Going Green

I changed my light bulbs, as they go out, to those energy efficient ones... I forget what you call them but they're all over the stores.

I changed my laundry detergent to the green brand sold at Costco.

That's really all I've done so far.

Hi Lindee, thank you for wanting to go green. Here are some suggestions:

-use the green works products sold at walmart
-take bags with you when you go grocery shopping. If you want something trendier, there is a really cool website howgreenisyourbag.com with cool bags. I think Wal-Mart and Whole Foods also have bags available. I plan on gifting people with these bags in hopes of getting others to take their own bags to shop.
-Recycle whatever is allowable. Each county has a list of items that they recycle.
-Change the light bulbs to energy efficient ones
-I buy Nature Baby diapers, wipes and bags. There is some discussion that they can't biodegrade in the landfills because everything gets covered over but I'm not sure there is a solution. Cloth diapers need a lot of water to be cleaned.
-Keep as many lights and power sources off during the day as possible
-Drive as little as possible. I combine as many stops as I can into one trip. Now that the weather is better, I tend to take care of errands at night and not during traffic time.
-If you don't know about it, check out freecycle.org. You can post items you no longer need for others to come and get. You can avoid putting good things in the trash.
-If you can't buy organic, try to purchase produce that is locally grown. It saves on the amount of gasoline used to transport the items.
-Reduce the amount of bills you get in the mail by getting e-mail alerts.
-Set your thermostat as comfortable as is possible. You can use oscillating or ceiling fans only in the rooms being used. Check out this website for more home maintenance tips: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/
-Check out greendimes.org for a way to reduce junk mail and plant more trees.

There are more things that can easily be done. I will add more as they come to mind. I hope this helps in the meantime.

I know it's been said, but I am a big fan of cloth reusable grocery bags. I am so sick of seeing the plastic grocery bags stuck in trees and lining our roadways! I got very cute bags at SKEEDA.com. I bought 4 and they are so roomy that I can fit a large shopping trip's worth of groceries in them.

Good luck!

They sell a full line of green cleaning products at Central Market.

Hi Lindee - I have to agree with Janet...the best of science and nature!! You have to be careful with over the counter "green" they still have some chemicals/toxins in them.

Good luck!!

T.
www.tracyt.themomteam.com

Hi Lindee,
Great decision :) I have been a Toxin Awareness educator for almost 4 years. I am hosting 2 FREE Going Green seminars, one tonight in Dallas(635 and Josey area) and one next week on Thurs. at the Plano Chamber of Commerce at 7pm. Let me know if you would like to attend either one. :)
M.
###-###-####
www.LiveTotalWellness.com/Texas

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5527698
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5308800
Recycle Ink Cartridges http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5450291
Natural Cleaning Products http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5019907
Natural Hair Products http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5118556
Vegan low fat http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5036675
Oatmeal http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5158652
Egg Substitution http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5082115
Vinegar Cleaning http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5234601
Granola Recipe http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5061715
Spending Money Wisely http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5164255
Cheap and Green http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5137680&a...

I am trying to cut back on using paper towels and such, recycle, reuse items if I can... I am also more careful with wasting water, and I am trying to talk myself into going to cloth diapering, but I haven't done that yet!

Also, I try and purchase items with little packaging to waste, and I buy more earth friendly and natural soaps. I like the ones from here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5034755

Lindee,

Give me a call or respond back with a good time for me to call so that I can tell you how easy it is to go green. I market for a company that uses all natural products in their cleaners, vitamins, and personal care products. I would love to visit with you to teach you how to become a customer and go green without spending a lot of green!:) My number is ###-###-####.

H. M.

I work at home with a great company that is all about going green in your home. I would love to help you out with that. Visit my website at www.themomteam.com/janetmwright for more information.

I started using reusable bags to do grocery a few months ago. It is great since I have way too many plastic bags and always bring them back to recycle before. Now I will not accumulate more of them.

I bought 2 reusable bags from Target that fold into a square and snap. And I have a big cooler bag that I can put cold/frozen products. I can see the cashiers at various grocery stores are now getting used to them, though some of them are still not ver efficient in filling the bags.

I also re-use computer paper. Most printouts I have don't need to be kept, so I put them back into the printer and print them on the backside.

I recycle cans and glass but not newspapers. Cleaning the ink off of the papers leaves a toxic sludge that gets dumped in landfills if we are lucky. This is an interesting site. http://fortcollinsforumonline.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tab... I think it is great so many people are trying to keep chemicals out of our water and soil but we need to stay informed.