Oh goodness! Unfortunately, there's probably a lot more non-green stuff that I do/use than green.

I drive more than I'd like, but living out in the 'burbs I don't have much choice all the time.

While I try to eat organically, I can't always afford it, and I still buy stuff that I know is not organic or has stuff in it that I really shouldn't be eating (GMO high-fructose corn syrup, anyone?).

My kids both play hockey, and while it's a sport we all love, sometimes, especially in summer, while I'm at the rink, I can't help but wonder how much power is going into keeping that ice frozen.

I'm sure I could cut back more on the electricity used in my house if I tried harder.

The worst personal habit, the one about which I feel the most guilty, and which I know is not good for me, is that I color my hair. I keep telling myself I am giving myself higher chances for cancer, and just think of all those chemicals getting washed down the drain, but I guess I'm just too vain. I'm too young to be sooooo gray, and that is my one big concesssion to vanity. I do go more time between colorings now (6 weeks instead of 4) but I know I should stop altogether, for my own health as well as the environment. But I just can't. Not yet.

:)
Dee

I simply cannot live without air conditioning in the summer. On the plus side, I keep the thermostat down in the winter too.

Diggerdee- have you ever tried Henna ? I use it often and find it covers quite a lot of gray and looks very natural . It is plant based . Another good brand is one called Water Works - it is water based . No ammonia and no peroxide . Both can be found at Sally's .

I'm with you msyoohoo. I wish I could get away from air conditioning. I moved to MO (where there is a lot of humidity) close to 10 years ago from southern CA (where there is no humidity) and I still can't get used to it. It is my biggest problem.

Gatormom, I've considered it, and looked into it very briefly. I recall it seemed really messy and somewhat difficult, and I think I lost interest when I saw the word "staining", lol. Granted, I probably made a decision without doing enough homework, and should look into it again.

We don't have air conditioning, which is probably a good thing because I'm sure we'd get addicted. Well, I could probably do okay, since I get cold easily, but I think my DH would turn it on in the winter, lol!

:)
Dee

oh it's the hot tub for me. Can't live without it ; )
I grind my own wheat (by hand) to pay pennance for the electricity I consume with the hot tub!

mxbarbie,
lol! you grind wheat by hand, that is something! It seems like a major undertaking but must be so rewarding. I'd love to hear all about it. That is certainly something I could become interested in. TIA

diggerdee, I'm with you, too young to have this much gray. Have you tried HerbaTint hair colour? It was actually my stylist who recommended it. I tried it once and there's no going back, I've used it for a few years now. Great stuff! No smell & relatively little mess (I've never used any other home hair colour product so I've nothing to compare it to).

The web site is for the UK, but I can buy it here in Canada, so surely you can find it where you are.

Here is a link that might be useful: Herbatint hair colour

mxbarbie, I too would like to hear more about grinding your own wheat. I've been thinking of doing that myself. I would think the actual grinding isn't so hard (well, maybe by hand it is, lol!) but what sounds difficult is finding the wheat to grind!

Garden Chicken, I just heard of HerbaTint last week, coincidentally. I will check out the website. Thanks for the link!

:)
Dee

If I am not mistaken, henna is for dark hair. Is HerbaTint good for blondes?

Don't want to hijack this thread so I'll link to another about the wheat grinding thing over on the homesteading forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: grinding your own wheat

I think you would have to grind a whole lot of wheat to save the power from a hot tub. This thread is about admitting your foibles, not making excuses. *Wags finger accusingly*

;-) Funny. I try to keep a priority list on energy use/wastes and if I must indulge, do it with the low priority items. They have less impact. I do not use air conditioning. But, I work in g'houses in the summer, so it can be ninety and 90% humidity and it feels cool to me in comparison.

The largest non-necessary waste of power I can think of we use is the pump to our waterfall in our spring-fed pond. But, it does aerate the water and force it through a filter, and that keeps the pond clean without chemicals, and the fish alive in freezing weather. The pond is the last step of our water system after it comes from the spring and overflows from the cachements. If we didn't use the water for enjoyment and to plant oxygen producing and carbon gobbling plants, then it would just run off into a stream anyway.

I also have just not gotten around to putting several electronic devices on a power plug I can turn off when we are not using them. Why do people really need 'instant on' gadgets?

I am really peeved, however, at Home Depot. We use ceiling fans year round to move air in our home. When my last one bit the dust I replaced it with a model from this store. I do not use incandescent lights and on the box, the bulbs for the light units appeared to be standard. It wasn't until I got the unit installed did I notice the sockets to the bulbs are what they like to call an 'intermediate' size. IOW, no bulb but the ones you can buy there is going to fit it, and of course they are incandescent. So, four bulbs I could have fitted with 13Watts now are forty to sixty watt bulbs with the same or less light output.

I use my dryer. There, I said it. I know it uses power, and it's supposed to be so much cheaper to air dry clothes. But we live in the woods, so a clothesline is out. I tried one weekend a couple of loads that I hung up in the spare bedroom. That was a lot of hassle for the money. There are only two of us, last weekend I did four loads. We calculated that it costs somewhere in the range of $1.00 per week to run our dryer.

Not green, but giving it up isn't worth it.

I can tell you exactly what our dryer costs us, because my husband fought me for years about putting up clotheslines. So, I waited until he was out of town, bought the cement, and poles and just did it. When he was paying the bills the next month, he said, Man I wonder what it going on. Our electric is thirty six dollars less than last month. It's never this cheap. We checked back on the usage for the same month for a couple years and it was just about that amount less pretty dependably.

Yikes. I have lots of bad habits. #1 in my house is soda. #2 is diapers and #3 is air conditioning #4 is dryer.

MY husband and I are both soda addicts. Thankfully my kids really like "juice" and don't care about soda. We were both raised that way. I'm trying my hardest to switch over to herbal teas. I did it while I was pregnant, and just can't manage it all the way now. And my kids "juice" that they drink all day long, is basically flavored water. I use a single serving propel packet, and mix it in 2 qts of water. They think it's juice, since that's mostly what they get, and what we call it. So other than their milk and real juice, they drink lots of water. So there's my good implanted in their brains.

For diapers, I'm relly very depressed about. I have 3 in diapers. My son is potty training, but he still uses 2 or 3 a day. We used only cloth for such a long time, but my son has such an overly sensitive butt, that he had blistering rashes, so we had to start using disposibles. Now that he's potty training though, I mean to pull out the cloth stash for the younger 2.

Air conditioning. Our stupid house is so poorly designed, that the ac has to run almost 24/7 in the summer. Granted it is very humid where I live, but still. My living room can be freezing, but the bedrooms at night are like 85 degrees. I've started working on taping up some vents in the rest of the house, hoping to direct more air to the hotter rooms

Dryer- I can not STAND line dried clothes. I have this weird OCD complex with textures. My clothes, sheets, twoels, anthing that I come in contact with has to be incredibly soft. Stiff textures give me the creeps. Since I do all the laundry, and have to touch every fabric in the house, they all have to go through the dryer. Line dried clothes are too stiff for me.

I used to use my clothes dryer all the time, but have really cut back on its use. I totally know what you are talking about with the stiffness, especially for towels. When I started using a clothesline I would notice that hanging stuff on a windy day took care of the stiffness problem. Also I tried partially drying my towels in the electric dryer and finishing them outside and this also helped even though it created an extra step. Someone told me about using vinegar in the wash to help but I haven't really noticed much help there. Anybody got other ideas?

If you put your clothes on the line later in the day when the sun doesn't hit them it helps. I leave them overnight and try to scoop them off before the sun. You can also do the opposite with the towels - dry them on the line and then tumble them in the dryer for 5 minutes to de-crunch them.

You know, I like the stiffness of the towels dried on the line, and I guess I'm in the minority. Its very invigorating to buff dry with them, like an exfoliant. I do know that line dried without a fabric softener, they're so much more absorbent. When I used to use fabric softener, my dish towels just moved the water around on the plates.

Calliope, I have purchased (from Walmart Super Center) the smaller size, energy efficient bulbs, for the combination light fixture/ceiling fans. The bulbs aren't attractive, but they do the job and save some energy.

My environmental sin is that I don't rinse out plastic containers, which have oily residue in them, for recycling. I put them in the trash. I only recycle plastic containers which rinse out easily. My excuse is that oil/grease going down the drain is not good for the septic system's leach field.

Lorna

Mamato, I am a recovering soda addict. I've cut back to soda mainly on the weekends, and no soda on weekdays.

My green confessions:

1) AC-On days with high heat and/or high humidity, I always use the AC. Not just b/c I don't tolerate the warmth, but my allergies flare up and I get headaches.

2) TV & Lights-I have a bad habit of falling asleep while watching tv.

Sarah

lorna I looked at the 'light fixture/ceiling fan bulbs available in most stores, and they have smaller bases than the intermediate size, I mean really small bases, and they won't work. Not to bring up an unrelated issue, but even if they did have them at Wally World......I won't shop there for various ecological reasons. I'd leave the light bulbs out and use candles before I'd go there to buy them. LOL

I guess if using the dryer is a sin, then I'm guilty. I would love to line dry my laundry but in our environment it's a non-starter. The dust & grime kicked up by the unrelenting wind here would mean dry but dirty clothes. Plus, with the wind gusts your knickers are likely to end up in the neighbours yard! (We also back on to a bike path and only have a chain link fence... a little too public of a laundry display for me). I have quit using dryer sheets and now use 'Aunt Nelly's Dryer Balls'. I am pleasantly surprised how well they actually work, given that we live in a semi-arid environment and static is the norm.

Another sin is store bought granola bars. The non recyclable packaging makes me crazy, but they are so convenient (and often yummy!). I don't eat them every day and do try to make my own occasionally. Anyone have a good recipe that doesn't involve peanut butter???

I have 2 clotheslines (about 150 feet together) All my laundry goes outside. DH used to complain about the towels and the stiff jeans but I told him he needed to 'man up' and he learned to live with it!

Brendan, does not usuing a dryer make up for my hot tub??? ; )

Calliope, I'm with you on the walmart issue. I think they suck all round.

Garden chicken, have you tried using a drying rack inside your house? I have clotheslines outside, but I often hang some of my clothes (usually work clothes) inside my house on a drying rack. They are easy convient ways to allow clothes to dry on their own. Of course, there are times I use the dryer as well--rainy days and winter when I just have too much for a rack inside.

Sarah

Calliope, Walmart does a lot of environmental work, you might be surprised if you look into it. Their theme this year is sustainability, they are walking their talk. Of course, part of it is that they recoup a lot of money in recycling much of their trash. However, they are also promoting that their employees learn and practice sustainable (green) ways in their personal lives, such as car pooling, lowering energy usage, recyling, eating organic produce, etc.

There are things I don't like about Walmart, but I do not agree with much of the hype being passed around about the company. All too many people pass on "bad news" about Walmart without checking facts. I've looked up a number of forum Web sites where Walmart is being bashed, and been very surprised at the number of employee responses which state much different scenarios than the negative stuff the forums are trying to push.

When Katrina hit, Walmart was the first entity of any sort, including the Red Cross, to supply fresh water to the victims of the hurricane--many truckloads of bottled water. They also delivered other supplies, such as toilet paper. The company volunteered space in several of their undamaged buildings, as well as donating computers, to create operations centers for the incoming relief workers.

Just before Katrina hit two Walmart Super Center managers took it upon themselves to open their stores to the public, telling people to take whatever they needed free of charge. The news reported that those two stores had been looted. That was not true. The managers knew their merchandise was going to be ruined by the storm. So they let people have free rein to take whatever they needed. Those managers were later lauded by corporate headquarters for having made the right decision.

Lorna

I have to agree w/ Calliope - I also enjoy the feel of clothes dried on the line. My husband is still complaining, but I just keep ignoring him. I'm trying to get my kids OFF of the sodas, but not much luck so far. They are coming around about kitchen scraps in the composter, paper/cardboard in the recycle tub, etc. Just gotta keep working on them. I've actually managed to get my daughter to use 2/3 LESS water when taking a tub, AND, she's only taking a tub 1x per week - everything else is a quick shower.

Still got a long way to go to win the war, but I'll take a little victory wherever & whenever I can get it.

Ilsa

Lorna, just to say the "W" word, usually brings on confrontations in the forums. I wasn't setting out to bash it, because of that. I'm not ignorant about their operations, and I am not easily influenced by gossip. I've been following their history now for many, many years and in fact owned stock in it until I made my broker get it off my portfolio. So, no I wouldn't be surprised by looking into their good works. To shop there or not is one's own decison and no Green PR on earth can cover up the isles of imported gimcracks, and consumer mentality it conjures up in my brain to the point it makes me almost ill. All political reasons aside, I think their buildings, lighting, redundancy in stores, never closing policy and lack of locally produced goods is just ecologically a statement in itself.

Hi. I just stumbled into this forum and found this fun thread/confessional. ;-)

Calliope, I, too, love the feel and smell of line-dried linens. Just don't have the time and energy for it any more. There are six of us in the family, youngest children are 18, and, though they all do their own laundry, I doubt very much that I'd get them to do the clothesline thing, lol.

Like so many others, I rationalize my "sins":

#1. Central Air - never thought I'd want it but would be a mess without it. Just like the heating in winter, though, we use an automatic set-back thermostat and try to keep usage down. Also opted in years ago to the power company's plan whereby they can cut back our power to the unit during peak demand.

#2. Long drive to work - but I work at a dream job: a public garden dedicated to the home gardener, with a strong educational component including earth-friendly gardening and lawn care, integrated pest management, composting, beneficial insects, etc. I only wish I could afford to live closer to the workplace - verrrrry high property values in the area.

#3. Koi pond/water garden with waterfall - it uses energy, of course, but it and the surrounding naturalized gardens provide habitat for birds and many beneficial insects. Would be thrilled to see some salamanders, toads, frogs and such move in.

#4. Greenhouse ... just a little one, and I've insulated the north wall and floor, wrap it in a clear solar pool cover in winter, tuck water-filled milk jugs and soda bottles wherever I can for thermal mass, but I do heat it just enough to overwinter lemon tree and tender plants, grow some herbs and lettuces through the winter. Mainly, it's a refuge ... a place go when it seems winter will never be over and once again experience the healing properties of working the soil, the scents and colors of growing things, the warmth of the sun on my skin (even though it's maybe only 23 degrees outside). It is remarkable how warm it gets on even an overcast winter day; sunny days it's downright hot in there. Night-time, though, the heater flicks on.

We are very conservative in other areas, however, and my DH and I are so often frustrated by the insidious little daily insults, like over-packaging. (I cancelled one of our few magazine subscriptions - and, yes, I let them know why - when they started mailing the publication in a platic bag.)

It's all a matter of balance, I think. If we were all issued ration coupons for energy, polluting products, and so on, how would we use them? Where would be put our priorities?

A periodic evaluation of our habits, and sharing, is healthy.

Well, I had a guilty little pang last night in the middle of the night. I woke up starving, and shuffled into the kitchen, and in the dark, reached into the cabinet, pulled out a pudding cup, leaned against the sink and started eating, still in the dark... and thought of this thread, lol!

I hate the fact that I buy these pudding cups. I have even written to the company to ask why they don't package them in recyclable cups. But I still buy them. I eat on the run a lot and grab one for a quick snack or a midnight snack. Oh, the shame!

I gotta find another snack...

:)
Dee

What about one of those breakfast drinks , nutritional drinks or even Slim-Fast for a snack ?
They taste like milkshakes , helps satisfy the sweet tooth , are fortified with vitamins and the steel cans go in the recycling bin .
Not the best solution but better for on the go people than a pudding cup .

Here is a simple recipe for homemade vanilla pudding:

SIMPLE VANILLA PUDDING
INGREDIENTS
 2 cups milk
 1/2 cup white sugar
 3 tablespoons cornstarch
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk until bubbles form at edges. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour into hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into serving dishes. Chill before serving.

This is a fancier pudding called Natillas (Nah-tee-yahs):

NATILLAS
Ingredients:
 4 Eggs separated
 ¼ tsp. vanilla
 1/4 c Flour
 1 qt Milk
 3/4 c Sugar
 1/8 tsp Salt
 1/4 tsp.Nutmeg, plus 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Using a whisk, make a paste of egg yolks flour and 1 cup of the milk. In a medium saucepan add the sugar and salt to the remaining milk and scald at medium temperature. Add the egg yolk mixture to the scalded milk, add vanilla, and continue to cook at medium temperature until it reaches the consistency of soft custard. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the custard. Chill before serving. Spoon custard into individual serving dishes. Sprinkle each serving with spices before serving.

If you goof, and the custard curdles (eggs scramble) during cooking, press mixture through a sieve before folding in egg whites. The sieve will remove any curdled egg bits.

* * *

Lorna

Or there's always a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. (If you're still hungry after one spoonful, you can use the other end of the spoon for another scoop, to avoid getting out (and having to wash, with extra water etc. etc.) a second spoon.) (Do not ask me how I know this.)

Guilt free late night snack ...... apple, banana, orange, grapes, cherries etc., etc.! The 'packaging/waste (cores, pits)' is compostable which trumps recyclable any day!

(Okay, I know - I can 'hear' the eye rolls all the way thru my monitor! ! :o)

I sure hope that nobody is suggesting that I, oops, I mean, a person ought to feel guilty about eating peanut butter.

Alfie,
fond of peanut butter

Goodness no, Alfie - but you do know that an apple or pear slice makes a dandy peanut butter 'spoon', don't you? :o)

(I hate dirtying utensils too!)

Count me in as a member of the peanut butter gang!

Ugh! I'd rather starve than eat peanut butter... .well, at least starve until breakfast, lol. I detest peanut butter, so that's out for a midnight snack.

Zigzag, you are waaaaayyy too healthy for me, lol. But you reminded me that when I was pregnant with my daughter, and had "morning sickness" morning, noon, and night, for nine months until about ten minutes before giving birth, I used to constantly keep bananas with me. It was one of the few foods I could keep down. Quick, easy, no mess - if I was hungry at night I didn't even have to get out of bed because they were on my nightstand. People used to tell me I was going to give birth to a chimp, not a human, lol!

Lorna, thanks for the recipe. Do you think I could add chocolate/cocoa to it?

:)
Dee

You are welcome. Yes, Dee, I think you could add chocolate or cocoa. I would guess an ounce for those recipes. If you use cocoa, add an extra tablespoon of butter.

I can't recall if you are one of the folks using a microwave. I used to have a quick and simple microwave recipe for chocolate pudding, but I lost it when my favorite computer was stolen. If you are interested, you might be able to find the recipe doing a search on microwave chocolate pudding.

Lorna

Thanks Lorna!

:)
Dee

Ohhh Dee, I'm in your camp with peanut butter - ick. I just don't get the appeal. I did just buy a jar of organic almond butter. It's pretty good but I don't know that I'd rush out and buy another when this one is gone.

Lorna, your pudding recipe sounds good, will have to give it a try! Thanks!

Peanut butter is food for the gods! It's even better if you make it yourself.

Back to the original question: I guess my big waste of energy is growing orchids under lights during the winter. I do use CFL's, so that isn't as bad as some of those other light systems. I also have to heat their room during the day to at least 70 F. I should keep it warmer, but I just can't justify that since the rest of my house in in the 58-62 range.

Kevin

PUDDING CUPS: I buy these from time to time for my kids, and the plastic is recycleable in my area, but before I toss in the bin I use them several times each in the summer to make bigger ice cubes for packing coolers or filling the big water jug on outings (or cooling the water for when I am freezing beans/corn), or cut holes in the bottoms and use as little planting pots for some of the seeds I start for my garden. Since they are clear I can tell when cuttings have rooted well.

Thanks for coming forward, all of you, and pointing out that although many are striving to be energy wise and cutting back on waste, it is difficult to do it all and still live our lifestyle the way we've been used to. Just today dh took kids into the bigger city close by to buy them shoes, and I asked him to pick up milk on the way home. Pick up milk he did, and he let the clerk bag both jugs! I will speak to him later on this, I don't think he is aware he can ask for his items to NOT be bagged (I do 99% of the shopping in this household, and just assumed he knew how I felt about those plastic bags). Or that anything that size WITH a handle needs no bag! Oh well. I'm still trying to influence change within my own little world (family).

kioni