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Simple things moms can do to be green (really!)
Contributed by: Melissa Caddell on 4/15/2008

Simple things moms can do to be green (really!)

You look at the water bottle you just drained. You could recycle it. But the recycling bins are way in the garage and you have a toddler clutching your knees. So, you toss it into the trash, vowing to recycle next time.

Saving the planet can feel like one more overwhelming item on your to-do list, but what if I told you that there are things you can do every day that would make an impact on the planet and have some shorter-term mommy benefits, too. It's true! Read on...

Reduce

It is no surprise to anyone that we buy and use a lot of stuff. Some of it is necessary, certainly, but we can make greener choices. Even changing one small thing can make a big impact.

--I was startled one day to realize that I had used four plastic baggies for my daughter's lunch. I started counting through a week, a month, and a year of school lunches and decided to put items into reusable containers as much as possible. Is it sometimes a hassle to find the right lid with the right bowl, yes, but I feel good with every baggie I don't use.

--Did you know that 8 out of 10 water bottles end up in a landfill? And that most of those are 100% recyclable? On average, you will personally use 166 water bottles this year. Yikes! Find a cute reusable one and let the kids pick one, too. Even washing and reusing a bottle a few times will help cut down on how many end up in the trash.

--You are gonna love this one. Don't rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Really. The dishwashers in most homes do a great job without it and only use 4-6 gallons of water. By scraping your dishes instead of rinsing them, you save up to 20 gallons of water.

This was hard for me to do, so I baby-stepped my way there. I started by seeing how long I could keep the water off as I loaded the dishwasher, and just using a splash of water when I couldn't stand it anymore. Every day, I became better at trusting that my dishwasher could get the dishes clean. Yes, sometimes I have to re-wash a dish by hand, but not nearly as much as I thought I would.

Recycle

It may take a little set-up so you are more likely to do it, but recycling is an easy way to put stuff back into the swimming pool of resources. Some communities have single-stream recycling (where you can just put everything into one container), but most companies require you to do some sorting first.

--To make it easier, I have two small trashcans side-by-side. One is for actual trash; one is for anything we can recycle. (Note: it is important to know what your trash company can recycle, so contact them to be sure. Ditto for finding out if containers have to be rinsed out or not.) Every few days, our kids take the recycle trashcan out to the recycling bins in the garage and sort them. I was a little overwhelmed when we started recycling, but now it is a habit. Start with one thing to recycle and go from there. Paper alone accounts for about one-third of trash, and that's an easy one to start with as it doesn't need to be rinsed or sorted.

Reuse

These tips will save you money-some green for the planet and for you!

--Reuse grocery store bags for trashcan liners. Reuse shipping packaging. Become a creative re-user of things (but only keep what is actually useful-otherwise, recycle it).

--Instead of buying things new, buy as much as you can used and sell or give away your used stuff, keeping it out of the landfill. Websites like craigslist and freecycle are great places to get or get rid of something. Think consignment shops for the kids clothes and toys. You may be surprised by the quality and delighted that both you and the planet got a great deal on it!

There are green ideas everywhere. Maybe you can start or join a carpool to work or preschool, or switch all your light bulbs to an energy efficient type. Just pick one thing to try and see how good it feels to cross "save the planet" off your list!


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Melissa Caddell
posted on 7/15/2008 @ 8:31:30 PM
(Not Rated)
I'd love to hear if someone has incorporated any of these ideas! Let me know!
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Melissa Caddell

Highlands Ranch , CO

Melissa Caddell has posted 2 stories and 1 comment since joining on 11/9/2005. Melissa Caddell 's average story rating is 5.
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