I am rolling out my earth day entry from last year and posting my updates because I'm lazy like that.
In celebration of Earth Day I give you my list (Yay, I love lists!) of what my little family is doing to reduce our impact on the earth, as well as the things we need to improve on.
Things we are already doing:
We don't own a car and we rarely take cabs. We walk whenever possible, and if we can't walk we take public transportation. Update: We still follow these rules although we do plan on buying a car before we move. We are buying a SUV (gasp). I know, I know, but here is the thing...we are only buying one car to share and we rented a house close to campus so Teddy can walk to work/school and we made sure to research which SUVs are fuel efficient and have low emissions and are going with the best which is the Honda CRV which is considered a COMPACT SUV. (shut up, I know that isn't much better, but it makes me feel a little less guilty. We just can not physically fit two adults, one child, one 90 lb dog inside a kennel, and two cats in a Prius.)
We do not buy bottled water. (check)
We buy organic as much as possible and eat very little meat (check, we have also started trying to buy more local produce when possible)
We recycle (check)
We changed all our light bulbs to the energy efficient kind (even thought the light is kind of weird, but you get used to it) (check, we have not had to replace a light bulb in over a year)
We turn off the water when we brush our teeth (check)
Things we should do:
Buy cloth bags for groceries. We are using the grocery bags to pick up dog shit, but I think we could find something more environmentally friendly to do that Update: We still have not done this, but are still using the bags to pick up dog poop...
I haven't made the switch to earth friendly cleaning products. I'm a little anal about cleaning and I like my Clorox Wipes Update: we have started making the switch to earth friendly cleaning products...dish soap, and glass cleaner I have products I love, I'm still working on cleaning wipes, any suggestions?
Turn the lights/TV off when we leave. I'm convinced the dog likes the TV on, and sometimes I'm too lazy to go around and make sure all the lights are off before I leave. Update: we are MUCH better about this, I always turn off the TV and I am much better about the lights
Stop using so many paper towels. There were several years in the beginning of our marriage that paper towels were a luxury we could not afford, now I think we get a little giddy with our paper towel usage. Update: This has been our biggest improvement, we went from using one roll of paper towels a week to using about one roll every 2-3 weeks. We hope to start using more cloth napkins once we have our own washer machine.
Things we should do, but probably won't:
Use cloth diapers. Without having my own washer/dryer I just don't see this one happening
Turn off the AC when I leave the apartment. I know, I know but I REALLY hate to be hot, and I don't want the dog to be hot when I'm not here.
8 comments:
I totally depend on supermarket plastic bags for picking up dog poo.. If I put newspapered poo in my orthodox landlady's garbage, she would kill me!
Method wipes are THE BEST. I swear by them.
Rebecca
We recycle, and try to turn the lights/tv's off when we leave. We also use dish rags/towels more than paper towels, so it takes us awhile to use up a roll, but we do a million loads of laundry a day, so not sure we are helping anything.
I am sad.
Hmmmm...I guess we'll forgive you on the Honda CRV. It's not as bad as some of them out there. Especially since your car usage has been zero for so long!
I'm glad you're having good luck with those compact flourescent bulbs...I think we keep getting DUDS!
I love our cloth bags. We use them at the grocery store but for some reason forget at all other stores. Weird.
And I hear you on the paper towels. We switched to buying those made from recycled materials at least, but I still use way too many.
Go Green Family!
Rebecca, thanks for the tip, I look at those wipes every time I'm in Target but have never bought them, I'm going to try them next time. We love their dishwashing soap/hand soap/ and baby products.
Ashley, I'm GOING to buy some cloth bags this year. I will dammit!
I think when you move things will be easier. We have a slew of the bags in regular size (about a buck) and home depot makes these ones that are bigger (about two bucks). We keep them in the trunk of the car as we have to drive everywhere as we live in BFE.
We love our cloth napkins, cloth baby washcloths (great for cleaning dirty little faces), and kitchen towels. When they get worn out they turn into cleaning rags. We have a metal scooper/rake thingie for the poop. Since the dog is too old to go on a walk we don't have to worry about bringing bags with us.
I am crazy about turning everything off. And we tried those bulbs when we first moved, but they did not last even though they said on the package they would last for years. Maybe they're better now?
And do the Method cleaning wipes disinfect or just clean? I need something that disinfects. Especially having a crawler and an incontinent dog. Mere cleaning will just not do. Share your other cleaning products!
Tracy
Are you still up for maybe trying to meet for dessert at least on Friday night? I know it means you have to come into the city...
We just moved into our new "green-built" home. Various recycled materials, low voc paints, tankless water heater, funky bulbs (sort of hate them, though), etc. Still, I park my Toyota Sequoia out front and feel like a fraud. I'm with you on the Prius, though. I've got a 3yo and 15mo twins- I'd have to strap them to the roof.
Ashley, Yes I think it would be fun, it's really not too much of a trek!
Meg...I know it seems like they could make a greener car that isn't the size of a coke can or cost as much as a small village...
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