#green laundry

What about the Benjamins? It's obvious that in order to get more green, you either have to invent an entirely useful household item (enter Snuggie?), marry royalty, be a gold digger, work exceptionally hard and get a bit lucky ... OR

Start small and save a little green instead. That's right, we're not talking about getting rich here, but how to put a little back into your pocket by reducing costs.

One of the easiest household tips I know of to help reduce costs is through the laundry chute. Habits be darned, here are a few essentials for greener laundry practices:

Wash everything in cold. It reduces heating costs for hot water, and you can wash whites with darks as long as you've run previous cycles to ensure clothing does not bleed. I tend to stick to primarily socks, as they seem to do just fine with most color items. Any new items should be washed separately before testing this theory (though pink is in they say).

Shorten wash cycles from 12 minutes to 8 for heavy loads, 8 minutes to 4 for lighter loads (if you insist on smaller loads, crunched for time, etc).  I've never encountered issues with the cleaning capabilities of a 4 minute cycle.

Wash full loads to minimize frequency. Now it goes against the above suggestion for lighter loads, but there will be occasions where you just can't wait. In that case, shorten your duration.

Hang dry jeans, towels, sheets (basically anything where wrinkling isn't a big concern; reduces drying time).

In my last post I guess I never established what genre of things I was "speaking" of with regards to my goal of being less talk, more action. It's not that easy for a 50% scatterbrain like me to keep aspirations to a few fields, I mean, I have many passions. It is with some reservations that I admit frequently to being a "Jack of all trades, master of none". Anyhow, I have always felt a responsibility towards treating our Earth respectfully, including the animals whom live among us. Stepping up my Environmental Stewardship is the direction I (gotta also get the boyfriend involved...a little more tricky)feel propelled towards right now. 

With this desire/goal always in mind, I began reading writer Colin Beavan's book, No Impact Man a week or so ago, and began to feel more guilty and yes, more motivated. In his book he details how he felt he was living a life misaligned with his values. Before starting his project/book, Beavan was subject to the very American philosophy that happiness derives from consuming and working to consume more without reservation. A concientous person to begin with, Beavan took a step back and asked questions of our American way of life. Does working more to get more really make us happy? Does commuting in expensive gasoline-propelled cars everyday that we then have to pay a lot for really make us happy? Does feeling too exhausted after work and ordering take-out really make our families happy? Does watching tv and not talking to our families really make us happy? You get the point. Of course I am oversimplifying his process, but the point's layed out. 

Beavan is asking the same questions that I have been asking for years, except I have not truly been going "beyond talk". Ultimately Beavan and his family undergo a year of being as environmentally no-impact as possible to be able to then reexamine what truly brings them joy, peace, and inspiration. Many have written negative reviews of his book, film, and project, but I completely disagree with them and give them no mind. How can one nay-say a person trying to live a good, environmentally responsible life? There's just nothing about his project that said, "self promotion" to me and I can smell that crap from miles away...anyhow, Colin Beavan is someone who has decided to go against the so-called grain of society. Since when has that ever been popular with humans? No person who made waves and questioned the way millions of us live was popular...at first. Cheers to you, Colin Beavan and family. Thank you for being brave. 

But...back to me and action. So inspired by Beavan, I decided I need to actually do some more of the things I've wanted to...like being more vigilant about cutting down my plastic usage and cleaning various day-to-day items with that in mind,etc. 

So I began, perhaps pathetically so, using my own body to hand wash most of the boyfriend and I's laundry. Admittedly, much of the motivation for this has to do with wanting to save money. Seriously, doing laundry over at the Super Wash Laundromat is costing us almost $100 per month! ZOINKS, SCOOB! But, hittin' people in the wallet is probably the only way most Americans can be convinced to be more environmentally responsible. After some limited research, I filled the ol' bath tub, cleaned of course, a few inches with warmish water and dumped the sheets and towels in. I was ready to "I Love Lucy" that shit. You remember the grape-stomping episode, right? 

I admit I did not mix up my own environmentally safe detergent as I didn't want to waste a perfectly decent mass quantity of Tide; but, I'm just doing this at home to see what I think then, after the Tide runs out, I'm gonna get some Borax and Washing Soda and start laundry/tub-stomping weekly. Startin' small and ending big! Yeah that's right, I'm gonna join the effort to save the planet one day at a time. 

Here's a website sponsored by GrowNYC that details more ways to Green your cleaning processes at home: http://www.grownyc.org/greenlife/detox