Post by wildfloweragain on Oct 21, 2014 7:05:36 GMT -5
My bad things are paper towels, and k cups. I'm planning to switch to the fillable cups, but have not yet.
I clean with vinegar, use the diva cup, we use mostly organic.
Oh, we do have co ops near us but we don't belong to one so we buy all our produce at wegmans. It's organic and we live near the organic farm, but co op would be a better choice if I were a SAHM and had some time.
Post by lightbulbsun on Oct 21, 2014 7:22:16 GMT -5
I get the toilet paper without the tube, which makes me feel a little better, haha. It's really soft.
I use paper towels for some things.
I use a space heater under my desk at work. Although, if the building was a reasonable temperature I wouldn't need to. They keep it cold in the summer and colder in the winter.
Sometimes I'm too lazy to take kitchen waste to the compost pile, so I'll throw it out
Post by Miss Phryne Fisher on Oct 21, 2014 7:30:30 GMT -5
I think some paper towel use is fine. I used to use 6-8+ rolls a month, and always Viva (the only paper towel worth buying, IMO). Now I use Zwipes cleaning cloths. I also keep a set of (never used as diapers) Birdseye flat fold diapers to wipe kid faces and such. I have a stack of cut up shirts for extra gross pick-ups upstairs, they just get thrown out with the mess. I have a puke/poop clean up bucket with a stack of cloth wipes from our CD days that I use with Biokleen carpet cleaner in a spray bottle.
All that said, I still use about 1.5 rolls of paper towels a month. I buy Viva Vantage select-a-size and use it to pick up poop/puke downstairs and to clean toilets with. I think I have made a good change, and the laundry comes to about 1 load a week, no biggie. Oh and DH has Crohn's and his motto is "be kind to your butthole" so we will only ever buy the soft/strong TP.
I started using the Seventh Generation dish soap a few years ago and it is awesome on my dishes and my sensitive skin. Plus the lavender mint scent is so yummy.
We still use paper towels, though I would like to get away from this. I just haven't explored other options all that much. We mostly use them for covering food in the microwave and as napkins. I have rags for actual cleaning.
I would really like to use a natural, cruelty-free toothpaste, but I need sensodyne to keep my teeth from hurting. And I tried giving up regular deodorant, but ended up going back to it.
We do make good use of our commercial composting service, buy mostly organic (especially for the dirty dozen), use natural and cruelty-free cleaning products and detergents, and we are getting a quarter of a grass fed cow this weekend!
For the toilet (this really, really works): turn off the water, flush so the bowl empties, put duct tape over the holes on the inside rim, scrub with baking soda/vinegar, pour in a gallon of vinegar, let it sit overnight. This cleans out the inside stuff where the bacteria lives. Your toilet will stay cleaner much longer.
I'm a closeted granola girl. I guess TP is a big one I can't give up. I'm good about using my glass bottle for water (or my glass camelback) but I will use bottled water on occasion. I really tried natural deodorant but I get too stinky. Not much I can do about the driving I do...
We recycle just about everything we can Use rags up instead of paper towels Alternate cleaning supplies I'm big about not wasting electricity and water All organic meat at home plus we follow the dirty dozen list We donate any older clothing and supplies to veterans groups for reuse
Food-wise: Refined sugar - candy, cookies, baked goods. For awhile there I healthified that stuff but it didn't taste nearly as good and life is too short to eat shitty desserts.
Environment/household stuff:
We tried composting this summer but gave up halfway through because we were both too lazy to regularly carry the compost stuff from our house out to the compost bin. Basically I had a bin of rotting food in my house and it smelled so bad by the time I'd dump it out that I'd practically hurl. I'll try again next summer.
We use regular TP, plus my H insists on using wipes. I know for a fact that he will revolt if I try switching to a lesser ply TP.
Beauty products: I use Colgate toothpaste and regular deodorant. H has recently switched to a non-aluminum brand. Maybe I'll give it a try again, but last time I felt I was stinky.
I don't feel horrible about paper towels. I don't use a ton of them, I really don't, and at least they are biodegradable. I feel much more guilty when I do a microwave meal with a one-time use plastic dish. That's just going to be around for a long time. Paper towels are at least renewable.
Fiji water makes no sense to me. I see no reason to pay to have water shipped from the other side of the globe. If you really must have bottled water, can it at least be from the US, if not your state?
I have never understood people with tp issues. I've used single ply scott tissue for years, because I don't have to buy it that often. A roll lasts a long time. Do I just not have a sensitive ass? I use toilet paper at other peoples houses and it's all thick and velvet like and... I don't need that. My ass is just not that delicate.
What are things you can't give up. We have been making some big changes over the past few months. I'd say 90% organic food, doing almost all shopping at Whole Foods, switching cleaning products, detergents, soaps, we stopped buying paper plates, plastic utensils, we're recycling everything we can and I'm sure I'm missing a few.
Things I can't seem to give up: Paper towels - I pick up some form of animal vomit/shit/pee daily. Bagel Bites - I know, I know Normal toilet paper New clothes I don't like the rotisserie chicken at whole foods, so I got one from a local store today for my gumbo
Anyway, share yours and help me think of other things I can change.
Things I can't seem to give up: Paper towels - I pick up some form of animal vomit/shit/pee daily. Bagel Bites - I know, I know Normal toilet paper New clothes
Annie's now makes bagel pizza and pizza rolls!
It at least has better quality meat and cheese. H was pretty happy he could "feel like a kid" eating these, lol.
I have and I like it a lot. But our little neighborhood market doesn't stock it and I am rarely motivated enough to get in the car to drive to a bigger grocery store. Luckily I only drink the Coffeemate on weekends; during the week I stick with soy milk (arguably not much better) at work.
I've tried the natural bliss and I prefer the crappy, fake stuff. I don't even do the fat free. What's my problem?!
But the Fat Free is even worse! No way in hell should coffee CREAMer be fat free, lol.
Good TP Bottled soda (I've tried getting the 2-liters and refilling a reusable bottle, but no. It goes flat too quickly and I despise flat pop) Non-organic food. If I weren't on a tight budget, I'd go organic where I could. But when I can get non-organic celery for .99 but the organic stuff is 1.99, I'll go for the NO because I want to save that dollar. Deodorant. No one in my life would appreciate if I gave that up.
I did make a whole bunch of DIY cleaners, and I made a huge batch of DIY laundry detergent. I'm happy with all of them, but H refuses to use anything but Pledge, Dawn, Tide, and Windex. I guess good thing I do most of the cleaning...?
For the toilet (this really, really works): turn off the water, flush so the bowl empties, put duct tape over the holes on the inside rim, scrub with baking soda/vinegar, pour in a gallon of vinegar, let it sit overnight. This cleans out the inside stuff where the bacteria lives. Your toilet will stay cleaner much longer.
/end thread
too far, guys. too far.
LOL. But then you don't have to clean it as frequently because it doesn't get dirty as fast!