It's Easy Being Green - and Worth It

Okay – so maybe it’s just me.

Either way, the thought of going green can be really intimidating. People don’t seem to realize that you can live in the 21st century and enjoy the luxuries of the modern world while still making a positive impact on our environment and the lives of our children.

As you may already know, the BP oil spill is what finally triggered my desire to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Initially I thought people would call me a hypocrite for refusing to buy bottled water ever again but still prefer to soak in a bath of water versus taking a shower. Then I realized that most people don’t care what I do and decided to embrace baby steps.  In order to successfully “go green,”  you need to start small and slowly build your green habits until they’re ingrained in you. If you were to run out and buy a hybrid, sixty-two reusable grocery bags and refuse to use any product for fear of it’s environmental impact, well, being environmentally conscious would probably be overwhelming and get old quickly.

It’s all about compromise, baby.

There are a shockingly large amount of “little” things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your dependence on oil and, in the end, create a huge positive impact on the environment and your quality of life. The amount of d’uh factor in this article will astound you.  I promise.

4 Easy Things You Can Do To “Go Green”

1)  Wear your clothes more than once. I know – a lot of people already do this because they don’t want to add more clothes to their ever present mound of laundry to wash.  Over the last few weeks, just by having my kids wear their jeans a second time and rehanging my work clothes at the end of the day, I have eliminated at least one load of laundry per week from my to do list.  But if my son gets ketchup all over his pants or I was sweating like crazy and my shirt isn’t smelling so fresh and so clean, clean, I didn’t let any guilt seep in that those clothes were only worn once.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Ingredients

2)  Make your own laundry detergent. When I googled the ingredients for laundry detergent, I wanted to throw up in my mouth.  The dangerous chemicals and, strangely enough, the presence of petroleum in my laundry detergent was a huge eye opener for me.  So, I finally made my own detergent.  It works just as well, if not better, than my favorite brand and only has three ingredients, all of which are derived from natural sources.  Also, it took less than thirty minutes to make so that’s a major win for me.

Homemade Cleaning Products

3)  Make your own household cleaners.
The same can be said for household cleaners as laundry detergent.  There are so many toxic chemicals in the cleaners and yet, you can deodorize, sanitize and de-gook-ify your entire house using ingredients you can find in your pantry.   Personally, I now use water and a microfiber cloth to clean my mirrors and windows and vinegar for just about everything else, but I still use my Scrubbing Bubbles to clean the bathtub.

Baggu Reusable Shopping Bag

4)  Use Reusable Shopping Bags. I know, I know….it’s such a pain to remember to bring them with you to the store.  That’s why I leave mine tucked into the little pouch on the back of my driver’s seat.  No matter how rushed I am, I don’t have to worry about forgetting them.

These are just four of the many “small” changes you can make in your daily life that will add up over time and make a huge impact on the environment. Remember, we’re baby stepping here, people.

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My mom was eco-friendly before going green was all the rage.

We had a compost heap in our backyard before you could pick up composters at the grocery store.  We reused and recycled back when only those weirdos in communes were talking about global warming.

So, it is in honor of my eco-friendly and environmentally aware mother that I talk today about top holiday gift ideas for women who are trying to go green.

Biodegradable Home Kitchen Compost Pack
$21.95

Where were these babies when I was growing up?  Do you know how not stinky it is to put your food garbage in something with a lid?

This makes the process of taking your garbage from the kitchen to the outdoor compost pile much more convenient – and much more likely that the rest of the household will play along.

Organic shopping Set – 5 pack
$39.95

I’m a huge fan of my reusable shopping bags.  This set comes with 5 reusable shopping bags (each old about 35 lbs.) and 3 reusable produce bags – which I do not have.  A great gift idea for women who have yet to hop on the reusable bag wagon.

Eco Sandwich Wrap
$6.95

Does your eco-friendly mom pack a lunch?  These reusable sandwich wraps replace the little sandwich baggies that usually get thrown away after one use.

In my house, we’ve been trying to wash out the baggies – which is kind of a pain because they don’t really get dry on the inside.  These wraps lay flat, making them easier to wipe down and reuse.

Refresh’n Dryer Towels
$9.95

OK – so part of me thinks this is kind of like giving your wife a vacuum cleaner as a birthday gift.  BUT – part of me also thinks that this is a neat idea that I might not spend the money on initially to try out.

They are described as dryer towels  that can “be reused up to 25 times, save on water and electricity, lessen time in the laundry, prolong the life of your clothes, and is 100% natural.”  Basically, instead of washing your clothes every time you wear them – you throw them in the dryer with one of these.

It is an eco-friendly gift idea.

Sun Oven
$249.00

No one said environmental responsibility was cheap.  But damn.  Apparently this cooks at temperatures between 350-400 degrees.

This is a really thoughtful gift idea for a woman who camps or picnics a lot.

Rain Barrel and Diverter
$149.00

What would your mom (or wife) want with a barrel of rain water?  There’s a lot of uses for collected rain water that are good for the environment and her water bill.  Water the lawn or garden, wash the car, um… ok.  There are at least two awesome things she could do with reclaimed rain water.

To be honest, eco-friendly gifts for moms aren’t always the most fun things to buy for her.  BUT – they can be really thoughtful, especially if going green is something she’s expressed an interest in.

And the most important thing to remember about buying a gift for someone else is that it’s about them, and not you.

Posted by missbritt for Buy-Her.com.

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It’s that I’m lazy and cheap and like my stuff.

I tend to be suspicious of green products because there’s a lot of overpriced, yuppy crap out there being marketed as “eco-friendly” and therefore “worth this exorbent price tag”.  Thanks, but no thanks.  The Earth and I had a talk and we’ve agreed neither of us wants me to be poor or a pretentious asshole.

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