Saturday, May 19, 2007

My environmental commitment.


My actual purpose for doing this blog was to make a more serious commitment to the environment. Of course that is not all I plan to write about but, the environment and getting green is really the point of the blog's name Get Green Things. I was composing a list of things 50 that I am committed to try at least once in an effort to clean up my impact on the planet. I was trying to get 100 but, I am not that creative. This is a start. Here goes-

  1. Use less paper towels and Switch to post consumed paper towels

  2. Making something useful out of trash.

  3. Switch to post consumed toilet paper

  4. switch to post consumed tissues

  5. Grow three herbs

  6. Go to a farmers market

  7. Get 10 pieces of clothing at good will (that I wear regularly)

  8. Get 5 pieces of organic clothing

  9. Find three meatless meals my family will eat

  10. Shorten shower time (with timer)

  11. Take cloth bags to grocery store

  12. Check tire pressure on car

  13. Bring foil and bag for leftovers when I eat out

  14. move dog door

  15. Donate stuff to goodwill

  16. Take a cup to Starbucks to refill

  17. Find Environmentally friendly pest control

  18. Find a green investment

  19. Donate to a green cause

  20. walk to the store

  21. donate books

  22. set some books “free”

  23. hang clothes to dry

  24. write a letter to my congressman

  25. have an energy audit on my home

  26. research more about vegetarian diet impact on the planet

  27. use public transportation

  28. find an environmental group in my area (meeting)

  29. walk into the store with my bike and shop

  30. reduce my junk mail

  31. take earth day quiz

  32. Find environmentally friendly cleaners

  33. Use my printer less

  34. learn about buying CO2 offsets

  35. Plant a tree

  36. learn about 5 major companies commitment to the environment

  37. Bring cloth bags to the store for my groceries

  38. Learn about composting

  39. Take more nature pictures

  40. Learn about the 100 mile diet

  41. Learn more about local food sources

  42. Switch to organic toiletries

  43. Learn what the plastic recycling numbers mean

  44. Take an environmentally friendly vacation (whatever that means)

  45. Learn ways to waste less water

  46. Learn about 5 species that are endangered right now

  47. Adopt a dog from the pound

  48. Clean our air filters (or get my honey to do it)

  49. Find energy alternatives that might work for my home (and won't piss off my HOA)

  50. Volunteer somewhere to help people and/or the environment


Whoo! That is a lot of stuff I need to try and learn about, I know. I am committed. Even though I haven't done the things on the list I am doing other things,(and somethings I am already slowly starting to do on on the list of 50, I just need to complete them) I list them below. I just know that if I want really lighten my foot print, I need to do and know more.

(Not to toot my own horn but, I am known by my family and friends as a fairly environmentally aware person)

Things I already do-

Drive a hybrid

recycle paper, cardboard, plastics, glass and metal

Use energy efficient light bulbs (all of our bulbs in the entire house are EF)

Had extra insulation put in our home

Sun screens on all the windows and double pane windows

Installed programmable thermostats

Buy furniture from environmentally responsible vendor

Buy used furniture

Water conserving shower heads

Water conserving toilets

Shut off water when I brush my teeth

Put automatic shutting hinges on front door and garage door

Insulated the garage door

Use reusable plastic bottles for water (big and small)

Eat organic when ever possible

We work from home, less commuting

Combine errands together as much as possible

Donate to Goodwill

Buy recycled paper for printer

Try to buy things with recyclable or less packaging when ever possible

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13 comments:

katieo said...

I am SO glad you posted this! So many great ideas here. I have many intentions of doing my part to get greener but often am at a loss for what to do next.

"Find environmentally friendly cleaners"
Have you tried Method?

one more thing. I Love that you posted about buying things used. We are big on this one- mostly because we're poor, but there is just something circle-of-life-ish about one man's trash being another man's treasure. :)

Crabby McSlacker said...

Wow, what a great list. I'm not nearly so ambitious, but will try to get a little better.

I don't like to drive much and walk nearly everywhere I can or take public transpo when practical. That's probably the best thing I do for the environment. But there are hundreds of other things I could get a lot better on.

By the way, I tagged you for a meme--hope that's okay. It's a pretty easy one, but feel free to ignore it. Details on my blog.

Dawn said...

I'm impressed with your list. Two things - why move the dog door? I don't quite get the reasoning on that. And what is the 100 mile diet? Sounds intriguing. Do tell us if you find out more.

Samantha said...

Thanks for the support!

katieo- I often just forget to do stuff so I am hoping that writing on my blog will remind me to do it. I have tried Method and I use quite a few things Method makes, I just have other things I need to switch over as well. I just need to run out of the bad stuff first.

Crabby- walking is one of the best things you can do! I will do the meme, I am just a wimpy and am waiting for someone else to do it first, so I know I understand what I am doing. I have never done one before.

Dawn- My dog door is in a sliding glass door one and it is not a tight fit (the flap) so air gets thru. I am sure this is a major energy waster with all the cold air in the summer leaking out. I plan on getting one installed in the wall that has two flaps to minimize air leakage.
The 100 mile diet is about only eating food produced with in 100 miles of your own home. I am not sure that is feasible for me but, I want to find out more information (theres a book) and what foods are at least easy to get locally.

Anonymous said...

Great list! I am so glad crabby lead me to your blog I really enjoy it.

urban vegan said...

Love this list! Kudos, brava, etc, etc...

Moby Dick said...

It may not sound like much, but I wipe my ass several times with the same piece of paper until every inch has been used. Afterwards I wash my hands with soap and water and then dry them against the wall.

As Jack Palance said in The Three Amigos--"Just focus on one thing and be good at it."

Samantha said...

lady rose- Thanks for stopping by, I like your blog too!

Urban vegan- thank you for the encouragement!

Spider- I am glad you are good at something!

bazu said...

This is a great list, and covers some things I aspire to do as well. One thing that my husband and I did this year, almost by accident, was to get rid of paper towels all together. We thought we couldn't live without them, so on new year's day, as an experiment, we just decided not to buy any. And 5 months later, we haven't bought a single roll! We just use cloth kitchen towels, or reusable wipes or sponges- I am so happy with this change! Oh, and if you're worried about bacteria in sponges, I've heard that microwaving them for about 2 mintues (make sure they're wet or they'll burn!) kills the germs.

KaOs said...

Sam,

You've got taking cloth bags to the grocery listed twice. Other than that though, all of these things are things you can easily incorporate. Try one a month and make it a habit for that month - it will be really easy!

Samantha said...

Kaos- Opps, I'll have to fix that. Now I have to think of one more thing.

Bazu- I think you inspired me to get over my paper towel addiction!

Anonymous said...

Our entire family resolved to go green in 2008, and you can track our progress at our new blog The Deneens Go Green. So far we've said goodbye to paper napkins, replaced more bulbs with CFLs, and reduced our trash to 25% of what it used to be! Little baby steps can add up to a big difference.

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