Making A Green Home

Sometimes I get scared over the state of the world—the food shortages, the climate change. The problems seem overwhelming, the solutions out of reach. When that happens I try to look at my part of the puzzle, what impact I have in the situation. I’m a little late for Earth Day, but I’ve been wanting to write about my efforts to be greener and more sustainable in my home. Because if we don’t care for the earth, where are we going to get our food?

Here's a little of what I've been up to.

For the past year or so I’ve become obsessed with the idea of landfill.

I realize that this is an odd thing to be obsessed with. Many people don’t think about where their garbage goes—for many years I was one of them. I recycle faithfully, and the rest of the trash gets trucked away every Wednesday morning and not given another thought. We pay people to whisk these things out of sight. That’s how the system works.

But then you look at the figures: the average American produces 4.6 pounds of solid waste each day. That means the city of Seattle generates over two million pounds of waste daily; San Francisco nearly three and a half million pounds; and New York adds nearly ninety million pounds (based roughly on 2006 census numbers). And that’s not including the suburbs. Where is all that junk going?

For that past year or two I’ve been taking stock of what products I use, what waste I generate, and considering what changes I could make. The good news is that the changes are pretty easy, some of them are even fun.

FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS



I’ve recently switched my food storage from plastic to glass—to get away from using disposable containers and also to sidestep the worrisome things I’ve been reading about storing—and especially reheating—your food in plastic. Whether you believe the articles or not, I figure it’s just easier to avoid the issue. Glass is more durable and will last for years.

I grew up using the Luminarc jam jars, pictured above, for storage of halves of lemons and bits of leftover tomato sauce, and I really love them. The lids fit well and don’t lose their secure fit, even over time (my mom’s had hers for over twenty years) and they just look pretty in the fridge. These come in two sizes, short (show here) and tall (good for leftovers). For years I bought mine at Crate & Barrel, but you can often find them at health food stores. I also see them at thrift stores these days, for about $.69 each.



For storing larger leftovers I did some research and ultimately purchased a set of Pyrex containers (the round ones above are filled with frozen leftover Moroccan lamb stew). They’re glass with a plastic top and can be used for baking, freezing, and reheating in a microwave or oven. They are available in most hardware stores and large outlets such as Target. I’ve been really happy with these. The square and rectangle-sized containers means you can bake a casserole or roast vegetables in them and then just snap on a lid for easy storage. There’s no messing about with plastic wrap or tin foil—and nothing to throw away later.

SOAPS AND LOTIONS



Once I started looking at containers I realized how many of them we use. When I was a kid we washed our hands with bars of soap, but these days there’s a container of liquid soap in my bathroom. That’s another piece of plastic I don’t need. So I bought a cute soap dish and went back to bars of soap for hand washing, and I found a local soap company that uses minimal packaging.

Giving up my favorite bodywash was a bit harder—I will admit that. But again, it’s a plastic container I don’t need. Instead I found an organic bar soap that smells so divine it makes me want to wake up in the morning just so I can use it. A year later I’m now giving up that soap in favor of a local company. I figured I don’t need to have my soap shipped from New York when I can support a Seattle company that sells their products at my Sunday farmers’ market.

I’ve also switched to buying my lotion in bulk and using a glass dispenser in the bathroom. Many health food stores offer soaps and lotions in bulk (I get mine at Central Market in Seattle). The side benefit of this is that I now have pretty soap dishes and glass containers on my bathroom counter, which look a lot nicer than plastic.

Another eco-friendly bathroom thing I do is to use olive oil instead of shaving cream or foam. Now, before you think I’ve gone off my rocker I will say this was not my crazy idea. I read it in Real Simple magazine and it actually works great (with the added bonus of not having to moisturize your legs; it does make the bathtub a little slippery). When I think about all the aerosol cans of shaving cream that get tossed each year, I’m really happy with olive oil, which is a natural and renewable product. Please note that I do not use my favorite cold pressed Bariani olive oil for such things. I have a supermarket brand for that.

KITCHEN AND LAUNDRY SOAP



The hardest thing for me thus far was giving up my laundry detergent—I'm very picky about how my laundry smells. I once nearly fell in love with a guy because I loved the smell of his laundry detergent; every time I saw him I just wanted to cuddle. When he moved away he gave me his half-used bottle of detergent to remember him by.

My mother’s friend Liza has been on my case for several years about giving up my laundry detergent. She has done a lot of research, after falling sick and developing chemical sensitivities, and told me that most detergents have cancer-causing ingredients in them. I resisted for a few years but finally went out and bought a bottle of Seventh Generation laundry detergent. The following passage was printed on the back of the bottle:

“If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 100 oz. petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with our 100 oz. vegetable-based product, we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year.”

That got me.

I used Seventh Generation for a while, then switched to Ecos (another vegetable-based product) because I prefer the scents they offer (Magnolia and Lily is my favorite). I do use Seventh Generation’s dish soap (Lemongrass and Clementine scent) and I love it. I was recently in a situation where I found myself washing dishes with a mainstream dish soap that was so heavily fragranced and bright green that it creeped me out a little. I don’t think I could ever go back.

I've switched my dishwashing machine soap—for the rare occasion that I actually use my dishwasher—from liquid to powder because the packaging is more biodegradable (a cardboard box vs. plastic bottle). I'm trying to make the jump to powdered laundry soap. I'm going to try this one, next time I run out.

INSULATED MUGS AND SHOPPING BAGS

Living in coffee-loving Seattle, I am a bit horrified to see the amount of paper cups the local population goes through each day. I’m not a coffee drinker myself, but I do love tea. A few years ago I made a New Year’s resolution that I wouldn’t use disposable cups any longer, but would invest in an insulated mug and use that instead. I can’t say that I’ve never used a paper cup since then, but about 98% of the time I have my mug with me (I do have to remember to wash it out when I get home).

When I moved to Seattle I bought a new bag, as I wanted to take my laptop to cafes to work there, and it has a nifty side pocket where my mug lives. It takes a slight amount of effort, but when I think of all the paper cups I’ve managed not to use—and thereby not to throw away—over the past six years, it makes me really happy.

Naturally, I also gave up bottled water long ago. Giving up bubbly water for special occasions took some effort. I sometimes think about getting a seltzer siphon.



A year after I resolved not to use paper cups I decided to get rid of paper and plastic bags as well and to bring my own reusable bags to the store. I remember when I lived in Austria almost everyone brought their own bag—or cute little basket—and if you didn’t you had to pay for the store bags. I keep some in my car, others on a hook near the front door. I’m rarely without at least a few reusable bags. I am sure many of you are the same.

Over the years I’ve had a series of canvas and cotton bags—always very functional, never very attractive. Then, a month or so ago, Molly and Brandon brought back cute shopping bags from Europe and I was lucky enough to get one as a gift. Brandon warned me that I’d get compliments on the bag and he’s right—every time I take it out someone says how much they like it. Why had I never thought of shopping bags as fashion accessories before?



Now I’m on the hunt for cute shopping bags. I adore this one, and this is pretty cute as well. I bought one of these as a gift for a friend and she liked it. And I recently found a brand called Oil Cloth Brand bags, which doesn’t seem to have a website but they hit the trifecta for me: a long shoulder strap (my preference and hard to find), waterproof material, and cute patterns. I found a few at City People’s Mercantile in Seattle, but I’m on the lookout for more stores that carry this brand.

SHOPPING IN BULK

I grew up shopping in health food stores, so buying my dried foods in the bulk section is second nature for me. It really does cut down on packaging—instead of getting my quinoa packaged in a both a box and a plastic liner, I scoop as much as I want into a plastic bag, write the appropriate code for the item, and have the clerk weigh it for me. Once I get home, all the grains and beans and flours go into glass containers (these are from Ikea).



I buy my spices in bulk as well. This allows me to buy as much or as little as I want. I also buy my tea in bulk. I know loose tea may not work for all people or all situations, but you get better tea when you buy it loose and the amount of packaging involved in tea bags makes me want to use them sparingly. I love my Bee House teapot, which was a gift from friends, and that tiny bag of my current favorite herbal—Safari Sunset by the Republic of Tea—will last me for a few weeks. It’s also a lot cheaper and produces a better product than buying a box of tea bags. I still do use tea bags on occasion ( I like a few herbals that are only available bagged), but I am trying to wean myself mostly off them.



For coffee drinkers looking to cut down on paper filter use, there are reusable coffee filters. I have one of these for camping trips and the feedback has been good, but I guess you have to weigh the fact that the paper filters decompose and the reusable filters don’t.

Another thing I’ve been trying to do with my bulk good shopping is to reuse the bags and twist ties. When I get home I simply dump my grains into their glass containers and put the bags and twist ties back into my shopping bag. Then, the next time I go shopping I have a ready supply. I cross out the item code from the first use and write in the new code and am able to get up to twelve uses out of them before I run out of space completely. You may think it’s silly to be concerned at this level—it’s a feakin’ twist tie—but I think small efforts, repeated over years, can make a difference.

COMPOSTING

I’ve also been composting, which takes most food waste and some paper (napkins, paper towels, etc) out of my garbage. This is a topic that really deserves a post of it’s own. I will say though, with composting, recycling, and the other efforts above, I’ve reduced my garbage output to one shopping bag of trash every other week. Seriously, I’ve been known to put out the garbage for collection only once a month (with composting there is no food waste in the garbage so it doesn’t smell). That makes me feel pretty good.

I’m certainly no perfect environmentalist—I don’t hang my laundry to dry, I'm not eager to give up my toothpaste for baking soda, and I wince when I think of all the metal Altoids containers I am contributing to landfill (note to Altoids company: please sell in bulk), but I am making an effort to look at my impact and reduce it.

I don’t write this to seem all preachy or holier than thou. I just wanted to share some of the ways I’m trying to channel my concern into productive measures that—I believe—are increasingly necessary for our population to to move forward. I’d love to hear about any greening efforts other people are making—feel free to leave ideas or reports in the comments.

The only way we’re going to get through this is together.