Alli is a Treehugger

As most of you know, I have spent the past two years gradually trying to be more "green" - er "environmentally friendly" - and more frugal with money. The more I work on achieving this goal, the more I realize how much of an influence P-Pa had on me - he was more of a treehugger than I ever realized. Dad also taught me a lot about protecting the environment, planting trees, etc...

I've tried some things that are kind of weird and/or haven't worked, but it makes me feel like a better person just by trying to do the small things. I am definately not at the point where I am buying organic clothing - or having a sustainable home where I make my own clothes from the yarn I spin from my herd of sheep (difficult to have in an apartment, and I am frankly too lazy). But, I'm trying to make small changes that are easy even for the busy/lazy/cheap person. I have gotten a lot of inspiration and information from treehugger.com's "How to go green guides."

1. Recycle! This is a pretty obvious one, but I didn't used to do it. We live in an apartment, so we don't have curbside pickup, but Mykl's parent's do and let us bring our sorted recylables to their house (frugal for us!). This takes a bit of effort, but I think it's fun, and I don't have to take my trash out nearly as often (which I love!).

2. Another way to cut on stuff being sent to landfills is to compost. We don't have a yard, so we do "vermicomposting" (worms eat our garbage). This sounds gross, but is embarassingly easy and makes me feel better about not finishing leftovers. I can compost anything that doesn't contain meat, and have to be careful about dairy products, but love doing it!

3. Reduce - Another way to protect the environment (and save a lot of money!) is to reduce the amount that you consume. I'm not talking about food here. I'm talking about "stuff." Most American's are obsessed with having "stuff" (George Carlin has a good speal about "stuff" in his "Brain droppings book if you're interested), and most of the "stuff" that we want, we don't actually need. For example, I really want a new cd player for my car that I can hook my MP3 player to. But, I have a perfectly good CD player in my car. Plus, I don't actually drive that often, and usually listen to NPR anyways. So, even though I had Christmas money burning in my pocket, I decided to NOT buy the cool CD player with the USB port. It would have meant throwing something useful/toxic away, AND buying a new product (think about all of the energy, shipping, ingredients, etc... that went into putting this product on the shelf). I am also trying to cut down on every day consumption - I have stopped wearing makeup (mostly because I am lazy), and am trying to cut down on hair products (which are bad for your indoor air quality anyways). I am generally trying to use and need less. This has been hard, but good for me.

4. Green your cleaning. Cleaning products are full of harsh chemicals that are terrible for your indoor air quality and can breed "super-germs." First, I tried going to Mama Jean's (health food store that I love) and buying "green" dishwasher detergent and all-purpose cleaner. These were kind of expensive, and the detergent left white gritty stuff. I am now using a vinegar-water solution with lemon essential oil (to make it smell better) on everything - it's really, really cheap, and works as good/better than my old all-purpose cleaner. Once it's dry, you can't smell the vinegar. No harsh chemicals, so it's good for your indoor air quality. I use it in the kitchen, and in the bathroom. I am getting ready to try homemade dishwasher and laundry detergent (really really cheap) and hope that it works well (got the recipe for both at treehugger.com).

5. Bring your left-overs for lunch. Buying take-out food, or frozen/canned stuff for your lunch is not only expensive, but also results in more energy-use and packaging. For lunch, I bring left-overs from home in tupperware (sp?). It's healthier for you too! I am lazy and like to sleep in, so I pack my leftovers as I'm cleaning up after dinner, and then it's ready for me in the morning.

6. Cut down on electricity - There are many ways to do this! Turning off the lights when you leave a room is the easiest (and use the compact flourescent bulbs) We turn the thermostat down low during the winter (it's at 66 right now) and just wear sweaters and socks around the house, and use more blankets. This would seem like it could make you sick more often, but on the contrary! Going from a warm-to-cold temperatures is a lot worse for you than going from not so warm - to - cold temperatures. In the summer, we keep the thermastat up high (around 76) and turn it up to 80 when we leave the apartment. We wear shorts and t-shirts and use low-energy fans at night in our bedroom to keep us cool (no use cooling the entire house when we're just going to be in one room). We also have started hanging some of our laundry to dry - I still refuse to hang my towels to dry. This is supposed to cut down on energy (dryers are electricity guzzlers), and extend the life of your clothes (your clothes wear down quickly in the dryer - this is where dryer lint comes from). We don't have a drying rack (again, trying to reduce what I buy), so I hang everything (except sweaters) on hangers in my laundry room. I also haven't used an iron since I moved out and feel perfectly presentable (I am lazy!)

7. Try to eat vegetarian at least once a week. Meat is the most resource-intensive on the table. Producing meat requires huge amounts of water, grain, land, antibiotics, and horomones. I love meat and am not willing to go completely vegetarian at this point, but eating vegetarian once a week is super-easy! I already eat vegetarian for breakfast everyday (cereal, toast, oatmeal, fruit, etc...), but there are many easy things to make that are vegetarian - fetticine alfredo, grilled cheese and tomato soup, pizza (cheese or vegetables), soups (potato, corn chowder, etc...), peanut butter jelly, cheese enchaladas, loaded baked potatoes, etc... My favorite vegetarian meal is Pasta fragol (I have a vegetarian recipe that I love!). I also like making pasta and putting a can of italian-spiced diced tomatos and parm. cheese (very easy if you are capable of boiling water and opening a can).

These are a few things that I am doing, and I am having a lot of fun with it! I am not perfect though - I really like taking a hot shower/bath before I go to bed and use a lot of extra water doing that. Mykl and I love our electronics - computers, Wii's, cell phones, D.S., all use electricity. When I'm good, I entertain myself by reading instead of being on the computer or watching t.v. all the time. Also, we don't use energy-star appliances or front-loader washers (money and being in an apartment stop us there). I use a ton of paper in the classroom (but try to copy on both sides) - and even though we recycle paper at school, we don't buy recycled paper. Also, I have tried using organic personal hygeine products, but with mixed results - shampoo gave me scalp issues, and deodorant gave me a rash - but the soap works just fine. Just have to find what works for you.

The point is - you'll never be completely "green" unless you're living in a jungle, but find a few things that you are willing to try and stick with them. Only do what you think is important and what you think will be easy enough for you to put up with. Every little bit helps!