Monthly Archives: August 2008

Is the Cost of Going Green Worth It?

Many people have an image of going green as expensive. Hybrid cars cost more than regular cars. Solar panels are expensive.

Thank goodness there are more ways than that to go green!

One of the most important steps you can take to go green is to simply consume less. Go shopping less. Reuse and repurpose things as they get older. It can’t be expensive if you aren’t spending money on it, except maybe in time.

Some steps may cost a little more at first, such as making the switch from paper napkins and paper towels to cloth varieties of the same things. On the other hand, these can last for years, so you can save quite a bit in the long run. And that’s what you should ideally be thinking about.

Going green in the things you need to buy can save money too, or at least not cost extra. When it comes to cleaning products, for example, there are more and more green products coming out all the time, and many have similar prices to conventional products.

And for those who don’t mind a very small bit of extra time, products such as vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice can work wonders around the house. They’re also quite affordable and often do as well as conventional products. Sometimes you’ll need to put a little extra elbow grease into your scrubbing, but you can still get the job done.

Either of these solutions can keep toxins out of your home. That means that you may feel better, especially if you or anyone in your family has allergies.

Buying organic food is probably one of the most expensive things that you would do on a regular basis. I won’t argue that organic food is more expensive than conventionally grown, but you can offset this somewhat by growing your own. There’s a cost to getting started with a garden, but there are benefits beyond the fresh produce. You get exercise. You get to teach your children about where food comes from. It can be a lot of fun combined with frustration. There are few things as wonderful as fresh picked produce. The stuff in the grocery stores just cannot compete.

Reusable shopping bags are quite popular now. These don’t have to cost a fortune if you don’t mind having a store logo on them. Many grocery stores sell them for just a dollar each. Sure it’s something you wouldn’t have had to buy otherwise, paper and plastic grocery bags being free, but you’re not spending much and cutting waste way down.

Energy efficient light bulbs may also seem expensive, but you need to keep some things in mind. First, that they will save you money over time. They use less energy and last longer. Second, that in many areas you can find them free or discounted by your local power company. I’ve often found them at about $1 per bulb. It’s not a bad deal at all.

Whenever you try something new and green, just be sure that you are indeed going green. Many companies merely claim to be more environmentally friendly, greenwashing their products to appeal to that market. But when you check things out, they’re as bad as the usual stuff.

Keeping Back to School Sane

It’s coming up on time to send the kids back to school, and you know what that means.

Time to shop for all the supplies your child will need for school. Backpacks, pens, pencils, folder, binders, maybe some new clothes. All of this can really add up.

And it’s a hard time to keep a lot of it green even if some of your purchases are intended to help keep your school year overall greener, such as planning waste-free lunches.

At my daughter’s school, we are just asked to provide some basic supplies for the classroom, which will be shared. First graders aren’t expected to handle bringing all their own supplies, which makes sense to me considering how much of their work is done on teacher-provided worksheets.

For that I did go by the list the school provided and picked out an assortment of items from that list. The list had a big emphasis on the name Crayola for the crayons, for example, and as they’re a shared resource I suspect that’s to be sure of the kids all getting equal quality when they use the crayons

For my daughter’s backpack, I had a goal of buying one that would last her at least two years. Being a thoroughly commercialized kid despite my efforts, she first wanted a Dora one. But since I knew that would be a poor choice for first grade and worse for second, she didn’t get it.

Can I say how grateful I am that she doesn’t like Hannah Montana? That’s despite one of her friends telling her last year that “everyone” likes Hannah Montana. So proud that she still didn’t care.

The next pick was a lunch bag. Last year’s bag was thrashed to say the least, with a stench that would not come out, due to her habit of not quite closing her drink containers and leaving food lose in it, instead of back in the containers.

Fortunately, the containers themselves are still in good condition, so all we needed was a new bag. Our budget is exceptionally tight this year, with my husband only freshly back at work, so we just stuck with what we could find at Target. I’d like to ensure that we go PVC free in the future, but this year my one concern was lead free.

Why does that have to be a concern anyhow? You’d think companies would know better by now.

The key to keeping all of this sane is thinking carefully about what it is your child really needs for school. Don’t overdo it on the supplies. Make sure that backpacks and lunch bags will be suitable for more than just the current school year.

And really don’t overdo it on the back to school clothes. I suspect that’s where some of the worst overspending can occur. It’s fun for kids to look a little extra nice the first day, and that often extends to much of a new wardrobe.

Some of that can be necessary. Long pants, often mostly unworn during the summer, may suddenly be too short. Other clothes just don’t fit right anymore. Some clothes shopping probably has to be done.

Remember that there will be other occasions where buying clothes will also make sense. Look at your child’s wardrobe and see how many outfits were hardly worn at all, despite not being outgrown. That can give you an idea as to how much you should be cutting back. You may also find clothes that still fit nicely and look just fine.

I always set aside some of the “still fits but thrashed” clothes for play clothes. My kids love having clothes that they can get as dirty as they want. Believe me, that’s pretty amazingly dirty. I figure that if they’re ruining only a certain number of clothes, that’s more that will survive to go to the thrift store, where some other child will benefit.

Remember that back to school is a great time to teach your child that you don’t have to keep up with what everyone else has. There’s no need to have the latest of everything, or the trendiest clothes. It can be a hard lesson, but if your kids learn it well you can really save your sanity, your money and shop green.

How to Find Green Cleansers

While I enjoy making my own cleaning supplies, I know it’s not for everyone, even when much of it is as simple as baking soda and vinegar. Maybe you like the scents of other cleansers or maybe you just can’t quite believe they’re effective enough.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t go green with your cleaning supplies.

There are a number of greener cleansers out there. Clorox may have a name for itself as the producer of some really nasty, toxic chemicals, but if you can get past that they have their Green Works line of products. You can get these locally at Home Depot and other stores. I’ve tried them, and they work fine.

If you’re buying products, do at least consider buying concentrated versions that you have to water down before use. This will at least cut down on the packaging and weight of shipping. It also saves you quite a bit of money. One of the Green Works products I bought, an all-purpose cleanser, can be diluted to 1:24 a bit and is still effective.

There are other products you can buy as well, such as the old, reliable Simple Green. I used that one for a long time before starting to make my own products.

When in doubt, look at the labels.

The very first thing I don’t want in a product is for it to be antibacterial. These can leave residues, encouraging resistant bacteria to grow, and don’t do any better a job of cleaning. With the residue left, it may even be doing worse. Just remember that a good soap allows you to wipe those germs right off the counter. Keep your cleaning cloths clean and you won’t be spreading too many germs about.

Besides, a few germs around are good for the immune system. It’s the excess that is far more likely to make you or your family ill.

In addition, look for warning and danger labels. Right off the bat either of these tells you that your cleanser has something toxic in it. You’ll probably want to wear gloves when using such products, or better yet, find an alternative that’s less toxic.

Caution labels are on many products. It’s on my Green Works bottle, for example, because it’s a potential eye irritant. Eyes are very easy to irritate.

I prefer to avoid ammonia, bleach, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, petroleum products and many other ingredients commonly found in cleaning products. I’m also not big on added fragrances, unless it’s an essential oil such as I add when I use vinegar so my husband doesn’t complain about the scent.

A simple rule is that if you can recognize the source of the ingredients in your cleaning product, it’s probably safer. Not always, as nature can come up with some really nasty toxins.

Just remember you don’t need products with special agents to make them foam up, or really harsh chemicals to get the job done. A bit of elbow grease and a natural product can do the job just as well. You won’t have to worry about what you’re sending down the pipes or in the trash if you pick your products more carefully.

Husband Has a New Job

You have no idea how relieved I am.

It’s not a great job. It’s not a green job. It’s not something he wants to stick with for more than a few months, ideally. But it’s income. Possibly good income since a part of the pay is based on commission.

But it’s income and health coverage. A chance to get off the COBRA coverage.

Investigating the new coverage, which starts the first day of the first month after the 60 day mark, it looks like I will have to change obstetricians for this baby. At first I was kind of disappointed, but now I’m not… so long as the copays and whatnot aren’t bad.

You see, the research I did on it included taking a better look at the hospital I was going to deliver at. I had been thinking my OB’s insistence on another C-section might have been her personal preference.

But in my research I found out how to look at the hospitals. The one nearest me just doesn’t routinely offer VBAC. But the one I would have to deliver at under the new plan DOES!!

I’ll put up with the extra driving for that chance. I really didn’t want to go the C-section route again. If it’s necessary that’s one thing. But due to a stinking hospital policy? NO!!

The minus is that there are only two OBs in my area to choose from, and only one actually specializes in it. The other is in internal medicine.

Nervous as I am about all this, I’m glad to have the chance to really try for VBAC. And of course I’m grateful for any kind of work that my husband can do. He’s keeping up the job hunt to try to find a career position, but in the meantime, we just need to get by.

And I’m trying not to think about how little time he’ll probably be able to take when baby gets here. Good thing there’s lots of family around.