Who would have thought that daily or weekly trips to the grocery store would have such a burdensome impact on our environment? Or that the use of plastic or paper would become such a morel decision?
For decades, retailers have successfully sent you home with the cheap little white or brown bags that pile up endlessly, blow away easily, and have less second uses than you can invent for them.
Here are some simple facts:
A plastic shopping bag can take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to decompose.
The United States alone uses approximately 100 billion new plastic bags per year - the average person goes through between 350 and 500 per year.
An estimated one million birds and 100,000 turtles and other sea animals die of starvation each year after ingesting discarded plastic bags which block their digestive tracks.
It takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce the amount of plastic bags the US uses per year.
Think paper bags are better? The United States cuts down 14 million trees per year simply to supply the demand for paper shopping bags. It requires 13% more energy to produce one single paper bag than to produce two plastic bags.
The average reusable bag has the lifespan of over seven hundred disposable plastic bags. Over a lifetime, use of reusable bags by just one person would save over 22,000plastic bags. Isn't that an even better incentive to make the switch?
The popularity of reusable bags has grown and some retailers offer monetary incentives for bringing your own bag. You can find a variety of color selections, styles to support your favorite sports team or cause or you can just decorate your own to show off your personal style.
So, the next time you leave the store, make it BYOB - BRING YOUR OWN BAG…..
Need a reusable bag? Check out my website for your favorite color.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Green Cleaning
Have you looked under your sink lately? What do you see? A sea of endless bottles and containers of cleaning products that promise to clean. Items that will whiten your toilets, brighten your bathtubs, clean soap scum and mildew off of showers and sinks. What you really need to ask yourself is, "what do these products really contain and how safe are they for me and my family?"
If you carefully examine the labels, you will find that many of these products contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, petrochemicals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Breathing in these chemicals can be damaging to your health while providing poor air quality throughout your home, the same air that you breathe every day. These same chemicals are being flushed and washed down our water systems, creating havoc to the environment.
It’s time to return to the basics, a time before commercialization when our grandparents and their parents before them used products directly from the kitchen cupboard to clean the house. There are simple and inexpensive solutions that will provide a healthier home for your loved ones as well protect the environment for future generations.
You only need a few simple ingredients for everyday cleaning. These items are just as effective as the toxic cleaning products on the market today. Ingredients such as: baking soda, borax, distilled white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemons, olive oil, and soda water. If you want to add a fragrance, just a few drops of lavender, lemon or peppermint oil will do the trick. Make a paste with baking soda and water for those tough cleaning jobs in the bathroom. Combine vinegar and water for a general purpose cleaner. Olive oil and lemon juice can be used for furniture polish.
And, if you don’t want the hassle of making your own cleaners, visit my Green Irene site below for vinegar based cleaners that will leave your home sparkling clean and smelling fresh which are inexpensive and safe for your family and the environment. As always, keep it simple and cheap.
If you carefully examine the labels, you will find that many of these products contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, petrochemicals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Breathing in these chemicals can be damaging to your health while providing poor air quality throughout your home, the same air that you breathe every day. These same chemicals are being flushed and washed down our water systems, creating havoc to the environment.
It’s time to return to the basics, a time before commercialization when our grandparents and their parents before them used products directly from the kitchen cupboard to clean the house. There are simple and inexpensive solutions that will provide a healthier home for your loved ones as well protect the environment for future generations.
You only need a few simple ingredients for everyday cleaning. These items are just as effective as the toxic cleaning products on the market today. Ingredients such as: baking soda, borax, distilled white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemons, olive oil, and soda water. If you want to add a fragrance, just a few drops of lavender, lemon or peppermint oil will do the trick. Make a paste with baking soda and water for those tough cleaning jobs in the bathroom. Combine vinegar and water for a general purpose cleaner. Olive oil and lemon juice can be used for furniture polish.
And, if you don’t want the hassle of making your own cleaners, visit my Green Irene site below for vinegar based cleaners that will leave your home sparkling clean and smelling fresh which are inexpensive and safe for your family and the environment. As always, keep it simple and cheap.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Green Scene
Going green. . .we have all heard these 2 words for some time now. . .but what does this green scene really mean? Saving the planet for future generations? A complete change of lifestyle? Spending a lot of money modifying the way you live and things you buy?
One basic definition is to become environmentally conscious of your decisions and to understand how the choices and purchases you make today will impact our planet tomorrow. I know what some of you are thinking. . . I like my life the way it is! How can I alone make a difference? This sounds expensive. I can't afford these changes.
I am here to tell you that "going green" does not have to be expensive. With a little thought and effort, there are ways to modify your lifestyle without spending a lot of "green" to do it. Short term, some changes may require an up front investment; but long term, these changes will in turn save you the GREEN.
Each week I will provide a different topic for greening your lifestyle. Let me know if there is a particular topic or area you are interested in greening on the cheap.
One basic definition is to become environmentally conscious of your decisions and to understand how the choices and purchases you make today will impact our planet tomorrow. I know what some of you are thinking. . . I like my life the way it is! How can I alone make a difference? This sounds expensive. I can't afford these changes.
I am here to tell you that "going green" does not have to be expensive. With a little thought and effort, there are ways to modify your lifestyle without spending a lot of "green" to do it. Short term, some changes may require an up front investment; but long term, these changes will in turn save you the GREEN.
Each week I will provide a different topic for greening your lifestyle. Let me know if there is a particular topic or area you are interested in greening on the cheap.
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