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| Crouching tiger, hidden Bronco, circa May 1983 |
When I was young, my Dad had a green Ford Bronco. We called it the Green Machine. I remember riding around in the back seat singing along to Thunder Road and Another One Bites the Dust (a song that I now hate, but not due to my association with the Green Machine).
These days, green usually pertains to the environment. Planet-friendly. A Green Machine would be someone who kicks ass in the sustainability department. While I am not a Green Machine, I try my best to think about what I'm doing and the resources I'm using. These are some of my attempts to reduce, reuse and recycle. Please share yours with me.
1. The last time I bought paper towels was December 2011. In January 2012 we started using washable rags and microfiber cloths to do the bulk of our cleaning.
2. I can't remember the last time I bought paper napkins because they seem to last for an eternity, but in January 2012 we started using cloth napkins. I feel really good about this and the paper towels because I'm not throwing out money or useless waste in the trash.
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| Napkins to the left, fake paper towels to the right, lucky bamboo stuck in the middle with you |
3. I stopped buying bottled water. On a daily basis, I carry water in a reusable bottle. For parties, I serve water in pitchers with some lovely lemons and refill as necessary.
4. Our recycles outweigh our trash three to one.
5. Ninet-five percent of our lightbulbs are compact flourescent bulbs.
6. I don't buy individually wrapped or disposable anything.
7. I use baking soda and vinegar to unclog drains instead of Drano. I use other enviro/make at home cleaners as well.
8. I pass my magazines on to my Mom so they get more than one read.
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| Magazines for mother |
9. I don't receive any bills in the mail and I pay all bills online. The exception is the Philadelphia Water Revenue Bureau. Hey fools!You deal in water, which is a finite resource. Think about the trees and offer a paperless billing option, and allow people to pay online!!! I don't mean the auto-deduction you just came out with, either.
10. I use reusable bags at every store. If I don't have them in the car, I will go to the store another day or I will carry my purchases out without a bag.
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| This is actually the very first reusable bag I owned. All these years later, it still has sass. |
11. I group errands together to save on gas and carbon emissions.
12. Before throwing something out or recycling it, I think of ways I might be able to reuse it. My Pop loves to go to flea markets, and he got me a wooden popcorn bowl. I'm not using it for popcorn, but I am using it as a planter outside this year.
13. I try to eat seasonally and locally. I don't have much room ground-wise to plant veggies. I do herbs in pots every year. This year, I'm trying some veggies in pots as well. Fingers crossed I don't kill them, animals don't eat them, and dogs don't attempt to pee on them.
14. I am a heat and AC nazi. A house shouldn't be 75 in winter and it shouldn't be 65 when it's 95 degrees and humid outside. No matter how much either of those scenarios would be to our joy and comfort, it's not good for the environment. In the winter I turn the heat down, put on a sweater, and get under a blanket. In the summer I wear a tank top and shorts and resist the urge to be hot under a blanket. MFD does not subscribe to this philosophy. See previous post on
Thermostat Wars.
15. I wash all clothes in cold water.
I don't compost, but I think about it. Does that count? Nope.
I hope something got you thinking hey, maybe I can do that too...and I also hope you can give me something else I can do to be more environmentally friendly. We are responsible for being loyal stewards of this planet so that future generations have a planet to live on.
Have a wonderful Wednesday! Only two more days in the work week for the typical Monday - Friday crew. Make them count! Crunchy granola cha cha cha, kumbayah and earth hoo-rah,
