Keep on Greenin'

A few more changes to bring MoGreenMo on home:

Green change #20 — I finally decided to spend the extra money for the Seventh Generation chlorine-free diapers. Of course, the hard-core Greenies use cloth diapers, which we didn't even attempt; if I want any sort of cred as an environmentalist I should really try to use the least offensive disposable diapers. Since Seventh Generation diapers aren't bleached, they don't pollute with dioxins, so they're a little better than Pampers.

We bought a case of Seventh Generation diapers through Amazon's discounted subscription service. I didn't do the math for an exact comparison, but Seventh Generation isn't much more expensive when bought in bulk.

These new diapers work fine during the day, but we had some leak-through issues when using them overnight, so now we're stocking two brands, Pampers for day and Seventh Generation for night.

Now the Big Question is, since bleaching diapers creates environmental toxins, why do companies even do it? Why bleach any paper products like paper towels or napkins? Do people really care that much about having white paper products instead of tan? As Glen commented, it seems nuts to pay MORE for a product that involves LESS processing. If everyone demanded unbleached paper products, I guess companies would make more of them and then they'd be cheaper.

Green change #21 — We covered the inside of our windows with plastic sheeting to minimize energy loss. Although we're using less energy (and feel much more toasty on cold, windy days), we're creating additional waste from the sheeting and the packaging it came in, so I consider this kind of a wash environmentally. But here's the Green change: Since our windows are six-feet tall, we had lots of leftover sheeting which a couple months ago I probably would have tossed in the garbage. Now that I'm being more thoughtful about my choices, I realized that our leftovers would work on standard-sized windows. I posted them on Freecycle, and someone took them. What an easy change for me, and I helped someone out in the process.

Green change #22 — When our stash of paper napkins ran out, we started using cloth napkins all the time. We own plenty of cloth napkins, but for some reason I've always thought of them as being for special occasions only. I really enjoy using them, and apparently so does our son. The other day Jack was eating a snack in the car and started asking for a "napnik." We found a couple paper napkins stashed in the glove compartment and handed him one, but he became indignant, throwing it down and crying "no!!! napnik! napnik!" It took a moment, but we finally realized that he's not used to paper napkins; now only cloth will do for our little sophisticate.

Green change #23 — We started recycling tinfoil. That was one of those embarrassing "duh" moments for me when I saw tinfoil on a list of things that can go in the recycling bin instead of the trash.

Green change #24 — I've taken a cue from my thrifty husband by making sure I use every last bit of my toiletries, adding water to the almost-empty hand soap bottle and cutting the tops off tubes of lotion and conditioner.

Comments

[glen]

yes, i used to be ridiculed by others as being cheap--but now i'm praised as being green! (it only took 20 yrs for the rest of the world to come 'round to my ways.)

[glen]

people don't know this--but i'm the way i am b/c i grew up during the great depression & WWII

[Missy]

Doesn't my man look good for 90?

[Becky]

As I read your blog, I thought of Oma. My mom always told me how good Oma was at reusing items. She "recycled" foil by saving it and reusing it. Seems like you have a bit of her in you ;-)

[Missy]

Thanks Becky. It's interesting how the same values that were considered thriftiness in our grandparents and great-grandparents (and my husband!) are the new Green values today.