Free Ecofont for Greener Printing

I know I promised a list of green things you can do while entertaining that don't scream, "I'm greener than you" today, but today has gotten away from me. Monday - I'll have that list for you.

I thought I'd simply share with you a post one of my fellow Sustainablogers wrote about a new free font, the ecofont, that looks a little like swiss cheese letters. It reduces the amount of ink needed in printing 20%. 

Little things do add up.

Summer's Green Wrap Up

There's no denying it any longer - summer is done. 

There might be a few hot days left, but there are brown leaves on the ground, school's been in session over a week now, and tonight was downright chilly at my son's soccer practice. Wish I had a sweatshirt with me type chilly.

Time to reflect. This was my first "green" summer. Last summer I had made a few changes. I was contemplating making more and considering starting one of those blog things I had heard so much about. I thought I could blog about the things I learned while trying to go green. 

Not only did I start this blog late last fall, but I'm also now writing for Green Option Media for a couple of their environmental blogs. I started doing that this summer. What else did I 

do this summer to further my greenness? 

• I, along with my family, planted and took care of a garden that as we speak is producing tomatoes in quantities I never imagined.
• We successfully grew radishes, basil, oregano, parsley, green peppers and four types of tomatoes. 
• I have worked my way down to only drying one load of laundry a week (socks and towels combined). The rest gets hung out to dry.
• I started taking navy showers (not every time, but more frequently)
• I cooked several local meals.
• I made it to the farmer's market every week unless we were away. 
• I rode my bike more this summer than I probably have in total in the many years I've had it.
• We raised our thermostat 4 degrees higher than we've had in previous summers.
  
• I threw a big birthday party for my husband and when it was done there was only 1/3 garbage can full of trash and the recycling bucket was only about half full. A huge improvement on past parties.
• I didn't buy any new items before going on vacation. 

I'm sure there's more. It feels good to know that this summer I stepped up my environmental actions. I still believe that going green by being A Little Greener Every Day is the way to do it. All of the little steps I've taken over the past year have yielded some good results this summer.

What did you do this summer that made you a little greener?

Five Green Things To Do Before the End of Summer

I could go crazy on a night like tonight
When summers beginning to give up her fight
And every thoughts a possibility
And the voices are heard but nothing is seen

From the song Mystery by the Indigo Girls

Summer is coming to an end. Around here there is a week and a half until school starts. The boys got their classroom and teacher assignments the other day. That always signals the end is near. 

Here are five green things to think about doing before summer ends:

1. Cook a local meal. We've talked about it quite a bit here - buying local foods and making a meal strictly from local ingredients. Even if you've already done it this summer, commit to doing it one more time before summer's abundance is gone and it becomes harder to find a variety.
   
2. Go picking - in some regions there is still blueberry picking. Apple picking is beginning in many regions. Around here there are farms where you can peach pick right now. Figure out what you can pick in your area, go pick it, and then come home and make a pie or a cobbler or just shove your mouth full of fresh fruit.
   
3. Take a hike in the woods with a camera. Take pictures of things that you don't know the names of then when you get home try to find out what they are.
4. If you still have a little warm weather left, plant one last planting of lettuces or herbs to last you into the fall.
5. Go to Catalog Choice and cancel all your unwanted catalogs before the slew of holiday catalogs inundate you mailbox. If you cancel now, you may still get the first issue of each holiday version of a catalog, but it will stop you from getting 10 more of the same catalog (with a different cover, of course) between September and December 25th.

Still a Long Way to Go to Embrace Voluntary Simplicity

More and more, I'm seeing how going green and embracing voluntary simplicity go hand in hand. I'm implementing things like simplifying my family's schedule so that we have enough time to walk or bike somewhere instead of jumping in the car or I have enough time to cook a decent meal instead of opening a box.

But we're getting ready to go on vacation, and I'm realizing how far I have to go until I've really embraced voluntary simplicity. Have you ever noticed how much stuff you end up buying to get ready for vacation? For me, it's always been a good excuse to buy a few pieces of my wardrobe I've been meaning to buy, get a new pair of comfortable (yet stylish) shoes for walking, buy a spare pair of sunglasses .....

I find myself mentally fighting the urge to buy stuff for this vacation. It's a big one - just my husband and me going away for our 15th anniversary. I needed to go out over the weekend and buy a new backpack because my sunscreen spilled in the one I've had for years. I've washed it in the washing machine a couple times and left outside to air out, but the smell is still really bad. Bad enough that I get a headache from it (I am fragrance intolerant). So right off the bat, I've got to buy something before vacation.

I went shopping for a new backpack and ended up looking in three different stores before I found the right one (the right one ended up being the exact same one I've had for years, just in a different color). In each of those three stores I found myself looking for things besides backpacks. Clothes. I don't need any new clothes. But I always buy new clothes before vacation. It's ingrained in me.

If anyone could have heard the conversations going on in my head as I held a pretty gauze top with embroidered flowers on it, they might have thought I'd been possessed by Gollum. The tricksey little gauze top did not win. But I wasted a lot of time looking at things that I had to then fight with myself not to buy.

I've been rather pleased with a lot of my efforts lately. But my experience this weekend helped me to see that I shouldn't be giving myself a medal anytime soon. Right now, voluntary simplicity is a novel concept for me. It's kind of hip, trendy. But if I'm going to truly embrace this way of living, I've got a lot of real changes to make and many of those changes need to be in my head.

Am I the only one fighting with myself to create the type of lifestyle that I want for myself and my family or are some of you struggling with learned thoughts and behaviors, too?

Related Posts
Planning Your Vacation with a Green Focus
Green Term of the Week - Voluntary Simplicity

A Greener Memorial Day BBQ: An Update and a Really Great Potato Salad Recipe

I posted early last week about greening your Memorial (and all summer) BBQ's. Last night my family and I attended a BBQ that was held at a park near our church with some other church members. 

I was really impressed by a lot of what I saw. So many people had brought their food in reusable bags and containers. I didn't purposely go around checking out bags, but they were sitting on top of all of the picnic tables and it was hard for someone like me not to notice it.

I also noticed that we weren't the only ones to bring durable plates and utensils to eat off of. 

Since this was an everyone bring your own food event, I had picked up two steaks at the farmer's market on Saturday morning. They came from free roaming, pasture grazing, happy cows. I didn't have time to marinate them so they went on the grill as is. Really great flavor. We did cook them too long, however, but they were still enjoyable.

I also need to link you all to the potato salad recipe that I found. We had a different BBQ to go to at a friend's house on Saturday night, and I was asked to bring potato salad. I think I've only ever made it once before so I needed to hunt down a recipe. I found this one at allrecipes.com, and although it was labor intensive, it was so worth it. Delicious. I bought all of the ingredients for it except the mayo, bacon, salt and pepper at the farmer's market (oh, and I substituted green onions for regular onions in the recipe).

It felt good knowing that this year, my Memorial day festivities were a little greener. What evidence did you see over this holiday weekend that shows you people are starting to make green a part of their lives?

Five Ways to be Greener Today that Save Money

Because both my husband and I both work from home, the rise in gas prices has not affected us badly. We still grumble when it's time to fill up the tank, but since we don't have to fill up very often, we're not scrambling to figure out how to afford it. But I know many people are, and they are looking for ways to save in other areas so they have more money left for gas (or food or clothing).

Of course, the best way to save on gas is to drive less, but for some people that is just not possible, yet. So here are five ways to save a little green by being a little greener (wow, I wonder how many people have written a variation on that sentence recently?).

1. Wash your clothes in cold water and hang them dry. When you wash your clothes in warm water, your hot water heater has to work harder. When you dry your clothes in the dryer, again, you use energy. If you wash in cold water and hang them dry, you'll save energy (being green) and your energy bills will be lower (saving green).
   
2. Be your dad. Run around the house saying, "This place is lit up like a Christmas tree!" while turning off all the lights. Okay, that's being my dad. But seriously, if you turn off lights and electronics when not in use (being green) you can use up to 45% less electricity a month (saving green).
   
3. Eat your leftovers. If you have leftover night once a week (where you pull out all the leftovers and have a smorgasbord), you'll have to buy one less dinner's worth of food each week (saving green) and not as many animals and plants will need to be consumed (being green).
   
4. Drink tap water. You've stopped drinking bottled water by now, right? But what about other things that come in bottles. Soda? Juice? Sports Drinks? Iced Teas? Energy drinks? By drinking plain water instead of those other beverages, you won't be adding to the plastic bottle problem (being green), and you won't be spending money on drinks that are probably bad for you anyway (saving green).
   
5. Visit your local library. Cancel your movie rental subscription or stop going to the video rental store, and borrow your DVD's from your local library. Borrow books, too, instead of running out and buying the latest bestsellers. Libraries are free (saving green) and you won't be purchasing books and DVD's that will end up in a donate pile in a year or so (being green).
   

It may take a while to see the savings from some of these suggestions, but some of them will start saving you money today. 

A Greener Memorial Day BBQ

Can I tell you how much I'm looking forward to this weekend? Indiana Jones. The unofficial start of summer. Our local pool opens. No little league game at 9am on Saturday morning or karate at 10:30am. A bbq on Saturday afternoon to go to and another one on Monday afternoon. 

Yes, two bbq's. We're not hosting either of the bbq's, but at some point over the summer months, we will have a bbq or two in our own backyard. I'm coming up with a list of things to do now so I can share them with you who are having cookouts this weekend, and I'll have it ready when I have my own.

• If you can, use cloth tablecloths and napkins, and durable plates, utensils and cups. Sure it will take a while to wash it all, but think about all the plastic cups and utensils that will be going into landfills after this weekend. Do you really want to add to that.
  
• If you are going to use disposable, do it wisely. Find products that are made from recycled materials or that are biodegradable. Chinette makes sturdy paper plates that are made from recycled materials and are completely compostable after they are used. You can usually find them in the paper plate isle of your grocery store (note: they aren't marked as "eco-friendly" or "green." It's just their regular plain paper plates." If you want an easy, quick way to get all your more earth friendly disposables at once, try ordering them from ecoproducts.
  
• Using traditional plastic wear? It doesn't have to be thrown away. Put a big bowl by the trash can with a sign on it that says, "Please put plastic utensils here." Wash them, and save them to be used again.
• Do the plastic cup and Sharpie thing. Keep a black Sharpie by the plastic cups, and have people write their names on them so they don't use more than one cup for the afternoon. I used to hate it when people did this, but now I'm a fan.
• Make some of your dishes from local, in season food.
• Offer organic wine or beer choices and other beverage choices.
• Make recycling easy - have clearly marked receptacles so people can easily put them where they belong.
• Be a trash picker when it's all done. I know it's gross, but pick out things from the trash that shouldn't be there and put them where they should. 
• Don't buy decorations that are going to be thrown away at the end of the evening. 
• Let your guests know that you are trying to be more green with your bbq. If you don't let them know, it will be harder for them to help out.
• Don't be the green, preachy police. Enjoy your event and do the best you can, but if someone uses two plastic cups, get over it.

Ride Your Bike To Work to Save a Polar Bear

Today there are two national eco-type days.

It is National Ride Your Bike to Work Day (which comes conveniently at the end of Ride Your Bike to Work Week).

It is also National Endangered Species Day.

This week, the Interior Department officially declared that polar bears are an endangered species. They said that the loss of Arctic Sea ice will likely result in two-thirds of the polar bears disappearing by mid-century. This seems to be putting them on the fast track to extinction.

I don't talk much about global warming on this site for several reasons. The main reason is because I don't believe I understand enough about it to whole heartedly say I believe in it. I'm not saying that I don't believe in it either. I just know I'm not informed enough to have a definite opinion.

I don't think it matters whether I do believe in it or not, though. I do believe that we are polluting this world and not taking care of it the way that we should. I'm trying to live a green lifestyle because of that.

Doing things like bicycling or walking instead of driving whenever possible is one way to curb pollution. There's a chance that it will also help to save the endangered polar bears, too.

I don't have to bike to work because I work in the room next to my bedroom. However, I do have children to take to school. I'd love to bike there with them, but for some stupid reason, the school doesn't permit kids to ride their bikes and leave them locked in the bike rack that is at the school. So even if we biked there, I'd have a problem getting their bikes home. So we walk as often as possible. 

Can you bike or walk to work? If not, can you take public transportation? Are there other places that you frequent that you could bike or walk to? 

I truly believe that every little bit helps. They add up to lots of little bits, and if my lots of little bits help the polar bears, too, then I'm glad to help.

Challenging Yourself to Generate Less Trash

I've started writing for Naturally Savvy. Check out my article on Challenging Yourself to Generate Less Trash. I'll be doing an offshoot of my Primal Parenting column, Green Like Me, on Naturally Savvy monthly. I'll be sure to let you know when new posts go up.

What Are You Going to D0 For Earth Day?

Earth Day. Macy's is offering 10% off everything you buy if you donate $5 to a certain organization. Donate $5 buy a lot of stuff that will eventually end up in land fills. Yep, sounds like a futile way to celebrate Earth Day to me. 

I have never seen a greater consumer interest in Earth Day than I'm seeing this year. I don't watch a lot of TV, but the little that I did watch over the weekend (mostly cooking shows and a couple of reruns of MASH last night) were riddled with commercials describing what this retailer is going to do on Earth Day if you buy products from them or how that manufacturer has made their product "greener" by putting 30% less plastic in their bottle or removing one chemical from their toxic laden cleaning product.

Earth Day is not about buying. It's about doing. Doing something to improve the health of the earth. 

What are you going to DO for Earth Day?

Yesterday my boys and I showed up with a small handful of other residents to go clean up trash in areas of our town. We picked one of the parks and the Little League fields since we regularly use those areas. The boys worked pretty hard even if they did have to climb to the top of each piece of playground equipment because they were making sure there was no trash up there orclimb on top of the roof of each dugout for the same reason. They had some fun and did some good at the same time.

Tomorrow, on Earth Day, I'm going into my third graders classroom to read The Lorax and talk about how the kids and their families can do little things to "speak for the trees."

The things you do for Earth Day don't need to take a lot of time and they certainly don't need to cost any many. 

So if you want to DO something for Earth Day, here are some suggestions.

• Walk or take public transportation instead of driving somewhere
  
• Plant something - it doesn't have to be a tree
  
• Take your kids somewhere you frequent - like the park or the ball fields - and spend 15 - 30 minutes cleaning up trash. If you have no kids, do it alone.
  
• Bring your own reusable bags if you are doing any shopping
  
• Take a mug to work so you don't use any disposable coffee cups
  
• Educate yourself. Even if you've only got five minutes, head over to National Geographic's Green Guide site. There's some great information on it.
  
• Eat lunch outside. Enjoy the world you want to help save.
  
• Make an effort to recycle everything that can be recycled. 
  

So tomorrow on Earth Day, commit to DOING something, not buying something.

Green Term of the Week - Source Reduction

Source reduction (aka waste prevention, pollution prevention) is the process of eliminating waste before it's created. It's an integral part of waste management because it creates less waste to actually manage. It's a proactive approach to the problem of waste.

There are lots of ways that families can implement source reduction in their homes. Here are some ideas:

• Opt for paperless statements from the bank, your credit card company, and any other place that offers to e-mail you your statement instead of mailing it.
  
• Use reusable grocery bags when you buy your groceries.
  
• Use cloth napkins and rags instead of paper napkins and paper towels.
  
• Save gift bags that you have received and reuse them.
  
• Buy cleaning products in concentrated form - you'll get the same amount of cleaning power with less packaging.
  
• When buying two or three of the same fruits or vegetables from the grocery store don't put them in the plastic bag that is offered. Just throw the produce in your cart and group them together on the check out conveyer belt. 
• Return hangers to the dry cleaners and the generic flowers that flowers are delivered in to the florist.
• Use both sides of paper. 
• Don't buy things you don't need! If you weren't planning on buying it you probably shouldn't buy it just because it's a good deal. (Here's a helpful hint - if you're going into a store where you inevitably end up buying more than you intended, don't grab a shopping cart. Make a bee-line for what you intended, pick it up with your hands and go straight to the check out.

There are thousands of other ways to implement source reduction in your home. Feel free to share some ways that you stop waste before it even starts in the comments.

Let it All Hang Out Day - April 19th

Don't forget about the contest I'm running to win a ChicoBag. Click here to find out how.

Over the past few days I've read a few things about National Let it All Hang Out Day. It's a day where people are being challenged to hang their laundry outside instead of drying it in their clothes dryer. It's actually a Canadian thing, but people in the US are beginning to pick up on it, too.

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about greening the drying of your laundry. I won't repeat myself - you can just click here if you want to read it.

One of the suggestions in the post, of course, was hanging your laundry out to dry. I hang some of mine in the basement, and I've been meaning to get a clothes line for outside. Reading about this challenge has made me decide that now is the time. By this Saturday, I will have a clothes line in my back yard.

Anyone want to join me and put a load of laundry out to dry before you get busy this Saturday with little league games, gardening and whatever else your Saturday holds?

Combatting Perceived Obscolescence

Hey, don't forget I'm running a contest right now for a free ChicoBag. Click here to see how you can win (and then come back here!)

Wow, I'm posting very late tonight. It was such a beautiful day, and I spent much of it outside. But I didn't want the day to pass without finishing the discussion I started yesterday about perceived obsolescence. 

I've got this cell phone. It's really a pain in the butt. It's one of the first Chocolate models - Cherry Chocolate to be exact, and I got it when my cell phone plan allowed me to upgrade my phone for next to nothing. There was nothing wrong with my old cell phone, except that it was old. It had no camera. It didn't look cool. The Cherry Chocolate - it looks cool. Honestly, that was it's biggest selling point. 

So I traded in my perfectly good, useful, but boring phone for one that has a mind of its own. It calls people indiscriminately. It's very touch sensitive when I don't want it to be, but I have to touch the send button ten times, pound down on it actually, when I want to make a call. Oh, and although it has call waiting, there is actually no way to answer the call waiting. The feature doesn't work. 

The perceived obsolescence of my old phone led me to get this piece of junk phone. And now I'm stuck with it. Why? Because I refuse to get a new phone. I'm trying to buy less stuff, trying to be more wise about the stuff I do buy, and trying to turn my back on mindless consumerism. I think that maybe if I force myself to suffer with this phone, I'll think twice about getting rid of something completely useful just because I need the newer model.

Like my mini van that hardly ever leaves the driveway. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have a new mini van with a built in DVD player and those seats that turn around so the kids can face a table in the center of the van. But one look at my crummy phone makes me think straight.

I don't think however that forcing myself to live with this sometimes useless phone is the best answer to combatting perceived obsolescence. So how do we combat this concept that causes us to create waste and pollution?

Here are few simple ideas:

• Buy with the long term in mind. Whether it's fashion, furniture, electronics or automobiles, don't go for what is trendy. Go for what is made well, what you like, and what is the best you can afford. 
• If yours isn't the latest and greatest get all zen about it. So what? Let it go. I have an older iPod nano. It doesn't have video on it. It does however play music and podcasts wonderfully. If I didn't know the new nanos played video, would I care about video? No. Do I really want to watch video on that tiny of a screen anyway? No. 
• Don't care about the Joneses. You can never keep up anyway. 
  

These aren't earth shattering ideas. They're just simple common sense. 

How do you combat perceived obsolescence? 

Greening Your Coffee Habit

It's hard for me to believe that I didn't start drinking coffee until about a year ago. Whether or not it's good for me, that's a conversation for another day. But how I can make my addiction a little more environmentally friendly, that's something I'm willing to discuss right now.

Here are some tips on leaving less of an impact on the earth whether you're drinking your first or your fifth cup of the day.

Make Your Own Coffee

It's amazing how sometimes it seems easier to get in the car and drive to the local Starbucks or WaWa to get coffee than it is to shlep on down to my own kitchen and make it myself. But sometimes, it happens. But it's been happening less and less around my house. 

Why is making your own greener? 

• You save gas and emissions by not driving your car just to get a cup of coffee
  
• You save waste - no paper cup (or worse - styrofoam cup), plastic stir stick, paper packet of sugar, or little plastic creamer cup to throw away when you're done
  
• You can ensure that the coffee itself is green (see next point)

Purchase Fair Trade, Shade Grown or Organic Coffee

Any one of these options is grown in a manner that is healthier for the earth. The coffee of choice in our house currently is Paul Newman's Special Blend. It's organic and fair trade certified. It costs a bit more, but since we're making our own coffee much more often, we're saving a lot on coffee and can afford some better beans.

Reuse Your Grinds

There is a great post over at Sustainable Enterprises on recycling grinds as compost and fertilizer and the like. 

Choose a Better Filter

Buy brown, unbleached paper filters or better yet, purchase a reusable one.

Take Your Own Travel Mug to the Coffee House and Beyond

For those times when you go beyond your own kitchen for your coffee, do what you can to avoid the paper cups.

We have a fabulous little coffee house in my town, and they welcome those who bring their own travel mug. They'll even rinse it out for you if need be. I also often take my own mug to my mom's group, church meetings, and other places I know there will be coffee offered.

If anyone has any tips I haven't thought of, please post them in the comments section.

A Flower Lovers Green Dilema

It's spring, and flowers are starting to bloom. Usually around this time of year, I start heading to my local Produce Junction to buy really inexpensive cut flowers to fill my home. However, from what I understand the flowers are grown in South America, and judging by the price that I pay for them and the amazing number of flowers they offer every day, I have to guess they aren't grown organically. So they are being shipped very far and the growing of them is probably damaging the land.

I stopped buying produce from them months ago for the same reasons. Although their prices are really great, I couldn't continue to buy from them in good conscience. 

But now that it is spring, I want flowers. I've decided to wait until about a month from now when the local farmer's market opens. I'll be able to buy flowers from local growers that are fresh cut. 

Sometimes being green is inconvenient. This is a small inconvenience I know, but I'm from a generation that feels entitled to having everything they want when they want it. But that mindset is slowly changing, and people like me are choosing to change things, like when and where they buy their flowers, a little more every day. 

Reducing Your Family’s Dependency on The Plastic Bag

By now you know that paper or plastic aren’t your only options when you go to the store. Carrying reusable bags with you is an increasingly popular and easy choice. Many grocery stores sell reusable grocery bags that are inexpensive, durable and carry a lot more than traditional plastic or paper bags.

Reusable bags are a great idea, right? It’s not difficult to see how they fit into a green lifestyle. Sometimes, though, you want a plastic bag to do something like dispose of chicken bones or clean up after your dog. You depend on those bags at times. If you don’t take the plastic bags from the grocery store, what are you going to use for those necessary jobs?

There are lots of other options and most of these options end up in the trash anyway.

Bread bags – Most sandwich breads, hot dog buns, pitas, English muffins and other breads come in plastic bags that get thrown in the trash without a second use. They are a great substitution for plastic grocery bags.

Bags from inside a cereal box – You probably already recycle your cereal boxes, why not get a second use out of the inside bag at the same time. Dump any crumbs at the bottom outside for the birds, and save the bags.

Frozen vegetable bags – If you carefully cut open the bags when you first use them, when they are empty they can be saved.

Newspaper bags – Many home delivery newspapers come in a plastic bag. If you get a newspaper every day, you have one reusable plastic bag each day.

Plastic wrappers from magazines – By carefully opening the wrapper, they can be used a second time before going in the trash.

Goodie bags from birthday parties – My kids always come home with these bags full of candy and little trinkets. Save the bags for a second use.

If you look around your house purposefully, you’ll see many more plastic bags that you usually throw in the trash without using them a second time. These could easily do the same jobs as the plastic grocery bags.

Now, If you’re anything like me, you’ll still end up with plastic bags from grocery stores or other retailers every once in a while. I don’t remember my reusable bags 100% of the time, and sometimes I need to accept a bag. I keep those bags separate and take them to my local grocery store to stick in the recycling bin. More and more stores are placing these bins at the entrance of the store.

Unlike the frozen vegetable bags or wrappers from magazines, grocery and retail plastic bags are recyclable. It makes more sense environmentally to use the non-recyclable bags for the things that end up in the trash, and recycle the bags that can be recycled.

Any other ideas for sources of plastic bags?

Little Environmentally Friendly Laundry Changes: Part 2

The other day I wrote about the fact that even though I can't buy new, shiny, energy efficient appliances, I can still make small changes in the way I do my laundry to help make a difference. I gave some suggestions for washing the laundry, now I'm going to give some suggestions for drying the laundry.

• Use your solar powered dryer whenever possible - in other words - hang the laundry outside instead of putting it in the dryer. It's not possible with everything. Some people aren't even allowed to have clothes lines in their yards due to town ordinances (stupid, but true). Some things don't turn out well dried on the line, towels for instance. But sheets, they are fabulous when line dried. If you can hang just one or two loads out a week, it helps.
  
• Hang dry things inside, too. I have a pole in the basement that I hang clothes from. Sometimes, when I have two loads that are similar - say two loads of darks, I'll wash one, hang what can be hanged, and put the rest in the dryer without turning it on. Then I'll wash the next load immediately, hang what I can from that, and add the remainder to the dryer. Then turn it on. I end up washing two loads but only drying one.
  
• Skip the commercial dryer sheets. Basically, they are full of harmful chemicals to make clothing soft, and then loaded with harmful chemical fragrances to mask the smell of the softening chemicals. They are bad for your health and they are bad for the environment when they end up tossed in the trash and eventually in the landfill. For more information on dryer sheets, read this. 
  
• Find out how long it really takes to dry your clothes. Like many dryers, mine has an automatic cycle on it. It's supposed to turn itself off when the laundry is dry. But when I use mine, the laundry is still pretty wet when it's done. So I started just putting the dryer on to the maximum amount of time - 80 minutes - and drying everything on that. When I started going green, I decided to find out how long it really took loads to dry by decreasing the time in ten minute intervals. My whites only take about 50 minutes. My loads with heavy jeans take about 70. Make sure you adjust the time accordingly with each load.
  
• Keep your dryer clean from lint. Always empty out the lint trap, and clean the entire lint system out at least twice a year. Lint trapped in the dryer makes it less efficient. It's also a fire hazard.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Clothes dryers account for 6% of total electricity consumed by U.S. households, third behind refrigerators and lighting, according to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey by the federal Energy Information Administration." That's a lot of energy used to dry clothes. If everyone dried a few less loads a week, a lot of energy would be saved.

Little Environmentally Friendly Laundry Changes: Part 1

You know, I see commercials for these huge energy efficient washers and dryers, and I start to covet them. They're so shiny and big. Big enough to do all of the jeans my family of four wears in a week at once. My husband and I both work from home - there's a lot of jeans wearing in my house.

New laundry appliances are no where in my immediate future, and I'm stuck with an old washer and slightly less older dryer. But that doesn't mean I can't take some deliberate measures to make doing the laundry a little more environmentally friendly. Here are some things that I do, and anyone can do, regardless of the size and age of the washer and dryer.

1. Use a more eco-friendly laundry detergent. There are many eco-friendly laundry detergents on the market, and if you can afford them, that's great. But if you can't afford the higher priced detergents, there are still regular products that are better than others. The detergents that are labeled "free and clear" are better choices environmentally than those with dyes and perfumes. The chemicals used for the fragrances and colors in the detergents are harmful to the environment. By simply buying the free and clear detergents, you're helping out just a little bit.

2. Buy a highly concentrated laundry detergent. They come in smaller packages and wash the same amount of laundry as a larger bottle. Less plastic is used in the packaging so there is less waste.

3. Always recycle your detergent bottles.

4. Wait for a full load before you run the washer, if possible. You'll use less water and less energy.

5. If you have to run a load without the washer being full, adjust the water level appropriately. Sometimes I need to run a load because one of the boys needs a karate or soccer uniform washed or I may HAVE to wear a certain pair of jeans. When that happens, I fill the washer as much as possible, but I make sure to adjust the water level and the amount of detergent I'm putting in the washer. 

6. Use cold water as often as possible. It takes a lot of energy to heat the hot water for a load of laundry. If you can use cold, do so. The only time I use hot water anymore is when I'm doing a particularly smelly load of towels or washing bedding after a sickness.

7. Stay away from harsh cleaners such as bleach. If you must have your whites sparkling white, try soaking them in a solution of one part hydrogen peroxide to eight parts cold water overnight. 

So if, like me, you can't go out and exchange your energy inefficient appliances immediately, don't fret. Do what you can do, and know that today, you're being a little greener, and every little bit helps.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, I'll talk about being a little more environmentally friendly when drying clothes. In the meantime, if you've got any suggestions to add, leave them in the comments.

ENERGY STAR Change a Light, Change the World Campaign

If you live in my town, you may have noticed an article in our town's newspaper about this change a light campaign we're doing. But, I know not everyone reads it cover to cover, so I thought I'd discuss it a little here.

If you don't live in my town, you might still be interested in reading, because other communities can become involved in this campaign, too. You may want to mention it to the powers that be.

My town is encouraging 200 residents to pledge to replace at least one old fashioned light bulb in their home with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) that has earned the ENERGY STAR label. This campaign is kicking off on March 1, 2008.

If 200 residents change just one bulb per household, it is estimated that more than 80,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions will be saved over the life of those light bulbs. CFL's last 6-10 times as long as traditional bulbs and use 75% less energy. They cost more upfront, but save you money, and help save the planet, in the long run.

To sign up for the pledge, go to Energy Star's website, and click on "Join us, Take the Pledge." Fill out the form and in the organization box,  scroll down to our town's name (Borough of...) and pledge to change a light bulb (or 2 or 20). 

I know that a lot of people are leery of CFL's. They have a reputation of not giving off the same kind of light as traditional bulbs. I found this at first, too, but their quality has greatly improved over the past year and the ones I am buying now are better than the ones I bought a year ago.

Another concern is the fact that CFL's contain mercury and that the bulb's pose a hazard if they break. The hazard's are not that dangerous, and the EPA has a site that recommends what to do if one does break. Click, here, and scroll down the page to "What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks."

You can also find the closest recycling center for CFL's, here, and I just found out as I was researching this that you can take CFL's back to IKEA stores where they have recycling bins.

For more info on CFL's you can go to Energy Star's information page on them, here.

Changing out light bulbs is one easy way that we all can become a little greener every day.

Light Green

I was contacted today from someone who had seen this blog about doing some writing. They are looking for someone to write for the 'light greens" out there. Those who aren't yet treehuggers but are on their way to becoming so.

So today's green term definition is light green. I suppose I'm a shade slightly darker than light green by now,what with the fact that I am trying to get a little greener every day. But I'm probably not so far dark that the "light greens" can't relate to me.  Or that I can't relate to them.

I did a little googling and apparently the "light green" term has been bouncing around for a while. Many of the comments I read were by people putting the light greens down. But hey, when it comes to the environment doing a little is far better than not doing anything at all.

This is not second nature to many of us. I'm  a child of the 80's - raised to believe that I am entitled to all of the conveniences life has to offer from paper plates to strawberries year round to a 10 MPG SUV that I use to solely go to the grocery store and pick up my kids from school in. Changing that mindset takes time. It takes education. It takes encouragement, not belittling from those who are "darker" than the rest of us.