I made an earth day resolution or started to write some things down a bit back. Here's my list as it went down. Thought I'd share my resolve w/the rest of you mammas. At least some of you here would be able to appreciate it. Sort of like a New Year's one but a way to appreciate mother earth & what I should be doing.
I resolve to:
-use bar soap, shampoo, conditioner & face washes so that there will be no wasted containers
-keep cloth bags in the trunk of my car or truck so that i can cut down on having to ask for bags in the store as much as possible and forgetting to bring them in the first place. when i need to get bags at the store i'll ask for paper so that they'll at least break down & go back into the earth
- i won't put my produce into plastics bags at the store. they can be weighed just fine by the clerk w/o them
-not to fill out the tub all the way to the top if i'm taking a bath. i can soak just fine in a tub that's half or 1/3 the way full
-we will all use recyleable items in our lunches for ourselves and the kids ie our wrap-n-mats or other containers so that we're not throwing junk away all the time when we don't have to. this will also teach out boys an easy habit now rather than trying to teach them when they're older and already learned to throw away a sack lunch
-wash the windows & mirrors w/old newspapers (ok seriously if you didn't know this is an amazing way to get them clean)
Anyone have anything else i can add to my list?
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ashersmom
04-19-2007, 07:18 PM
Wow! That's great! I would not add anything, but rather focus on what's already on your list! Sounds great!:thumbsup:
My list is not near that long, I'm using bar soap, and re-using my paper sacks...that's it, but every little bit helps.:thumbsup:
LoveSunshine
04-20-2007, 08:58 PM
I'll join in! I watched Oprah's Green Show today and it was very inspiring and I was definitely excited to see it on such a huge, mainstream TV show (as I'm hoping the word will get out!). I am going to use organic cotton canvas shopping bags, along with mesh produce bags. I am going to call my local garbage company and rant about them not providing recycling (I'm in New Orleans, so I'm sure that's the last thought on their minds currently, but we are producing TONS of garbage around here, and I'm sure a lot could be recycled). I am also going to invest in a few of those SmartStrips they talked about on Oprah to cut down on wasted electricity. Can you believe that even though our appliances are turned off, they are still drawing electricity, and the figure was around 40% of what we pay is wasted electricity from dormant machines!!! That blows my mind. I am also in the process of switching to natural/homemade detergents, cleaning products, etc. I just bought a HUUUUGE box of Tide from Sam's Club, so that will get used first, but then I might venture into homemade laundry detergents! :goodvibes:
Krystyna
04-21-2007, 05:38 AM
I also watched a similar show to Oprah's but it was on at 10pm
wdube
04-21-2007, 11:48 AM
Great ideas, mama!
lancelotacres
04-21-2007, 12:55 PM
Great Ideas! I've made a short list too, but yours is much better and I hope to borrow a few of yours!
My list:
use mama cloth
no more sposies (we are new to cloth, started 5 weeks ago)
use homemade bar soap purchased from people, not corporations
use canvas bags as much as possible
Great ideas, and I think an annual Earth Day list is a great idea!
Hugs,
Lisa (I'm new here and not sure if this is going to work or not...)
keegans_mommy
04-21-2007, 01:15 PM
We do most of what the OP'er has on her list and we strive to do them everyday possible! :)
We are learning to grow an organic garden and learn more every year
we already use cloth bags for the grocery store, cloth napkins for our meals, cloth diapers on our toddler and a water/energy saving washing machine to wash our 18+ loads of laundry per week.
We already recycle everything or re-use it, we use vinegar and baking soda to clean with and our cleaning clothes are old wash cloths. We eat mostly whole foods so our packaging waste is reduced there and it's simply healthier :thumbsup:
Um........ when we pack a lunch, we use re-usable lunch sacks, our own tupperware containers and such so very little is thrown away.
Oh, I took my children on a field trip to a park so they could learn environmental preservation! We are constantly teaching them how to reduce their "footprints" on this earth so somebody else can enjoy living here :)
Right now, DH is looking into a company that converts used cooking oil from resturants and use it to fuel tractor trailor trucks that burn $2000+ of diesel fuel per month! It will cut their costs down and there is virtually NO pollution that burns off from it (no exaust).
Krystyna
04-23-2007, 12:23 AM
I just got another good idea - I'm gonna quit mailing out paper invoices with my orders. I just edited my online invoice that gets e-mailed to the customer to say
"NOTE: In an effort to cut conserve paper, you will not receive a physical invoice with your order. Please print or save a digital copy of this invoice for your personal records. Thank you for your effort in conserving the world's resources."
I think this will help save SO much paper. I encourage any WAHMs that don't already do this to join in. And I mean heck, what are they doing with this invoice? I also changed my return policy that required an original invoice for returns to require that they mail in the return approval code with their returns that they receive via e-mail or phone call from me.
SandyG
04-23-2007, 11:50 AM
yep! most of my cc and bank statements (except chekcing , need copies fo the cheks) are online, no paper.
btw what is smartstrips? where do you get these?? pls someone explain this.
make sure i turn off all lights if im not in a room.
boysandchef
04-23-2007, 11:53 AM
Thats a great list... I want to start using cloth bags for groceries... Where do you get them? Besides the grocery store, those are cheaply made IMO..
stanfordmommy
04-05-2009, 03:44 PM
We do most of what the OP'er has on her list and we strive to do them everyday possible! :)
We are learning to grow an organic garden and learn more every year
we already use cloth bags for the grocery store, cloth napkins for our meals, cloth diapers on our toddler and a water/energy saving washing machine to wash our 18+ loads of laundry per week.
We already recycle everything or re-use it, we use vinegar and baking soda to clean with and our cleaning clothes are old wash cloths. We eat mostly whole foods so our packaging waste is reduced there and it's simply healthier :thumbsup:
Um........ when we pack a lunch, we use re-usable lunch sacks, our own tupperware containers and such so very little is thrown away.
Oh, I took my children on a field trip to a park so they could learn environmental preservation! We are constantly teaching them how to reduce their "footprints" on this earth so somebody else can enjoy living here :)
Right now, DH is looking into a company that converts used cooking oil from resturants and use it to fuel tractor trailor trucks that burn $2000+ of diesel fuel per month! It will cut their costs down and there is virtually NO pollution that burns off from it (no exaust).
Awesome! I honestly didn't think of all of the farm uses for bio-diesel! CRAZY ME!
what a great legacy to leave your children.
