Friday, June 11, 2010

Green idea

We always try to think green, not only for our future but for the big impact is has on our check book! Our latest green-change is to eliminate our reliance on paper towels. When Wren was a wee-little one we decided not to use baby wipes to avoid drying out her tender skin, plus the cost savings that using cloths had was a big bonus (we have a sanitize cycle on our washing machine which was a god-send with a baby!).

Now that we don't change so many dirty diapers we are barely using many of the cloths so we have brought them down into the kitchen. We have a little bucket under the sink collecting dirty cloths, where we can easily toss them after each use until we do a load of laundry. They are great for wiping up dirty faces, spills and wiping down the counters and since we have so many I have enough to go a week or so between washings.

But we still have our paper towel holder near the sink for those times when you just need to toss something yucky!
And speaking of green, the garden is really starting to fill out and green up! Wren and I have been spending many afternoons out here trying to get the weeds and stray grass under control and get this garden looking good.
Well, I actually do most of the work while Wren tosses rocks in the pond about 3 feet away...
She is very intrigued by the apple blossom petals floating in the pond off the tree right over it and thinks that throwing rocks at them is quite amusing.


I have made it through about 6 feet of garden and am slowly working around the yard...

I have no idea how this section will go... everything is so big that I can't even see the weeds now!

But since I always have loved the look of English gardens where different plants and flowers all seem to co-mingle in nature I am not too worried about it~

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Holly,
I love finding new ways to be green. What kind of cloths did you purchase to use on Wren's sensitive bottom?? Did you wet the before wiping?

Amber said...

You and your furniture business is amazingly green! I think it is just fabulous!

Loui♥ said...

Holly..
I am not a young mother..but a grandmother..
I'm of the generation before everything became disposable..
Cloth diapers were the norm..
as were baby wash cloths..
we had our pails for diapers and cloths to soak before being laundered.
my point..all of the going green movement of today was the norm before all the big businesses created new disposable stuff to buy..because society was clamoring for more, more and MORE!
the only way to truly go green..is to not buy those products..
ie: disposable diapers, baby wipes, paper towels..
our kids grow up emulating parents..either copying the way mom did it.. or by being diametrically opposed to that way of life..
are you being a positive role model?
(i am a tree hugger..I do grow trees commercially on my properties..and do practice best Forestry Management Practices).
Life may not revert to those simpler times..but our landfills will be less filled.
warm sandy hugs...
Loui♥

Melissa said...

If you can't see the weeds then LEAVE IT BE! What a sweet helper she is~

Grace said...

English style gardens are the most beautiful and hide all sorts of things you don't want seen:)

carebear3117 said...

Ohhh, you have some nice mature plants in your yard. I love the lupins in the front of your last picture. It is a lot of fun to start fresh on a new garden bed. I am in the process of renovating my entire front yard right now and I am starting with a clean slate. I noticed in the top picture you have some goutweed and quack grass growing. If you can try to avoid the gout weed getting into your grassy area you will be happy as goutweed will take over the earth if you let it. If you decide you want to start over in that bed and plant new plants you will need to smother the goutweed and weeds in that bed and do a sheet mulching technique and leave it in place for a couple of years before you disturb it. I can't wait to see how your yard transforms!

Unknown said...

Stacey, I just bought the baby wash cloths at Babies R Us in packs of 12! I think they were like $4 or $5. We just wet them slightly with warm water~

Thank you miss Amber~ I sometimes wonder if my paint fumes cancel out all the good though.

Loui, so well put! I agree with everything you said. When things become so convenient and readily available it can be hard to break free.

Tales of Our Journey said...

I love your green idea! I would have never thought of that!

And I love your garden...even with weeds! :o)

Unknown said...

Haha Melissa, that used to by my approach. But then they started taking over LOL.

I agree Grace! They are great for those of us who aren't all that skilled in the yard.

THANK YOU for the tips Care!!! I am making sure to get ALL the roots when I pull them which is why my progress is so slow... and I hope to leave most of the plants so it makes it much more challenging. My next step is to add mulch though, just to keep it a little moist and so Mungkee doesn't drag in dirt from marching through there.
Our whole front has been ripped out to start fresh though. I just can't work for long in the front with Wren running around so we just gutted it.

Rachel Moss said...

Having a sanitizing cycle on my washing maching would be fabulous! We use cloths instead of paper towel most of the time, too. We do still us paper towel for cleaning the yuckier parts of the bathroom, though.
We switched to vinegar/water for cleaning, too. It is definitely greener and cheaper! I also don't have to worry about my daughter touching a just cleaned surface before it's dry.

Pine Tree Home said...

What a great idea about the cloths. I just cut up a bunch of old t shirts and now I think I am going to use them in the kitchen. We go through WAY TO MANY paper towels.

Audra said...

Glad to see you're being green. We do several things around our home to try and be green as well. We don't use very many paper towels either and we use cloth napkins for every meal. The extra wash really isn't so bad. The yard looks great!

schronlisa said...

i attach old cloths to my "swiffer" to sweep my wood floors and then another to mop using 50/50 water and vinegar.

 
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