Going Green...Baby Steps Add Up

A few years ago I quietly started trying to live in a more eco-friendly way. It started with a switch to re-usable grocery bags, and has continued in a myriad of small ways from there. Chatting with a friend who is just starting down this path made me realize just how far I've come through a series of seemingly minor baby steps. I thought it would be fun to catalog all the little, painless changes I've made in the hopes they'll inspire others.

1. Switched to re-usable grocery bags
2. Skip plastic bags at many other stores (e.g. Target, mall) in favor of recyclable paper shopping bags or my giant purse. 
3. Phased out plastic containers in my kitchen in favor of glass
4. Started using re-usable foodsafe storage baggies
5. Started using a BPA free refillable water bottle
6. Got a Britta pitcher to make my own tap water taste better
7. Bought a Soda Stream for DIY seltzer - no empty bottles to recycle
8. Started buying only humanely raised, no antibiotic meats and other food with minimal processing
9. Started buying organic produce for at  least the "Dirty Dozen"
10. Cluster errands to reduce fuel use
11. Switched to eco-friendly cleaning products (homemade when I can!)
12. Started sanitizing dish sponges in the dishwasher to extend life (vs. throwing them away)
13. Switched to buying canned goods in jars, packets or BPA-free cans wherever possible

There's much more that I could do, but for now these have been virtually painless changes that most people could do without much effort. And every time I say "no thanks" to a plastic bag or refill my Soda Stream bottle I feel good inside because I know I'm helping preserve the environment for future generations.

What small steps have you made toward a goal recently that added up to a big accomplishment?

When to buy organic produce?

I have decided to start eating more organic produce and meats in order to eliminate pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones that aren't natural. I'm sure I could find science to go either way on the issue, but my common sense tells me that foods without alot of chemicals or tampering by humans are better for me.

In order to decide which foods are worth paying the organic premium, I asked the members of several online women's groups that I am a part of. One member pointed me to a great site called foodnews.org that lists fruits and veggies by their pesticide load. The ones at the top are worth buying organic. Those at the bottom are OK to buy conventional. They even have a great little wallet card they'll send you as a cheat-sheet in the grocery store.

I'm definitely going to take this into account during my future trips to the grocery store. The "Dirty Dozen" are foods I eat very often so it's likely I was eating more chemicals than I realized up to this point. No more! The research I've read also says that many organic foods actually have higher nutrient content than their convetionial counterparts so I'll get more bang for my fruit & veggie buck on top of it.

http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php