Monthly Archives: September 2007

Does Considering the Environment Have to Be Hard on the Budget?

One of the most common complaints I hear about going green is that it’s hard on the budget. And to an extent, that’s true. A lot of the big things you hear about to help you and your family go green are expensive. Certainly beyond what many families can justify spending.

But not everything is that way. There are a lot of things that you can easily do for the environment that are friendly to your budget.

shop less

Shop Less, Shop Smarter

We’ll start with the obvious place, shopping. Shopping less is good for both your budget and the environment. Most American families buy too much stuff as is. If you can cut down, even if it doesn’t feel like it, you are doing something for the environment.

But you can also shop smarter. This does not just mean buy organically produced goods. That’s a good thing, but if you’re buying them unnecessarily, not the best thing you can do. It is then merely better than buying non-organic.

Instead, think about reusing. Go to thrift stores and resale shops. They often have merchandise that looks as good as new or close to it, for bargain prices. Occasionally you’ll even find clothes with the tags from the store still attached.

Around the House

How much do you waste around your home? You might just be surprised.

Paper towel and napkins are a big area of waste for many families. But if you think about it, cloth towels and napkins cost less and are better for the environment. If you don’t already have a supply you may have to make something of an investment to get started, but once you have them, you’re in good shape.

For parents with infants and toddlers, choosing cloth diapers can be a more difficult choice. Disposables are extremely convenient, but there are a lot of options now for you to consider. There are a wide range of brands and ideas for making diapers if not green, more green than usual. Check out gDiapers, the cloth diaper liners by Tiny Tush, the chlorine-free disposables from Seventh Generation and other brands to see what best suits your needs.

cleaning supplies

Think about how you’re cleaning too. Many of the cleansers you can buy at the store use chemicals that are harsh on you, your family and the environment. They’ve even found that the antibacterial soaps that are so hard to avoid buying these days really don’t do any better than regular soaps, but may be encouraging the growth of more resistant bacteria. It’s very important to think about how you clean your home and your bodies.

Natural cleansers for around the house are pretty easy to make in many cases. Vinegar and baking soda are two wonderful ingredients that can be used safely for a wide range of purposes around the house. They’re cheap and amazingly effective.

For things you don’t want to make, consider your options and try to pick the safest varieties that will get the job done.

Think about a clothesline for when you’re doing laundry. This can keep you from needing to use your dryer for much of the year. You may have to check to see if your community allows clotheslines, as many homeowner’s associations are against them.

And of course, don’t forget your light bulbs. Switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs may seem a little pricey, but the bulbs use less electricity and last much longer. In many areas the power company either offers them free if you request them, or has them discounted in stores. I’ve seen them as low as $1 for a package of 3 in my area recently.

In the Yard

Many people could be watering far less than they do right now. Automatic sprinkler systems do guarantee that the yard gets watered and that you don’t accidentally leave the water on, but they can be wasteful too.

tree

Make sure you turn them off for rain, for example, or have a sensor installed that detects rain so that the sprinklers don’t go off in that circumstance.

You should also think about how often they go off. Most people badly overwater their lawns. It’s actually better for a lawn to be watered less often but more deeply. You can cut down on your overall watering time this way.

Think about the time you water too. Early morning or late evening are best, especially if the weather has been warm. You want the water to sink in, not evaporate. I might make exceptions for letting the kids run through the sprinklers, since then the water is getting two uses for one, but otherwise, I water when it’s cool out.

Similarly, don’t hose off your patio or sidewalk. I mean really, is it that miserable most of the time to sweep it off with the broom?

When you mow the lawn, leave the clippings there. It’s a great natural fertilizer, so you won’t need to buy any of the chemical stuff.

Any of these steps will, if not immediately, then over time save you money, and be kinder to the environment. It can be hard to get used to some of these changes, but it’s well worth it. Caring for the environment without breaking your budget is a wonderful feeling.

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Get Your Kids Out of the House!

I love sending my kids outside to play. So far it tends to keep them busier than watching television or playing on the computer. Admittedly, they’re 2-1/2 and 5, so this may change, but it is so far quite encouraging.

But sadly, many children don’t get time to play outside, or at least not nearly enough of it. There actually appears to be an association between attention deficity disorder and not getting enough time with nature for kids. They call it nature-deficit disorder.

I added Last Child in the Woods to my wish list today. I get the basic premise, and agree with it, but the book should still be interesting reading.

chalk

I can tell you that I see a difference in how my daughter behaves after spending hours playing outside versus watching television. She’s much, much happier overall if she’s been out having fun, as well as being more focused and obedient. In either case she still has her wild imagination, which goes through leaps that can be delightfully hard to follow.

There are a lot of great activities you can do with your children to get them outside and playing and enjoying nature. If you have a space to do so, you can garden. You can walk to a neighborhood park. My daughter loves to do that, then go rolling down a grassy slope. It’s not all about the playground equipment, after all.

You can go camping or hiking as a family. You may have to drive to do this, or you may have a good hike within walking distance, but I love getting my family out into the less civilized part of nature. Parks are great, but there’s more variety to areas that are not so precisely maintained in appearance as city parks are.

Let your kids get dirty. Yesterday I had to clean my kids up after they had some fun with water and chalk. No trouble; I laughed as I got them cleaned up. I think the clothes survived too, although not by much. Let your kids play in in the creek, look for frogs, lizards and other small critters. Talk to them about the bugs they see. Show them different plants and which ones are safe to touch, or, more important, not safe to touch.

I have a basic philosophy that if my kids don’t sometimes shock me with how filthy they got, I’m doing something wrong. I may have to soak their clothes for hours after, as I did yesterday, but it’s worth it to me. The skirt did finally turn soft pink again.

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Going Through Grandma’s House

One of the hardest things I had to do this past weekend was to go through Grandma’s house to see what I wanted. It’s reusing, but of the most painful sort.

But I must say some of the things I got delight me. Some of her old pots, so that I can finally get rid of my old Teflon-coated ones that I have long detested. The coating is still good on them, so I couldn’t convince myself to just replace them, but I really don’t like using things with Teflon these days. Grandma’s pots are aluminum (I think), but well made and she used them as far back as I can remember.

I got her pressure cooker too. Very nice for cooking some things faster. I’ve been wanting one for years, but didn’t want to spend the money. No one else wanted it. I also have on the wish list a cast iron frying pan, but others are after those too, so we’ll see.

Of course, sentimental items are on the list too. She had so many beautiful things, and I had to keep reminding myself to keep it simple and that I have too much stuff just sitting in boxes as is.

Everyone agreed that it feels really weird going through her stuff so quickly. But there are a lot of us from out of town, so it was necessary. Besides, leaving it to sit doesn’t make sense either, and no one was being grabby about things. I have a really nice family.

My cousins wore some of her old jewelry to the funeral. They were a bit aplogetic about it, since they thought of it too late to get opinions, but we all said it was just fine. Frankly, even if they wanted to keep what they wore, I’d be fine with it.

I Think I’m Getting This School Lunch Thing Figured Out

Getting Ariel to eat the lunch I pack for her has been a challenge. Most days these first few weeks she has come home with much of her lunch intact. Not too big a deal many ways; her kindergarten gets out at 1, so it means only a slightly late lunch for her.

I’ve determined that she is definitely not a sandwich eater right now. Maybe someday she will like them, but for now, no. Same for putting any meat in her lunch. She just won’t eat it. Nuts, even her favorites, cashews, are similarly a no go so far.

But I packed her a pasta salad filled with vegetables and sprinkled with cheese, and it vanished quite satisfactorily. She then informed me that her next lunch she wanted to be “Sand and Shells“. I can cope with vegetarian. Not like people need as much meat as most Americans eat anyhow.

She’s hitting it lucky right now on desserts, although I’ll have to make it clear that this is very, very temporary. We have a ton of “two bite brownies” and other small desserts that I got saddled with from my sister’s wedding rehearsal luncheon. That’s what I get for not leaving early. But her favorite is the angel food cake with strawberries on top. Could be worse.

But her normal dessert is fresh fruit. She adores kiwis and most other fruits. Throw in some vegetables, maybe some cheese, and she’s pretty content.

I’m looking at switching her over to whole grain pastas. It’s a bit hard on a tight budget, but if she’s going to have pasta more than occasionally, I’d like it to have some nutritional value.

I doubt the menu is down perfect yet, since I like providing a good variety, but I’m making steady progress.

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