Friday, August 03, 2007

Going Green(er)

I am taking babysteps toward living green(er). We do a lot of stuff already but I feel a conviction to do SO MUCH MORE.

  • We use cloth napkins instead of paper
  • We use dish towels/rags instead of paper towels
  • We use baking soda and other natural cleaners (need to do even more)
  • We hang dry all tshirts, work shirts, & anything stretchy. (need to start hanging other items)
  • We live in a smaller house than many of our peers
If you have any tips or ideas or would like to share what you currently do, please leave a comment!

2 comments:

nancyr said...

You can make homemade shower spray, homemade laundry detergent, and homemade window cleaner. You can google each thing you want to try, and find numerous recipes. I make laundry detergent using Zote soap, and, if you have a Big Lots store nearby, you can get it for 70 cents a bar.

The recipe is as follows:
Grate one bar of laundry soap, such as Zote or Fels Naptha.

Put grated soap into a large saucepan of water, and heat, stirring, until dissolved.

In a five gallon bucket,
preferably one with a cover, add the soap and water mixture,
1 cup of washing soda (not baking soda) and 1 cup of borax.

Fill the bucket with hot water, stir. Let stand 24 hours.
Stir before using. Use about 1/2 cup per load.

It does a great job on whites, and has worked well on colors. If your clothes are really dirty, try using a little more. It is very low sudsing, too.

You can find the ingredients at many grocery stores.

nancyr said...

OOPS! That should read 1/2 bar of laundry soap, not one bar. It is too thick with one whole bar.