Thank you to Rhonda and all the ladies who post on her blog, for reminding me of all the things we can do/are doing to help make our lives greener. In response to her post of what will you do here is my list:
- using fabric shopping bags @ the supermarket
- having a bucket in the shower to catch the water before it heats up (about 4l per shower)
- having empty cordial bottles in my kitchen that I fill with the 3-4l before the hot water comes through - this is used for drinking, rinsing and filling the kettle - if all 6 bottles are full it is used in the washing machine or to water plants.
- bucketing the rinse water from the washing machine onto the garden (today I purchased a diverter hose to make it easier)
- not owning a clothes dryer - I have a fold down line under my verandah that most of the washing gets hung on. In winter if it is too damp I hang it inside in the lounge room where there is a heater.
- from a young age I have "nagged" my children into turning off lights and appliances (tv, vcr, dvd) when they are not being used - and to not leave those little standby lights on either!
-replacing ordinary globes with energy efficient globes when they stop working.
- removing the diffusers from most of said lights so I can get more light from said bulbs, has also meant I can use lower wattage.
- recycling as much as I can.
- buying goods with the least amount of packaging.
- making my own liquid laundry detergent (see post here)
I'm sure there are a lot of other things I do which will come to me later. I'm posting this quote directly from Rhonda's blog...
"So today my friends, I want you to commit to your change. I want you step up today and decide that even if you haven't done anything yet for your planet, and especially if you have, today I want you to tell me in the comments box what small step will start or continue you along the road to a greener life. I want you to tell me about your change and how it will affect your life. Please don't close this blog down now and walk away. Today is the day when instead of just knowing that something needs to be done, you start doing it.
I want every one of you to email this post to a friend so we can get a million small steps happening. I want you to help me tell as many people as possible that we are doing this. And, most of all, I want to know what you will do."
My commitment this month is to make some re-usable mesh bags for my fruit and veggies to be weighed in and no longer take home the plastic bags. I am also going to try and use my new diverter hose as much as possible, which might mean I have to spend a bit more time in the laundry, but so be it.
So what will you do? Leave me a comment and send the message to all your friends!
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7 comments:
I need to:
* get more energy efficient globes
* use my fabric bags more consistently - getting better with this though
* be more consistent about catching the water in the shower - have been a bit slack with this lately
* SHORTER showers!
I already:
* am a lights / electricity Nazi about leaving stuff turned on
* wash with cold water
* very rarely use dryer - only if what I need won't dry in the time I need it!
* have a jug to catch the water in the kitchen when it's warming up - I use this in the water filter
* have an old electric jug that's used to collect water left in drink bottles, glasses etc - this goes on the garden
* keep worms
Like you, I'm sure I do more, but that's all my brain came come up with atm
Yay Kez!What a great list :) Keep up the greenness. I love yo tip about having a jug to collect the leftover water :)
In our house, we're already doing much of what you listed. We are now working on getting our food from local sources, instead of things that have been shipped hundreds or thousands of miles. We're also trying to buy fewer pre-packaged foods (cookies) and making them from scratch. So far, so good.
Hey Lisa,
We have been really trying ( see my blog for the latest update) and it is paying off. Things that I used to think were things that we would have to really try hard at - like riding the kids to school or having short showers have now become the norm. Now is the time to introduce new things that seem difficult at first but will become habits. As you probably have read, I would love to be able to ride by bike to work - 7.5km each way. It seems such a big deal at the moment. I only hope that once I start, it will become second nature.
PS -
forgot to tell you that I am always reading your blog and I love it !
Hi, I found you on Frugal Aussies and am enjoying reading your blog! Can't wait to try some of your recipes. This post I wanted to comment on because I am already doing all these things except one, and that was to use the cordial bottles to save the kitchen tap water before it runs hot. What a fantastic idea. I will be putting that one in place TODAY! Am looking forward to reading more. Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to my blog glad you are enjoying reading it and glad you have gleaned at least one new frugal tip from it! I look forwarding to hearing more of your thoughts.
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