Today in my neck of the woods it should only reach 90 degrees. At that temperature I don't need to turn on the A/C. I am glad for that. My husband makes fun of me because I like the heat and have acclimated to it over the years so in the Spring and Fall when we get 75-80 degrees outside I put my sweater on. (He's from Michigan and I am from Southern California, HUGE difference in weather.) He makes fun of me that I can't handle the "cold" weather. But I still wear my sweaters. So today I will wear my tank top and shorts and maybe get my butt up for a bike ride.
I may not be there yet...but I'm closer than I was yesterday.
As for the rest of my life, I am truckin' along, not achieving the green state I wanted to be in at this time but still working on it. As things run out I replace them with more earth friendly counterparts. Like my dish soap, dish sponge, or fabric sheets (many people use vinegar, I like baking soda in the rinse). I use Trader Joe's dish soap (pictured above), my dish sponges are natural vegetable fiber and no more fabric sheets. As for other household cleaning I use vinegar and baking soda as I run out of Comet, Windex and Fantastic. Sometimes I wonder if these products have had a negative effect on my health through the years. What's done is done and now I can make better choices for my family.
My dryer is lonely. I haven't used it for weeks. In my last post about hang drying I mentioned I don't hang socks, underwear or heavy jeans. Well, that stopped. Everything gets hung now. The socks are not crunchy but underwear are (that didn't sound good, "crunchy underwear", I'm washing them). The clothes almost dry as fast as a dryer would do it when it is 100 degrees outside.
My baby cantaloupe.
In other news, I had to tell my children no apples yesterday at Trader Joes, even organic. Those little gems were coming all the way from New Zealand and Chile! Talk about a huge carbon footprint on something I can substitute with our own fresh cantaloupe (from the backyard, woo hoo!) or make a smoothie from the fresh fruit I picked earlier in the season. I have, for the most part, cut out bananas too, they all come from way down south like Costa Rica. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against those countries, as a matter of fact I envy Costa Rica, they can eat bananas carbon free!
This last week I went to get my haircut with my hairdresser I have used for years. She has always made comments that I need to deep condition my hair. This time she made comments about how soft my hair was. She asked me what was I doing. I told her I wash it every 2-4 days depending on my activity level and rinsed with a solution of apple cider vinegar and water. And combined that with better eating habits. She was impressed. We always discuss more natural ways of managing your hair. She is a hairdresser at a nice salon so she has to sell the products there but she has learned over the years I don't buy them.
And last, but not least. Call it a small victory, but my husband agreed to no more buying individual water bottles. He drives more than I do and would easily grab one on his way out but he agreed to use a Sigg bottle or anything we have in the cupboard with a top.
Be Green.
2 comments:
Hi Allison,
I'm back. I spent a week in Ireland for my 15th anniversary. No kids. Just my husband and me. Today it's back to work.
We, too, have been having crunchy underwear syndrome around here lately. I find that if I just squish them up a bit after they are dried in my hands, they get a little softer.
You know, I'll hang the boys' underwear and my husband's boxers outside, but I hang mine in the basement. It just seems so much more personal than the guys' does, and my line is right along the fence next to our friendly neighbor's house.
Nice to see you back. Someday I will make to Ireland.
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