# What are you doing to help keep America green?



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

What are you doing to help keep America green?

For cleaning, I use as many natural products as I can such as baking soda, vinegar, borax etc..

We recycle all our newpapers (black ink only) to the garden for mulch material, we save plastic T-shirt bags and use them for a myriad of things including making braided rugs if one is so inclined.

However, we do carry our own canvas bags to grocery.

Also, hubby and I do not drive unnecessarily. Try to plan all trips out for full benefit.

Okay................who's next? Let's get some ideas going here.


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## Twin1 (Mar 21, 2010)

Great thread! I think it's important to not buy certain thing in the first place. Instead of buying that digital picture frame for the grandparents, which will eventually break and be useless, buy a nice picture frame and keep it current with new photos. Batteries are also toxic. I make a special request for battery-less toys at xmas and birthdays. The best toys don't need em anyway. Buy secondhand and keep things simple! I also use cloth diapers. Almost as easy as disposables and almost zero impact except for water usage.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Twin1 said:


> Great thread! I think it's important to not buy certain thing in the first place. Instead of buying that digital picture frame for the grandparents, which will eventually break and be useless, buy a nice picture frame and keep it current with new photos. Batteries are also toxic. I make a special request for battery-less toys at xmas and birthdays. The best toys don't need em anyway. Buy secondhand and keep things simple! I also use cloth diapers. Almost as easy as disposables and almost zero impact except for water usage.


I am with you on the batteries and a friend and I were talking the other day (we are both in late 60's)that we used to love to hang the diapers on the line outside.

Speaking of which,I do have a huge clothesline up and I do use it. A lot. It costs about $3.00 to dry one load of clothes. Anybody out there know that? I am sure it varies as per energy efficient and energy cost but think about it!

Also, I forgot to say that I plant at least 2 to 3 nice new young trees per year in our yard.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Resurrecting an old thread...

I have boycotted bottled water.

I bring my own bags to the grocery store. (I usually forget and leave them in the car, though.)

I refrain from buying the latest electronic gadgets and toys.

I think about starting to compost. (Don't I get half a point for just thinking about it?  ) I need to learn more about it.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Octavia said:


> Resurrecting an old thread...
> 
> I have boycotted bottled water.
> 
> ...


Excellent!! Since I last posted in this thread; we re-use water that is re-usable in the garden. Dish water mainly and we only run our dishwasher twice a week.

We do not dilly dally in the shower either. LOL!!

Cut the amount of laundry detergent (liquid) in half and find that the clothes are just as clean.

Use our window unit a/c's a lot even though we put in a new a/c and furnace energy efficient about 4 years ago. We have window unit in the family room, master bedroom, the computer/library room which are the main rooms we use. If we are not in that room, we turn them off. Central unit is set on 81 and we are most comfortable. When the sun hits the West side of the house, we close the blinds. Our electric bill is very very low. What a savings!

Have planted lots of trees for shade also. They are mature now and do a very good job. Especially on the West side of the house.

Grow our own veggies in the summer time.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

What a great thread! We love our clothes line. In the winter, since we heat with wood, I have lines in the basement that work well too. Also, puts humidity back into our dry home. I try not to bring home any plastic bags from the grocery store. I love buying second hand, it seems like a great way of recycling to me. We use a rain barrel for the garden. I make my own cleaning products, and also used a reduced amount of detergent in the washing machine.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

I recycle everything possible and only use natural cleaning products. My immune system can't seem to handle the chemicals. So, it's baking soda or vinegar mixed with a little lavender and peppermint essential oils and grapefruit seed extract for cleaning. The lavender is anti-bacterial, the grapefruit seed extract kills mold, and the peppermint just makes it smell wonderful!

I carry my own bags to the grocery store, and when I do get bags, I use them for trash. I have a tiny trash can under my sink that is the perfect size for a plastic grocery bag, and with all my recycling, I manage about one bag of trash a week! When I buy produce, I just put it in my basked loose so I don't have to use their bags. If I get a bag of grapefruit or anything that comes in one of those mesh bags, I turn that into a scrubby for dishes and even made a finch feeder out of one!

We have a food co-op here that will let you bring your own containers to buy things in bulk-flour, spices, teas, beans, pastas, even shampoo. When I get things in glass bottles, I wash out the bottles and use them as storage containers for all my dry goods and teas. It helps keep stuff fresh and keeps the bugs out! (I tend to get a lot of fruit flies). They sell milk from a local dairy that uses glass bottles. You pay a deposit on the bottle, and get it back when you return it. They clean the bottles and re-use them, which is much more efficient than recycling.

I would love to compost, but haven't found a practical way to do it in an apartment. I am moving in with a friend in a month, and may start a compost pile with her. I think co-habitating is also a great way to cut down on the use of resources. Heat, A/C and electricity that would be used for one can be used for two! When I have lived alone, I try to pick small energy-efficient places to live, and I open windows and run the A/C as little as possible.

I have learned what weeds in my area are edible, collect them and put them on salads. I keep my eyes open for fresh berries and herbs growing in random places. I got about 2 pints of free blackberries this summer and have made pies out of mulberries that had grown up as "weeds." I love mint tea, and keep my eyes open for fresh mint growing randomly, pick it, dry it out and then keep it for tea.

I carry a water bottle with me everywhere, refuse to take plastic water bottles when they are offered to me, and instead fill up at a faucet.

I knit and learned how to re-use old clothing to make a kind of thick yarn. When clothes are too worn to donate, I cut them up, and re-use the material.

I had an off white pair of pants that got a stain I couldn't wash out. So, I took some tea bags and dyed them a darker color to hide the stain!


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## Sharon (Mar 30, 2011)

I make my own bath soap, body oil, face and hand creams, laundry soap, and cleaning products. Use baking soda and white vinegar for almost everything.
We use bags I made for our groceries and the plastic bags we do have we recycle. I recycle clothes and make them into other garments if they are still usable otherwise they become cleaning or garage rags.
Sharon


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Sharon said:


> I make my own bath soap, body oil, face and hand creams, laundry soap, and cleaning products. Use baking soda and white vinegar for almost everything.
> We use bags I made for our groceries and the plastic bags we do have we recycle. I recycle clothes and make them into other garments if they are still usable otherwise they become cleaning or garage rags.
> Sharon


I am intrigued by your soap, body oil, and hand cream making. That is pretty amazing.

We have gone to using pyrex containers instead of baggies.


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## Sharon (Mar 30, 2011)

webster2 said:


> I am intrigued by your soap, body oil, and hand cream making. That is pretty amazing.
> 
> We have gone to using pyrex containers instead of baggies.


We would never go back to using any other soap. Homemade is so much better because all the good stuff is kept in and petroleum products aren't used.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Sharon said:


> We would never go back to using any other soap. Homemade is so much better because all the good stuff is kept in and petroleum products aren't used.


My husband gets alarmed when petroleum is used in products. How did you learn to make your own products? How do you package and store them?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

webster2 said:


> My husband gets alarmed when petroleum is used in products.


I agree. And I keep seeing the Exxon commercials online, celebrating the fact that we have found oil reserves (or something like that) that will provide energy for the next 100 years. Well, THEN WHAT???? 100 years is a blip...a drop in the proverbial bucket of time. So, we're willing to use/destroy all that stuff below the earth's surface so we can have energy efficiency and jobs for the next 100 years? Oy....


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

I sold my gas guzzling boat 1.4 miles per gallon at wide open throttle.

I have to admit I miss my gas guzzling boat :-(

and many times we just warmed it up and parked and watched the sunset.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Lovlkn said:


> I sold my gas guzzling boat 1.4 miles per gallon at wide open throttle.
> 
> I have to admit I miss my gas guzzling boat :-(
> 
> and many times we just warmed it up and parked and watched the sunset.


We did that last year because the big boat scared the [email protected] out of me! Our boat we have now is still on its first tank of gas!


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## Sharon (Mar 30, 2011)

webster2 said:


> My husband gets alarmed when petroleum is used in products. How did you learn to make your own products? How do you package and store them?


I read and read and also joined a couple of groups. I store them in shoe boxes so the soap can breathe. When I go to a craft show I make labels for them.


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## miguel (Jul 18, 2011)

I have a fascination with forests and trees especially oaks.

http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/CustomSelector.aspx


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

miguel said:


> I have a fascination with forests and trees especially oaks.
> 
> http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/CustomSelector.aspx


Believe it or not, I "promised" myself to plant 3 trees a year on our property and still do it. I "love" trees!!! After over 30 years, we have cut back to one tree planting per year. LOL!!


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Andros said:


> Believe it or not, I "promised" myself to plant 3 trees a year on our property and still do it. I "love" trees!!! After over 30 years, we have cut back to one tree planting per year. LOL!!


Andros, can you plant an extra for me this year? We just had a big one cut down in our backyard. I feel slightly guilty about it, but we did debate it for 8 years before making the decision to have it removed...so it certainly wasn't an impulse thing!

Good for you for planting so many trees! You must have more than the postage-stamp yard we have!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Octavia said:


> Andros, can you plant an extra for me this year? We just had a big one cut down in our backyard. I feel slightly guilty about it, but we did debate it for 8 years before making the decision to have it removed...so it certainly wasn't an impulse thing!
> 
> Good for you for planting so many trees! You must have more than the postage-stamp yard we have!


We do have almost 2 acres and trees take up a lot of that. LOL!!

Sometimes you have to remove a tree; logic must prevail at all times. LOL!


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## miguel (Jul 18, 2011)

Andros said:


> Believe it or not, I "promised" myself to plant 3 trees a year on our property and still do it. I "love" trees!!! After over 30 years, we have cut back to one tree planting per year. LOL!!


I can't afford to plant 3 trees per year, you must have a large property.

Last year came a frost that devastated a large number of trees that are unsuitable for this climate, my house lost 3 trees (oleander, pomegranate and fig) were replaced with a Texas red oak, mexican plum and bigtooh maple. The temperature was -17 ° C (1 ° Fahrenheit) wind chill was -29 ° c (-20 ° Fahrenheit). Never should plant a unsuitable tree, native trees are the way, lesson learned.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

miguel said:


> I have a fascination with forests and trees especially oaks.
> 
> http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/CustomSelector.aspx


"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is NOW!"

Author Unknown


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## I DClaire (Jul 31, 2011)

Andros said:


> "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second best time is NOW!"
> 
> Author Unknown


Our backyard is approximately the size of a large living room - it is tiny compared to most of the lots in our subdivision. Our house is on a corner and the house itself is set toward one back corner so we have a spacious front and side yard but practically no backyard.

When we moved here over 40 years ago there was one slender oak in the middle of the backyard...the main trunk was the size of a cane fishing pole, our 5-year old daughter could wrap one hand around the trunk.

I never liked the tree - I KNEW sooner or later it was going to be a problem but my husband has always defended it...he could not bear the idea of having it cut down, although early-on we could have probably pulled it up with our bare hands!

Today that one tree *IS *our backyard! We have spent thousands of dollars through the years having it pruned. Our entire backyard has been re-sodded three times and needs it again this year because it is almost totally shaded. Nothing except ferns will grow on the patio...I've lost countless perennials that came from places like my grandparents' old home. The roots on our tree are causing my neighbors to have plumbing problems...and now the tree surgeon wants $5,000-$7,000 to remove the enormous oak, which will require his people working here a minimum of 8-10 hours using a massive cherry-picker type vehicle!!

I love trees but like a lot of people we've learned the hard way to be careful where we plant them! Someone who lived in my daughter's house in Texas before she bought it planted a tree less than 2 ft. from the foundation...now she's having to pay to get it removed and hoping the foundation isn't majorly damaged.


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