Our Own Shade of Green

"Green Living" is a relatively new phrase and many people are feeling the need to be "Green." I have been trying to live this type of lifestyle for many years now. When I first met my husband, he categorized me as a "hippie." Now, he just sees what I do as the way that it is.

Here is how we live green:

Grocery Store:

• I always use my own bags at the grocery store. If my 3 bags aren't enough, I insist on paper so that I can later use the bag for my recycling.
• While at the grocery store, I never use those little produce plastic bags unless I'm getting peas or string beans. Why put tomatoes, bananas, etc. in those bags? I always wash my food before I eat it so what does it matter?
• Carry out large items such as milk, detergent, etc. that way there's no wasted space in your sacks.
• I make it a point to buy items with recyclable containers. My town recycles numbers 1 and 2 plastics. If something comes in a different number, more often than not, I don't buy it. I also NEVER buy Styrofoam!

Eating:

• I am a HUGE fan of antibiotic free meats and eggs. My eggs are cage free. I always buy Pete & Jerry's Organic Eggs. They come in half or whole dozen containers. My meats (chicken, beef, and luncheon meat) are all free range, antibiotic free.
• Pete and I are trying to stay away from processed foods. No more Tyson chicken, corn dogs, Betty Crocker stuff, etc. I make most of my meals now. Tonight we're having a pizza that I make from scratch.
• Most of my vegetables are organic. I also buy organic macaroni and cheese as well as Newman's Own organic & fair trade coffee.
• The coffee filters that we use are unbleached.
• 90% of what we eat does not contain hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.

Personal Care:

• The shampoo and conditioner we use is from Nature's Gate. I also use their liquid hand soap (organic). 
• The dishwashing detergent we are currently using is Ecover (phosphate free). 
• For our laundry detergent, I use Arm & Hammer Essentials. 
• For my toothpaste, I use Tom's of Maine. 
• The deodorant that I use is also from the Arm & Hammer Essentials line. It is natural deodorant with no aluminum or parabens.
• My face wash is by Avalon Organics (facial cleansing gel).  The lavender, which is what I'm currently using, has a wonderful, calming scent.

Cleaning:

• The toilet cleaner that I use is produced by Seventh Generation. It is "non-toxic, biodegradable, no dyes."
• The general bathroom cleaner that we use is by Bonami. It is "earth friendly" with "no chlorine, perfume, or dyes."

Travel:

• We keep our tires inflated. We also have put nitrogen in all of our tires. Both of these things does add to our fuel mileage. A washed car also adds to fuel mileage as there is less resistance when you're going down the road.
• Pete and I combine trips and try not to let the car idle. Remember: an idling car gets 0 miles per gallon.
• We traded in our Pontiac Grand Prix for a Smart Car! We went from about 18 miles per gallon to 44 - 48 miles per gallon!
• I am lucky enough to carpool to work with someone 3 to 4 days a week.

Clothing:

• I am beginning to make some of my own clothes. This saves money and travel (on my end and for the item itself).
• We donate clothes on a yearly basis. If something hasn't been worn in a year, it gets donated. This is a form of recycling.
• Dry cleaning: I hate it. If something says "dry clean only," I wash it. The only things I don't wash are 100% pure wool. Pete, unfortunately, gets his work clothes laundered at the dry cleaner. We have asked that his clothes NOT be wrapped in plastic. All that plastic isn't needed!

In the Home

• We replaced most of our lights with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights). We have regular incandescent only in areas that we turn the light on for a second and turn it back off again (i.e. coat closet). CFLs work best when they can be left on for periods of 15 minutes or more.
• I recently replaced my plastic shower liner with a cloth one. Having a cloth one means a longer life as I can wash it multiple times.
• Open the windows! Pete and I have central A/C but it was used little this summer. We opted for a more eco-friendly way of cooling our home: fresh air! We opened our windows and used a couple of fans when needed.
• I have a clothesline that is used during good weather to dry my clothes. Again, this saves energy and money!

Waste

• We recycle as much as we can!  Everything that we use that is glass, aluminum, or plastic (#1 and #2) gets recycled. Cardboard as well: toilet paper tubes, tissue boxes, pasta boxes (rip out those plastic windows first!), macaroni and cheese boxes, etc.
• Remember to check your lids too! Just because it was on your milk jug doesn't necessarily mean that the lid is the same number!
• Pete and I also compost. If you're interested about how I do that, check out the post I wrote a few days ago. You can link to it by clicking HERE.
• Garbage: ugh. What a nasty word. To help reduce what you throw away (which either goes to a landfill or gets burned) think about each piece you throw away and where it will end up. I cringe every time I throw something away.

I could go on and on but this is our "green lifestyle" in a nutshell. I hope to keep adding to the list as we try to make more areas of our living "green." If you have any additional tips that you would like to share, please leave it in my comment section. Be happy, be green!