What we do to "green" our lifestyle

When I noticed that I don't write too much about the "greening" of our lifestyle, I asked Mike (my fiance) to help me compile a list of all the things we do to be kinder to the earth. Here's the list (I'm going to go all out with bullets and everything). I really intended for this blog to include techniques to live a "greener" lifestyle, and I think that goal has gotten lost a bit. I will write posts individually fleshing out some of these little things, but here's a quick list:

• Buying everything we can possibly afford organic (that includes Dylan's clothes at H & M)
• Using Dr. Bronner's organic castile soap for everything except the dishes
• Using Method natural dish soap
• We unplug every single electric appliance we have in our house (except for the fridge and alarm clock) to reduce our energy use
• When I forget our reusable bag, I save our paper bags and use them for gift wrap and other crafts
• I reuse all nice sized glass containers (like applesauce sized- before I started making it myself) to hold things that come in plastic (raisins, flax seeds)
• Recycle paper, glass, and aluminum
• I make my own paper baby wipes which I only use for Dylan's number twos
• I cut up an old pair of terry cloth sweat pants into squares and created a reusable wipe system for Dylan's pee pee diapers
• I use organic vegetable shortening on Dylan's booty instead of diaper cream with chemicals
• I use all natural cleaning supplies that I make myself
• We walk everywhere we possibly can and avoid taking the train
• We hardly use paper towels, we use dishtowels and I clean with a microfiber cloth that can be washed and rinsed and used forever
• We only use the dishwasher on the weekends
• I only use the dryer for half of my laundry. The rest I hand on a rack to air dry
• Always try to use the reusable canvas shopping bags
• I make everything I can myself. This helps me be green because I'm not using up all the packaging that comes with bread, yogurt, cookies, cakes, rolls, beans, etc...
• Our lights are on dimmers and we keep them off during the day and only on low when it's dark
• Use California baby on Dylan - it's all natural organic lotion
  

Green things I'm planning on doing in the near future:

• Container gardening organic lettuce inside
• Container gardening organic tomatoes and basil outside on my fire escape
• Using all natural, earth friendly laundry powder
• Use green dishwasher detergent
• Buy more organics
• I plan to visit the bulk bins at Harvest market in Cambridge to avoid packaging. I just have to check out the prices and etc...That's a trip for the springtime I think
• I want to find an all natural/affordable hair conditioner
• Make my own soaps and lotions
• I have a lot of containers saved (like the ones breadcrumbs come in) and I hope to be able to make Dylan some toys out of them
  

So that's a nice list of simple things you can easily do to green your lifestyle. I strongly believe that even if something is cheap or free, you should still use only what you need. The earth is everyone's home and we want to keep it going as long as possible! Of course, there's only so far you can cut back without living in the woods, but seriously, it's not too hard to only take and use what you absolutely need. It'll help the environment, and your bank account!

Just a few ideas, try a couple and you'll feel more green instantly :).