Eco Tip: Line Drying Everything!

Eco Tip:  Line Dry More Than Just Diapers

    Summer is here!  Warm breezes and sunny skies make it perfect for line drying cloth diapers.  Many of us know the benefits of line drying cloth diapers such as preserving PUL in AIO or Pocket diapers.  However, many of us over look the benefits of sun drying our everyday clothes.  And one of the great things about the warmer weather is the softer and nicer the clothes seem to feel.
    Line drying clothes is an easy way to help cut the electric bills during the summer months.  A few different sites quote the savings around $156(1) a year or about $25(2) a month for electric dryers.  The lower your electric bill the lower your family’s carbon foot print is.  Its a great way to get outside and get some sunshine especially with a continual rise of  Vitamin D deficiency.  The summer months are especially great because the warm weather keeps clothes from getting stiff and they will feel just as soft as if they were in the dryer.  Another good reason is that clothes last longer think of all that lint, which is a sign of the fabric being worn down. 

Here are some tips to get the best results when line drying:

1.  hang the colored clothes inside out to help maintain clothes
2.  shake the wrinkles out and smooth as many as you can with your hands.  Reduces any need for ironing
3.  hang heavy jeans folded over then half way through drying flip and shack out wrinkles to optimize drying and helping to prevent stiffness

A helpful hint when line drying sheets fold over and allow to blow in the breeze like a sail to promote even drying.  Another good hint is if you want to hang out your “intimate” items hang them in between two layers of regular clothes creating a few walls to hide them behind.(3)

In our house, to help us remember to hang and dry our darker clothes inside-out we just inside them out when we take them off.  Its also better for the clothes to be washed that way.  We also try to wash most of, if not all our clothes in cold water.  This will help maintain your clothes and fabrics longer.  65% of Americans use hot water or warm water to wash clothes(2) lowing that percentage could help the environment as well as your personal pocket book. Cold water cleans most clothes just as well but if you plan to use warm or hot water save it for visibly dirty items.  Its even better to use cold water when cleaning cloth diapers, make sure to do a good soak ahead of time, especially with PUL which gets worn down from the rough hot water and then being heated in a hot dryer.

These are just a few of the many reasons that hang drying clothes can be great for you and your family.    

(1)http://gogreeninyourhome.com/how-to-save-electricity/save-money-doing-laundry-drying-clothes/

(2)http://www.laundrylist.org/en/line-drying

(3)http://www.momadvice.com/money/line_drying_clothing.aspx

Eco Tip: Setting up a Clothing Swap

This tip is not only eco-friendly, it's also budget-friendly and community-building.

A clothing swap, of course, lets you trade clothes with your friends (or with strangers, though I recommend sticking with friends).

There are two types of clothing swaps I've participated in. The first is a personal swap. I really like these, but it really depends on knowing the right people. In this scenario, you find friends with kids a year or two older or younger than your own (or both), and you swap boxes of clothes at a time. In my case, I have a good friend who has a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy, whereas I have a 7 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. I lend her my outgrown boy clothes, one size at a time, and she lends me her outgrown girl clothes, one size at a time. At the present time, she has my box of size 4's and also my box of size 5's, and I have her box of size 3T's. As our kids grow, we pack up the borrowed clothes and return them in exchange for the next size up. I haven't bought more than a handful of clothes for my daughter since she was born, so this situation has been ideal for us.

This would also work with a larger group, each person lending out their outgrown clothes to the person in the group who needs them. Also, you could clearly just give the outgrown clothes away entirely if you're done having children and don't want the old clothes back.

If you plan to set up this type of exchange, be aware that there is always some amount of loss - some of the clothes will get ruined or lost and not find their way back to you.

The second type of clothing swap is more like an informal garage sale, but without any money. Gather up your outgrown clothes (your own, your spouse's, your kids', whomever's) and invite your friends to do the same. Pick a date. On the day of the swap, designate various places around your house with size/gender signs. "Women's Small," "Women's Large," "Men's," "Kids 0-2," or whatever. Everyone who walks in lays their stuff down in the appropriate places, and then starts shopping. The goal is not an even exchange, it's to get rid of stuff you don't want any more and trade it for stuff you do want. The last clothing exchange I attended, one of the other ladies present took home some skirts that I brought, and I ended up taking home a few new casual shirts and a pair of post-maternity pants.

If you plan to host this type of exchange, be sure to have a plan for the unwanted clothes left over at the end of the day.

Contributed by Sarah from Boulevard Designs and Wallypop.

Create Less Waste

Here are some tips to reducing trash that goes to the landfill!

1.  Use re-useable grocery bags. 

2.  Compost plant & vegetable waste to use in your garden.

3.  Recycle plastics, paper, & cans.

4.  Buy in bulk, less packaging means less waste!

5.  Get your bills electronically & opt-out of junk mail.

6.   Use a reuseable water bottle.

7.  Donate & buy used clothing & household items.

8.   Choose long-lasting metal or wood toys rather than plastic.

9.  Use rechargeable batteries and long-life bulbs.

10.  Use resealable, reusable containers for lunch and leftovers.  

Eco Tips for Around the House

Eco Tips for Around the House – These are some simple steps that we have taken around our home to try to do our small part in helping the environment. There are so many simple things you can do that can make such a big difference. Try one and then slowly add another when you feel ready!

Cloth instead of paper towels - I used to go through so many paper towels in one day. About five years ago, I decided to stop buying paper towels. I took all our old towels and cut them up into 12 x 12 inch squares. Another option is going to your local dollar store. Our local store has two washcloths for one dollar…a great deal. I just use them for whatever I would use a paper towel and then through them in the washing machine.

Cloth Napkins instead of paper – Another easy step to take is to use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. I think cloth looks nicer and cleans up messy hands and mouths easier. You can buy them or make them yourself. Once they are dirty, just through them in the washing machine.

Rechargeable batteries – We finally made the decision to use rechargeable batteries and it has been very easy. When you have kids around the house, it seems like you are always using batteries. Every toy seems to needs at minimum four batteries. We use eneloop brand, that we buy at Costco. This particular link is from Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-Starter-Blue-Power-Pack/dp/B000WPJIME. It comes with the charger and the batteries are already charged! Once you go to rechargeable batteries, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!

Reuseable glass food storage containers – I try to never use plastic bags, unless absolutely necessary. Whenever I need a container for storage or lunches, I use a reuseable glass food storage container. This to me was a simple, yet very effective step.

Buying products from environmentally friendly companies - When I am purchasing anything from toilet paper, kitchen cleaner, or even shoes…I try to look for companies that are earth friendly. One of my favorite brands is Method from Target. This link lists all the products at Target that are eco friendly….. http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-004397.

Shopping at thrift stores, Ebay, garage sales, etc. – I love going to thrift stores and being able to buy lots of clothing for not a lot of money. Reusing clothing is a great way to help the environment and have fun while doing it.

Buying in bulk whenever possible – Buying in bulk and transferring the items to a reusable smaller container is another easy way to help the environment. Buying items that are designed for singular use are always more expensive and simply a waste.

These are just a few ideas for you to try around your home. There are so many great websites out there that can help you on your way to helping the environment. Using cloth diapers is a great first step…now onto the next!!

by Elizabeth of Catchick6 Creations
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Catchick6Creations
http://www.catchick6creations.com/

Eco Tip: Printing Documents

Sometimes you just cant avoid printing large documents.  Here are some Eco Friendly printing tips!

1.  Print double sided - uses half the amount of paper + saves you 50% on your paper costs.  If your printer doesn't have double sided capabilities, print all the odd pages first, reverse their order (so page 1 is on top) put in the paper tray, and print all the even pages!

2.  Use unbleached recycled copy paper - unless you're printing off your resume, there's no need to use heavy weight, bright white paper.  You can also use your own recycled paper for personal printing - simply designate a bin for paper that has already been printed on one side, or even mostly blank on one side, collecting it from snail mailings, or when you forget to print double sided!

3.  Print Grayscale - printers will print faster grayscale than in color, also black ink/toner costs less than colored ink/toner.

4.  Change Color - Instead of setting your font to BLACK, set it to a medium gray - still easy to read, but doesn't use as much ink!

5.  Fast Print Speed - set your printer to the fastest or lowest quality print as possible - you will get faster prints, using less ink!

6.  Default Print Settings - Go into your printer settings (in Windows, under the control panel) and setup your printer to always use these eco settings!  If you need to print a quality document, you can easily change the settings from default at the time of printing!

Quickie Eco Tip of the Week...

Well, this quickie tip actually came from my good friend who started me out in using cloth diapers without even trying.

If you are not so lucky or so talented as to be able to make all your own breads, you probably go through a good many bread, buns, rolls, and tortilla packages. Those flimsy little bags hardly seem worth saving, and they take so little room compressed in the garbage pail, right? Think again. Their compact nature and light weight make them perfect for tucking into a diaper bag, out-and-about bag, or even a purse. If you don't already have a travel wet bag, bread bags make great storage for wet and soiled diapers, especially the nasty ones! Tie it off tight and when you get home, just rip it apart over the diaper bin and toss the bag in the trash. One standard bread bag can hold 3-4 diapers!


Already have a great travel wet bag? Use your bread bags in the kitchen. We usually buy sandwich bread but make homemade dinner breads. Leftover rolls usually get stored in a saved bread bag. Bread bags also make great storage for things that you want to toss in the fridge for the next day, like leftover pizza. We also use them for unused portions of veggies that come in packages that must be torn off, like cabbage, lettuce, and broccoli.

I'm sure if you thought about it, you could find many other handy uses for your bread bags. Leave a few out on the counter and you might be surprised at what you do with them--just make sure they're out of reach of little one, of courses! We have recently been trying to reduce our use of ziplocks, plastic wrap, etc. and those little baggies have served lots of interesting purposes.

Do you know of any other great uses for bread bags? Let us know!

10 Steps to self-sufficiency

The term self-sufficiency is usually applied to varieties of sustainable living in which nothing is consumed outside of what is produced by the self-sufficient individuals.  Without going all "creepy hermit in the woods" on you, becoming more self-sufficient is a great way to be environmentally friendly as well as provide a healthy lifestyle for your family.  Below are 10 easy steps to becoming more self-sufficient (without earning you "hermit" status).

1.  Start a garden

Gardening can be a very easy way to become more self-sufficient.  You can start out small with potted herbs on a window sill or tomatoes in a larger container on the back step.  Any bit of food that you can grow for yourself means that it is one less item that you are depending on big commericial farms for.  Not to mention the fact that you’ll know exactly what you put on your plants and on your table.

2.  Buy used

Yes you are still buying but this way you are buying items that would otherwise end up sitting in a landfill.  You are reducing your impact on the environment and reducing your dependence on new products and those pesky chain stores that sell them.  Buying used is also going to allow you to save money. 

3.  Get out of debt

Owing someone (the credit card companies) something is never fun.  It ties you to that company and makes it difficult to really be on your own.  Try to get out of debt and stay out of debt, saving up for bigger purchases and re-evaluating what you really need.

4.  Learn to sew / knit / crochet

Go ahead and cross this one off your list! Seriously though being able to make and or repair your own clothes is super handy.  You won't have to pay someone to do it for you and you can even use it to earn money (like we do at Etsy)

5.  Line dry your clothes

One less appliance running means a lower electric bill and that is always a good thing.  Also, line drying your clothes gives them that warm, sunshiney smell that doesn't hold a candle to dryer sheets (at least in my opinion)

6.  Explore alternative energy 

Currently, my husband and I are heating our home with a wood stove.  While i love the sound of a wood fire crackling I loved it even more when I heard how much our friends were paying for heating oil.  Its great to know that as long as we are responsibly harvesting our fire wood, we will always have a warm house.  

7.  Learn to "put up" fruits and vegetables

Learning to can, dehydrate or freeze fruits and vegetables while they are in season is fun and inexpensive.  When you are preserving your own foods, you know what you are putting in it (and what you are leaving out) which is a great way to keep your family full of healthy meals. 

8.  Ride a bike

Bikes are people powered and cars are not.  Biking is a great form of exercise and lets you cut down on the amount of gas you are using / having to pay for.  

9.  Use public transportation

If biking isn't for you (or even if it is) use public transportation when you can.  If we are all going to the same place, why do we all have to drive ourselves?

10.  Keep learning

There are sooo many ways that you can reduce your impact on the environment and take care of your family.  There are a ton of great blogs and books out there and remember every little step helps!

~Written by Kailyn Shippee, owner and crafter of Spotty Dog Crochet

Five Tips for a Greener Halloween

Many of us try to do our part for the planet, but when faced with a holiday it's easy to slip back into old habits and forget to make "green" choices. Here are five quick and easy ways to "green up" your Halloween celebration.

1. Light up the night the eco way - with LED or solar-powered lights yard lights. Don't forget to replace your porch light with a CFL bulb too!

2. Host a costume swap and invite everyone you know. Plan to repeat every year for an endless supply of "new" costumes for your children, your husband, maybe even the dog.

3. Get crafty and do it yourself! Making your own costumes and decorations is fun, and saves money too. A quick search on the internet will give you more ideas than you'll have time or energy for.

4. Pick a huge pumpkin and let each member of the family contribute instead of buying multiple pumpkins that will just be thrown away.

5. Take a hike and walk around the neighborhood instead of driving house to house or street to street. Not only is it better for the environment, it's better for your health too.

Challenge yourself to see how plastic-free you can be this Halloween. I know my family won't be able to go 100% plastic free, but I'm going to see how creative we can get to avoid using plastic as much as possible.

What are your favorite Green Halloween tips?

Image credit: http://carolbrowne.com/

Clean your microwave naturally!

There are lots of kitchen cleaning products out there - many have chemicals that are corrosive and dangerous. Some have "natural" ingredients that may be safer. But think about what you want near what you EAT. How about something that you could eat?!

Cleaning stuck on gunk from your microwave can be done easily, with just water! Simply put a cup of water in the microwave and set to HIGH for 3-5 minutes. The steam will loosen up the food and you can wipe it down with a clean cloth. Easy as pie - and it works! (And, you now have some hot water - make yourself a cup of tea!) You couldn't make yourself tea with a sprayer of toxic chemicals. Now this is something you can feel good about :)

Also - I've heard some people recommend also adding 1 Tbsp vinegar to the water, but I've not found it necessary (vinegar water not recommended for tea, however!).