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What do you do to be green?

P: 4/25/2008 9:05:45 PM
Elmorton Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,748 Last Post: 11/21/2009 Member Since: 7/6/2007	DH has been working on making me a little environmentalist ever since we started dating, and little by little, I've been getting into it. We do some things like recycle paper, plastic, and cans (I can't believe how much I used to throw away), use the energy saving light bulbs, re-use or recycle plastic bags/use cloth shopping bags, donate items rather than throw away if possible... but I know we can do so much better! What are ways that you're going green/reducing your carbon footprint/being energy efficient?
Posted: 4/25/2008 9:05:45 PM

There are 24 replies to this message. There are 24 replies on this page.

P: 4/25/2008 9:26:12 PM
anchor31 Ideal Rock Total Posts: 6,358 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 10/18/2005	- Reduce Reuse Recycle; - Walk or take the bus to school/work/groceries/errands/etc.; - Energy efficient lightbulbs and appliances; - Turn off the light when I'm not in the room; - Low flow toilets and showerheads; - Buy local; - Wash laundry in cold water and use phosphate free detergent. ******** R & J 08-02-08 Expecting baby on 12-30-09
Posted: 4/25/2008 9:26:12 PM

P: 4/25/2008 9:31:30 PM
laine Ideal Rock Total Posts: 582 Last Post: 11/12/2009 Member Since: 2/21/2006	-reduce energy usage: I turn off lights, use a programmable thermostat and drop the temp (or raise in the summer) when I'm not home. -compact fluorescent bulbs -cloth grocery bags -recycle everything that I can -reduce consumption: I hate throwing away perfectly serviceable things (I donate alot) and I hate clutter, so I've made a conscious effort to reduce what comes into my house. -drive an old car: It gets decent gas mileage, and the energy and resource costs of maintaining an old car are much lower than those involved in producing and driving a new car, even a more fuel efficient one. -use glass food storage containers: I've slowly been replacing plastic tupperware type containers as they wear out with Pyrex ones. I think its better for our food and these will last much longer. -local food: I joined a farm share program for the summer and fall. -cleaning products: I'm using microfiber cloths instead of papertowels when I can, and I'd like to start using more natural cleaning products when my current stash runs out.
Posted: 4/25/2008 9:31:30 PM

P: 4/25/2008 9:47:54 PM
Kay Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,451 Last Post: 11/20/2009 Member Since: 2/20/2003	The best thing we did was buy a house within 4 miles of both of our jobs, which reduces fuel consumption. Other things: -- recycle anything we can: paper, glass, plastic, metal -- donate anything we can't use -- wash clothes in cold water and line dry most items -- take 2 large insulated bags when we go grocery shopping -- prevents waste of plastic bags and keeps food cooler -- use rags to clean instead of paper towels -- compact fluorescent bulbs -- use fans or blankets instead of A/C or heat -- turns off lights, TV, etc. when we leave a room
Posted: 4/25/2008 9:47:54 PM

P: 4/25/2008 10:44:25 PM
heraanderson Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,139 Last Post: 11/20/2009 Member Since: 7/13/2007	1. There is low VOC paint for your house that don't send toxins into the environment. 2. Using bamboo or cork flooring as they are renewable sources (bamboo grows fast and cork is used from remnants of wine corks and doesn't kill trees)or recycled or reclaimed wood flooring. 3. Energy efficient appliances 4. Quartz or composite countertops (made from recycled components) 5. Solar panels
Posted: 4/25/2008 10:44:25 PM

P: 4/25/2008 10:46:05 PM
monarch64 Ideal Rock Total Posts: 9,552 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 8/12/2005	We recycle paper/plastic/cans/glass, we donate a ton of things so they can be reused, we use SimpleGreen to clean, which can be diluted a ton and still be effective (I have two big spray bottles we got from Sam's in 2006 that are still half full!), try to buy recycled products as often as possible (i.e. paper products, and other household items), pay attention to labels and brands who use recycled products to create theirs, only do laundry with warm or cold water, only use concentrated detergent (smaller packaging=less plastic to recycle), try to walk to neighborhood shops/P.O., etc. to reduce gas consumption, rideshare when possible, use washable rags or dust cloths instead of paper towels or Chlorox wipes (that was a tough habit to break!), always turn lights/appliances off when leaving a room unattended, use plastic grocery bags for dog poo pickup, re-use paper bags from grocers til they wear out, then recycle them. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I am sure there are many more, we try to be environmentally conscious and are trying to reduce our "footprint." "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Henry David Thoreau
Posted: 4/25/2008 10:46:05 PM

P: 4/25/2008 10:54:23 PM
fisherofmengirly Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,560 Last Post: 11/18/2009 Member Since: 4/14/2006	How would you find low VOC paint? Is it carried at all stores?
Posted: 4/25/2008 10:54:23 PM

P: 4/25/2008 10:56:08 PM
lyra Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,763 Last Post: 11/22/2009 Member Since: 7/13/2007	In our municipality, recycling has become a huge thing. We only get regular garbage pick up twice a month, with a 2 bag limit per pick-up. We get recycling picked up weekly. Virtually everthing we bring home can be recycled, and our actual garbage output has been drastically reduced. We always donate household goods wherever possible too. We replaced all our light bulbs with CFB's this year. We also have dimmer switches on practically every lightswitch. Next we are going to try the switches that turn the lights off automatically when you leave the room (or something like that, our inlaws have them). My daughter takes mass transit to uni instead of her car. Either way is expensive. This is less convenient, but better use of fuel. I keep my driving to planned minimum. This year younger daughter is also taking a city bus home from school to save gas. I actually don't mind paying more or the same if it is helpful to the environment. We choose 100% cotton clothing as much as possible. I think this is somehow a good thing, right? My husband has taken on a strenuous walking program, so sometimes he walks to the grocery store (8kms round trip) for us. We participate in earth hour every month. I seriously try to have no more than 2 lights on in the house at the same time too!
Posted: 4/25/2008 10:56:08 PM

P: 4/25/2008 11:50:33 PM
miraclesrule Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,550 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 3/29/2008	I eat a lot of spinach. I am sometimes green with envy with I look at your wedding rings I love Shrek. I put my wine bottles in my recycye bin. Okay, I guess I have a lot of room for improvement. But I did start using a real plate and a cutting board instead of paper plates so I am making progress. I also use sponges instead of paper towels and I have started an initiative at work so we stop using paper cups and use glass cups since we have a dishwasher in the lunchroom. I keep all my files digital at work so I don't use as much paper. (That's a biggee, because I work in a quasi legal field and you know the saying...Lawyers are the only people who can write a 10,000 word document and call it a "brief") Americans are awful at this sort of thing. When I traveled in Europe, Itay and Vienna all the waste containers on the street were comprised of three receptacles, one for trash, one for waste, and one for recycling. They really could be a big seller in America. How did you get energy bulbs to work on a dimmer switch? I could't locate them for recessed lighting in my city. _____________________________ Feeling Blue and Blech Today
Posted: 4/25/2008 11:50:33 PM

P: 4/25/2008 11:59:32 PM
monarch64 Ideal Rock Total Posts: 9,552 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 8/12/2005	Date: 4/25/2008 11:50:33 PM Author: miraclesrule I eat a lot of spinach. I am sometimes green with envy with I look at your wedding rings I love Shrek. I put my wine bottles in my recycye bin. Okay, I guess I have a lot of room for improvement. But I did start using a real plate and a cutting board instead of paper plates so I am making progress. I also use sponges instead of paper towels and I have started an initiative at work so we stop using paper cups and use glass cups since we have a dishwasher in the lunchroom. I keep all my files digital at work so I don't use as much paper. (That's a biggee, because I work in a quasi legal field and you know the saying...Lawyers are the only people who can write a 10,000 word document and call it a 'brief') Americans are awful at this sort of thing. When I traveled in Europe, Itay and Vienna all the waste containers on the street were comprised of three receptacles, one for trash, one for waste, and one for recycling. They really could be a big seller in America. How did you get energy bulbs to work on a dimmer switch? I could't locate them for recessed lighting in my city. That's how it is here in our suburb, west of Chicago, we have one receptacle for garbage, one for glass/metal, and one for paper. In many suburbs here, recycling is mandatory, in ours it happens to be voluntary. But all you have to do in ours is call the Village Department and have them drop off recycling bins, and you're all set. We didn't recycle the first 2 years we lived in this house, but since we started two years ago, it is amazing how much less actual garbage we just throw away, compared to when we didn't recycle. ETA: LOL re. Spinach and Shrek! "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Henry David Thoreau
Posted: 4/25/2008 11:59:32 PM

P: 4/26/2008 12:05:46 AM
heraanderson Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,139 Last Post: 11/20/2009 Member Since: 7/13/2007	Date: 4/25/2008 10:54:23 PM Author: fisherofmengirly How would you find low VOC paint? Is it carried at all stores? Home Depot is going to carry Freshaire. Here's the page: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=KH_BP_PA_Freshaire_Brand&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=dept-_-d24-_-main-_-hero3-_-freshaire_paint And there's no paint odor!!!
Posted: 4/26/2008 12:05:46 AM

P: 4/26/2008 12:12:36 AM
mimzy Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,812 Last Post: 11/20/2009 Member Since: 7/17/2007	i recycle what can be recycled, buy local produce,shop goodwill and i drive 60-65 on the expressway to cut down on fuel consumption (speed limit is 70 here, with average speed being about 78mph). [it's good to be good to people you don't understand]
Posted: 4/26/2008 12:12:36 AM

P: 4/26/2008 2:17:01 AM
brazen_irish_hussy Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,535 Last Post: 12/27/2008 Member Since: 6/13/2006	I don't drive. ever. I always take the bus or walk. When needed I will catch rides, but, again, I never drive. We use mostly cleaning products from the "clean team" which are all natural, very effective and economical and enviromentally friendly so they don't put chemicals into the system. I shower every other day. I used to have to shower twice a day, but with my omega 3 pills I don't get oily so I can switch it out. I never throw away batteries or electronics, I only take them to special recycling centers. I only keep on the lights I need. We keep our heat very low and don't have AC. I do wear cotton clothes, but unless it is organic cotton, it is actually really bad for the enviroment because more pesticides are sprayed for cotton than any other crop. I wear rayon and modal cotton mixes which don't cause anywhere near the enviromental impact but are still natural. I actually have modal sheets from BB&B which were cheap and the softest sheets I have ever slept on, I really love them. I know cuddledown has sheets made from bamboo which is also much better for the enviroment.
Posted: 4/26/2008 2:17:01 AM

P: 4/26/2008 3:44:01 AM
Macie Ideal Rock Total Posts: 877 Last Post: 2/27/2009 Member Since: 10/23/2005	Oh I love this post!!!!! I get so happy when people realize that just a few easy steps can make our earth happier. I recycle nearly everything old furniture I give away to our local churches and so forth I like to buy old furniture from places instead of buying new Use cloth towels to clean - micro fiber to pick up dust without using chemicals Open my windows to my house in the morning and turn off the ac Buy smart cleaning odd and ends I love Seventh Generation for laundry and dish detergent I wash most of my dishes by hand, saves tons of water Light efficient light bulbs Use car as little as possible Eat vegan I am in the process of trying to make a veggie garden in my back yard I have a black thumb so this should be interesting. Also I use a push mower instead of a gasoline one and electric clippers for the bushes Buy organic make up and body things
Posted: 4/26/2008 3:44:01 AM

P: 4/26/2008 11:07:15 AM
Pandora II Ideal Rock Total Posts: 6,262 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 8/3/2006	- We recycle everything - the council has recycling collections every week and we have recycle bins for cans & bottles on the estate. I give everything we can to charity shops rather than throw it away. - Low-water flush loo. - We don't own a car and use public transport instead. - I buy a lot of things second-hand (I love those people who buy a new wardrobe every season and sell last seasons on ebay!) - We do our grocery shopping on line every 3 months so we rarely end up throwing food away as there is no impluse shopping. - Environmentally friendly washing powders/liquids/cleaner etc - Bamboo flooring (looks amazing, doesn't warp, can be used in bathrooms, kitchens etc and is MUCH cheaper than carpet or hard wood flooring). - I'm trying to use cloth bags so I don't need plastic ones. - I have a 90% paper-free office, use recycled paper for all the printers and we also recycle everything at work - cans, bottles, paper etc . It's an ultra-green political party so we have to practise what we preach. - All the bed-linen and towels on our wedding list are organic cotton from a fair-trade programme. I wanted to get bamboo towels, but John Lewis has stopped stocking them. - The next house we buy we are planning to install under-floor heating as it keeps energy costs down. I will admit to be bad at: - Not leaving appliances on standby - I don't like the low-energy light bulbs I was at a tradefair last week where they had these placemats and napkins on a roll that you just tear off. They were 100% recycled cotton and you could either stick them in the washing machine or throw them away. The guy explained to me that they were a lot more environmentally friendly than paper napkins. They were pretty cool.
Posted: 4/26/2008 11:07:15 AM

P: 4/26/2008 11:34:16 AM
Mrs Mitchell Ideal Rock Total Posts: 875 Last Post: 11/22/2009 Member Since: 9/23/2006	We try to do all the obvious stuff- recycle, compost waste wherever possible, give food waste to our hens, avoid chemical cleaners where possible, low energy lightbulbs, don't leave appliances on standby, high thermal insulation rating for the house - windows and loft insulation, dry lining internally etc. We're thinking about putting up a couple of wind turbines, but I'm not yet convinced that they are achieving much on a domestic scale. I'm looking into it. I try not to fly more than once a year (ok twice, since I've always come home again) and I've planted at least one tree for every flight I've taken in the last three years. Fruit trees, mostly. I may live to regret this, but we've bought natural bamboo fibre diapers for our baby (due in May) to avoid putting disposables into landfill. Hmm. Wish me luck! We boycot supermarkets (and write to let them know, not that I imagine they care) in favour of local, unpackaged food from independent retailers, ethically sourced and produced where possible. It was a pain at first, because I was so used to doing a big supermarket shop once a week, but I don't think twice about it now and we eat better quality food. Oddly enough, although it's probably more expensive, I spend less on groceries than I used to, since I only buy what we need and there are no 'special offers' to tempt me to buy things I don't need. I suppose buying less stuff overall helps a bit too, in green terms. Most of what I do is out of guilt, to compensate for my total reliance on my big diesel car - I don't do public transport unless forced. I loathe trains and busses with a passion (in the UK, anyway, they are generally apalling). At least I don't buy new every other year and it does give decent miles to the gallon. I know, it isn't great.
Posted: 4/26/2008 11:34:16 AM

P: 4/26/2008 5:34:40 PM
MC Ideal Rock Total Posts: 8,835 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 2/8/2003	We use cloth grocery bags and also I hang most of my laundry up to dry. We also have the three bins - yard/food waste, recycling, and trash. My one gripe is that hardly anything is accepted into the recyling. Just glass and plastic. The centers here will not take cereal boxes. The non-green thing I do is wash all my bedding and towels in hot water. For years, I used all cold and then my son developed allergies and kept blinking CONSTANTLY. We took him into an allergist and he recommended washing all the bedding in hot water and that did the trick, and now I realize that is more sanitary since we sleep on the bedding seven days a week!
Posted: 4/26/2008 5:34:40 PM

P: 4/27/2008 8:44:10 AM
laine Ideal Rock Total Posts: 582 Last Post: 11/12/2009 Member Since: 2/21/2006	Date: 4/26/2008 5:34:40 PM Author: MC My one gripe is that hardly anything is accepted into the recyling. Just glass and plastic. The centers here will not take cereal boxes. Ours doesn't take non-corrugated cardboard either (like cereal boxes). Apparently its because the fibers are too short (I think its usually make out of already recycled material) to do anything with efficiently. The costs to collect and recycle it are too high since the material isn't very useful. I felt better about not recycling it once I learned that. Can you recycle metal? Apparently thats one of the most cost efficient things to recycle (as opposed to make new).
Posted: 4/27/2008 8:44:10 AM

P: 4/27/2008 3:00:20 PM
MC Ideal Rock Total Posts: 8,835 Last Post: 11/23/2009 Member Since: 2/8/2003	Date: 4/27/2008 8:44:10 AM Author: laine Ours doesn't take non-corrugated cardboard either (like cereal boxes). Apparently its because the fibers are too short (I think its usually make out of already recycled material) to do anything with efficiently. The costs to collect and recycle it are too high since the material isn't very useful. I felt better about not recycling it once I learned that. Can you recycle metal? Apparently thats one of the most cost efficient things to recycle (as opposed to make new). Yep, ours also takes cans. We rarely use canned food, so I forgot to list that. My husband has taken large metal objects to reycling centers too and also we're really careful about properly disposing of batteries. We use rechargable, but seems they do not have an eternal long life-span, but it's better than dumping more batteries.
Posted: 4/27/2008 3:00:20 PM

P: 4/27/2008 7:30:45 PM
PrettyBlues Cut Rock Total Posts: 297 Last Post: 11/5/2009 Member Since: 2/27/2008	- Recylce everything we can. I also try to give away stuff we no longer need, rather than trash it. - Low energy lightbulbs. - Hang out most laundry to dry - Don't own a car, we are part of a car-sharing company and mostly use public transport - Environmentally friendly laundry detergents and cleaning products - and I make some of my own. My SO laughs at me, but vinegar and baking soda are my best friends. - Use the half flush on our toilet (I have only ever seen this on Australian toilets, though it may be elsewhere - but it's a great idea) - Buy recycled toilet paper/paper towels - Use recycled paper litter for our cat - Try and use cloth bags rather than plastic - Carbon offset all my flights
Posted: 4/27/2008 7:30:45 PM

P: 4/28/2008 9:10:21 AM
fisherofmengirly Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,560 Last Post: 11/18/2009 Member Since: 4/14/2006	I just have to say that the microfiber towels work WONDERS. My mom got us a pack of them and they are the only way I dust anymore. They also clean hardwood floor like an absolute dream. I hear they kick butt on windows, too, but I've not ventured into that realm yet. They really are the coolest thing, as far as cleaning goes!
Posted: 4/28/2008 9:10:21 AM

P: 4/28/2008 10:34:59 AM
DivaDiamond007 Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,207 Last Post: 11/19/2009 Member Since: 6/7/2007	I'll admit that DH and I could both be better at being green but we at least try. 1. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Part of our tax dollars goes towards recycling and we have a bin to put out on garbage day. Newspaper, magazines, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles all go into the bin and picked up for us. There are also various drop-off sites around town for larger items. 2. We turn off lights when not in the room. 3. We put plastic over the windows and seal our doors in the winter to keep heat in. Big deal in our old house. 4. We change the furnace filter every 30 days to save on energy costs. 5. Donate items to Goodwill, Salvation Army or our church. Old clothes, furniture, small kitchen appliances, dishes, you name it. If we don't use it anymore then it gets donated if it's in decent working condition. If not then it gets recycled if possible and thrown out as last resort. We could do more and we're making an effort to do so. We both need cars and our city has super crappy (and scary) public transportation so that's out. I think plastic grocery bags are on their way out in our house too (even though we reuse those). Jess
Posted: 4/28/2008 10:34:59 AM

P: 4/28/2008 12:04:37 PM
sumbride Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,867 Last Post: 1/21/2009 Member Since: 2/17/2006	Our city started single-stream recycling this year which is just awesome. NO SORTING!!! Everything goes in one bin and the sorting facility handles it. It's fascinating. All of the paper that Baltimore recycles gets loaded up into a container and shipped to China. That kind of blew my mind actually, and I'm not sure how efficient it is what with the shipping, but, well, ok. They take shredded paper too so I don't feel guilty about shredding everything first... I can recycle all that junk mail without worrying about my name on it. So we now recycle glass, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard. Our cats eat 6 cans of food a day so I was glad to start tossing those cans in the bin instead of the trash. We are now working on buying things with less packaging, but that's become a bit difficult. We wash 98% of our laundry on cold. We have a programmable thermostat. We have no lawn, just container plants and we use water crystals in them to hold water. We buy local at the Farmer's Market for most all of our produce and some of our meat. Carpool... though we have 2 cars, we rarely use both of them at the same time. I take mass transit to work, but hubby drops me off instead of me driving those 20 miles alone. We leave our lights off most of the time as we get full sun during the day. Almost all lights have dimmer switches and the light bulbs are being switched for CFBs as they die. When I run errands, I work hard to stay within our zip code. It means less trips to the suburban big box stores, but it's better to keep the money local anyway, and is better for our gas tank. We're involved with our neighborhood greening team.
Posted: 4/28/2008 12:04:37 PM

P: 4/28/2008 2:45:38 PM
laine Ideal Rock Total Posts: 582 Last Post: 11/12/2009 Member Since: 2/21/2006	Date: 4/28/2008 9:10:21 AM Author: fisherofmengirly I just have to say that the microfiber towels work WONDERS. My mom got us a pack of them and they are the only way I dust anymore. They also clean hardwood floor like an absolute dream. I hear they kick butt on windows, too, but I've not ventured into that realm yet. They really are the coolest thing, as far as cleaning goes! I just tried them on windows the other day. Freaking amazing. Quick and streak free. Never using anything else! I use them dry for dusting, wet to clean baseboards and doors and light switches and such. Yeah, I love the microfiber. Oh, and buy them in the car care section not the cleaning section--they're cheaper that way for a big multi-pack.
Posted: 4/28/2008 2:45:38 PM

P: 4/28/2008 2:50:49 PM
fisherofmengirly Ideal Rock Total Posts: 3,560 Last Post: 11/18/2009 Member Since: 4/14/2006	a friend also just told us about freecycle.org. It's a great way to find things and to get things off your hands. It works kind of like craigslist.
Posted: 4/28/2008 2:50:49 PM

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