Green Shopping

Green shopping is all about what we buy and where we buy it.  It is also about why we buy what we buy and do we really need it.  Our green shopping tips is going to start outdoors, then we will move inside.  This list is not meant to be everything a person needs to consider when shopping, it's just a starter to get you thinking green.  Once this becomes a habit you will add many more tips to this list, many more green shopping ideas.

• Sprinklers : Sprinkler heads can be adjusted, or replaced with adjustable ones.  Timers are also available.  Reducing the amount of time on your sprinklers and reducing the flow out of each sprinkler head should be able to save you several hundred gallons of water a year without hurting your lawn or plants.


• Flowers and Plants : Try searching for flowers and shrubs with low water requirements.  These drought-tolerant species can be used as replacements or used when starting a yard from scratch.  Doing this could save over five hundred gallons of water a year. 


• Floral Arrangements : Try purchasing all of your flowers from local merchants.  Preferably flowers that were grown locally and organically.  The carbon footprint is much smaller when shipping is not involved.  It is also smaller when the packaging is reduced, as is usually the case with local markets.  Organically grown means no harmful chemicals to bring into your home, your air and your landfill when you are through with them.


• Outdoor Furniture : Seek out merchants in your area selling products made from recycled material.  This is a green solution that is catching on in most places.  You will probably be amazed at what you can buy, if you look for it, made with recycled material.  Another option is to shop second hand stores.  Perfectly good, usable furniture, can be found at a fraction of the cost of new.



• Lighting : Consider using solar lights for all your outdoor needs.  This is an inexpensive way to get involved in the use of alternative energy.  Solar lights are readily available to light your walkways, storage rooms, driveways and yards.


• Pool, Spa or Fountain : Pools, spas and fountains can all be operated with the power of a few solar panels.  A single panel array can provide enough electricity to operate a pool pump without out the need to plug into grid power.  Solar heaters can heat the water also.  Ozone systems can treat the water without the use of chlorine.  Your yard is an excellent place to start going green, with so many products and so many options, it's easy to get started.

Do you have kids?  We all know they need lots of stuff but maybe not as much as you think.

• Baby Body Wash : Try bathing your baby in mild soap and warm water instead of the more expensive body washes.  A small bit of paper wrapping on a bar of soap is a much better choice than another plastic bottle of stuff.  We could eliminate about two hundred thousand pounds of plastic trash a year if all parents would do this.


• Baby Wipes : Buy one, just one, hard plastic baby wipe container and then use refill packs.  By doing this you would be eliminating about 1.5 pounds of packaging a month.  It all adds up you know.


• Baby Food : Unless you make your own, like many parents do, buy organic food in reusable glass containers.  The jars can be reused by the manufacturer at times or they can be recycled.  It is also possible to make great use of glass jars around the home, for crafts, storage or cooking needs.


• Baby Lotion : Look for a container that can be reused and eventually recycled.  Avoid the non-recyclable plastic squeeze tubes.


• Cotton Swabs : Try finding organic double tipped swabs.  Using ones that are not made with plastic is preferred also, they do make them.


• Baby Shampoo : Start by buying the largest size available.  This will save you money and reduce waste.  Buying one large container instead of two smaller ones could amount to about a dollar and a half in savings.



• Batteries : All kids have toys and many of them need batteries.  This should go without being said but we will say it anyway, buy rechargeable batteries.  Four rechargeable double a batteries can be the equivalent to a hundred conventional batteries.  Consider that over the life of the child, and all the battery stuff they will have, it adds up to tons and tons of batteries.  This really does make a difference, and you save a boatload of money also.


• Diapers : You knew this was coming.  Cloth or disposable?  You guessed it, cloth is much greener.  Imagine if 14,200 households completely stopped producing garbage.  That is the amount of garbage equal to what would be saved if just one percent of parents using disposable went cloth.  Folks, you really do not have to wash all those nasty things, use a diaper service.  That's what I always did and seldom ever had to pay the bill.  The diaper service made excellent gifts from grandparents.  Tons and tons less plastic in the landfills and better for the babies butt, that's the way I see it.


• Toys : If you have kids you will be buying a lot of toys.  Even if you don't, you probably have friends or family that do, so you will still be buying toys.  This may not always be a glamorous option but try to find toys made locally.  Over 80% of the toys sold in the U.S. were made overseas.  The majority of them come from China.  Buying locally will reduce the carbon footprint from shipping and usually packaging.  With over 3.6 billion toys sold yearly in the U.S., and some of the packaging far exceeding the size of the toy, that's a lot of plastic.  Think about the size of the container the next time you pull that action figure off the shelf.  Consider the toxins used in the production of plastic when purchasing toys liable to end up in a child's mouth.  Consider wood, cotton or other natural material instead.  Twenty five million pounds of plastic could remain out of the landfills if every child under twelve were given just one non-plastic birthday gift this year.

Do you have a spoiled pet around the house?  That's OK, you are not alone, many of us do.  Consider some of these options.

• Leashes and Collars : Try finding ones made from organic canvas as opposed to nylon.  Nylon production is a big producer of nitrous oxide, one of those greenhouse gases.


• Pet Beds : Here you are looking for ones filled with recycled fiber.


• Fish Tanks : If you have fish and plants you need to be doing this one.  When cleaning a tank, do not remove more than half the water at a time, use the water on your plants.  Your plants will love the added nutrients, you will be saving a large volume of water and the fish water will not require stabilizing chemicals.  The fish will have a much easier time acclimating to the new water when cleaned in this manner.


• Pet Toys : Kind of like kid toys, buy local, avoid plastic and look for ones made with recycled materials.  Other than that, go crazy, your pet deserves it.


• Pet Treats : Avoid excessive packaging, it's just not necessary.  Feed stores and many larger pet food stores should have these items in large containers with no packaging.  You could do that or at least buy large enough quantities where the packaging is a box instead of plastic.


• Pet Food : Did you know your pets could go vegetarian.  In most cases it is possible.  It is also possible to just reduce the amount of meat, poultry and fish they consume.  A lot less energy is used to produce meatless pet food and there is nothing wrong with treating your pet to a healthier diet.

Next on our green shopping list are beer, wine and motor vehicles.  Not to be used at the same time, of course.