You already probably know that Sherry and I do our best to make green decisions around Casa Petersik, but we actually approach the whole eco-friendly issue from two different places. Which means that we don’t always see eye to eye on the lengths that we’ll go to be green.
Sherry’s interest in being green comes from a health & safety standpoint. That usually means limiting unnatural chemicals around our house, on our bodies, and in our food whenever possible. She’s the driving force behind things like filtering our water, gradually shifting into organic food, switching plastic tupperware for glass, cooking with Greenware instead of Teflon, and trading our personal care and cleaning products for their more natural alternatives (we use Tom’s of Maine, Dr. Bronner’s, and Mrs. Meyer’s to name a few).
I, on the other hand, come from a place of energy and waste conservation with my green ideas. Perhaps because my dad, a retiree from the U.S. Department of Energy, has been a big influence on me (which is why an elementary school project of mine featured solar panels and a family vacation once included a stop at a wind farm). So beyond being the nag about turning off lights when we leave a room or turning off the water while brushing, I’m also the reason that we have a rain barrel, a compost bin, and a dual-flush toilet here at Casa Petersik.
Of course neither approach is more or less valid than the other, because we both agree that each has merit (and together they have some pretty nice overlap). But it does cause some sticking points here and there. For instance, despite Sherry’s warnings, I’ve yet to go cold turkey on the “refuse those BPA-laced register receipts” tip because I just find myself being awkward with checkout people. And I’m awkward enough as it is. So after a bit of debate (and many promises of hand-washing on my end), she decided to go easy on me for this one. Gotta love my flexible and understanding lady-wife.
And if it were up to me, we’d have two more rain barrels in the front of our house too. But when Sherry delicately pointed out that the neighbors probably wouldn’t appreciate that aesthetic (and neither would she) I conceded that we didn’t need to line the entire perimeter of our home with giant plastic rain-catchers. If I lived in a dream world we’d also bike more of our errands – but alas, our narrow roads don’t make this very safe (or even very possible) so I’m glad Sherry tamed my inner risk taker on this one.
Clearly, being green around here involves a fair amount of compromise. Just like all aspects of marriage now that I think about it. The bottom line: I respect her reasoning, she respects mine, and we both do our best to be supportive of the other. So even if it’s not a decision that we’d make for ourselves, we’re happy to put in the effort for our other half if it makes them happy. For example, I’ve been willing to use natural deodorant, as long as Sherry’s been willing to put up with me smelling a bit less fresh after working in the yard. And she’s willing to walk our food scraps out to the compost bin even though the garbage can in the kitchen is a few hundred feet closer- just because composting puts a smile on my face. In the end we figure we’re better off having two sometimes-opposing viewpoints because it actually helps us to embrace more green practices in total. We like to think of it as some sort of wide-range eco approach – you know, like a venn diagram with two overlapping circles.
But enough about us. What goes on in your household? Does one of you push the green envelope more than the other? Or for differing reasons? Tell us all about it. And if you want to witness another couple coming to terms with being green together, we recommend a documentary that we watched called No Impact Man. Let’s just say it raises the be-green bar (and involves a husband telling his wife that she can’t use toilet paper). I don’t think Sherry and I are there yet…
Psst- No Impact Man image from here.
Julia says
My husband and I are green by accident I think. I’m a thrift store junkie so most of our clothing and furniture come from there. I hate chemical cleaning products ever since I got pregnant and am phasing out our old chemical laden ones for homemade. Basically, it may seem a harsh stance, but my husband supports my efforts because he knows I am not basing our existence on how green we are. As you mentioned, some people may take it to a level many of us cannot… like foregoing toilet paper.
Hilary @ Bee's Bungalow says
We do basically the same stuff as you guys! There are a few exceptions- and largely due to the fact that we live in the city.
We try to bike as much as possible, but because of the danger factor do not bike as much as we would like. We also have only one car, but a hybrid Honda civic. We use organic bath products, cleaning products, and we also grow our own vegetables in the summer. We shop at the local Farmer’s market wherever possible. If given a choice between local or organic, we choose local. I also try not to buy processed food of any kind- basically if it comes precooked or premixed, I don’t buy it. Our city also has a pilot recycling program, where we get credits for recycling and lose credits for throwing away trash.
DH can be skeptical about green technologies and products. His job is to research the effectiveness of green energy technologies. As such, I often have a hard time convincing him to invest in certain items. He is very skeptical of products made out of recycled materials, if more energy was used to make the product than was recycled.
Lynzee says
I have the frustrating task of living with 3 roommates— most who aren’t as green as I try and be. Nothing is more frustrating than coming home from work (5 PM like a normal person) and walking into a house with ALL the lights on that my roommates forgot to turn off before they headed out to work at 8 AM that morning.
Ah the joys of sharing a household.
Mari says
Check out this video to know if your HOME is TOXIC and let me know what you think! It was a huge eye-opener for me!
http://content.shaklee.com/shaklee/flash/RealDirt/
I think what you’re trying to do is great! I think green, nontoxic products are by far the best impact you can make at home for your family’s health!
I am totally in love with Shaklee products. I was given the cleaning line as a shower gift last year and I am so amazed how well they work and how cost-effective they are ! ! ! Why hadn’t I heard about these before?! They ahve an entire cleaning, vitamin, beauty line and so much more!
If anyone is interested, feel free to email me your questions!
Emily says
I love this post! We’ve been working toward a green approach little by little for the past two years. Our diet has changed to mostly organic and is low-meat as well. It was a long time happening :-) We’ve been working toward better cleaning products as well. We go back and forth on who is green in what area, but compromise is the key. Our garden is huge! We went on a two week vacation. A sunflower that started at our 3 yr old’s height is now taller than my husband.
The deodorant thing though! I have a drawer full of probably $40 worth of natural deodorants. I’m glad for the tips everyone has listed because NONE of the ones I have work. Only the deodorants with a lot of aluminum work, and I really don’t want that on my skin.
Thanks for the post again!
Jane Lynch says
My husband and I are fine, on the same page about “green” issues. I run into trouble with my early twenty-something children! They insist that they learned in school that so little of what we “recycle” is actually recycled, that there is no point in doing it! I spend untold time retrieving things from the trash, rinsing them, and putting them in my recycling bin!
katie says
I tend to think of green things the way Sherry does…as they pertain to our personal health. That was the main reason I quit using regular household cleaners and switched over to using method and mrs. meyers products. I just don’t think it’s good for you to inhale all those chemicals on a daily basis. I also got us an air purifier and have done a few other “green” things.
Sometimes it is hard to be really green as a young couple who is just starting out…for example, I can’t afford to dump our tupperware for pricier glass storage just yet. But those are things I’m working on. I think it’s always going to be something we constantly strive to be better at and continuously evolve into.
Sophie says
Sherry, have you read The Hundred Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald? It sounds right up your alley. The book was a huge eye-opener, and we’re in the process of becoming a much more green household.
Here’s a little summary on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hundred_Year_Lie
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll have to check it out! Thanks for the suggestion.
xo,
s
Erin says
I found that movie on Netflix a couple weeks ago… it was incredible! I am way more green than my boyfriend, but he watched the documentary too and found it very interesting. I try my best to keep things natural around our house and am constantly trying new products to find what works best for us. I love doing this, it makes me feel good!
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
I love this post! When it comes to green anything, I’m definitely the pusher and I’m an all-rounder. I founded a “Green Team” when I was in Middle School and I’ve totally drafted my husband, my family, and anybody else who will listen to a greener life. Oddly, my husband has this thing about plastic versus glass and finally convinced me that we needed to convert to *all* glass.
To a few readers:
@Jolie – I started composting last year and I’m telling you, I will never go back! I wrote a blog post on it a few weeks back and I encourage you to read it:
http://tellerallaboutit.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/its-not-easy-being-green-how-hard-is-composting-really/
@anybody! – we’ve started making mucho-changes around our house to be more “green”. Everytime we go to the store now we ask ourselves, “How is it packaged? What are its ingredients? Can the package be recycled? Are the contents harmful?” Etc, etc. It’s a little crazy, but it makes me feel better that we’re doing our little bit to help ourselves, our environment, and our kiddos in the future – hey, they need a home, too!!
http://tellerallaboutit.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/its-not-easy-being-green-the-first-round-of-changes/
Great post! Hooray for green-ness!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Laura says
For the front yard you could get a whiskey barrel repurposed as a rain barrel, like one of these. We got one after seeing it on This Old House. They’re quite pricey but look a lot nicer!
http://www.ne-design.net/oak-whiskey-barrel.html
http://www.kentuckybarrels.com/RainBarrels.html
Cindy says
Have you guys ever seen the old Britcom “Good Neighbors”? I think you’d really enjoy it and get a good laugh. You can watch it on Netflix instant, if you have that.
The show is actually called “The Good Life” in the UK but had to be changed in the U.S. since there was already another show by that name.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like fun! We’ll have to check it out.
xo,
s
Amy says
Amongst other green habits, one of my newest is a book I recently found. The Better World Shopping Guide is a book that we like to use to help pick products when we go shopping. It basically ranks companies based on their social and environmental responsibility. It’s been quite informative and especially helpful when picking things out at the grocery store that we don’t really care what brand we buy.
http://www.amazon.com/Better-World-Shopping-Guide-ebook/dp/B00267T2EU
Shereen says
So happy that you’ve decided to talk about this! I think a lot of couples may be dealing with these kinds of issues including us, and we’ve realized it all comes down to balance and compromise as well! My reason for living “green” is all over the place (health/environment/human rights). My husband shares these views (and pushes them more than I do) but he is also really focused on animal rights issues and the waste and pollution created from raising animals for food. He is a vegetarian, I am not (although I don’t eat meat really often anyway). We have no issues on that front, but when we first started dating I did feel like he was a bit preachy – sorry darling! One issue that has been a point of many discussions recently is what kind of home we want to live in next. We are currently living in a 1 bedroom condo – very little energy use, using our space efficiently, being environmentally responsible. I would like to see us to move up to a larger home in a years time, but my husband is worried about how much we will “consume” moving to a larger space….the debate rages on!
Susan says
You guys always seem so in sync that it’s refreshing to see some of the minor disagreements about what it means to be green. My (soon-to-be-live-in) boyfriend and I have similar discussions. I try to limit AC use to cut costs (and the environmental impact), but he points out that it actually takes more energy to cool an apartment after it’s gotten unbearably hot. Plus, an unbearably hot apartment also makes for crankiness.
I saw “No Impact Man,” and it was funny, but man, that poor wife! And with a small child, too. That must have been a real trip.
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
Oh, I almost forgot!
My favorite website is The Good Guide. It gives you a good idea of what you’re buying, what types of ingredients are used, is it safe for environment, does the company practice good techniques (like no child labor, etc.). You can even download an app for your iPhone and scane the barcode at the store to look it up. Don’t leave home without it!
http://www.goodguide.com/
Sorry so many posts! I love green stuff :-)
xoxo,
Lindsay
Candice says
As an enviromentalist both personally and professionally I write a green living column for Your Daily Thread magazine. I’ve focused on small, inexpensive green steps that everyday people can make and use our tiny Los Angeles home as an example. I’ve shared an article with Sherry in the past. You can view them at yourdailythread.com.
I will say that I was really disappointed in No Impact Man. Sure he went to the extreme and most of us understand that, but for people who are just beginning to green their homes and lifestyles, I think his approach is a real turn-off and more than a little unrealistic. Point for effort though!
Nicole says
My Hubby and I are trying to take some steps towards being greener and more environmentally conscious. We’re replacing our old light bulbs with new, more energy efficient bulbs; we recently purchased a new more energy efficient heat pump (AC); we use cloth napkins, reuse and wash rags, etc. to avoid paper waste; we take advantage of the HUGE bin we received as part of our town’s curbside recycling…those are a few things we’ve done. As far as food goes, we’re trying to work in some more organic choices into our grocery list – milk, produce, meat when we can get a good deal. It’s not always easy but we feel much better making all these changes!
Thanks for the heads up on the documentary!
Ami says
You guys should read the book “Sleeping Naked is Green” by Vanessa Farquharson. It is a nice break from the serious green books and pretty funny. She writes for the post and did a project for a year where she made one green change a day (some from a health standpoint some more conservation) and blogged about it… which was then turned into a book. She is actually friends with No Impact Man… which is how I learnt about and saw the movie. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the green suggestions everyone! Love it!
xo,
s
Caryn says
Great post! My husband and I often land on weird ends of the going green bandwagon. Although we both intensely agreed after watching several movies and reading books about food to go all natural and organic as far as eating. We haven’t been near a fast food restaurant in over a year and our grocery list changed drastically. And it definitely helped my allergies immensely to cut out the HFCS, artificial flavors and colors as this was the first year I haven’t been so allergy sick I had to miss work!
On another note, you all should check out some of the healthy living products at purelyproducts.com. I feel like I’m kind of sleezy to share them with you since I actually do a lot of packaging design work for them in my day job but I don’t mention them for any marketing purposes. I became really fascinated with their products and the science behind them because of my work and now I use a lot of the products daily. My husband and I switched out many lightbulbs with their Healthy CFL bulbs which have an air purifier in them(!) and we used their Pocket Purifier when we traveled overseas recently as well as I’ve given it as diaper bag gifts (awesome for disinfecting baby stuff without nasty chemical cleaner!) Anyway, hope it’s ok to share them with you, but thought you would be interested. I know they do giveaways sometimes too!
Liz says
I love your blog and am a daily reader!! We saw No Impact Man and liked it quite a bit. I’ve lived in the developing world and my husband hails from there. The toilet paper dilemma is one that we can relate to. Most people in the world use the water method. This is what people did before toilet paper was invented. It’s not gross or disgusting and in fact, people who actually clean themselves with water every time after they go, tend to think that using paper to clean oneself is pretty gross. Making a choice to be green is just that, a choice. Many many many people in this world don’t have that choice. We should consider ourselves lucky (I think :-))
Dorinda says
We follow along the same lines as you guys. Although my husband started out much greener than I. When we first moved in together about 9 years ago I was not that excited about putting a worm bin under our open stair case. We have a yard for that now and he goes along with buying grass-fed, non-hormone meat( we recently watched Food Inc.) and the CSA we just joined. We ofcourse use all Green Irene cleaning and energy saving products and try to change things when we can.
Ami says
I forgot I wanted to also mention this… since I see a lot of people mentioning deodorant…
I found this great how to article a while ago on how to make your own: http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-make-your-own-deodorant.html
I haven`t had much luck with other store bought natural deodorants (including Tom`s) so I thought I would share in case anyone else wants to try making their own.
Lindsay says
I am the driving force in our house to living a greener existance. My hubs is coming around and commits to recycling, using our green bin (collected by our city and we can put everything from food scraps, meat, pet waste, and pizza boxes), and renovating consciously. Most recently we’ve installed a dual flush toilet (our city offers a rebate program if you replace an old inefficient toilet with a new eco version). So I’m definetly leaning more towards John on this one, but slowly I’m converting from chemicals to all natural for cleaning, and to local organic for groceries. I beleive in living more consciously and limiting our impact…but I won’t be giving up toilet paper any time soon!
Sara @ EF eDesigns says
My husband and I both care about being green, but not necessarily for the same reasons. While my focus is on not destroying the planet, my husband’s is on not destroying his body. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also important to me to prevent any diseases by not putting chemicals, etc. into my body, but that is definitely the driving force behind his reasons for being green.
Jessica Fulkerson O'Brien says
My husband and I have been going green over the past 3 years, with our largest effort being opening up a retail store (The Green Life) devoted to selling all eco-friendly goods. It has been our biggest sacrifice in terms of finances and free time (as any small business would be) and as it grows, so do our personal efforts in our own life and home.
I recommend No Impact Man, the book, in addition to the film. I haven’t yet seen the movie, but I hear that there is a large difference between the two. I enjoyed the book because there is a lot of reflection of what he learned during the process – beyond the environmental impact and more of the impact the experiment had on his views of the world and what his family wanted out of their lives. That’s what keeps me going forward on this green journey, whereas my husband focuses more on the political and environmental impact side.
One of the biggest blessings of my husband’s and my changes to a more green lifestyle is how it forces us to reevaluate our life. It can be difficult to change the way you live and break habits you’ve formed over decades, but I feel like we’re doing just that. It allows us to take apart our life and rebuild it in the way we want.
We like to take on things one at a time, and for a month trial period. Then we can move forward with it in full or just appreciate what we’ve learned from dabbling in it. For instance, I decided to become vegetarian (based on the environmental impact over personal thoughts of eating animals or animal rights). We started with meat-free Mondays, then meat-free dinners, then eating meat-free at home but not when dining out, and so on and so on. I tried foods I had never eaten! We cooked more together! I felt healthier!
We did this also with shutting off our TV, challenging ourselves to buy local and from small businesses for all holiday gifts, walk in place of driving for most errands, etc. Even if I won’t shun a car all of the time, by walking more, I saw so many beautiful things in my own neighborhood that I missed in the past 3 years. Our TV service is currently off and while we may turn it back on, I’m reading more, spending more time with my husband, and enjoying all of the books, music, games, etc in my home that were just collecting dust.
What I’m doing, when going green, is dismantling a section of my life and rebuilding it to fit with what I want for my planet and my future. So many people see “going green” as a sacrifice, but that isn’t sacrifice to me. That’s a blessing. That’s empowering. That allows me to shape and create a life I love.
Steph says
I’ve been working for years to make my and my husband’s life more sustainable and chemical free. The majority of the ideas come from me, but lately my husband has been doing his part as well. For example I get REALLY excited when he comes home with organic cheese instead of regular cheese because it means he’s thinking about it too :)
We eat about 90% organic fruits and veggies, use glass containers, Toronto has an amazing green bin program that takes all of our food waste, I only use vinegar and water for cleaning the house and natural cleaning supplies for the laundry and dishwasher… it’s all overwhelming at first but if you do one thing at a time it just becomes old habit…
We’re having a baby soon so that’s a whole new world of change — I’ve decided to go the green route with diapers and we’ll see what else we’ll have to do! :) It’s all worth it to us.
AbraCat says
Ooh… fun topic! We gave up paper napkins, towels, and plates almost three years ago in favor of cloth and real china. I shut off the water when I soap up in the shower; save my dishwater in a bin to pour out on my garden at night; and use Seventh Generation dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, and toilet paper. I’ve taught my kids (and husband) to adhere to a strict “If it’s yellow” policy when using the bathroom (unless we’re having company, of course…); when we have leftover water in our glasses or the kids’ lunchbox bottles, we pour it into the pets’ water bowl or the houseplants; we use cloth bags when shopping; and of course we recycle everything we can. Our house doesn’t have air conditioning, we rarely use the a/c in our car. We only have one car, which I use for errands; my husband takes the bus to work; I walk the kids to school every day, and I walk to the grocery store whenever possible.
By the way, I hadn’t heard about the risks associated with printed store receipts– thanks for making me aware of it!
Leia says
I love this post – every couple has to work together, but people are still individuals. <3
I'm the health pusher here; organic foods, least noxious but still usable body items/hand soap/cleaners, clothing, gluten-free eating, etc.
My husband is an energy conservation guy on the whole; he makes special trips once every few weeks to a recycling place that takes all plastic types. And he'll wash and save all plastic types. I'm a little more of the 'if it's gross, toss it' type, but if he's willing to wash it… ;)
I like the AC on; he'd rather go without. He'd rather bike or walk, if it's beyond a few blocks I'd like to take a car.
Conversely, I'd like a tiny house, he'd like a slightly-more-spacious home. (117 sq ft is not fun for a family of three ;) Retirement maybe: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/lusby/ )
He draws the line at raising chickens, though. ;)
Meghan says
Funny you should post this now – Phil and I have just been having this same sort of discussion between ourselves this week. The sticking point has been air conditioning. As fellow Richmonders, you know exactly how ugly it’s been this week. We’ve only turned on the AC once so far, for about 10 hours. Sunday night we did not have it on, and even with two fans in the bedroom, it was a less than stellar night of sleep. Monday, I had to put my foot down and insist that we turn the AC back on. Phil works from home, and if he and the pup want to turn it off during the day, that’s their prerogative, but I can’t sleep in a house that’s 95+ and then have a decent day of work.
The husband wants to save the earth, and I am right there with him. We compost, we use minimal electricity, we’re practically using only one car, and my wish list includes a clothesline for the backyard. And it’s not like we’re setting the house down to 68 – the AC’s set at 82 on the thermostat, and it’s VERY comfortable.
The hard part is drawing the line between living in a yurt and giving up dairy, or living the best way we know how, figure out how to make new and better sacrifices, and still being comfortable. At least we’re trying, right?
Karla @ {The Classy Woman} says
Loved your post (as usual). Hubby and I weren’t always on the same page. He used whatever personal care items he wanted and didn’t recycle, compost or think about wasting printer paper. After the first year of marriage he came around. I’d start telling him about little things we could do which also saved money-he liked that part a lot. He realized the changes were actually pretty easy and in terms of personal care items and cleaners, he loved that they weren’t overly fragrant and actually helped lessen his allergies.
I’d have to say that he’s really started to embrace it all and has even taken some courses about becoming more green. He likes to let me know when I’ve left a fan or light on for more than 1 minute after leaving the room-LOL. We’re signed up for a local energy efficiency class in 2 weeks that should help us improve our 50-yr old less-efficient home.
Pam says
I guess I am lucky because my husband and I are both “greenies” – and we together embrace both the environmental and health/safety reasons – but it has been a process to get to the point we are (mostly organic food, glass containers, low meat, compost & grow-our-own veggies, etc) and we know we have a LONG way to go before we are “no-impact” people. I didn’t see the movie, but I followed the blog he had for awhile as he was doing the project, and I definitely was inspired and learned a lot.
Jen says
My husband and I are both on the same page re: greening, but I am definitely the pushy one. The only thing I feel awful about is that although we used to drive our recycling to the town dump/recycling center (one place, two drive thrus), they have recently began charging five bucks every time you go! I don’t go anymore…I just feel offended that I should have to PAY to recycle!
Allison J says
No toilet paper? My response would be, “I’ll bet the divorce lawyer would let me use toilet paper.”
Hey, do the rain barrels have to go next to your house? You’ve got a garage, right? How about along the back of that?
Thanks for all your awesome tips!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Allison,
They could, but you generally want them near things that you want to water. So because there’s a bit woods behind our garage they wouldn’t really be handy there. Thanks for the idea though!
xo,
s
Amy in Lake Tahoe says
We have become very green in our house, and unfortunatly, it took a devastating cancer diagnosis to do it. My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer last July, and was given 1 to 2 years to live. He is doing well now, with his latest PET scan showing no detectable tumors.
As a result of his diagnosis, and speaking with a doctor/researcher, we are now eating very few processed foods (if we do, they are organic), and all organic meat, fruts and vegetables. We do not eat any cured meat, because of the nitrates. According to my husband’s doctor, the rise in esophageal cancer in this country, particularly in younger men, is as a result of their diet. I am posting this because we both want to try and prevent this from happening to anyone else! We had no idea what the food we were eating was doing to our bodies!
In addition to the food we eat, we are also big recyclers, and we will soon be composters. I recycle as much as I can, because living in Lake Tahoe, which in my opinion is the most beautiful place in the world, we need to protect the Earth’s beauty!
Oh, and thanks to Sherry and John, we had switched our cleaning products to Mrs. Meyers even before my husband’s illness! I feel so much better using these products and knowing they are not harming the air we breathe in our home!
Yulia says
Love this post! I am inspired to go to HomeDepot to see if I can make my own rain barrel.
Question: What do you do with your rain barrel in the winter? I would imagine that you have to disconnect it in the winter otherwise the water could freeze and crack the barrel. But in your post you showed that you had to shorten your gutter length. So if you move the barrel away in the winter, are you left with an abnormally short gutter??
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Yulia,
We just leave the spigot in the open position so it can’t gather much water over the winter. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
bob e. k. says
…Just a little warning about Tom’s of Maine. After using it for 6-8 months or so, I had my usual dental checkup and had 3 cavities. First 3 ever, so be careful!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Bob,
You might have been using the non-fluoride kind! We’ve actually heard that can happen. We opt for the version with fluoride (and have for the past two plus years). No cavities yet!
xo,
s
Sara K. says
John–no joke. My dad was famous (or infamous) for having 5+ gallons/buckets around the house to collect rain water. He recently remarried, and I think he’s down to 1 or 2.
Danielle says
I spray painted my rain barrel to match the color of our house! I think our neighbors appreciate the fact that it blends in so well :)
Also, I love your blog! My husband and I have an old “cape cod” style home that needs a lot of updating and I find so much inspiration here!
Organic City Girl says
Love your blog and read it all the time! Such a great post and so nice to hear that you guys make efforts to live green and help the environment. I recently made the switch to an organic, eco-friendly lifestyle when I moved to Boston this past year and am writing about it on my new blog http://www.organiccitygirl.com.
Thanks for your great posts. Reading about your adventures in home DIY is the highlight of my day! :)
Patti says
From a green standpoint, I’m with you John. I’m into recycling, rain water re-use, composting, lights out. My husband alas, is with no one. He finds it perfectly fine to spray the most annihilating chemicals around the house for weeds, bugs, etc. without a second thought. It’s a constant battle. But I’m fighting the good fight so I know I’ll eventually win :-)
May I say to Kari, with all due respect — that’s a bogus argument your professor professed, “Why should I sacrifice cuz someone else won’t”. Imagine if everyone thought like that, nothing would ever have gotten accomplished in this country.
One more thought: With this horrific oil spill STILL spewing in the Gulf, can we finally get serious about getting off of oil? I’m so sick about this. Thank you for the soapbox. I’ll stop now.
Katie says
I love this because my boyfriend and I sometimes do butt head on this subject as I am the more “green” person in the relationship, but he has come a long way since we got together. I insist on buying organic groceries, where necessary, therefore I pay for the groceries in our house, but if he has to stop and get some vegetables or milk on the way home he makes sure to buy what he knows I would buy to keep us healthy. We both recycle hard core, which he has become very willing to do, and compost, which he is not so willing to do. We both do our best to buy energy efficent items around the house. I would really, really love to have chickens in the backyard for fresh eggs, but he says it’s too much work. Maybe I can get him to give in once we own a house with a bit more land :) There is some give and take in this green area, but we’re getting more and more to the level I’d like to be every day.
Elizabeth says
Although I know my family is going green in different ways, I thought this article might be interesting to you:
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/06/10/real-story-behind-some-10-greenest-brands#ixzz0qYcm7wBQ
Some “green” companies aren’t as eco-friendly as they once were. I saw you mentioned Toms of Maine (whom I still love for their dental products), but they are no longer a small family-run business. They are now a part of Colgate-Palmolive which produces some questionably green products.
Audrey C. says
My reasoning behind being green is definitely my health. I don’t want to harm the only body I have with chemicals—especially when there are safe alternatives. My boyfriend hasn’t really jumped all the way on the green bandwagon (he’s just running along behind), but he is willing to use the green products I buy, so that makes me happy :)
Miranda says
I wouldn’t call us “green,” but we’re generally in agreement. I’m interested in conserving and not being wasteful, which I would attribute to my Native American background, a Great Depression grandmother, a “Waste Not, Want Not” father and general thriftiness. I also buy organic in many instances in part because I believe that pesticides can impact our health and because the hormones injected in our food trouble me, especially when early development and societal pressures put our children at risk.
However, my primary reason for buying organic, like our milk is because it simply tastes better and is better for you. For example, I’m a country kid, raised on whole milk. I can’t stand 2% milk, but in trying to lose weight, I tried 1%. I’d have never stuck with my diet on Country Fresh 2%, but I can drink 1% organic (Meijer or Horizon) and it tastes just like whole milk!
But for other things, I have a “we survived” attitude. Things like this prevent me from switching plastic baby bottles out for glass. Plus, I already have the plastic ones, so pitching them would be wasteful. Plus, those glass suckers are heavy! I’m also not convinced that reusable bags are any better or safer than paper bags, or that getting plastic bags and reusing them/recycling them is bad. I also do not subscribe mainstream global warming thinking. It reminds me of when I was in school and they had us in such a panic over acid rain. I still to the basics: reduce, reuse, recycle and eat right and exercise.
Christy says
In the past it has always been me driving any green decisions in our household. On Monday though, my husband surprised me. He traded in his truck for a new Prius! Some guys have given him a hard time about it (we do live in Houston, after all), but I think it is so hot! :)
For as long as I can remember, I chose to be green to reduce waste, conserve energy and help the planet. About 3 years ago I started switching to more organic foods – specifically meat, dairy and fruits & veggies from which I eat the skin. One of my friends mentioned that she switched to organic meat and dairy to keep the hormones out of her children. I really do not want pesticides or unnecessary hormones from my food. And I don’t understand why anyone would.
We do not have curbside recycling because my master-planned community left it up to the homeowners to vote. Apparently my neighbors were not OK with paying $3/year to recycle. Ridiculous. So I just continue to collect recyclables and bring them to the county recycling center, and the paper products to an area elementary school that has paper collecting dumpsters in the parking lot.
I almost always bring my reusable bags to go shopping. When I do get plastic bags at a store, I reuse them to empty the dirty kitty litter. I reuse any paper shopping bags I accumulate as well. I didn’t know about the BPA receipts, but I generally refuse them. I don’t need any extra paper. We also switched from using cases of water bottles to BPA-free reusable water bottles and filtered tap water. It’s good. :)
This is also my first year growing my own herbs. I have grown mint in the past, but that is all. So, I consider it green that I can just go pick my herbs in my backyard. I don’t have to drive anywhere; they are not shipped to my local store; there is no packaging waste; and they are completely organic! Next year I hope to start a veggie garden.
Keep up all the hard work!
SamiJ says
a CISTERN might allow you to collect more rainwater, without the unsightly barrels. It’s nice to see your global green ideals mesh nicely with Sherry’s individual green concerns!
Sarah says
My husband and I are both greenies, I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t. It’s just part of our shared values to use as little as possible and reduce our impact. There’s a great little movie, The Story of Stuff, to view on YouTube which we both enjoyed after hearing the author speak last week at the Brower Center in Berkeley. Her flicks on the Story of Bottled Water and the Story of Cap and Trade have some oh wow moments as well.
http://www.storyofstuff.com
D says
Seeing you in that barrel makes me feel like I can’t breathe..aahh! I wouldn’t have been able to do that, haha.
Rachel says
I’ve looked through the comments and I don’t see a link to the EWS rating site. If you haven’t seen this yet, you should check it out.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly), not all the “green” products are actually non-toxic.
YoungHouseLove says
So true Rachel! We love that site!
xo,
s