Going Green in Comfort

When I was in college, I used to go for drives to clear my head before I had a paper to do or before I sat down to study. The school I attended was three hours from my hometown, so, especially at first, I would just marvel at the landscape. The area where I grew up was full of trees and tall hills; the landscape surrounding college was, by comparison, incredibly flat. Any elevations were smaller, "rolling," I believe is the term most often used. Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels It was on one of those drives that I saw a most unusual hill. It was taller and in kind of a pyramid shape, unlike the other rolling ones in the area. Squares of sod grass covered it, which was obvious as each square seemed to be a different shade of green. This, I could tell, was not a natural feature of the landscape. As I wondered what is was and why it was there, I saw a sign that told me all I needed to know; this behemoth out in the middle of the prairie was the county landfill. Buri...

Recycle or upcycle My daughter and her second-grade classmates recently learned a little about recycling and got to do a little upcycling in the process. The assignment: Turn discarded items you find around the home into something useful. My daughter’s idea: A tin-can “robot army” that functions as a desk organizer. Because a person can use only so many pens and pencils, my husband and I recommended that she scale it down to a single pencil holder, but we both agreed that making it look like a robot would be adorable. She created a face on a circle of cardboard and made robot “feet” out of the bays of an egg carton. She drew start and stop buttons onto used paper, and cut slivers of cardboard and glued them on the side to look like arms. In the end, it looked very little like a robot, and, to be honest, if I were to go to the store and buy a pencil holder, I’d choose one that looked a lot more generic than what she created (though, once the one she made comes b...

FreeRangeStock.com My iPhone 6s has had a few problems lately. The battery seems to run down a lot faster, and occasionally, the phone locks up and I have to reboot it. For now, those are both problems I can live with. But I have a feeling I might need to start thinking about getting a new one soon. I'm so glad to see that these days, there are tons of places to recycle a smartphone. That wasn't always the case. But now, I can drop a used phone off at Best Buy or other locations, or I can mail it to several websites for a little extra cash. There's even an ATM machine at our local mall that I can drop it in and get a like $15 back. I just love that so many places are making recycling outdated technology simpler!

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...

(Photo by Chotthanin Udomwariyawat / FreeRangeStock.com ) Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, having a baby six years ago didn't bring financial disaster to my husband and me. We got many necessities (and a few non-essentials) at the baby shower, and we have received tons of hand-me-downs my oldest niece had outgrown and a very generous collection of garage-sale finds from one of my best friends. Within months of my daughter's birth, we, too, we're amassing a pile of out-grown clothes and things our daughter had outgrown. I had no idea what to do with them all. At first, we put them back, thinking maybe, just maybe, another baby might come along. When that didn't happen within the first couple of years, I started thinking about what to do. Thankfully, my younger sister soon had a daughter of her own, and everything I had that was still usable found a new home. I know passing along clothing, especially among people with growing children, is a commo...

(Photo by Jack Moreh / Freerangestock.com ) One day last week, I came across a YouTube video of Native American elder Oren R. Lyons speaking about being responsible to future generations. (You can view the video at the bottom of this post.) “Seventh generation reminds you that you have responsibility to generations that are coming,” he says. After listening to the video a few times, I was struck by the thought of us being responsible seven generations into the future. Since the day my daughter was born, I’ve believed I’m responsible for her and for her children, but I never really thought of beyond that. Since I watched the video, I’ve found myself thinking often about the choices I make. How do they affect future generations? Not just for my daughter. Not just for her children, but even beyond that. And as a result, I’ve made a few choices I might not have otherwise — planning out a trip to run errands ahead of time to minimize drive time and save gas, balancing my checkbo...

(Image by Stuart Miles / FreeRangeStock.com ) The other day as I was cooking dinner, I came to the end of a roll of aluminum foil. I teasing tapped my daughter on her head with the cardboard tube that remained, then started to throw it in the trash. “Can I have that?” my daughter asked. “I can use it to make something.” “Sure,” I said, and handed it over. My daughter took the tube and headed off to her bedroom. Later, she reappeared, using the tube as a pole that held up one of her drawings like a flag. This is just one of the many reasons I am often in awe of my daughter. She always can often see the possibilities in an item I considered to be trash. She stops me from throwing something away at least once a month. Most of the time, it’s a box or something like those cardboard canisters that oatmeal comes in. She’ll turn it into a home for her dolls, or a fence for her toy horse, and, ocassionally, something as simple as a stick for holding up a drawing. Most days, I tos...

When I was a kid, each year for Halloween I wore whatever costume my older sister had chosen the year before. I have no idea what my mom did with them once I outgrew them, though I figure they probably wound up rotting in a landfill somewhere. But back then, costumes weren't made like they are today. The body of the costume was very flimsy material that frayed easily. Most had only a drawing of an outfit on the front and nothing on the back. So, for instance, the year I went trick-or-treating as Lucy from "Peanuts," my costume had a print of Lucy's blue dress on the front. The masks that accompanied the costume was made of plastic and had little eye holes, nostril holes and one mouth hole just big enough for kids to entertain themselves by sticking their tongue through it. An elastic cord stapled on each side of the mask helped secure it to the child's face. Even if I had a younger sister close enough to my age to pass the costume on down again, they weren...

(Photo by Sarah Sturtevant / FreeRangeStock.com ) If you're like me, you average at least one piece of junk mail in a day. That means that in a year's time, at least 365 pieces of unwanted paper find their way into my home, your home, your neighbor's residence, and so on. While scrolling through my Google+ feed recently, I saw a basket someone had made using old magazines. The basket was gorgeous and full of colors from the hues of the pages of the magazines. I don't buy a whole lot of magazines, just a few here and there if something catches my eye as I stand in the checkout line. But seeing the basket got me thinking: Surely there are things I can do with the pile of junk mail I accumulate each week besides just tossing it all into the trash. Overall, I'd rather the mail just not come, but since I don't know of a way to stop it, perhaps I can put it to good use. So I spent a little time on Pinterest, searching for good ideas for giving n...

(Image by Stuart Miles / FreeRangeStock.com ) Recently, my daughter asked me where paper comes from. The question seemed out of the blue, so I figured she probably already knew the answer, probably something she learned while watching YouTube. "Trees," I said. "I don't know how they do it, but they make paper from trees." After a short pause, she told me that she didn't want to color anymore because coloring on paper would mean that trees would be cut down. But then she qualified it. "Well, I don't want to do a lot of coloring." Her concern for the trees made me smile. I don't think her motivation had anything to do with living greener, but rather was nothing more than a brief feeling of guilt about what happens to a tree in part because she enjoys drawing and coloring. But I like that she thought about it and felt the need to take action.* As I make changes for a greener lifestyle, I've toyed with the ide...

Six boxes of crayons, twelve glue sticks, two bottles of Elmer's school glue ... the school supply list for my daughter's first-grade class goes on and on. Before I became a parent, I had no idea how much stuff kids had to have each school year. Or how quickly it can all add up. With the school year looming, I bought her entire list without giving much thought to whether the supplies were eco-friendly. That occurred to me later, as the bags of supplies took over my dining room table awaiting the start of school. It's too late to go green for this school year, but I figured there is probably some website that sells greener versions of most items, so I went online and found Green Backpack , which states that everything on the site is made of recycled or sustainable materials. That's the good news: eco-friendly school supplies are out there! Yay! The bad news is how much more pricey they are. I expected them to cost more than regular supplies, but I had no ...

( Geoffrey Whiteway / FreeRangeStock.com ) One day last week, I took a can of soup to work for my lunch. Once I emptied the can into a bowl, I threw the can into the trash then put the bowl of soup into the microwave. As the microwave roared and rotated, I stood in front of it mentally arguing with myself. Should I do the easy thing and leave the can in the trash, or should I get it out, rinse it off, take it home and put it with the others I have saved for recycling? I'd like to say I made the more eco-friendly choice, but I didn't. I kept thinking about how ineffective rinsing a can can be at removing the remnants of soup, and I couldn't help but think that the can would get soup all over the stuff in my "brief case," aka a cloth bag I tote around to carry extra stuff for work. And if I just carry it separately, everyone at work will think I'm some crazy person carrying around an empty soup can. So I left it in the trash. It was just one can, I rati...

My goal: To make as little trash as possible. Could you live a trash-free life? This past weekend, my husband, daughter, and I went on a day trip. Along the way, we listened to "Ask Me Another" on NPR , which featured a guest, Lauren Singer, who writes blog about her trash-free lifestyle called Trash is for Tossers . All of the trash Singer has generated over the four years she's been living a zero-waste lifestyle, she says on the blog, fits in a 16-ounce Mason jar. Everything else she buys is either biodegradable, recyclable, packaging-free, etc. I haven't done a whole lot of exploring on the blog yet, but I see it suggests alternatives for disposable products — bamboo instead of plastic toothbrushes, metal instead of plastic ice-cube trays, organic dryer balls instead of fabric softener, and so on. She also provides links or suggestions for where the products can be purchased. I'm all for giving this a try. My biggest hurdle, as I've mentioned...

Going greener when grocery shopping. (Photo by Geoffrey Whiteway / FreeRangeStock.com ) I recently came across an article on OneGreenPlanet.org that outlines seven ways that we can be "greener" when shopping for groceries . Among the recommendations: Reusable shopping bags. This is something I've done for years ... but only when I shop at Aldi, which operates under the assumption that customers will bring their own bags. They have plastic bags (and paper, if you prefer) in stock, but they cost extra. That means my grocery bill goes up if I buy them. It's not much, but it feels like money I didn't need to spend. The story is different at other grocers near my home. They assume I want their bags. They never ask if I've brought my own; they just scan the item and drop it into a sack and move onto the next item on the conveyor belt. It's so convenient. And apparently practically every other shopper in the store feels the same way, because I rarel...

Computer keyboard (Photo by Chance Agrella / FreeRangeStock.com ) In January, I decided to get rid of some old computers and accessories the company my husband and I worked for had given to us and other employees following a major technology upgrade. I took our stuff and a computer my parents had been wanting to trash to a local e-recycling center and walked away with about $4 cash for all of it. I'd hoped for more than that, considering I'd given them three working (but terribly out-of-date) computers, but I was happy to get the $4 because it was a lot better deal than my husband and I got the first time we hauled away our e-waste. Back then, which was about 10 years ago, I had recently become aware of the dangers (leaking toxins) that come with leaving your e-waste at the curb along with the rest of your garbage, so I searched online to find a place within my hometown to take it. I came up with nothing. Not one business. Just as it was begi...

Keeping plastic out of landfills. (Photo by Geoffrey Whiteway, FreeRangeStock.com ) Recycling has been slow to settle in where I live. We have aluminum can recycling centers, but my neighbors and I would be hard pressed to find a recycler who would take our plastics and paper. That means that people like me, who prefer to drink soft drinks out of a bottle, wind up throwing a lot of non-biodegradable plastic bottles into the trash, and that's not good. According to a 2013 Huffington Post article , those bottles I've been putting into my local landfill have been absorbing "toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals." And let's not forget the oil that goes into producing it. The same article urges consumers to envision a plastic bottle filled one-quarter with oil, which is about how much oil goes into producing each one. And the number of bottles I've been throwing away is not small. I am not a casual soda drinker. ...

Kitchen sink. (Photo: FreeRangeStock.com ) My grandma cooks a big family feast every year on New Year's Day. Usually, my mom helps her with the bulk of the cooking, and I contribute by bringing a raisin pie. But this year my mom was baby-sitting one of my sick nieces, so I helped Grandma instead. For the first time, I contrasted the way she does things with the way I do, and when I left that day, I had insight into a few ways in which I could be less wasteful. Here's what I learned: I fill up the sink unnecessarily . When I'm washing dishes, I fill up both my wash and rinse sinks within about three inches of overflowing. My grandma, on the other hand, fills the sinks only about one-fourth full, if even that much. I've seen Grandma do that thousands of times, but for some reason, this was the first time I had given it much thought. At first, I thought maybe it was deliberate because she's on a fixed income, but then I realized she has probably done dishes l...