Product Review: If You Care

Over 5 years ago, I decided to say goodbye to my beloved paper towels. Paper towels are great, aren't they? Quick clean up for spills, class cleaner, they even double as napkins! But after investigating ways that I could ease up on natural resources, paper towels seemed like an easy thing that I could ditch. Bonus: I turned by paper towel holder into a ribbon holder.

I already had a collection of old rags and tea towels, so that was an easy subsitute. After that, I quickly became enamoured with Norwex micro-fibre products, which to this day I still use and love - but they aren't cheap. I have also tried Enjo, but personally I'm not a fan. Norwex has this really cool technology that allows you to clean without any cleaning chemicals - you don't even need vinegar. And they do the best job on glass and mirror that you will ever see. The problem with Norwex cloths is that they have a life of about 2 years.  After a while they've just absorbed so much dirt and grime that they can't clean effectively anymore, and off to the landfill they go.

For my non glass cleaning needs, I think I've found the solution: If You Care Natural Sponge Cloths. The company claims that one cloth can replace 15 rolls of paper towels! Imagine what the Costco sized delivery of paper towels would look like, now replace that with a few teeny tiny sponge cloths… talk about a reduction in CO2. I really like them for my everyday needs, and they dry quickly so they don't get that nasty wet cloth smell. Just add a little lemon or vinegar as needed - remember that sponges naturally hold bacteria. The cost is about $7 for a 5 pack of sponges.

Here's the best part: aside from being sustainably sourced, the cloths can be disposed in your compost when ready to retire. Now I'm impressed!

If you want to know where to find these, and other If You Care products, you can buy order them here.

Planning a Green Wedding

Chris and I have been MIA since we got engaged last May, so it only makes sense to blog about how we spent 13 months planning a budget-friendly green wedding.

For starters, our blog is all about doing the best we can.  It's no secret that weddings create a lot of waste, and gazillions of dollars are spent every year in the industry.  It's a shame really, but still we (I) wanted to have a day to celebrate us just as much as any other couple.  First, some of the ways our Wedding was not so green:

1. My dress was made in China.  Considering I could have purchased a worn dress, or bought something locally, this was one sacrifice for a green wedding I decided to make.  And by the way, ordering your dress from your local dress shop does not count and a local purchase.  All of those dresses are made overseas and shipped, which means your beautiful white dress is actually dripping in oil.  I do think I will sell my dress though, and it cost me a fraction of a traditional dress which was a bonus.
2. We did not offer a vegetarian meal.  This would have been the ultimate expression of eco-cuisine for me, but we decided that we should give the people what they want, it actually isn't all about me.
3. The carbon footprint for travel is almost unavoidable.  No one is within walking distance to our home, so this is just one of those things that we accepted as an environment cost.

Now some of the things we did to turn our white wedding into a green one:

1.  Paper - We kept paper to a minimum.  We didn't have programs, or RSVP's.  We used a family owned chalkboard for our program, created by my sisters-in-law that was totally awesome.  RSVP's were all done online, saving paper, envelops and stamp$ (stamps add up when you are sending out invites, and thank you's for the wedding and showers).  Our invitation was very simple.  The direction card was made to fit in the wallet, and there was not much to it other than that.  Our thank you cards are postcards, eliminating the need for an envelope.

2.  Transportation - Our guests all had to drive to get to us on our special day, but because of limited parking availability, and lack of taxi's, we encouraged carpooling as much as possible.  We also had our ceremony and reception in one place so guests did not have to drive from one to another.  It's your day, do what you want, but I don't want to travel far between the church and the reception, my makeup starts to melt.

3.  Recycling - We supplied all of our own alcohol, and whenever possible it was provided in cans instead of bottles.  This meant a) no plastic cups and b) reduced shipping weight.  Cans are lighter than bottles and infinitely recyclable!

4.  Plastic - Speaking of glasses, we used mason jars as the water glass on the table, and it was your glass for the night.  This was a real score since I had them given to me by my Granny.  They also came in really handy last month when I was doing some end of summer canning.  We did offer plastic cups for anyone who really wanted one, but they were all biodegradable (purchased from Staples).  All of the paper plates/napkins etc... were also 100% biodegradable.  Even the straws were made of paper.

5.  Composting - We encouraged guests to compost by having bins specifically for this.  The next day after cleaning up, we had very little garbage to go to the landfill.  mostly just cupcake wrappers and a few other random items.  All food scraps were also composted.

6.  Catering - We went with a local caterer that supports local farmers.  We asked our caterer to provide a large container for milk, cream and sugar, instead of individual disposable cream/sugar which was what they normally provide.  They were very accommodating to our requests.  

7.  Decor & stuff - Honestly, there is nothing worse for the planet than "stuff".  We tried to buy things only if we could use it again, or easily re-sell or donate.  For example, we bought a dresser to use to sign our registry, but now it sits in our living room.  We really tried to keep decor to a minimum.  This was mainly a cost saving measure since all of that stuff can be rented, but we agreed early on that we did not need things like chair covers.  We borrowed our centrepieces, which were bird houses, and the stands for table numbers from our sister-in-laws.  My very talented father-in-law made our cupcake stand out of old barn board (awesome) and we have already lent it out for another wedding.  We bought some things at garage sales, like our chandelier and drink easel (spending a whopping $2 combined).  Someone needs to ask me to host a baby shower because my MOH and I made all of that bunting, and I want to re-use it for something (a tea theme would be required as well!).

8.  Flowers - Flowers are not a bad thing.  We just tried to keep flowers to a minimum.  We spent maybe $250 on bouquets and such, and put the rest of the money into doing some gardening and having planters we could keep for the remainder of the summer.

9.  Attire - The bridesmaids chose their own dresses with the intention that they will wear them again (and I truly hope they do), and so they did not match which was what I was going for!  The groomsmen also chose their own outfits, with the same intention.  This also kept the costs down for their attire, I don't think anyone spent more than $100.  I think one of the best men actually wore something he already owned.  Chris bought his suit, and has since worn it to 2 other weddings already, so that was money well spent.

10.  Energy - We used all LED lights and solar lights for the tent and tree's.  There was little power used that day since we got married in June, and had our reception in a tent, there was no need to heat or run A/C.  Ok, well did get a little cold at night, so some heat would have been nice...  that's when the guests started changing into jeans and sweaters which we absolutely loved!  The wedding was also Bullfrog powered since we are already proud Bullfrog customers.

11.  Favours - We made a donation to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, it was really important to us to do this.  There was no favour, and I don't think anyone noticed or cared.  For one, favours have a bad rap for being junky, and we didn't have time to make something homemade.   

12.  Ceremony - In case you weren't there, we planted a tree.  My favourite part of the ceremony.  Well we watered it during the ceremony, then planted it a few days later.  We don't need a lot to remind us of our Wedding day, because that tree will last us a lifetime.  

Hung out to dry

The first month that Chris and I moved in together, was in January.  I got a nice little shock when I received the Hydro bill in Feburary, and our electricity usage had almost doubled.  I'm happy to report though, that we (I) immediately ceased our wasteful ways, and have been reducing our usage ever since.  That month, we used about 480 kWh of electricity, which cost us about $70.  In April, we used under 190 kWh, which was have the cost, even with the increase in rates.  Complain if you like about the increasing rates, but we are really lucky in that we live in a country so abundant with natural resources.  If paying more means that you are supporting more sustainable methods of obtaining energy (yes we support wind power), then I'm all for it.  I mean, I pay twice that just to have a cell phone!  Where's the logic in that?

Keep in mind that the furnace would have been running at full tilt in January, but other than that there was really no excuse for so much consumption.  But considering we both work from home quite regularly, our laptops are almost always needing to be charged, it can really add up.  So for two people to consume that same amount (or less) of electricity as one person previously, it's pretty amazing what you can do.  So what was the difference?

We stopped using the dryer.  Yup.  That's it!  We just plain stopped using it, seems like a no-brainer, I know. I used to hang my clothes to dry about half of the time, more in the summer, less in the winter.  Dryers are the most inefficient appliances in the home.  There really isn't such a thing as an "energy efficient" or energy star rated dryer, they just use too much power, and ours is heated by gas.  That's just how inefficient they are. 

We permanently plopped our drying rack in our tiny dining room and Chris diligently took on the role of hanging the clothes.  We haven't totally abandoned the dryer, in cases of emergency we still use it.  I often use it when the clothes are 90% dry, to finish them off and fluff them up.  But for the most part, we are just using it as a storage shelf ;)

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• If you use fabric softener, stop immediately.  You are just soaking your clothes in gross chemicals.  Instead, pour a cup of vinegar in your rinse cycle, or downy ball.  It will get rid of the soap residue so your clothes don't dry with that crispy feel.
• Hang your clothes inside in the winter, it adds moisture to the air.
• Hang your clothes outside in the summer, they dry in a snap.  Be careful not to leave them out in the sun too long as the UV rays will fade your clothes, or dry them in a shady spot.  Better yet, hang your whites in sun, as it naturally whitens!
• If you've left the clothes on the rack and they are super wrinkled, pop them in the dryer for a few minutes with a wet cloth (or sock, or anything) and the moisture will steam the wrinkles out a bit. 
• Hanging your clothes to dry will help them last longer, and prevent fading and shrinking.

Happy (free) Drying!

Irreplaceable

It's been over a month since our last post... but do not fret my fellow hummingbirds, we have been dabbling in lots of ways to green our home.  And with the amazingly warm weather we had last month, we saved 20% on our electricity bill just from being able to turn the furnace off.  That was a nice plus!

My microwave died a few years ago.  Well, actually, it still worked, but when I would go to microwave something, sparks would fly.  So, I sent it away to be recycled.  I was looking forward to the additional counter space because I always knew how bad microwaving can be for your food.  It is pretty much common knowledge, I think, that when you zap your food, you zap the nutrients.  While any type of heat will reduce the nutrients, steaming your veggies, for example, is a much better way to go.  You should NEVER microwave plastic, even though I foolishly bought "microwave safe" plastic from Tupperware many years ago, there is no such thing!  I don't care what the FDA has approved.  With the unknowns of exactly how bad it is, I decided it was truly irreplaceable.

I've read that the microwave was invented by the Nazi's, for their soldiers convenience.  Obviously anything coming from those guys is bad!  Some countries have even since banned the things.  There is some research that I've read that says that microwaving food changes the molecules and forms carcinogens, absorbed by your stomach and bloodstream.  Whenever there is controversy around whether a product can cause cancer, I'd always rather err on the side of caution.

Some people think it's a little weird.  I'm pretty much the only person I know who doesn't have one, and I'll admit, I still use the one at work for lack of other options.  But at home I'm quite content to heat up my food in a cast iron pan, or in the toaster oven.  I think when Chris and I moved in together, he was a little annoyed, but he's used to it now.  About the only thing that we can't do, is reheat coffee.  I have done it on the stove, but if you're going to that effort, you might as well just brew a new one.  Or have a glass of water.

I saw this piece on The Marilyn Dennis show, featuring Naturopath, Bryce Wylde.  I'm a big fan of her show, and I especially love that she features guest experts like him. These are his reasons to avoid it. Click here to watch.

Electric city, finally!

Here's the deal: somehow we managed to almost double our electricity usage last month.  It worked out to about an extra $20.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, I think it could have been me using the "heated dry" setting on the dishwasher (bad idea), but according to our daily rate we have been back at an average amount since the beginning of February.

On February 25th, our hydro was switched to "Smart Meter" billing, really behind the times there London.  I've been getting into the habit of running my dishwasher and laundry during off peak hours for over a year now, but now this is serious business.  I read a tip on the hydro company's website that if you use a Smart strip power strip for your TV, you could reduce some of your phantom power usage.  Basically, you plug in your TV, and all of your accessories (DVD player, speakers, etc...) and when the TV is turned off, the power gets cut to all of those other things.

I thought this would be a great idea, so for $45, we went and picked one up.  What I didn't realize was that it doesn't cut the power to your TV, and since we only have one accessory, we realized it was hardly worth it.  This could be worth it if you have a lot of gadgets, but I'll be returning this thing on my next trip to the hardware store, and just putting in a cheap-o power bar, and turning it off manually instead.  We'll spend the money on insulting our hot water heater instead.

Any other idea's on ways we could reduce our electricity?

Reduced plastic, on toast

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread?  We sometimes go through two loaves of bread every week.  That's more than 100 plastic bags a year!  If I started baking our own, this would be a great way to reduce our plastic consumption.

I was lucky enough to inherit a bread maker from a friend who was not using hers (thanks Jennie!), but it was only a few weeks ago that I actually brought it out to make a loaf.  The key ingredient I was missing was vital wheat gluten, which is responsible for the stretchiness of dough, and is very high in protein.  You can make bread without it, but this is one of those secret ingredients that really make the difference.  So after I picked some up in the health food section at the Superstore, I was ready to go.

Pro's

• No plastic bag to throw away
• You can make the bread as healthy, vegan, and organic as you like, depending on what ingredients are chosen
• No preservatives

Con's

• Energy efficiency, surely the bread makers on a large scale are doing it more efficiently than we could
• Time - is this too much effort?

Since we are now Bullfrog powered, I argued that at least we know we are using green electricity to bake our bread.  I've been making it for about three weeks now, and it honestly requires very little time.  Maybe ten minutes per loaf, maximum.  If you don't have a bread maker, you can always make it in your oven, or check out your local bakery or farmer's market, and remember to bring your own bag!

Looks good, doesn't it?

Whole Wheat Bread:

(For bread machine choose 1.5 lb, light crust)

• 3 C whole wheat flour
• 1 TBSP vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 C sugar (you can also use honey)
• 2 TBSP oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 C rolled oats (optional)
• 1 1/2 C water

I'm going to keep experimenting with the recipe - adding flax seeds, or nuts, just to keep it interesting!

Every cup's a winner - unless it's disposable

From this day forward: No travel mug = No coffee. If I forget the mug at home, in the car, or on my roof - then no coffee for me. This will reduce waste, keep my coffee warm AND get me a 10 cent discount (when applicable).

Sadly I did not realize that Roll up the Rim was starting when I agreed to this challenge - So I'll have to find another way to win Boston Cream doughnuts.  I wonder what the winner of the Boston Marathon gets? Probably a shitload.

To the guy behind me at Timmy's who wins the flat screen - You're welcome.

Chris