Reduce Reuse Recycle

With this "new trend" of being green, people are running out and buying up "organic" things, things made of recycled material, blah blah and all that other nonsense...


It costs more both monetarily and to the environment for these so called "green" things (including organic clothing). If you want to "Be Green", please please just reduce your usage of things, waste not and reuse what you can. That's all you have to do!

We've been conscious of what we purchase these days and what packaging it comes in. We've been trying to avoid plastic (containers and bags). With this gallon bottle, you can either recycle it, or reuse it. Here, I turned this container into a watering can. It's light, easy to use/make, and most of all, it's one less piece of crap out there in the universe.


My husband's grandmother left us many vases, containers and other decorative things such as this jug. Although the design isn't "my style", instead of giving it away or letting it sit in the basement, I filled it with some potting soil and a house plant. By combining different vintage or antique containers, you can make a really pretty display.


In what ways are you "being green"?

Grey Water

Greywater is lightly used water and comprises 50-80% of residential waste water.

During the summer, keep a container near the sink. If you know you're going to rinse your hands or just rinse a glass out or wash produce, rather than dump it down the sink, dump it into a container. At the end of each night, use the water to water your plants.

Wouldn't you feel better that you're getting a second use out of it? You will save money and your plants will benefit from it. It's okay if it's a little soapy. It will keep the bugs away. Also, fix leaking faucets immediately and replace old fixtures with new ones. They are inexpensive, more efficient and will lower your usage. We replaced our sink faucet and shower head and our water bill went from $33 to $17 and we're just 2 people.

As an experiment, I cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen afterwards and saved all the greywater. At the end of the evening, I already used 4-gallons of water. It really makes a difference when you look at it that way.