EnviroMom

Swat! Non-toxic anti-mosquito measures

Renee — 2009-07-15T10:57:28-07:00

We're going camping this weekend with a great group of friends and surprisingly, I'm not in a tizzy getting ready. I think it's thanks to the collective wisdom of the bunch, and that there will be a pack of kids who all know and like one another and should play nicely together, and the fact that we'll be bringing lots of beer on ice. We 'car camp' about once per summer. Although last summer we flaked out at the last minute because it was the end of August, and by then we moms decided it was time for summer to be OVER and the work of planning and packing all the necessary gear sounded far too exhausting. I'm making it sound like we don't like camping, when that's not the case at all. We love camping for it's way of releasing the outdoor kid in all of us.

This particular trip has been in the works for a few months. Trying to get five or more families to commit to the same weekend during summer turned out to be next to impossible. Although we did have five registered at one point, one recently had to bow out. THEN it was discovered that the camp site we picked was horribly infested with recently hatched ravenous mosquitoes. Like an x-file (remember that show?)! The moms scrambled. We swapped sites in the hopes we will have fewer encounters with blood sucking insects. Regardless, we plan to come well armed: lotions, potions, sprays, wrist bands, vitamin supplements, high-pitched buzzing devices, citronella candles, camp-fire, thick clothing layers, you name it! Anything to keep the dreaded itchy-scratchy at bay. One of our moms offered to bring a bunch of the more natural, less toxic potions for all of us to sample. Please imagine me looking around, lowering my voice and making sure no one is hearing an EnviroMom say this next part: And some DEET-based option to use as a last resort. We are locked and loaded.

How do you keep the skeeters at bay as non-toxically as possible? Any products you love or hate? Please share!

(photo by phillyburbs.com/courier times)

The mostly-but-not-entirely green kitchen remodel

Heather — 2009-07-14T13:38:53-07:00

It's done! Woo hoo! I've spent years dreaming of what our kitchen could be one day. All of those HGTV redesign shows and home decor magazines fueled a serious case of kitchen envy that had me sketching and measuring and wondering if we'd ever be able to afford our dream kitchen makeover. And then the dream shifted (along with the economy). It became less about the sleek cabinets and the hi-tech appliances and the giant island/gathering place and the maybe-we-can-bump-out-a-wall scenarios and more about how to get the biggest bang for our dwindling bucks while keeping it eco-friendly. It was about appreciating what we had and figuring out what would really make us happy. Big impact with little planetary and bank account impact. We called it the Recession Remodel.

Our kitchen started out like this:

Dark and cramped, with a horrible vinyl floor that never seemed to look clean after a washing.

Now it looks like this:

Here's what we did in a nutshell...the green and not-so-green.

1) Removed the upper right-hand cabinets and microwave tower, the soffit and the partial wall dividing the kitchen from the breakfast nook. The upper cabinets were carefully taken down, stacked and turned into a pantry that now lives in the nook area. Two cubbies were built on top using wood salvaged from the old microwave tower. Rather than build something brand-new we did this because 1) it's good reuse, and the cabinets were in great condition and 2) we didn't have to worry about matching the finish of the cabinets and 3) we needed the storage space. Can't tell you how much I love this pantry. The shelves are lined with leftover Marmoleum flooring. The drywall and wood debris from the demo was taken to PLC Recycling (or at least this is what I asked our general contractor to do...I hope he listened).

2) Installed awning-style windows along the length of the countertop. Vinyl windows. I can't tell you how much I struggled with this, knowing that vinyl windows are made from PVC, the worst possible plastic. However, the rest of our house contains 7-year old vinyl windows, they are super energy efficient and the people who operate the LEED program have determined that quality vinyl windows are actually no more evil than any other type of new window. This new Milgard window was manufactured here in Portland, and the company says it doesn't off-gas, which is one of the pre-requisites for LEED certification. That's what they say, so I'm hanging onto that with my every last hope. We're donating our old vinyl window to the ReStore. Also, we're getting an Energy Star rebate (30 percent) on the new window.

3) Covered the vinyl flooring with eco-friendly Marmoleum made from linseed oil and other natural materials. We had it installed right over the old vinyl, so no disposal issues. I love this floor, and at $2.77 per square foot it was a budget-friendly choice. Frankly, this was one of the easiest choices. I didn't want a hard floor made of tile or stone, so it came down to wood, cork or Marmoleum. This floor works with the era of our house and this particular design (Tiger Eye) hides dirt like you wouldn't believe. Almost too good. We did a partial border in the nook area in a slate gray color. Once or twice a year I'll need to seal it, which just involves spritzing on a non-toxic sealer and rubbing it in. Takes 15 minutes. Wash with water and vinegar. Marmoleum, if taken care of, can last 50-plus years.

4) Added more recessed lights. However, with the new big window we never have to turn on the lights during the daylight hours (bonus efficiency)! We had three existing can lights down the center of the kitchen, so we added three over the counter, which are on a separate switch. Five recessed lights were added in the nook, also on a separate switch, plus the Nelson Bubble Light is on its own switch. Four light switches for a smallish kitchen may seem extreme, but it means we don't have to have a whole bunch of lights on if we don't really need them. Plus my plan is to keep the center kitchen lights as incandescent and the rest as CFL. Why? The center lights are our main lights, and I don't like the lag time it takes CFLs to warm up. Plus these are the lights we turn on and off for quick jaunts into the kitchen, and CFLs don't last as long if you're constantly turning them on and off.

5) New paint. It's Kelly-Moore's EnviroCote no-VOC paint, mixed to match the color of Sherwin-Williams' Wheat Grass. Sounds complicated, but we already had Wheat Grass in the dining room and wanted to extend it to the kitchen. The painter would only use Kelly-Moore, so that's why we went with that brand. I personally think Miller Paint's no-VOC is better, plus they are a Portland-grown business.

6) New furniture. I looked high and low for vintage versions of the Saarinen table and Eames chairs, but no luck (though I did get them on sale). I have long coveted this table and chairs. I will own them forever and pass them on to my grandchildren because my own children will think they are weird and outdated.

7) New storage. The two long, gray cabinets with white doors were actually custom-built based on an IKEA unit, but not as deep. The glass/aluminum doors are IKEA's Besta Tombo doors. Having it built meant we could use a formaldehyde-free, recycled wood fiber-based, low-emission producing MDF by Sierra Pine called Medite II. Our fabricator, Brendan, used Miller Paint's low-VOC latex paint for the finish. He also built the two floating shelves for our everyday dishes out of the same material. You might think that having something custom made would be prohibitively expensive, but you would be wrong. We got exactly what we wanted using greener materials for not much more than you'd find at IKEA. These doors are cool because you can insert fabric or paper or other material behind the glass and change out the look, which is what we're planning to do.

8) Did not replace the cabinets, countertops or appliances. Probably the greenest (and most budget-friendly) choices we made were ones we didn't even touch. The cabinets are original to our 1958 house and are still in excellent condition. Even the pulls are original, though we had them replated in a nickel finish a few years ago. The countertops were replaced 10 years ago and are still in fine condition. Black granite tile is not a choice I'd make today (nor is it considered an eco-friendly material), but they actually don't bother me now that we have so much light in the space. The appliances, with the exception of the cooktop, are about 7 years old, and while black and shiny aren't my first choice, they are efficient and in good shape. We'll probably upgrade the cooktop in a few months. It's awful.

We're super happy with the kitchen now. The view of the trees is lovely. The light makes me so happy. We didn't break the bank, and I feel really good about the choices we made (mostly). I had a really good working relationship with our general contractor, who kept on schedule. We spent around $13,500 on the remodel, not including the furniture, and didn't do any of the work ourselves. The whole process took four weeks, only about ten days of which required dinners out every night. There are still things we'd like to do, like figure out a treatment for the hulking black fridge (or maybe get a counter-depth), but there's no rush. We're happy. Turns out that the 'dream kitchen' was always within our grasp, we just needed to redefine the dream!

Canning raspberry jam with kids

Renee — 2009-07-13T13:44:26-07:00

I've been running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off since we got home from our vacation the weekend before last. And I was in a similar mode in the early days of summer running up to our vacation. How did I manage to over-schedule our summer so quickly and efficiently? Isn't summer is supposed to be lazy and fun? I counted on one hand how many relaxing summer days there has been so far: two. With today being the second one.

After picking 25 pounds of raspberries and some early blues over the weekend, today's goal was simple. Can raspberry jam before the remaining fresh fruit in the fridge goes funk (the bulk of the berries were frozen over the weekend). With nothing on the schedule, we eased into our day, staying in jammies until it was time to put on our aprons and make the jam.

To be honest, I'm not particularly skilled in the kitchen and even less so when it involves highly distracted cooking with my kids. I often fall into that trap of doing for my kids because I know things will go faster and smoother, yet ideally, I want the kids to learn how to take care of themselves, to make their own good, fresh food, line dry their own laundry, etc. One might think with a blog about 'raising green kids' that mine would be ready to go all 'Little House on the Prairie' on their own by now. Ha! But no time better than the present to green these little city urchins, no?

So I read the directions for making raspberry jam. Then I reread. And reread. Then I got ready: sterilized jars/lids/rims, boiling water canner, tongs and wide-mouthed funnel, mixing bowl, big stainless steel pot, measuring devices, towels -- really, just about everything but the darned kitchen sink! I had to talk myself down off the ledge a few times: YES, you can do this! REALLY, they're going to take direction well!! There will be no THIRD DEGREE BURNS requiring emergency medical care!!

And it was wonderfully enjoyable, productive and accident free. I sometimes amaze myself by my parental capabilities when I'm channeling the patience of a preschool teacher and not being my regular self. We talked about how the bright red of the fresh berries changed to a deeper burgundy red once the berries were cooked. We talked about stirring constantly and timing the jell process once we got to a full rolling boil. We listened for the pops of the dome lids after they jars had all been processed. We got jam on our fingers, mouths and aprons and even the iPod that was cranking out the Jack Johnson tunes. Oh, and by the way -- did you know July is National Berry Month? Making jam with my kids turned out to be a lovely way to commemorate it. Of course, if your kids are too too young, it's always fun to ask your spouse to watch the kids and make the jam yourself (my usual MO).

We're off the library this afternoon to pick up a children's book that was recommended by an EnviroMom reader. I hope that we will keep this ideal summertime vibe we've got going so far today. Maybe a stop at the park to make daisy-chains?

To-do list

Heather — 2009-07-10T11:17:47-07:00

Pardon me while I jot down a little to-do list.

1) Work with neighbors to start a collective, like the Ainsworth Street Collective featured last month in Sunset Magazine. Email the woman you met yesterday who's part of it. Investigate Bright Neighbor, a Web site designed to help Portland neighborhoods set up sharing programs.

2) Start saving for a gray water system as discussed in today's Oregonian article. Bathroom reno in 1-2 years...hopefully by then gray water systems will be legal in Oregon!

3) Test CFL bulbs in kitchen recessed light fixtures for best light quality. Keep hoping that LED technology will improve so the lights aren't so cold and blue!

4) Sew bulk food bags using monster pile of fabric in laundry room. It can't be that hard.

5) Fight the plastics industry -- and their stupid campaign to get millenials to think plastic is really cool -- by buying less plastic. Seriously: make the yogurt and the salsa already, and take a bread-baking class if you have to. It's time.

6) Despite your recent good hair days, rethink the Pantene Pro-V shampoo. You may look good on the surface, but what is the guilt doing to your inner child? Not to mention the sodium lauryl sulfate? Try the no-poo for a month? Will it make my straight, fine hair limp and greasy? There's only one way to find out.

7) Sweat more: on the bike, on a hike, at the community center gym, playing kickball at the park. Be a better active role model for your children.

There! Why am I still sitting here?

Feel free to add your to-dos in the comments. (It will feel good to get them out of your head.) And have a glorious weekend!

Greeting cards: Yes or no? And what's the alternative?

Heather — 2009-07-09T10:22:40-07:00

Despite our virtual connectedness and the popularity of e-cards and e-vites, the greeting card industry still seems pretty healthy. But even if you choose recycled-content cards with soy-based ink, there's still a heavy environmental toll during the paper milling, printing and transportation process. All of that for what is generally a 15-second experience of reading and setting aside, and ultimately discarding that card. Kate emailed us about this dilemma:

Hi EnviroMoms,

I love your blog, and thanks for all of the great tips. I am relatively new to being green, and at first was totally overwhelmed by all of the possibilities. But I identify with your approach of taking things one step at a time.

Lately I have been absolutely floored by the cost and wastefulness of greeting cards. I recently spent more than $10 on two birthday cards, which likely ended up in the garbage (or hopefully a recycling bin!!) within days. My family of seven buys and exchanges goodness knows how many cards for goodness knows how many occasions.

Have you ever heard any innovative ideas for replacing greeting cards? How do you buck the trend and not insult the person whose birthday, anniversary, etc. you are celebrating?

I'm not a fan of greeting cards and haven't sent a Christmas card in years. Pretty much the only cards that come from my family are the ones my kids make. Relatives' birthdays are usually acknowledged with a homemade card, an email or phone call, and mostly I avoid that greeting card aisle in the grocery store. Cards that we receive go into the recycling bin or a reuse basket for future repurposing and occasionally get saved for the kids' memento boxes. Sometimes I do receive a card that touches me or makes me laugh, and I do love a funny card.

However, if your extended family has a history of frequently exchanging cards, like Kate's family, how do you make changes? Do you have the conversation that greeting cards aren't doing the planet any favors? Or do you just start sending alternative greeting cards -- e-cards, video cards, homemade -- and hope the family doesn't disown you and might possibly get on board the eco-wagon?

Do you send greeting cards? What's your alternative?

Preserving cherries?

Renee — 2009-07-08T09:36:32-07:00

This is the summer of preserving berries and other delicious summer fruits! Our chest freezer awaits. We nailed strawberry season. Picking three separate times, a variety of Hoods and Shuksans from a local u-pick, and the unnamed variety from our garden. We hulled, we froze, we packed! A good 60 pounds. A job well done.

Now we are locked and loaded to pick raspberries this weekend. We will hopefully even take our exchange student (who arrives tomorrow) on her first American cultural adventure: the u-pick farm! After raspberries, it'll be blueberries, and closing out our season -- peaches.

Yet, my kids just threw me a zinger. Suddenly they like cherries. Can't get enough of them. You'll have to excuse the raised middle finger of my 4-year-old in the above picture. I don't believe she has any hidden message in raising it at the cherry bowl. She does it on a regular basis, and I find it mildly amusing. So far.

But here's the conundrum. Is it practical to preserve cherries? I don't believe I've ever had cherry jelly or jam, cherry relish, cherry sauce or frozen cherries. Maybe some dried cherries. And cherry pie. Also, I did have some cherry wine once, but that is not worth trying to replicate (Tiggers don't like cherry wine -- eee-yuck!). As I've written, we have a fruit jam-packed (pun intended) summer already planned. Do we try to add in cherries and preserve those too? Or is it more trouble than it's worth? So I'm asking you, dear readers... Do you preserve cherries? Is it worth the effort to pit and prep and preserve? And if you do, how do you eat them later in the year?

Turning the wasteful Ready Mop into a reusable cleaning tool

Heather — 2009-07-07T08:47:59-07:00

We bought our first Clorox Ready Mop about 7-8 years ago, right when they first came out. I loved it for all the wrong reasons -- the disposable mop head (no messy sponge to rinse!), the built-in toxic cleaning fluid (no inconvenient bucket!), the trigger that sprayed the solution for me (no bending!). Then it stopped working after 3-4 years and we threw away the old one and bought the next generation Ready Mop, which worked even better. Then I woke up and realized it was no longer compatible with my lifestyle and set it aside for three years (and basically stopped washing the kitchen floor). Seriously. I knew at some point we'd be ripping out that old vinyl, but had no idea it would take three years. Ew.

Now I have a new Marmoleum kitchen floor and I love it. I want to keep it clean all the time. The minute I spill something I'm down with a sponge or towel, mopping it up. I'm going to take good care of this floor because I want it to last. So it was time to revisit the old Ready Mop, which was gathering dust in the garage. Luckily I hadn't tossed the empty cleaning solution bottle, so I filled it with 1/4 white vinegar and 3/4 water. For the mop head I used a washcloth. And guess what? It works perfectly, while still providing the convenience for which it was intended. Except now I toss the mop head into the laundry rather than the garbage. I think I was inspired to try this by a reader comment (wish I could find it) -- so thank you. I can't tell you how many times I've been inspired by you all!

I would not advise running out to buy a Ready Mop because it's still a cheap, plastic gadget. I have no faith that I'll be using it in another 3-4 years because, inevitably, it will break and be destined for the landfill. (I will one day replace it with something more durable.) But if you own one already or its Swiffer counterpart, you can resurrect it and use it safely and waste-freely once more.

Meet the original 'generation green'

Renee — 2009-07-06T11:32:25-07:00

Home sweet home after our week's vacation in Seattle. One of the people we visited was my almost 91-year-old grandmother. Born in 1918, I often wonder what she thinks of the changes that have come about in her lifetime. Sliced bread and all sorts of modern convenience. Is it progress or not? In old pictures, I see her as a child wearing black leather lace-up boots and hand-embroidered dresses. Far contrast from the factory-produced jeans and shoes my kids wear.

The email we received from EnviroMom reader Maggie about 'generation green' could not have been more timely:

enviromoms - I make an effort to be green. I learn more all the time from your blog, the internet, books, friends... Turns out, I really didn't need to go all that far. A recent visit to my grandmothers' retirement community is all it really takes to see it is that it is only recently we have forgotten how to conserve. She is 83. I spent only 5 hours with her today. In that short time I witnessed the following green habits (both hers and her friends):

buy local produce
eat more produce than meat
buy food basics and actually COOK
keep furniture for more than 20 years
keep clothing for more than 4 years
use a handkerchief
carpool
do errands all at once
turn off lights when you leave the room
keep leftovers AND eat them
reuse bags
reuse paper napkins or use cloth
hair does not need to be washed every day
share magazines with friends
in place of TV, play bridge
bring a spoon (not plastic) from home to accompany your snack, it fits in a purse

She has been living her life this way for decades. Maybe you have already written about this generation or about how it is only recently that our lives have changed to be so wasteful. If not, consider a visit to a retirement community. It opened my eyes a great deal.

Thank you Maggie for sharing your grandma's inspiring green ways. There's so much we can learn from our elders. I'd guess all of us have wisdom gained from our own grandmas to share. However, I hope you'll excuse me now, as it's time for lunch, and I need to go slice some bread.

Tea for me

Heather — 2009-07-03T09:41:39-07:00

I am late to iced tea. I just never really cared for it. Hot tea, yes; cold, no. But last week my grandma always had a jug brewing in the sun, and the iced tea tasted refreshing and delicious. (It was also 100 degrees and humid in Arkansas.) So now I'm making my own. Above is Wild Zinger herbal tea from Celestial Seasonings. It tastes so good cold (no sweetener needed) that my husband said he would give up his Diet 7Up habit if this was always in the fridge. Done. I sun-brewed 3 bags in this 2 quart pitcher.

The always inspirational Amy Karol just wrote about her method of brewing highly concentrated tea in a mason jar because she didn't have enough room in the fridge for all the tea they drink. Last night I shoved three bags of peppermint and three of green into a quart (?) mason jar, added cold water and it brewed in the fridge overnight. I squeezed out the bags to get every last bit of tea in there this morning. Can you guess what I'm drinking right now? Amy says she only adds about 2 tablespoons of the concentrate to a glass of water; I found I needed about 1/4 cup. This peppermint-green combo was light and refreshing; nice for a morning pick-me-up. Now my mind is racing -- what other concoctions to try?

It occurs to me that tea is a pretty eco-friendly drink, particularly if you buy it organic and fair trade. You can recycle the box and compost the tea bags -- and eliminate both of those if you buy it loose (something I've never done) from a local tea shop. I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl.

Happy 4th everyone!

Cleaning up icky messes without paper towels

Heather — 2009-07-02T12:12:30-07:00

We got a great email from Jennifer who has successfully kicked paper napkins and towels out of the house and has converted to cloth (much to the horror of her paper towel-addicted mother...her mom now brings her own paper towels when she visits!). Hooray Jennifer, and no doubt your dear mama will one day see the light as well! Recently Jennifer had her first icky clean-up mess to deal with and resisted the paper towel temptation (she still has some left). She writes:

For the first time since my newfound ways a family member got sick, several feet from the bathroom. Unfortunately, I had a pile of things that were waiting for me to take downstairs. And my trusty paper towel clean-up method was GONE! I had nowhere to turn except my kitchen towels. I washed them twice and still had to clean out my washing machine from bits of partially processed food. (Sorry for being so descriptive.)

I’m confident it’s probably a no-brainer…but I’m puzzled. What to do in this situation? Do you soak your clean-up towels in a bucket or something first?

This, I believe, is a common predicament and a big challenge. I would probably reach for my 'emergency' roll of paper towels (which I've had for over two years now), but I know there are less wasteful methods. Would you soak your towels in a bucket and empty it in the yard or the toilet? Soak them in the toilet? In your kitchen sink? Or do you give yourself a pass (and a break) and go for paper?

Green mom or eco-freak? You decide...

Renee — 2009-07-01T12:41:41-07:00

Top indicators that you have crossed the line from regular ol' heart-in-the-right-place green mom to eco-freak:

Taking your kids to a public restroom and failing to control them from tearing off an extra sheet from one of those 'awesome' automatic paper towel dispensers, then finding you have no place to leave the toweling so that another person might use it instead of thinking it is garbage, then sticking it in your purse (while worrying some stranger might come in and think you are stealing) because you can't abide the thought of just wasting it
Asking your friend if she'll flush up or down while entering a restroom that uses dual-flush toilets
Bringing home -- not just your own compostable food waste and/or recyclables -- but also that of all your co-workers
Opting to skip a dinner party because you have far too many leftovers in your fridge that your family really should be eating, and can't stand the idea of all that food going to waste
Taking pictures of your compost pile, and showing it to others with comments like 'You think your compost looks good? Well take a look at this...'
Obsessing about recyclables while on vacation
Bringing a non-fiction book titled Ecological Intelligence on summer vacation and actually preferring it to the juicy fiction selection that was also brought along

Turns out I've crossed the line from green mom to eco-freak. And I think I'm ok with that. How about you? Got any good ones to share?

Tidbits: sunscreen, cutting boards and ice cream

Heather — 2009-06-30T09:10:46-07:00

My family just got home last night from five days in the Ozarks and I have all that homecoming stuff to deal with: dirty clothes, dirty house, wilted garden, dehydrated hermit crab...you know, the usual.

-- I've had an opportunity to more thoroughly test out the Mexitan sunscreen that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago on a variety of skin complexions, and it does indeed leave a faint white zinc oxide-type sheen on one's skin (I've updated my post). I guess my kids were so pale when we first started using it that it wasn't obvious. However, I still really like it. It doesn't feel greasy or lotion-y on my skin, and it works. You definitely need to re-apply it if you spend any time in the water, however. I have the pink shoulders to prove it.

-- The perfect solution to my cutting board dilemma presented itself shortly after I wrote about it. My mom reads this blog, and she gave me a butcher block cutting board that my paternal grandfather made about 35-40 years ago! I'd completely forgotten about it. This is the cutting board I grew up with and it's seen much use and has held up beautifully over the years. I'm going to lightly sand it and give it a mineral oil treatment, and it will be ready for chopping! One side has the juice catcher, the other is smooth and it's the perfect size. I can't tell you how happy this heirloom has made me! (And I was thisclose to buying a new one...just goes to prove that sometimes it pays to wait for a better solution.)

-- One of the kitchen gadgets that is lurking in my cabinets (and I'm hoping to get rid of) is an ice cream maker that has been used once...because ice makers are a pain in the butt. If it takes 24+ hours to make ice cream, then something is very, very wrong. Today's Oregonian FOODday has recipes for homemade, machine-free ice cream that you mix once and then freeze for only 3-8 hours before you devour it. The chocolate ice cream recipe, originally published in Cook's Country magazine, is getting tested in my kitchen soon.

Vacation: personal cap and trade sytem

Renee — 2009-06-29T09:40:50-07:00

We are on the third day of our big summer vacation. We drove (yes drove -- thought for a nanosecond about taking a train, then vetoed that idea) to Seattle on Saturday. My husband flew to Washington, DC on Sunday for a quick business trip, and he will join us here on Wednesday. We are having a mini family reunion, which we've attempted almost each summer since moving to the Pacific Northwest (nearer to my aunt and uncle in Seattle). The birth of our first daughter and my cousin's daughter quickly followed. As a mom, I sometimes feel exhausted by the responsibility of what seems like planning everything, and these trips have been a rare, lovely exception. I just pack us up, book travel as necessary, and am grateful that we have a chance to keep this next generation of cousins connected since we all live fairly far apart. Is there anything better than rediscovering cousins on annual summer vacations?

So after a week of being host to a traveler, we now step into the role of travelers ourselves. Leaving behind our normal reduce-reuse-recycle routines, and adapting to the culture of where we are visiting. We are in eco-savvy Seattle, but in a rented vacation home. Thus the big ol' garbage can in the kitchen offers the path of least resistance for most tourists. I'm sure we will create more trash than we regularly do this week, yet we have established a pile of cardboard, and still need to investigate if there is a recycle bin nearby where we can ultimately dispatch it all.

As travelers, which is an infrequent happening in our lives, we become carbon hogs almost instantly. Yet, I'm envisioning a personal cap and trade system. In one week's time, we use up the carbon credits we had saved by our usual 3R living. By coincidence, Heather is also on vacation with her family this week -- and as I recollect from past travels of hers, she is often full of insights in ways to take baby step environmentalism on the road. I'll be interested to hear what she has to say on the subject once we are face-to-face in Portland again.

Do you have summer vacation travels planned? Or is it a staycation year? How lightly do you travel? Or do you spend some well earned personal carbon credits while you travel, as we do?

Climate champions: starting conversations

Renee — 2009-06-26T15:46:44-07:00

Heather, our friend Carol and I attended one of the town hall meetings Portland is hosting on its Climate Action Plan. I don't know if I'm just easy to impress, or what, but I think it's fantastic that our city continues to take initiative on this global problem. It was news to me that Portland has been on it -- I believe they said since 1993 -- long before I'd ever head the terms 'global warming' or 'climate change.' They are seeking feedback before July 13, and what frequently came up in our session was the phrase: 'It's just great that we're having this conversation.' From the real-time surveys they took from those attending, we were not atypical. These people are pro-solar, bike-riding, vegetarian, green team, One Can A Month kind of people.

The plan, which Heather outlined, identifies eight areas where regular folk, just like you and me, can make changes with a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent. Ambitious? You bet! And a heck a lot easier to take actions in our own lives than to talk about it with friends, family, and neighbors who haven't yet drunk of the green kool-aid.

I left the meeting charged up. I will become a 'climate champion'! In many ways, I feel I already am one. But it's easy talking to you guys and gals. We're preaching to the choir, right? So how do you have conversations with those who are not buying into the science supporting global warming, or are in denial because they don't want to change their ways? I hope this isn't too heavy of a topic for a Friday. But really. I want to know. How do you start the conversation?

Organizing plastic bags and cloth towels

Heather — 2009-06-25T07:25:00-07:00

I've been going through our kitchen inch by inch since our recession remodel wrapped up (pictures soon!). I'm trying to make it more efficient by getting rid of lots of excess stuff and reorganizing cabinets and drawers. There's no sense spending all that time and money to make it outwardly pleasing when chaos reigns inside the cabinets! Recently I tackled a drawer that stores our plastic bags, foil, waxed paper, towels and oven mits. I didn't have the foresight to take a 'before' photo, but trust me -- it was a disaster. Plastic bags that I'd washed for reuse were just shoved in randomly. We had all of these pot holders in there, which we never, ever use. And the towels were always getting tossed around. After a big purge and an aha! moment, now it looks like this:

My aha! moment was realizing that I should be storing my reused plastic baggies in the same box from which they originated! For some reason I always felt I needed to keep the reused bags separate from the pristine, new baggies. Now I just shove them back into the boxes, and that way they are the first bags I grab when I need one. It also keeps the gallon size separate from the pint size separate from the sandwich baggie size. Then I have another box for random veggie bags from the grocery store. So much better.

Other plastic bags for recycling or potential reuse get shoved into this mesh tube that hangs in our garage right outside the kitchen door. The Container Store no longer carries this, but IKEA has something similar. As you can see, I continue to struggle with plastic.

My towels are divided into two piles: grimy and good. The grimy ones are used in place of paper towels to clean up messes. (Can it be possible that we stopped buying paper towels two years ago? Yes.) Those baby washcloths, which are now 7.5 years old (wah, my babies!), are used for cleaning up smaller messes. The good towels are used to dry clean items: dishes, hands, countertops. When a towel gets dirty, I toss it into a basket along with our soiled cloth napkins. I used to toss all of these items on the kitchen floor where they would sit in a growing pile for a few days (nice) but the remodel opened up a little spot for a basket.

Since I typically do laundry every 7-10 days, these cloth towels get tossed right in with clothes. And since I only wash full loads of laundry, these napkins and towels have not increased the number of times I run the washer and dryer (and bonus points for line drying).

Organized reuse = happy EnviroMom in the kitchen, despite her often sub-par meal offerings.