Saving the planet?

What are you guys doing? I've been line drying my laundry, trying to keep all the lights off, and recycling my plastic grocery bags and soda cans. Every now and then I read about a small little thing I can do and I try to add it to my goals. Any easy suggestions?

I use natural cleaners whenever possible, bleach, vinegar, baking soda etc. I also only use Bleach, Borax, and baking soda in the pool, no weird chemical to go down the drain

Well.. I recycle of course. I hang about half of my laundry. I have canvas bags for my shopping.
hmm. I use environmentally friendly cleaning and laundry supplies. I use the new light bulbs that last forever
and have to be taken to be recycled. I use lights as little as possible at home.

I keep the blinds closed during the day when its hot, and windows open at night when it is cool...
use a/c only when its really hot..

thats all i can think of...

We are seriously looking into solar power. Our home gets sunlight all day long. Hubby has been a stay at home dad for 7 years now, and is thinking of reentering the job market. One thing he's thinking of is becoming a reseller for alternative power sources.

We have been upgrading appliances as money allows. We're putting all electronics on switches so they are off when turned off.

I use the new lightbulbs too, as a bulb dies I replace it with the new ones.

I recycle all glass, paper and cans.

Recycle, recycle, recycle. That's my game. I also do most of what everyone here does. I try not to buy anything that can't be earth friendly like plastic chairs, etc. I don't use chemicals in my garden. I kill weeds by pouring boiling water on them. If I can use natural products to clean with I do. Some of it is not effective enough though, like some at the dollar store. Baking soda does a great job on just about everything. If I am not reading or on the computer at night, I leave the lights off. Since I don't have AC, it's closed doors and drapes until the sun goes over to the back then I close the the back and open the front.

Oh you all make me feel so totally un-green. I do have the cork screw light bulbs, we keep the AC on a higher channel, I don't use fertilizer on my lawn, and I "would" recyle paper, plastic and metal "if" my podunk town had such a thing, but alas, not the case here. Oh, oh, and I do wash with cold water... is that green?

And my house is a Star all-electric house

Clothes I no longer want/wear, all go to the Salvation Army.

When I go to hotels, I scarf up all the shampoo & soap and anything else, and donate it to the women's shelter. Is that sort of green?

But heck, okay, so I'm not real green , but do appreciate all you all do.

I was once called the queen of green and that was some years ago. The planet, we know as earth, has to change - history will tell you it does. The green concept has come with some Al Gore effect, that did not change my mind. Until the governments change their attitude towards corporate donations and grants - nothing will change.

bizzeedee wrote:Oh you all make me feel so totally un-green. I do have the cork screw light bulbs, we keep the AC on a higher channel, I don't use fertilizer on my lawn, and I "would" recyle paper, plastic and metal "if" my podunk town had such a thing, but alas, not the case here. Oh, oh, and I do wash with cold water... is that green?

And my house is a Star all-electric house

Clothes I no longer want/wear, all go to the Salvation Army.

When I go to hotels, I scarf up all the shampoo & soap and anything else, and donate it to the women's shelter. Is that sort of green?

But heck, okay, so I'm not real green , but do appreciate all you all do.

All of those are good, Dee. I only recycle aluminum cans and plastic shopping bags because no recycling here either. I'd have to drive to the north end of Richmond and probably the pollution from my car would be worse than not recycling. Wal-mart will take the plastic bags and recycle them, and the cans I save up 'til Christmas and then let Zaven and Caly split the money for taking them into the salvage yard. It's not much. Only about $10 each last year, but it should be a bit more this year because we've been doing it all year. So maybe $20 each? We'll see.

I also donate our old clothes and try to buy used whenever I can.

All the above, I use mostly baking soda, vinegar, borax, peroxide, lemon juice, and salt for most of my cleaning. I use cloth diapers 95% of the time. Recycle everything possible, line dry my clothes as often as possible, suffer without the A/C as much as possible. No chemicals, fertilizers here, oh and freecycle everything else.

I aint green at all. -----on purpose. ?? if it happens in my everyday life, it happens. sometimes I get tickled cause I have been doing for years things they tell you are better for the environment.

Basicly, I am poor. I was raised poor, and will always BE poor, so the way I live isnt too bad for the enviroment, But I dont try to make things better either. just too lazy.

I hunt and fish, then process and package my own meat. (less styrofome, no semi truck bringing it to market)
I garden and can (reuse the jars on my jellies and perserves from year to year, no cans in landfills, and save the ziplocs when I can. (those things are ExPENSIVE!) )
I only drive to town once a week or twice at the most. (cant afford it)
I dont water my grass or try to make it grow (thats work cause then you just have to cut it, plus you have to buy gas to cut it, and thats expensive.)
I burn all my trash that I can (no landfills, but really its cause trash pick up is 20.00 a month. )
I have the crappy low light bulbs, cause I am lazy, short, and hate changing bulbs and they last longer.
I wash with cold water (keeps the elec bill down)
I make hubby take his laundry to work (its free)
I only run a full dishwasher twice a day (although today it ran 3 times, and will be 1/2 full again after I reclean the kitchen. (elec bill again)
I turn out lights, (elec bill again)
I make alot of Rayleys clothes (cause its cheaper)
I try desperatly not to clean with any chemicals, or at all really
I reuse my walmart sacks (300.00 worth of groceries a week, is alot of sacks, and each one gets USED and quickly)
I try very hard to get things out of the dryer before they wrinkle so I dont have to waste precious energy ironing them (mine )
I dont waste water taking my truck to a car wash. I let God do it.
I use fishtank water for all my plants (it makes them grow better)
I try not to cook when its hot. or cold.
We dont use charcoal. we cut up trees. (thanks Rita)
I dont use lighter fluids and such. We use richlighter pine.


Of course there are things that aint changin. our house is 73* all the time. Day and Night. Matter of fact this winter I only turned off the AC for maybe a month.. me personally, I dont need it that cold. I wear sweats all year. BUT BR says he is NOT gona sweat all day at work and then sweat here at home too. (he doesnt say it that nice). And someone is in my house 24 hours a day. We sleep at night, he sleeps all day.

I aint takin a cold shower. Did that when we lived in a travel trailer, and after the huricanne. I'd rather stink.

I aint drinkin this water they pipe in. It smells like clorox.

I aint totin 45 fabric bags into walmart every week. for one, I cant afford to buy 45 of them suckers, and for 2. .... HELLO... 30-45 bags. uhhh NOPE. Where would I keep the dang things?

I aint relying on an electric car to drive me 20 miles to town and 20 miles back,, in 100 degree heat with 4 kids(actually yesterday it was 106, today 104) . be my luck that sucker would give out on Cambell hill and I dont walk. Plus, where am I gona put a round bale in a prius?

And I belive in poison. Hell, if someone offered me a nuclear bomb that would kill fire ants I'd take it in a heartbeat and give them what ever they asked for. If it killed ticks and fleas too I'd throw in a kid.

I am kinda not real green now that I thnk about it. More accidental, like Chelle.
I DO try to use household stuff like vinegar to clean, Club soda is the BEST window/glass/shiny things cleaner I have ever come across. Baking soda does wonders for soap scum, and plain old rubbing alcohol kills anything on your toilet.
I am bad about throwing things away that "could" be recycled, bad bad bad. I could be better.

I should work on that.
Maybe if we are lucky and flod, I will build a "green House" with my over insured flood insurance money.

I also have a front loader washer, which programs so it can wash during the night, which I often do! That and with two of us, rather than wash dishes all the time, I will rinse quickly and then run the dish washer once a week. I have many of my bills to receive online, cutting down on paper ...I would love to be able to use solar power! I have a very high mileage car, and plan trips to do all errands at once...fewer trips. I just keep hoping that little things will add up for us all.

I wish we could have solar power, at least part of the time. I am also a huge fan of wind power, although I know some don't like to see windmills....
we don't have them nearby...