In the past couple of days I've heard a couple of segments on the radio about "eco-friendly" products and how to recognize them. And I can't help thinking how no matter how eco-friendly a product is, it's still a product, and the people that sell it want to sell MORE of it. No matter how eco-friendly that product is, I can't think of a single one that wouldn't do less damage to the earth by not being there in the first place. Hybrid cars still use literally tons of metal and plastic to create, and the most benignly green household cleaner still comes in some sort of packaging that took materials and energy to create and will use energy to recycle. The cotton in organic cotton clothing is still harvested using some sort of petroleum-fueld machinery and is most likely woven on some sort of electric or gas-powered loom.
What this comes down to is that the best way to be green is to simply consume less STUFF. Do you really *need* a new car? Do you *need* that super-cool organic cotton hoodie? Do you *need* that copy of Mother Earth News? Do you *need* that calendula-scented all-natural bathroom cleaner? No, I didn't think so. I'm pretty sure the single most damaging thing for the planet is simply human greed. Making that greed more green causes less damage, but I don't think it's actually fixing anything. It's a sad comment on how consumer-oriented our society is, when the thought of just not using certain products never crosses our minds - we just look for someone to sell us a "greener" one.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
there is definitely a place for paper towels...
...and it's in my house after dear Daisy goes all exorcist on me and hurls disgusting gobs of ick all over the hardwood floor. You know, the one with all the cracks in it.
Ugggghhh. We'd been surviving quite nicely without paper towels for a while. But as soon as Daisy was done barfing, I was on the phone to all the neighbours begging for paper towels. (Successfully, thank all the cleaning goddesses!) It took about 1/2 a roll to clean up. And that was AFTER I had scooped as much as I could into a bowl to go in the garbage. This was the dog barf from hell, literally (if hell contains a chicken coop where the chickens are regularly fed our leftover corn husks. not sure about that, but is seems plausible.)
Lessons learned: don't let the dog forage in the chicken coop, and if the dog DOES do this, don't subsequently give the dog a whole pile of leftover oatmeal. Also, always have paper towels on hand. You don't have to use them, just hide them at the back of some neglected cupboard somewhere, but don't not have them!
Ugggghhh. We'd been surviving quite nicely without paper towels for a while. But as soon as Daisy was done barfing, I was on the phone to all the neighbours begging for paper towels. (Successfully, thank all the cleaning goddesses!) It took about 1/2 a roll to clean up. And that was AFTER I had scooped as much as I could into a bowl to go in the garbage. This was the dog barf from hell, literally (if hell contains a chicken coop where the chickens are regularly fed our leftover corn husks. not sure about that, but is seems plausible.)
Lessons learned: don't let the dog forage in the chicken coop, and if the dog DOES do this, don't subsequently give the dog a whole pile of leftover oatmeal. Also, always have paper towels on hand. You don't have to use them, just hide them at the back of some neglected cupboard somewhere, but don't not have them!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
another girls-only post
I forgot to mention in my "travel is bad" post that there were a few products that I absolutely could not have done without in my travels, both of which are totally eco-good:
1) My maya wrap sling. Overburdened mamas with strollers glared at me in envy all over the place. ha! No cobblestone problems for me!!! Also good for wiping snotty noses in the absence of tissue.
2) My diva cup. I went through a whole period using no back-up pads at all, and didn't have one single little leak at all. (The lack of back-up pads was due to the fact that my period hit in Portugal and I didn't really relish the thought of trying to decipher Portuguese packaging to get the right thing, and I kept forgetting to ask our lovely hostess.) Anyway, the period was exceptionally easy to deal with even while travelling. LOVE the diva cup. Love love love it. My wee little girl (who would not let me go to the bathroom alone ever) was slightly concerned when she saw me putting it in, but she got over it and enjoyed commenting "mummy change her cup!" after a day or so. That was fun.
1) My maya wrap sling. Overburdened mamas with strollers glared at me in envy all over the place. ha! No cobblestone problems for me!!! Also good for wiping snotty noses in the absence of tissue.
2) My diva cup. I went through a whole period using no back-up pads at all, and didn't have one single little leak at all. (The lack of back-up pads was due to the fact that my period hit in Portugal and I didn't really relish the thought of trying to decipher Portuguese packaging to get the right thing, and I kept forgetting to ask our lovely hostess.) Anyway, the period was exceptionally easy to deal with even while travelling. LOVE the diva cup. Love love love it. My wee little girl (who would not let me go to the bathroom alone ever) was slightly concerned when she saw me putting it in, but she got over it and enjoyed commenting "mummy change her cup!" after a day or so. That was fun.
It's not just the emissions...
...that make travelling not eco-good.
It's the disposable diapers. And the non-local packaged snack food. And the duplicates of things you buy because its predecessor was left on a train. And the cheap little toys (probably made in China and enhanced with extra lead) you buy before you go because your child's current batch don't hold her attention for long enough and you can't pack enough of them in a carry-on. And the plastic bags you use to keep your shampoo separate from your sippy cups and your aforementioned little toys all together and findable in your carry-on, and the little tiny containers you buy because the asinine security regulations on planes require everything to be in bottles of 100ml or less. And the teensy little plastic containers that keep all your airplane food separate, plus the plastic packaging required individually for your knife, fork, spoon, napkin, sugar, cream-substitute (barf), plus the larger bag that holds all those little bags together, plus the bag they give you to put all the bits in when you're done. Or, if you're on one of those discount airlines (cough easyJet cough) that don't give you food, it's the plastic-packaged Marks & Spenser's pasta salads you buy before you get on the plane. (Those are pretty good btw.)
Yeah, travelling isn't eco-good at all. I have much to atone for.
It's the disposable diapers. And the non-local packaged snack food. And the duplicates of things you buy because its predecessor was left on a train. And the cheap little toys (probably made in China and enhanced with extra lead) you buy before you go because your child's current batch don't hold her attention for long enough and you can't pack enough of them in a carry-on. And the plastic bags you use to keep your shampoo separate from your sippy cups and your aforementioned little toys all together and findable in your carry-on, and the little tiny containers you buy because the asinine security regulations on planes require everything to be in bottles of 100ml or less. And the teensy little plastic containers that keep all your airplane food separate, plus the plastic packaging required individually for your knife, fork, spoon, napkin, sugar, cream-substitute (barf), plus the larger bag that holds all those little bags together, plus the bag they give you to put all the bits in when you're done. Or, if you're on one of those discount airlines (cough easyJet cough) that don't give you food, it's the plastic-packaged Marks & Spenser's pasta salads you buy before you get on the plane. (Those are pretty good btw.)
Yeah, travelling isn't eco-good at all. I have much to atone for.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The pitfalls of buying local
In my quest for buying as much local food as possible AND being more eco-good generally, I've been hitting the Moss St. Market for our weekly produce. Since the beginning of the summer though, the prices there have been skyrocketing. Week before last I was there and saw a lovely little kohlrabi, and it was saying "I'm soooo tender and sweet, don't you just want a nice little veggie snack as soon as you get home???" and I listened to it and thought, why yes, a kohlrabi would be a lovely snack. Then I asked the vendor how much, and he said "$3". I'm like, "For ONE small kohlrabi? I'm sorry, I can't justify that." He muttered something about it being a hard crop to grow. I thought (to myself, I'm proud to say) "bullshit, my dad grew kohlrabi all the time in bloody WHITEHORSE, they can't be *that* hard to grow".
$3 for one snack-sized kohlrabi. I don't think so.
So I've moved my business back pretty much 100% to my friend Dave's farm, Madrona Farm on Blenkinsop road. Yes, I have to drive there, and no, I can't always get enough veg for one week in one trip. I try to go on the days I take Rowan to her grandparent's, but sometimes, I need veggies on Saturdays too. But Dave's produce is not just local, it's organic, and grown with love by someone I know. Plus, I just picked up 3 snack-sized kohlrabi from Dave for - get this - $1. For all 3.
Part of my mission as a full-time domestic goddess isn't just saving the planet, it's saving our bank accounts too. And I can totally justify the extra $5 or so of gas per week for the probably $30 or more in savings from buying veg from Dave instead of the Moss St. Market extortionists.
This is also a shameless plug for Dave's farm. If you're reading in the Victoria area, you MUST go there. Open 11-3 (the earlier you get there, the better) Wed-Sat. They don't advertise, they rely on word-of-mouth - so Dave & Nathalie, here you go - here's some word of mouth! Oh, to get there from downtown, go up Cook, turn onto Maplewood (it's a right swerve just past Finlayson); Maplewood turns into Blenkinsop at McKenzie, then go about 1/2 km past Galey Farms and you'll see the Madrona Farm sign on the right.
Oh and the Moss St. Market? Fun, love the music, love the ethnic food lunch place, but I'm not buying veg there anymore.
$3 for one snack-sized kohlrabi. I don't think so.
So I've moved my business back pretty much 100% to my friend Dave's farm, Madrona Farm on Blenkinsop road. Yes, I have to drive there, and no, I can't always get enough veg for one week in one trip. I try to go on the days I take Rowan to her grandparent's, but sometimes, I need veggies on Saturdays too. But Dave's produce is not just local, it's organic, and grown with love by someone I know. Plus, I just picked up 3 snack-sized kohlrabi from Dave for - get this - $1. For all 3.
Part of my mission as a full-time domestic goddess isn't just saving the planet, it's saving our bank accounts too. And I can totally justify the extra $5 or so of gas per week for the probably $30 or more in savings from buying veg from Dave instead of the Moss St. Market extortionists.
This is also a shameless plug for Dave's farm. If you're reading in the Victoria area, you MUST go there. Open 11-3 (the earlier you get there, the better) Wed-Sat. They don't advertise, they rely on word-of-mouth - so Dave & Nathalie, here you go - here's some word of mouth! Oh, to get there from downtown, go up Cook, turn onto Maplewood (it's a right swerve just past Finlayson); Maplewood turns into Blenkinsop at McKenzie, then go about 1/2 km past Galey Farms and you'll see the Madrona Farm sign on the right.
Oh and the Moss St. Market? Fun, love the music, love the ethnic food lunch place, but I'm not buying veg there anymore.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Don't read this if you're male
One of my riskier forays into eco-goodness has been my feminine hygiene products, because that's just not something you want to mess up, and frankly non-disposable alternatives are all quite expensive and not really re-sellable if they don't work out for you. My period only came back a few months ago, and I decided to just take the plunge and if it didn't work out, I'd write it off as a learning experience.
Fortunately, it DID work out, and I have to say I'm sorry I didn't switch to my current system YEARS ago. In fact, even if it wasn't eco-good, I'd be doing this anyway.
The products: 1 Diva Cup, 4 small Luna Pads. Yup, that's it. That's all. For a whole period. But, even that small amount wasn't cheap - the diva cup is around $40 from Planet Organic (I've since discovered that London Drugs sells them too, and I bet they're cheaper there) and I splurged for the organic unbleached cotton luna pads, which were $12 each.
So, good thing it worked out. What really surprised me though was exactly HOW much more convenient & comfortable than tampons & disposable pads this little system is.
Once you figure it out and do the necessary tweaks and playing, there is just no contest between a tampon and a diva cup. There's a bit of a learning curve - the diva cup was a wee bit tricky the first couple times I used it and I had a bit of leakage until I figured out how to twirl it around so it opened up fully. After that, no leaks AT ALL. None, nada, zippo, even on my heaviest days. I did have to trim the stem completely off, contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, but thanks to the internet I'd heard of other people doing that with no horrible consequences. Now I can hardly feel it at all, and as it needs changing less frequently than a pad or a tampon, I really only have to think about my period maybe 3 times a day. Plus, no string hanging out! (I was always totally paranoid about that when I went swimming.) The only concern I have is that some other people have had the diva cup extract their IUDs for them, but so far no worries on that score, and we're close approaching the point where that wouldn't matter anyhow.
The pads are just for the really light days at the end when the diva cup was overkill, and for backup, more for peace of mind than anything. But I have to say, cloth pads are a lot more comfortable than the disposables, particularly since the Stayfree ones I formerly used got reengineered and turned all plasticky with a nasty "odour-surpressing" smell. Since then the best I could find were Kotex, but even their cloth-like covers don't come anywhere near actual cloth for comfort and there's still a plastic backing which gets all nasty and sweaty and sticky if it's hot out. Plus, the cloth pads are easily adjustable if you find they're positioned wrong (unlike disposables where if you peel them off the adhesive just never works again) and they don't have any plastic that somehow twists itself around and sticks to you while you're working out.
And, since I'm washing diapers pretty much every day, washing a cloth pad or two a day is no problem whatsoever. They also fold up neatly for transport in a purse or whatever. I'm totally sold. And I'll probably never have to buy ANY "curse equipment" again. No monthly "oh crap I'm out of tampons", and Stirling is forever exempt from running to LD to buy pads. All in all, totally a good thing.
Fortunately, it DID work out, and I have to say I'm sorry I didn't switch to my current system YEARS ago. In fact, even if it wasn't eco-good, I'd be doing this anyway.
The products: 1 Diva Cup, 4 small Luna Pads. Yup, that's it. That's all. For a whole period. But, even that small amount wasn't cheap - the diva cup is around $40 from Planet Organic (I've since discovered that London Drugs sells them too, and I bet they're cheaper there) and I splurged for the organic unbleached cotton luna pads, which were $12 each.
So, good thing it worked out. What really surprised me though was exactly HOW much more convenient & comfortable than tampons & disposable pads this little system is.
Once you figure it out and do the necessary tweaks and playing, there is just no contest between a tampon and a diva cup. There's a bit of a learning curve - the diva cup was a wee bit tricky the first couple times I used it and I had a bit of leakage until I figured out how to twirl it around so it opened up fully. After that, no leaks AT ALL. None, nada, zippo, even on my heaviest days. I did have to trim the stem completely off, contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, but thanks to the internet I'd heard of other people doing that with no horrible consequences. Now I can hardly feel it at all, and as it needs changing less frequently than a pad or a tampon, I really only have to think about my period maybe 3 times a day. Plus, no string hanging out! (I was always totally paranoid about that when I went swimming.) The only concern I have is that some other people have had the diva cup extract their IUDs for them, but so far no worries on that score, and we're close approaching the point where that wouldn't matter anyhow.
The pads are just for the really light days at the end when the diva cup was overkill, and for backup, more for peace of mind than anything. But I have to say, cloth pads are a lot more comfortable than the disposables, particularly since the Stayfree ones I formerly used got reengineered and turned all plasticky with a nasty "odour-surpressing" smell. Since then the best I could find were Kotex, but even their cloth-like covers don't come anywhere near actual cloth for comfort and there's still a plastic backing which gets all nasty and sweaty and sticky if it's hot out. Plus, the cloth pads are easily adjustable if you find they're positioned wrong (unlike disposables where if you peel them off the adhesive just never works again) and they don't have any plastic that somehow twists itself around and sticks to you while you're working out.
And, since I'm washing diapers pretty much every day, washing a cloth pad or two a day is no problem whatsoever. They also fold up neatly for transport in a purse or whatever. I'm totally sold. And I'll probably never have to buy ANY "curse equipment" again. No monthly "oh crap I'm out of tampons", and Stirling is forever exempt from running to LD to buy pads. All in all, totally a good thing.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Cloth Diapers... who knew they could be kind of fun?
As a full-time mummy, I no longer had any excuse to NOT use cloth diapers. For a long time I tried to convince myself that the ecological footprint of disposables was actually similar to cloth, because cloth required so much energy and water to wash. 18 months of throwing out masses of disposable diapers has disabused me of that notion, and when I think about the energy and materials that go into the manufacturing of disposables, I feel slightly ill. That having been said, I will freely admit that if I were still working, I'd still be using them. But I'm not, and I'm not.
It took a little playing around to figure out what diapers were going to work. Thanks to the lovely women at Mothering Touch, and a convenient requirement to get my friend Sue some try-out diapers from JamTots, and a fortuitous discovery of 3 6-packs of flat flannel diapers in our closet (I have no recollection of purchasing these, but the first few months of Rowan's life are a little hazy generally), I had plenty to play with:
3 baby Kangas
18 flat flannels
2 bummis original covers
1 snugglebees fleece/hemp insert
2 snugglebees 2-layer hemp inserts
1 big-ass (forget name) 3-layer hemp insert
After playing with these for a couple weeks and feeling like a complete doofus for having absolutely NO clue how to fold a flat diaper (Eva finally showed me how to do an origami fold, which works GREAT), Beverley and I (because she got roped in too - she looks after Rowan 2 days a week) each came to the same conclusion that what works best is a flat flannel origami fold with a fleece/hemp insert, in a bummis cover. What's shocking is that this is actually one of the cheaper options, since the bummis covers are only $10, the inserts are somewhat less than that, and I already had the flats. So after an initial experimental outlay of about $70, I was able to complete the stash I needed for only another $50, and if I decide to sell the less-successful baby kangas, I should be able to recoup another $35 or so. (If anyone wants them, let me know! They're virtually new and they'll come with inserts.)
I am doing laundry every night, but that's actually not particularly onerous. The folding part is even fun. (so far...) I'm actually really pleased with how well this has turned out.
It took a little playing around to figure out what diapers were going to work. Thanks to the lovely women at Mothering Touch, and a convenient requirement to get my friend Sue some try-out diapers from JamTots, and a fortuitous discovery of 3 6-packs of flat flannel diapers in our closet (I have no recollection of purchasing these, but the first few months of Rowan's life are a little hazy generally), I had plenty to play with:
3 baby Kangas
18 flat flannels
2 bummis original covers
1 snugglebees fleece/hemp insert
2 snugglebees 2-layer hemp inserts
1 big-ass (forget name) 3-layer hemp insert
After playing with these for a couple weeks and feeling like a complete doofus for having absolutely NO clue how to fold a flat diaper (Eva finally showed me how to do an origami fold, which works GREAT), Beverley and I (because she got roped in too - she looks after Rowan 2 days a week) each came to the same conclusion that what works best is a flat flannel origami fold with a fleece/hemp insert, in a bummis cover. What's shocking is that this is actually one of the cheaper options, since the bummis covers are only $10, the inserts are somewhat less than that, and I already had the flats. So after an initial experimental outlay of about $70, I was able to complete the stash I needed for only another $50, and if I decide to sell the less-successful baby kangas, I should be able to recoup another $35 or so. (If anyone wants them, let me know! They're virtually new and they'll come with inserts.)
I am doing laundry every night, but that's actually not particularly onerous. The folding part is even fun. (so far...) I'm actually really pleased with how well this has turned out.
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