I'm a SAHM to two preschool boys, my DH and I own our own place which makes being green a bit easier (though DH makes it harder).
I do some work from home for a place that makes jerseys for the tourism trade, though they are sold in normal shops too. I do hand work so no extra electricity there!
I already do some stuff for the environment though I could do better
- I recycle most things, but have a blind spot for paper. DH makes this harder by not rinsing cans or bottles straight away.
- We mow the lawn using an old handmower
- I use reusable sanitary products (Mama pads and Mooncup)
- I use cloth on my boys bottoms
- I have a front-loader and use it on 40C at the most and use 1/2 the recommended powder amount
- Have a vege garden partly planted and have just turned over an extra area to do more of this. We also have several fruit trees.
- Mostly energy efficient light bulbs
- Reducing TV time for the boys, though I can't bring myself to turn the PC off. I do turn the screen off though.
- Use reuseable shopping bags whenever I remember, trying to do this more. Give old plastic bags to local dairy for reuse.
- House has roof and wall insulation and good curtains
- Have eco-friendly firebox for winter heating
- We are now Gluten Free which means much less prepackaged food, am planning on starting to wash the ziplock bags our flours come in for reuse too. I remember my Mum used to do this all the time with bread bags; why did this stop?
- Have a worm farm and am trying to convince DH of the value of chooks; he's worried about all the poo.
- I sew and knit a lot too and am learning to spin so we're using a lot less imported sweatshop clothing.
Well, that's me
Rachelle
washing plastic bags
Hi Rachelle
I've just started washing plastic bags too! I remember my dad washing bread bags like your mum did. I've mostly stopped using those filmy bags the supermarkets provide for fruit and veg. I used to reuse them for sandwiches etc, so I figured if I still wanted bags for sandwiches, I'd have to wash the bread bags! Better yet would be not to buy things that come in plastic, I guess, but that's a pretty daunting prospect - it doesn't leave much!
Lisia
My blog:
http://lilsview.blogspot.com/
Hi Rachelle
Youre doing well! I would like to be greener than I am and am using this site to hold me accountable lol.
With your quality of sewing you could have your own business selling handmade clothes!
Jen
"we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we mearly borrow it from our children" Indian Proverb
Handmade clothes
Unfortunately I don't have enough time to sew for sale, especially as I'd have to draft patterns from scratch! Atm I use commercial patterns and try to fit in sewing around children and work. Thank-you for the complement though; appreciated! I've actually managed to get a little sewing done for me over the last 2 days, I cut down a T that was a baggy fit to a nice fit and made one from scratch using 1 yard of interlock with a poodle print.