The Greening of Our Lives: Annual Earth Day Post

Because we have traditions, dammit.
My standard intro: a couple of years ago, I started an annual Earth Day post on things we were doing to make our household greener. Previous posts: 2019 2018 2017 2016

Some of these things may be useful to you and yours if you're looking to tread a little lighter on our poor planet. I also do it for me since it's a way to remind myself of what we've done so far and what I'd like us to tackle next.

It is worth noting that we've spent years on this, making a few changes every year. My goal has been to add a few new things every year, which we are on track for. I will also note that most things on my list have had a direct cost savings in the longer term, particularly the ones with start up costs. But there are also things we can't do because of finances or the state of our yard and so forth, such as growing a lot our own veggies and there are things that stay in the planning stages for years at a time while I figure out budgeting. We also own our own home in a very urban environment in a city which supports a lot of green programs and I've done quite a bit of research and planning on all of this to approach it holistically. I recommend Green America as a good resource for tackling environmental impacts from a social justice perspective. And, of course, some of these things are on hold, given current conditions.

What we've done so far:

Switched to reusables: lunch bags, dish towels, handkerchiefs, cups, straws, traveling utensils, grocery bags, yard waste containers, etc.
Switched to recycled/refurbished: all paper products, aluminum foil, electronics where feasible (refurbished iPads, etc.), some furniture, some clothes, plastic containers, food packages, garbage bags, etc.
Other things we reuse: wash and reuse plastic bags, recycle magazines and single use containers for art projects, buy bulk and reuse single use containers for storage.
Basic house greening: swapping out light bulbs to LEDs, additional insulation, improved windows, green cleaners, green care products, biodegradable cat litter, energy efficient appliances, solar fan in the attic to keep the house cooler in summer, water barrel, yard waste compost, city compost, city recycling, plumbing with water efficient shower head and water efficient toilet and faucets, yard is completely organic and planted with pollinator-friendly and native plants, we use an electric mower, we use grit to de-ice and our house is powered by 100% wind power through our utility.
Additional stuff: Committed to buying the bulk of our groceries at the local coops and farmer's markets.

• In addition, we look for reuse and donation opportunities for everything we want to get rid of that's usable: clothes go to clothing swaps as well as donation bins, books go to libraries and benefit auctions, jewelry to benefit auctions, reusable computing equipment to organizations that refurb and donate it, etc. At this point, we compost and recycle much more than we throw out.
• Committed to not driving anywhere a few days out of the month and carpooling more and taking public transportation when we can. Biking is not a option for us physically or scheduling-wise and we still need two cars for the moment, but I hope to go down to one car and car sharing in the future and we do walk a fair amount.
• Meat free meals and days multiple times a week
• Carbon offsets, particularly for plane flights and longer road trips. Offset programs that I like: Nature Conservancy, Friends of the MIssissippi, Cool Effect, Million Metres Stream Project (if we travel outside the U.S., I look for local organizations to donate to). I have traditionally donated to Tree Trust, but they ae now self-sustaining through their various programs.
• Use CREDO Mobile for my cell phone as a much greener alternative to other companies
• Investments - I screen out oil companies and other big polluters from my 401K, have my mutual fund holdings with Pax World Funds and own small amounts of stock in our local coop and in Terracycle.
• Switched out my credit cards to cards with B-corp banks or credit unions. Regular accounts are at a local credit union.
• Scrap metal recycling and rag recycling, as well as getting a paper shredder so we can recycle more paper.
• Doubled down on cutting our food waste with more meal planning, more freezing of leftovers and more focus on making sure leftovers get eaten by incorporating them into other meals and so forth.
• Vote.

What we've done since last Earth Day:

• Had a new energy efficient furnace and central air installed last summer. This is already reducing our electric bills and we're starting to see a reduction on gas too.
• Redoing the attic (finally!) - happening right now, as a matter of fact. Between this and the furnace, we should be able to cut our house's carbon footprint by at least 50%.
• Digging up more of the lawn and replacing it with native plants and clover. I'm thatching and seeding now.
• Started growing a tiny bit of our own veggies and fruit.
• Started using wool dryer balls with each load and are seeing a reduction in dry time (we didn't use fabric sheets to begin with, so no change there).
• I changed jobs so I was taking the train and bus to work a couple of times a week before the state shutdown kicked in. Now going on to month 2 of working from home with only one car available, so driving a lot less. I will eventually be switching back to alternating public transit and driving when I have to return to the office.
• Started bringing reusable straws and containers for leftovers when I eat out.
• Swapped out our single use plastic water filters for refillable Kishu Charcoal ones. Gotta say, the water tastes better!
• Vote.

Planned for this next year, in addition to above:

• Less driving and air travel (not entirely voluntarily, but so it goes).
• Keep working on reducing the amount of single use plastic that we use by switching to refillables, compostables, plastic-free packaging and reusables.
• Look at installing a bidet.
• Look into tankless water heaters. We couldn't install one before because of how our basement was piped, but that's been changed with the new furnace.
• Vote.

Other things as I discover them.
And that's it for now. Feel free to share the things that you're trying or any questions you have about what we're doing.