Mom Goes Green

Ahhh…county fairs.  A slice of Americana that just drives me insane.

My dad called me the other day and wanted to take the kids, so I agreed…to make him happy.  My friend called me on the way there, and when I told her where I was going, she said “You?  At a fair?” and proceeded to laugh hysterically.

I know some people love fairs for various reasons.  I shudder because I think about the horribly unhealthy foods, the germs and dirt (our feet were black by the time we left!), the poor animals going to slaughter…(insert frowny/pouty face here!)… and the waste, waste, WASTE!

I almost walked in with more optimism than ever because there was a sign posted at the entry that said:  “The Fair has gone green!” Whoa! Quite cool.

Little did I know that the sign meant there would be about four very small can & bottle recycling bins around the entire fairgrounds.  There were, however, HUGE trash cans about every 25 feet.  Not exactly what I would call green, would you?

Green, to me, would mean tons more recycling containers and vendors that were required to take a little more care in the serving items they choose…can anyone say NO STRYROFOAM?!?!?  It’s so discouraging.  I also saw people grabbing stacks of napkins, tossing recycling in the trash, dropping trash on the ground and just being all-around wasteful.

I’m getting to the point where I want to stop going to places like this that don’t seem to care at all…even though they claimed that they’ve gone green!  This is much to my kids’ dismay, because if that actually happened, I think I would be boycotting a whoooole lot of places they love.  (I have already put an eternal ban on circuses… HATE THEM!  Not for ‘green reasons’, but I just can’t stand the thought of animals being carted around the country in small trailers, and they are either penned up, practicing or performing.  I adore elephants and wonder how anyone could ever be surprised when one occasionally flips out and goes on a rampage…hmmm…maybe it doesn’t like its JOB!)

Anyhow, it just reminded me that we have so far to go.  Baby steps are okay, but for pete’s sake…if you say you’re going green…then GO GREEN!  Don’t make big claims, make signs announcing it and then do the bare minimum, like they did at the fair.  Please.

My daughter looked at an overflowing trash can and said “Mommy, why would someone do that?”  I have no idea, honey…I have NO idea.

Well… it’s back-to-school time. Wait. (blink, blink.) I thought it was still June.

Unfortunately…no. I’ve been desperately working on getting in the school mode, but I’m just in such denial that my sweet “baby” girl is going to be gone, all day, five days a week!

We’ve had major discussions about lunchtime and what she would like me to pack. Our school is so-so on nutritious meals, but our daughter has chosen to be a “brown bagger.” However, that’s in name only because we’ve taken lots of steps to insure that she won’t be creating too much waste at lunchtime. In fact, an interesting little stat I found on Greenopia:  “An average kid using disposable lunch wrappers generates 67 pounds of waste per school year.”… YIKES!

So, to our “low-/no-waste” lunch plan.

Buy a lunchbox. There are so many cool ones to choose from, kids can certainly find one to love. Buy a reusable bottle and/or thermo. No matter what beverage you choose, it will accommodate…and there won’t be any disposable bottles/boxes to throw away later. No paper napkins. A quick stop at the dollar store and we have cloth napkins to last her a week. Buy a cheap set of silverware. No need to toss plastic in the trash daily. Or, if you use plastic, wash & reuse. NO Ziplocs or plastic baggies. Like I mentioned before, I bought a bunch of small containers for the kids’ foods and snacks, so these will accompany her to school each day!

I was concerned that within the course of weeks the containers, thermoses, etc. would get left behind at school and never find their way back to us, but I discovered a great product from Stuck On You. They are vinyl name labels that can be placed on all of these items and they are waterproof, microwave- and dishwasher-safe (so you won’t be replacing name labels with every washing!). Our daughter’s are pink with flowers and she LOVES them. They have tons of other great products too (labels, tags, and a great starter pack) if you want to check them out.

So, as I venture into a teary-eyed send-off to our daughter, I at least know that when the year ends, there won’t be 67 lbs. of trash in a local landfill with her name on it.

Honestly!  I am lovin’ the laundry products…especially with my pretty new washing machine!!!

I’ve always envied my mother-in-law’s laundry because it smells absolutely incredible.  We used the exact same products (until I made new eco-choices), but somehow I could never duplicate that fab aroma. I always wondered if it has something to do with the washing machine or the dryer and how it scrubbed and tumbled the laundry.  Maybe?

Anyhow, back to my point.  Did I mention I love Method laundry products?!?!  They are so eco-friendly and come from a really green company. The items I’ve been trying lately are the detergent and softener infused dryer cloths.  The detergent is phosphate-free, bio-degradable and HE (high efficiency) for my new washer…but don’t give me a hard time about the dryer cloths.  They can be used twice and are actually compostable!  And they contain mainly renewable plant oils.

They really meet my eco-criteria, but above that….damn, they smell GREAT!  Both are “water lily + aloe.”  And they smell soooo good, I just want to chew on my laundry like a teething baby with a wet wash cloth!!!  (Was that too much information?)  I don’t know what it is, but besides being a very visual person, I appreciate my sense of smell and just like great smelling laundry…but with a consciousness too!

If anyone else has tried any of their products, I’d love to know what you think.  If not, warning….you, too, may want to gnaw on your laundry!

So the whole “dead washer” thing got me thinking about other washing… dishwashing.

For some reason, ever since my daughter was a baby, I have felt compelled to wash my kids’ dishes, cups, utensils, etc. by hand. I suppose my logic has to do with the feeling that when I scrub them by hand, I can insure they get really, really clean, and they don’t sit around in a dishwasher, picking up cooties from other stuff.  Yeah, may be ridiculous, but it’s made sense to me for the past 6-1/2 years!

So I set out to see how wasteful that really is.  Lo and behold, in my newest quest of dishwasher vs. hand-washing, I learned a lot.  So, here I am to share this with you too!…

First, and most compelling:  newer dishwashers use only half the energy, one-sixth the water and much less soap, compared to hand-washing.  The cleanliness factory also favors dishwashers (BAH! I’m wrong again!).

Just think about how much water you waste waiting for the right temperature when you’re hand- washing?! I was guilty of that, big time.  And my husband is NOTORIOUS for wandering around the kitchen, doing other things, while water is still running! (… that remains a small (huge) pet peeve of mine, dear husband!)

You can also make your process more eco-friendly by skipping the pre-wash cycle, only running full loads and skipping the heat dry (that ALONE, saves 50% of the energy use!).

I understand that there may be methods of hand-washing that use very small amounts of water.  I also know that, in order to get truly clean items out of the dishwasher, they do need a degree of cleaning and elbow-grease before they reach the dishwasher, but this should be done quickly and immediately, before all of the food gets dried on … (oh yummy! It’s that “cootie factor” I always feared!)

So, SHOCKER!  Appliance wins this battle!  I’m going to give so much hand-washing a break and try to use the appliance exclusively for a while and see how it goes.  “Dishwasher” is one of the ‘Mom titles’ I’m willing to give up.

Yep…dead.  It was loaded up with my kids’ laundry and the damn thing wouldn’t spin.  It was such a joy to wring every item by hand so I could put them in the dryer (so, wringing?  That’s how they used to do it, huh?).

Of course, it was only one year beyond warranty(!), and the repair would have been so costly the only choice was to buy a new one. Fabulous.

The irony of the whole event is the education I received in my quest to find a new washer.  Did you know that top-loading washers require massive amounts of energy and water?… something I never thought about for a second, and I walked into the store expecting that’s what I would buy.  Was I ever wrong.

Front-loading washers are such an environmentally-conscious choice and I had no idea. I’ll wrap this in a nutshell:  They require 60% less water, 50% less energy to heat the water, hold larger loads (because there’s no agitator - so you will need to do fewer loads) and they spin faster (extracting more water and reducing the dry time in your dryer) and in turn, consume less dryer energy.  I love it!

If every U.S. household replaced their washer with a front-loading washer, the water saved each year could fill more than one million Olympic-sized swimming pools. ONE MILLION.

Meet my new washer…isn’t she pretty?   Sure, it cost more, but over time the savings in water and energy will balance it out, and now that I “know what I know”, I wouldn’t dream of NOT making the environmental choice.

Of course, one of my concerns was what happens to my poor, old, dead washer.  I am happy to report that the retailer has a local contract and it will be picked up and all recyclable parts and materials WILL be recycled.  Whew!  Without that kind of answer, I don’t think I would have bought from them…

…so, I just got greener…and since I am a green mom, I suppose the death of my “water & energy sucking” washing machine was destiny, with a splash of fate.  No problem.  I’ll take that wake-up call.

For our kids, the best part of summer (aside from vacation) is all of the fairs, festivals and parades.

We went to THE parade of the summer recently and our kids were blessed with enough candy to rot the mouths of at least 9 other kids. At this parade, they toss out not only candy, but popsicles, water bottles, pens, pencils… it’s ridiculous.

But the aftermath was nauseating. After a nearly one hour parade, I glanced 6 feet to the left and here is exactly what I saw.

Trash – wrappers, papers, and bottles – despite a recycling bin sitting no more than 10 feet behind us. It looked this way up and down the entire street. It made me sad and very ashamed.

Afterward, my friend, Lynn, and I commiserated. “What are parents teaching their children?” Or moreover, “What AREN’T parents teaching their children?” My mother-in-law justified it by saying “well, they always send the street sweeper through, so it will get cleaned up” but that’s not okay with me. There just isn’t a good enough excuse for making the ground your garbage can.

Our kids overindulged that day. It was a candy fiesta, to say the least, but every single time they unwrapped another treat, I got a “Here, Mommy!” and they handed me the wrapper, because they knew that the ground was no place for the waste.

I wish everyone would embrace that. I wish every parent would teach their children that a little extra effort is worth it. Please, teach your children to love their earth, their city, their town, their block…

That lesson will last their lifetime.

Being a green mom, passionate about our environment and the well-being of my family, I love that enviro-consciousness is becoming an increasingly important topic. I started this blog in hopes that I could share my experiences and, hopefully, inspire others.

But one of the things I’ve been clear about is the fact that I’m not perfect. I make mistakes and my changes are gradual, but I’m getting there. And truly, there may be some things I will never change.

There are so, so many great green blogs out there and I applaud each and every one of them for their efforts. However, one of the things I dislike the most is the impractical suggestions for going green.

Some suggestions are so radical. Or others just seem plain silly. I don’t know where I saw it, and I TRULY mean no disrespect by this, but (in light of the concerns about the materials used in the manufacture of children’s toys) someone went so far as to suggest that you should buy your toddler pots and a wooden spoon for a birthday gift… so when they get tired of banging on them, you could have a practical use for them. Can you even imagine? My kids would have had a scrunched up nose and pouty lips for a month if I would have pulled that one on them.

The unfortunate part of those types of suggestions is it makes all of us fodder for skepticism, criticism and harsh jokes from the naysayers. The funny part of that is sometimes the jokes ARE actually funny!

This was sent to me by one of my best friends, Beth. I laughed hysterically, but I hesitated to post it here because I don’t want to offend anyone… then my husband told me to lighten up! So, I’m lightening up!…

I will preface this by saying it may offend some. PLEASE, do not open this at work! PLEASE, do not open this near your kids! (I don’t want to be responsible for them learning some seriously unsavory words!)

But, only if you have a great sense of humor, click here: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/fa1420df1f

We’re all on a serious mission, but sometimes… you just gotta laugh!

Everyone loves a party, for whatever occasion. But those gift-giving occasions… yeah, not so earth-friendly (for so many reasons!).

I recently attended a kid’s birthday party with our daughter. Parties themselves create so, so much waste, but here is what I saw that left me dumbfounded…

* Kid unwraps present – Mom throws wrapping paper in trash bag!
* Kid opens card – Mom throws envelope in trash bag!!
* Kid pulls present from gift bag – Mom throws GIFT BAG in TRASH BAG!!!

I nearly choked. And I’m sure other moms noticed me standing there, wide-eyed and bewildered, staring at the trash bag. But I know the trash bag wasn’t collecting recycling because it was collecting “trash-trash” too.

I’ve made a new pact with myself not to use wrapping paper if there is any way to avoid it. I use gift bags. And I REUSE gift bags. I don’t care if they look a little used. Who cares, really. Two friends of mine have been passing the same bag back and forth for years! It started as a joke, but in reality, it’s pretty practical.

Most non-metallic wrapping paper can be recycled, but gift bags are great because they can be used again and again, until they get tattered, and THEN recycle them.

Say “goodbye, wrapping paper”…say “hello, gift bag!” Could Mother Earth talk, I’m sure she’d love a celebration, but celebrate Mother Earth by not turning it into an Un-Happy Trash Day.

So, I’m not one to usually toot my own horn so much (you wouldn’t really know that lately, would you?) but I guess when you get recognition for actually making a difference, it’s not so bad (is it?).

I was named as a CEO (Chief “Eco” Officer!) at HowYouEco, an online eco-friendly destination, social network and marketplace that “brings more green into your home, work and play”. They recently brought up the fact that more and more Moms are becoming eco-conscious in their daily lives and sharing their experiences, ideas and knowledge through their very own eco-mom blogs.

I’m really happy to be one of “those” moms. I’m in really great company too.

And while the most important thing for me is to make a difference for my family and my own little piece of the world, I hope by sharing my experiences and ideas with others, I can make a difference for other families — in my town, my state, my country or anywhere around the globe. That’s the beauty of the internet… no matter where a reader lives, if I say something that strikes a chord and encourages someone to make a change in their life and treat the earth a little better, then I can feel like I’ve done a little extra… and that feels good!

If you want to check it out, go to: http://blog.howyoueco.com/ (Scroll down a bit and there I am!)

Myrtle Beach Part II (Scenario: Me. My family. Myrtle Beach vacation. Ungodly amounts of recyclables. No where to take them…no recycling options in sight.)

…So, what did I do?

You guessed ‘er, Chester. I stood in the kitchen of our condo. I crushed cans. I smashed plastic bottles. I tore apart and flattened boxes. I gathered and straightened newspaper. I condensed everything… every last little thing… into the smallest amount of trash bag space possible and…

We drove it home. ALLLL the way back to Cleveland. Alongside beach chairs and boogie boards. Alongside favorite pillows and stuffed animals. Alongside food that never got consumed… in the car. A 703 mile cruise to “Recycleville”.

And honestly…it felt great!

This is the pile that we brought home. Keep in mind that it is smashed and crushed and flattened to extremes (so you don’t see the true volume), but would you take a look at what WOULD HAVE been sent to a landfill if we hadn’t brought it home? It literally FILLED our recycling can. Our 3 foot tall recycling can.

What bothers me the most is not that we had to drive it home(!) but what in the hell is going on in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that a recycling program is not set-up for all of the hundreds upon hundreds of resorts and hotels? How much money floods into that place every year and how pitiful that they offer no options, whatsoever, and have not taken responsibility for even the most fundamental step in environmental consciousness.

Do you know that 14 MILLION PEOPLE visit Myrtle Beach each year?!?!? If they accepted only cans and bottles, can you imagine the volume? If they only offered vacationers a choice. But there are no choices. It’s one, big pit of overconsumption and waste.

I need to do something. What? I’m not yet sure. Contact the Mayor? Contact the head of their Sanitation and Waste Department? Contact the Resort Manager? I just don’t know. But I assure you I’m going to do something. This isn’t going to be the end of the story. I promise.