365 Days, 365 Ways...To Go Green

I have a green consulting business called GreenHabbers and as the old adage goes - the cobblers family has no shoes. I help others live a greener lifestyle but wasn't doing as well in my own life so I challenged myself to find 365 ways to go green in one year. My Day 1 challenge was to create this blog and officially start my challenge, share my journey and the best part learn from my readers. Green living is not just about buying a certain product or eating organic food it is also about living in a vibrant, caring community. My hope is that this blog will connect people who want to make a change, are making changes or aren't so sure if they want to change. It is not about being perfectly green but about the journey with all the bumps, bruises, breakthroughs and accomplishments all journeys take. So jump on board and let's see where this year takes us.

We had to remove the old patio from a house we are remodeling because it was lifting. Last year the resulting pile would have been garbage but today it's URBANITE! We carried, hauled and carried again a trailer full of patio chunks to our family home to make a border for our gardens. The rest we will use as a border for a garden at the remodel.

Urbanite I thought was a cute name that was a concoction of our Arizona permaculture group but it's actually in the encyclopedia as

a humorous description of recycled concrete, typically from old sidewalks or other flat concrete slabs removed during construction.

Not so sure why it's humorous but it's definitely versatile. Use it for patios, walls, and borders to name a few examples and keep it out of the landfills!

Today I sent e-mails to every person I knew telling them about my blog, the Smart Spaces Inside and Out site and the launch of my GreenHabbers website with a short explanation of what the environmental movement is and my commitment to it. Most of my family and friends still think I'll come to my senses and this too shall pass. Two of the 200 people I e-mailed told me to continue to keep sending them my blog. They don't seem to understand that they can go to it on their own. I'll keep sending it. Whatever it takes. One friend in Texas knew someone who was interested in the 'green movement' and promised to spread the word herself. That gave me hope. I will continue to add to my list and send e-mail messages. I know there are more effective ways of marketing but I don't think that is what I was doing when I spread the word this morning. I was hoping that my friends and family would listen to someone they knew before they listen to the news media or other experts. If experts haven't been able to convince them maybe I could. I planted seeds this morning and I have no doubt most will bloom....eventually. I hope everyone reading this blog will spread the word tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. Never underestimate the power of one voice!

I am not sure which one I am but I never remember to bring my cloth bags to the store so today when I went to Whole Foods I bought another bag. Maybe if I have to buy a bag everytime I forget one I will begin to remember. When I travel to Ireland I never forget because if you don't bring your own bag you have to pay for one. IKEA sold bags for 59 cents each last month and announced that beginning March 15 they will charge a nickel for plastic bags. The money they made from the bag campaign ($1.75 million) is going to American Forests according to Treehugger.com. Everytime I go into Whole Foods or Trader Joes I mention that they should begin to charge for the plastic bags and I love that IKEA is using that money for a good cause. And don't forget to fill out the customer suggestion cards at all stores (we seem to be picking on grocery stores)
Why it's important - according to the World Watch Institute plastic bags are petroleum based (and we all know that that is an unrenewable resource) plus we only recycle 0.6% of the over one billion bags that are tossed in the landfills yearly. The ones that go airborne kill wildlife, clog our sewers and affect our watersheds. Wikipedia states that When one ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved. Awesome!
Breaking News:San Francisco bans petroleum based plastic bags! I just might write a letter to our governor!
Update - I went to Trader Joes today did not bring my cloth bags so I had to buy 2 plus I bought 2 for the lady behind me in line. Trader's has a drawing ever week and the winner gets a $25 gift certificate.
Can't find bags? Visit the Smart Spaces store at http://www.smartspacestv.net/index.php?p=product&id=2&parent=0

I am throwing out my last surviving Teflon pan today because research I have read states that it just takes 2-5 minutes on the stove top for the chemical in it (PFOA) to leach. Plus the Environmental Working Group has an entire, not so positive, section devoted to Teflon so it was time for me to listen. The reason we didn't get rid of our pan earlier was because cast iron is just too heavy and we don't seem to know how to fry food in a stainless steel pan. Cooks we are not, I guess. My dilemma is that I don't want to recycle this product and I don't want to send it to the landfill. I'll have to think about this one!

Decide for yourself: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12885
http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon/es.php

Greenhabbers is busy remodeling a house and part of green remodeling is to recycle and reuse as much as possible. Normally we would use Stardust Builders to recycle the carpeting, cabinets, mirrors etc. that are the result of demolition but Stardust was not taking some of the items we had. Time for Plan B. We decided to try Freecycle and love it! We were able to help 3 families who were down on their luck with 'almost new' carpeting, a kitchen sink and countertops, paint, tile, bathroom mirrors and appliances. Two of the families mentioned that they went to Startdust but couldn't afford the prices. Freecycle is the best way to give we have found to date - check it out the Freecycle website and give the landfill a break!

I just purchased a package of microfibre cloths because I keep finding uses for them! Originally I used them for dusting to avoid using chemical laced furniture sprays. An addtional benefit - no more paper towels saving me money and reducing garbage. Last year my mom visited and brought a package to wash dishes. Thanks, Mom! They not only clean the dishes but I use them to wipe down the faucets and sink because they don't leave spots. Mom also proudly bought me a Swiffer Sweeper which I never wanted because of the throwaway pads. Time to come up with a compromise which was quite simple. I just attached the microfibre towels to the Swiffer either wet or dry - problem solved and Mom and I are still talking! They are better than paper towels to wipe up spills and a damp microfiber towel cleans windows and mirror in a flash. I just dampen them with a light solution of vinegar and water. This last purchase was for my vehicles. A friend said they are better than a chamois. When all the cleaning is done I just toss them in the washer (no fabric softener), air dry them and they are good as new. Most of my microfiber cloths are over 5 years old. So let's see, I save money and the landfill, no more chemicals, and they clean more effectively. Oh, I almost forgot. I bought a microfiber towel last year to dry our dogs when then got out of the pool and now I use it to dry my hair! I better post this before I think of other uses! I am looking forward to hearing how you use these cloth wonders.

My house is 20 years old and so are my toilets which means we have been using way too much clean drinking water for way too many years flushing toilets.....three toilets. My daughter introduced the classic way to flush frugally when she was a girl scout and at camp learned the little rhyme.....if it's yellow let it mellow and if it's brown flush it down.

That has had some success but not enough so I found some small river rocks and filled up my tanks with as many of them as I could without interferring with the flushing mechanism.

Finally I found an awesome product called the Frugal Flush. It's designed to close before the toilet tank completely empties during a flush and it has made the most difference yet.

Check out their website http://www.cetsolar.com/toilettummy.htm! They have quite a few goodies besides the Frugal Flush. Also check your city water department. I live in Chandler AZ and they offer, for FREE, yes, FREE a low water use kit that includes aerators for your sink faucets, 2 low water use shower heads and a bladder to place in your toilet tank to reduce water use. If your city does not offer water conservation measures it's a good time to show your disappointment and write them a letter about ecological responsibility!

Today I replaced my river rocks with a bladder and ordered 25 frugal flushers. I replaced mine and will keep the rest for my remodels and gifts. Happy flushing!

When I make fruit smoothies I always add yoghurt which is full of probiotics. Last week at Whole Foods I noticed a product called Kefir so I googled it and discovered that it is more nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt and can balance your internal ecosystem. It is a complete protein with minerals and pleny of B vitamins which my nerves love.

Sounds like yogurt so how is it different? Another google and I discovered that they are both cultured milk products with different types of beneficial bacteria. Yogurt cleans the digestive system and feeds the resident friendly bacteria that lives there. Kefir colonizes the digestive track with strains of friendly bacteria and beneficial yeasts. It's also a great housecleaning tool for the intestines and a healthy body can resist pathogens like E. colie and parasites. It's easier to digest than yogurt making it a great food for those with compromised digestive tracks.

So today I bought some and made a great fruit smoothie with my Kefir, organic apple juice, organic blueberries, some aloe vera juice, whey powder and Stevia as a sweetner. OK I don't measure I guestimate!

It only makes sense that my green company should do business with a green bank. After some searching, I found 2 to chose from Shore Bank Pacific in Washingtion State and the Permaculture Credit Union in New Mexico. I plan do do business with both of them but started with Shore Bank. I love the idea of working with a bank that understands the word sustainability!