Phoenix Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Green Poll
Maybe this will help people who want to be more green figure out how to do it without being overwhelmed!
Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for?
How about eggs?
Produce?
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself?
Laundry detergent?
Diapers?
Anything else you want to share?
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Re: Green Poll
We buy almost all of our groceries at Costco, though the whole co-op thread has peaked my interest...
I use mostly microfiber cloths (the good kind) and good ol h2o. I have some cleaning products. In the new house I have excellent intentions of making all our own stuff, especially laundry detergent.
We buy the natural stuff bc we are a fam with sensitive skins and I don't really care for smelly stuff...
We are almost done with diapers (woot) if I had to do it all over again, I'd go cloth.
I heart recycling? I heart thrift stores/garage sales (who knows if that counts) ooh I lurve kids toys made of wood or other things that last and aren't cheapy disposable--though don't get me wrong we have our fair share of junky toys
Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for? I try to buy it at Sprouts (catch the sales) but sometimes I have to go with Fry's. I try to get it there because I know they support better practices. They also grind their meat fresh there.
How about eggs? Also try to do Sprouts, it is about the same as fry's and sometimes they have very good sales
Produce? Sprouts or Bountiful basket, Fry's produce is WAY more expensive and not as healthy looking
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself? I clean with Vinegar/ Vinegar+Baking soda for SO many things. But I also buy Seventh generation dish soap / all purpose cleaner and sometimes Method all purpose cleaner. For the tough stuff.
Laundry detergent? I use either Crunchy Clean or Rockin' green, both are cloth diaper safe and are better for the environment, plus there are no additives in them!
Diapers? Cloth for me, and I LOVE them. I'm looking into patterns now to perhaps make some fitteds for her next size, we'll see how it goes
Anything else you want to share?Being green doesn't have to be hard or expensive, if you are careful it can be comparable or cheaper! And you will feel better for it
Oh and we also try to have no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and I try to avoid too much soy.
Can't wait to meet my baby boy!
Taylor I don't do organic. Like ever, unless it is cheaper than regular.
They say that you only need to do organics on things that you eat the skins. So you wouldn't need to do banana's for instance. But would strawberries.
Maybe this will help people who want to be more green figure out how to do it without being overwhelmed!
Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for? I usualy buy our meat from Fry's. I like that they grind it there and they are slightly more stict then some of the other major food provider chains.
How about eggs? Cj's parent's neighbors have a ton of chickens so we try to get out eggs from them as much as possible
Produce? Sprout's but i really am wanting to try the co-op
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself?
i have a major stock pile of wendex, clorox wipes... you know that really bad stuff
Laundry detergent? laundry detergent i am almost out of so i would like to know how to make my own and give that a try.
Diapers? i am not sure on this one, i would like to think that we would try cloth but i can't say 100% yet since we are not TTC yet
Anything else you want to share? I have the cloth bags for groceries, i hardly ever get plastic bags from store unlees like at target or something but then i recycle those.
p.s. how do you make your own deodorant...
Stacy - I use a mix of coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch. It only solidifies under 76degrees, so during the summer you should keep it in the fridge. I find mine works well, but I had to adjust the amounts of BS/cornstarch to get the best no-stink power.
Plus plain coconut oil is a great lotion alternative - I use it to wash my face, and moisturize with it too!
Taylor - I've honestly found it to be cheaper to eat clean. Grantid, we don't eat meat often, and eating veggie can be very affordable. Our grocery budget is $50/week. I make homemade bread and pasta which saves us the cost of organic whole wheat items which are pricey. For us, it's not so much about having the organic label as it is about being chemical free. So no preservatives means no pre-prepared foods. Since prepared foods can be expensive, we save there. Make baby steps. Start by reading labels and staying away from high fructose corn syrop, hydrogenated oils, and the big one - SOY.
Another soap-box vent. Soy is scary people. It is in everything. So reading labels is super important. I put as much effort (if not more) into researching what I'm putting in my body as I do buying a car, a house etc.
what do you put it in to apply it?
And I agree on the Soy issue
I just cleaned out an old AP stick and filled it with my mixture. It's messy, but makes you feel like you're using a regular stick. You can just as easily sit it in a covered bowl and apply with your fingers. It's just like lotion then, and the light coconut smell is nice on your hands too!
Can't wait to meet my baby boy!
Where do you buy your meat, eggs & produce? Fry's, but I might check out the local farmer's market Friday for produce.
What do you use to clean? Mix of vinegar and water for general cleaning, but I still use some things like Windex b/c I get it cheap.
Laundry detergent? I've made my own for about a year.
Diapers? N/A but I'd consider cloth if we decide to have a kid.
Anything else you want to share? I use the Fry's & Safeway reusable bags for groceries every week (they've paid for themselves several times already). I use a Diva Cup. I use cloth rags (separately labeled for kitchen vs. cleaning) instead of paper towels. I'm pretty green when it comes to cleaning, but not really at all for food. Oh, and we replaced all of our lightbulbs with CFL a year or two ago as well.
Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for? Albertson's, F & E, usually. We don't have Wholefoods, TJ's, Sprouts in our immediate area, but I guess worth the trip for the quality.
How about eggs? F & E mostly, cage free. I'd love to have access to fresh farm eggs.
Produce? F & E, Safeway, Albertson's, Fry's...I am picky with quality, and will shop around the stores for this alone.
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself? Clorox wipes and windex and pledge. How can I make it on my own? This intrigues me, but I might not be able to sway him. When I clean kitchen counters, I do use hot soapy water with a microfiber cloth to dry immediately. I do this in sections.
Laundry detergent? We get the big jug at Costco.
Diapers? Not yet, have always saw myself as a huggy's or luv's mom, but if enough research I can do cloth diapers.
Anything else you want to share? As I am the soggiest member, these green posts have inspired me to do better. I do recycle, but that isn't enough. I do make dinners, and after seeing Jaye say she makes her own pasta, I want to get into that. I have tossed Bath & Body Works products, as I'm selling organic skin care and it has opened me to what I am putting onto my body, as well what is going in is as equally important. It is a lifestyle change, and to commit, but to also get dh on board is hard to say I will commit to many changes, but if I can start small, slowly get him on, or do things he doesn't even know and I'll then dazzle him with how I did just a good a job at cleaning, or better than with the toxic stuff, its worth it!
Thanks for opening my eyes with Earth day coming up! The Earth seems to be quite angry right now, its alarming.
This has some approximate ratios http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html
But it does come down to a person by person basis. My first stick was about like this and I ended up having to add more BS. Make sure you find the unrefined coconut oil so that it's as natural as can be and has the hint of coconut smell.
Also, you need to apply very lightly. The deo will melt when it touches your skin so I just hold the stick up to the top of my under arm and wait a second, then glide it down. It will look like a clear oil on your skin, unlike normal deos. I'll usually rub it in a little bit and air dry until I get dressed.
Works for me - and much better than Tom's of Maine if you ask me - I have both, and use the ToM sometimes because I love the apricot scent.
Making your own laundry detergent is extremely budget-friendly! I can make a giant batch for a few bucks and it lasts for months.
And while buying CFL bulbs has an up-front cost, if you find a good deal on them, it's not a big cost and it makes a difference in your energy bill. I think it cost us maybe $80 to replace the lights in our entire house. I bet we made that money up in less than 6 months in our energy bill.
Same thing with using cloths vs. paper towels. I think I paid maybe $5 or $10 for a big pack of plain white rags and I use them for cleaning. A family friend crocheted some dish rags for me and I love those for cleaning up the kitchen b/c they scrub really well. I rarely use paper towels, mostly just for gross things like dog mess. And once I'm done cleaning something, I toss it in the laundry, it doesn't lay there and collect more germs.
Don't forget that if you bring your own reusable bags, most stores will give you a 5 cent credit per bag! You can buy them for $1 at most stores, so it only takes 20 trips to pay for themselves, then you start saving money.
Ditto on the CFL bulbs--Costco has them with an APS rebate pretty often. I think the next thing would be to quit using paper towels--Jaye, wasn't that one of your 101? Don't know if I could get the hubs on board for that though...
ps--I am ALL ALONE in my house for the next 45 minutes=bliss!
Yup! We conquered that goal! It's actually kind of nice not needing to depend on having paper towels around when we need them. We make do with rags and it's awesome!
Ahhh, I love that pic! And the balloon one though...
We are about to do some family pics...
Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for? Um.. Fresh and Easy sometimes, Sunflower Market most often. We buy cage free.
How about eggs? Sunflower Market normally- brown and cage free.
Produce? Costco, Sunflower Market, Fresh and Easy, our backyard.
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself? I am a TOTAL household cleaner aholic. I like the smell of bleach =(
Laundry detergent? Tide- but it's their color/fragrance free so called "greener" version...
Diapers? n/a
Anything else you want to share? We could be so much better- but we're making small strides. We grow a lot of our own fruits and veggies now (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, lettuce, herbs) and DH uses his own organic methods of pesticides.Where do you buy your meat (if you eat it)? What do you look for? Usually Fry's or Sam's Club. We always look for free-range or organic, but rarely find it.
How about eggs? We get the cage free eggs from Fry's.
Produce? Fry's or the farmers market. We buy organic of everything in which we eat the skins (tomatoes, apples, etc).
What do you use to clean? Do you buy it or make it yourself? We buy cleaning supplies. I've been wanting to start trying to make my own, though.
Laundry detergent? I have really sensitive, dry skin, so we use the free and clear stuff.
Diapers? We'll be cloth diapering!
Anything else you want to share? We've become a LOT more aware of our impact on the environment in the past year or two. We try to eat as little processed food as possible and eating organic and locally produced foods whenever possible is really important to us.
I'm also curious about the soy thing... I avoid high fructose corn syrup and such, but I'd never heard that soy was really bad for you. Can someone explain why? I'm a big time label reader, so I'll be on the lookout for this now!