Saturday afternoon Enviro Girl nearly gagged when she returned home. The wrapping from Thursday night’s chicken dinner had finally reached its prime–one of the most unbearable stenches. It was time to take out the trash and Enviro Girl reached for her trusty spray bottle of vinegar water to neutralize the odor.
Ice, ice baby. And snow. Two treacherous forces we face every winter, but there are environmentally friendly ways to combat each of them. Let’s talk about snow first.
The New Year is Here! And some people are making resolutions and setting goals to do more this year. The Green Queen wants to be different. She wants to do less…by reducing her carbon footprint on the world. The only way to reduce your carbon footprint is to cut down your impact on the environment. There are a lot of options you can choose from to help achieve this effect.
1) Go to Work a Different Way:
a) Don’t drive your car,
b) Take mass transit,
c) Ride your bike,
d) Or even run/walk.
You’ll get into better shape, save money and help protect the planet all at the same time.
2) Use natural remedies to heal your ailments.
a) Slice large onions and lay them on your chest, to help clear-up sinus congestion.
b) Steam a pot of water, add a teaspoon of crushed lavender, hold a towel over your head and inhale the warm revitalizing scent.
c) Pour 1/2 cup of Epsom salt into your bath to help soothe aching, tired muscles.
3) Use Products a Different Way.
With the new year here people often want to clean out the old and here’s how to do it without polluting the planet.
a) Use vinegar and water to wash your windows and even your clothes. You can mix 1/4 cup of vinegar in a quart of water. Moisten a dry cotton cloth with this mixture and you can wipe down your counter tops, appliances and even your bathroom.
b) Use a slice of lemon to clean the bottom of your copper pots and pans. Simply rub the copper with lemon juice and salt and you will be awe…mazed.
c) Use baking soda to clean out your refrigerator. Take two tablespoons of baking soda and mix it in a quart of water. Use a sponge and dip it in the liquid to clean your appliances.
People haven’t always had store bought cleansers that were full of dyes, perfumes and chemicals. They used vinegar, baking soda and scrub brushes. You can too!
Posted in health, house stuff, Uncategorized
Tagged Have A Small Impact, Protect the Planet, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Crumpling up paper is a satisfying thing. Squeezing the paper tight in your fist, tossing it into the trash–who hasn’t done that? The menfolk at Enviro Girl’s house take particular joy from the crumple and toss–especially when it comes to disposing of gift wrap and mail. And since most gift wrap isn’t recyclable, it’s important to resist crumpling it before you toss it into the garbage.
A simple experiment will demonstrate exactly why the crumple contributes to the Trash Factor, taking up unnecessary room in our garbage bags and landfills. Continue reading
With Thanksgiving coming hard and fast next week, followed by the five week juggernaut known simply as The Holidays, the chances are really good that you’re going to be doing some entertaining in the next six weeks. Whether you’re hosting an intimate dinner for six or an open house for 60, Recycla has some ideas for making your gatherings fun and easy for you, but also easy on Planet Earth.
Posted in eco holidays, house stuff, living green on a budget
A friend of Recycla’s recently started making her own laundry detergent and has written a guest post tell you how easy and economical it is:
I have always been a good steward of coupons, but they became even more precious to me when I had children. I knew that our cost of living would increase per bundle of joy, but unfortunately, the redemption amount on coupons does not keep pace as families grow. This is especially true for coupons associated with laundry care. While a $0.25 coupon for a small box of detergent may have served my husband and me well, that same coupon fails to carry much weight for the super-duper economy-sized box of detergent that is needed to keep my family of six clean. Family, in my case, means two adults, 2 children, and 2 dogs. Laundry is serious business in my house.
Posted in house stuff, living green on a budget
The Green Queen and her husband love to recycle, reuse and re…do. The Green King (TGK) – or would that be Prince by virtue of marriage…? Well whatever the title may be, he likes to grab old wood that’s been thrown away. If he sees sticks, and slabs of old wood at the side of the road, or in dumpsters and even discarded in landfills… that’s not garbage to him. He can’t leave it laying in waste, he grabs it and smiles like he’s just rubbed the side of an old lamp and found an old treasure…or a genie in a bottle. Then, with a schoolboy giggle he’ll load that wood in the back of his car and drive off into the sunset with visions of how he’s going to put that piece of lumber to use.
And old electrical wire spools are no different than beautiful pieces of unutilized wood to him.
He found this broken spool outside an electrical supply company and asked if they were throwing it away. They were. So he asked if he could have it. Just like in Beauty and the Beast, they said, “Be my guest.” 
He took the spool home and went to work repairing and repurposing that old drab oversized spool.
Now it’s a beautiful garden table and chairs. 
Think what you might be able to do with garbage you find laying on the side of the road, who knows, it might be a beautiful piece of garden furniture in your future.
You don’t have to move off the grid in order to reduce your dependence on electricity. Look around your house. How many of your small appliances can be replaced with the “acoustic” versions?
For example, how many of you have electric can openers? Unless you have a dexterity issue, manual hand-cranked can openers are the more eco (and less expensive) way to go.
Other examples:
If you live in an old house with radiators, forgo humidifiers and simply put pans of water on top of a couple of radiators. This also works well if you have a wood stove.
French press coffee pots can replace electric coffee makers — some coffee purists say the non-electric version makes a superior cup of coffee anyway. (Bonus: No paper filters!)
Air dry your hair instead of using a blow dryer.
Use an old fashioned pencil sharpener instead of an electric version.
Use a regular toothbrush instead of an electric one. (Recycla confesses she uses power tools to brush her teeth and she’s not sure she could go back.)
And then there are the big things, like hanging your laundry up to dry.
That said, sometimes, switching back to the old way won’t work for you. For example, studies have shown that using a dishwasher ultimately uses less water than handwashing. And in Recycla’s house, laundry is hung up inside in the laundry room, but never outside because both Recycla and one of her daughters have seasonal allergies, so wearing t-shirts covered in tree pollen is not going to work for them.
You don’t have to do all of these things, but you might want to consider trying even just one.
Tell the Eco Women: What other ideas do you have?
Posted in 3 Rs, house stuff, living green on a budget
The other day Enviro Girl got a phone call from someone conducting a survey. After ascertaining her age and status as the primary shopper for her household, the caller asked Enviro Girl to rate her attitude towards Proctor & Gamble and their various products.
Enviro Girl declared her status as “neutral” and admitted she doesn’t really buy Proctor & Gamble products–and then on Sunday while reading through the weekly coupon offers from that company, discovered why. You see, it’s not that Enviro Girl is against Proctor & Gamble, per se. It’s not even that she’s buying goods produced by a competitor. She doesn’t buy Proctor & Gamble products because as an environmental activist and “green” housekeeper, they don’t make much that she needs!
Let’s take a quick look at their brands and product lines and why Enviro Girl doesn’t buy them:
Always: well, maxi pads are gross and Enviro Girl prefers tampons. She sees panty liners as a total waste of plastic-lined trash.
Clairol, Aussie, Herbal Essences: Enviro Girl goes au natural with her hair color and prefers a paraben-free, synthetic-fragrance-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free shampoo/conditioner experience. She’s an Avalon Organics girl all the way for her hair care products.
Secret: Not strong enough for this woman. She prefers Certain Dri.
Tampax: Is it just Enviro Girl or have other people noticed the “designer style feminine hygiene care products?” Bottom line: An applicator is a waste of plastic or cardboard.
Ivory: Actually, Enviro Girl swears by bars of Ivory soap at her house, so Proctor & Gamble do get her money for this product. Tried and true, it’s a cleansing classic.
Venus: Ditto here–she invested in a razor and likes the disposable cartridges instead of disposable razors.
Scope: If you brush and floss, mouthwash isn’t necessary. If you find it is, then you’ve probably got bigger issues going on in your mouth.
CoverGirl: See the above issues Enviro Girl has with hair care products. Ditto for her face. She does not buy most make up products, when she does she opts for brands free of toxic chemicals.
Crest: Enviro Girl’s household uses Crest. Not everyone in the household brushes their teeth with crest, so it’s not the main toothpaste brand of choice.
Comet: (no site link available) Enviro Girl uses Bon Ami or baking soda–not the lung-searing cleaning power of Comet.
Swiffer: It’s a disposable mop-head/broom product, people. Disposable. Enviro Girl won’t even speculate on what they brew to make the floor spray stuff with–she uses a regular mop and vinegar with hot water to clean wood and tile floors.
Tide/Dreft/Cheer/Gain: Enviro Girl has major issues with chemical fragrances and she likes to use a laundry detergent that’s gentle on the environment. To that end, she’s a Seventh Generation fan through and through–that detergent never fails to clean her family’s clothes and doesn’t leave a heavy scent behind, either.
Ferbreze: Speaking of chemically toxic smells, most people already know that a clean house doesn’t require air fresheners. Never ever in a million years would Enviro Girl buy a product that leaves behind dangerous chemical residue in the name of “freshening up” her household. Enviro Girl cleans well with vinegar and water and leaves windows open for that “fresh air” fragrance in her house.
Duracell: Enviro Girl has already invested in rechargeable batteries by Energizer. ‘Nuff said.
Downy/Bounce: Enviro Girl has posted before about dryer sheets and fabric softeners. They’re a wasteful and even dangerous product. If static cling is really an issue, wool dryer balls or a quick spritz with vinegar and water will cure it. It’s products like these that make the last few aisles of Target an asthma attack waiting to happen for people like Enviro Girl.
Dawn: Just as she feels about laundry detergent, Enviro Girl likes an environmentally friendly and natural smelling dish soap. She chooses Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products. (And is it just Enviro Girl or do other people notice a wonky smell on dish cloths when folks use the “antibacterial” Dawn dish soaps?)
Cascade: Again, environmentally friendly dishwasher detergents are Enviro Girl’s pick. She really likes Seventh Generation’s dishwasher powdered detergent. It’s fairly inexpensive and does a great job getting dishes clean.
Bounty: Enviro Girl has taken The Paper Towel Challenge and uses about a quarter a roll of paper towel a year. Paper towels really aren’t necessary–old newspapers or rags do the same job for a fraction of the price and without decimating forests. In fact, Enviro Girl’s family has even reduced their use of paper towels since she originally took the challenge! Because she barely ever buys paper towels, she spends a bit more on some 100% recycled paper towels.
Charmin: Enviro Girl buys the store brand of toilet paper–not super plush, not super scratchy.
Pringles: Enviro Girl will let the ingredients speak for this product:
RICE FLOUR, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CORN OIL, COTTONSEED OIL, SOYBEAN OIL, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), DRIED POTATOES, CORN FLOUR, MALTODEXTRIN, WHEAT STARCH, MODIFIED RICE STARCH, SUGAR, AND TRIGLYCEROL MONO-OLEATE. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, WHEAT BRAN, DRIED BLACK BEANS, SALT, AND CITRIC ACID. CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS.
Um, yeah. Enviro Girl likes potato chips made with 3 ingredients, potatoes, oil and salt. FAIL, Pringles. FAIL. (And this is the ingredient list from the healthy-sounding “Multigrain Pringles.”)
Mr. Clean: Enviro Girl loves Ecover. Bless your shiny bald head, Mr. Clean, but the contents of your bottle will never in a million years live up to the high environmental standards of Ecover.
So, it’s not personal, Proctor & Gamble. It’s more a matter of being friendly to her environment (air, earth and water) and knowing what’s necessary to keep her household clean and healthy and what will probably pollute it more. Do tell, reader–do you buy Proctor & Gamble products for your household? Or have you opted to buy more eco-friendly brands?
Depending on where you live — and this excludes the Eco Women’s readers down in the Southern Hemisphere — now that it’s fall, the weather has probably started cooling down a bit. Now is a good time to prepare your home for winter.
Here’s a list of projects — ranging from simple and cheap/free to more complex and expensive — you can do to winterize your eco lair:
Tell the Eco Women: What’s your favorite thing about fall?
Posted in house stuff
