In Addition to "Blah Blah Blah"
Girly Stuff is right about making a list of things we can do (in response to my last soap-box spiel post). I'm not just going to "blah blah blah" at you and then sit on my ass lounging around in status quo.
Step Up the Recycling
I have always done some kind of recycling, especially bottles and cans to get back deposit money (partially selfish motivation). We usually also recycle big cardboard boxes, and wine bottles, and, when I'm not lazy, things like cans (from tuna, beans, vegetables, soup, etc), cereal boxes, plastic milk cartons, etc. No more being lazy. If the city will take it as recycling, it's not going in the trash.
Start Re-using Ziplocs
I used to think this was kind of extreme, but it is seriously a waste of plastic and you can't recycle ziploc baggies. I'll probably go for the freezer bag type which are sturdy and can handle washing. Good for the environment, and good for my pocket.
Make My Own Cleaning Supplies
...for certain things. I'm not going to be making my own laundry or dishwasher detergent or anything crazy like that. But I would like to try using baking soda and peroxide in place of bleach, as well as vinegar and essential oils for multi-purpose cleaning. This item may take a while to embark on because I have a slew of cleaners left by the previous owners that I'm not going to throw out. When something gets used up, I have to make it or try to find an acceptable green alternative (even if it costs a bit more - so far we're using environmentally-friendly laundry and dishwasher detergent).
Donate Monthly to a Charitable Organization
We don't attend a church, so we aren't regularly donating money. We give randomly and haphazardly which makes me feel like I probably am not giving enough. I'm not going to give to the same charity every time. I think, again, if all your money goes only locally, who is going to help the really poor areas that don't have affluent, middle-class citizens? It's one of my issues with only donating to your church and nowhere else. Unless your church goes out of its way to help people outside the congregation, what are the poorest of folks without a financially healthy church in their area going to do? So I am going to make it different each month. This does put me at the risk of getting bombarded with 18,000 mailers from various organizations asking for more money, but, hopefully there will be some way to keep that in check. I'll start next month.
Donate My Time Every Other Month
That doesn't seem like much, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. We used to help out at a dog rescue nearly every Saturday but that has fallen by the wayside amidst the remodel. Also, I don't want to only donate my time there and nowhere else. So, I am not going to count the rescue volunteer work because, considering we did it all the time before, I should be able to swing that as well as something else every other month.
I think that's good for now. Hopefully this blog will keep me accountable.
Step Up the Recycling
I have always done some kind of recycling, especially bottles and cans to get back deposit money (partially selfish motivation). We usually also recycle big cardboard boxes, and wine bottles, and, when I'm not lazy, things like cans (from tuna, beans, vegetables, soup, etc), cereal boxes, plastic milk cartons, etc. No more being lazy. If the city will take it as recycling, it's not going in the trash.
Start Re-using Ziplocs
I used to think this was kind of extreme, but it is seriously a waste of plastic and you can't recycle ziploc baggies. I'll probably go for the freezer bag type which are sturdy and can handle washing. Good for the environment, and good for my pocket.
Make My Own Cleaning Supplies
...for certain things. I'm not going to be making my own laundry or dishwasher detergent or anything crazy like that. But I would like to try using baking soda and peroxide in place of bleach, as well as vinegar and essential oils for multi-purpose cleaning. This item may take a while to embark on because I have a slew of cleaners left by the previous owners that I'm not going to throw out. When something gets used up, I have to make it or try to find an acceptable green alternative (even if it costs a bit more - so far we're using environmentally-friendly laundry and dishwasher detergent).
Donate Monthly to a Charitable Organization
We don't attend a church, so we aren't regularly donating money. We give randomly and haphazardly which makes me feel like I probably am not giving enough. I'm not going to give to the same charity every time. I think, again, if all your money goes only locally, who is going to help the really poor areas that don't have affluent, middle-class citizens? It's one of my issues with only donating to your church and nowhere else. Unless your church goes out of its way to help people outside the congregation, what are the poorest of folks without a financially healthy church in their area going to do? So I am going to make it different each month. This does put me at the risk of getting bombarded with 18,000 mailers from various organizations asking for more money, but, hopefully there will be some way to keep that in check. I'll start next month.
Donate My Time Every Other Month
That doesn't seem like much, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. We used to help out at a dog rescue nearly every Saturday but that has fallen by the wayside amidst the remodel. Also, I don't want to only donate my time there and nowhere else. So, I am not going to count the rescue volunteer work because, considering we did it all the time before, I should be able to swing that as well as something else every other month.
I think that's good for now. Hopefully this blog will keep me accountable.
I guess my post was my comment...I got a little carried away this time!
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