Way to Swap! - more recycled clothing.

One of my Facebook friends is having a Clorox GreenWorks sponsored party this weekend. I shall be unable to attend. Which is a shame. I'm assuming it was kind of like a tupperware party, or one of those candle parties, where they give a little presentation and then try to get you to buy stuff. But I like Green Works.

What makes this party interesting, is that it involved a kid's clothing swap. Everyone would bring clothes they no longer wanted or had outgrown, and you could go through everyone else's piles to pick up stuff for your own kids. How neat is that?

Why don't adults organize stuff like that for themselves? I would LOVE a party like that. Even if I only wore an item twice I would feel as though I won.

Going The Distance

Last night I went and tried to calculate out footprint. There are a few of these online, none that I love, that ask you a few questions and then tell you how much CO2 you are producing.

I did my best to answer these questions, and I have to admit I fudged some it. I don't know how they can tell how much harm I am doing to the earth based on how much I spend on personal care products. But what was clear was that the transportation part brought my grade down.

Or up.

It's not so much the driving. Even though I have a mini-van and my husband drives a gas guzzler, we don't drive long distances much. No long commutes to schools or offices. Almost everything is in town, and my husband works from home most of the time. We do take driving trips a few times a year. But what really, really got us were the flights.

I have no idea how the fuel consumption works itself out. Doesn't the plane fly with or without us? And if the plane is full, isn't that better than if the plane is empty?

In any case, I reassured myself by the fact that I do not fly half as much as I used to. Our trips overseas are not as frequent as I would like.

And there isn't really anything I can do about the car, either. I do not live in a city, and there is almost nothing in "walking distance" unless you count a gas station. The only other places I go involve at least one child, but sometimes three, and we can't all fit on a bike. And there's no way I can carry all these groceries. Not to mention the fact that this is New England, and half the year is ice and snow, making walking nearly impossible.

What to do?

Fashion Where?

There are all sorts of issues concerning clothing and being green.

I wish I could be all concerned about the materials my clothes were made off - nothing but free range wool and organic cotton. No pesky plastic materials. And I am, but I'm more worried about where the made clothing is coming from. And at the end of the day I usually buy my clothing from Target because it' least expensive and most convenient, and I always picture my shirts being stitched together by little blind children in chains using hot poisonous knives.

I looked at a few places to buy organic clothing or free trade clothing online. But I didn't like the styles, or if I did I wasn't about to shell out $180 for a pair of jeans.

So what I did was go to GoodWill.

Thrift shops can be fun. I used to go to a really cool one in Cambridge where they had piles of unsorted clothing you could sift through and buy by the bag. All I had to do was walk into that room and my allergies would knock me flat.

The truth is, there are a lot of good clothes at some of these places. Sure, maybe they have been worn before - not everything, though. And you wouldn't want to buy, say, your underwear there. But the other day I bought myself two pairs of pants and a shirt for under ten dollars.

Recycling clothing. How neat.

Paper Trail

I used to save all my receipts, and when my bank statement came I would check every single purchase, and every single check. And I would enter them in a spreadsheet, and make sure than the balance from the bank was the same as the balance from my spreadsheet. I think I did this because I was terrified of the bank cheating me or of buying something and forgetting about it, like a car.

But these days bank statements are a lot more descriptive. Bills can be scheduled, can be paid ahead of time. And when I check my online statement I can often see charges for things I bought that very same day.

So these days, when given the choice of a receipt, I usually say no. What's more, I've requested that my bank stop sending me paper statements. What for? I can check the statements online, and they are usually more up to date.

One thing I haven't done yet but which I am making my next step, is getting my bills emailed to me. This might not work for everyone. And it defeats the purpose if you need to print them out each time you pay them. But you shouldn't have to.

Baby Steps, right?

Food For Thought

I always thought people purchased organic foods because they were better for you.

I know know that this isn't necessarily so.

But buying organic IS supposed to be better for the planet because it uses fewer pesticides and those are bad. Poison, actually.

So now when I shop I am trying to buy more organic items. But I'm having a few issues.

For, one, I get confused. Is it really better? And if I'm trying to be Earth friendly, shouldn't I also look for things like packaging and localy grown and produced items? And which is more important? Is an orgnanic potato from Maine better than a regular potato with no bag from Iowa? And how about carrots? I get so confused that when you add cost or sugar or the fact that my family might not actually eat the organic things I buy turning them into waste which is no good to anyone...

I hate food shopping.

Snapshot

This blog has a lot more of me yammering than I thought it would. So today I'm just going to do what I do best: make lists.

Things I did today that were good for the environment:
- unplugged the coffee maker when the coffee was done.
- washed the laundry in cold water.
- hung the laundry on the porch to dry.
- turned off the paper shredder and unplugged it when I was done.
- did not go anywhere in the car.
- did not use the treadmill (I'm making a plus out of a minus, here.)

Things I did today that were not so good for the environment:
- used rubbing alcohol as a disinfectant on a few light switches and countertops and doorknobs.
- used quite a bit of water while trying to teach my three boys how to properly wash their hands.
- kept the TV on all day so my sick kids could watch Disney films instead of cry and whine.

No Impact

I happened to run across the No Impact site today.

Maybe you've heard of Colin Beavan. He's the one that lived a whole year with no electricity, traveled only on foot or bike, and all without buying anything but locally grown food. This is his site. And he is encouraging people to join in and try this experiment for 7 days. To give up everything and try this new lifestyle.

I have to say, I think what this guy is doing is admirable. But I find it more than a little intimidating. There are so many changes, so many things to think about. And it's so overwhelming - the food, the cleaning, the energy, the trash, the gas, the pets... It's easier to just give up.

This is why I'm taking it a bit at a time. One item at a time. One step at a time. And sooner or later each little step becomes second nature and then I can move on to the next step.

Yes, I know. On one side each change I'm making is so small it's not making a difference so why bother. On the other hand it's not fast enough and polar bears are drowning while I decide that I'm too busy this week to not bleach my whites or dry my clothes on my porch. But hey - I'm making an effort. I'm getting there.

The No Impact site also has a place where people offer suggestions for small changes. Check it out. See if there's anything that you can do this week. There are a few I think are doable.