Can anyone help me with some simple ideas on how to go green?

Question

Well I am trying to get rid of all the chemicals in my home that are harmful to us humans and pets and the environment and learn to do more little things to help improve our environment. Mostly in the home first since I am actually pretty clueless on the matter and wonder if green cleaners work but I got some laundry stuff that worked great (seventh generation I believe it was called) it was just the fabric softener though. I am going to try the detergent next. I did buy HE washer and have lots of those energy saver light bulbs.

Also how do you know things really are as good for the environment as they say? Can anyone say that on a box?

Answer 1

I don't know about green laundry detergents, but I do know that if you have a HE washer (a front loader) you need to use HE soap, otherwise you can cause mechanical problems, and shorten the life of the washer. I heard it on the news the other day with a local consumer advocate who advised a guy with a front loader that had bad bearings of the dangers. Apparently his washer was almost out of warranty, and was broken. He hadn't used the correct soap, and his washer was needing repairs. That said, find HE soap that is green, otherwise, you may find yourself in need of repairs. The link below explains the soap thing.

Answer 2

Drive less than the posted speed limit.

Drip dry your laundry.

Don't use a conventional oven or range for cooking, use a microwave.

Answer 3

I don't know if this will help or not, but I have started making my own soaps.  Anything that has potassium or phosphates in them can be damaging to the environment.  

Home made lye soap only contains 3 ingredients--water (dihydrogen oxide) lard (hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon) and lye(sodium hydroxide) .  The lye chemically converts the lard to glycerin so it is actually much safe to use than store bought commercially prepared soaps And it is easier on the skin.  It has even helped to clear up my teens acne.

I then use a bar of soap, borax and washing soda to make laundry soap.  It gets my clothes just as clean as commercially prepared detergents but I can get it all over me without any problems.  It costs me about $0.70 to make 2.5 gallons.  My husband has an allergy to soaps and even he has no problem with this.

You should also consider using a clothesline instead of your dryer.  It will dry your clothes much faster and the clothes dryer is one of the biggest energy eaters in a home, right after the AC unit.  Your clothes will smell fresh without having to add any chemicals to them at all.

We compost, have CFLs in all of the light fixtures, buy food in bulk to save on packaging, wash dishes by hand instead of the dishwasher, eat fresh locally grown foods, and almost never buy prepackaged meals.  

Use baking soda as a cleaning agent for everything from the counter tops to the bathtub.  Just make a paste with a little bit of water.  It will not scratch fixtures or porcelain and it works great.  You can even brush your teeth with it.  

Not only are these things green, but they also save us a bunch of money every month.  We cut our electric bill 25% the first month I started using a clothesline and almost 50% when I opened the windows instead of running the AC all of the time.

Answer 4

Thats good you bought some CFLs...

Check out our site. We are doing a major project in our Environmental Science class...

http://clik.to/a-bright-idea

Answer 5

Well you've made some great starts  and its good to see you wanting to do more.

In terms of cleaners and such do your research to find which ones people like and which are really as good for the environemnt as they say. There are actually quite a number of sites which talk about using some very basic environmentally safe products for doing quite a bit of cleaning etc around the house.

Other things you can do. Recycle.  Buy recycled things, Compost, this will reduce your trash even further. Buy local products (produce as well as other goods, less fuel had to be spent transporting them to you.)

Make sure your house is well insulated, sealed around windows , doors etc. thus using less energy to heat/cool.

Caroppol, or combine a bunch of smaller errands into a single trip saving gas.

Answer 6

hello.i am so glad you care about our earth!go you! ok.well anyway to start being green,u must know wat global warming is.i bet you already know but this will but it simplier terms for you.ok just think.at night wen your sleeping with the covers on and you get hot.so u kick off the covers.ok.well think of the earth now.wen the sun heats the earth it comes down in short waves.like the choppy waves at the beach.then some of that heat is bounced off the earth into one of the layers of the earth.well think of all the bad gasses as the blanket over the earth.so all those bad gasses make it so the heat cant bounce of the earth of another layer of the in the air.so it keeps all the heat on the earth.do you understand?hah well i hope so.so thats y its called global WARNING.cause the heat cant escape.

well here are some ways u can go green.

-make a compost pile(with any food biodegradable)

-shut of lights wen u leave the room

-UNPLUG computers wen u are not using them.even if the computer is off it still uses 30% of energy.also unplug ur tv too.cause even if its off...go feel the cable box and it will bee hot...cause it is still using energy.

-wen using ur dishwasher make sure u get as much dishes in there as you can.

-encourage friends and neighbors to go green

-at local stores in your town,tell them to put a recycle bin outside the store.

*there are so many more things u can do*this is like a few out of thousands. just go to google and type in green tips.and a zillion things will come up.

thankyou so much for making out world a better place:]:]:]

u can really make a difference.

god bless

Mae

Answer 7

Really they can't put it on the box unless it holds true to some extent. But just b/c it says that doesn't mean it's always the best option. For example things that are Fat Free don't always equal healthy. Always think back to basics...check the label for what is actually used in the cleaner. If it's say "green" it is better than regular, so at least you know you are stepping in the right direction.

Answer 8

this link will help  you save the planet AND save money

http://www.gomestic.com/Personal-Finance...

also if you have pets you FOR SURE will want to read this link

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/10-Dangerou...

you will note some common things like food.. contain dangerous chemicals... why these things are allowed for pets.. is beyond me...

Answer 9

The company i reprepesent has HE washer chemically safe all natural laundry soap it and all of there products are all natural and concentrated so you use less save money and you dont use any chemicals. Take a tour of the company www.melaleuca.com and then email me with questions. [e-mail]

Answer 10

~stop cutting trees. Or if you really need it, don`t forget to plant trees for replacement

~Stop wasting paper

~Reuse, reduce, RECYCLE. (don`t throw things away if you think you can still use it...)

~ride your bike instead of your car..this will even serve as exercise;) // Use public transportation..

~conserve energy..

-if you love reading books, i suggest read at daytime so you wouldn`t use lights that much at night

-turn off fans, aircon, tv, computer etc. when not in use

~Don`t trash old clothes..instead, donate them!

~Stop smoking

~MANY MORE;)

Answer 11

here is a whole list

http://byderule.multiply.com/journal/ite...

and check this web site it has a lot of the latest green technology and products

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/