GTKY Greenest thing?

abby8279

What is the greenest and/or most non-mainstream thing you do?  Something you do that if you tell other (non-bump) people they are like "what!?".  CDs don't count here.

PB&J714

My plan to sew some unpaper towels had my neighbor saying "what??". She even offered to buy me paper towels at Sam's Club so they'd be cheaper. Haha...not the point...

mariek312

@PB&J714 mine is about no paper towels too! We use FST and my family is super weird about it.

unaveragejane

missmimsyy said:

I use the same soap for hair face and body.

I had no idea that mimsy soap is so versatile.

CLLDLL

Probably my homemade deodorant.  Oh and we wrap presents in old newspaper for my side of the family. 

Kelly11235

We line dry our laundry (weather permitting).  I'm pretty sure we're the only folks in the neighborhood that do.  I've had a few people ask if our dryer was broken.

We seem to recycle a lot more than our neighbors.

We often get weird looks because we'll walk from one end of a strip mall to the other, instead of moving the car.

The cloth diaper thing really is what confuses most people though.

I'm sure that if people knew I used cloth pads and a cup, then THAT would be the weirdest thing lol.

abby8279

missmimsyy said:

I use the same soap for hair face and body.

Any soap in specific?  Or you just buy one of any kind and use it for everything?

unaveragejane

I don't think I'm super green, but DH's family thinks it's weird any time I opt for any thing beyond the cheapest or most convenient option. For example, I don't want bottles and pump parts to be washed in the dishwasher. Weirdo. When my MIL heard that I wanted to go med-free with L's birth she said, "Why on earth would anyone put themselves through that?!" Clearly I'm an idiot.

sarenu1

If I find out I can't recycle a container for food, I avoid buying it.

Like yogurt cups.  I like the different flavors in the small containers, but I avoid certain brands that I can't recycle.

sarenu1

Same goes for Target roasted chicken.  

I can recycle up to #5, if you use #6 or above you lose my purchase.

SuperTinkerham

cloth pads, but only a few people know about that

sarenu1

abby8279 said:

missmimsyy said:

I use the same soap for hair face and body.

Any soap in specific?  Or you just buy one of any kind and use it for everything?

The Honest company bar soap is great for this.  I ran out of face wash in the shower and just used the bar.

abby8279

I suppose I should answer my own question.  My family seems to bring up that I use family cloth a lot.  I think it's weird that they care soo much about what I wipe with.   And they have flat out said that cloth pads and menstrual cups are gross, stinky, and disgusting (even though they know nothing about them).  That last one hurt my feelings because I would never tell them that anything they do is disgusting.  Those are probably the things I do that are furthest away from mainstream.  

And I sometimes take baths with my babies but I have no idea if that is uncommon?

stoneycakes

Mapleme said:

Apparently my use of FST is weird. My mom is so crunchy in so many ways, but can't even seem to wrap her head around using FST instead of paper towel. She also can't tell the difference between my cheesecloth and my FST, so there's that. If she asks me to hand her a paper towel to wipe up a mess and and I ask her if she wants a cloth, she says, "no a paper towel" like I misunderstood her request. She also wraps all her veggies in wet paper towel before putting them in the fridge. SO MUCH PAPER TOWEL.

Why are people so obsessed with paper towels? I've had guests come over and ask for a paper towel because they don't want to "waste" a real towel.  They use that word.  "Waste."  It's weird to me that so many people don't think of throwing a paper towel away as a waste.

Rrrrrachel

I generally don't use soap and I make my own deoderant.


That makes me sound really smelly.

nanabanana06

I ate my own placenta.

The rest that I do is pretty mainstream here. Seattle makes me very crunch-light.

abby8279

My mom came to visit/help last business trip that DH took because we were all sick here.  She was trying to help by putting laundry away.  I just had to laugh b/c she took all the cheap Gerber prefolds I use as cleaning cloths and put them away with the diapers.  Then she put all the flats away with the dish towels.  She gave up when she couldn't distinguish between cloth wipes, washcloths, and DD#1's family cloth.  And cloth napkins, hankies, dishcloths, and unpaper towel.  Usually they are separated more b/c I wash them in different groupings but I was soo far behind on laundry everything was just dumped together.

abby8279

nanabanana06 said:

I ate my own placenta.

The rest that I do is pretty mainstream here. Seattle makes me very crunch-light.

Did you have it encapsulated or did you straight up eat it?

nanabanana06

abby8279 said:

nanabanana06 said:

I ate my own placenta.

The rest that I do is pretty mainstream here. Seattle makes me very crunch-light.

Did you have it encapsulated or did you straight up eat it?

It was encapsulated. So, no placenta pot roast. Nastiest, but best pills ever.

abby8279

@piccyami I like either 100% cotton or flannel for cloth napkins.  I don't like the more common cotton poly blends b/c they don't absorb as well.  100% cotton is going to wrinkle more but I don't care about that.

@nanabanana06 I wanted to do that with my last.  But I had an unreasonable fear that my placenta would get mixed up with someone else's.  Wish I would have done it.

nanabanana06

abby8279 said:

@piccyami I like either 100% cotton or flannel for cloth napkins.  I don't like the more common cotton poly blends b/c they don't absorb as well.  100% cotton is going to wrinkle more but I don't care about that.

@nanabanana06 I wanted to do that with my last.  But I had an unreasonable fear that my placenta would get mixed up with someone else's.  Wish I would have done it.

See, I used my doula. She had everything separated and marked. Plus, I knew I was the only birth around that time.

abby8279

Huh!?  Does H stand for husband?  Or is H the first letter of your child's name?

SuperTinkerham

Mister used one of the prefolds to clean up a glass of red wine the cat broke and spilled. I don't mind using reusable towels for soaking stuff up - but leave my (Grr's) diapers out of this.

abby8279

Family cloth is cloth/reusable toilet paper.

Rrrrrachel

I use cloth wipes sometimes but my husband would never. They work so much better.

abby8279

Family cloth does not need to be an all or nothing thing.  We don't use it for #2, therefore DH doesn't use it at all.  Only #1 for me and my oldest daughter.

unaveragejane

piccyami said:

@abby8279 Thanks!  Now I just need some not so obnoxious fabric for napkins.  If I don't get new fabric, H is going to flip.  Again.  I used some of the same fabric I used to make his pajama pants to make a sheet for the pack-n-play for my nephew and he flipped.  Apparently in his mind, mixing fabric prints between people is a no-no. 

I lucked up and found some nice cotton napkins at TJ Maxx, 12 for 12.99. To make them the same size as these would cost me about the same or more

Kelly11235

We tried switching to cloth napkins, but we seem to run out of storage space and then don't really have enough to make a proper load of laundry (even a small one). 

I should stop making excuses and just start using them again.

freezorburn

Kelly11235 said:

We tried switching to cloth napkins, but we seem to run out of storage space and then don't really have enough to make a proper load of laundry (even a small one). 

I should stop making excuses and just start using them again.

I just wash our cloth napkins with our kitchen towels. I should probably have a few more, since we usually run out during the week and start using paper towels, but at least it cuts down on our paper towel usage.

I started making unpaper towels back in February, and I'm still not done. Too many other projects keep cutting in line.

zaraceligon

nanabanana06 said:

abby8279 said:

@piccyami I like either 100% cotton or flannel for cloth napkins.  I don't like the more common cotton poly blends b/c they don't absorb as well.  100% cotton is going to wrinkle more but I don't care about that.

@nanabanana06 I wanted to do that with my last.  But I had an unreasonable fear that my placenta would get mixed up with someone else's.  Wish I would have done it.

See, I used my doula. She had everything separated and marked. Plus, I knew I was the only birth around that time.

I did the placenta encapsulation,and right away the placenta come out, the nurse put it in a plastic bag,then she put it on a small cool box with ice,the I bring to the hospital. If the lady didn't come to pick up the placenta in one hrs, before I leave the delivery room, I keep the placenta in the new room until she come to pick up.after a few day she delivered to my place.

MapleMomma

I haven't tried the family cloth or unpaper towels yet but would love to at some point! We hardly use any paper towels though because we use dish towels for everything. A lot of people say they don't want to get my towel dirty so they reach for the paper towels, I always explain that id really rather just wash the dish towel.

I also use cloth pads/ cup (when not pg obviously).

The fact that I sewed my own baby wipes makes a lot of people give me the side eye.

I also make my own all purpose cleaner, laundry detergent, hand wash, body wash, diaper cream, etc. Some think this very strange.

TJ1979

I didn't realize this was the go green thread for the day.  Oops.

I've been so excited to post that I finally bit the bullet and bought a cup and cloth liners for myself.  MH kinda flipped out about it, but I don't see how this actually affects him.

Also saving green, we have been mostly eating out of our freezer for the past 3 weeks (in preparation for the big move!)  That has saved us a lot of money, and actually been kind of fun trying to find new ways to cook stuff.

TJ1979

Oh, and as a bambooie follow up, we've been drying ours in the dryer, with no issues at all.

sarenu1

TJ1979 said:

I didn't realize this was the go green thread for the day.  Oops.

I've been so excited to post that I finally bit the bullet and bought a cup and cloth liners for myself.  MH kinda flipped out about it, but I don't see how this actually affects him.

Also saving green, we have been mostly eating out of our freezer for the past 3 weeks (in preparation for the big move!)  That has saved us a lot of money, and actually been kind of fun trying to find new ways to cook stuff.

I bought a cup and I'm excited to start trying it out.  I am considering buying some pads as well.

I used OB tampons previously, so I figure it can't be much harder to place a cup.  

Not to mention the OB tampons I like are not $8 a box. 

abby8279

Yay TJ!  Cloth pads are amazing!  They are just like diapers in that I can't stop buying all the pads.  I have a full collection of PIMPS, but recently I have been buying random ones from Etsy sellers.  It's addicting.  I am sure you will love them.

I have only tried my cup a couple of times, but it seems like it will work.

stoneycakes

sarenu1 said:

TJ1979 said:

I didn't realize this was the go green thread for the day.  Oops.

I've been so excited to post that I finally bit the bullet and bought a cup and cloth liners for myself.  MH kinda flipped out about it, but I don't see how this actually affects him.

Also saving green, we have been mostly eating out of our freezer for the past 3 weeks (in preparation for the big move!)  That has saved us a lot of money, and actually been kind of fun trying to find new ways to cook stuff.

I bought a cup and I'm excited to start trying it out.  I am considering buying some pads as well.

I used OB tampons previously, so I figure it can't be much harder to place a cup.  

Not to mention the OB tampons I like are not $8 a box. 

They're definitely trickier than using an OB tampon.  It actually took me a few months to get really good at it.  But once you have the hang of it, it's not hard. 

Robi1

Gosh, hard to say. I probably get the weirdest comments about placenta encapsulation, but most people (all people??) don't know I use mama cloth and family cloth. We do get lots of comments about not having paper towels or napkins or tissues in the house. Same with natural birth. Ooh, and not watching TV or using smart phones is pretty high up there in shock value, though I don't really know if it's "green". 

sarenu1

stoneycakes said:

sarenu1 said:

TJ1979 said:

I didn't realize this was the go green thread for the day.  Oops.

I've been so excited to post that I finally bit the bullet and bought a cup and cloth liners for myself.  MH kinda flipped out about it, but I don't see how this actually affects him.

Also saving green, we have been mostly eating out of our freezer for the past 3 weeks (in preparation for the big move!)  That has saved us a lot of money, and actually been kind of fun trying to find new ways to cook stuff.

I bought a cup and I'm excited to start trying it out.  I am considering buying some pads as well.

I used OB tampons previously, so I figure it can't be much harder to place a cup.  

Not to mention the OB tampons I like are not $8 a box. 

They're definitely trickier than using an OB tampon.  It actually took me a few months to get really good at it.  But once you have the hang of it, it's not hard. 

Good to know.  I have a couple boxes of tampons still, so I'll use those during the week and then work on getting used to the cup on the weekends.

If it doesn't work out for me, I may start trying out some cloth pads.

pblge

This thread is great reading! Does anyone have recommendations for good resources for DIY cleaning solutions?

The greenest thing we've got going is that we have a contract for solar paneling to be installed in the spring. We live in NYS and the tax incentives are AMAZING right now. Once they're installed I think my DH's campaign for electric cars is going to get much more serious.

TJ1979

pblge said:

This thread is great reading! Does anyone have recommendations for good resources for DIY cleaning solutions?

The greenest thing we've got going is that we have a contract for solar paneling to be installed in the spring. We live in NYS and the tax incentives are AMAZING right now. Once they're installed I think my DH's campaign for electric cars is going to get much more serious.

Vinegar.  For all the things.

TJ1979

Chickypoo2468 said:

Yes to vinegar. That reminds me of a post of FB asking about cloth wipes. One response someone posted said that she couldn't do cloth wipes bc the solution she made was so expensive. Um, what?

Uh, she's doing it wrong.  My water is not very expensive at all.