Laundry Day...Drying

Although I'm not a fan of cleaning in general, I don't mind washing the laundry. It is a chore that does itself: I put clothes in a machine, and it does all the work. We've come a long way since our ancestors beat clothes on rocks in a river. Plus, I love how warm clothes are when I take them out of the dryer. That's right, I use one: a dryer.

As far as the environment goes, a dryer is a not a very friendly machine. It uses a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat to do something that nature does on its own. Ideally, use a drying rack (I do use one of these, too) or a clothes line. The sun, for one thing, is free, readily available, and a natural bleaching agent--you can skip the harsh, toxic chlorine bleach when you dry your socks, sheets, and undershirts outside.

But I love my dryer...I love the warmth of the clothes, how it virtually eliminates wrinkles in most of my garments, and how fast it is compared to air drying. Drying clothes outside in the dead of winter isn't very practical, either.

If you can't completely give up your energy-consuming, heat-producing dryer, here are some very easy tips on how to "green" this machine:

1. Switch to an energy-star dryer. This is only if you are looking for a new dryer, but it can save hundreds of dollars in the costs of running the dryer over its lifetime, and using less energy is always good for nature.

2. Run the dryer on its lowest setting. Surely this seems like a no-brainer, but how many of us just turn it to some random number and walk away? Check your clothes after 30 minutes to see if they really need to keep going.

3. Wash (and dry) like with like. Heavy fabrics, like denim, take significantly longer to dry than, say, T-shirts. After your lightweight fabrics are dry, then you are simply running the machine to dry one pair of jeans. Simply stop the cycle and let the jeans continue to air dry, or wash and dry only heavy or lightweight fabrics together.

4. Get rid of dryer sheets...sort of. I am a static-ball without dryer sheets. Yes, I could give them up and the world wouldn't end (although my dog might refuse to let me pet her), but I really love how they smell nice and eliminate static. Use a greener solution: make your own. Here is how:

• Cotton balls and essential oil. This was recommended to me by a friend, but I think I used a cheap cotton ball, because it fell apart and I had cotton ball fuzz all over a dark shirt. I do know people who have done this with success, however. All you need is a cotton ball and some essential oil in a scent that pleases you. Put a couple of drops of oil on the ball, toss in the dryer at the beginning of the cycle, and throw it away at the end. It is totally biodegradable. Bonus points for using organic cotton balls!

• Cotton fabric and fabric softener or essential oil. This is my preference for a dryer-sheet replacement. It takes a bit more work upfront, but you'll have reusable dryer sheets for ages. You only need about 1/2 yard of fabric. Cut into squares. Mine are 6 inches x 6 inches, but you make yours whatever size (or shape) that you want. I used pinking shears on mine since that helps prevent fraying, but this isn't necessary as long as you sew around the edges (which you should do even if you use pinking shears). Dilute an eco-friendly fabric softener in a spray bottle, and spritz on a dryer sheet. Or use a few drops of essential oil. Voila! Dryer sheets that don't end up in a landfill!
  

5. Take out you clothes as soon as they are dry. My sister has this annoying habit of trying to de-wrinkle clothes in the dryer...and they are wrinkled only because she didn't put them away when they were done the first time! Sometimes she ends up using the dryer long enough to dry a new load! Please don't fall into this habit...use an iron, or, if you hate to iron (and loathe the thought of another heat-producing appliance) do your best to put them away as soon as they are dry.


I'll give more laundry tips soon...next time on the actual washing part!

Food Waste-not Strategy

Cleaning out the fridge is by far my least favorite part of being an adult. I love to cook, and this means that I normally have a well-stocked refrigerator, bountiful with raw ingredients and half-eaten leftovers. Although my family does well to eat most of our leftovers, a few things inevitably end up unlabeled at the back of a shelf...for a long, long time.

Mold and slime...gross. I'm appalled at not only how much gross stuff I find in my fridge when I do clean it out (roughly every six weeks--not nearly often enough), but at the sheer waste of how much food is thrown out that was perfectly edible and nutritious.

To combat my food waste problem, I've got a two-step plan:

1. Better meal planning. I'm a pretty good cook, and I like to eat a variety of meals through the week. Although I don't mind having leftovers for a single meal or two, I hate eating lasagna for the fourth day in a row.

Instead of making one big casserole or soup and eating on it all week, I've begun to have a roast or grilled large piece of meat on Sunday and use the leftovers in a variety of other meals.

For example, a large roasted chicken can be served with your choice of vegetable and starch, then the leftover chicken can be shredded and put into reusable storage containers. Burritos, chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, wraps, and homemade pizza. A large beef roast or pork loin does the same thing, allowing variety without waste.

2. My second strategy is to introduce compost into my yard. I've been hoping to do this for a while, and I have been researching various types of compost. I've finally settled on setting up a small vermicompost system. Vermicompost is worm compost, and although worms slithering all over one another does creep me out, I'm willing to face my fear for a life that has a smaller pile of trash every week.

It is now well into fall, and I'm not sure if this is the best time of year to introduce worm compost into my yard. There are indoor systems, but those tend to be pricier and--let's face it--I don't want to think about having a box of worms next to my stove. I'll check into it and let you know how it goes!

Mowing, the Suburban Chore

When my husband and I bought our house, we were excited to finally have a lawn for our dog (now dogs) to run and play. I knew that I wanted to be as environmentally friendly as possible--but lawns in general aren't the "greenest" your yard can be. To keep our carbon footprint at a minimum, we purchased an old-fashioned manual lawn mower.

Gas-powered lawn mowers are responsible for about 5% of air pollution. Although that seems like a small number, ever little bit helps, and there are other benefits to using a human-powered machine.

• No air-pollution: This means that you--and your neighbors--aren't breathing in carcinogens. You'll keep your carbon footprint at zero to maintain your lawn.

• No noise-pollution: How many times have you been awakened on a weekend morning because your neighbor decided to mow? You'll be kind to your ears by making the switch.

• Nearly no maintenance: I remember my dad spending countless hours getting gas or repairing our mower after we ran over a rock (oops). These mowers need only a quick spray of lubricant to stay in tip-top shape (and a quick spray of WD-40 pollutes much less than running a gas-powered mower).

• Exercise: I'm always looking for ways to sneak in exercise, and although these aren't difficult to use, you will get in a bit of a workout by pushing one around your yard.

After a summer of use, I can say I am very happy with our purchase, despite a few drawbacks:

You must make sure you don't mow over sticks, rocks, pine-cones, etc., so that you don't break your mower; this means a bit more preemptive yard clean-up than I might otherwise do, but it isn't much (we also have lots of trees in our yard, which means lots of sticks and pine cones).

The yard must be dry (or almost dry) for the mower to be effective. While we were in a drought, this was no problem. However, our drought is over, and we've discovered a few spots in the yard that are now perpetually damp and cannot be mowed easily, if at all. My plan is to find some nice water and shade-loving plants for this particular area--then I'll never need to mow it!

Cleaning, My Least Favorite Activity

Ok, so I'm notably not a neat-freak, germ-o-phobe, or compulsive cleaner. As a matter of fact, I really don't like to clean my house, and I only do it because I also really dislike a grimy kitchen or gross bathroom. So who am I to give cleaning advise? Well, I'm someone who understands that a clean home is a happy home...and I don't want to harm our planet so that I can have a sparkling sink or windows.

My mother tested dozens--maybe hundreds--of cleaning products through her years. As a mother and woman who ran a housecleaning service, she was one of the most knowledgable people I knew when it came to cleaning things, whether it was the trash can or laundry. Many of the products she used were highly toxic and gave me lingering headaches. The labels read "use only in a well ventilated area," "wear rubber gloves," etc. I, for one, don't want to don a HAZMAT suit to clean my bathroom. Fortunately, both my mother and my father also used many simple and effective cleaning solutions.

For only a few cents and little time, you can easily clean just about anything in your house with three ingredients: vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide.

When you buy vinegar, make sure that you buy natural white vinegar (some vinegar is actually made from not-so-friendly petroleum). I put straight vinegar into a spray bottle and use it to degrease my oven, clean cooked-on spaghetti sauce from my stovetop, and make windows shine. Yes, it smells like vinegar, but only until it dries. Once dry it smells like...nothing. And nothing is the smell of clean.

Yesterday's newspaper works well as a cleaning cloth for windows...spray on the vinegar, and wipe with the newspaper, then chunk into your recycling bin. Presto--you've reused a newspaper, reduced your waste by not using paper towels, and also recyced the whole mess.

Clean your microwave by heating vinegar OR water and lemon in a coffee mug, then wipe away with a reusable cloth that can be cleaned in the wash. (An old white t-shirt is best!)

Sanitizing our surfaces is not necessary on a daily basis. "Super" germs and weakened immune systems come about partly due to our overuse of anti-bacterial products. Really, we only need to sanitize surfaces after contaminating them with something...like raw chicken, or if you have the flu. When you do need to clean and sanitize, simply spray on the vinegar, then follow with some good ol' hydrogen peroxide. Wipe. Done.

Deodorize your sink by wiping with baking soda. If the drain smells, dump in some baking soda, then pour in some boiling vinegar. (I clean my coffee pot with vinegar...run through vinegar, then follow with water. I simply put baking soda in my drain before pouring the vinegar from my carafe into it.)

Clean fruit and vegetables with baking soda and a vegetable brush.

Make a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to lift stains out of white clothes (be sure to test for colorfastness on your particular garment). This can also be used as a toothpaste (not very tasty, but it works well...just look at all the commercial toothpastes that add these ingredients!)

These cleaning methods do not take any longer than using highly toxic, smelly, harmful commercial products, and these ingredients are readily available and much cheaper. In other words...no excuses! Just give them a try, and let me know what you think.

Manifesto

In the average middle-class American life, consumption rules--and for a good reason. Whether we are completely solo or a parent in a bustling household, we are all stretched and pulled in so many different directions that any product that promises a quicker lunch, a more organized life, or simply a moment of sanity, well--we want that!

However, our planet is paying a dear price for our use of disposable and toxic products. Icecaps are melting, sea levels are rising, our planet is warming--much of this is directly a result of human pollution. People everywhere are experiencing a rise in chronic illnesses, such as asthma, largely due to toxins in our environment.

Just like everyone else, I want innovative products that make my life easier. Ingenuity is great--I, for one, have no intention of trading my washing machine for a washboard. However, I also want to breathe easily on our beautiful planet, and I want to leave the Earth a better place than I found it. In other words, I don't want my progeny--or yours--to pay the price of my own irresponsibility.

This blog is a place for me to share practical tips, products, and thoughts about living an environmentally responsibly life. I have no illusions that you (or me, for that matter) will sell the car and bike twenty miles one-way to work, or eat solely organic, local foods. Very few people are able to reasonably do those things. The well-intentioned often have other limitations, such as budget, distance, or family considerations. Instead I offer reasonable and attainable solutions for everyday life, for every person.