Treading lightly on the earth

Originally Posted by Rabbit

You have to have a diesel vehicle to run it on homemade diesel. So that means buying a new car, or converting the one you have, and neither option is cheap or easy.

In TN, moonshine stills are legal again, under certain licenses, for making ethanol from corn for fuel.

But...it's cheaper than buying gas!! We've already made back the money we spent to convert our RV to veggie oil in a few short months. If you want to find out more, check out
Golden Fuel Systems (www.goldenfuelsystems.com). They are a great company and converting your car really isn't a big deal...just a different way of approaching it

Peace...
Sara

www.livelightlytour.com
www.walkslowlylivewildly.com

Thank you for answering Sara....
I kinda forgot to come back to this thread....

Ds and I moved into our own place after living w/my wonderful parents since he was 4 mo. Now I can really do the green living thing to the extent that I want! Yay! Here's what we've done since moving here in August:
-clean with vinegar, water and a tiny bit of dish detergent
-buy in bulk to cut down on packaging and then re-using plastic containers as much as possible. Still have too many coming in to my home for my taste...
-New Year's resolution to use cloth shopping bags as much as possible, get paper bags when necessary to keep our garbage
-compact fluorescent bulbs in lots of places (but I have to admit I can barely stand the infernal buzzing of the one in my bathroom)
-crocheted washcloths, dishcloths, dusting pads, coasters and rag rug for bathroom
-using towels twice after showers
-make my own laundry detergent, use vinegar and dryer balls for fabric softening/static
-wear our clothes at least twice between washings (depending on dirt and funk)
-brownbagging it except on those days when I'm REALLY tired in the morning
-just bought a Diva Cup and mamacloths...now I'm actually looking forward to my period so I can try them out...
-planted veggies
-tried different techniques to keep house warm in the summer...but cringing thinking about summer (I can't STAND the heat)
-making my own bread, pancake mix, muffins, etc.

Rebecca, ITA and good for you!

I am addicted to cloth bags for grocery shopping - the only problem has been for absent-minded me to be sure I have the bags with me each time I go grocery shopping.

I got tickled at your towel usage - using them *twice* after each shower? I feel like a slob - I think I change our towels once every few weeks.

I am a diva convert - love love love it. I encourage you to give it a few cycles if it doesn't work really well this first time.

Ooh, Leah! Maybe I'm selling my towels short...I think I'll see if they can last longer if I give them the opportunity!

I'm also absent-minded sometimes and have forgotten my bags once or twice. A couple of things that worked for me have been to keep them all stuffed into one of the bags so I only need to grab and go. Also, I like to carry one of the smaller zip-up bags from Target in my purse or a string bag I crocheted in my glove compartment.

By the way...I love your celibacy pic!

yeah we wash our towels every week here.... (or so )

Make sure they dry well between showers... but technically you are clean when you use them so I think you should be able to reuse them more than twice...
try it!

Our clothes last all week also... except if stained or stinky. Obviously not underwear and socks but we have enough of that to wait a week to wash them.

And yeah I have been forgetting my tote bags every time for the past 3 weeks .... what is up with that???? I will blame mine on the pregnancy brain

Quick question for those of you who make your own wipes (esp those who make them with paper towels). I'd like to give a wipe-making set for 2 co-workers having babies...we're having the shower on Monday.

What container do you use to make your wipes? My family has used a handmedown Tupperware container for 12+ years and I'm having a hard time finding one that is the right size.

Where did you get yours?! I'd like to buy it asap.

[Lady TS]

I have two. One is a round Rubbermaid #9, the other is a squarish canister-type #9 and is taller than it needs to be for the wipes. I had to purchase it with two other smaller containers in a set.

Since we're talking about homemade wipes, has anyone noticed in the last year or so that the Bounty brand paper towel rolls are not as big? When I started making the wipes like 6 or 7 years ago, the roll would fill this container with barely any space on the side. Now, it doesn't, and I'm still buying the "Big Roll"! :/

I just noticed that today! I haven't made my own wipes in a couple of years and the select-a-size rolls are a lot skinnier than I remember!

BTW...where did you get your rubbermaid containers?

[Lady TS]

Sorry it took me so long to come back to this thread...

I think I got the containers from Walmart. It may have been Meijer or Kmart, though.

[JavaMama]

I'm *glad* the bounty are smaller now... cause they fit on my dispenser and I can get two pack! none of the stores in town carry my brawny pick-a-size in the regular size roll anymore unless I buy the 8-pack and it takes me soooo long to use a roll that it would last me 6-8 months easily- I don't have anywhere to store that many! I like pick-a-size because when I do use paper towels, I usually only need a small one and hate having ripped ones lying around.

Last time I made homemade wipes, I was no longer able to find the right Rubbermaid container, seems like they just don't make that size anymore or it's harder to find. Maybe you could find it online now that you know what # it is?

Originally Posted by jrsmama

By the way...I love your celibacy pic!

Thank you!

I am glad there are other mamas who occasionally forget their cloth bags. Like Natalia, we also reuse (outer) clothes and don't wash them with every wear, esp. night clothes (that's easy around here because my nighties don't see any action anymore).

I hang my bath towels on a rack over the heating and cooling vent and I spread them out to dry on the rack after a shower rather than folding them. The vent dries them quickly.

[JavaMama]

Add us to the re-using towels group. Depending on the weather (humid summer for example), we re-use them up to a week... but it's usually more like 3-5 days.

We visited a Best Western that had natural soaps and shampoo in a dispense to avoid the waste of sample bottles that people take and you had to request for your sheets or towels to be changed during your visit which I thought was quite eco-cool!

Leah- I'm squinting to see your avie!

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

Leah- I'm squinting to see your avie!

I know it - I am not really savvy regarding those computer graphics things; I could only resize it so much and that's what I ended up with! It's a bunch of nuns with guns.

[Rabbit]

I thought it was a bunch of soldiers with shields and pikes.