Well, I wouldn't call this last project a total success. But neither would I call it a total failure either. Despite not doing as much as we wanted to do, we were pretty successful at the things we did attempt.
1. I stopped buying paper napkins and we have been using our cloth ones.
2. Still not 100% with using cloth bags all the time but getting better.
3. We have been composting so much more and also recycling more. We've become a lot more aware of what is going into the garbage. Well, at least I have!
4. Nothing to say here, the shower curtain is still gone :)
5. Using the cloths for cleaning and wiping up, even using the lint free ones for window and mirror cleaning.
6. I posted a couple of days ago on my no 'poo results.
7. I'm still reminding the kids to use the timer for showers.
8. Continuing to replace our burnt out incandescents with CFLs. This is going to be a long term, on going project. I will tell you though, the bulb in our laundry room used to burn out every 3-4 weeks because it's on so much. It's left on all night because the boys sleeping in the basement use it to see the stairs and not break their necks going up and down! We switched over to a CFL bulb about 4 months ago and haven't had to change it as of yet...so nice!
9. I've switched to recycled toilet paper
10. I made some surface cleaner
11. We made our own laundry soap!
It was so very, very easy... I had Steve finely grate a bar of Ivory soap (he used the attachment for the Kitchen Aid to do it) and then I added 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax. We use 1-2 Tablespoon per wash. It even worked on the basket of clothes that a certain cat peed in...twice. I did use the 2 Tbs on that load though :)
It works wonderfully well. When your clothes are done they just smell clean. There's no soapy smell but no sweaty or stinky smell either! We are so used to synthetic fragrance saying "clean" when it's actually the absence of the stink that should say clean. Anyway that one batch lasted two weeks and cost almost nothing to make, so this is not only green but it's also going to be a huge saving for us!
Which leads me into our next project...stay tuned!
And I promise we'll be much, much better at posting...in sickness and in health :)
Congratulations, you've accomplished quite alot of things. In the long run it will save you guys money. But I know it's to get everyone to do it. We should all take your advise and try to work on ours. Keep up the good work, but don't over do it. Love you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting "Dee's Kitchen". I just finished skimming through all your vegan cleanse posts. I got some great ideas! I love the idea of taking on these projects with your daughter. My daughter is married and has her own blog but I would love to do something like this with her some day. I'm also going to check out your other blog, too.
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