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In honor of Earth Day I have resolved to make some basic changes in my home, changes that all you New Yorkers out there could do as well.
1. Stop using paper towels (or use as little as possible and only buy recycled paper brands such as Seventh Generation). I have started doing all my cleaning, scrubbing, and dusting with wash cloths, rags, and sponges (I need to buy a more eco-friendly sponge). When one cloth gets too dirty I wash it, or use another cloth. At the end I wash all the cloths in the sink (using a stopper to conserve water) and hang them to dry. By the next day they are ready to be used again!
2. Buy only recycled toilet paper products. If anyone has any ideas for how to eliminate paper waste in this arena I would appreciate the tips!
3. Stop wasting plastic products. I already recycle all the plastic from packaging, but whats a New Yorker to do with the plastic bags that inevitably accumulate in some guilty corner? We all know about using a regular bag to do our shopping in, but sometimes using a plastic bag is unavoidable. Solution: Many stores allow you to bring back your old bags for recycling OR use your plastic bags as a sort of saran wrap. I've been doing that for quite some time, and I've been able to keep my plastic bag population under control.
I have many more home recycling tips that I will share with you soon, and I hope everyone is enjoying Earth Day! Here are some websites for info on whats going on today and what you can do to get involved:
http://www.earthday.net/
http://www.earthday.gov
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/
http://earthday.envirolink.org/
