Group Discussions

What is your family doing to be more environmentally friendly?

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  So everyone is talking about going green lately. This year our little household decided to start doing it's bit in being more environmentally friendly.
  
  What do you think about "going green"? If you've also taken the plunge to start being more environmentally friendly, what are some of the things that you've been doing?
  
  Here are some of the things we've been doing:
  1. We've started recycling all of our plastic, glass, and paper.
  2. We started using these really neat cloth reusable shopping bags instead of using plastic bags.
  3. Doing little things around the house to conserve more energy like buying energy saver bulbs, doing only large loads of laundry, filling the dishwasher all the way.
  4. Shopping for household products at an environmentally friendly store.
  
  I look forward to picking up some new ideas from everyone!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by MommyOFtwo on 17th August 2008
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  That's really great, I completely commend you for doing this. Being more green is something I really want us to do and something that we definitely don't focus on. We do recycle and after just moving to our new house we replaced all light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. But I know we can do more. I am going to prioritize learning about environmentally-friendly products that we can substitute in for what we already use.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 17th August 2008
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  Absolutely. This will really blow you ladies away. http://www.ToxicBrew.COM
  
  Go to Google and type in MSDS and the name of any household products in your home now. The warnings show why we NEED to all go green. 1 in 2 now get cancer.... HOW SAD is that?!?
  
  Linda/CMAS, BS, RN

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by BizNurse on 18th August 2008
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  Hey Linda,
  
  I've watched that Toxic Brew DVD and it's FRIGHTENING how little we know about the products we use in our home. I wish every mom could see that documentary! If we were only more aware of those kinds of things we could change the entire future of the health of our children.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by MommyOFtwo on 18th August 2008
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  It is really shocking to discover the nasty things in the products we use all day every day! I also found info on another site, Skin Deep, which deals specifically with skincare & cosmetic products: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothank s=1 . You can plug in a brand name or product you use and find out it's rating on a hazards list. SCARY!
  
  My family is doing the following to start becoming green:
  1. Switching to safer, naturally derived cleaning, laundry, and personal care products.
  2. Reducing the use of plastic bags by using fabric shopping bags.
  3. Recycling plastic, cans, and paper.
  4. Purchasing items that are from recycled content (including garage sale bargains!)
  5. Simply unplugging things we don't use often, using more efficient lightbulbs, and keeping lights turned off during the day.
  
  That's only a basic start for us. We will begin incorporating rain barrels into our house drainage system to reduce our water usage and bill. We will also build a compost bin to reduce our outgoing waste and improve our small garden's production! We are also considering installing solar panels on our house in the next 2-3 years.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by thequeenmommy on 18th August 2008
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  I love this topic and am always looking for more ways to live "green." My familiy recycles plastic, glass & paper - so easy with the bins that can go next to the trash cans. I have a couple of bags in the car that are perfect for grocery shopping - one is made from recycled soda bottles. We use only Arbonne personal care items - recyclable packaging, botanically based ingredients - no animal testing or animal ingredients. We love to re-purpose things we find either around the house or at garage sales. My daughter thinks it's cool to shop at the thrift store (she's 7 and it's an adventure finding something cute in her size for only $1.00). I've been thinking about getting the re-usable sandwich bags for my daughter's lunch box - has anyone else tried these? I'm afraid they'll get lost at school, but the amount of plastic I go through for lunches is out of control.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kit Kingsley Basler on 18th August 2008