I have recently felt inspired to try to adjust our way of daily living so that we're a lot less wasteful. We take out a bulging full 13 gallon trash bag every night and for some reason it's started to bother me. I don't know why I all of a sudden have the urge to 'go green' as they seem to be calling it these days, but I'm trying to change things around here to incorporate more natural solutions (cleaning products, food we eat, etc.) I thought it would be fun to post some of the things that I've done. Nothing mind blowing, of course, just baby steps. I would love to hear some of your comments about what you might do and please tell me everything! Don't assume that I'll assume something basic because I'm not that smart. Today I'll post about my kids' lunches and snacks that they take to school.
1: NO plastic baggies, only reusable storage containers
2: Real, washable silverware, Wal-Mart has them 5 or 10 for $1
3: NO plastic disposable bottles or juice boxes. They take their water in plastic washable containers.
4: NO cute prepackaged puddings, chips, fruits, or vegetables. This one was kind of painful because those little things are really cute! I just pack them a storage container of pudding, chips, fruit, etc. and put their sandwiches or hot dogs or whatever in reusable sandwich boxes.
5: Cloth napkins. I haven't yet purchased these but it's on my list! I want to start using them for every meal and completely do away with paper napkins.
6: I just saw an advertisement earlier this week for boxed milk and I really want to pack that for my kids; they don't drink much milk but I know that if it's chocolate milk in a cute little box like juice that they will do it. So, if I end up getting those I will instruct my kids not to throw them away and I'll just rinse them out and we'll use them for crafts or something.
So what do you think? The bonus to all of this is, I think it will end up saving me money, too! OK honestly, I don't know if washing cloth napkins increases my laundry utility costs so that it wipes out the cost of the napkins, but maybe I'll get Jesse to figure that one out for me. This is the 3rd week I've been doing this and I honestly don't feel like it's any extra trouble at all. I'm so excited!!
Is this what happens when you only have one kid left at home? Time to worry about things like the environment?
7 comments:
Get the swirly energy saving light bulbs...totally worth it, you will save on your electric bill...unplug anything that you aren't using, including your chargers...if it is plugged in, it is sucking out power...
Good for you, Katy! I recycle plastic, cardboard, paper (junk mail, computer paper, etc), aluminum cans, and steel cans, even though I haven't lived in a community with curbside recycling since I lived in Boston. I just let it all pile up, then haul it to the recycling center when I'm on my way to that part of town for an errand anyway. You have great ideas! And you're right; what you're doing will save you money! All that prepackaged stuff costs more, plus the cost of the baggies to put it in. However, don't get too crazy going green..I saw an Etsy site online that sells reusable panty-liners. Uh-huh. A pack of three for $23.95. Thank you, I'll pass.
We recycle and thankfully now we have curbside recycling. In Ttown I would collect it in the garage and haul it off. Another thing I like to do, when possible, is hang clothes out on the clothes line to dry. I did it alot in Ttown, mainly b/c I used cloth diapers with Bliss and I had the space. Here may be tricky, but I have the line. This usually embarrasses Blasen, but he also complains about power bills. Also you can conserve energy by washing clothes in cold water. I really can't think of any other easy things to do.
You are a better woman than me! I was just telling Eric last night that I wasn't even concerned about the environment. I better repent! I do send my kids applesauce in a plastic container for lunches and I try to recycle sometimes. Does that count? I just can't give up juice boxes and lunchables (especially on those crazy days.
Wow, you had a lot of really good ideas, Katy! Cool. For my biology class last semester I had to take what was called a "Biological Footprint Quiz", and the quiz basically told me that I was single-handedly destroying our beloved earth. Ouch! So it gave me some suggestions on how to help save the earth: shower less often (um, yuck), don't flush the toilet every single time (WHAT???), and wear NATURAL fibers, like HEMP!!!! I couldn't believe it! So when your post started out saying you were trying to help the environment, I thought, "Oh no! Katy is dressing her kids in burlap sacks!" Haha. Love you!
I really am destroying the earth. I guess if I was a stay at home mom, I would have more time to wash all of those containers, etc. But I am paper plate queen all the way. That saves water though, right? Those cute little packages do cost more and I don't really buy those, so maybe in my own way I am helping:). I have never been into that stuff, no matter how many kids I had at home. How are you and Jesse? Did he find a job? I got a call and gave him a good reference!
I'm so glad to see you back posting again, and I'm glad to see you going green. Very nice!
Several years ago, I repented for kicking the earth to the curb, and we began recycling again. I use a corner in my kitchen for daily collection of all the paper that comes home from school (that is a lot of paper), plastic, aluminum, steel cans, paper board and card board. I have my kids pack it up in Walmart bags and take it to the shed until we happen to be going up to Florence where the recycling center is.
I also reuse homework and school papers that have one blank side. I put it in my office for printouts for yw and school stuff.
A few years ago we needed a new water heater, and we invested in a tankless water heater. It is more expensive initially, but when you shut off your hot water spout you save money:) It has also been a blessing because we never run out of hot water. I can run the dishwasher, washing machine and have someone taking a shower. No problem. It Rocks!
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