Category Archives: Eco Friendly Home

How Much Can a Stay at Home Mom Really Do For the Environment?

Why is it that when women talk about being a stay at home mother, many describe themselves as being “just” a stay at home mom? I’ve always felt that there’s nothing so simple about it. As a stay at home mom you have the power to make a big difference for your family or even for others.

I like to think about the environment, for example. There are plenty of things you can do around the home to make sure that your family lives in a more environmentally friendly way. Some of it can even save money, which is often near and dear to the stay at home mother’s heart.

You’re always home, so that probably means you’re always using some electricity. But at some times of the year you can cut down on your electricity usage by something as simple as opening the blinds during the day and letting the sun light the house. This may not work in the dead of winter or when it’s so hot during the summer that you’d have to turn on the air conditioning, but it can be effective. Continue reading →

No More Incandescent Bulbs in California?

This is quite a thought, especially since I live in California and haven’t yet convinced my husband that the compact fluorescents would save money. I find it amusing that my inlaws, who have no interest in the environmental movement have gone to compact fluorescents before he has.

Unfortunately, he’s the one who did the most recent shopping for light bulbs. Wish I’d known we needed them.

I found the article on MSN. This isn’t law yet, may not ever be, but if it happens, incandescent bulbs would be banned in California by 2012.

I always have mixed feelings about the government telling people they can only buy certain things, use certain things. On the other hand, I would like to see more energy efficient items preferred, and as I can tell from personal experience with my husband it is not easy to get people to look past the short term expense to the long term savings. Continue reading →

Observations at the Grocery Store

Just going grocery shopping can be interesting when you want to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. I was shopping the other day and just marveling at some of the wasteful stuff there.

I like buying from my local Henry’s as they have a good selection of organic foods, although not exclusively organic. But I especially like the bulk bins. I could wish for a choice between paper and plastic bags at the bins, but let’s face it… it’s much harder to keep a paper bag from leaking small stuff like flour, so I understand the choice. Then there’s the problem of trying to have the paper bags available neatly rather than torn and all over the floor.

But I don’t shop there exclusively. It was at the other grocery store I go to that I really got to thinking about some of the waste. Continue reading →

Want vs. Need

One of the hardest things about trying to live a greener lifestyle is trying to remember to keep control of your wants versus your needs. We live in a very acquisitive society, making this even more difficult.

For example, I would dearly love to have a laptop computer with a wireless internet connection. Don’t absolutely need one, as I already own a computer, but I really, really want one.

Having a laptop would allow me to work in the back yard as the kids play, take care of my business while on vacation rather than trusting my sister to watch it, and borrowing a computer whenever possible to take a peek. I can justify it pretty well. But at the same time it’s not an absolute need, merely something that could be quite advantageous.

Similarly, when my husband and I decided not to replace my car, it was part a budgetary decision and partially because we really don’t utterly need a second car. It’s a little luxury that gives me more freedom to do things with the kids, but I can get by without it. Continue reading →

Going Green Bit by Bit

Living a greener lifestyle feels complicated. But you can start with the easy steps and make a real difference, even if it’s a small one at first.

Let’s start with your light fixtures. As your light bulbs die, replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs. These cost more at the store but use less energy and last up to 10 times longer, so they can be well worth the money. These are much better than the old fluorescent bulbs which had an awkward greenish cast and slight flicker at times.

Do you drink a lot of bottled water? Stop buying the little bottles and buy a reusable one. A good water bottle is easily washable and you can use tap water, filtered water or buy larger bottles if you just have to have the bottled water taste. But I find just having tap water ice cold helps the flavor tremendously.

If you just can’t stand the taste of tap water try a filtration system. A good system can really change the taste and get rid of some of the flavors you don’t want in your water. Continue reading →