Going green... what first?

[LoveLife]

Hi everyone!

I'm doing an informative speech about going green in your home. I was wondering what would be at the top of your list to go in the speech? I know that I started going green by using vinegar, baking soda & hydrogen peroxide to clean everything, along with changing over my laundry products, etc. Then it was onto recycling. But I've still got a long way to go, so in addition to my research- I wanted to get some imput from others who value going green.

So what would be say, the top 5 things you'd want others to know about regarding the journey to going green? What were the things you changed first to head that direction: body care, recycle...?

Anything else you can think of that should be put in a short informative speech?

I hope this is in the right spot. I put it here because its a bit more general than the green living section. If not please feel free to move it!
THANKS!

[milosmomma]

Besides the vinegar/baking soda transition, the first few things I did were:

1. hang my clothes to dry
2. use washcloths, etc instead of paper towels
3. use reusable shopping bags

I also changed to cloth diapers/wipes, but the three listed above seem to be the things that everyone can do without a huge change in routine. (They also don't get that "ick" reaction that you sometimes get from people about cloth dipes )

[RainbowTurtle]

It's tough to choose only five... I think I would say:

1 - vinegar and baking soda
2 - cloth shopping bags (or at least reuse the plastic ones you've already got)
3 - cloth napkins, washcloths and rags
4 - hang your clothes out to dry
5 - think before you buy! (do you already have it, do you really need it and will it serve mutiple purposes and/or last for a really long time?)

There's also
- buy in bulk (less packaging)
- use reusable containers for lunches and snacks

I think those are all non-intimidating and do-able for most people. Ironically, the vinegar/baking soda gets the most reaction around here.

Cloth diapers are not too shocking to most, but mama pads and the Keeper/Diva cup?? :

[Delicateflower]

I think I'd introduce the main areas of concern and they can start with the easiest thing in each category, but start thinking about more aspects of each.

1. Reduce, reuse and recycle - start with reusable bags or kitchen cloths instead of paper towels (and move onto buying less packaging, making your own, composting etc)
2. Energy comsumption - start with turning off lights, (then, weatherising, changing thermostat, line drying, etc)
3. Water - start with turning off the water while you brush your teeth (then, rain barrels, xeroscaping, etc)
4. Chemical use - start with cutting out kitchen bench cleaner and use a soapy sponge while you're doing the dishes
5. Food - start with the dirty dozen or not buying South American food

[RainbowTurtle]

OOOOO - Delicateflower, I love your approach! Very well put.

[cristeen]

DelicateFlower gave you a good list. We approached it a little differently, but same basic idea.

We grew up with energy and water conservation on some level - just because of our location those two things come up a lot. So when you're shopping for appliances it's something to be aware of. But it's also something to think about in everyday life.

For us, the first thing we did consciously was the 3Rs. Cloth shopping bags, buying with less packaging, composting... and then that moved into cloth - family cloth, kitchen cloth, cloth napkins, handkerchiefs, mama cloth, etc.

I also started reading labels on cleaning products of all kinds - from dish soap to laundry detergent to shampoo. Most of it hit the road, and I switched to BS & Vinegar for a lot of it.

Then it moved into shopping green - local, organic, in season, etc. Growing my own when possible, preserving the harvest (this is actually something I've done my whole life) and so on.

At some point in there we got rid of the microwave and the plastic - many people don't see the "green-ness" in those actions, but they were part of the bigger picture for me - a return to the basics.

And now we're really concentrating on the "reduce" R... minimizing, decluttering, etc. This one is the longest process for us - the hardest one to acclimate to, and the toughest to implement. It's just plain difficult, but we're getting there. This includes things like buying used (almost all my diaper stash is used), really thinking about any new purchases and whether they're needful, getting rid of stuff, etc.

[SAHDS]

I'd like to throw in one that gets overlooked:

THRIFT STORE SHOPPING!

:

Good for the community, environment and your pocketbook - can't get better than that

[reducereuserecycle]

i think i big thing is food...cause we all eat daily...but we don't neccessarily all launder or clean everyday.

so, food seems important to include...whether it be buying local, buying organic, less packaging, or all of these.

[gillibean]

I think my first place to start (I just have to keep reminding myself) is to stop buying things in the first place. There's an environmental cost for every single product manufactured and transported to my home. It costs me money that could go to better things and I then have to do something with it, perhaps throw something else out to make room for it. Yes, certain things are worth the price but not many.

The next steps would be food - eating real food not processed junk and simple ways to cut energy costs ie clothes lines.

[AngelBee]

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[LoveLife]

You ladies are wonderful! Keep it coming.

Delicateflower- I love the approach and think I'm going to use that.

Everyone's opinions have given me more to research and speak about. I'm so excited.

One thing I'm going to add is the resources my city offers to help us go green. Like curbside recycling, appliance/computer & oil recycling centers, info about our city water vs bottle (we have some of the best water in the nation, though it does have additives like floride and chlorine), etc. To show how easy it can be to change to a greener mindset.

[beanma]

Delicateflower, is there something particularly bad about South American food? Or is it just the distance? There are often foods that travel farther than that in our grocery store, too. We get apples from New Zealand and frozen foods from China! I agree that local is the way to go. Shop your farmer's market and join a CSA!

[inkedmamajama]

my biggest are:

Breastfeeding
cloth diapers
resale and garage sale FIRST for all needs
buy food that doesnt come in packages-fresh fruit/vegs/meat bulk grains
recycle everything!
FREECYCLE EVERYTHING ELSE!

[sunnysandiegan]

Who is your audience???? That would GREATLY influence how and what I presented in an informative speech.

[LoveLife]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Who is your audience???? That would GREATLY influence how and what I presented in an informative speech.

Its for my college speech class. It a night class at a community college, so the age range is very wide. There are quite a few of us who are married and have kids, the rest are the average college group.

I'm planning on focusing a lot on reduce, reuse & recycle- since it something even college kids who live with their parents can do.

Any tips?? Thanks.

[sunnysandiegan]

Okay, that helps. In that case, I would do something similar to how delicateflower described. I would break it down in major categories, like she did. Then, I would list general things anyone can do at the intro level, then the intermediary level. I would skip the advanced level because it often scares newcomers and others find that stuff on their own when they are ready. I would also dig up some unique local resources or interesting facts about your specific city and college in regards to the green movement that illustrate some examples you mention. Real life examples (and not just your own, although those are valuable, too) seem to help people make the leap or the next step.

[LoveLife]

Ok, I felt like I was just putting in the most important stuff about each topic, and giving some ways to go green, but my speech is more than double the allotted length! Which is 4 minutes. Now I have to figure out what the bare essenstials are and just put those in. *Sigh* It all seems so important.

Oh, does anyone have any tips to spice the speech up? Visual aids, etc? It seems a bit boring...

[feminist~mama]

I'm likely way too late- but visual aids for this type of speech are easy! Anything from demonstrating different types of reusable bags- canvas vs chico bags vs net type bags to stats about landfills with a chart about how much we're throwing away vs how long it all takes to decompose. Or showing how much waste there is from an average pre-packaged lunch vs bringing food in your own containers or choosing to eat somewhere that offers less packaging (think a sandwich wrapped in paper vs. a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap inside a hard plastic container with a cardboard wrapper around the outside- KWIM?)