I think my ongoing battle with green guilt has been pretty well documented. For the most part, all of the green guilt in our little family falls on my shoulders. Not that M is at all environmentally irresponsible, but his role in most endeavors is to keep me sane and grounded. He puts things into perspective. So you can imagine my surprise when he fell into a funk Saturday after watching the video posted on Feathernester's site. Based on what it did to him, I'm not watching it. (Sorry, Feathernester, I just can't do it to myself.)
I really don't know where to go from here. I'm trying to phase plastics out of the house, but I'm not getting rid of things until they need to be gotten rid of. That just seems wasteful, right? I will, however, be replacing all of our re-usable plastic Glad containers with glass containers as they inevitably migrate away from our house (where do they go?). I'll also be slowly replacing our plastic hangers with wooden hangers, which I honestly prefer anyway. To get rid of other chemicals, I'll be purchasing some dryer balls when the current supply of fabric softener sheets run out. We already use Method cleaners throughout the house, though I use Cascade dishwasher cubes and All Free and Clear as I can buy them in bulk. Therein lies a dilemma. I'm great with the laundry detergent. No chemicals there, and I feel good about there being less packaging involved because I buy the container that I can barely lift. The dishwasher cubes are an issue, though. I know that Cascade is not the best option out there. I used to use the Method dish cubes, but they come in pretty small containers, so I felt like I was constantly headed to Target for more. With the Cascade cubes, I can buy them three times a year. I know that Seventh Generation has some options, but I really don't like to use powder as I tend to get it everywhere, and I think their liquid only comes in Lemon. I don't use lemon products on my dishes. It's too harsh. I guess I need to prioritize. Or do some research, eh?
Once again, green tips are appreciated as the P family is once again headed down our green shame spiral.
Oh, I have vowed that this will be the last year that I buy wrapping paper for gifts. I had already bought our Christmas paper when it went on sale last year, so now I'm waiting for our supplies to run out. From now on, we'll be reusing whatever paper I can find for Christmas, birthdays, baby gifts, you name it. I'm not sure that I can give up ribbon, though.
I'm out, people. I have to feed a baby.
3 comments:
Holy Cow you're hardcore, sister! I thought everyone that dedicated lived here in my super-liberal town :) I think you should give yourself WAY more credit and way less chastising. You're truly an inspiration for everyone else out there!
I do not recommend the Seventh Generation dishwashing detergent, or the Planet brand. They don't get our dishes clean for some reason. I need to find another green brand to try. We also don't use heat in our dishwasher, so maybe they would work better if you did...
The dryer balls are on our wish list, too! And we've also been slowly replacing plastic hangers and plastic food storage containers. The wooden hangers are so expensive though...
Sorry Mr. Ouiser got so depressed by that video. If only everyone felt the same sense of responsibility...
Do you have any outlet stores by you? The Pyrex outlet by us always has sales buy 2 get 1 free and so on. And their prices are pretty cheap to begin with, so that would be a good place to save some dough and fill your cupboards!
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