April 22, 2009

Earth Day Ideas

Since I've been writing Pigtown*Design, I've created a category called "It's Easy Being Green", with lots of ideas and suggestions for living a green life.

To celebrate Earth Day 2009, here are a few of the easier ones to incorporate in your life:

* Use tea towels instead of paper towels. If you can find linen towels, they're great because they don't leave lint on your china and glassware.
* Use architectural salvage or yard sale finds in your decorating for a one-of-a-kind look
* Carry re-usable bags when you do your grocery shopping. These Cath Kidston bags were made from recycled soda bottles.
* Consider hanging your clothes on a clothes line to dry them. Tumble driers use tons of energy. Even though a lot of home-owners associations do not allow them, there are ways you can be subtle about hanging things to dry.
What is your favourite way to be green?

14 comments:

  1. I'm a true fan of your social consciousness. If we all do our part in small ways we can make a difference. It really does take a village. I admire you for putting it out there for all of us to think about. My truly favorite way of being green is to re-use things that have been used before, from cloth shopping bags to creating art and furrniture from antique pieces and salvaged objects! Great post!

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  2. Lots of natural light. There isn't one on in the manse today, although it is cloudy out. And I always turn them out when no one is in a room.

    The tea towel thing is great! I've started using them instead of paper towels, but then they get washed and dried.... hmmm... a wash?

    I walk as much as possible, instead of taking the car.

    Mrs. E. and I prefer antiques to new furniture.

    Wear vintage! Highly tailored vintage, but vintage none the less.

    I like carrying my own shopping bag. From a strictly aesthetic viewpoint, it is much more satisfying. (Big canvas totes from Bean's and Land's End are fantastically constructed.)

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  3. Meg -- Now I always think of you when I see dish towels (I mean that in a good way!) and clothes hanging out to dry. Although I have to admit, I never come across clothes lines. Just a few random items on someone's back porch. Anyway, you're doing a great job championing simple things!

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  4. it's all about using vintage in design for me- why buy something new when something old and cool can be repurposed. outside of a few items, my home is 100 recycled (used to be owned by other people) stuff.

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  5. Learning to eat more seasonally has been my favorite earth-friendly endeavor; I’ve learned about new ingredients and lots of new favorite recipes in the process!!

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  6. Just cutting back on consumption is my favorite method of being green.

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  7. Lights off when I leave a room (childhood habit.)

    Eating seasonally (was raised that way but we didn't have words for it back then.)

    I have a circular clothesline I use, and it comes down for storage after each use, so as not to offend the community, although my back is high fenced-hedged off.

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  8. Oh there is so much, I agree with all the above, hand me downs for my kids, bottles versus plastic, I cook home meals for school as lunch to avoid their one way containers, we reuse, recycle and reduce... we give away instead of throw away,
    there is a wonderful company here on the Eastcoast which does recycle and renovate used kitchens and bathrooms called Green Demolitions,as a professional I recommend them whereever I can...

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  9. * We're always trying to be CONSCIOUS of it~~~ I think "AWARENESS I*S GREEN"! Now, pleeeease, can you tell us where to find those delightful tea towels hanging on the line in your last photo? ~~~ So darling n' fun! Many thanks, Linda in AZ *

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  10. Do you know of any place that sells Cath Kidston products in the USA?

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  11. Linda and Mimi... both the Cath Kidston and the tea towels are from shops in the UK. Sorry! I am sure you can get Cath Kidston things here, but don't know of a source.

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  12. * Came back to see if you'd had time to answer my question~~~ many thanks! (She DOES have a website ~ went there, but the ones that were of particular interest, to ME anyway, weren't there/available... Sure do APPRECIATE the info, tho!!! Best n' THANKS AGAIN, Linda in AZ *

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  13. Great ideas, all, Meg. I have started hanging my sheets outside to dry and they smell wonderful and feel nicely crisp. Also - had some extra cloth napkins that I was no longer using, so now carry them in the car for wipes/spills.

    –Lana

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  14. I am desperate to have a few of those Cath bags. It's so hard to get her stuff in the US and shipping from the UK is super expensive. Sigh.

    We stopped using paper towels about 6 months ago and only occasionally whine about missing them.

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