Going Green: Baby Steps

In honor of Earth Day approaching, I thought I’d share the few ways I’ve become a little more green without becoming a complete hippy as well as a quick “go green” project.  After living with my sister in law, Amber, for the better part of last year, there was no way I wouldn’t come out a little more green!  I’ve found ways to incorporate being green without putting in a lot of effort or causing a lot of disruption to my life.  I think most people are afraid to take the plunge because they are afraid it is going to cost a lot of money or take extra time.  It doesn’t!

Cleaning Supplies:

I’ve had a love hate relationship with cleaning supplies for a few years.  I would love how a product worked, hated the headache that came with it due to the strong chemical odors.  When Amber asked me what I wanted for a wedding gift, I asked for a Shaklee starter set.  It comes with the cleaning concentrate and spray bottles for each cleaning product.  You simply follow the directions on the side of the bottle to mix your concentrate and water to make either the degreaser, all-purpose cleaner, or window/mirror cleaner.  These are my sole cleaning products and almost a year later, I still have an almost full bottle of concentrate. Amazing.  Plus- NO SMELL so no headaches.  I’m also making the switch to Method cleaning products for floors and the bathroom.

Reusables:

My reusable water bottle was my birthday present from Amber.  I used to buy plastic water bottles and then just refill them, but that is neither good for you or the planet.  So, my Sigg and I have been going strong for almost a year now!  Just rinse it with warm water and vinegar every few days and you are good to go.  They have even started selling them at Target!  My reusable bags are a mish mash collection that I’ve been working on for the past year.  The other half of our wedding present from Amber was a set of Envirosax, which helped get me started and I’ve collected different bags from all sorts of places to fill out my collection.   The Envirosax are handy to throw in your purse while you are running errands.  Otherwise, I just roll them all up into my biggest bag and keep them in the trunk of my car.

Bedding:

Our bedding is made from organic cotton.  They are extremely affordable at Target!  If you want to take the next step, you could even get bamboo bedding that is extremely soft and comfortable.

Now for my super easy and quick (no sewing!) project: Homeade Swiffer Pads!

Simply buy a stack of microfiber towels- readily available in most auto departments (I got 8/$5 at Walmart)

Measure your towels by simply pushing one edge of the towel into the holes that would normally hold the pad and then fold the other part of the towel over to the length you would need to fit in the holes on the other side.

Trim your towel along the fold line and you are done!  To make the next one, simply lay your already cut towel on an uncut one and cut along the line.

That’s it!  You can save the leftover scraps to use as dust rags. Place your new homeade pad onto your Swiffer just like you would the paper ones.  Toss into the laundry with your towels to clean!  They work AMAZINGLY!