http://www.care2.com/greenliving/twenty-steps-to-a-more-natural-life.html
20 Steps to a More Natural Life
Adapted from The Druidry Handbook, by John Greer (Weiser Books 2006).
You can comfortably reshape your life using simple methods like these. They are logical, doable, inexpensive, and all together combine to help you live a life as a caretaker instead of as an exploiter of the earth. What better way to live?
1. If you have room for a garden, or can join a public garden, grow some of your own food using organic methods.
2. Buy organic, recycled and other Earth-friendly products instead of conventional ones, even when they cost more.
3. Set the heat 10 degrees cooler and the air conditioning 10 degrees warmer, replace high-wattage light bulbs with efficient ones, and make a habit of turning off anything that doesn’t actually need to be on.
4. Improve your home’s heat efficiency by adding insulation, installing insulated window coverings, weather-stripping doors, and putting gaskets behind electrical outlets.
5. Put flow restrictors on your faucets and showerhead to save water. If you can’t replace existing toilets with a low-flow version, place a half-gallon jug full of water in the toilet tank to reduce the amount used in each flush.
6. Never buy anything on impulse. If you think you want something, wait at least 24 hours and see if you still want it then.
7. Plant trees whenever and wherever you can, and tend and water them until they can survive on their own.
8. Take a hard look at the electric or gas-powered devices you own. How many could you replace with low-tech equivalents, or simply get rid of? Gather up any that can be replaced or discarded and donate them to charity.
9. Contact your local water, electricity, and heating fuel utilities to find out what conservation programs, rebates, and incentives they offer, and use of them.
10. Shop at a local farmers’ market or join a community-supported agriculture program.
11. Learn how to entertain yourself and your family and friends instead of letting an energy-wasting machine do it for you. Television and computer games are no substitute for life!
12. Instead of a grass lawn, landscape with plant species are native to your area. Local conservation groups can tell you which plants support native butterflies and birds.
13. Whenever you possible can, walk, bicycle, carpool, or take public transit instead of driving a car.
14. Replace chemical cleansers, laundry detergents, and garden compounds with natural or biodegradable equivalents.
15. Take care of as much of your everyday health care needs as you can using natural methods. Modern medicine is among the most wasteful and polluting of all industries.
16. Live as close as possible to work or school so that you minimize the time and energy wasted in commuting.
17. If you’re building a home, include as many Earth-friendly elements in its design and construction as you can.
18. Compost all your yard waste and vegetable kitchen scraps in a composter or worm bin, and return the compost to the soil.
19. Recycle everything you possibly can.
20. Donate old clothes, housewares, and appliances to charity, or find other uses for them instead of throwing them away.
Go to the Source
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226 comments
add your comment »vinegar and baking soda definitly work, but I prefer to use a company that I have come to love, because their cleaners are so effective, cost less than vinegar or baking soda, and are concentrated to reduce the amount of packaging entering the land fills
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Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon cleans and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains. Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice & use as hardwood furniture polish.
Put lemon and orange peels thru the garbage disposal. It freshens the drain & kitchen.
Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces. Baking soda deodorizes. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odors. Use it all over to absorb smells.
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Christina M - Vinegar naturally cleans like an all-purpose cleaner. Mix a solution of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a new store bought spray bottle and you have a solution that will clean most areas of your home. Vinegar is a great natural cleaning product as well as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Always test on an inconspicuous area. It is safe to use on most surfaces and has the added bonus of being incredibly cheap. Improperly diluted vinegar is acidic and can eat away at tile grout. Never use vinegar on marble surfaces. Don't worry about your home smelling like vinegar. The smell disappears when it dries. Here are some uses for vinegar in the rooms of your house. Use it in the…
Bathroom - Clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops. Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. Flush the toilet to allow the water level to go down. Pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim. Scrub down the bowl. Mop the floor in the bathroom with a vinegar/water solution. The substance will also eat away the soap scum and hard water stains on your fixtures and tile. Make sure it is safe to use with your tile.
Kitchen- Clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.
Laundry Room- Use vinegar as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry deterge
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christine....try this link, it will get you started..http://vegweb.com/composting/
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Can i use baking soda and vinegar to clean my bathtub??
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Hm i like the 'plant a tree' idea. I've always wanted to have my own vegetable garden. How do you reuse table scraps etc. for compost? How?
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Having a healthy life is a matter of wisdom, common sense and discipline!
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Glad to've found a more earth-friendly method than bleach, i'm gonna clean that rascally bath tub mat w/vinegar!
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Vinegar and baking soda can work, but I've found a cheaper way to do it and a way that requires much less packaging waste going into the landfills, while being completely environmentally friendly!
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Julie - u can use vinegar and baking soda on wooden floors but its advisable to first test it on a small area preferablly an area hidden out of sight like maybe under your couch. Best of luck.
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