Look what you can accomplish in just a year!

My boyfriend, Jesse and I started this year (2011) wanting to really work on our "green" habits. We actually accomplished a great deal this year and I wanted to share the list. It all started with our new friends the worms.

1. Worm Compost- Still functioning well and the worms have had babies too.
2. Purchased a cedar plant box for our patio.
3. Joined a Community Garden
4. Made natural cleaners for the home- We are still working on using up the chemical ones, but have not bought new and have mostly used the green ones because they work better.
5. Made laundry detergent
6. Bought sturdy plastic cups, plates and cutlery for a family reunion (we collected in a bin and washed/ stored them for next time).
7. Started supply of glass containers for leftovers to replace the plastic ones we currently use.
8. Changed all my bills to online and e-pay so that I no longer receive any paper bills.
9. Learned how to make paper
10. Made a raised bed for my parents
11. At work, I changed our schedule posting from being single sided to double. This will save a lot of paper per year (and we recycle them when we are done).


Items we have started and will continue working on:
1. Shopping locally
2. looking at items and their packaging before we buy

Items we were already doing:
1. Recycling
2. Using metal cans for water instead of plastic bottles
3. Visiting the farmer's market


We also harvested  from our community garden plot and at home: zucchinis, swiss chard, carrots, spinach, lettuce mixes, rosemary, oregano, pumkins, sunflowers and bachelor buttons. 

What a Year And I plan on doing a lot more next year!

Pinterest is...

                         ...really inspiring me into action! 

Items that I have seen on Pinterest and have now completed! 

(with review)

1. Homemade Cleaners made with simple ingredients-

No more chemicals!

Pinterest ...          

From macheesmo.com

                      

                                

     & Mine    

My Review- I have now used three of the cleaners and can whole-heartedly say that I am hooked.  The antibacterial and the all purpose do great; they clean and maintain with a great smell to boot. The bathroom actually cleans better then store purchased cleaners and gets into the nooks of faucets, etc. and cleans out dirt you did not even know was there.  Awesome!                                                                                                                                  

                                   
                                                                                                                                 

2.  Home made Laundry Detergent

Pinterest...                                  

From whynotsew.blogspot.com

     & Mine
   

My Review- I have only made this one and will give you an update when I use it.  However, very easy to make and I even cut it in half because I do not have a 2 gallon pot believe it or not. 

3. Ball Pendant using string, tacky glue and a kids ball

Pinterest...

    

From craftynest.com              

   

       &  Mine

My Review- As you can see, on this one I changed it up a bit. My boyfriend and I did some cleaning out a bit ago and came up with a entire box full of old electronics cords. Yikes! I took them and re-purposed them. The only change to the directions are to tie the cords end to end and wrap around ball (like a ball of yarn)  and then apply tacky glue all over the cords. I applied 2 coats of tacky glue (ended up using an entire medium bottle of glue) to be on the safe side.  It came out really nice. It's  more flexible but still holds it's shape. Want me to make you one? 

Bonus item:

A painting I completed this weekend, it is the first one completed on my artist's easel that I received for Christmas from my boyfriend. 

This was indirectly inspired by Pinterest. Enjoy!

Green Day Trip

Honestly, before Jesse (my boyfriend) suggested we go to Vashon Island for a day of our 

Fourth of July weekend I had never really heard of it. Vashon is an island that is located 

just north of  the Tacoma waterfront. Jesse planned our day from start to finish and 

we did not need our car!

We live in the Stadium District of Tacoma, which is very close to numerous bus stops. 

We jumped on the no. 11 (at $2 each) and traveled to Point Defiance Park where the 

Ferry was arriving just in time for us. We purchased our "walk on" ticket for just under 

$10 and traveled across the sound.

On the other side, we jumped on the bus (at $2.25 each). The bus took us up the island 

to the middle of Vashon where we jumped off to explore the many shops, the

farmers' market and restaurants. 

Deciding it was time to eat our lunch (stowed away in our backpack), we caught a bus 

to head back down the island to the many parks that it has to offer (no fare needed this 

trip because our transfer ticket was still valid and we had 15 minutes left, eek!)

We had lunch on the waterfront and then headed to the main road to catch the bus back 

to the ferry (at $2.25 each). Once again, arrived at the ferry just in time and waited to 

walk on to make our journey back over the water (the $10 fare on the other side is for a 

round trip!) The last step of our journey was to board the no.11 bus that took us home (at $2 each).

Our well-planned trip ended up costing us $27 total and we did not have to worry about 

waiting for the ferry or parking our car (the ferry alone would have cost us $25, ouch!)

It may seem like it was pretty close budget wise, but the impact we saved 

on the planet cannot be compared. See if you can use your local transport for more of your trips!

Our day was a wonderful, fun filled, sunny trip to a place I was not even aware existed! 

Vashon Island is a beautiful place with extremely nice people wherever you turn who give the 

laid back attitude.

Brett Dennen and his Eco-Concert

I was introduced to Brett Dennen's music about a year and half ago in the start of my relationship with my boyfriend, Jesse. Brett's music is so happy and upbeat that I became an instant fan. I decided to get Jesse and I tickets to Brett's concert as a one year of dating gift.

Not only was it an amazing show that had us dancing and singing to our hearts content but we were also able to find out a lot of information on Brett himself.  He really lives the messages he sings, how refreshing. He proves this in so many ways but one is by giving all the proceeds of items sold at the show  to the invisible childeren charity. We were told by multiple workers and friends of Brett that he is not a rich man, but really does not care about becoming one either.  His life and entire attitude is down to earth and I feel honored to be able to say that I shook this man's hand and even got a hug!

Please keep up the great work Brett and we are here to support you!

Brett's tour contributions:

• Using extensive waste reduction and recycling backstage and on buses
• Stocking catering with biodegradable and compostable products to replace petroleum and paper-based products
• Eating locally-grown and organic food backstage
• Using reusable water bottles and water stations backstage for band and crew to reduce plastic bottle waste
• Using non-toxic cleaners and post-consumer recycled bathroom tissue on tour buses
• Calculating and neutralizing the carbon footprint from tour buses, trucks, flights and venue energy use by supporting renewable energy

(information above found on Brett Dennen's Site)

Check out more about Brett's contributions here and 

other concerts helped by Reverb to lower their impact at Reverb's site.

"Green" Endeavours

Up until this year, I have done the typical, easy steps to be more environmentally friendly. I will admit that I was talking the talk and not really walking the walk.  This idea of being green started in college while pursuing my interior design degree. Our focus was on the products themselves and very little else, however, being environmentally friendly encompasses so much more.

Today, I realize just how much deeper being a sustainable person goes. I made it one of my goals for this year (2011) to walk the walk to becoming more "green." It all really started with watching "No Impact Man" and finding The Zero Waste Home blog. These blogs are very disciplined examples of being sustainable. The two things that I find fascinating about these blogs are how they see the problem from so many angles and how  for these families it was a process with small, accomplish-able steps.  I believe that every little bit helps in what you are doing so this year my boyfriend and I are starting the process. I do not know if we will ever be equal to those two families, but we are making better choices because of it.

Prior to this year, I was recycling, turning lights off, and trying to use reusable bags. Already this year we have implemented a worm composter at our apartment, buying more bulk, going to farmer's markets to support our local farmers and economy, started gardens (my next blog post) and really started looking at how our items are packaged.

Our farmer's market that is within
walking distance!

Problems are numerous in our world today, but for me all I can control is what is right in front of me.  Great changes do not happen over night, they take time and dedication.  In just under six months, my boyfriend and I have made a difference that we can see.