Being eco-friendly: what do you do?

Archipelago

Archipelago

O.G.
Feb 11, 2006
2,498
65
#1
Instead of bottled water, I drink filtered tap water and carry it around in a refillable Nalgene bottle.

When I go shopping, I bring my own reusable nylon bag.

I compost and recycle.

I reuse bags that I get from stores. If it's plastic, I line the trash can with it. With paper bags, I reuse them to give gifts.

Instead of wrapping presents in giftwrap paper, I make my own with pages from magazines.

I buy in bulk and it cuts down on waste. Example: I buy the largest size of Softsoap hand soap that I can find and I refill a reusable soap dispenser with it instead of buying a new ready to use size every time I run out.

I use rechargeable batteries.

I never use air conditioning or the heater.

I walk to school and take public transportation.

Carpool

Energy saving lightbulbs

I handwash dishes instead of using a dishwasher.

I wait for a full load of laundry and do it once a week.

I try to eat organic.

That's all I can think of for myself. What do you ladies do?
 
#2
That's quite an impressive list. I feel guilty at times because I work in the oil & gas industry but justify it by thinking, "What, you want us to go back to slaughtering whales for oil!?!" (joking! - no nasty comments please!) Thanks for the reminder that every little bit helps and that there's a lot that we can do at the individual level.
 
#3
I recycle.

I also re-use shopping bags as trash bags.

I do the same thing the OP does with hand soap (the way she refills the dispenser with the big refill bottles).

I also handwash dishes, but once a week I put everything in the dishwasher to get the dishes extra clean and sterile.
 
#4
More to add:

I print double sided.

Turn off the water when I brush my teeth unless I need to rinse.

Plug up the sink when I wash my face so I don't have to let the water run the entire time. Then I use the sink water to do a quick wipe of the counter.

Turn off lights when I'm not in the room.

Plug up bathtub when I take a shower so I don't have to let the water run when I'm using soap.

I try to avoid Starbucks because so many people leave their old Starbucks cups lying around. It's an epidemic here in San Francisco!

Has anyone tried the Lush shampoo bars? Apparantly, it's great for your hair and the environment. Lush uses natural ingredients in their shampoo bars. Traditional bottled shampoos contain a lot of chemicals that are bad for the environment when it goes down the drain. Also, since we use so much shampoo, it also means that we throw away a lot of bottles. Shampoo bars have no packaging and they last longer. I'll definitely have to try this out.
 
#5
Here's another good one. Get your credit card and bank statements e-mailed to you rather than sent in the mail. It's safer and you don't have to shred your statements afterwards. Also, if it doesn't get sent in the mail, it's cutting down on the chances of someone getting your letter and stealing your account #. And for you ladies who love to spend, your hubbies won't know how much you spent on your new handbag and shoes. :tup:
 
#6
I recycle.
I reuse plastic bags as trash bags.
I use rechargeable batteries.
I turn off light or any electrics when not in use.
I just got new energy saving washer and dryer.
I use energy saving light bulbs.
I eat mostly organic food.
I am in process persuading hubby to get me a Lexus Hybrid.
 
#7
we are removing many of our plants, and replacing them with low water usage, native grasses and the like

not only does it save a ton of water, they look really cool! we have a wonderful landscape architect who has transformed our bank and planting areas. we still have grass (my husband won't give it up) but have reduced it by at least 1/3
 
#8
Wow! That's really great.

I really try my best to be eco-friendly.

I also reuse plastic bags as trash bags and I try my best to always fill up my bottles with filtered water.

I take canvas bags to the grocery store.

I also hand wash my dishes unless there was a very large party.

I also wait for a full load before doing laundry.

I turn the water off when brushing my teeth.

I don't keep my car on idle (although I drive).
 
#9
Oh, this should be interesting!

- We use boxes and crates when going grocery shopping rather than using paper or plastic bags. We place all items in cart and then transfer them to crate as they are scanned.
- We all drive Diesel cars with diesel particle filters.
- We use energy saving lightbulbs
- We do not have an air conditioner
- We do not have oil or gas heating, we have a furnace that runs off of wood pellets.
- We carpool
- I bundle all errands together to save fuel
- We cloth diaper (unless we are going out for longer periods of time)
- We separate all of our trash, recylcle and compost
- We grow many of our own vegetables that are not sprayed against anything
- We do not have a dryer (which I hate at times, lol)
- We was our clothes on low temperatures
- We use the eco-cycle on our dishwasher and only run it about once a week
- We reuse newspapers for packaging material
- We also buy in bulk...Buying large bottles of shampoo, soap, etc.
- We do not leave our electrical appliances (TVs, DVD players, Sat. receivers) on "standby", we turn them all the way off.
- We generally don't use diaper wipes, we use a wash cloth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back