Going Green in Comfort

© Mpalis |  Dreamstime Stock Photos  &  Stock Free Images Balancing my checkbook is a chore for me. Once a month or so, I'll print out the list of everything that has gone through my account and reconcile my register with what the bank says I have. Because I put off this task, printing my statement takes several pages. This past weekend, I printed more pages than I ever have: a whopping 12 pages of debits and credits. I was shocked it took that many pages and I felt guilty for — let's just call it what it is — wasting that much paper. But when you wait three, four, five weeks or so to see where your checkbook stands, it helps to have a printout to cross off items you've already noted or circle items you can't remember making. That got me thinking: I need to do my checkbook more often. Oh, it's a thought I've had before, but this was the first time I realized that I don't need to fire up my computer to balance my checkbook. My bank app makes acce...

Earlier this year, I wrote about going shampoo-free to reduce my use of chemicals and to eliminate plastic shampoo bottles in my garbage. My experiment lasted about a month, but I just could not figure out how to stop my hair from looking oily. My plan was to figure out the best way to go water-only, then teach my daughter and husband the same techniques. © Aleksask |  Dreamstime Stock Photos  &  Stock Free Images   But over time, as I struggled to figure out what tips and tricks might get that icky greasy look out of my hair, I’ve added regular old shampoo back into my morning routine. It started off small, just adding a few drops of my daughter’s shampoo onto my head and working it into a lather about once a week. Then it became every other day, and now I’m back to every day. So much for water-only. I might try it again someday, but in the meantime, I have another plan: Organic shampoo bars. I first learned they existed just this past weekend while ...

One day last week as I putting away my groceries, I learned a little something about Aldi . There, on the side of the bag I had purchased was a notice that the bag was made from 100 percent recycled material and is 100 percent recyclable. I’ve been using those bags for several months now, and that was the first time I had paid attention to what was written on it. It’s just one of many reasons I enjoy shopping at Aldi. About eight or nine years ago when the grocery chain opened its first location near me, I visited its website and learned a little about ways the chain tries to minimize its impact on the environment , from the way the stores are built to having LED lights at all locations and using solar energy at some. I don’t know a thing about the environmental policy of other major retailers I patronize, and it occurred to me recently that I probably should. So that’s on my to-do list: Find out which stores actively work to reduce their carbon footprint and make adjustm...