Kermit the Frog

My pal Kermie used to say, "it's not easy being green." I'd have to disagree, little toad. I've found a lot of ways to be green and save money. And for those of you who think I'm just jumping on the bandwagon, I'll have you know that I've been recycling since I was a tadpole! Here are tips of things I'm currently doing:

• Using regular dinnerware at work - no styrofoam cups or plastic utensils or paper napkins or plates for me when I bring my lunch or drink my coffee.
• Using 1 C. vinegar and 3 C. water for our daily shower cleaner and glass cleaner rather than buying spray bottle shower cleaner at the store all the time and using harsh chemicals.
• Using SwissGold coffee filters rather than paper filters in my coffee makers.
• Using 1/2 t. olive oil and 1/4 C. vinegar for our furniture polish which I store in a glass jar. This is much better than using an aerosol dusting polish.
• Taking reusable cloth bags to the store instead of using plastic bags (although sometimes I admit I forget and leave them in the back seat of my car - I am getting better though)!
• Trying to not buy or drink bottled water. Instead we have a water purifying pitcher in the fridge that we can use to fill reusable water bottles.

Here are some of the things I'll be doing over the next few months as we run out of these items:

• Making homemade hand sanitizer: 1/4 C. witch hazel; 1/4 C. aloe vera gel, 1 t. vegetable glycerin, 1 T. apple cider vinegar and 10 drops tea tree oil. Some of these ingredients are found at King Soopers and all can be found at Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods.
• Making homemade shampoo and conditioner (this is going to save a bundle from using my Joico products)! Shampoo: 1/4 C. water, 1/4 C. liquid castile soap (it comes in 6 different scents like peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, unscented, almond, etc.), and 1/2 t. light vegetable oil (like jojoba, coconut, avocado or almond). Conditioner: 4 C. water, 1 C. apple cider vinegar.
• Using 1/8 C. Borax (sold at King Soopers) and 1/8 C. baking soda for laundry detergent.
• Using Borax as our toilet scouring cleaner.
• Putting 50% organic fabric softener and 50% water into a spray bottle. This will then be sprayed onto a clean washcloth and tossed into the dryer for our dryer sheet.
• Using 1/2 C. baking soda, 1 T. vegetable glycerin and a bit of organic liquid detergent to make a soft scrub for sinks, bathtub, etc.

Way Future Ideas:

• When I start going gray (my hairdresser found one on my head 2 months ago which I asked her to promptly remove!), I'm hoping I'll be OK with it and keep it natural. If not, I've read that making super strong black coffee (no comments Britt!) or boiling black almond shells then pouring that on as a rinse to my brunette hair will help.

Additional Ideas:

For what to avoid, print out a wallet-size shoppers' card of The Green Guide's Dirty Dozen list of chemicals.
*www.thegreenguide.com