Name: Janel
Location: Chicago
Profession: AT Editor
Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a green expert but (thankfully) that is not required to be part of our Green@Home giveaway - our goal for July is to gather and share some of the small steps that we have all taken to move to a greener place at home. As we all know, the little things really do add up and seeing what everyone is up to should be interesting and inspirational.
So, to help kick things off and (hopefully) inspire some of you to send us in info on how you live green@home, here are some of the small green "moves" my family has implemented at home...
Green Move #1: Buying and eating organic and local whenever possible -it's easy to do in our neighborhood with Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Stanleys and the (seasonal) Greenmarket and Farmers Market all in walking distance.
Green Move #2: No more imported bubbly (at least not the non-alcoholic kind) - we use a soda siphon to make bubbly water from our...
Green Move #3:...filtered tap water. We made the move to a zero tolerance policy on bottled water and the filtered stuff is delish!
Green Move #4: No more shopping bags - we installed easy access hooks in the kitchen to hold our bags and use them for every trip to the market.
Green Move #5: No more cars - we've been a bike-only family for 8 years now.
Our next challenge: getting our condo a better recycling system - it is in the works...
Please send us photos and info on how you live green@home. This is not a contest, just a way to build up an AT inspirational database of sorts on how real folks are living greener at home.
Simple, straightforward ideas are welcome, like how you deal with your recycling bin in a small kitchen, and so are ambitious projects - like your amazing green roof. We hope to have a big archive of ideas to inspire us all by the end of the month.
In exchange for sharing your green@home ideas, Ecover is giving the first 100 of you that we post a thank you gift from their line of green products.
The submission form and all the details are here - hope to hear from you today.
Wheeeeeeeeeee, Janel on a bike!
view jessica's profile
1) Salvage and re-purpose household things before buying new.
2) Donate or sell or Freecycle rather than trash unwanted things.
3) Buy old.
4) Cloth napkins at the table.
view wig3000's profile
I have a neighbor who calls herself an "environmentalist." She actually is a good friend. However, she doesn't recycle. She's attempted it but she rarely does. She and her family throw everything, including plastic bottles, in the garbage. I've made gentle suggestions and hints, but she doesn't see to get it. Now , most recently she purchased a new SUV.
It's frustrating to watch but I don't want to hurt our friendship. What would you do?
view Rachel Abrams's profile
I think your neighbor's problem solves itself. She just bought an SUV, which means she's going to have to start spending a fortune on gas, which means she and her family will have less money to spend on the useless detritus of consumerism they refuse to recycle.
In all seriousness, there's not much you can do. People recycle (when they're not otherwise inclined to) when circumstances make it very easy to recycle, or very difficult not to recycle. So you can work with the laws in your city and your garbage company to ensure that people don't have to sort their recycling, or implement rules that mandate recycling.
Appealing to your neighbor's conscience by trying to guilt her into recycling probably isn't going to work, but if she calls herself an environmentalist, you might be able to try by asking about the environmental causes she champions and then working around to recycling. But if she doesn't respond to that, there's probably a not anything you can do.
view lurker2209's profile
TEN THINGS ANYONE CAN TRY (self included):
(1) Fan instead of A/C
(2) Hybrid instead of SUV
(3) Bicycle purchase...so much fun! don't forget helmet.
(4) Unplugging chargers and purchasing power strip to turn on only when needed
(5) Showers instead of baths
(6) Couples showers instead of solo showers (ha!)
(7) Drought-resistant plants outside and succulent planters inside
(8) Cutting down on magazine subscriptions, sharing the ones we have, recycling when done
(9) Less eating of take-out stuff (containers!)
and last but not least -
(10) Training cat to use toilet to save on litter (okay, that may not happen....)
view tartlet's profile
My green lifestyle changes:
1. Went quasi-vegetarian last year (I still eat fish, milk, cheese; not chicken, beef, pork, etc.)
2. Virtually all bulbs in my home are CFLs - It took me a while to find ones that I liked. I settled on ikea ones.
3. Bought commuter bike in March (Schwinn World Avenue, which I highly recommend for those looking for a relatively inexpensive bike) , and have started biking to work (14 miles rnd trip), as well as using the bike to grocery shop on weekends. Side benefit of the biking and vegetarian diet: I've lost almost 20 lbs (5 more to go!) and look absolutely hot!
David
view david's profile
If you have kids, get them involved. Mine are in charge of collecting cans, and they receive all the proceeds when we take them to the recycling center. They also split the savings on the electric bill every time it is less than the prior month's bill, which is an incentive to get them to turn off the lights and TV when they leave the room.
Check into purchasing renewable energy fom your electric company.
Carpool!
view Cassidy06's profile
Hey everyone -
Thanks - These tips are great! Send them in on the form with some photos so we can post them and send you a thank you gift from Ecover...here is the link.
view janel's profile
To me being an environmentalist means you're an activist, not that you recycle and shop at whole foods. Ask your friend why she considers herself an environmentalist?
view inertia's profile
Hahaha, I love the... I've lost almost 20 lbs (5 more to go!) and look absolutely hot!
We just got bikes also and I can't believe how much fun it is, not to mention easier to get around than the huge car thats so difficult to park in the city!
The biggest problem for us is recycling, why can't we just get bins???? All we have is a large bin outside for papers only. I grew up in an area where we had bins, and living in Europe 75% of the year makes me very used to sorting and recycling EVERYTHING. It's frustrating here that there is no system for that.
view Tiffany's profile
This is a biggie, but it can be done--downsize your living space! In two weeks I am moving to a house that's half the size of the one I live in now (1170 square feet, down from 2300). And this is with BIGGER kids (teens). I figure they're going to have to learn to live in smaller quarters once they get to college anyway--and they are excited about the change.
We are going to save $150 a month on utilities, not to mention $800/month in mortgage/interest/insurance and hundreds more a year by having less to clean and mow!
view madsarah's profile
this is all so inspiring! how I wish I could bike to my job!
view jen_g's profile
I wish I lived in a climate that was comfortable to bike in but I would end up drenched in sweat from the 100 degrees in Texas everyday. And there isn't any place to chain your bike anywhere here :( Plus, I don't live in a big city so it would be more like a 20 mile bike ride to and from. That would take me awhile!
view witchbaby's profile