Heidi - Middle Sister
"Nature Dweller"
I usually spend all my weekends in the outdoors, so its only natural that I worry about the environment. A friend of mine climbed Kilimanjaro and shared his worry about the lack of glacial snow at the summit. This really struck home and got me interested in what was happening to our world. After some initial research I started making small changes to my lifestyle to help make a difference.
- Bike to work at least once a month (10 miles)
- 2 Hybrid home - Prius and Civic Hybrids - really enjoying paying 1/2 as much money for almost twice the miles!!
- Stopped using tampons/pads, replaced with menstrual cup (The Moon Cup)
- When outdoors use a Freshette or pStyle instead of using TP.
- Rain Barrel for watering plants
- Changed light bulbs throughout house.
- Recycle - paying closer attention to what i'm throwing away and recycling a lot more now.
- Limit water usage when washing/rinsing dishes, brushing teeth, showering together (and hey that can be fun!)
- Reuse clothing - buy used and donate items
- Kitty Litter - Tried Feline Pine kitty litter, but had problems with the original type. Now using the clumping and its pretty good. Have also tried swheatscoop but that was more expensive at the time. Trying to train my cats to use the toilet, but its not that easy.
- Garden own veggies, and have tried to hit the farmer's market when i can
- Composting
- Pay bills and bank online.
- Stopped using styrofoam cups and disposable silverware at work- brought my own mug and silverware.
- Digital Thermostat, and limited use of A/C and Heat
- Large laundry loads, never using hot.
- Go digital (buying music online)
- When buying our house we chose a house with a lot of trees, which in addition to providing shade also reduces our heat and A/C bills.
- Have been much better about taking Ikea, chico, and other bags along when shopping. (Which my Ikea now offers hybrid parking spots!)
Next Steps: Researching additional utility changes - water efficient toilets/washer/dryer, tank-less water heater, and solar panels or shingles to sell back electricity to my electric company. Will also look into the electric company's offers of energy cycling which will cycle on and off the a/c heating during the day to reduce energy use.