As I blogged about earlier this year, I want to make it a priority for our family to be smarter and overall more conscious about the products we use. Trust me, I know how overwhelming it can feel to have one more thing to think about, but remember that's how anything new can be, and preserving our earth CAN be done with little steps that when looked at collectively, make a big difference! Here's some small things my family does that have been super easy for us to incorporate into our daily life:
- Switched to re-usable bags whenever we grocery shop, and re-use the plastic sacks from other various stores as garbage can liners.
- Breastfeed our little one! I know this doesn't work out for every mom/baby, but just think about all of the plastic from the containers of formula saved!
- Switched to seventh generation liquid dish soap. This was only a $1 or so more than the "other stuff" and makes me feel so much better since I use on every surface our young son comes into contact with.
- Switched to metal re-usable water bottles since I heard that the plastic ones hold bacteria.
- Switched to bar soap in the shower instead of body wash in a plastic bottle.
- Drive a car (Scion) with very good gas mileage and low emissions, but carpool with my hubby/friends whenever possible.
- Turn off the lights in whatever room we're not using.
- Shop at farmers markets.
So, to follow up from my last post, yes, we still have some of those polluting cleaning products under our sink, but since I've been so happy with the Seventh Generation brand of dish soap, I do plan to switch them out as they run out (almost there!). The website of Seventh Generation also offers LOTS of coupons for their products, and will email them to you if you sign up for an account. I just did and found this question kinda fun. It asks- "What shade of green are you?"
- Light Green: I'm just starting to learn
- Medium Green: I incorporate green choices where I can, but I'm not hard core
- Dark Green: I'm very active in reducing my environmental impact
I'm definitely a medium green, but am excited about all there is to learn. Sadly our natural approach to cleaning our drains with vinegar didn't work, but I am planning on using my friend Annie's recipe (thanks again Annie!) for all-purpose cleaner. Here's the ingredients to her magic potion that she sticks in a squirt bottle and uses it for everything that needs to be cleaned!
- 1 Tbs. Borax (it's on the laundry detergent aisle and works great for tons of stuff like cleaning your toilet bowls and freshening your laundry)
- 3 Tbs. Vinegar
- 2 C. water
- 1 Tbs. dish soap
- I also add lavender and chamomile drops to make it smell good.
I love Seventh Generation products and was really excited when they came out with a disenfecting cleaner. Mra. Meyer's and Method products are great too. I switched everything out a couple of years ago and love not having to hold my breath when I clean. I was going to send you a link to coupons.com for $1 off a Seventh Generation product, but sadly they aren't there anymore. I printed them off and stocked up a couple of weeks ago. I think they might still have some on the Seventh Generation website.
ReplyDeleteI am with you, I am probably a medium green. I don't compost, still buy stuff in plastic, bathe my kids every day (instead of a shower),and use my washing machine way too much, but I try! Let me know what you think once you use the cleaner..I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love Method products too because they smell SOOO good and if I could afford to use all their products I would, but it is just more cost effective (not to mention eco friendly) to just make your own stuff and reuse the bottle.
Thanks for the Borax formula Annie. I bought a box two years ago and never did anything with it but this week I'm going to give it a try!
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