How I did it: Got myself some bumper-stickers promoting our city's new recycling center to remind me to get off my ass and buy some extra trash canisters, every time I glanced at my car, or my dresser.  The 1 month thing was about the time period between applying the stickers and purchasing the trash cans.  Finally blew $12 at a dollar store and commenced the process. This also launched my interest in educating myself on what else I can do, which I've improved a lot on. Still need a little work to really green up the life I'm living but I've noticed a significant change for sure.

Lessons & tips: - RECYCLE!

- In beauty products, avoid: sodium laureth sulfate, parabens (ethyl, propyl, butyl, methyl), propylene glycol, etc. Some of these ingredients are also registered pesticides, or used in antifreeze. Gross, right? And we put them in our skin. Imagine what they do to the earth when they leak out of the bottle into the drain, or a landfill.

- Unplug your electronics/appliances when they're not in use (I have a bad habit of not doing this, but I try). Energy is still sucked up even with your stuff shut off, but if you unplug everything, you'll save about 15% on your electricity bill.

I'll have some more updates on this as I find them.

Resources: -If you can find it, the April issue of Positively Green magazine offered dozens of helpful tips.  In fact, one of the magazine's main features was a "101 things you can do" article.  I was flipping thru it at the bookstore and had to take it home with me, which says a lot, because I will rarely actually buy a magazine.  Very informative and helpful.

- Get a refillable durable plastic water-bottle. Mine is the kind with
a screw-on cap (freezer-stick attached) which I can fill up and take on
the go. It saves money and a lot of plastic or glass.


- Look up homemade household cleaners (using vinegar, baking soda,
etc.) or go to a natural foods store, where they should have the
chemical-free stuff. Great stuff I've found: Moldzyme (this stuff
AMAZES me, taking out deep-set stains that nothing else worked on, working on a task with it for HALF the usual time, and not suffocating. I HIGHLY reccomend the Moldzyme. It's wonderful). Two other good brands are Ecover and EcoDiscoveries.

---

May 08, 07:42AM PDT | 0 comments | 3 cheers