It’s official. We are no longer buying wasteful plastic utensils thanks to our office manager. Silverware has arrived into our kitchen drawers, and a dish drying rack appeared on the countertop one day to accomodate this new green endeavour.

Two big wins with this purchase: the company saves money and less waste in landfills. Now, if we could only convince the local restaurants to stop giving out free plasticware with lunch take-out orders.

Mercia Tapping

We have a north facing den, which in winter gets abysmally chilly. And, much to my chagrin, my husband has been prone to putting on space heaters at full blast and running up our electricity bill. I have been racking my brains as to stop this behavior without having him to go to bed to watch TV and be warm enough.

So, this fall I have a number of cozy throws strategically draped over chairs and sofas. The first members of the family who think that this is a splendid idea are the cats! They have instantly adopted the new throws. Now we will just have to see whether my husband can be persuaded to use them. Or, at least use a sweater instead of going around in his short sleeves in the dead of winter. Stay tuned.

Mercia Tapping

As much as I dislike doing dishes or using the best china for casual dining, which is an invitation to use paper plates - I have deleted them from our shopping list. Truth is I do not even miss them, because what’s so beautiful about them anyway? Yes, it requires a few more dishes for the dishwasher, but at least I do not have that guilty feeling when I see all the overflowing plastic in my trash. I bought some nice colored polycarbonate glasses for outdoor living to avoid glassware, and they are wearing well.

Mercia Tapping

I was fascinated to read in an English newspaper last week that in a nation-wide poll about their ideal home, the English no longer wanted a stately historic home or even a castle. They dreamed of an eco home with a zero carbon footprint! My mouth dropped open and I sadly thought that here in America, we have such a long way to go before green homes become the nation’s dream.

Mercia Tapping

One of the great contrasts I saw after a recent trip to England, is that people rarely use a clothes dryer; whether they live in the city or country. Of course my family owns dryers, but they hang their clothes out to dry. Now in this country it is often forbidden—and seen as littering the landscape—interesting!

Mercia Tapping

Do any of you have a partner who insists on heating the great outdoors by having the windows thrown open all day while the furnace is blazing during the heating season? With the heating season upon us, I will share with you what I did last winter. Every time my husband left the windows to our bedroom wide open all day, and I discovered them open after I returned home,I fined him $10 on the spot! Now you don’t go up in the popularity polls, but I can tell you he changed his behavior pretty darn quick! I am sure it will happen again, but I am ready for the battle!

Mercia Tapping

Last night I watched yet again for the hundredth time as my husband solemnly washed the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Not that I am ungrateful for this auspicious rare event of helping clean up, but the waste of water continues to aggravate me. He always chastises me for putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher. So I finally said in a sanctimonious tone, that “The Department of Energy suggests we do not wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, as modern dishwashers are quite capable of cleaning the dishes, and it wastes water”. He stopped immediately! Miracles do happen!

Mercia Tapping

I recently returned from the UK, where I grew up with solar panels, and where recycling wasn’t even a term—it was a way of life. We reused every piece of string and paper bag. Foil or cling wrap were carefully washed and reused, and we never went from one room to the next without turning out the lights. After living for 35 years in America, I realized just about a year ago that I had forgotten my roots; and was a greedily guzzling resources like many other Americans. Continue »

Beth

I decided that reusing my grocery bags to bring my lunch to work wasn’t enough. There were always so many that I ended up throwing some away. Then I decided to start bringing my bags back to the grocery store to reuse them. I put them right next to my son’s grocery cart cover so I don’t forget to bring them in!”

Our inventory control officer was excited to find 100% recycled cardboard boxes from a packaging supplier. Now everything that drop ships from the GreenandMore.com warehouses gets sent in eco-friendly packaging. One more win for the planet!