Petition for a Change

11/26/2012

Unfortunately change in my house is moving slower than I had expected. I already have a trash can full of trash and a bag full of recyclables! I'm learning more and more about what actually gets recycled and what is most damaging to the environment.

I have always cared about the environment and a few years ago I was very active on a site called Care2.com this is a petition site. I have always focused on the animal/environmental petition but they have petitions in a range of subjects.

I have rejoined and am signing petitions. I want to create a ban or tax on plastic bags in my city and hopefully nearby cities when I think the time is appropriate where it will get enough attention. I can't believe the U.S. is trailing other countries in so many areas and hugely in our environmental impact!

So from this point on I will be signing at least one petition a week, and if I can't sign that week I will make up for it the next! My voice will be heard in politics, I live in a democracy! From now on I will also be featuring a worthy petition every month on my blog, if you have a feature worthy one let me know. It starts in December!

What you didn't know:RECYCLING (plastics)

11/24/2012

 The arrows chasing each other means something is recyclable, right? If I put an item with this symbol into my recycling bin its going to get turned into another product and not end up in the landfill or in the stomach of some poor wildlife! It's not so simple!

While these Plastic Resin Numbers look like they are in the recycling symbol some of them actually DO NOT get recycled. The only highly recyclable numbers are 1 and 2. 

According to the EPA,   "The recycling rate for different types of plastic varies greatly, resulting in an overall plastics recycling rate of only 8 percent, or 2.4 million tons in 2010.

They also stated that "Given the high cost of recycling, type 3 to 7 plastics are rarely recycled"!

I don't know about you but this was surprising to me as I thought any plastic with the recycling symbol on it meant it was recyclable and would be recycled if I put it in the right bin!

This blog is to follow my progress in my quest for change, but also to inspire others to change and educate you on WHY you should change. Why its important to me and in general! This information will make my life a little harder, I'll spend alot longer at the grocery store! I will have to sacrifice somethings that I want or I am used to for the greater good! Ultimately I think I will be happier in the end though!

and the reason is you

11/24/2012

I watched yet another documentary today, surprising right? But the things I learn and question well watching these documentaries is astronomical. Every one I watch changes me, my way of thinking, and a kind of enlightenment happens. I know that just because someone says something in a documentary doesn't make it fact, but it does cause me to pause, think about it, and research it later.

I've always wanted to change the world, to leave it better than I found it. I'm finally taking steps to do that, but its no longer for me. I was pregnant a while back and miscarried. I've always had a strong maternal instinct and now I know of hidden dangers lurking around even the seemingly most innocent corners. Now that I know more about the world we live in to me its frustrating that others don't want to learn and resist even the slightest change.
           In the documentary No Impact Man, the family was verbally assaulted both in person and online and people acted so hateful to them... now that I'm going eco friendly I can tell it makes people uncomfortable, even my family at Thanksgiving made a joke about using plastic and Styrofoam  its not eco friendly but hey I don't have to wash it. People are uncomfortable with change, so they generally don't want to learn why they should change, its easier to sweep it under the rug.

I care about nature, the creatures we share this world with, but mostly I care about my baby, even though they aren't a part of this world yet. The choices I am making right now are effecting them none the less! Every piece of trash I send to a landfill will sit there for years, pilling up and eventually leaching into our oceans! Every thing I buy sends a message. The more people buy a product the more of that products gets made, its the laws of supply and demand. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have the fresh local humane food, not the food from factories that abuse the animals and use a bunch of hormones and pesticides on our food!

It's not easy to change but I'm committed to changing, taking small baby steps for a better world. I'm committed to changing for my baby, for every baby out there, and all the innocents that get affected daily by our choices, the creatures, the plant life, things that humans have oft drove to extinction. We need to take responsibility, if not for ourselves than for our children!

   

My Stockpile (in the beginning)

11/21/2012

After moving out on our own Chris and I realized how expensive things could be. He detests using coupons and won't even correct the cashier if a product rings up wrong. As a child coupons embarrassed me and I detested them to, as an adult who is majoring in finance in college, coupons are the smart choice.

I have saved countless dollars since I began grocery shopping. With my Kroger card alone this year I have saved almost $500, not bad. In my zealousness for saving money and shopping smarter I amassed a small stockpile. 

In total my stockpile consists of about:

3 packs of pad refills for our swiffer wetjet

1 cleaner refill for our swiffer wetjet

2 packs of dryer sheets

3 laundry detergents

3 packs of clorox wipes

3  packs of dish detergents (20 count)

2 secret deodorants (for me)

6 Old Spice Deodorants (my hubby's)

4 hand soaps

4 air fresheners

8 bottles of woman's body wash

2 bottles of old spice men's body wash

4 bottles of conditioner

1 bottle of shampoo

1 bottle of men's shampoo & conditioner

3 opened face masks

6 various hair-care products

2 unopened biore face cleansers

8 bottles of women's shaving cream

2 edge men's shaving cream

17 unopened packages of women's razors

9 boxes of 40 count tampons

6+ boxes of 18-20 count tampons

6 packages of 20 count carefree liners

Since I have amassed a stockpile of products we will use these items and switch to greener choices as we run out. I am both looking forward to running out (so I can switch over) and dreading having to actually purchase these items again! My next stockpile will be full of green items and choices so look for that in the future... possibly the far future since these items should last me a while!

So far I have bought reusable shopping bags, Ology toilet paper, and reusable/recyclable water bottles (stainless steel), and a reusable recyclable travel mug made from recycled materials. I'm anticipating needing to purchase shampoo for both me and my husband, cleaning materials, razors for my hubby. If anyone has good recommendations let me know!

Baby Steps

11/19/2012

In my opinion, which is backed by several articles I have read, the best way to make a lasting change is gradually. I want to leave a positive imprint on the world, and maybe I'm passionate enough that I could make drastic changes to my lifestyle and stick with them... but my husband is not! A new study suggests that it takes on median 66 days to form a habit, perhaps the old quote "slow and steady wins the race" applies to more than just well races!

I have always cared about the environment and now that I'm an adult, I'm married, and I make the financial decisions and do the grocery shopping, I feel like I'm just as culpable for the state of our earth as anyone else! I'm not a child anymore and I don't have to live in the shadow of anyone else, my family wasn't eco friendly or very healthy growing up but that doesn't mean my family can't be! I'm changing things, and so should you!

Rather than waiting for the new year to set my goals into resolutions I decided to start now. Every day is a new day and with the rising of the sun, hope is renewed. Each month my husband and I are setting goals for our family. Since my husband, Chris, is serving our country and should have basic any time now we aren't planning to far ahead.

Decembers phase is the trash/recycling phase of our plan. Although our city offers its residents curbside recycling we live in an apartment that doesn't offer recycling, fortunately however I found out today that an apartment across the street has facilities that I can use to recycle. Plan B to recycle would have been my mothers because earlier this week I called her city to ask them if they offered curbside recycling, why she hadn't been notified, and got it set up for them to deliver a recycling container to her! Unfortunately some cities make recycling difficult, like where my aunt lives to where its not a easy switch... Apartments like mine that don't offer recycling can also make it difficult if you don't know of a place nearby that you can take it!
Decembers phase involves more than just recycling however, we also plan on:

1. Using reusable containers/cups rather than disposable.

2. Using reusable cloth store bags and totally eliminating the need for the plastic bags (which aren't good for the environment even if you do recycle or reuse them... more on that later*)

3. Getting take out food less (due to all the packaging, stereo foam containers and cups, pizza boxes, etc.)

4. Buying the bigger container when shopping, unless it will cause me to waste ( this is usually the more cost efficient option also!)

5. Eliminating Gift Bags and Wrapping Paper completely (instead we will be using newspaper to wrap gifts, and be giving cloth bags in place of gift bags to encourage others to use them in place of plastic... more on this later*)

Reusable options, in general, are more eco & wallet friendly. Since I have built myself a stockpile of certain items (more on this later*), I will be using them before switching over. Waste is rarely ever green in either sense! However to eliminate even more waste consider finding reusable options such as razors, toothbrushes, etc, and consider bringing your own bags for food out of bulk bins that you can store in reuasable containers and avoid any packaging on!


Have any tips or input? Leave me a comment!

Ology: Walgreens New Eco Friendly Line

11/19/12

Ology, the study of. In my case Ology is one of my first baby steps into becoming more eco friendly.This line from Walgreens boasts both sustainability and affordability. I paid only $4.99 for the 12 pack of toilet paper on sale, and as crazy as it seems am excited, about toilet paper! This toilet paper is made from bamboo and sugarcane husk, and was the only eco friendly option in my area that I found during my shopping trip and I went to four different stores.

The ology line currently has 27 different products including: shampoos, conditioners, Laundry soap and softener, Household Cleaners, Baby wash and lotion, Paper, Bath/Facial tissue, Paper Towels, and Lightbulbs.

The ology brand by Walgreens offers less chemicals than regular products and have taken out chemicals that are believed to cause harm that are found in other lines. Ology boasts the "No Harmful Chemicals" slogan on every product, which begs the question what is the best option for you and your family. While comprehensive research into the effects of certain chemicals still need to be performed, if by switching to this line we keep even one harmful chemical out of the environment and away from our families it will have been  beneficial!

Intro

11-18-2012

It's my hope that someday many will read this blog. My goal in writing it is to educate, and persuade. I'm not a hippie but I do care about our environment. I care about the animals, the earth, and the people. Everyone, especially parents should! This world, the one that we are wrecking havoc on, its the one that our children and our grandchildren have to live on long after we leave it!

A few days ago I set out to educate myself on how to be more eco friendly... what I found out was disturbing to say the least. In the last week watching several documentaries and reading books I have found out just how much harm we are doing, and how much harm is being done to us!

Did you know that there are chemicals in everyday hygiene products, cosmetics, and personal care products that have been linked to causing cancer and diabetes? I, like most of you, assumed that if its sold in the store its safe to use.... not to mention I've used it all my life so it can't be that bad can it? What if you could prevent cancer by switching products, would you? I would! Females are born with the eggs that will become the next generation already in them, who knows what kind of damage we can do to those eggs before they become fertilized. Our skin in our biggest organ so anything we put on it gets absorbed! I will do a follow up blog in a few days to further explain the chemicals in everyday products and I will provide better options you can buy and I will try to even include diy options to make things at home to save $! Chemerical is one of the documentaries I watched about this, after reading about it from a few separate sources. It's a great documentary!

Do you know how your food is treated before making its way to the market? I'm not just referring to the cruel inhuman way that factory farms treat animals. Have you considered all the hormones poured into the animals which are then butchered and wind up on your dinner plate? Notice how your children are hitting puberty long before you did, those extra hormones just might be the reason! Now lets think about produce, how many pounds of pesticides do you think are poured on that?

Now to the part of the blog everyone loves to hate, the environment. We have all heard talk of global warming, we see the litter on the side of the road, we hear about polar ice caps melting and polar bears drowning, and we hear about deforestation. Many of us do absolutely NOTHING to give back to this world which gives us so much, it provides for us and our children!

For 19 years I have been like so many others. I heard talk about the problems but did nothing proactive, did nothing to give back... sure occasionally I would make a half-assed effort for a few days but then I'd go right back to my usual ways. I'm an adult now, I'm married and hopefully someday I will have a child, I might even adopt a second. As adults its our duty to our children to leave them this world better than we got it! We need to clean up our parents mess and ours up to this point so that they aren't left cleaning it up or left with a world beyond repair.

This blog isn't about ranting and complaining about whats wrong with the world, its about changing it. A wise man once said "be the change you want to see in the world", I'm taking his advice. I'm changing my life. My husband knows how passionate about this cause I am, he has seen my frustration, my tears, and my anger at the current situation and the fact there isn't more education and the press isn't really covering it as much! My husband is changing with me. While we aren't doing the No Impact Man Project (another great documentary btw), we are doing our own project.... which mixes different aspects: eco friendly, healthy, lifestyle, financial, etc. We aren't who we want to be but by the end of our journey hopefully we will be.

The No Impact Man Colin said something along the lines of being a snotty liberal where you judge others so you feel better, but in reality your not doing any good and just giving yourself a free pass... I don't want to be one of those people. I want to make a difference and I want to encourage other people to do the same. One person can make a difference, but together we can change the world!