Healthy Living

Hm.. I'm kind of just starting to be aware of AND actually implement some things.

So far I:

Use reusable bags. I bought some nice bright green nylon bags at Jo-Ann's (for $1 each) that are the size and shape of normal plastic bags, and they roll up into a nice little pouch. Love them. And I got some Target bags. They're huge (I went today, got $80 of CHEAP groceries, so tons of stuff, and it all fit in 3 bags), fold up nice and flat, and cost $1.39. I also made some reusable produce bags out of nylon netting, but the first time I bought produce since then was yesterday and I forgot to bring them, so I'm not sure about them yet.

Every light fixture in my house that can have one, has a compact fluorescent bulb. And the ones that don't are hardly ever used (with the exception of the bathroom, which has one 25 watt bulb). We don't even use the overhead kitchen light anymore because it was 80 watts and got left on way too much.

We don't have A/C, only fans.

I don't have a car right now, but when I get one I'm gonna try to get a "greener" one, i.e. higher MPG and lower emissions..but I'm not sure how that'll go for me, since that's what everyone wants right now.

What else... I used to drink TONS of bottled water..  I'd easily drink 6-8 half liter bottles in day. I stopped doing that, put a faucet mount filter on, and now I only drink that water.

I've been trying to buy more second-hand stuff, and less new...which hopefully helps keep some stuff out of the landfills.

I try to buy local produce whenever possible. Luckily my favorite cheap place to buy produce (Henry's market, owned by Wild Oats) sells a lot of local stuff...so that's not too difficult. I'm planning to start going to farmer's markets regularly to do that even more. I do organic when I can, but yeah, some stuff gets really pricy.

As far as health stuff.. I've been pretty awful for a few months, eating crap and not exercising, but I just bought a bunch of healthy foods, and since it's about to cool off outside it'll be easier to be more active. I always buy and eat lots of whole grains though, and I'm trying to focus more on fruits and veggies, and I mostly drink water...

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Cool idea for a thread!

 LOL I have been a tree hugger and health freak for as long as I can remember

my biggest struggles have been with DH and showing him the way forward 

some more recent things - replacing all the windows to high energy efficient type (halfway there), we also chose very efficient kitchen appliance models when we remodeled last year, and replaced out CA units with high efficiency models.  We've changed the bulbs and gotten used to their different light.

I use insulated drapes - a little research and you can find what you want in a fabric that keeps the heat and cold out or in depending on season.  Our house has many windows and is quite exposed so  we need sun protection and wind protection.

we donate everything usuable to a host of organizations - from clothing to appliances to light fittings and everything inbetween.  It is sometimes difficult to find the right charity but it is worth it

an 18 month drought meant learning to use water differently and this included me finding better plants for various parts of our property

Composting and recycling (and donating!) means not much trash

I tend to group my errands to minimize travel and keep my car maintained to keep it fuel efficient - it isn't as much as I would like it to be but it is the dogmobile 

I grow veggies and herbs and use the farmer's market

LOL I am a complete dork!

I try to do what I can and also to find new things I can do to be more green.

 i have always had a fuel efficient car.

i turn down the thermostat in the winter. if you dont have to wear a sweater in the house in the winter, it is too hot in the house. i try to keep the thermostat up in the summer, but i can deal with cold alot better than heat.

i recycle as much as possible, and am trying to cut down on the "throw away" stuff. but it isnt easy. too much stuff is made to be thrown away. lately, my recycle bin has had more in it that the garbage can on trash day.

there is a produce stand near me that sells locally grown fruit and vegetables. i am trying to use it and not buy the stuff at the super market, but i dotn always. i now have a little garden patch, and next year i want to start growing some of the veggies that i really like.

i have been exercising more and trying to eat better. i am trying to work up to being able to do multi-day backpacking trips by the fall. i just read about this "new" fabric for all you outdoorsy people. it is the latest in technical wicking base layers. it is made out of coconut shells. weird i know. but it has all the properties of regular base layers, but it is all natural instead of being a man-made fiber. http://www.coconafabrics.com/ 

my next step is to get some of the reusable shopping bags that a few people mentioned. i am sick of having to take the plastic shopping bags to the recycling place.  

 I don't have much to add to the list right now...I'll have to think about it, but I wanted to say, I love this thread.  Some of these ideas are obvious, but have never occured to me.

Oh...once things settle down a bit, I'm switching to cloth diapers for at home use...does that count?

- We use the local farmers market a good deal
- All of our light bulbs are energy efficient, and when an appliance brakes it will be replaced with an energy star one
- We recycle bottles, cans, and paper
- We donate clothes to the Good Will/Salvation Army
- I run a couple times a week with Apollo, sometimes Jeremy comes
-  I'm follow Weight Watchers food plan, but eat a lot of veggies, fruits, and whole grains
- We installed a digital thermostat, and try to hold off turning the heat on for as long as possoble and then generally keep the heat low

For our next vehicles we plan on better gas milage, hopefully at least one will be hybrid (I love the Ford Escape hybrid)

One thing I really want to try to do is cut down on the number of plastic bottles I use.

I eat well most days and DH does also.  I walk about an hour a day(3-4 miles).

huskymom

Oh...once things settle down a bit, I'm switching to cloth diapers for at home use...does that count?

Definitely! Disposable diapers are a HUGE problem, IMO. I mean, think about it. Kids use, what, let's say 8 diapers per day, times 3 years, that's like 9000 diapers per kid! And given the fact that they take over 100 years to degrade in landfills (which means that every disposable diaper ever used is still sitting in some landfill!), and 4 million kids are born every year in the US alone (where almost everyone uses disposable diapers..don't know if it's the same in Canada)...wowza that's a lot of diapers!

When I have kids, I'll definitely be cloth diapering... I just can't use disposable with a clean conscience.

Well, I don't know.  I had a friend that tried the cloth diaper thing and it didn't last.

I'm certainly not organized or cleanly enough to do it now...but I won't have kids until I am anyway. They make a lot of really nice cloth diapers now. Nothing like the ones that were around 30 years ago... There's even ones with disposable liners, which is surely better than disposable diapers.

chelsea_b

 There's even ones with disposable liners, which is surely better than disposable diapers.

Disposable, flushable diaper lines aren't new. I used those with cloth diapers when my guys were little and they're 31 and 37. Let's see ... I recycle glass, plastic, aluminum and paper/cardboard, all my kitchen appliances are energy star, I replaced all my light bulbs except for the ones in the ceiling fans.  You have to use fan lights for those or they'll burn out really fast. I have sunscreens on all my windows except the two that face north, I use the ceiling and floor fans instead of the AC and I combine errands whenever possible, which is a great excuse for going to Wal-Mart, Home Depot and IKEA on the same trip.

Joyce

healthy for myself? not much. i dont excercise and since i am not working at the moment my eating habits are aweful too (when i was working i'd bring healthy lunches and then at work i'd be stuck with it and eat that....)

i do drink water these days finally found a mineral water that doesnt taste god aweful to me and is afordable...

for the environment. well i collect all my water bottles and my housekeeper takes them to the collectors to get some cash for it.

i use reusable bags whenever i remember...

never leave the water on more than necessary.

i DO use AC, but during the worst of times i have to, if not for me, then for the dogs. i do always make sure to only cool it down enough to be comfortable. i dont turn my house into a fridge like most people...

i use flourescent "bulbs" (honestly not for environmental reasons, but cause i HATE having to change regular bulbs all the time)

i walk or use my bicycle whenever possible. i even used my bike to go to work in the dead of winter (and THAT'S brutal) but only cause my work was really close and at was the way to spend the LEAST time in the cold...

that's about it i think

that

 Hmm, let's see. Well I am a workout freak and do 5-6 days of hard cardio for about 60-90 mins. Then I also walk or rollerblade with the dogs twice a day. Of course I also have more time on my hands than a normal person and I am training for a triathlon. I try to eat healthy but there's those days when I just need to order out, and DH is starting to eat healthier with me too.

We use those flourescent/halogen light bulbs

When I leave a room I turn the lights off, usually have to do this for when DH leaves rooms to because he doesn't think too.

We recycle paper, plastic and glass here and we also, or I also reuse food containers. 

I reuse plastic bags too, I find other uses for them, especially for the dog poop. 

janetmichel3009

i DO use AC, but during the worst of times i have to, if not for me, then for the dogs. i do always make sure to only cool it down enough to be comfortable. i dont turn my house into a fridge like most people...

Honestly I'd use it if I had it. And WAY MORE than necessary, so I'm glad I don't. There's only a couple hours each day in August and the end of July that it gets really hot. But even so there's hardly ever much humidity (though this year it's been noticeable several times), and where I grew up it's like 95 degrees and horribly humid all freaking summer, so... I just think of that when it's hot and remember that in Maryland sitting in front of a fan for 10 minutes doesn't work... lol. Plus I'd be getting eaten by mosquitoes.

chelsea_b

 But even so there's hardly ever much humidity (though this year it's been noticeable several times), and where I grew up it's like 95 degrees and horribly humid all freaking summer,

They've been talking about some front coming up from Mexico that was supposed to bring heat and humidity, but the humidity really didn't come this far north except for just a teeny tiny bit.  I think I'm about 500 miles north of you, give or take. It got plenty hot though (105) but today it's in the mid 70s - at least so far.  It's only 2:15 p.m. now. We really tend to forget how fantastic CA weather is and kind of take it for granted.

Joyce