Monday, October 15, 2007

eco-friendly thoughts

Since it's blog action day I figued I'd make a public committment to getting more eco-friendly, cause, ya know, if I say it in public then I have to do it, right? :) Some things I've already done, and some things I always did because my family did them when I was growing up. A blogger I read somewhere said that a lot of the things she was doing originally came out of a desire to save money. That's really true - saving heat energy saves money on the bill. So here's a list of things I either do or am going to start doing:

1. Find those darn tote bags so I can stop using plastic/paper grocery bags. Less junk to clean up in my house too.

2. Get back to composting. I'm eating a ton of veggies these days, oddly enough because a chemo side effect is that I'm craving veggies like a crazy woman. I have lots of refuse that can easily go into a pile in my back yard. And since I've always been lazy, when my mom and I composted years ago we didn't do anything besides mark out a spot for the pile and toss the compostables on it. No lime, no box, nothing. It worked great and we used it on our plants.

3. Get rid of the non-local plants in my back yard. My wonderful, wonderful boy friend took me for a tour of my back yard and pointed out the non-local growth. We have plenty of gorgeous local plantings here and I don't need invaders. :)

4. Replace all my toxic icky cleaners with eco-friendly products. I already started on this one. Since the cancer diagnosis a few months ago I've decided that avoiding toxins is not a bad idea. Ya think? Besides, anyone ever notice that the natural cleaners smell good?

5. I just bought a ton of micro fiber wash cloths and dish towels. I'm determined not to buy any more paper towels. I'll save cash and create less trash. Hey! That would make a cool t-shirt. Something my Depression Era Baby mom always did was cut up old t-shirts and use them as dust cloths. I'm fed up with Swiffers and stinky floor scrubbing pads. Give me a mop and a bucket. In the same vein, I'm going to get cloth napkins to replace the paper ones. We used those when I was a kid. Let's hear it for saving money. They're pretty, too. Yay Martha!

6. I already knit and do some spinning, so turning down my heat will encourage me to do more knitting and wear the stuff I make. I love shawls so there ya go. Eco-friendly *and* fashionable. w00t! I'd like to make some pretty wool curtains, too. Nice looking insulation is something I can definitely live with.

7. My local food coop sells local products, and their organic veggies are actually less expensive than the big box stores.

I know there are a lot more things I can do but I think this is a good start.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Cate Sky! Found your new blog - sorry to hear some of your news, happy about other parts (like your house!!!) Wish we could get together with a big pile of shawls!!! I am almost done with one now (I have maybe 1/4 left to knit). Lots of hugs and healing thoughts to you - I know you can beat this thing! Write if you feel up to it! I'm gonna sign up for a google account so that I can leave this note for you, but I'll never check it 'cause I don't really want one! LOL!

Heidi (hjaponiATyahoo.com)

Unknown said...

Heidi!!!!

Nice to "see" you. :) Wouldn't a big pile of shawls rock?

I think I'm going to allow anon comments and save folks the aggravation of signing up for a google account. :P

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

This is such a great commitment to make! I so want to be more eco-friendly too. And have gotten some good ideas from you. Thank you!