Thursday, January 24, 2008

What are you doing to go "Green"?

Well, I do enjoy watching The Today Show every morning and I have learned many fun and new things. Over the past few weeks, they have focused on going green and wanted to see how fellow quilters are doing "green".

Personally, I'm trying hard to downsize material stuff - fabric, books and using Freecycle locally to share my "stuff" and my Manic Monday Days. I also use Craig's List sometimes to make a few bucks, though folks tend flake on that medium.

I do a lot of online shopping and it seems over the past few years, I receive more catalogs than ever before - up to 7 a week. I don't really read through them and being our recycling folks don't take magazines, I have to trashed them. On the Today Show, they introduce a interesting web site called Catalog Choice, where you can go in and set up an account and stop catalogs from coming and keep the ones you truly want. Not all catalogs are on this site, but you can add ones so it helps them update the site. Very cool.

Another cool website I have found is called Paper Back Swap. I have yet to actually request stuff, but I'm in the process of adding items. The reviews I have heard from friends is very encouraging.

I have started to convert my light bulbs over to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which I actually prefer in my sewing area. And of course that is where I've started that change :D

It's not a lot of "going green", but every bit helps and I notice the more aware I am of my "extra stuff" the more conscientiousness I become.

So, what are you doing "green"?

8 comments:

  1. I need to do that catalog thing. We get an insane amount of them.

    We use cloth napkins. We use reusable bags everywhere, not just the grocery store (though I sometimes forget them). We recycle everything we can. Unless its Christmas or birthday, I only buy Erik used toys. I am constantly purging and taking things to the consignment shop, ebaying them, or donating them.

    We only have one car and Mike takes the commuter train. It is partly a function of time, partly a function of money, and partly a function of refraining from driving so much.

    We opt out of everything we are able to opt out of, junk mail wise.

    I can't think of anything quilt specific.

    We need to transfer over to CFL bulbs

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  2. We recycle, compost, I'm starting to use cloth napkins and rags for cleaning...hang out clothes when I can, walk in our village when I can...need to get those bulbs though!!

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  3. paula, the quilter1/24/2008 12:04 PM

    Cloth napkins, canvas totes, the light bulbs, reusable containers rather than baggies. I use our services recycle program. But the biggy that I do is I ride my bicycle 10 miles round trip spring through fall to work. Can't seem to find the courage to do it at -10 on ice and snow tho. *s*

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  4. Lynn / vigilant201/24/2008 4:01 PM

    Choice Catalog does help! I started putting stuff in there 4 months ago. I didn't realize how many stupid catalogs I got until they stopped showing up and my mailbox looked empty.

    I recycle, bring my own shopping bags, by in bulk at my local co-op using my own containers, use cloth rags, don't use commercial cleaners, unplug electronics, use a bento so I don't have bags and baggies when I take a lunch to work, don't eat moo cows who are one of the biggest polluters hehe...ummm that's all I can think of right now.

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  5. We have put those compact florescent light bulbs in the whole house now - my husband!! I find they are good once they are warmed up but it is so dark when you first turn on all the lights.

    We use the reusable grocery bags - that is a good thing for quilters anyway who just love bags - LOL. I have some pretty cool bags we put our groceries into.

    We also switch our heating over to Electric heat and a heat pump from Oil heat - that has been a huge savings and very green.

    We have had such terrible weather here the past two years that it makes you realize how important the environment really is.

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  6. Helen in the UK1/27/2008 1:29 AM

    As much as possible.
    We recycle, compost, donate unwanted items to charity (thrift) shops. Have the resueable shopping bags, recycled paper products, switch off anything electrical not in use, etc.
    Also try to use my handcrank machine when I can and check for good cotton fabrics to reuse in the charity shops too.
    Every little helps :)

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  7. Going green - well we have started to use cloth bags. I have a collection of canvas bags from DH gets from the conferences he attends, plus a couple I made, and a couple I bought from the grocery store. They hang on the back of our front door and I grab them when I walk to the market. And I always make sure there are at least two in the car.

    Since DH and I work together we carpool every day except Tuesdays when he has Guys Nights out.

    We've been using cloth napkins for a long time. Although I've noticed they are beginning to look a little ratty. We've been using the current bunch for about 5 years now so I guess we're ready for some new ones.

    I unplug my sewing machine, iron and laptop cords when not in use. When we move into our new condo I will switch light bulbs as we need to.

    I carry my lunch in a reusable tote bag. Everything gets packed in a plastic container - no plastic lunch bags for us.

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  8. Well, I guess my lifestyle is a little different from the other posters so most of the things they are doing to recycle etc. are not available to us out here in the country. We raise and butcher our own meat and grow most of our vegetables so we have little need of packaged goods from the store other than baking needs. I think that cuts down a lot on the packaging we add to the landfill. Between hogs, chickens and dogs we never throw any food scraps away either. The stores automatically pack our groceries into cardboard boxes so those are being reused again and then do duty in the garden as a mulch. We switched to the new light bulbs this winter. I try to make a lot of our clothes and then patch those things that get warn out cuz nobody cares what we dress like around here. We heat our home with wood from trees that have fallen on our property and only use propane as a backup. I guess overall our goal is to reduce and reuse as much as possible even if we do it differently because of our lifestyle. Our big downfall is fuel usage because we live so far from everything and because we need it to produce crops.

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