Low Impact Fortnight

Uh oh. Looks like the last day of Low Impact Day has arrived and I'm only half way through my house. Low Impact Week at home coincides with the high intensity of the last week of school and all the attendant rituals, such as graduations, out-door days (formerly known as "field day"), clearing out the rubble from lockers and other storage areas, and packing up for the summer months.

Just because the official, as brought to you by Crunchy Chicken's blogs, Low Impact Week ends at midnight, doesn't mean I'm stopping with an examination of how I can make more individual improvements in my home and garden that will lead to less strain on the environment. So, look for more posts on:

The home office
The home studio
The living room
The basement
The garage.

Yikes, this might take me through the rest of the month!

Making Less Impact in the Kitchen

Actually, I need to make some kind of impact in the kitchen beyond Less Impact. The dishes are piled in the sink, the refrigerator needs cleaning out and so do the cupboards. Since there are no Merry Maids plying their trade here, I guess it will be up to me to get things back in order here. As I did mention, we are in the End of the School Year Zone, which means that there's a school year's worth of clutter to deal with here and at work. Those who think teachers have it made with all our "vacation" days off per year, haven't realized that it takes all summer to file things away and catch up on all the cleaning that was neglected during those long days tending your children!

But back to making genuine steps toward Less Impact in the kitchen. Here's some advice:

Get rid of stuff you don't need. How many pots and pans do you really need versus how many are stuffed into cabinets? Do you really need three ladles? For those who are on tight schedules and who tend to let dishes pile up -- consider downsizing the amounts of glasses, cups, dishes and silverware in your kitchen. You will be forced to wash the dishes more often if you have less available to take out of the cupboard.

Get rid of foodstuffs that have been living for years in cupboards and in the backs of refrigerators and make note of what hasn't been used so that you never make the mistake of buying it again.

If I had lots of money, I'd definitely replace the old refrigerator in my kitchen with a new energy efficient model. But at this time, replacing something that is still running is not an option. Perhaps one day. Or I can keep entering the Soy Silk Sweepstakes to win a "green appliance" makeover for my home. Because, quite frankly -- greenifying one's home and life to the maximum effect is still very expensive.

Of course, there are the tactics employed by No Impact Man who simply turned off his refrigerator and tried a primitive form of cooling system involving a pot inside of another pot. But now he has come into contact with an inventor from India who has come up with a clay cooler that can hold fruits, vegetables and milk (for the lactos among us) for three days -- and it doesn't run on electricity! Check out the picture and description here and No Impact Man's insightful post here.

Making less impact in the kitchen also involves doing away with the myriad cleaning products under the sink. You don't need anything more than baking soda, vinegar, and some Dr. Bronner's liquid soap.

One of the most difficult things to do to make less impact is to stop buying products with packaging you know is going straight to the landfill. You will find that many of your favorite foodstuffs as well as personal care products are encased in plastics that will live longer than you will, no matter what you do with them. Akron only recycles #1 and #2. For a fun Less Impact Week activity, try making 7 boxes and labelling them 1 - 7. Now throw all your discarded plastics into the appropriately numbered box. How fast does each box fill? Imagine each human being in this country filling similar boxes and then remember that plastic is going to stick around on this planet far longer than humans.

Along with plastics, any paste board (all cardboard stock that is not corrugated) is not an Akron recyclable. How many things do you buy that are encased not only in non-corrugated cardboard AND in plastic as well?

By the way, I really have to thank Crunchy Chicken for instigating Low Impact Week. It has helped focus me on practice as well as theory in the department of greening the Green! Crunch is having a contest for all Low Impact Week participants. Take a visit to her blog and find out just who is making a Low Impact and how they can inspire you to do the same.

Low Impact in my bedroom and closets

Day two of Low Impact Week. I've taken a good look at what's in my bedroom and my closets.

Most of the furniture is solid wood and was either handed down or purchased at a thrift store. There are, however, two cheap bookshelves made from composite wood products that need to leave just as soon as I downsize the book collection sometime over the summer.

I'll be freecycling the extra television and still working VHS player in the bedroom. I never use it, but I note that the VHS player is plugged in and draining power -- ack! And here is an incandescent light bulb that I somehow overlooked when I replaced them with compact fluorescent bulbs. Low Impact Week is a wake-up call in a very personal, pay attention to what you are doing sort of way.

In the closets are too many pieces of clothing, not that I am some kind of "dedicated follower of fashion." The important thing to consider when buying fabric items, clothing and bedding, towels, etc -- is can you be sure that the cloth came from pesticide free sources, that it was woven by people who were paid fairly for their labor, and that it is something that will not wear out immediately, both physically and in terms of wanting to wear it in public.

When in doubt, thrift shop! Check the labels for fabric content and country of origin and look at what you have in your hands. Does it look like someone put some effort into the creation of the fabric? Do you really want to wear something made in China? At least at the thrift store, you are not putting money directly into the hands of the people who made suspect products. And you are recycling and keeping things out of the landfills.

When you do feel moved to shop for new clothes, look online for low impact items. How about organic hemp shirts, pants and shoes? I buy tee shirts from GoodHemp.com. I bought a pair of Blackspot shoes from Adbusters. Now if they'd only make some sandals and a decent flexible hightop more suitable for athletics and other forms of performance such as dance and theatre.

But back to my closets -- they are in need of a thorough weeding out of things that no longer fit, suit or are useful to me. That shirt with the grease stain that will never come out -- it can be cut into usable bits and recycled. These pants with the grass stains can be cut up for rags. And everything else I don't need goes to the Goodwill. And, in the spirit of Low Impact Week, this trip I'll make sure to bring back much less than what I am taking to donate!

Next post for Low Impact Week -- the kitchen.

Low Impact Week approaches

Crunchy Chicken has a blog by the same name that is focused on environmental issues. She discusses the practicalities, such as using Diva Cups for menstruation, reducing Q-tip usage or what to use instead of the paper toilet seat protectors in public restrooms. I found her blog via No Impact Man's blog. Inspired by online discussions on how to encourage more people to lower their impact upon the environment, Crunchy is promoting Low Impact Week from June 1st to the 7th.

Here are the 7 points to focus on:

1. Reduce energy consumption
2. Reduce water usage
3. Change your food habits
4. Reduce your dependence on paper products
5. Reduce your garbage output
6. Reduce Single Occupancy Vehicle usage
7. Do something that lasts more than a week

Specific things to do can be found here.

Here is a list of what I have done so far in each of the categories:

1. Reduce energy consumption
* I have replaced all incandescent bulbs in my house with compact fluorescent bulbs
*When I turn off my computer, I also turn off the surge protector that holds a full load of energy sucking devices.
*I wash clothes in cold water.

2. Water usage
* I set up an old plastic trash bin under a waterspout to collect rain water for the garden
* I turn off the water while brushing my teeth

3. Change your food habits
*I have switched to a vegan diet (after 35 years as a vegetarian)
*I try to buy things with less packaging

4. Reduce your dependence on paper products. (I would change this category to include plastic products.)
*I've stopped buying paper towels and use cloth rags instead

5. Reduce your garbage usage
*I recycle all vegetable matter in a compost bin
*I recycle everything that I am allowed to put in my city-issued blue recycle bin

6. Reduce single occupancy vehicle use
This one is pretty difficult to do when you are a single-home dweller. I do live less than a mile from my place of work, so that should count for something!

7. Do something that lasts longer than a week.
Everything I've listed so far has lasted more than a week and has not been a major hassle to accomplish. I've been looking at horror at all the personal care products in my bathroom that are sold in non recyclable containers. This is an area that I need to investigate and make some changes. Anybody have an idea what to use instead of a stick deodorant in a non-refillable non-recyclable plastic container?

I encourage all readers to spread the word about Low Impact Week and make a list of things that you can do to lower your impact upon the environment.