Be a friend to the environment

I haven’t been actively seeking out ways to be a friend to the environment lately, but I have, for the most part, maintained all the better habits I was already practicing (like buying only biodegradable non-toxic cleansers and soaps; only unbleached, recycled paper products; and composting all of our organic waste etc.)

One thing that’s been on my mind for a while is reducing my shower time. It isn’t excessive – between seven and ten minutes, usually – but I know that’s longer than it should be. I haven’t had much success, because I long ago streamlined my shower routine to make it as efficient as possible (hop in, wash hands while wetting hair & body, lather hair and let sit while I wash face & shave under arms, rinse face & shampoo together, condition hair and let sit while I lather body, rinse hair & body together, hop out). I could not see any way to reduce my time further!! The only thing to do is to turn off the water during the lathering steps, but I have been reluctant to do so because I hate getting cold.

Well, this morning I bit the bullet and turned the water off – twice. I’m happy to report that I didn’t feel too chilly, and I conserved at least a minute’s worth of shower. I think I can comfortably make this a permanent part of my shower routine, so yay! Turns out I’m NOT too busy with school to keep being a friend to the environment, after all!!!

I haven’t been much of an activist lately, but on Monday while my friends and I were going from store to store shopping our li’l hearts out, I declined bags from every retailer. Instead, I brought a corduroy carryall from home, and since I bought a tote that would accommodate the 12×12 scrapbook pages anyway, I just used it to keep all my purchases together in the car.

It’s a little thing, and I ought to be doing much much more, but it’s something, and little somethings ought not be overlooked because together they can often amount to a great deal.

on a couple of previous posts.
1. My Diva cup is great, now that I’m used to it. Still not crazy about the insertions/extractions, but while in situ, I’m comfortable and ‘protected’

2. Pink Solution enzymatic cleanser rocks! It kicks the ass of soap scum and food stains, and doesn’t hurt my skin or lungs during use!

3. Three months in, e-post has proven to be a reliable and secure way to receive and file my bills electronically

I’ve (mostly) stopped being in everybody’s face about the environment, but it’s still an incredibly important issue and I’m still doing all that I can do at home and at work.

The greatest reward to date? M actually reminds ME sometimes about what is recyclable, and yesterday I found a pop can rolling around in the trunk of his car – evidence that he has caught on to bringing recyclables home rather than trashing them in some community garbage can. He’ll never admit to being an environmentalist, but I think he’s walkin’ the walk in spite of himself!

I did it! Last week I bought myself the Diva Cup… I almost hate to say it, but I’m actually looking forward to my next period, just so I can try it out! haha

My mom just introduced me to Pink Solutions which is “a natural enzyme cleaner, which when mixed with water, emulsifies dirt, grease and grime, and restores finishes to their natural state. This means that it will not only clean, but will actually brighten surfaces that most cleaners dull, such as stainless steal appliances and fiberglass bath and shower installments. The enzymes will emulsify even the oldest stains, which means that so long as there are not permanent dies involved, even the oldest of laundry and carpet stains will be removed. Also, it contains no chemicals, and can be inhaled, eaten and used without any gloves, with no ill effects.” (manufacturer’s website)

My mom said that the promo-guy even squirted some in his mouth to prove how harmless it is!!

It’s $45 a bucket, but apparently “Pink Solution also replaces all household cleaners, even laundry detergent, so when used as directed, it can last an average family up to 2 years, replacing every different cleaner they would normally purchase.” – I’ll let you know, but if all claims are true, that seems like a heckuva good value!

Added two more bills to my e-post account today, so there’ll be that much less paper waste in my mailbox each month. Every little bit helps!

I’ve just read two posts (this one and the one she wrote 5 minutes earlier) that really exasperate me!

What I really want to do is reach out, appeal to her desire to make the best environmental choice she can, and not judge. But I can’t help myself – I also wanna spit nails at the whole “well, it’s God’s will that I do whatever the f*ck I want, despite how ignorant and selfish it is, because I wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t his plan!” Granted, I’m not a religious person, particularly because of the whole trend toward “religion as excuse for being an asshole”, but I do have my own relationship with God, and I feel more spiritually connected when I’m appreciating and respecting the gifts that are this life and this planet.

Please, help me tolerate such lazy, self-serving behaviour; and help me remember that I too can be exasperating, lazy, self-serving and ignorant at times, so I am in no position to judge. Especially this person, who has at least added to her 43T list to “reduce, reuse, recycle more”, which is a lot more than most people.

In catching up on my Grist reading this morning, I read an article about disposing of HHW. I just made a trip in March out to the HHW depot with stuff out of my own home, but I realized as I read the article that I hadn’t really known about the HHW until recently. Thought maybe some of my friends didn’t know what to do with their toxic chemically stuff either. So I sent the article to ten friends, and offered to pick up any HHW they want to part with next Saturday, and take it all in one trip to the HHW depot, since that is the kinda chore that it seems hard to find the time for. As an added little encouragement to think about the chemicals we are VOLUNTARILY and most often UNNECESSARILY adding to our water table, I offered each of my friends a sample bottle of the new all-natch, biodegradable household cleanser I’ve recently started using (it’s good stuff – I like).
I sure hope that everyone takes me up on my offer, but even more, I hope it spawns some real consideration of the chemicals we bring into our homes, apply to our skin, breathe into our lungs and dump into our environment.

Good news! Canada Post offers e-post – a free electronic bill presentment service, which helps you to manage your bills and other financial documents, safely and securely, online.

When you add Mailers (Mailers are the companies and organizations, which send you bills, pay stubs, tax receipts, and other financial documents) to your epost box you are choosing to receive your exisiting paper mail in an electronic form. There are almost 100 Mailers and over 200 documents to choose from.

Apparently, for every 5000 customers that sign up, the annual environmental savings would be 5 tons of wood use, 62 million BTUs of total energy, 9315 lbs of greenhouse gases, ~31000 gallons of waste water, and 3682 lbs of solid waste!!

And if that’s not enough to convince you to join up with me, just think how nice it’ll be to never find another bill in your mailbox when you come home! Woo hoo!

http://www.epost.ca/main/en/home.shtml

In keeping with the 100-mile diet idea, I headed over to the neighbourhood health food store (my very favoritest place in town!) http://quartermasterfoods.com/index.php to see if they sell organic milk from a local dairy. And guess what?!? Not only did I find milk, but I also found biodegradable, cruelty-free, all-natural dish soap, bathroom cleaner and laundry soap!! I’m so excited to try these products, and oh so hopeful that they do me proud :o} They aren’t cheap (the milk was $9 for 4L and the laundry soap was $10 for 4Lb) but if they clean well, it’ll be worth the extra money knowing that I’m doing the ‘friendly’ thing :+)