My green journey began about 12 years ago. In retrospect my green journey really began well before then. I was doing quite a few things that were green, but I wasn’t doing them because they were green. I was biking to work, turning off the lights in my apartment and buying produce from local farmers markets. My reason for doing these things were probably motivated by finances and convenience rather than a conscious green effort, but nonetheless they were the actions that led me on my green path. Over the years I have continued to make small and manageable changes in my life and hope to continue to do so.
We all have to begin somewhere and that somewhere can sometimes be overwhelming. If you’re new to the “going green” movement and you don’t know where to begin-this article is for you. Or maybe you’ve already begun greening your life and you’re stuck; not knowing what to do next-this is for you too. It’s even for those of us who have fully embraced living green. We ALL need reminders and tips now and again.
If I were to begin my green journey all over again I would start with these 5 simple steps:
- Start to phase out plastics in your home-especially those that come in contact with food. Plastic and food just don’t belong together. There are so many toxic chemicals in plastic that can leach into your food. The production of plastic is hurting our environment. Plastic ends up in our water ways and landfills, killing wildlife and not decomposing.
- Make the switch to reusable bags. The next time you visit the supermarket bring along reusable bags. Leave them in the front seat of your car so you remember them. For those visits to the mall or pharmacy carry a smaller version in your bag or backpack.
- Change over to non-toxic cleaning products. As your cleaning products run out consider replacing them with a non-toxic alternative. Make your own. There are plenty of DIY recipes out there for making your own. The Smart Mama has some great recipes if you want to give it a try. Buy safer, non-toxic cleaning supplies. Try to find brands that don’t contain harsh chemicals such as ammonia, synthetic fragrance, chlorine bleach, parabens and phosphates. You can find green cleaners at most retailers. Here are a few brands that I like: Seventh Generation, Ecover and Mrs. Meyers.
- Replace your personal care products with safe, non-toxic alternatives. As your shampoo runs out think green. Replace the old with something non-toxic and safe. I check all of my personal care products on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database before use. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve returned a product because it had a high hazard score.
- Leave your shoes at the door. Our country has an obsession with the “perfect lawn” requiring applications of synthetic pesticides that are not only killing weeds and other naturally occurring plants, but are harmful to you and the environment. All of those toxins march right into your living space when you wear your shoes from outdoors into your home. We have declared our home a “shoe free” zone. All shoes come off in the garage and they stay there until the next time we venture out. We try to remind our friends and family to honor our request for a shoeless house and we are grateful that everyone is very respectful. The best solution: how about we all stop using pesticides on our lawns.
For more suggestions on how to begin living a greener, non-toxic life take a look at Healthy Child Healthy World’s 5 Easy Steps Program -a resource to make healthy living more bite-size and practical. Remember: baby steps will get you there and keep in mind the greenest thing you can do is use what you have and replace the old only when needed.
I intentionally didn’t mention anything about food in this post. Start with small, manageable changes and then once you’ve mastered those you can add more. I could easily devote an entire post to how to begin your green journey with food.
What simple, tiny, green tips do you have to share? Where did you/will you begin your green journey?
[Top photo used under Creative Commons from Byrdiegryl/Flickr]
Two of your tips that I haven’t started are: leaving my shoes at the door and changing up my cleaning products! Thanks for the reminders! xo
tiffany
I come from a SUPER cheapskate- I mean, frugal- family, almost all “green” advice is what I grew up with. (This is why it’s so hard for me to buy glass food storage!) The simplest and most efficient/effective thing I’ve done, though, is stop eating meat- which baffled and frustrated my immigrant grandparents- Meat was the sign that you made it! Lentils are for poor people!
No problem Tiffany-I need plenty of reminders too. Leaving your shoes at the door is one of the simplest ways to keep toxins out of your home. It might take some time to get the boys on board! My kids still forget and we’ve been doing it since they were born!
I began my green journey when my daughter was diagnosed with food allergies at 8 months old. The allergist told me that allergies are on the rise due to environmental factors. My daughter was allergic to eggs, beans, nuts and dairy. The food that she was allergic to were hard to avoid and I learned how to read food labels carefully and I also started to dig deeper into allergies and environmental causes. The information that I found was alarming. I was forced to make big changes right away!
With being green, my primary goal is to reduce waste. Here are two tips: Go reusable whenever you can! Cloth kitchen towels instead of paper towels, cloth napkins, cloth diapers/wipes…even if you just switch over half the time, it makes a big difference!
My other tip is to compost. Reduce space in the landfill and help your garden flourish.
There’s a lot of toxic stuff going into our soil and water supplies, which impacts the environment, the animals and, of course, us. My family’s biggest “return on investment” was to stop using pesticides on lawns and in garden beds, raise mower blade to 6″ and leave the clippings as mulch. My hubby even pulls up the poison ivy by hand (no RoundUp for this family!) using these “frogger” gloves we found online. Been doing this for more than a dozen years and wish more people understood the huge environmental impact of their lawn care.
Great tips Krissy-thank you. Reusables are an affordable, simple change that makes a big impact. I have tried composting on several occasions and never stuck with it. We actually have a composter outside, waiting to be used. I have to find a way to make it simple and uncomplicated-otherwise it won’t work. Any hints?
Hi Xine-Did you jump off the meat train cold turkey or did it take some time? Does the rest of your family eat meat? Going meatless is a great way to go green. I don’t think your immigrant grandparents were alone in their perception that meat is a sign of affluence-there is a lot of truth to that perception since meat can be quite expensive. I’m with you-lentils rock!
Hi Michelle-We have a lot in common. Two of my three boys have food allergies. I can understand how you were forced to make some big lifestyle changes to protect your daughter. Making those changes is the only way to gain some control when someone is diagnosed with an allergy. Thank you for continuing to dig deep into the environmental causes behind this allergy epidemic. It really is amazing how many children are affected by food allergies.
Hi Karen-So glad to hear you have stopped using pesticides on your lawn. I’m with you-I wish that more people understood the impact of a pristine lawn. I am very impressed that your hubby pulls up PI -I’m terrified of the stuff. I think it has something to do with my youngest having it last year from head to toe (literally!). Has anyone in your neighborhood made a comment? I think our lawn looks pretty nice considering there is nothing on it. If I keep mowing the dandelions can’t blossom and the weeds look like grass. Thanks for the reminder to keep the blade raised up high and leaving the clipping for mulch.
We live pretty green as a habit at this point, but other than the great steps you mentioned, I like to tell people to invest in reusable water bottles for the entire family. We used to buy bottled water(I can’t believe it when I think back!!), but haven’t done so in several years. Same with coffee. I brew mine own and have a few travel mugs to choose from. Love this post!
I am still working on the shoes! Funny thing is, my kids are better at it than I am.
My green journey began in full force about 5 years ago when my kids were little. My “ah-ha” moment came during an Earth Day episode of Oprah. I started with money or time saving type stuff – making sure lights were off, changing to CFLs, unplugging unused electronics, washing laundry in cold, reducing junk mail and paying bills online. There are so many things you can do that actually save you time, money, aggravation or all 3!
@Lori: As a teen, I would eat meat (chicken or tuna) whenever I craved it, which was- how do we say this delicately?- monthly. I had enough problems without denying my body what it needed! Then I added more spinach/lentil dishes, and the cravings went away. Our whole family is vegetarian; Ben was raised that way by his vegetarian parents- not weird in the UK.
Great tips, Lori! I agree that leaving shoes at the door is probably the easiest and cheapest way to a less-toxic home. When we go anyone’s home now, my son immediately takes off his shoes at the door. I’m glad I started him young on this.
Great tip Cathy. Reusable water bottles are a simple switch. A small investment upfront and that’s it. My kids all have them too. They just have a hard time remembering to refill them before we head out!
Great tips Kristina-washing laundry in cold water is one of my favorites. Interesting that Oprah was your starting point-I’m guessing that she has impacted many.
Xine- Makes it a whole lot easier when the whole family is vegetarian. One meal for all. That monthly craving gets me every time 🙂
Thanks Betsy. My kids are the same way-shoes off whenever we are at someones house. It is nice that this is just part of their lives. Great job starting when he was little!
Oh this is such a great post!! You have such wonderful “going green” information!!
A while ago, Sherry from One Earth to Live said that the fourth R should be ‘rethink,’ and I totally agree. We could give out an infinite list of green tips, but the underlying consciousness is to consider the environmental impact of anything you use, buy, and do. That includes pretty much every green tip!
Easier said than done, but just having that perpetual question dangling in front of my brain keeps me from making stupid choices (too often, anyway). Of course, we do need to understand the full impact first — and your list is a great place to start understanding and thinking about the things we take for granted.
What a great point Jennifer-it really boils down to how we view everything. Once we have an awareness and an understanding that what we do impacts the world-perhaps we will shift and the green tips will have meaning. We all make stupid choices-I am so guilty-but that’s how we learn. Thanks so much for your comment.
I like Sherry’s fourth R “rethink”. My favourite additional R is “refuse”, as in “refuse single-use items”. That include water bottles, coffee cups, plastic cutlery, and paper napkins. All of these items are readily available in reusable formats. The cutlery and napkins are easiest, because you already have them in your home and can tuck them into your purse for use when you’re grabbing food on the go. Great list, Lori!
Great additions Andrea. Another single-use item I have been refusing is plastic straws at restaurants. They look at me like I have 4 heads. All of the suggestions you mentioned are so simple-all you have to do is say “no thank you”.