We brought our little Raygan home from the hospital six weeks ago and my how they've flown by! The first few weeks were definitely an adjustment for everyone, but now we're in a groove as a family and loving our little monkey to pieces. So, hopefully, I can find time to get back to blogging on a regular basis during some of his nap times.
We were committed to cloth diapering and going diaper free (sometimes, when it works for us) well before we even found out we were pregnant. The cost and environmental benefits were huge to us, especially knowing that we hoped to have more than one child and that the cloth diapers could be used with the next baby. The health benefits to him are an added bonus.
Most of the cloth diapers we purchased were Charlie Banana ones, mostly because they were available at Target through our registry. We were given two that are velcro closure style, one from my friend who makes them for her (Etsy store. These are easy to leave in the diaper bag for those times when we need to leave him with someone who's not as comfortable with cloth diapering since they're styled more like the disposable kind in terms of closures. We discovered that people were hesitant to buy cloth diapers, I guess because they either weren't sure we were committed to the idea or because they wanted to buy something cute like clothes or books. So we ended up pooling our gift cards and buying them ourselves, which worked just as well. My school faculty also wanted to throw us a diaper shower, so we ended up getting about 12 cloth diapers that way also. We've found that the 30 cloth diapers we currently have is enough to get us through about two days of cloth diapering, allowing for what's in the laundry. Since Raygan is still so little, he's eating frequently, which means frequent diaper changes.
Washing is a cinch with these. We keep a diaper pail beside his changing station, so we just toss the dirty diapers, liners, and cloth wipes we use in there at each change and wash them when the pail is full and we're down to about six clean diapers. We love the design of the Charlie Banana diapers since the pocket is in the front, it means its less messy to get the liner out, and they're really adjustable with the elastic in the legs and the snaps in the front. We wash them on warm with a phosphate free detergent and either line dry them or toss them in the dryer on low heat. Stuffing them is easy; we can do it while we watch an episode of White Collar on Netflix and it takes no time; it's really easy to do with him in the Moby Wrap too.
'
All told, we figure we "spent" about $300 with gift cards to get the cloth diapers for him and we had a few given to us as shower gifts. Since we're cloth diapering exclusively now (he was a little small for them at first), we're not having to buy any disposables, which is saving us probably $20 a week right now. Rough estimates from various sources figure we'll save between $1000 and $2000 on diapering costs alone with him, and that doesn't include the cloth wipes we're using instead of disposables (they're flannel ones a friend made and thin washcloths). This savings is huge, since it's helping us cut costs so that Benny can stay home with him when I go back to work in August.
And then there's the environmental benefit of not filling the landfill with all those disposable things. Of course, there are folks who would argue that it's a toss up since we're washing with warm water, which uses more energy, but hopefully our new water saving washer will help to offset that somewhat. And we wait to wash until we've got a full load of diapers, which means we're saving some energy there too. Being able to line dry them in the summer will be great, and it'll help sun bleach out the poop stains. By using cloth diapers, we're also able to cut down on our chemical consumption as a family, since there are far fewer chemicals used in these than in the disposables (all those super absorbent polymers, etc.).
Plus there are health benefits for Raygan to using cloth diapers. Since he can feel it more in cloth diapers when he's wet or dirty, we change him more frequently than we might in disposable diapers. This means there's less diaper rash and less of a risk of yeast infections for him. It also means that potty training will be far easier, because he won't have lost that feeling of what it's like when he "goes", which means hopefully we'll be out of diapers sooner than if he were in disposables. Friends who cloth diaper also report that they've seen fewer accidents with their kids who were in cloth diapers exclusively, probably because they're more aware of the signs of needing to go and so they don't wait until it's urgent. And, we're exposing him to fewer chemicals by cloth diapering, which makes us feel better, since many of these chemicals haven't been researched in terms of long term effects.
So, all in all, we're thrilled with our decision to cloth diaper. Some might say it's more work; we just see it as a different kind of work (more laundry vs. more trips to the dump). We love that it allows us to save some significant money, and it allows us to save a huge amount of landfill space. Do you cloth diaper? Thinking about it? I'd love to hear from you! Here's to living green and saving green bringing up baby.
Showing posts with label Charlie's Soap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlie's Soap. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Simple Greywater Solutions
Throughout the summer, I've been indulging my love of reading, which in my adult life has come to mean more nonfiction works in the form of things by Michael Pollan (such as The Botany of Desire and The Omnivore's Dilemma) and other similar works on simple living (of course these were borrowed or from the library, so my reading habit hasn't eaten up any of our budget this summer). Among the things I've been reading about this summer, greywater (water that has been used for laundry, dishes, etc. and could potentially be reused to irrigate the gardens) has been a topic, one which very much intrigues me.
One day we'd love to install a greywater laundry system, since we already use phosphate free laundry detergent (Charlie's Soap or Seventh Generation) and our homemade lavender laundry booster. However, the current NC building code doesn't make this the simplest thing to do in a residential setting, and our budget for household projects wouldn't accommodate it anyway since we're replacing the roof and covering the front deck with a metal roof. So, in the interim (or perhaps forever, depending on how the code and our budget go), we're implementing some simple greywater solutions.
1. All leftover water and icecubes in drinking glasses at the end of the day go to water indoor or outdoor plants. This means that I don't have to remember to water the houseplants once or twice a week and these small amounts of potable water don't go to waste by simply pouring them down the drain. (It's taken a while to train the family, but they've got the hang of it now.) The icecubes are great because they provide a slow gradual water source over an hour or so. We really try to drink only water in our house, though we sometimes succumb to the "need" for sweet tea or juice in the summer, or hot tea/coffee in the winter or mornings. This makes things easy and we don't have to worry about giving the plants something that might not be healthy for them. (Black coffee or unsweetened tea is fine for plants, especially blueberries which love acidic soils, so we sometimes pour leftovers of these on the blueberry plants--when I remember.)
2. Water from boiling pasta, corn on the cob, seafood, or canning is caught and cooled. Then, I take it outside to water the veggie garden or flower garden. If it's salted water, then I am more selective about where I put it (it might go on the weeds growing in the gravel driveway to kill them, rather than killing my flowers or stressing the veggies).
3. Water from washing dishes by hand is caught in a pot/bowl rather than the sink and poured over outdoor plants. The small amount of soap helps to deter pests and any organic matter (bits of lettuce, pasta, etc.) just decomposes in the soil. We try to use phosphate-free soaps here too, so they don't contaminate the groundwater. (This is key for us, since our water comes from a shared well and not a municipal source.)
All in all, I figure these actions lessen our need for irrigation considerably. I've really tried to subscribe to the xeriscaping philosophy with my flower gardens and only water the veggie garden on a regular basis. The flower gardens are watered with all this greywater I've described above. I can't imagine what else I could grow if we had the laundry greywater system in place!
So, what about you... what're you doing to capture greywater or conserve water on a regular basis? Have you experimented with a greywater system, or is yours just hodge podge like ours? I'd love to hear from you!
One day we'd love to install a greywater laundry system, since we already use phosphate free laundry detergent (Charlie's Soap or Seventh Generation) and our homemade lavender laundry booster. However, the current NC building code doesn't make this the simplest thing to do in a residential setting, and our budget for household projects wouldn't accommodate it anyway since we're replacing the roof and covering the front deck with a metal roof. So, in the interim (or perhaps forever, depending on how the code and our budget go), we're implementing some simple greywater solutions.
1. All leftover water and icecubes in drinking glasses at the end of the day go to water indoor or outdoor plants. This means that I don't have to remember to water the houseplants once or twice a week and these small amounts of potable water don't go to waste by simply pouring them down the drain. (It's taken a while to train the family, but they've got the hang of it now.) The icecubes are great because they provide a slow gradual water source over an hour or so. We really try to drink only water in our house, though we sometimes succumb to the "need" for sweet tea or juice in the summer, or hot tea/coffee in the winter or mornings. This makes things easy and we don't have to worry about giving the plants something that might not be healthy for them. (Black coffee or unsweetened tea is fine for plants, especially blueberries which love acidic soils, so we sometimes pour leftovers of these on the blueberry plants--when I remember.)
2. Water from boiling pasta, corn on the cob, seafood, or canning is caught and cooled. Then, I take it outside to water the veggie garden or flower garden. If it's salted water, then I am more selective about where I put it (it might go on the weeds growing in the gravel driveway to kill them, rather than killing my flowers or stressing the veggies).
3. Water from washing dishes by hand is caught in a pot/bowl rather than the sink and poured over outdoor plants. The small amount of soap helps to deter pests and any organic matter (bits of lettuce, pasta, etc.) just decomposes in the soil. We try to use phosphate-free soaps here too, so they don't contaminate the groundwater. (This is key for us, since our water comes from a shared well and not a municipal source.)
All in all, I figure these actions lessen our need for irrigation considerably. I've really tried to subscribe to the xeriscaping philosophy with my flower gardens and only water the veggie garden on a regular basis. The flower gardens are watered with all this greywater I've described above. I can't imagine what else I could grow if we had the laundry greywater system in place!
So, what about you... what're you doing to capture greywater or conserve water on a regular basis? Have you experimented with a greywater system, or is yours just hodge podge like ours? I'd love to hear from you!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Green and Budget-Friendly Transportation
In an effort to save on transportation costs and be a little more friendly to the earth, we were careful about the vehicles we chose to purchase and are thoughtful about our daily comings and goings.
When Benny was still in college, he purchased a 2001 diesel VW Jetta, which we love due to it's fuel economy. (Now, we certainly know that standard diesel is not as earth friendly as other fuels, but until biodiesel becomes affordable in the High Country, we can't make the switch. Currently, you have to be a part of the co-op, which has a hefty annual membership fee plus the fee for fuel each time.) The Jetta is our road trip car, and when the weather is good, the vehicle we use for most of our errands. Since it gets around 40 mpg on the highway, it makes our frequent trips to see family across the state affordable. The back seats fold down, so it's even good for holiday travels where we have a bunch of stuff to take, or moving smaller items from what we loving refer to as the McFalls swap shop (Benny's parent's attic). Since it is a 4-door, it will be a decent family car one day, although with more than two kids, it would be tight (but we're not anticipating that :)). Benny has learned to do most of the maintenance on his car, so that keeps our costs down on that car, and we are good about the regular maintenance with the help of a friend who works on VWs as a side business, so that we don't end up with any problems we could have avoided (and Jason cuts us a deal on the labor since Benny is helping). (After all, it's cheaper to do the preventative maintenance than to get stuck with a huge bill you could have avoided by giving the car a little TLC.)
When my 1985 Honda Accord was finally ready for a new owner (it was a fantastic car and served me very well), I bought a 2005 Subaru Impreza, since I knew I'd be moving back to Boone and we would need at least one AWD car. I liked the Subaru (affectionately dubbed Sylvia the Silver Subaru) because of it's reasonable mileage (about 25-27 mpg hwy) and it's ability to go in the snow. (Just after purchasing it, someone rear-ended me (the week I was to move to Boone), so I was without it during the move and while it was repaired (thankfully her insurance covered all of that). Now the only issue we have from that accident is a leaky trunk, which Benny has vowed to find the source of and get it repaired.) It works out well that I generally have the day off when the weather is bad, so that Benny can take the Subaru to work and I stay home. We try to be very good about preventative maintenance with this car also, although Benny doesn't do as much of the work himself on my car (I think it's a little trickier).
In terms of the "green" factors of our vehicles, it really comes down to the mpg and how we use them. For the most part, the hybrid vehicles just aren't practical in the mountains, because they don't have the same pull to get up the mountains, so we haven't gone there yet. (Although if the technology improves, we might for our next vehicle, which we anticipate being in about five years.) So, here's what we do to cut down on our transportation and maintenance costs:
1. I carpool with my teammate, meaning that I drive every other week. This helps both of us out because we're both saving on fuel (and ultimately money). We're also open to running errands together after school, so if we need to stop at the PO or bank, we can do that on the way home and save a trip. If I know we're going out of town for the weekend, Benny will usually drop me off that morning and pick me up at our meeting spot that afternoon, so we save time and fuel by my not having to go all the way home.
2. We combine trips as often as possible. For example, on Sundays, we go to church (and usually pick up a friend on the way) and on the way home, stop by the grocery store. This means we miss the weekend grocery rush (because everyone is doing the Sunday lunch thing) and we don't have to make an extra trip out during the week. If we discover we need something from the grocery store during the week, Benny works across the parking lot from a grocery store, so he just walks over before coming home to pick up whatever we need.
3. If we're going to campus on the weekends (especially game days), we'll take the public transportation. If the public transit made a stop our our way, we'd do this more often for errands, but for right now, we have to drive to meet it. We're hoping that they'll expand their routes soon.
4. When the weather is warm enough, we'll clean the cars ourselves. (This is one more way you can use Charlie's Soap.) In the winter, it's key to at least rinse the car off about once a week to get all the salt off the undercarriage. (If you don't, you run into rust issues, which is not good.) We generally pull into a car wash where you DIY and pay the $1.25 to have it done there. (We try to choose car washes that recycle their water, when possible.)
So, what do you do to cut down on your transportation costs? Do you have any ideas I haven't thought of? Please share them; I'd love to hear from you!
Sharin' the green love and savings!
When Benny was still in college, he purchased a 2001 diesel VW Jetta, which we love due to it's fuel economy. (Now, we certainly know that standard diesel is not as earth friendly as other fuels, but until biodiesel becomes affordable in the High Country, we can't make the switch. Currently, you have to be a part of the co-op, which has a hefty annual membership fee plus the fee for fuel each time.) The Jetta is our road trip car, and when the weather is good, the vehicle we use for most of our errands. Since it gets around 40 mpg on the highway, it makes our frequent trips to see family across the state affordable. The back seats fold down, so it's even good for holiday travels where we have a bunch of stuff to take, or moving smaller items from what we loving refer to as the McFalls swap shop (Benny's parent's attic). Since it is a 4-door, it will be a decent family car one day, although with more than two kids, it would be tight (but we're not anticipating that :)). Benny has learned to do most of the maintenance on his car, so that keeps our costs down on that car, and we are good about the regular maintenance with the help of a friend who works on VWs as a side business, so that we don't end up with any problems we could have avoided (and Jason cuts us a deal on the labor since Benny is helping). (After all, it's cheaper to do the preventative maintenance than to get stuck with a huge bill you could have avoided by giving the car a little TLC.)
When my 1985 Honda Accord was finally ready for a new owner (it was a fantastic car and served me very well), I bought a 2005 Subaru Impreza, since I knew I'd be moving back to Boone and we would need at least one AWD car. I liked the Subaru (affectionately dubbed Sylvia the Silver Subaru) because of it's reasonable mileage (about 25-27 mpg hwy) and it's ability to go in the snow. (Just after purchasing it, someone rear-ended me (the week I was to move to Boone), so I was without it during the move and while it was repaired (thankfully her insurance covered all of that). Now the only issue we have from that accident is a leaky trunk, which Benny has vowed to find the source of and get it repaired.) It works out well that I generally have the day off when the weather is bad, so that Benny can take the Subaru to work and I stay home. We try to be very good about preventative maintenance with this car also, although Benny doesn't do as much of the work himself on my car (I think it's a little trickier).
In terms of the "green" factors of our vehicles, it really comes down to the mpg and how we use them. For the most part, the hybrid vehicles just aren't practical in the mountains, because they don't have the same pull to get up the mountains, so we haven't gone there yet. (Although if the technology improves, we might for our next vehicle, which we anticipate being in about five years.) So, here's what we do to cut down on our transportation and maintenance costs:
1. I carpool with my teammate, meaning that I drive every other week. This helps both of us out because we're both saving on fuel (and ultimately money). We're also open to running errands together after school, so if we need to stop at the PO or bank, we can do that on the way home and save a trip. If I know we're going out of town for the weekend, Benny will usually drop me off that morning and pick me up at our meeting spot that afternoon, so we save time and fuel by my not having to go all the way home.
2. We combine trips as often as possible. For example, on Sundays, we go to church (and usually pick up a friend on the way) and on the way home, stop by the grocery store. This means we miss the weekend grocery rush (because everyone is doing the Sunday lunch thing) and we don't have to make an extra trip out during the week. If we discover we need something from the grocery store during the week, Benny works across the parking lot from a grocery store, so he just walks over before coming home to pick up whatever we need.
3. If we're going to campus on the weekends (especially game days), we'll take the public transportation. If the public transit made a stop our our way, we'd do this more often for errands, but for right now, we have to drive to meet it. We're hoping that they'll expand their routes soon.
4. When the weather is warm enough, we'll clean the cars ourselves. (This is one more way you can use Charlie's Soap.) In the winter, it's key to at least rinse the car off about once a week to get all the salt off the undercarriage. (If you don't, you run into rust issues, which is not good.) We generally pull into a car wash where you DIY and pay the $1.25 to have it done there. (We try to choose car washes that recycle their water, when possible.)
So, what do you do to cut down on your transportation costs? Do you have any ideas I haven't thought of? Please share them; I'd love to hear from you!
Sharin' the green love and savings!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Green and Budget Friendly Toiletries
As much as possible, we try to make sure that the toiletries we use are earth friendly and/or save us money. First and foremost, this means that we try to stretch everything as much as possible. Then, we employ our couponing strategies. We also try to make sure that we support local and small businesses as much as possible.
One of the ways we stretch our toiletries is by using them sparingly. Often, people use too much shampoo, when all you need is a little bit, about the size of a dime, depending on the length of your hair. When it comes to washing my hair, I find that (especially in the winter when it's really dry) every other day is plenty. I'm fortunate to have curly hair, so by just getting it wet in the mornings, that's often enough to make it bounce back. I also try to cut back on the amount of soap/body wash I use in the winter, as this can sometimes dry your skin out. When we get to the bottom of the shampoo or conditioner, I just add a little water to stretch the last little bit and to rinse the bottle for recycling. By using toiletries sparingly, you'll find that they go further and your budget does too. You'll also find that you have fewer plastic containers accumulating in your recycling bin, which means that you're using fewer petroleum derived resources.
We've found that Anders soap from the Raleigh (NC State) Farmer's Market is some of the best natural soap around. They have several other products, which I haven't tried yet, but with as much as I love their lavender scented soap, I'm sure I'll love the other bath and skin products too. Check out your local farmer's market, most of them allow craft vendors and many have one or two vendors who make their own soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc. from natural ingredients. By using soaps and shampoos from natural ingredients and eco-friendly products, you'll be preserving your water supply by not introducing sometimes harmful chemicals into the water. (If you're on a greywater system, this is even more crucial and if you water your garden with this water, you don't have to worry about the health of the plants.)
For shaving, I've found that using cheap conditioner works just as well as shave gel and keeps my skin moisturized too. I generally buy this conditioner for pennies with my coupons. We purchase Benny's shave gel with coupons also, so it's a lot cheaper. (If your guy isn't too picky, you will find that coupons for women's shave gel are generally more plentiful, so if you can convince him to switch, you'll save more.) I also purchase razors with coupons, or find them free using our favorite freebie section of the coupon forum we use. I try to check this about once a week to see if there are things we'd want to try or use regularly. Often, with the freebie (which usually takes 6-8 weeks to arrive) comes a coupon or two. I don't think I've purchased razors in over a year because of the number of free ones I've scored on the coupon forum.
With toothpaste, we never purchase it full price, but instead use coupons. We lost our brand loyalties long ago, so we use whatever coupons we have that match up with the store sales. Generally, we can pick up toothpaste (a full size tube) for around 50-75 cents. Also, when you get to the end of the tube, if you cut the end off (not the cap end, the flat one), you'll find that you've probably got a few more days worth of toothpaste in there that you can easily squeeze out through this wider opening.
The other alternative we have for toiletries and cleaning products is to purchase many toiletry items from Benny's mom, who sells (mostly to family and friends) Melaleuca products. I often use Melaleuca deodorant, because it doesn't have the aluminum compounds in it. We often get Melaleuca soaps and things in our stockings, which is nice. They have some great citrus scents. We've also used their laundry products, before we found Charlie's Soap, which was locally available.
If you're into really saving a buck, you can make your own homemade foaming hand soap by filling a foaming handsoap container about 1/4 of the way with liquid soap or shampoo and then the rest of the way with warm water. Leave a little room in the top and then gently swirl to mix it together. As soon as we use up what I have from gifts (Bath and Body Works seems to be the recent favorite gift for teachers), we'll use those foaming containers with our homemade mixture. I'll use the Palmolive naturals or Seventh Generation dish washing soap to make our soap, so that we're keeping the water supply (and our happy little septic tank bacteria) as healthy as possible.
What do you do to make your toiletry budget go further? How are you preserving your water supply and the earth by using eco-friendly products? I'd love to hear!
Sharin' the green love and savings!
One of the ways we stretch our toiletries is by using them sparingly. Often, people use too much shampoo, when all you need is a little bit, about the size of a dime, depending on the length of your hair. When it comes to washing my hair, I find that (especially in the winter when it's really dry) every other day is plenty. I'm fortunate to have curly hair, so by just getting it wet in the mornings, that's often enough to make it bounce back. I also try to cut back on the amount of soap/body wash I use in the winter, as this can sometimes dry your skin out. When we get to the bottom of the shampoo or conditioner, I just add a little water to stretch the last little bit and to rinse the bottle for recycling. By using toiletries sparingly, you'll find that they go further and your budget does too. You'll also find that you have fewer plastic containers accumulating in your recycling bin, which means that you're using fewer petroleum derived resources.
We've found that Anders soap from the Raleigh (NC State) Farmer's Market is some of the best natural soap around. They have several other products, which I haven't tried yet, but with as much as I love their lavender scented soap, I'm sure I'll love the other bath and skin products too. Check out your local farmer's market, most of them allow craft vendors and many have one or two vendors who make their own soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc. from natural ingredients. By using soaps and shampoos from natural ingredients and eco-friendly products, you'll be preserving your water supply by not introducing sometimes harmful chemicals into the water. (If you're on a greywater system, this is even more crucial and if you water your garden with this water, you don't have to worry about the health of the plants.)
For shaving, I've found that using cheap conditioner works just as well as shave gel and keeps my skin moisturized too. I generally buy this conditioner for pennies with my coupons. We purchase Benny's shave gel with coupons also, so it's a lot cheaper. (If your guy isn't too picky, you will find that coupons for women's shave gel are generally more plentiful, so if you can convince him to switch, you'll save more.) I also purchase razors with coupons, or find them free using our favorite freebie section of the coupon forum we use. I try to check this about once a week to see if there are things we'd want to try or use regularly. Often, with the freebie (which usually takes 6-8 weeks to arrive) comes a coupon or two. I don't think I've purchased razors in over a year because of the number of free ones I've scored on the coupon forum.
With toothpaste, we never purchase it full price, but instead use coupons. We lost our brand loyalties long ago, so we use whatever coupons we have that match up with the store sales. Generally, we can pick up toothpaste (a full size tube) for around 50-75 cents. Also, when you get to the end of the tube, if you cut the end off (not the cap end, the flat one), you'll find that you've probably got a few more days worth of toothpaste in there that you can easily squeeze out through this wider opening.
The other alternative we have for toiletries and cleaning products is to purchase many toiletry items from Benny's mom, who sells (mostly to family and friends) Melaleuca products. I often use Melaleuca deodorant, because it doesn't have the aluminum compounds in it. We often get Melaleuca soaps and things in our stockings, which is nice. They have some great citrus scents. We've also used their laundry products, before we found Charlie's Soap, which was locally available.
If you're into really saving a buck, you can make your own homemade foaming hand soap by filling a foaming handsoap container about 1/4 of the way with liquid soap or shampoo and then the rest of the way with warm water. Leave a little room in the top and then gently swirl to mix it together. As soon as we use up what I have from gifts (Bath and Body Works seems to be the recent favorite gift for teachers), we'll use those foaming containers with our homemade mixture. I'll use the Palmolive naturals or Seventh Generation dish washing soap to make our soap, so that we're keeping the water supply (and our happy little septic tank bacteria) as healthy as possible.
What do you do to make your toiletry budget go further? How are you preserving your water supply and the earth by using eco-friendly products? I'd love to hear!
Sharin' the green love and savings!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Green Cleaning
So, since I'm on my fourth snow day this week, I thought I'd spend a little time cleaning today. For me, this is totally bleach, ammonia, and nasty chemical-free. My cleaning arsenal today will consist of the following tools: terrycloth rags (from worn out washcloths and towels), baking soda, white vinegar, salt, Charlie's Soap (my laundry soap), our lavender laundry booster, and maybe some newspaper (if I decide to clean windows or mirrors). Essentially, all the powdered stuff will help to act as an abrasive to scour and deodorize. The vinegar will act as a disinfectant. All of these are natural cleaners and many can be purchased in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club. (We store extras in the basement.) See my other posts for info on our laundry booster or Charlie's Soap (or visit the links above). (Please note, I am not about pushing products, but these are some of the best we've found or created in terms of natural and biodegradable cleaners.)
I'll start in the kitchen, cleaning the sink and drain. To clean the drain, I'll use the formula found in Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips: 500 Simple Strategies for Smart Living by Mary Hunt. Her drain cleaner recipe is as follows:
Pour a mixture of 1 cup salt, 1 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup white vinegar into the drain. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Then flush with 2 quarts of boiling water, followed by hot tap water. Repeat if necessary.
I really like this method, especially since we have a septic tank. Using bleach to clean with or other toxic chemicals only serves to get rid of the good bacteria in the tank that keeps it operating the way it should. When I clean the sink itself, I'll start with Charlie's soap and laundry booster sprinkled in and scour with a terrycloth rag. (I like using the rags because I can just wash them with the towels, meaning that we use fewer paper towels... and have to buy fewer, saving both the landfill space and our budget.) If it needs a little sparkle after that, I'll give it a quick squirt with the vinegar mixture (about 1/2 vinegar and water) in a spray bottle and rinse.
I already ran the dishwasher last night, using white vinegar as the rinse agent, and it seemed to work well. I'll spray the counter tops with my vinegar solution, and move on to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, I'll use my vinegar mixture on the counters and wipe with a rag. Then I'll use the same drain cleaner as I did in the kitchen. To clean the shower, I'll use baking soda and laundry booster, as it gets in the textured floor pan really well. I won't bother to rinse it until one of us takes a shower in the morning. It won't hurt our feet to walk on the baking soda, and we'll save water by doing that. I'll use Charlie's soap to clean the toilet bowl, and vinegar spray for the seat. The Charlie's soap does the best of anything I've found at cleaning out the ring around the water we get from the sediment. When I clean the mirrors, I'll use the newspaper and vinegar spray, because the newspaper won't leave lint the way the rag might. Because I'm only using vinegar, I can compost the newspaper when I'm finished or let it dry and recycle it.
If I'm feeling industrious, I might tackle cleaning the fridge shelves. This will just involve a baking soda paste and water. If there's any baking soda that falls to the floor or into the drawers, I won't have to worry about it harming anything. It will be a nice deodorizer, although we hardly ever let anything go that far in our fridge (it either gets eaten, composted, put in the veggie stock bag, or frozen for later use).
For the bamboo floors, we use Poly Care, a product by Absolute Coatings, Inc. It's biodegradable and phosphate free. We simply attach a terrycloth cover to a Swiffer-like mop, spray the floor, and mop the area sprayed. We can wash the terrycloth cover with the towels, and I don't have to worry about any chemicals harming us or Lavender (who is very close to the floor). We can also use Poly Care on any other varnished wood surfaces, meaning we can use it on the cabinets and other wood furniture.
So, if you find time to clean today, I hope you take advantage of a few of these tips. Also, you can check out my cousin's blog for more cleaning tips... she's more fanatical about it than I am, I think! :) (Love ya, Liz!) Maybe she can do a guest post for us sometime.
I'll start in the kitchen, cleaning the sink and drain. To clean the drain, I'll use the formula found in Everyday Cheapskate's Greatest Tips: 500 Simple Strategies for Smart Living by Mary Hunt. Her drain cleaner recipe is as follows:
Pour a mixture of 1 cup salt, 1 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup white vinegar into the drain. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Then flush with 2 quarts of boiling water, followed by hot tap water. Repeat if necessary.
I really like this method, especially since we have a septic tank. Using bleach to clean with or other toxic chemicals only serves to get rid of the good bacteria in the tank that keeps it operating the way it should. When I clean the sink itself, I'll start with Charlie's soap and laundry booster sprinkled in and scour with a terrycloth rag. (I like using the rags because I can just wash them with the towels, meaning that we use fewer paper towels... and have to buy fewer, saving both the landfill space and our budget.) If it needs a little sparkle after that, I'll give it a quick squirt with the vinegar mixture (about 1/2 vinegar and water) in a spray bottle and rinse.
I already ran the dishwasher last night, using white vinegar as the rinse agent, and it seemed to work well. I'll spray the counter tops with my vinegar solution, and move on to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, I'll use my vinegar mixture on the counters and wipe with a rag. Then I'll use the same drain cleaner as I did in the kitchen. To clean the shower, I'll use baking soda and laundry booster, as it gets in the textured floor pan really well. I won't bother to rinse it until one of us takes a shower in the morning. It won't hurt our feet to walk on the baking soda, and we'll save water by doing that. I'll use Charlie's soap to clean the toilet bowl, and vinegar spray for the seat. The Charlie's soap does the best of anything I've found at cleaning out the ring around the water we get from the sediment. When I clean the mirrors, I'll use the newspaper and vinegar spray, because the newspaper won't leave lint the way the rag might. Because I'm only using vinegar, I can compost the newspaper when I'm finished or let it dry and recycle it.
If I'm feeling industrious, I might tackle cleaning the fridge shelves. This will just involve a baking soda paste and water. If there's any baking soda that falls to the floor or into the drawers, I won't have to worry about it harming anything. It will be a nice deodorizer, although we hardly ever let anything go that far in our fridge (it either gets eaten, composted, put in the veggie stock bag, or frozen for later use).
For the bamboo floors, we use Poly Care, a product by Absolute Coatings, Inc. It's biodegradable and phosphate free. We simply attach a terrycloth cover to a Swiffer-like mop, spray the floor, and mop the area sprayed. We can wash the terrycloth cover with the towels, and I don't have to worry about any chemicals harming us or Lavender (who is very close to the floor). We can also use Poly Care on any other varnished wood surfaces, meaning we can use it on the cabinets and other wood furniture.
So, if you find time to clean today, I hope you take advantage of a few of these tips. Also, you can check out my cousin's blog for more cleaning tips... she's more fanatical about it than I am, I think! :) (Love ya, Liz!) Maybe she can do a guest post for us sometime.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Green Clothes and Laundry
Again, as with most things green, this is all about careful consideration of resources and reuse.
Let me say that I don't remember the last time that either of us bought a new item of clothing... it's been years. We've become avid Goodwill and consignment store shoppers, as well as the welcome recipients of hand-me-downs. We've found that the Goodwill in Raleigh, off of Glenwood and behind Target, has exceptional values, as it's in a rather affluent area, so it means that things are generally more gently used and are of better quality to begin with. With Benny working at the paint store, it hardly makes sense to buy new clothes, so all of his work pants come from Goodwill or another thrift shop. My clothes are either gifts, hand-me-downs, or from thrift/consignment stores. The only things we buy new are socks and underwear, which we try to buy using a gift card, coupon (sometimes around Christmas you'll see Hanes coupons), and/or at the outlet stores (Benny found his favorite socks at Costco). By purchasing the majority of our clothing from thrift stores, we're supporting their mission while keeping these gently used clothes out of the landfill. Certainly, our next steps here would be if we need to purchase new, to purchase from a reputable company that does organic or natural clothing. (Did you know that 25% of the pesticides used on crops goes toward cotton?! Outrageous... and then we bury our heads in a cotton pillowcase at night... Pottery Barn has some incredible organic bedding at relatively affordable prices if you're appalled by this statistic as much as I was.)
In terms of shoes, we generally try to purchase items on sale and/or with a coupon or promo code online. Many of my shoes I've had for years, finally having to part with some I've had since 8th grade because the sole literally came off (yes, I know I could have had them repaired--but wasn't it about time I had a new pair of brown shoes!). I have a thing about purchasing used shoes, since you can't always wash them, so we generally buy those new. We either go to the outlets, or Mast General Store. Although Mast is expensive, they do carry lots of brands that are being made with earth friendly materials. Once I found those brands, I went to 6pm and found them there for a fraction of the cost. Other brands that Benny likes are Land's End shoes and Crocs, although the ecofriendly part of these is more questionable, the health of his feet and back is important since he's on his feet all day.
When we do laundry, we use Charlie's Soap, an all natural, biodegradable soap. We purchase it here at EarthFare, but you can find it online or at most any natural foods market. We also add our own laundry booster, using the lavender we currently purchase from Sunshine Lavender Farm, a family run, organic lavender farm in Hillsborough, NC. When we get our lavender plants in the ground, we'll begin using our own lavender. I may try using mint in the booster this summer for an alternate fragrance. (You will soon be able to purchase our lavender and handmade gifts at Moonlight Lavender, our online store and website. It is our hope that through this store and careful saving, in a few years, Benny will be able to be a stay at home dad.) The great thing about using all natural, biodegradable soaps is that the water is not contaminated. One day, we'd like to be able to run a greywater system from our washing machine to water the gardens with. (If you don't know about greywater systems, check them out on Google or another search engine. They're amazing, if your area allows for them in the building codes.)
None of our clothing is washed in hot water, or even warm. Even though we have tankless water heaters, we feel that it's a waste of energy to wash our clothing in hot water. The detergent gets them clean, and washing in cooler water maintains the integrity of the fabric longer. I've also found that by turning clothing inside out before washing, if the fabric is going to fade, it does this on the inside, rather than the outside. The only time I use hot or warm water is on bedding and towels (and handkerchiefs, which Benny carries daily), so that we get rid of dust mites (which live in bedding... gross!) and germs. This is especially key when one of us is sick.
To save energy on drying, we've employed a few methods. First, we hang all clothing, either on drying racks (mostly socks and underwear) in the half bath that is adjacent to the laundry closet, or on hangers. Currently, we have one rod installed in the laundry closet to hang clothes on, but it's a bit too low for Benny's shirts and my pants/skirts, so for now, we rest the hangers on the moulding around the closet. We're hoping that with our next trip to the Restore (the local Habitat for Humanity reseller--fantastic for building supplies), we can score another closet rod to install a little higher to hang those longer items on. We'll install clothesline outside under the deck in the spring. Last summer, all the towels, blankets, sheets, etc. were hung on the deck railings, but there were times we had to chase them through the yard, because they weren't weighed down. The clothesline will fix this. The only thing we dry in the dryer is towels, sheets, etc. in the winter. When I do use the dryer, I save the dryer lint to do a few things with: 1) Use it as stuffing in draft dodgers I make for the doors. 2) Compost it along with our other compost-ables. 3) Toss it outside in spring for the birds to use as nesting material. (Yes, we find another use for almost everything in this house, meaning that we only have to take away one trash bag about every two weeks--much less than the average American family. And it saves us on trashbags, but that's another post.)
So, here's to a new lease on laundry for you and your family! May you find many deals at Goodwill and fall in love with biodegradable soaps as much as we have. :)
P.S.
I'm linking this post up to: Join us at Heavenly Homemakers for the little Green Project!
Let me say that I don't remember the last time that either of us bought a new item of clothing... it's been years. We've become avid Goodwill and consignment store shoppers, as well as the welcome recipients of hand-me-downs. We've found that the Goodwill in Raleigh, off of Glenwood and behind Target, has exceptional values, as it's in a rather affluent area, so it means that things are generally more gently used and are of better quality to begin with. With Benny working at the paint store, it hardly makes sense to buy new clothes, so all of his work pants come from Goodwill or another thrift shop. My clothes are either gifts, hand-me-downs, or from thrift/consignment stores. The only things we buy new are socks and underwear, which we try to buy using a gift card, coupon (sometimes around Christmas you'll see Hanes coupons), and/or at the outlet stores (Benny found his favorite socks at Costco). By purchasing the majority of our clothing from thrift stores, we're supporting their mission while keeping these gently used clothes out of the landfill. Certainly, our next steps here would be if we need to purchase new, to purchase from a reputable company that does organic or natural clothing. (Did you know that 25% of the pesticides used on crops goes toward cotton?! Outrageous... and then we bury our heads in a cotton pillowcase at night... Pottery Barn has some incredible organic bedding at relatively affordable prices if you're appalled by this statistic as much as I was.)
In terms of shoes, we generally try to purchase items on sale and/or with a coupon or promo code online. Many of my shoes I've had for years, finally having to part with some I've had since 8th grade because the sole literally came off (yes, I know I could have had them repaired--but wasn't it about time I had a new pair of brown shoes!). I have a thing about purchasing used shoes, since you can't always wash them, so we generally buy those new. We either go to the outlets, or Mast General Store. Although Mast is expensive, they do carry lots of brands that are being made with earth friendly materials. Once I found those brands, I went to 6pm and found them there for a fraction of the cost. Other brands that Benny likes are Land's End shoes and Crocs, although the ecofriendly part of these is more questionable, the health of his feet and back is important since he's on his feet all day.
When we do laundry, we use Charlie's Soap, an all natural, biodegradable soap. We purchase it here at EarthFare, but you can find it online or at most any natural foods market. We also add our own laundry booster, using the lavender we currently purchase from Sunshine Lavender Farm, a family run, organic lavender farm in Hillsborough, NC. When we get our lavender plants in the ground, we'll begin using our own lavender. I may try using mint in the booster this summer for an alternate fragrance. (You will soon be able to purchase our lavender and handmade gifts at Moonlight Lavender, our online store and website. It is our hope that through this store and careful saving, in a few years, Benny will be able to be a stay at home dad.) The great thing about using all natural, biodegradable soaps is that the water is not contaminated. One day, we'd like to be able to run a greywater system from our washing machine to water the gardens with. (If you don't know about greywater systems, check them out on Google or another search engine. They're amazing, if your area allows for them in the building codes.)
None of our clothing is washed in hot water, or even warm. Even though we have tankless water heaters, we feel that it's a waste of energy to wash our clothing in hot water. The detergent gets them clean, and washing in cooler water maintains the integrity of the fabric longer. I've also found that by turning clothing inside out before washing, if the fabric is going to fade, it does this on the inside, rather than the outside. The only time I use hot or warm water is on bedding and towels (and handkerchiefs, which Benny carries daily), so that we get rid of dust mites (which live in bedding... gross!) and germs. This is especially key when one of us is sick.
To save energy on drying, we've employed a few methods. First, we hang all clothing, either on drying racks (mostly socks and underwear) in the half bath that is adjacent to the laundry closet, or on hangers. Currently, we have one rod installed in the laundry closet to hang clothes on, but it's a bit too low for Benny's shirts and my pants/skirts, so for now, we rest the hangers on the moulding around the closet. We're hoping that with our next trip to the Restore (the local Habitat for Humanity reseller--fantastic for building supplies), we can score another closet rod to install a little higher to hang those longer items on. We'll install clothesline outside under the deck in the spring. Last summer, all the towels, blankets, sheets, etc. were hung on the deck railings, but there were times we had to chase them through the yard, because they weren't weighed down. The clothesline will fix this. The only thing we dry in the dryer is towels, sheets, etc. in the winter. When I do use the dryer, I save the dryer lint to do a few things with: 1) Use it as stuffing in draft dodgers I make for the doors. 2) Compost it along with our other compost-ables. 3) Toss it outside in spring for the birds to use as nesting material. (Yes, we find another use for almost everything in this house, meaning that we only have to take away one trash bag about every two weeks--much less than the average American family. And it saves us on trashbags, but that's another post.)
So, here's to a new lease on laundry for you and your family! May you find many deals at Goodwill and fall in love with biodegradable soaps as much as we have. :)
P.S.
I'm linking this post up to: Join us at Heavenly Homemakers for the little Green Project!
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