ideals :
principles or values that one actively pursues as goals
a new thrifted bag for Grace
I'm conjuring up some new personal "green" ideals lately:
1) thrifting ~ really I've always enjoyed it, but more so lately.
I don't want to see all my money going over-seas or wasted on cheap and potentially poisoned products.
I see that these mamas have it right.
2) organic ~ I know, it isn't a new ideal and maybe you think I'm late coming around... I've been there for a bit, really I have. But on those weeks when the funds were low I would buy regular milk.. no longer.
I think Nicole has it right.
3)walking ~ and no...again, this is not an earth-shattering thought..
but it is not something I have fully committed to in the past.
We live right in the center of our town & can easily walk to a bank, our church, playground, park, the university library, and bike to the grocery for a small list of items. We've done most of that, but not all.. I'm hoping it becomes a natural process for us. Like taking our shopping bags instead of coming home with one more plastic bag. Looks like I'm up to # 4!
How about you? What are your "green" ideals? I'd love to hear them! Either leave them in the comments, or link to your own blog post for it is time for FOF contest number two! I'll draw a name out of a hat one week from today if you share your green ideals. The winner will get a goody package guaranteed to include some Gevalia cinnamon coffee, a hand-carved stamp, a vintage reader (if you have youngsters) and other treats as well!
some "new" clothes from a vintage clothing store (within walking distance!!)
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principles or values that one actively pursues as goals
a new thrifted bag for GraceI'm conjuring up some new personal "green" ideals lately:
1) thrifting ~ really I've always enjoyed it, but more so lately.
I don't want to see all my money going over-seas or wasted on cheap and potentially poisoned products.
I see that these mamas have it right.
2) organic ~ I know, it isn't a new ideal and maybe you think I'm late coming around... I've been there for a bit, really I have. But on those weeks when the funds were low I would buy regular milk.. no longer.
I think Nicole has it right.
3)walking ~ and no...again, this is not an earth-shattering thought..
but it is not something I have fully committed to in the past.
We live right in the center of our town & can easily walk to a bank, our church, playground, park, the university library, and bike to the grocery for a small list of items. We've done most of that, but not all.. I'm hoping it becomes a natural process for us. Like taking our shopping bags instead of coming home with one more plastic bag. Looks like I'm up to # 4!
How about you? What are your "green" ideals? I'd love to hear them! Either leave them in the comments, or link to your own blog post for it is time for FOF contest number two! I'll draw a name out of a hat one week from today if you share your green ideals. The winner will get a goody package guaranteed to include some Gevalia cinnamon coffee, a hand-carved stamp, a vintage reader (if you have youngsters) and other treats as well!
some "new" clothes from a vintage clothing store (within walking distance!!)
\
posted by hsing3kinder at 3:58 PM
12 Comments:
Okay, I'll go first. Cloth grocery bags! I'm committed. I'm so committed, in fact, I'm sewing a bunch of them this weekend out of thrifted t-shirts and tank tops. (Does that count as two ideals?)
Definitely thrifting! And shopping locally as much as we can, that's a new biggie for us. :0)
We join a CSA (community supported agriculture) every summer and get fresh locally grown goodies all summer long.
Choosing homegrown or organic for as much of our food as possible, and repairing or reusing things to extend their usefulness as long as possible (I even sewed up my shoes).
This year I tried compacting. While not entirely succesful, I do think twice before buying something and think about how I can make it or if I can get it somewhere used. Often I find I can do without. Art supplies simply do not fall in that category at all!
We also built garden beds out of an old bed we had built ourselves (reusing the lumber). So we are growing some of our own veggies.
And finally, I am replacing our landscaping with native plants and xeriscaping to reduce our water useage.
Hello!
1. Composting! We compost year round even though it is inconvenient.
2. Growing our own herbs. Fresh, store-bought herbs don't last long and are expensive. We grow our own in containers in the deck. So far the deer have not eaten them.
3. Freecycling. I put everything useful and not broken on Freecycle instead of throwing it away. Unclaimed things are donated to a charity thrift shop.
4. Natural homemade cleansers including laundry detergent and stain removers. Saves money, easy, natural. And avoiding use of bad stuff like fabric softeners, fabric softening sheets and chemical based stain removers.
5. Reusing all plastic and paper shopping bags. I need the ones I get. I sometimes refuse to take bags in all the stores that we shop at if I can just hand carry it out in hand.
6. I have been thrifting for art and craft supplies, yarn and photography equipment, and books.
This is something I'm working on. I try to focus on what steps I have take as opposed to how far I have yet to go!
1. We've been part of a CSA for 2 years. My real goal is to get a garden going so we can drop to 1x a week delivery.
2. Started composting this year. Since we have upped how many veggies we eat from the CSA, I feel really good about this. It's amazing how much green waste we were throwing out.
3. Reusing is really what I'm focusing on right now. I made James some shorts out of his dad's t-shirts. DH was going to get rid of some dress shirts, and I've realized the arms can be made into heat bags with wheat in them, the buttons saved, the rest saved for fabric for boxers or quilts. Jars are becoming bug houses, making sure to use both sides of paper.
4. Trying to use the library and bookmooch for books (books are my huge downfall). My library is frustrating, but that's a post for my own blog :-)
5. Using what I have/making do. A lot of times, I can subsitute what I have for the ideal and it does jsut fine.
We have 2 small worm farms and I have further created a Butterfly Garden from plants and cuttings I have swapped or gotten primarily for free.
We garden in a large tractor tire and would like to expand that if we find more unwanted tires.
I am trying to pull weeds by the roots instead of using chemicals.
We swap clothes with other families that have children older and younger than us.
I would like to get back to sewing costumes and dress-up items instead of buying cheap junk from the dollar store.
heres my things. walking yes as much as possible gas at 4 per gallon not so fun.. and then their is my hand made grocery bags , and sewing for gifts. and then yes thrift stores.LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM I also have a garden... and i am hoping to have enough organic tomatoes to sell them this year, I also grow sunflowers to sell .. I try to reuse and recyle lots of items. NOW more then ever maybe this economy is getting us to where we stop all the waste because we wont have it if we dont!
such good ideas!
at our place we're gardening and composting...want to start rain harvesting
we walk and bus and carshare...maybe a bike is in our future.
we thrift and swap...but i want to start some simple sewing.
Wow! What a surprise to drop by and see the link to my place. Thank you! :)
Let's see... well, there really is a lot that we do already. This summer, though, I'd really like to limit the number of days we head out and about and stay home a good deal of the time. The less we go out, the less we use gas and the less we are tempted to spend.
You are so BLESSED to have all of those resources close to you!! The closest destination we have is a grocery store with a Blockbuster in the strip mall by it. We bike up there a lot! I do wish we had more in walking distance though.
Oh, and like kort's comment, I think we're going to be looking into rainwater harvesting too.
Wow!! You have had lots of comments, all very good. As always I am following behind you trying to do better at all things, but I gotta tell ya,, I'm not the "green"
But I do use only eco safe hairspray in the shop. If I could just find something to do w/ all the color foils I have at the end of the week I may do some good.:)
I do put my coffee grinds on my plants though. Is that "green"?
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