Being "green"

[anna7602]

Jul 21, 2014 21:31:42 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Jul 21, 2014 20:38:58 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

I purchased cloth napkins and cleaning rags from amazon about 3 months ago and it's amazing to see how little paper towels we use. Surprisingly DH was on board and I think we've gone through 1/2 roll of paper towels in 3 months when we used to go through 1 roll/week.

Agreed. We use cloth napkins, baby washcloths for cleaning DS' face/hands after meals, and unpaper towels.for cleaning kitchen messes (and rags like old socks, t-shirts, etc for cleaning) and go through a roll of paper towels maybe every 6-9 months. DH's parents have been to visit several times over the past 6 weeks and they've used like 3 rolls of paper towels - it drives me batty!

My parents' big thing is exercising their "right" to accumulate as many plastic bags as possible when they go to a store. It drives me insane. They were especially irate when I lived in France and they found out that stores there charged about 3 centimes for a plastic bag if you didn't bring your own reusable bag. I had dozens of reusable bags in my home to give them, but their point is that you shouldn't HAVE to use a reusable bag. SIGH!!!!!!

[aurora]

I only skimmed the replies so am not sure if anyone else mentioned it, but buying fewer things in general is green. Even if you need something e.g. household-related, try Craigslist first. Just don't do it if you're trying to get a queen sized platform bed frame in my area, since I've been unsuccessful at being the first responder for one of those for 6 months an it's getting irritating.

[tcu2003]

Jul 22, 2014 5:19:15 GMT -5 minzy said:

What about using a brick in your toilet tank to use less water per flush? And not flushing if it's just urine.

If you use dryer sheets, cut them in half.

In the winter, covering windows. I remember using some kind of plastic you seal with a hair dryer at a place I rented(?)

Change air filters monthly. Close the registers in rooms you don't use frequently.

I'm reaching here, but what about washing your hair less frequently? I only do it every three days or so because I'm too lazy to take the time to dry it. As a result I am using a lot less shampoo than I used to.

If anyone still used fabric softener (sheets or liquid), I highly recommend the switch to wool dryer balls instead. There are tons of options out there. I bought from this etsy seller, and liked them so much I've purchased a few other sets as gifts:

www.etsy.com/shop/CleanSypria

We've had ours for over 2 years and they're still going strong.