Tips shared from our lifestyle

[eapoosmama]

To be greener AND healthier we:

Used cloth diapers. - Eliminates the health risks associated with disposables, plastics, landfill waste, ground water contamination due to disease and fecal matter being improperly disposed of instead of going to a treatment facility.
Use cloth feminine items -- reducing manufacturing waste water, petroleum use for packaging plastics and the allergies associated with feminine cloth. Emissions from transportation and the cost involved.
Use cloth houshold and tp, similar to above.
Recycle any old clothing into our household use.
Never buy plastic garbage bags
Freecycle when possible
Re-use, ie my home based business uses all recycled, rebuilt vintage machines except for 1 of my 11 which is new.
I use a woodburner to offset my use of natural gas.
I garden and harvest my own herbs for my business needs.
I shop at the farmers market in the summer months and can items in the fall. I stock a freezer in the winter to eliminate trips to the store and keep a fully stocked dry storage for daily needs.
I pound the pavement and shake hands at vendor events to help introduce cloth into the mainstream public by way of items mentioned above and items used in the classroom to reduce plastics.
CFL's for almost 10 years.
Drive gas friendly vehicle, consolidate trips
Use natural soaps, eliminating the phosphates and enzymes going into the waste water facilities and bringing back better water in return.

[zach]

Hi eapoosmama, Welcome to GP!

Thanks for sharing your tips! My family and I embrace most of these things too. I strongly agree with never buying plastic garbage too. We can't compost where we live right now but try to recycle as much as we can and try to buy items that use less packaging. The garbage we do have goes bagless into the trash bin in the garage or into paper grocery bags when every possible.

[Matt Johnson]

Hi eapoosmama,
Thanks for the tips. We use cloth diapers too, and have found that soap nuts, a natural laundry detergent that grows on trees, is the best way to get the odors out of the diapers.

[eapoosmama]

soap nuts are a good product!

[coco]

Really interesting thread, thanks.

[misisgreen]

Thanks for the wonderful tips. I myself use cloth diapers too,

[Garden]

Thanks for your sharing. It's very useful in our everday life.