going green – Page 4

Eco-Reviews

Howdy! I’ve talked a lot about our food choices (isn’t food one of the most important inanimate things, after all?!) and our cat goods, but we’ve also been trying some non-edible eco-friendly products, too! After all, there seem to be a million ways that people can go green. So, here are some of the products that we’ve tried, and what we’ve thought of ’em:

Picture from
Valley Naturals

Toiletries

As far as toiletries go, I’ve been more adventurous (to a fault) than Dave. We have lots of non-eco stuff stocked in our home that he’s doing a good job of trying to use up first. I was so excited to try out the items that I tend to swap between the old and the new. In general, the shampoos don’t do it for me. I consider myself to have “normal” hair (not too greasy, not too dry and flaky), so it’s been disappointing to find that the eco-friendly versions tend to completely strip my hair of any natural oils, making it completely impossible to comb through afterwards. Bummer! I currently have Nature’s Gate Daily Cleansing Herbal Shampoo and alba shampoo. Maybe I need to rethink the beauty regime ideas I’ve been cultivating since elementary school; I’ve changed the way I think about eating and shopping, after all. Either way, I’ve had MUCH better luck with alba’s facial scrub and body wash, though!

We’ve also been using Tom’s of Maine toothpaste and neither of us has had a single cavity at our recent dentist visits. I guess we don’t need to rely on Colgate or Crest so much! (Plus, I’ve grown used to the taste and kind of prefer it now. It took awhile, though.) On another “weird” point, I’ve started using Tom’s deodorant, too. I don’t hate the stuff, although it smells a little…manly (a hint of Old Spice or something I can’t put my finger on)…and I have to reapply at least once a day. Yes, I like it, regardless. 🙂 I think it’ll just take some trial and error on what works for me, but we all have our preferences. I can’t WAIT to try more Burt’s Bees products, as suggested by my future sister-in-law (can’t wait to cut out the “future” part!).

Paper Products

All of our paper goods, from tissues to toilet paper and paper towels to napkins, have been replaced by Marcal’s SmallSteps brand items. The price is comparable to the usual products PLUS there’s a coupon in our weekly paper at least once a month, which helps. It seems to always come out just as we’re getting low on one item. How convenient! (Oh, there’s an occasional Tom’s coupon, which helps, too.) By the way, if you’re interested in any of these products, just Google the item and “coupon” and it’ll help with the initial going-green wallet drain.

Clothes

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Picture from Zappos

I’ve dreamed about going green as far as wardrobe is concerned, but the best I can do is shop at thrift stores, which, honestly, is a challenge. My wardrobe is one of two things: professional (hard to find anything not circa 1980, and I’m NOT rockin’ the 80s comeback, thanks) or incredibly casual (mostly a variation of tee-shirt and jeans, both pretty disgusting when you find them at Goodwill — pit stains or nearly see-through material). That’s probably one of the biggest issues I’ve had with going green — knowing about sweatshop conditions and feeling guilty when I purchase ANY new article of clothing. I’ve done lots of research on eco-friendly clothing online (and even more “window shopping”), but the prices are just too steep for me, and the designs leave a LOT to be desired.

However, today I made a big step. I’ve been in dire need of new running sneakers (still another item I won’t buy from Salvation Army or Goodwill…sorry! Sometimes ya just gotta put your foot down — pardon the pun), and even with all the back-to-school sales, I just didn’t feel right purchasing “regular” ones. So, after still more research, I placed an order on 6pm.com (INCREDIBLE prices!) for a sneaker called END Stumptown (hee hee). For $32, these sneakers give the support I look for with recycled webbing and lacing, bamboo-infused lining & a Biosmart midsole made partially of recycled materials. Better than nothin’, and the price couldn’t be turned down. The only thing I’m worried about was that they had limited availability, so I had to order one of my two possible sizes (I’m a 9 or 9 1/2, depending), but that’s a concern anytime you order online. So, one small step (again with the puns!) towards a more eco-friendly wardrobe…let’s see if I can find my traditional work outfit of black slacks made of organic cotton at a good price!

Cleaning

The biggest winner in our household by far has been for cleaning: Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap. I use it to clean pretty much anything and everything, and it smells AWESOME. (Currently using peppermint.) Plus, it lasts FOREVER since you only need to use a drop. It’s by far our favorite product. For other cleaning, I’m trying out different laundry detergents (can’t wait until we have a water-saving washer! Saving up and dreaming and researching, oh my!), but I’m most impressed by adding good, old-fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax. I love that all they had to do was change the packaging from the 100+ year-old version to the green yuppie-pleasing kind to make it marketable again, lol. I mostly love picturing the women (hate to be sexist, but isn’t that how it was?), and mostly, my ancestors, who used it to give their soap a boost. Plus, the price ain’t bad ($.86 a pound)!

There are other cleaning products that we’ve been using for awhile, like the GreenWorks line. The one thing I have to say about them is that my mother is wrong. Before she knew that I was using green products (I’m still not sure that I’ve “come out” to her completely about our new eco-mindedness; I’ve just spouted off knowledge here and there, probably hinting about it…and she’s seen my hotdogs, so she must be aware), she told me that a friend of hers tried eco-products and that they didn’t cut grease or do a good job at all. I don’t see where that’s at all true, but then again, I’m a really good scrubber. 😉

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Image from Amazon.com

Oh, and we’re trying to use more rags and I purchased some microfiber clothes at TJ Maxx for good ‘n cheap so that I can dust without spreading chemicals about the place, especially with a cat with really bad respiratory problems and two humanoids with allergies (and, at times, asthmatic tendencies).

Final Thoughts (Nope, you didn’t just tune into Jerry Springer)

It just makes sense to start these trends now for several reasons. If we can balance our budget to make room for things like organic foods and all natural cleaning products now, we’ll be in the habit of doing so when our budget is much more strapped (hint, hint: future babies). Also, I’d like to know that our kids are surrounded by as few chemicals as possibly, hopefully lessening their possible issues that our poor genetics will inevitably giving them — I wonder how much of my asthma, major allergies, and generally “always sick” childhood could be attributed to genes vs. environment. All-in-all, we also want our kids to be aware of their environment, inside and out, and the idea of how precious it is; to teach a general responsibility and accountability for actions, not just “don’t hit your sister”, but “don’t keep flushing the toilet” and “littering is being mean to the Earth”. Hopefully, they’ll be well-rounded and aware, moreso than we ever were. We’re grateful for our upbringings or else we probably wouldn’t be as sensitive these days; we’re just considering how to make the place better for the future inhabitants.

If you have any suggestions on eco-products or web sites, please feel free to comment! Sharing is the best way to get reliable, valuable (and free!) information.

Our Cat is Greener Than We Are

While reading up on simple ways to go green in the ever-popular blogosphere, I read a short blurb from a Best Green Home Tips article stating:

“Got pets?: Let them go organic too. Many people forget their pets but currently there are many organic varieties of pet foods, green pet homes, and toys out there.”

It made me think…and furrow my brow…and do some counting (fingers were involved). Given our little guy’s daily life, around 90% of it is completely eco-friendly. Here’s the run-down:

– His very important food choices (which took us weeks to get down pat) are either all-natural, organic, or both. We use Science Diet Nature’s Best Adult Cat Food, Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner for his everyday crunchies (we were ecstatic when we found it while looking at the Science Diet lineup, where our vet had steered us — even moreso when we discovered he LOVES it). We throw the occasional wet food down for him, too — the only brand we try to use is By Nature’s Organics line (turkey & chicken flavors ONLY). We had an issue with anything containing fish meal, regardless of its organic status. So, this stuff is not only organic and fish meal-free, but he loves it. Bonus!

– His potty time is even eco-friendly. You’ve all seen the commercial — we’ve got “World’s Best Cat Litter”. While it isn’t completely smell-free (do you emit zero smell when YOU poop?), it is pretty darn convenient and less smelly than the usual stuff. We keep an old Cool Whip container near the pan so that, whenever he goes, we can scoop it and bring it to the human commode to flush. I usually wait until he’s gone a couple of times so that we’re flushing less (our water usage has decreased A LOT since we went “mellow”). It’s strange to be so happy flushing cat feces, knowing that clay mines aren’t being stripped just for my cat’s poop. Pretty cool shhhh….stuff.

– And Boo’s #1 favorite toy is a green one that I bought for under $4 at a recent vet visit. It’s only a long dowel with a jute rope and a cute mouse (remnant fabric) at the end. He tends to love anything that “hangs” for playtime — including Mommy’s hair.

But, Beardslee hasn’t been a 100% green kitty, I’m afraid. From day one, we had gone into panic mode since he was so sick, just wanted to give him an opportunity to go potty and eat — so, poor Dave went into Hannaford (and *gulp* later, Walmart) to stock up on goods. None of it was eco-friendly, much of it was cheap. So, the cat pan is plastic. Many of the toys we have (several as gifts) are plastic. The cat tower isn’t the DIY project that I’d envisioned using old carpet for. But, we’d rather USE ’em than fill a landfill with them and be unappreciative. 🙂

The “important stuff” that we have to buy regularly, though, is very green. Beardslee’s on his way to being greener than we are — and we’re so proud!

Organic Follow-Up

Back in May, Dave and I started to make some strides in our attempt to go organic in our eating. Here it is, almost 2 months later, so I thought I’d update ya on how it’s gone. You’re welcome. 😉

Anyhoo, for real, I think we’ve done pretty well. We’re eating several all-organic meals a week, at least one meatless dinner (at times lunches and breakfasts, too), and most of our other meals include some organic ingredients or from-the-garden goodies. As you saw in my last post our lettuce has been growing like nuts (or would it be…like weeds? Not sure how fast nuts grow…), so we’ve been using a lot of that, as well as our parsley, rosemary and basil. I’ve turned to shopping pretty much 90% at Hannaford, which isn’t always cost-effective, but it definitely helps me make better organic choices. However, I don’t want it to sound like it’s been expensive — I still grab the occasional “less dirty” foods from Aldi (and on sale at Hannaford), and we are incredibly conscientious about what we’re buying. It’s been, overall, wonderful.

We’ve been to several farmers markets, but honestly I’d LOVE to utilize them more. The summer’s just gotten away from me! I’m also doing more research on investing in a CSA for next year, especially for our local meats and poultry.

HOWEVER, what I’ve REALLY been doing a lot of research in is the rest of greendom — figuring out how to lessen our footprint, bulk up our health quotient, and get into the green habit for our future kiddies. So, while I feel like it’s a slow process, I’m truly enjoying learning new ways to live greener.

Some future goals? Oh, of course, you know I’ll share them — and get back to you when we haven’t accomplished them completely, hee hee:
– Future renovation projects will be green-minded: For example, low- or no-VOC stain when we refinish/have our floors refinished (and using natural fiber throw rugs when it’s done).
– Collect rainwater for garden watering.
– Think through the stuff we grow in the garden next year — and start canning for winter. (This Irish girl is GOING to grow potatoes. Stubborn? Yes.)
– Finish up replacing our windows — BUT finding creative ways to use the leftover window frames. I’ve got ideas a-flowin’! Can’t wait.
– Antiquing, antiquing, antiquing. Oh, and Salvation Army & Craigslist searching. 😀
– Buying eco-friendly cleaning products or making our own.
– Purchasing sustainable clothes — and other fabrics.
– I’ve gotta learn how to eco-design.
– Buying a hybrid after one of our cars kick the bucket.
– Hand-wash more often
– Soooo many more…

What are we already doing?
– From Day One here at the Crooked House, Dave used energy efficient lightbulbs. Check!
– We’re using more eco-friendly bath supplies, a low-flow toilet and showerhead, and are going to get into the habit of flushing less (don’t make me explain further — just #1, though). Check!
– Saving up for Energy Star appliances, when it’s time to replace what we’ve got now. Oh, and before that day comes, we only wash a full load — and I’m trying to use the clothesline as much as possible.
– While it’s gotten a little water-logged lately, I’m hoping to amend my compost pile to be used in next year’s planting. Check!
– Boy, do we have a lot of hand-me-downs, whether we like ’em or not. Check!
– Water filter + stainless steel water bottles = Check!
– Growing our own salads (among other things)! Check!

Hey. BTW. “B” (as I call him, along with Boo) eats organic — and he LOVES it. When we gave him the new organic crunchies, he turned his nose up at the old wet stuff — which was organic, too. Let’s hope the kids follow suit! 🙂

Earth Day — in our own way

My fiance, Dave, and I stumbled upon “Food, Inc.” on PBS last night and were equally touched and horrified by what we saw. I gotta tell ya, well-produced documentaries sure are the way to get tears and fears out of me, but I suppose that’s what they’re meant to do. I hate to fall into the trap, but I agree with and accept the information they provide — in general.

While watching it, my mind started hopping from thought to thought. Why are we so dependent on big business? Has it been given too much of an opportunity to grow, thus take over our lives? Are Americans (well, many humans, not just us) so ignorant that they follow the leader so eagerly (and lazily)? I don’t want to sound overly hippie, but this all turned my stomach…well, it could’ve been all the slaughter scenes, but anyhoo….

One reason that Dave and I get along so well is that we seem to transcend time. No, we’re not Dr. Who or Marty McFly. We’re just very connected to past time periods. I’m not sure about him, but I’ve always wished that I could live in a different time, from the Colonial period to 19th century to the 1940s to the 1960s…hard to live in the now, but we are where we are. I know the grass isn’t always greener, but when it comes to eating, I wonder if we’d be a lot better off living a century ago. So, my first extreme idea was to buy a farm, quit our jobs and start a whole new lifestyle.

Go ahead, take the time you need to finish laughing. I can wait. 🙂

Not even sure Dave understood what I meant when I tearfully explained that. But, I never expected it to become a reality. The second idea was less extreme…but still extreme: moving away to an area that has more resources for healthy living. Of course, this would mean leaving family, friends and jobs. Not something that we’re currently ready to do.

So, the compromise that Dave came up with after sleeping on it a bit was to take our first steps to get healthier — and we don’t mean in order to lose weight, but to retrain our bodies not to depend on the salt, sugar and fat that they have thus far grown to crave. Mmm. Sugar. *shakes head* That’s gonna be a tough one.

In our area of the country, we’ve gotta drive about half an hour to a modestly-sized city (where Dave works) or an hour to the east or west for a larger option. We’re between suburban and rural; we’re relatively close to farms but they still seem foreign. Many of my students live on farms, and a lot of the kids I went to school with back in the day (a town over from where we currently live) also lived on farms. Oh, and suffice it to say, Dave’s from the above city and my parents both grew up on farms (Mom eventually dated a dairy farmer, so I spent lots of time on it during that time — being a youngster on a farm has its merits), so farms are a little less foreign to me since I’ve vast experience scraping cow pies into gutters. Yessiree.

While you’d think that a quasi-rural area like this would allow us tons of great organic produce, it isn’t necessarily the case. We still rely on Walmart, Aldi (man, why can’t they have more organics?!) and Hannaford for groceries; the harsh winters take up most of the year, so farmers markets get set up for the summer — making it rough the rest of the year. Also, much of the “goods” the local farmers create are for a larger market, so they’re feeding (literally) right into the big business hype. *sigh* Sometimes we think that if we lived closer to a city, we’d have an easier time living differently. Strange how that works.

But, there’s some good news (albeit not cost-effective), and it’s what Dave’s great idea is. We found a local buying club called The Foodshed Buying Club on Facebook which, depending on the time of year and availability, offers eggs, meat, produce, etc from local farmers. You can order by Sunday night and pick up your goods that Friday or Sunday. There’s an annual $15 fee for their services (can’t blame ’em, and that’s not too bad, is it?), you get organic, hormone-free foods, AND support local farmers who, in turn, support our cause — buying locally.

So, here’s our first step — talking. Ohhhh, it sounds so simple, but rather than jumping in and spending a fortune (which we don’t have) on everything the Foodshed has to offer, we’re going to discuss our priorities and what we can’t already buy at a sufficiently healthy level in a “normal” environment. So far, my priorities are as follows:

MEAT!!! Ew. What are they FEEDING us?! We were raised as the traditional, all-American omnivores (with a big accent on the meat and potatoes…or heavy pasta), which there’s nothing wrong with. Well. There sort of is. We’re flabbier than we probably could/should be, and that probably has something to do with it. Regardless, once I’ve used up all the bulk goodies in the freezer, I’m buying no more meat from the grocery stores (unless specifically labeled as grass-fed…which is rare around here). This is one area that we will pay a pretty penny, and rightfully so.

Dairy – All the corn-fed (corn sounds healthy…it’s not…and it ain’t natural) cattle are producing hormone-infested milk and cheese products. Now, we’re not big milk-drinkers (didn’t we drink it, like, constantly as kids?) but I’d like to get into the habit of not grabbing whatever plastic container is cheapest, especially since we’d like to have a brood of our own one day. Instead, here’s one place that we’re a little luckier. Hannaford has organic milks as well as some locally-produced no-hormone brands which aren’t uber pricey — so, shall we say score?! Yes. They and the Foodshed also have great cheeses and yogurts which, although slightly expensive, aren’t enjoyed that much in the McCoy-Dellecese household, so will be a nice splurge here and there.
Produce – Here’s where I’ll have to do some experimenting. I’m not completely ignorant; I know that just because it’s a fruit or veggie, it’s not necessarily “good for” us. But, this is also the area that I think leaves us the most wiggle room. It’s still way healthier than hormone-laden meats and poultry, so, for now, we’ll work on getting fruits and veggies that help us stay within our budget.
Grains – Since I don’t bake as much as I should (why can’t I be Donna Reed?), I figure I can splurge on the whole wheat and organic flours from Foodshed. The harder thing is figuring out what to feed my guy — brown rice is always a go-to, but pretty boring, and anything with a strange-sounding name is a no-no. He’s a little like a child with some foods; I guess we all are in our own ways (I hate hate HATE raw tomatoes). Here’s where I’ll need to do some research. ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME! 😀

We’ve already gotten well underway with our beverage consumption (except for that moo juice!), drinking mostly seltzer or flavored waters with zero additives, juice, plain water, etc. The occasional soda (ginger ale) gets tossed in when we’re feeling naughty. Oh, okay, and beer or wine, but those are social or mental health beverages (rough day at work much?), and consumed rarely.

So, that’s a start, I think. We’ll update when things get further underway. I know there’s a lot more in our area that’s still untapped. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to take a new stance on our own impact? Well, at least I’m not crying over meat anymore.