Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Little Things

Things I do:

  • bring my coffee to work in my own cup
  • bring my lunch packed in reusable tupperware, or re-used baggies
  • pack my dishwasher as full as possible before running it
  • use cloth or reusable bags for grocery shopping
  • separate cardboard out for recycling
  • hold off as long as I can get away with it before turning on air conditioning/furnace
  • use biodegradable bags to pick up after the dog
  • use some household and personal cleaners that are friendlier than others
  • use some energy efficient light bulbs
  • use as much recycled household paper products as possible
  • eat locally grown or organic food
  • I quit smoking last December, reducing the chemicals I'm putting into my body, into the air, and the butts that were being thrown away

Things I plan to start doing:

  • keep replacing old lightbulbs with the energy efficent kind as they wear out
  • keep replacing household/personal cleaners with friendlier options, and look into natural alternatives where possible (like vinegar as a glass cleaner)
  • put up a note saying that I don't want junk mail/newspaper/flyers delivered to my mailbox
  • start separating recycling beyong cardboard, and take it to the dump myself (our townhouse complex only has two dumpsters available; one for cardboard, one for everything else)
  • find out if I can set up a composter in my back yard
  • figure out a way to collect rainwater
  • cut down on pre-packaged food, make an even bigger effort to eat local
  • request a new fridge/stove/dishwasher from the landlords when we renew our lease so that we can get more energy efficient models
  • take an extra bag with me to pick up garbage when I walk the dog

I'm sure there are more things that I could do, and likely a couple of things I'm already doing that I can't think of right now, but this is a pretty good starting point, I think.

I used to have a t-shirt that said "We don't inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our children." That was a good shirt.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have said it before, and will say it again ... you ROCK!

Plus, you are inspirational. I think the next time I walk the dog, I will be taking extra bags with me for the garbage.

The "evil conglomerate" got a little less evil last week when a bunch of us participated in a clean-up event that Toronto sponsored. That was a good feeling.

Happy Earth Day!

Meghan said...

Very Cool, Angela.

figure out a way to collect rainwater

We actually have a rainwater collector (it's a plastic barrel) that sits just below one of the gutter run-offs. It's awesome, but it came with the house so I'm not sure where you get them. I can just hook up a hose to the spout on the bottom.

Happy Earth Day!

Anonymous said...

For junkmail: http://www.reddotcampaign.ca/

Rainbarrels in Guelph:
http://www.girc.org/displayStatic.php?name=Rainbarrels

V. cool!

Dogeared said...

We are lucky enough to live in quite a recycling-friendly area (one of the best for recycling facilities), and we have one wheelie bin for rubbish, and another for compostable waste (cardboard, food waste, garden waste etc.). Then, two recycling boxes - one for glass, and plastic milk bottles, and the other for aluminium cans, paper, newspapers, etc. There are other things that can go in the boxes like batteries and things, but as we don't have many of those, I forget which of the two boxes they go in.

But every little helps, and you rock for trying to find more you can do :D