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Not Green

May 10th, 2014 at 07:34 pm

There's a little ditty going around through email talking about an older person going through a grocery check out and how the young cashier told her she didn't know about being green and then it talked about growing up reusing stuff and returning bottles, etc.

Ah, gone are those days.

I saw on Facebook last night where someone posted about how could it be easier to have petroleum products mined, refined, sent to a manufacturing plant, and then the product sent to store where on buys it, uses it, and disposes of it...and the question was is it truly easier to do this than to wash the metal spoon and put it away.

Amen.

As many of you, I take my lunch. I take my utensils too. I have an old set of flatware I use just for that purpose. We bought a new set a number of years ago simply because we had so many spoons and knives go missing it was difficult to set the table.

DH and I were talking about what we do to try and save things, not only for frugality, but because it makes sense for the environment.

I go through a ton of kitchen towels to save on using paper towels. I often use dust cloths and I bought one of those mops that you can put the liquid in and reuse the pad by washing it.

We use cloth napkins for our meals. We use our dishware and I store stuff in glass. I take my coffee in a Thermos and do the same with water and iced tea. (My lunch bag gives me a work out with the glass and Thermoses, but oh well.

We try to use cloth bags for groceries.

We recycle as much as we can. Our city eased up on some of the requirements and take more types of plastic. The other night DH said he wasn't putting the garbage out because it was so windy and we had so little because so much had been recycled. The recycled bin, on the other hand, was pretty full.

I have a love affair with Mason Jars. There, I've said it. I have bunch of them. I started buying them at thrift shops reasonably priced and buy new lids. I use them for a ton of stuff. Right now I have two outside for sun tea. When I have leftover coffee I put it one and put it in the fridge for the makings of iced coffee. When I make chicken broth that I know I'm going to use within a day or two, in the Mason jar it goes.

I think I'm torn between trying to do what is right for the environment as well as save money. Why would I want to waste things?

So, are you green?

Posted in Saving Money, Ramblings and nonsensical chatter | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Not Green”

  1. korihor69 Says:
    May 10th, 2014 at 08:05 pm 1399752320
    1399752320

    Congrats on your efforts, my new home state redeems water bottles & cans. The merchants obviously hate the process. They treat you like a red-headed step children when you present the receipt. They only let you redeem $10 per visit. Making extra trips to cash in. I decided to give the sacks to the homeless pan handlers, I give one at every corner, spreading the wealth. We use our regular plates and utensils when dining, only using paper plates & plastic wear at larger gathering. We do use biodegradable paper towels since my surgery. Read where cloth dish/napkins or sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria, use care because my immune system is compromised.

  2. rob62521 Says:
    May 10th, 2014 at 08:50 pm 1399755037
    1399755037

    I would say you should use biodegradable paper since you have immune system problems and you need to take care. So sorry the merchants are such pills. I think customer service is the pits anymore and this validates this.

  3. PatientSaver Says:
    May 11th, 2014 at 12:00 am 1399766457
    1399766457

    Absolutely, I am green. I have to laugh at the lame "green" effort made by my bank employer, patting itself on the back because one particular floors shuts the lights off on Fridays. Big whoop. Global warming moves much faster.

    I love my Thermos Nissan. I can load it up with a cold drink and ice in the morning to bring to work, and that evening, the ice will still not have completely melted! I have yet to try it with hot liquids.

    I have some small antique mason jars that work quite well for bringing small quantities of apple sauce, nuts or what have you, for workday lunches.

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    May 11th, 2014 at 01:07 am 1399770465
    1399770465

    Yep, I'd say we are just about as green as you. I personally could skip the paper towels but we have a few family members who haven't become green on this one. Ugh. We use less than we once did.

    But yes, we are very into reusables rather than disposables. Paper towels and garbage bags are our biggest disposable items we use. The girls have reuseable sandwich bags for their lunches, including thermoses, and silverware! I have trained them since kindergarten! Smile

  5. Buendia Says:
    May 11th, 2014 at 01:48 pm 1399816127
    1399816127

    Yep, we do the same (even down to the old set of flatware). A big issue in the Southwest where we live is water. We use very little water (short showers, xeriscape, save water in a big pitcher for watering plants, if it's yellow be mellow - I know: gross). Buy from the bulk bins and use refillable containers for things like rice, spices, etc.

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