Name: Jackie
Location: Los Angeles
Los Angeles resident Jackie wrote us directly with some shining examples of a green lifestyle that extends from the car she drives, the lighting in her house, the towels in the bathroom, the use of energy efficient devices throughout her home and other insightful green ideas she's learned while living abroad in Germany and Hong Kong, where certain practices come out of necessity rather than the options we have here today. Take a peek below and see the various simple green changes that can add up to positive results in any household...
Green Move: I wanted to thank you and your readers for such inspirational ideas for "Going green." I really appreciate the emphasis that it really is not difficult at all and every little bit counts.
In my family culture we have always tried to live green, but I never knew it had a name until I came to the States. We have always been used to recycling (in Germany we have specialized recycle bins for glass, paper...although the system is still flawed....definitely another story... however, I do applause their efforts), using fans rather than the A/C, composting when we had a garden in Hong Kong, short showers and turning off the lights when we were not in the room (My dad was super vigilant about that!).
So here is my photographic ode to the green cause!
Thanks, Jackie!
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INFO:
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.
PRIZES:
In exchange for sharing your green@home ideas, Ecover will reward the first 100 ApartmentTherapy readers, who submit photo/essays demonstrating ways in which their lives are green, with their choice of Ecover Liquid Laundry detergent
, Ecover Dishwashing Liquid, or Ecover Glass & Surface spray cleaner. Each of the first 100 will also receive Ecover Heavy Duty hand cleanser.
Raksha Bella will reward one lucky sweepstakes winner with a complete bedding set made from all certiefied Indian organic cottons. The set includes a queen-sized duvet cover, quilt, two pillow cases and two European shams in the winner's choice of three designs. The Classic Collection from Raksha Bella features sumptous textiles in traditional Indian prints, handblocked with lowimpact and vegetable dyes. Choose from the Raj Paisley (available in Indigo or Rum Raisin), Tree of Life (in Canton & Mimosa) or Indian Rose (in Dusty Cedar, Cress Green or Indigo). A retail value of $1,165.00.
HOW TO ENTER:
To enter the Green @ Home Giveaway, please submit below. Submissions will be posted from July 7th to August 1 and winners will be notified by August 8th.
RULES:
Please, only one submission per person. Duplicate submissions will be discarded.
This is not a contest.
The first 100 posted submissions will receive a gift from Ecover.
The winner of the Raksha Bella Sweepstakes will be randomly drawn from all complete entries (even those that aren't posted).
Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Sweepstakes winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three business days will be considered such Sweepstakes winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries.
To enter, you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 or older to enter. Employees, partners and vendors of Apartment Therapy and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology. When applicable, the winner may be required to execute and return within five business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected.
All prizes will be awarded. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Apartment Therapy reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize. To receive a complete list of winners or a copy of the Official Sweepstakes Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Apartment Therapy, 22 Howard Street #4i, New York, NY 10013.
You or someone you know must work in health care. I myself have a love for using pilfered scrub towels as kitchen towels as well.
view cal's profile
it is really puzzling me to see this, because there is practically nothing in there that would not be normal here (here being Germany). it makes me realise that there really are quite a few differences in everyday life i wasn't aware of, despite having a lot of American friends. (what are you using for a hand towel in the bathroom - paper towels? LOL strange.)
view maike's profile
Hi cal...yup we do know some people in health care! ;0)
Hi Maike...Yes, what I posted above is very normal for my family. But in the States, where I currently reside, it seems a lot of people use paper towels for everything! So, I thought I'd just share what we have typically been doing...not knowing it was contributing to "being green" until recently. And no, I have NEVER used paper towels in the bathroom! LOL! However, I have been to houses where hand napkins were used to dry hands. ;0(
view Colormegreen's profile
None of this is particularly green; it's just common sense. And I live in Canada, not Europe. And we're not particularly abnormal (not among the people we know, anyway). Everyone uses dishcloths, bathroom hand towels, libraries and the like.
view wc_canuck's profile
I thought I was using dishrags and handtowels in the kitchen and the bathroom and my library card because I was broke, not because I was particularly green. But I guess Jackie doesn't see it has especially green either, so that's a relief at least.
Now I'm starting to think I could win this contest just by taking pictures of what's in my wallet. My bus pass, my library card, my AAA card (b/c when you only drive your car twice a month sometimes the battery dies, plus there are amtrak discounts!), the Tulley's gift card my mom gave me for my birthday (it has a photo of their compostable cup on it!), my debit card (every check you write has it's own little carbon footprint!) and we'll throw in a photo of my subway card, not because it's green in any real way, but the veggies on it look green.
Somehow I had the impression that saving the world from the scourge of global warming was harder than this...
view lurker2209's profile
This is all common sense! If more people would use their common sense, there would be a lot less waste!
view 8pe's profile
Um, wow. Who here doesn't do all of this already? Well, aside from the Prius. That's a different story... those of us who are "green" because we're broke can't swing that one.
view queenofthehighway's profile
Yeah, this is all pretty normal stuff. No one I know uses paper towels to dry their hands.
view jooly's profile
Paper towels are common in the kitchen in America, but I've only seen them in a bathroom in someone's home once in my life (and they're European!).
I dunno - I clicked on the tour link to get some new tips, but most people I know already do all this.
view greer's profile
The post omitted the part where I said "I know we still have a long way to go...".
Per the original Green post, it's not a contest, just a forum to share.
After numerous repairs the car I had close to over 2 decades die on me, I decided if I am going to get a car I would go the environmental route. Trust me, I AM paying out of the nose for the Prius.
view Colormegreen's profile
:-D thanks for the explanation, colormegreen - i am heaving a sigh of relief to see things are not quite as bad as i feared ;-)
view maike's profile