Is the color of your burnout green?

Thanks to drunken monkey's recommendation, I've been reading Green As A Thistle every day. For those of you who aren't familiar with the site: Vanessa has undertaken a challenge wherein she tries to adopt one new green habit, practice or lifestyle change daily. These changes can be big -- turning off the fridge -- or small, like forgoing shrink-wrap on her sandwich.

In her September summary, Vanessa writes:

I’m not going to complain because there are far worse things in life than trying to be environmentally conscious. That said, trying to remember over 200 different ways of being environmentally conscious isn’t always so much fun. It doesn’t help, either, that every media outlet is still obsessing over all things green, from the threat of global warming to the trend of “eco-chic” tote bags, not to mention the onslaught of green products, green services, green businesses and all-round greenwashing. Honestly, I’m starting to get a little sick of the whole thing. Sometimes, I just want to wake up and go about my day and not have to worry about whether or not I’ve poured too much water into the kettle for my morning coffee.

It's not hard to get a case of green blues (as she calls it). I know that there are some days (usually toward the end of the month), where I'm like, "What will I find to do next? Why did I decide to do this again? Oh, yeah -- the planet. Way to go, jerk!"

Because we all will hit a green wall at some point, I thought I'd compile a list of suggested changes that we can consider in reducing/reusing/recycling. Most of them don't require a huge commitment or time or money. I'm including your suggestions, as well as the stuff I've read elsewhere. Then maybe those of us who have been plugging along all year can finish the rest of the year strong.

The suggestions are after the jump. Feel free to add your own.

Around town

• Skip the paper-vs-plastic debate by bringing your own bags.
• If you do get plastic bags, re-use them when scooping dog poop or cleaning out the cat box.
• Schedule and plot your errands so you're driving less, doing more on each trip.
• Get a more fuel-efficient car. (The top 10 models for 2006 are here.)
• Carpool.
• Take public transit when feasible.
• Try to offset flying's environmental impact by choosing a green-ish airline or buying a terrapass.

Around the office

• Reuse your office supplies -- file folders, hanging folders, etc.
• Widen the margins on printable documents; reduce the font if it won't make you go blind.
• Double-sided print or photocopy documents when practical or feasible.
• Put your computer to sleep sooner -- or turn it off overnight. Same goes for the monitor.
• Do you have a lot of paper plates, plastic utensils and styrofoam cups? Consider bringing in your own silverware and dishes.

Around the house

• Reuse old linens as cleaning rags
• Stop using paper towels -- stock up on barkeepers' towels and use those instead
• Stop using cleaning wipes -- those barkeepers' towels and a bottle of cleaner will work
• Line-dry instead of tumble-dry
• Quit the Swiffer habit in favor of sweeping, using a microfiber mop, or vacuuming
• Reduce the number of non-organic cleaners you use; Costco sells big bottles of white vinegar for super-low prices. Vinegar, lemons, salt and Bon Ami will cover many daily cleaning tasks. Dr. Bronner's, Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyer's and Method may pick up the rest.
• Take off your shoes the minute you're inside. Less dirt tracked in = less cleaning = less energy and products used.
• Keep a container by the shower and/or your kitchen sink. Use it to capture the water you run when waiting for the right temperature. Then use that water in  your garden.
• Set up an in-home recycling center so you have someplace to neatly store the paper, glass, metal and plastic.
• If you live in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon or Vermont, you're in luck -- those states have bottle bills that refund the cash deposits you paid on those bottled or canned drinks. You can make a little scratch by finding a recycling center that'll pay you for your bottles and cans. Some states will let you redeem them at local retailers; others have redemption centers.
• Start using compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
• For that matter, turn off the lights if you aren't going to be in the room.
• Tackle the so-called "energy vampires" at home -- TVs, appliances, printers etc. -- by putting them on power strips and turning those on and off as needed.
• Get a programmable thermostat (you can install it yourself, or get a handyman to do it) and use it to ensure that the heat or AC is only running when people are going to be home. No point in heating or cooling your apartment excessively when it's empty.
• For that matter, nudge the temperature lower in the winter or higher in the summer. We usually have it set at 65 or so in the winter. (If we had AC, things would get ugly.)
• Also, watch your windows; they can heat or cool a place dramatically, so figure out when it's best to keep the shades drawn and when you'll want them open.
• Insulate your water heater.
• Then lower that water heater's temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Switch to cloth diapers or gdiapers.
• Wash more of your laundry with cold water.
• And while you're at it, use HE detergent or -- better still -- something with no phosphates in it.
• Weatherstrip your doors and windows to stop air leaks.
• Turn off the water while you're shaving or brushing your teeth. What is it with running the faucets anyway?

Out in the yard

• Water in the very early morning or early evening, when the sun is least likely to help the water evaporate more quickly.
• Pot your plants in glazed-clay or plastic planters; these hold water longer than the unfinished clay pots.
• Go native with your plants -- they'll be used to whatever your climate's natural water conditions are like.
• Xeriscape!
• Reduce the size of your lawn.
• If you must have a lawn, set the mowing blades higher -- this keeps lawns lusher longer. By the way, the average lawn only needs an hour of watering weekly, so use that as your baseline and adjust accordingly.
• Also, would it kill you to cut back on the spray-on chemicals?
• Compost. Those leaves you're raking make a fine base.
• Mulch around the bases of your plants so they'll retain moisture longer when watered. This also cuts back on weeds.
• Vinegar makes a surprisingly effective weedkiller.
• Fish emulsion is smelly, but it's a great organic fertilizer.
• Go out to get your car washed -- most commercial washes use less water than the DIY kind.

During the holidays

• If you get a live tree, recycle it or mulch it yourself.
• Consider reusable gift bags over giftwrap.
• Consider wrapping your gift in something that is part of the gift (a scarf, a tin, etc.).
• Make your own giftwrap.
• Consider ratcheting back any insane excesses with decorating or presents -- especially if doing these things feels more like an obligation than a pleasure.

In the mail

• Reduce the number of catalogs you get. You can do this by subscribing to a service like Green Dimes or you can go through the Direct Marketing Association and the Abacus database (instructions are here).
• Recycle the magazines and catalogs you get.
• Go paperless with your own bills.
• Read your news online, instead of getting newspapers and magazines.

In your belly

• Consider eating seasonal, local produce whenever feasible.
• Do your produce shopping at a farmer's market.
• Join a CSA. You can find one here.
• Reduce the number of bottled/canned drinks you consume.
• Tote your own water bottle to break the plastic-bottled-water habit.
• Commit to eating fish that are caught or farmed in low-impact ways. Get your fish guides here.
• Reduce your meat consumption by a meal or two per week.
• Cast a sharp eye at the corn-soy agricultural-industrial complex. (And a belated thanks to the reader who sent me this link!)

Comments

[Lauren]

Do you subscribe to a CSA? We have for about a year and a half now and are really enjoying it. We get a box every other week from a farm near Dixon called Eatwell Farms. They're at www.eatwell.com if you're interested.

[Lisa S.]

I've wanted to, but Phil does not, and since he's responsible for the cooking ...

(I think his big objection was not being able to have any say-so over the contents of the box.)

But tell me more about how you're using the CSA box stuff!

[drunkey monkey]

I totally have the fatigue, and understand Vanessa's fatigue as well. She got rid of her car, even. I live in the same city as her, and I have two friends who work in the same building as her -- and her workplace is not easy to get to via transit, or any other means. That's a big change.

[drunkey monkey]

Oh, and I wanted to point out that my veggie delivery box gives me full control over the contents, so that's possible -- of course, that means it's not all necessarily local (though it is all organic), though that's probably less a problem in your area, Lisa.

[Kerry]

For all of my bitching and moaning, I find it ironic that I do most of these things as a matter of course. Calk it up to a subime mixture of laziness and early home training. I never knew you were supposed to use hot water to wash your clothes until I was well into college for example--we always used cold. I'm from NJ, so we always had farm stands. I'm burnt out on the greeness around me and I don't even care--it goes back to the topics of moral superiority and oneupmanshipness that you've mentioned before.

[Lisa S.]

For all of my bitching and moaning, I find it ironic that I do most of these things as a matter of course.

Yeah, me too. I had chalked it up to being raised in a somewhat thrifty house.

I wonder if part of the fatigue comes from my inability to visualize or quantify my changes. Other than noting a drop in my trash levels and a rise in my green bin and recyclables ... sometimes, it's hard to perceive that I'm doing anything effective.

[Lauren]

Eatwell's pretty easy. They leave a box of "extras" open at the pickup point so you can trade out something from your box if you don't like it. And getting different things has forced me out of a rut more than once. Like this week I have an eggplant, not something I usually buy, but I think will make a fun dinner. They also of course provide a newsletter with recipes, and they have a listserv where people post their own recipes and ideas.

[Brona]

What I would add, and what I do when I start to feel all "how insignificant am I?" is activism. I am pretty lazy, and still I sign a fair number of petitions, letters, faxes and emails on behalf of causes I support. I feel like that does something. I'll write to the provincial or federal governments about clean electricity or fuel efficiency standards; to Kleenex about clearcutting forests, to Wal-Mart about selling Cypress mulch, you get the idea. If you want some effect beyond what you can change in your own life (which is considerable), hook up with Greenpeace, or the Union of Concerned Scientists, or World Wildlife, or the Gulf Restoration Network, and join your voice to theirs.

[Becky]

I'm discouraged and burnt out because my recycling has gone backwards -- my apartment complex no longer provides recycling bins. Argh. I can dump stuff at the recycling center myself, but it's way out of the way and not open at particularly convenient times for me.

I have kept up with everything else, but I'm really annoyed that basic recycling has suddenly become much more difficult for me.

[drunken monkey]

"Other than noting a drop in my trash levels and a rise in my green bin and recyclables ... sometimes, it's hard to perceive that I'm doing anything effective."

I feel this way too. Going back to Vanessa, she posted a while ago about seeing a change in her electricity bills and usage, which is probably motivating. Our electricity is included in our rent, so I have no way to check that out. (Also, if it weren't, I'd be switching to Bullfrog power.) It'd be nice to be able to monitor that, even if inclusive rent is very convenient. Also, my fiance is cheap, so that might motivate him to be better about the lights and AC.

I finally read Lisa's list over though, and I do a lot of those things; most of the ones I don't do are related to not having a car and having black thumbs. So at least I'm doing something.

[Bureinato]

This is a good list, I'd hit a green wall. This month I'll call & get myself off all the junk mail lists.