Its not easy being green

No, not like a frog. More like good for the environment.
We recycle and I practice reusing/repurposing as much as I can.  The hard part is in the reducing.

Our recycle bin is filled every week.  And our town uses the full size bins, not the little green boxes.  I always wondered why, if "they" want us to recycle more, they don't make the recycle bins bigger and the trash bins smaller.  Would make sense right? But they are not.  Even the full size recycle bin is merely a miniature, about 70%, of the garbage bin.

Anyways...
There are several areas that I am currently trying to be more "green" and several more that I would like to.


Instead of  plastic sandwich bags I try to use lunch boxes that eliminate them.  I have done this for years and continue to search for the best bentostyle lunch box.

I used Lunchbots last year and really liked them.  They were easy for Christopher to open too and fit nicely in a traditional soft side lunch box.  I would fill one for his snack and one for his lunch.

This year I thought I'd try Goodbyns.  They were cute, didn't require using another lunchbox  (it has a handle at the top) and had many more compartments.

Christopher doesn't like this one all that much.  It is hard for him to close and get it to snap securely shut.  He also says his fruits leak.  He gets a wide range of cute of fruit pieces and the softer fruits like raspberries or melons do have a good amount of juice.  It doesn't help that he eats lunch at 1:00, giving them all more time to sit in his cubby at school, and not in the refrigerator.

I think we will go back to the Lunchbots for now and I'll keep searching.  Those Goodbyns aren't cheap though so I will have to find something to do with them.  I still intend to use Anna Beth's pink one for her snacks and food when we travel.


I would also love to make all of my own cleaning supplies, soaps and deodorants.  Everything from all purpose sprays and laundry detergents to shampoo and baby wash.  I really want to eliminate all toxic chemicals from the house. And cleaning supplies are full of them!
I haven't ventured out of the kitchen and laundry room yet.  Baby steps.  I've tried a few recipes.  Some I love, others I don't.

I Love my citrus vinegar.  Simple.  Soak citrus peels,  from any citrus, in vinegar for 2 weeks.  Strain the vinegar and you are ready to use it.  In your dishwasher as a rinse aid or in your cleaning supply recipes.  I clean my counters with it every day.

Baking soda and Washing soda are now a main staple in my cleaning supplies.  I have used baking soda to clean up wet messes on carpets before.  It works great for pet accidents.  Just generously sprinkle baking soda over wet spot, let it soak up all the liquids and vacuum up (or use dust pan if its very pasty)  But now I use baking soda to clean extra dirty pans.  My stainless sink shines after scouring it with Washing soda and my toilet bowls are much cleaner (and less toxic)
         
But I am not crazy with my homemade dish soap or the dishwasher detergent.  Its time to find more recipes for those two.  I was trying to avoid using lye to make my soaps but I think that is what I have to do.  The dish soap doesn't clean very well, leaving a greasy film on everything.  My husband doesn't like it but has used it for me.   The dishwashing detergent requires a lot of pre cleaning and leaves a blueish haze on my glasses.  I used a recipe that didn't call for borax and wonder if that is the miracle ingredient that gets your dishes clean?  Even after having the boys wipe down their plates with a sponge before putting in the dishwasher they came out dirty.  And if you have to wash your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher you might as well just wash them by hand and be done with it.

I use white vinegar with a few drops of lavender oil as a fabric softener.  I love how clean smelling and crisp our laundry, especially towels, come out.  When I run out of laundry soap I will try my hand at that.


One thing I noticed is that a lot of homemade recipes aren't really any better for you then the store bought.  They use the same cleaning products but just stretch them out so they cost less but aren't really any better for you.
For instance, many homemade fabric softener recipes call for using conditioner and vinegar.  Unless you are buying a really natural, and expensive, organic conditioner you are not really being green and its not much more cost effective then buying downy.  Considering the time, materials etc.

Being green takes a lot of work!  But I'm working on it and I'm not done yet!