Going/getting green

Ooooh look, a GREEN post on St. Patrick's Day! Just a coincidence, I swear.

So many people are working on going green, living more simply, etc. That's great. There are some things that I'd love to do that aren't super practical right now, just due to where we're currently living. I thought I'd post about what I do and what I'd like to do in the future...

What I do now:

1. Most food scraps are sent through the garbage disposal.

Believe it or not, this IS a green thing. Better for the food waste to be sent to the sewage treatment plant than to just sit in a plastic trash bag.

2. Recycle newspapers/fliers, magazines, bottles, cans, and some plastics.

My town is weird about which plastics are OK, which sucks, but I do what I can. I even put the magazines in our complex's laundry room in case someone else would like to read them.

3. Reuse plastic bags from the grocery store.

I know you're probably thinking, "Get the reusable bags!!!!" And I would, except DH does the shopping...and he's a guy, so he'd probably forget the "green" bags at home, in the car, or leave them IN the grocery cart at the store...lol. The plastic bags are great for cleaning out the litter box or for wrapping meat/chicken up to freeze (over the store wrappings, people!). I also use them to line the little trash cans in our bedroom and bathroom.

4. Take my lunch/snacks to work and school in plastic containers.

Sure, they can be bulky and I often look like I'm bringing in enough food for a week, but I don't use any foil, plastic wrap, baggies, etc. I'm always on the look out for new containers that I can rescue from the garbage--deli containers, takeout containers, etc. DH thinks I'm nuts, but I don't care.

5. Make rags out of old clothes.

Old t-shirts are SUPER soft and make great rags for cleaning. Then you just toss 'em in the washing machine. It's harder to get DH to make this transition, but hey, if he cleans, great!

6. Hang up some clothes to dry (no dryer).

This wasn't really meant to be green, this was more or less me trying to save my clothing. I'm always the unfortunate victim of shrunken clothing, so to save money (for new clothes) and my sanity, I started hanging up my clothes to dry years ago. But it also helps cut back on power and laundry money!

I'm sure I have more things that I do, and I just can't think of them right now.


Here's what I'd LOVE to do:

1. Use a clothesline!!!!

I grew up with one, I used one at my last apartment, but this complex that DH and I live at now doesn't allow them. Boo. I miss that fresh-air-on-your-clothes-and-sheets smell.

2. Make my own laundry detergent!

I've seen many people (including Michelle Duggar, who I secretly envy) do it. It's not hard, but we do have to transport our laundry to a common laundry room--I'm envisioning the detergent going everywhere! Storage is also an issue in our place. Where to store those gallons of product?

3. Have a garden.

Last year, DH and I had tomatoes (I think I posted the issues we had with them on here) but I'd love to get more things in the ground. As I posted a few weeks ago, I'll probably be planting things at my parents' house this year.

4. Use less paper towels and napkins.

I'd love for us to use cloth napkins at dinner (not to be snooty fancy) but it's hard when you don't have a washer/dryer IN your place and have to really plan out when you're going to do your laundry. Using cloth napkins wouldn't be too bad if we could just do a load of laundry every few days, right after dinner or whatever.

5. Start a compost pile!!!

Kinda hard to do while living in an apartment, lol. I haaaaaaate throwing away food scraps. And it would go hand in hand with the garden.

So those are my green accomplishments and goals. What are yours?