Being green at home
So many people have it stuck in their heads that being “green” is a difficult thing to do. I have news for you: Its super easy! The only time-consuming part is rinsing out used containers for recycling, but you can feel free to put your dishwasher to work for that. Which brings me to my first “green” lesson: It takes less water to run a full dishwasher than it does to wash all of those dishes by hand. So fill that sucker up and go!
I want to show you just how easy it is to be green at home. It all starts with minor changes, but has a huge impact on our beautiful planet.
1. and 2. Set up a home recycling area. Find out what your city’s recycling center will accept and separate accordingly. Your at-home center doesn’t have to be as fancy as ours. You can just use old cardboard boxes and label them with a sharpie. We accidentally found our stackable wicker baskets while spending some wedding money at Bed, Bath & Beyond. We were searching for the right kind of containers for the job and couldn’t find anything. When we got to the checkout area, they had these beautiful wicker baskets stacked up with things for sale inside of them. But I just happened to notice a price tag on one of the baskets and said, “Drew, I found them! These are perfect!” Of course, the employees at good ol’ BB&B weren’t very happy about having to empty out these bins, but I didn’t care. I found my home recycling center at last!
As you can see, we have things separated by weight in our baskets. At the very top are plastic containers (milk jugs, soda bottles, sour cream containers, etc.). Underneath those are plastic bags. Then we have steel and aluminum cans. And finally, the heavy glass bottles are on the very bottom. I’m not even gonna lie, we fill up that glass pretty darn quick with beer and wine bottles…I heart my red wine. Always and forever. 
3. Reusable grocery bags. I absolutely heart the fact that these have become increasingly popular. Its a wonderful thing. I actually don’t even shop at Winn-Dixie anymore, but I will not waste these wonderful bags…so I tote these suckers into Target once a week. Yep. Target knows I’ve converted. Its cool.
4. Eco-friendly cleaning products. So many cleaning products now come in an eco-friendly variety, such as dish soap, laundry detergent, all-purpose and glass cleaners. Get your hands on these. For the love of Earth, please use these in your home. Its such a small switch that can have a huge impact.
That’s all for now, but I plan to have more “green” tips in the future. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!
