Yesterday, I spent a bit of time roaming around some of my favorite places on the internet, to see what was up on Earth Day. I found all sorts of ideas, challenges and attitudes about the whole green movement. Over at playful noshings, I found a link to Catalyst Magazine. Rebecca Brenner has a wonderful piece about "greenwashing" (sadly, related to brainwashing...) and includes some great recipes for DIY cleaning products.
I also took a look through my files of magazine tear outs. Last April's issue of Real Simple magazine had an article on back-to-basics cleaning, and I was delighted to find that glycerin really does help remove old wax on candlesticks! (I think I bought the magazine because the cover was so lovely. I really am trying to keep most catalogs and magazines out of my house these days.)
Bea, over at The Zero Waste Home is very ambitious. She has great ideas on how to manage all the stuff that life throws at us.
Fix it Friday continues over at maya*made, where readers are challenged to make repairs themselves or call in a repairperson before throwing something out. I must confess, I tried to replace the washers on my bathroom sink and was not successful. But I tried. And now I am looking for other things to fix!
I sometimes like to use a dry mop to tidy up my kitchen at night, or round up some of Henry's fur under the dining room table. The "refills" for these dusters are disposable and come in cardboard boxes that must be recycled. Lately I've been using washable micro fiber cloths instead. They are a little more bulky than the disposables, but they work just fine.
I knit organic cotton yarn into dish towels to give as gifts to some of my kids for the winter holidays. Recently, I used up some leftover yarn to make one for myself (see above). They are super absorbent and soft to the touch.
I still struggle with the BIG environmental questions in my life...like maintaining two homes, and the fuel we use to drive back and forth. This is a temporary situation, and once we are up in Vermont full time, our footprint will be much smaller...but this still troubles me. We belong to several environmental groups and support them as generously as we can. And we've worked hard to raise some environmentalists of our own...one of them may even be a bit rabid! :-)
So, gentle readers, every day is Earth Day in my mind...I try to be aware of the choices I make on a daily basis. Sometimes I am better at this than others. It's a work in process, for sure.
How about you?
I also took a look through my files of magazine tear outs. Last April's issue of Real Simple magazine had an article on back-to-basics cleaning, and I was delighted to find that glycerin really does help remove old wax on candlesticks! (I think I bought the magazine because the cover was so lovely. I really am trying to keep most catalogs and magazines out of my house these days.)
Bea, over at The Zero Waste Home is very ambitious. She has great ideas on how to manage all the stuff that life throws at us.
Fix it Friday continues over at maya*made, where readers are challenged to make repairs themselves or call in a repairperson before throwing something out. I must confess, I tried to replace the washers on my bathroom sink and was not successful. But I tried. And now I am looking for other things to fix!
I sometimes like to use a dry mop to tidy up my kitchen at night, or round up some of Henry's fur under the dining room table. The "refills" for these dusters are disposable and come in cardboard boxes that must be recycled. Lately I've been using washable micro fiber cloths instead. They are a little more bulky than the disposables, but they work just fine.
I knit organic cotton yarn into dish towels to give as gifts to some of my kids for the winter holidays. Recently, I used up some leftover yarn to make one for myself (see above). They are super absorbent and soft to the touch.
I still struggle with the BIG environmental questions in my life...like maintaining two homes, and the fuel we use to drive back and forth. This is a temporary situation, and once we are up in Vermont full time, our footprint will be much smaller...but this still troubles me. We belong to several environmental groups and support them as generously as we can. And we've worked hard to raise some environmentalists of our own...one of them may even be a bit rabid! :-)
So, gentle readers, every day is Earth Day in my mind...I try to be aware of the choices I make on a daily basis. Sometimes I am better at this than others. It's a work in process, for sure.
How about you?
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteYour dish towel was on knitting needles when I last saw it - it looks yummy and soft. I am only a beginner environmentalist, but we do recycle, I am becoming more aware of wasting energy, and I try to clean with "green" and natural products! but you are an inspiration, my friend!
There is that collective consciousness thing again! Just as I was clicking over to your blog, I was wondering, "where did I see that article on homemade cleaning products?" It was in the Catalyst magazine! How unlikely that you way out East would be posting about a local to me Utah magazine? Kinda blows my mind, uh huh:) Thanks for jogging my memory for me!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh i get to be rabid!
ReplyDeleteYay for guerilla farming!
You are to be commended for making the effort to modify your activities for the benefit of our environment.
ReplyDeleteyou have a really great talent for color coordination and
ReplyDeletearrangement, like your Gram L.
EKL