offers! Not only do they consume trees, but I'm paranoid about identity theft, so we waste electricity shredding them all.

andiepie has the link in her post- same one I used. http://www.privacyrights.org/ click on financial privacy and you will find it. They give a link to fill out information to opt out of credit card and insurance offers for 5 years; if you request permanently they mail you a form to sign and date. You also can opt back in later (but who would?). It will take a few months to get all the offers out of the system. I truly don't remember the link to stopping excess junkmail but was that a great option or what?!