green-ifying our life...

Over the past year, Jon and I have been trying to make conscious efforts to be better stewards of our world. Yes, I do realize this is trendy and the politically correct thing to do--be green. But when we really took a moment to think about how we can practically and conscientiously impact our earth and personal lives in a more positive way, we figured it's worth our while. With that, I was inspired to write this post after reading a friend of a friend's blog. So...what have we been doing to green-ify our lifestyle? It's really been in the simple things so far.

Recycling:

When we were in Asheville, we began recycling which is actually a bit of an effort to do there. In Connecticut, residents are automatically given blue bins into which recyclables are thrown and picked up weekly by a big truck. When we moved into our Asheville home, we were wondering where our blue bin was and when the truck came by the house. To our dismay, there was no blue bin and there was no truck. Unfortunately, we got into the habit of throwing away our plastic water bottles, plastic milk jugs, empty soup cans, etcetera. Eek! The thought of all I've needlessly contributed to a landfill somewhere pretty much appalls me. After about 2 years, we learned that we could buy special blue bags to fill with recyclables. Once we found and bought the bags (they were not easy to find), we started to recycle and yes, there was a truck that came by to pick them up. It's just a shame that it took us so long to figure out how to recycle.

Our dining room "recycling center"

We were dismayed to find out that our new home town, Mechanicsville, also does not have curbside recycling as part of its functioning. Jon was able to locate a recycling center which is not at all convenient, but at times we are able to load up the car with the contents of our dining room (which has become something of a recycling center) and drop it off at the center. We were so glad to find out that beginning in July, our subdivision will actually begin a curbside recycling program! So, we can finally once again set out plastic bins (which we have to buy!?!?!...but whatever) and have them picked up by The Truck. I'll be happy to have my dining room back and to be able to put the recyclables back out on the curb--something we haven't been able to do since our Stratford, CT days.

Diapers:

Also while in Asheville, I began to feel pretty guilty about all the diaper waste we were adding to the mounds of existing trash. I found a starter kit for gDiapers at a locally owned store called Amazing Savings. That store truly was my mecca for quality organic food (especially baby food), skincare, etc. at cheap (and I mean CHEAP) prices. So, the starter kit plus refill packs I bought at another great health food store helped us keep several dozen diapers out of the landfill. But, this is not a cheap way to diaper your baby! It's probably one of the most expensive ways at the moment, but it was easy and a good way for me to experience something other than traditional disposables while contemplating cloth.

A couple weeks ago, I began using bumGenius one-size pocket diapers. I mentioned these in a previous post, but I figured I'd update you on how my cloth diaper experience is going so far. These truly are pretty easy to get the hang of. They look cute and they're functioning seems adequate thus far. I have only used them on Dylan during the day since I still only have a few. Once I begin nighttime usage, I plan to add a doubler, which is an extra insert to absorb more moisture since I figure he'd pee through the first insert and end up with wet pjs and sheets otherwise. These dipes wash well. The covers haven't been stained at all and the inserts sometimes end up with slight discoloring after being washed. However, the sun, I have learned, is nature's best non-toxic bleacher. After setting any stained inserts out in the sun for a while, the stain disappear. Magic! I can't wait to buy more and have enough of these dipes for a whole day's use!

Front view of Dylan wearing his bumGenius 3.0 cloth diaper

...and the rear

Other areas we've made some changes include:

Lightbulbs - CFL's are one of the easiest things to do around the house and they're advertised and sold pretty much everywhere. As our lightbulbs die out, many are replaced with these.

Napkins - We recently made a switch to cloth napkins. I do a lot of laundry anyway (this happens once children come along) so tossing a few of these in with each load is really no big deal at all. I found a few sets on clearance at Marshall's so it's a cheap and easy way to save soiled paper from the landfill and it saves us from buying paper napkins all the time. If you figure we use at least one for every meal, between just Jon and myself we were going through 42 each week. That's a lot of waste.

Cleaning - While still in Asheville I was getting uncomfortable with the cleaning solution chemicals that I continually exposed to my family--especially Dylan. After doing a little online research, I learned that vinegar can be used as pretty much an all-purpose cleaner. I bought some empty spray bottles and a huge container of distilled vinegar. I keep the bottles filled with a 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water solution for quick all-purpose clean-ups. I'm not afraid to breathe the vinegar in (it just smells like salad dressing ;) ) and I wouldn't be afraid if Dylan somehow got into the bottle and had a taste. I don't think he'd like it, but at least it's not toxic! I'd like to learn more about different natural homemade cleaning solutions using vinegar, baking soda, and other stuff around the house. It's cheaper and non-toxic. I like that.

The Great Gas Crunch - We are all becoming way too familiar with this one. We need cars, right? Our society pretty much dictates this one. But what kind of cars do we NEED? And where and how often do we need to go places in them? At the moment, we have a Toyota Camry (which I love) and a little Honda Civic coupe (with no working a/c--poor Jon!). When we need to go somewhere with Dylan, the Camry always leaves the garage, but if Jon or I run an errand alone, the Civic wins. We've tried to streamline our driving as much as possible considering today's outrageous cost of gas. Many days, I don't leave the house which is somewhat easier anyway with a toddler and a baby in utero who enjoys spending time bouncing on my bladder. Jon, however, needs to get to work more days than not. He has begun riding his bike when he can. He gets his exercise AND gives the car gas tank a rest. With gas prices the way they are, this is a beautiful thing. While I would love a bigger car at times, this is not the time we'll be looking into one. And since I'm not having twins, I'm not sure when that would ever happen. So for now, we'll stick with trying our best to be as efficient as possible with our driving.

Shopping Bags - You know those reusable bags that are sold everywhere now? We decided to buy some. When grocery shopping, we try to remember to bring our own reusable Trader Joe's bags as well as an insulated bag for cold items. The last time I was at Kroger (a local supermarket) a funny thing happened. It seemed as though I ended up with an awful lot of plastic grocery bags in my cart and I couldn't even see the reusable ones I had given the cashier. Turns out the bagger put those bags inside a plastic Kroger bag. I didn't discover this until I put the items in the trunk of my car. I had to laugh. Oh well--I tried! That brings up another point, though. If you end up with bunches of plastic bags from your grocery store or big box store, recycle them! This is something else we just began to do. There is usually a box near the entrance for you to dump those bags. That way, they won't be sitting in a landfill somewhere and they can be recycled and repurposed for something else.

These are just a few of the ways we've tried to change our lifestyle to begin to think on a broader level. Would paper napkins be more convenient for us? Of course. But has it been a big deal to go with the cloth? Not at all. It's just a frame of mind, I have found. I welcome any of your suggestions as we delve more deeply into this realm of green-ifying our home and our lives. It's actually been a fun challenge. What has worked for you? What would you recommend for us? I can't wait to hear from you!