Going Green

I started writing this as a response to Karo's posting (http://thekaro.blogspot.com), but it got big enough to warrant its own posting. Karo posted several things she's been working on/trying to do to go more green. Here's our baby steps towards doing the same.

• Keep the heat turned low during the winter. Wear sweaters and use blankies. Put insulating curtains on windows and walls that suck. This made some nights absolutely freezing, I'll admit, but it saved us some money and helped out the environment. (The money I will fully admit was the driving force.)

• Use Tupperwares instead of plastic bags. We still use plastic bags a lot, I'll admit, but for a sandwich there's perfectly good gladwares. There's also neat sandwich wraps, or wax paper, or many other more recyclable options. I'm looking into either making or buying cloth bags to store greens and such in.
  

• Bring Your Own Bag to the grocery store! I have a great little rayon shopping bag that folds up wicked tiny and has a clip. It's permanently attached to my keyring, so I rarely forget it at home. We do occasionally get plastic bags and use them for holding kitty litter. I also have crocheted a kitty bed and a shopping bag out of plastic bags - the bag is outstanding.
  

• Grow your own stuff! A plant inside looks nice and cleans out some air. (If you want a spider plant let me know. Mine is breeding. >_<) But you can grow your own bok choy or lettuce in a shallow tub with minimal sun and effort. There's nothing as satisfying as picking the first of your garden's greens for a stir fry.

• If you don't have a huge tract of land, a Farmers' Market is def a great way to go. If you can find one, join a CSA. We're part of the Waltham Community Farm CSA, which provides fresh vegetables and fruits for the entire summer. It forces us to do meal planning. For example, the first few weeks we'll get nothing but greens, so I know we'll have lots of salads and stir fries. (OMG - it starts in LESS THAN A MONTH!) Also, if you can find one locally (Karo - contact Hampshire College if you can), support a local farm for your meats, or go vegetarian/vegan. I'm not either, but we tend to not eat a lot of meats or dairy (meat is expensive, and dairy makes me ill.)

• I'm looking at the 100 mile diet. I don't think I could do it, but I can try to buy locally as much as possible. I'd rather buy a conventionally and locally grown tomato than an organic one from Mexico.
  

• I'm looking for a dishwasher safe, bisphenol and PBA free water bottle. I do buy many bottles of water, but tend to reuse them several times for drinking, then for watering baby plants, and then off to the recycling bin.