I signed up in December to embark upon four months of small changes to help preserve our environment. What a journey it has been. It was stressful, rewarding, burdensome, uplifting, and enlightening. We accomplished quite a lot as a family endeavoring to live green.

Inspired by Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change Challenge, in January we stopped using paper towels. In February we battled out ziploc elimination. In March, I wrote 20 blog posts about less consumer packaging, and in April, we have been focused on getting the plastics out of our home.

:: We discovered that old-habits die hard. But we can develop new more eco-friendly habits like reaching for a dish rag before a paper towel.

:: We discovered green living can be expensive. Small stainless steel snack containers cost $6 each! Reusable produce bags put us back $2.20 each! Disposable plastic baggies are near free. We also discovered a new perspective: invest our health, and invest in the health of our planet. When we don’t buy the disposable, cheap plastic, and wasteful, we have more money in our budget to buy the eco-friendly investment.

:: We discovered there are many lifestyle considerations. Not every greener practice and product is for everyone. We all have limitations and need certain conveniences to simply keep our household together. We aren’t very self-sufficient any more. Specialized production has truly created an interdependence among us. Most of us simply cannot produce all that we need. We need the products and services others produce. So we need to pick and choose. What do we consume? How much do we consume? How can we consume responsibly and not degrade our planet and our personal health.

:: And we discovered we are blessed with choice. The choice to live green is in every purchase we make, every gift we give, and how we accomplish the tasks of life. There are so many on our earth who have no choice. Perhaps our choosing sustainability will help create choices for others.

And there are so many things we can still do. Thank you Hip Mountain Mama for organizing this challenge. Head over to the One Small Change blog to read about how other bloggers are choosing to live green. Happy Earth Day! One small change can make a difference.

I knew I wasn’t the original mind that came up with “getting out the plastics!” Sorry, Kitchen Stewardship, I borrowed your tag line which was stashed in the corner of my mind. Here is your credit where credit is due.

Since I am on the topic of plastics, and I was cleaning out my Google Reader, here are some great links about the hazards of plastics, and some wonderful product substitutes and techniques that can help you get the plastics out of your home.

Kitchen Stewardship :: Plastics Recap and Seek Out and Avoid Parabens

Simple Organic :: BPA, What it is, Where it is, What to do

Fake Plastic Fish :: No More Plastic Food Containers Please

And I already mentioned this one, but I think it is worth mentioning again: check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database of cosmetic ingredient lists and safety reviews. It is a great way to find out what is in your favorite beauty product.

photo by: Horia Varlan

A bit late, but One Small Change nevertheless. This month, we are endeavoring to get plastics out of our home. This is DIFFICULT. Plastics are everywhere. In the morning, I turn off my plastic alarm clock, and turn on the plastic light switch. I get in the plastic shower, grab my plastic bottle of body wash and put some on my plastic shower towel. I step out onto my plastic synthetic shower mat, and reach for my plastic tooth brush. Later I grab my plastic car keys and get in my plastic car. I grab my cloth grocery bags (ahh) and battle the stores searching for shoes made of natural materials, veggies not suffocated in plastic tubs, and play toys made from anything but plastics.

Why do we want to rid our home of plastics? Health. The health of our family and the health of our planet. Plastics contain some pretty hazardous ingredients. You have probably read a million blog posts about the health hazards of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, so I”ll not list here all the diseases and illness you can get from putting these into your body. It isn’t pretty. Just google these if you don’t want to take my word for it.

Plastics are generally not biodegradable. By not consuming as many plastics, we hope to slow our landfill contributions.

So what are we doing? So far we have:

• invested in a heirloom quality wooden play kitchen set for the kids and filled it with metal, ceramic, and wooden dishes and utensils as well as felt, and wood play foods
• switched to stainless steel snack cups and sandwich containers
• purged our kitchen of the melamine kiddie dishes, polycarbonate sippy cups, and polystyrene spoons
  
• started making natural, organic, homemade lotions, hair conditioner, hand soaps, and facial treatments
• started using biodegradable, plant-derived cleaning agent laundry detergent
• been giving away our synthetic fiber clothing
• stopped using teflon pans
• started drinking homemade kefir fermented in glass containers instead of eating yogurt in #5 plastic containers
• started purchasing paper, metal, and glass packaging over plastic packaging
• started using glass food storage containers instead of plastic

It is amazing how many plastics and petro-derived synthetic items we come in contact with each day. It is hard to know where to start to get them out of your life. Here are my top 4 pointers to help eliminate plastics from your life.

:: Start with what is closest to you ::

1. Limit the plastics you ingest.

Select a few of the suggestions below and start eliminating the plastics that touch the food and liquids that you put in your body. (Google search any of these and you’ll likely find a host of natural alternatives and recipes.)

In the kitchen: limit cling-wrap, plastic food storage containers, plastic water bottles, petro-derived soaps and dish detergents, plastic packaging containers (like salad clams, plastic milk jugs, and shrink wrapped cheeses), resealable baggies, plastic dishware and cups, teflon coated pots and pans, and plastic cooking utensils.

In the bathroom: switch from dental floss coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)[i] to dental floss coated with natural bees wax; switch from plastic tubes of toothpaste to a homemade toothpaste (just Google “toothpaste recipe”); switch from conventional mouthwashes which typically contain methylparabens[ii] (one of the parabens) to a homemade remedy (my search for “natural mouthwashes” yielded products with ingredients like poloxamer 407[iii], polysorbate-20[iv], and sodium hydroxymethylglycinate[v]. This research didn’t lead me to believe that these were very natural ingredients so I’ll be making my own.)

2. Limit the plastics and petro-chemicals you wear.

Start with purchasing new clothing made only with natural fibers like cotton, wool, linen, hemp, or silk. Limit acrylic, nylon, polyester, and lycra in your wardrobe.

Read labels and research ingredients in personal care products. Many may contain potentially, perilous, petro-derived, chemicals like parabens, phthalates (typically listed as “fragrance”), paraffin, and p-phenylenediamine. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database to find out what is in your favorite lip balm.

I like making my own personal care products at home. I know where the organic ingredients come from and what they are. Also, making small batches eliminates the need for preservatives, anti-fungal additives, or other petro-chemicals I don’t want to wear. It is expensive to start up but we don’t waste any and many of the more expensive ingredients will last us for a year. My favorite book at the moment is Organic Body Care Recipes: 175 Homeade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin & a Vibrant Self by Stephanie Tourles.

3. Limit the plastics you touch.

Goodness, it is hard to find play things that aren’t made of plastic. We invested in a wooden kitchen play set, wooden beads to string, and wooden play food, ceramic tea sets, a doll made of only natural fibers, recycled paper colored pencils, wooden jigsaw puzzles, and metal cars. Many of these items can be bought second hand or thrifted for less.

Be aware of the plastics that enter your home and try to choose items made of natural materials when you can. Appliances, carpets, paints, flooring, door pulls, cleaning tools, window treatments, furniture, stereos, all are made of plastics or may contain petro-chemical additives.

4. Limit the plastics in your living environment.

Choose to add to your home natural materials like stone, ceramics, real wood, organic fibers, wicker, copper, steel and iron. Not only will these invested pieces last more than a lifetime, they will also lend to your home a grounded, visceral, pure connection with nature. Think of the following made of natural materials: shutters, siding, roofing, lighting fixtures, plant pots, patios, and ornamental outdoor fixtures. Even though it isn’t always fiscally possible, to add these to your home would certainly be icing on the cake.

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Whew, that is a lot of plastic! Remember eliminating each little bit helps your health. And each little bit you forgo helps our planet. For more small changes to help our earth check in with Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change blog!

[ii] Pure Zing.  Veradent Aloe Vera Natural Mouthwash. http://www.purezing.com/body/body_teeth_NK_veradentmouthwash.html

[iii] Tom’s of Maine. Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash. http://www.tomsofmaine.com/products/mouthwash/product-details/anticavity-fluoride-mouthwash

[iv] Pure Zing.  Veradent Aloe Vera Natural Mouthwash. http://www.purezing.com/body/body_teeth_NK_veradentmouthwash.html

[v] Ibid.

Apologies for falling off the radar screen last week. I was having vertigo episodes all week and a doctor’s visit on Friday indicated that I had an inner-ear viral infection. I am all better now and am glad to continue with Hip Mountain Mama’s One Small Change Challenge.

So, we made it through 20 days of discussion about the paper and plastic packaging we throw away each day. Virtually everything we consume is contained in some kind of packaging. Packaging is usually something we don’t need. So we toss it out with the trash, recycling, or the compost. It’s extra.

How much extra do we consumers throw away each year? A lot.

In 2008, containers and packaging made up 30.8 percent of the waste (by weight) generated in the United States. That would be 153.2 billion pounds per year. 86.4 billion pounds ended up in landfills or the incinerator, though 67 billion pounds were recovered.[i]

Although these numbers are seemingly huge, I’d say they are a touch deceiving. Since these waste calculations are by weight, and plastics are light, petro-packaging didn’t really get the spotlight in the landfill battle they deserve.

In 2008, Americans tossed out 61.1 billion pounds of plastic disposables, containers, packaging materials, and durables. Only 4.2 billion pounds, or about 7.1 percent, was recycled. That means a huge 55.86 billion pounds of plastics ended up in our landfills and incinerators.

Plastics are pretty light weight but their volume is rather large. According to the International Bottled Water Association, an average plastic water bottle weighed 13.83 grams in 2007.[ii] Think 33 water bottles together weight 1 pound. And although recycling rates regarding plastic water bottles are increasing, in 2008, it was like 1.84 trillion plastic water bottles found their way to our landfills. [iii] I can’t even fathom how big that is.

So how do we toss out less? How do we consume less? And how do we waste less?

Here are my 7 think tips to help you make your next purchase:

1. Think critically about the decision to buy and don’t be overly influenced by mass media and advertisements.  Is the item disposable, does it contain excessive packaging, is there an eco-friendly alternative?

2. Think about lifestyle. Will this purchase help promote a greener, healthier lifestyle? Or are there lifestyle considerations like a limited budget or time restrictions that mean the less eco-friendly product is simply the best choice?

3. Can I make an investment today to preserve my health and the planet tomorrow? Quality and sustainability are pricey, but longevity means consuming less.

4. Are there eco-friendly substitutes that work well with my lifestyle, and promote my eco-aware values? Will making the item from scratch at home prevent excessive packaging from being tossed in the trash?

5. Will home crafted, or purchased, reusable packaging decrease the packaging that I purchase? Mesh produce bags cut down the number of plastic bags in landfills.

6. Is this product vitally necessary? Can we do without? What does this mean for the environment?

7. Technology can help sometimes. Is there a technological tool that can help preserve the environment?

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you as you make your next purchase. I believe all it takes is a bit of awareness. Not every supremely eco-friendly product is going to jive with your lifestyle or your budget. But consuming intelligently and keenly will help prevent unnecessary paper and plastic packaging from a long afterlife in the land fill.

Since beginning this 20 day discussion about packaging our family has:

• severely cut the amount of single-serving size packaging we purchase
• invested in reusable produce bags and saved 25 plastic bags from going to the landfill in just 3 weeks
  
• switched to purchasing milk in glass containers
• baked cookies at home instead of purchasing the packaged kind from the store
• started making body lotions, hair conditioners, and body oils at home instead of buying them in plastic containers
• placed a bulk order for grass-fed beef and pork from a local farmer (no Styrofoam packaging here)
• purchased and talked with family about gifting sustainable heirloom quality toys for the kids and limiting the disposable play things that enter our home
• invested in the glass container, or recycled paper carton packaged product and then used less of it
  

The last item was the “ah ha” moment for me. Organic is more expensive. Green is more costly. Wow, preserving our earth is pricey! My solution, we use less. We eat more veggies and less meat because the latter is expensive and more packaging intensive. Organic sugar is twice as expensive as conventional. So we eat less refined sugar. Biodegradable laundry detergent is costly. So we wear clothing a second time if it isn’t dirty and we do less laundry. Do we really need to consume that much? Do we really need that many…especially when there are some who have none? Perhaps responsible consumption is the best way to preserve our environment.

It is my hope that I might be able to open one mind out there to the impact their purchases have on our precious earth; both in preserving and diminishing the health of our planet.

“Here is to you Little Miss and Mini Mister. It is my hope you grow old with a clean earth and in a future filled with the gifts of nature intended for everyone.”

[ii] International Bottled Water Association. “Bottled Water Containers Now the Single Most Recycled Item in Curbside Programs.” press release February 19, 2009. http://www.bottledwater.org/content/bottled-water-containers-now-single-most-recycled-item-curbside-programs

[iii] Ibid.

I thought I’d end these 20 days of packaging with a simple one; a bulk food, rice. As an Asian family, and one that is gluten-free, we eat a fair amount of rice. I like to prepare different rices to accompany different dishes. Basmati, jasmine, sweet white, glutinous or sticky rice (different gluten than wheat gluten), long-grain brown, short grain white for sushi, wild, and arborio all grace our table from time to time. The trick, is minimizing the packaging.

Although I could purchase some of our rice from bulk bins and use reuse-able sacks, I have been warned of gluten-cross-contamination and therefore, I skip most bulk bins. I also prepare so many different kinds of rice so I prefer to purchase smaller quantities to preserve freshness.

We purchase the Korean sticky rice in a 20 lb or a 50 lb paper sack. Other rice varieties come in a plastic bag. The plastic bag you see above actually indicates that the company eliminated the resealable “zip” to save plastic. Very green. Other varieties are packaged in plastic containers, glass jars, and even in burlap or nylon sacks. But I think the name of the game here is bulk. Throw away less with (1) one 20 lb paper sack than with (10) 2lb plastic bags. And if you can, use the bulk bin, use your own reuseable fabric sack and throw out zero packaging!

Thank you all for sticking around through 20 days of discussions about packaging. It is sometimes life-changing to step back for a minute and examine our purchasing decisions and see how much packaging we consume. I am working on a round-up post so stay tuned. In the mean time, check out the One Small Change blog that started this discussion to take a peek at what others are doing to green their lifestyle.

I am not an expert in this area, never having owned a feline. So I’ll take an author’s stance as a novice. Since I have no experience scooping anything cat related, I’ll simply talk about what you buy, and what you toss out.

Walking through my local big-box store searching out inspiration for these 20 days of packaging I happened upon the pet section. Oh, what throw-aways we have here! Tin cans of doggie food, plastic bags of kitty food, plastic containers of fish food, Pepto-pink chinchilla bedding, and throw-away bird cage liners. But I appointed kitty litter to be the topic of packaging day 19.

There seemed to be a lot of kitty litter choices out there, some natural seeming and some that certainly did not come from nature. The first type of kitty litter is made of wheat and is biodegradable and flush-able. The second is made of blue silica gel crystals which seem sort of, mysterious. Shall we discuss?

The wheat kitty litter is packaged in a cardboard box with a plastic handle. Inside the litter product is made from wheat. Scooped litter and extras are biodegradable and can be composted to be used in non-vegetable gardens. Or flush it away; the company states it is sewer and septic safe. No more dumping this kitty litter in the landfill.

The blue crystals come in a plastic resealable baggie. The contents are made of silica gel that absorbs moisture and and added fragrance. The company website notes the scoop aways are not flush-able and this product is not biodegradable, but, it complies with most landfill requirements. What does that mean–”most landfill requirements?” Okay, just a tangential thought…I’ll not go into that here. So, in the end, all of what is IN the plastic baggie, AND the plastic baggie end up in the land-fill. Hummm…aren’t there enough other things to fill our landfills?

The packaging winner here? The recycle-able cardboard box is a bonus, but the biodegradable wheat product that is inside is better for our earth. That is just a kitty-novice opinion!

Personally, I grew up with dogs…and a huge forest and hay field. The dogs just did their thing where they wanted. No scooping. So if there are feline parents out there I’d love to hear how do you address this situation? Are there financial or lifestyle choices you make when considering kitty-litter products and the environment? As a non-pet owner I’d like to know.

Oh, and another aside…one of the things that shocked me most as a novice kitty litter investigator was the warning on the 35 pound pails advising parents to take care children don’t fall into the bucket of litter and suffocate. YIKES. Can you keep this one on the top shelf out of reach of children?

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One more day and then a wrap up of 20 days of packaging discussions! Stay tuned.

We recently purchased a new vacuum. A fairly expensive one because I had some bad allergies that required OTC medicine daily. I don’t like taking medicine. I don’t like to vacuum either, but I like it more than taking pills. This one works. No more itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and I can finally sleep through the night!

We went to a department store to get our new appliance and Ohhh the choices. It was like being the cereal aisle. And I didn’t know where to start. Wanting to be a bit eco-conscious, we decided upon this one because there is little waste. Bag-less. And no replaceable filter. Simply rinse out the one that comes with the machine with cold water, let air dry for 24 hours, and use it again. Now the stuff that this baby sucks up is another story. It is pretty efficient and I end up tossing out quite a bit of really yucky stuff. I suppose we could compost it, or let it biodegrade outside in a quiet corner but I put it in the trash. (How do you dispose of vacuum cleaner lint? Or dryer lint for that matter?)

If you want to count the packaging that we received when we purchased this vacuum, well that would be:

• a few plastic bags
• styrofoam spacers
• and a cardboard box big enough for my 2-year-old.

So much waste! Perhaps the answer to less packaging here is the keep your vacuum longer. Yes, you could buy a used vacuum with no packaging from a second hand store or the like, but people usually make this purchase once a decade or so and want a product with longevity. And maybe a good warranty. So buy a vacuum that has a quality reputation and you wouldn’t have to bring home another huge box filled with plastic and styrofoam for another 1o years. Who knows, maybe in 10 years companies will be thinking more about eco-friendly packaging, i.e. LESS.

I count us among the lucky to be able to afford this vacuum and the ability to throw away less. I calculated 16 months of allergy medication would pay for this vacuum. Perhaps in the long run, this vacuum will save us money because we don’t have to buy bags that run $4-$10 each. Why is it that green-living and healthy lifestyles cost so much? You’d think that less consumption would cost less. Interesting.

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Only two more days of packaging discussion! I kind of can’t believe it myself! Stay tuned for a round up of all the packaging conundrums discussed here and some “consume-less” pointers to take with you to the store…or the Internet if you are like me and shop on-line! Happy Monday to you!

I remember watching my father doing dishes when I was a kid. He used a square pale orange sponge. It came in a flat package and when soaked for the first time it miraculously grew ten times larger. My friends’ families always used those brightly colored sponges with the big holes. I liked the way they bubbled so. And now, I use those cellulose sponges with that scratchy green thing on the back. Though after researching this post, I think there is a switch in our family’s future.

Today there are so many dish-washing sponge alternatives that deter bacteria. Some are made of recycled plastics and some are hand crocheted made from eco-friendly organic cotton yarn. But today I’ll write about a package of sponges you can purchase in the same big-box store I have been talking about in a pessimistic tone all these weeks.

Many traditional sponges are made of cellulose wood fibers or foamed plastic polymers. After a short life as a small bacteria farm, they are tossed into the trash and buried in our landfills, only to endure an after-life of an unknown number of years, still growing bacteria. Yuck.

I just found a very famous brand line of “Greener Clean Products” made of biodegradable, recycled, and natural materials. The package I picked up says the sponge is biodegradable. So, no long land-fill stint in purgatory here!

The packaging…ah yes…plastic and plastic. The more sponges you purchase…the more plastic you purchase. Maybe crocheting your own dish-washing implement is the less-packaging-winner here.

But in terms of what is inside the plastic, the biodegradable sponge wins out; that is, if you have a compost. (The company’s website actually says that the landfill is not an acceptable compost environment, and the sponge will not break down.) But wouldn’t an organic cotton crocheted dish-washing cloth also compost? Okay, I need to learn to crochet, or meet someone who does know. Off to wash some dishes.

Wow. Does this packaging picture even need a spirited satirical post to colorfully illustrate this inevitable landfill misfortune? Probably not, but I press on indubitably sounding redundant.

I picked this baby up, post holiday-season on sale for about $7. That is a lot of landfill junk for only $7. I have a feeling, eventually all of this is going to end up smooshed, torn to bits, ripped apart, broken, and tossed out with the trash. Perhaps a few bits might find a lucky ending in the recycle bin and to be generously granted a second life.

Why do companies make things like this? Is it to skew the way consumers perceive value? More and bigger equal better. Lower dollar signs equal better. At what cost?

What kind of legacy are we building for our children to inherit? Will this be an heirloom toy? Hardly. Do we perceive heirloom quality to be too pricey? Perhaps. But is not spending $7 on junkie toys going too far out of our way to preserve our earth? Absolutely not.

I just began to think about the future of the toys I purchase. It is difficult to have far-sighted vision when standing in that toy aisle, whether it be in a big-box store or the thrift store. Like my children, I just want it. Awww, what a cute, well, you name it. But try for a moment to envision building a meaningful collection of play things that encourage fun creativity today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. Is that a vision you would invest in? Personally, I would.