Monthly Archives: May 2008

Do the Little Things Matter?

I often write about the little stuff you can do to live a greener life. But when it comes down to it, how much does all that matter? Doesn’t what the big companies do far outweigh what we individuals control?

Sure. But that doesn’t mean the small stuff isn’t important.

The small things do add up. A single compact fluorescent lightbulb isn’t going to make much of a difference in the carbon output of the world. But all of us together changing over to CFLs where possible will make a difference. Still a smaller difference than many industries could make, but a difference nonetheless.

compact fluorescent bulb

And then there are all the little things you can do that will matter to your family. Buying organic, local or growing your own garden gives your family the chance to eat better foods. It’s something that can matter to you as an individual as well as be kinder to the environment.

I pack my daughter’s school lunch every day in reusable containers. Do I really think it’s going to make a big difference? No, but it makes some difference. Less plastic wasted. Fewer paper bags thrown out. Better control over the kinds of foods my daughter eats.

And then there’s trying to avoid BPA. This can be a tough one, since some argue whether or not it’s even an issue. The FDA doesn’t have a problem with it after all. But there’s still that potential for it to work as an endocrine disruptor. Canada banned it for that possibility. Should we do less for our families just because it’s a small effect, possibly even not an effect at all?

If it’s a choice between a big thing and a little thing, of course, take care of the big things. Fortunately many of the little things really don’t take much time, and can even just be a part of your regular lifestyle.

It’s Hot!

It’s about 10:30 in the morning here, and already 93 degrees F outside. Another really hot day.

We’re pretty good at adapting to the heat. We wear light clothes around the house, and only rarely hit the point during the day that we feel the air conditioner is a necessity. A part of the reason for this is that we keep getting better about covering our windows to keep the heat out.

This year we’ve added one of those emergency blankets made of mylar to the hottest window. Pulled it out of the camping supplies. Good as it is supposed to be for emergencies while camping, it works wonders for keeping heat out of the house too. We just hang it over the window and let it go to work.

The house still gets warm; it’s about 80 in here right now, but I consider that highly tolerable. It really is a matter of getting used to it. 80 with a ceiling fan is pleasant.

Adaptation and blocking windows isn’t always enough, but it sure helps to cut down on our use of air conditioning. Most often we use it to cool the house down to where it’s comfortable enough for sleeping at night, and that’s it. For our area that’s really, really unusual.

How to Clean Outside Areas

I got thinking on the topic of summer today when my daughter’s kindergarten teacher commented that there are only 4 Mondays left in our school year. It was one of those “wow, summer’s almost here” moments for me.

That, of course, brought me to thinking about cleaning up the outside of the house. Living in southern California, it’s pretty practical to keep the outside areas of the house nice all year. We don’t get much rain here, after all, never mind significantly colder weather.

One of those things that has always been a bit annoying is how some people like to clean their walkways and driveways with the hose. Considering the water situation in our area, I hope to see very, very little of that this year, but I know people will do it just because it’s faster.

A good broom will allow you to take care of most of the problem without water. You’ll want one that does well outdoors, which may be a little heavier duty than many like for the kitchen or other parts of the house. I always liked the big push brooms for larger areas myself.

Most of the time, that’s all you need. If there’s a dried up mess outside then yeah, you might want to get the hose as the fastest way to clean it up. But most of the time you don’t really need it.

The same goes later in the year for leaf blowers and such. Get a good rake and a broom for the walkways, and get your yard cleaned up without wasting fuel, electricity or water.

Of course, many people do one thing that is pretty green is add plants to their garden. That can be more or less green, depending on how you garden. The plastic containers that many plants come in can be problematic, although some garden centers may take them back if they’re in good condition. Use compost instead of fertilizer, and you can make your yard more beautiful without hurting the environment much.

How to Green a Child’s Birthday Party

Birthday parties for kids have turned into something of an environmental nightmare in a lot of ways. All the paper used once and thrown away, plastic toys given not only to the birthday boy or girl, but often to every guest, the competition in many areas for each family to outdo the one before.

It gets pretty ugly.

The challenge is that it’s not a comfortable thing telling people what they should give for gifts. It pretty much goes against the usual etiquette. Registration for birthday presents isn’t all that common yet, so it can be difficult to get the idea across.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that if you make the theme clear on the invitation, at least some of the guests will bring gifts relevant to that theme. Declare a gardening theme and your child is likely to get at least some garden tools and seeds as gifts. Just think about what kinds of gifts would be welcome and try to figure out a theme relevant to it to have a shot at welcome gifts without telling your guests what kinds of things to buy directly.

Of course, if you’re comfortable putting on the invitations that you want a particular kind of gift, charitable donation or no gifts at all, do so. I know many people are glad to know what kinds of things to buy, etiquette or no.

I’ve always been a believer in keeping things simple. No buying themed paper plates, napkins, cups, gift baggies, etc. No renting bounce houses. Invite the kids and tell them to go play when they get there. Organize them only for things like opening presents and cutting cake. Children don’t need all that much direction to have fun.

Healthy food and kids can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible.  Believe it or not, many children do like vegetables pretty well. It helps if you provide dip for those that want it, but if you can keep the food healthy, organic and/or local, you’re a step ahead of the game.

Depending on the age group, the cake can be another target. I’ve noticed that most kids don’t like cake so much; they like frosting. Just look around at any child’s birthday party and notice how many pieces of cake are stripped of frosting but otherwise untouched. If the birthday boy or girl is agreeable, you may want to substitute cookies or another treat that will actually be eaten.

Gift wrap can be a pain, but at least some of it can be reused. We always save any gift bags used, so that they see at least a second use before someone else disposes of them. Wrapping paper is more challenging, but many types can now be recycled at the very least. Or you may be able to come up with craft ideas for some of the more interesting papers.

Those little gift baggies that are pretty much an expectation anymore are one of the big challenges to a green birthday party. They’re often plastic, filled with more plastic toys that will last a couple of days tops, as a rule. Not ideal by a long shot.

My own recommendation is to get a bit more creative. Get some little pots, soil and seeds and have the kids plant something. Flowers, tomatoes, whatever. It’s an activity combined with a gift for those attending the party.

Or if you want to do gift bags, think about fabric ones. If you sew you can make some quickly out of scrap cloth, or just buy some inexpensive ones. Fill them with things that will last better than the plastic junk you see most of the time, or some snacks.

You may be surprised at how much you can do to cut back on the waste generated by birthday parties. You may only have limited control over what your guests bring, but you can certainly decide what you will do for your part.