I wanted to talk a little bit about the things I try to do for the earth. Ultimately there is so much more I can do, and each one of the things listed, I have baby stepped into. I just thought it might be some interesting food for thought since Earth Day is this week.
We planted a garden this year.
We love composting!
My husband uses a Reel mower to cut our grass. It’s silent and it uses no gas or electricity. I learned in this month’s edition of National Geographic that the average gasoline-powered push mower puts out as much pollution per hour as eleven cars—a riding mower as much as 34 cars!!
We recycle and we also take the extra time to break down cardboard boxes and deliver them to the recycling center here in Edmond.
We buy as many organic, fair trade, and locally grown foods as possible, and we try to remember our reusable bags when we go shopping, although it doesn’t always happen. It is estimated that it will take 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose!
We avoid plastic water bottles because the are not only bad for the environment, but they also can leech toxins into the water inside the bottle. We have a a bunch of these non-plastic bottles from SIGG.
I try to purchase toiletries that are made without unnecessary dies, chemicals, or additives. My favorites are Aveda and Alba Products (Target has a pretty decent selection of toiletries by Alba)
I’m anti CFL (although we have a few from when we didn’t know better), they have horrible color rendering, and they contain mercury and rare earth phosphors. We now use halogen bulbs, and a dimmer instead. If you dim a halogen bulb to 50%, you will save over 40% energy and your light bulb can last more than 10 years. We use LED lights in our closets, garage, and spaces where light color quality is not an issue. The downside to LEDs is that they are expensive. The great thing about them is they turn on without that little pause CFLs have, they use even less energy than a CFL.
We try to clean as many things as possible with earth friendly cleaners. My favorite is a solution of 1/2 vinegar 1/2 water and a few drops of peppermint oil. I use oxy-clean instead of bleach.
Whenever we purchase appliances and electronics we make sure they are Energy Star rated.
I take all our dry cleaning to Vista Cleaners at 2120 E. 2nd and they are do a great job and are super friendly. They use PERC free solevents to clean clothes and they have great prices. This is an article about the dangers of PERC solevents
I try to only purchase items that I really will use frequently, and when I find that my old ____ is collecting dust I take it down to the Hope Center drop off. It is my understanding that they rarely throw stuff away unless it is truly trash. They also take whatever they cannot use to Goodwill.
When I do buy new household items I choose ones that are made from sustainable products like bamboo or recycled materials.
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