Fall Wrap-Up
Fall has been busy around the cottage! Crisp sunny mornings, and then days of rain, fuzzy blankets of clouds calling us to warm up indoors. My lovely daughters (I’ll call them “Seedling” and “Flower”) began another school year, the rhythms cycle anew.
Here’s a quick wrap up of what we’ve done this fall toward becoming ever more green and sustainable:
- Switched to cloth wipes instead of toilet paper. Inspired by Crunchy Chicken’s Cloth Wipe Challenge, I cut up several old t-shirts and repurposed the kids’ too-small underwear as well, into “family wipes.” I love them!! Seedling is a bit harder sell, and Flower is on board (for pee only) as long as we make sure to have toilet paper when her friends come over. It has been super easy, once a week laundry load (the one load I do in hot water).
- Cleaned and purged a lot in the house. Clutter is not green! (Trying to rationalize that clutter counts as “thermal mass” is no longer going to fly…). More work to do there, but we’ve made a substantial dent and my peace of mind is the grateful result.
- I went “no ‘poo” and love it, too! I’m using a bit of baking soda and water once a week or so, and I’ve done the apple cider vinegar rinse once and white vinegar rinse once as well. But mostly I just use water and a washcloth, and about once a week I use baking soda, and it is great. My hair is healthy and looks great. I will never go back to shampoo. Flower is trying it, too.
- Inspired by Beth at Fake Plastic Fish, I have pledged “No New Plastic.” We’ll see how it goes. At my recent visit to the dentist I politely declined the new toothbrush and dental floss they always offer. I have plenty around the house, including one of the eco-friendly recycled plastic ones, so no need. Began buying milk and cream in returnable glass bottles, and even asked the guy at the cheese counter how I could get organic cheddar not wrapped in plastic. Okay, he looked at me like I was a lunatic. But, I’m going to persevere. Planting seeds and all…
- Moved to once a month garbage collection. I tried this once before but was ill-prepared and the raccoons were all too happy. This time, with improved composting practices and little waste produced, I think we’re ready. We are going to start charting our trash in the new year, to become more conscientious.
- Started eating dinner by candlelight. In an effort to be judicious in our energy use, I’ve unplugged all the phantom draws on electricity, and been even more thoughtful about not leaving lights on when I leave a room and the like. And I have been pleasantly surprised to find that this creates a lovely atmosphere and transition into the evening and bedtime rituals.
- Pledged to eat local, which means both buying food locally produced as well as eating at home. I’m defining local as Oregon and Washington. Eating local, and at home. I’m a foodie, and really love many of our local restaurants, so I’m trying to just make these choices more thoughtfully, eating out as a special treat, and eating at home as the norm.
- Had my woodstove serviced, in preparation for heating this winter without fossil fuels (I have natural gas/forced air heat). Closed all the vents. Began making plans for window insulation. Hung heavy drapes to block off certain rooms for smarter use of heat.
- Bought haircutting scissors and cut Flower’s hair all by myself. My rockin’ hairdresser had come over during the summer to give me a tutorial and let me videotape her cutting Flower’s hair, so I gave it a shot. Not without trepidation. Okay, I ended up taking off more than I intended, or she wanted, while trying to make it even (hey! It’s harder than it looks!) but all in all I was pretty proud of the job I did, and her adorable school picture is evidence of my handiwork.
- Finally changed from banking at a bank to a credit union – more in line with my values, as a it is a small, regionally based non-profit.
- Fixed the back storm door so that it closes shut and actually provides insulation!
- And continued to do some things we have been doing already: Washing the laundry in cold water, hanging laundry to dry, and recycling paper, metal, plastics curbside (yay, Portland!) and a bunch o’ stuff I’ll compile into an ongoing list, eventually.
- Oh, and the “new” forks are working out just fine.