SFG #4: Green Thumb.

One of the effects of the environmentally conscious movement has been the germination of Whole Foods Markets all over creation. People want organic food, without all the pesticides that they know are used in most commercial farming. They think it's more nutritious, safer for their families, and better for the environment than buying from a normal supermarket.

Well, for those people who make it a point to buy from small local farmstands, that last point rings true. However, for those who buy from Whole Foods Market, the 4th largest supermarket in the United States, it doesn't at all.

Unfortunately, for a store with hundreds of locations across the US and Canada, it's not possible to maintain environmental friendliness. Sure, those organic farmers haven't damaged the environment the way that traditional ones have, but they're also almost certainly nowhere near your locale and are therefore taking up a lot more oil to get to your Whole Foods than would a commercial product from a closer farm.

Why am I going on about this? Well, it's because I see a third option. Which brings me to Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #4: Plant A Garden.

Some of you will certainly say that it's impossible for you to start a garden. You don't have the land, or if you do you don't have the time to care for it. Well, I say you can do it anyway, and I'll address how someone without land can start a garden at the end of this post.

The season's already starting, so you'll need to look for seeds and start planting very soon!

If you have land on which you can plant, you first need to choose the size of your garden. The land on which I grew up has maintained a 30' x 30' plot for something like 22 years. The yield from that garden last year was estimated at 1,300 pounds. You don't have to plant an area this large, and indeed it's a decision that you'll have to make based on the time which you have for maintenance, available room, et cetera.

Part of your consideration should come from how much room specific plants need to grow, which you'll find when looking for seeds. You shouldn't simply buy an assortment of vegetables, but should carefully read the packets and be certain that they are appropriate for your area (remember to consider sun and shade) and will fit in your garden. Be sure to look at various seed catalogs, such as Johnny's Selected Seeds and Burpee. I would recommend tomatoes and pole beans in particular for beginners. If you have the room, winter squash is also a great crop. There is little maintenance work to be done on the plants, and the yields at the end of the season are enormous. In addition, squash will keep all through the winter in an average cellar!

Once you've decided on your area, the first key thing to do is fence it in. The recommendation of my mother, a lifelong gardener, is this:

Bury solid aluminum or 1/2 inch wire mesh fencing a foot to discourage field voles, three foot wire fencing with one foot buried to discourage rabbits and woodchucks, and 8 foot fencing or total enclosure to keep out deer, coyotes, and birds.

Obviously, for some neighborhoods, 8' fencing is not necessary. However, most people will have the best results if they choose the 3' option, even in suburban areas. A vole problem could end your entire gardening season before it has even begun- they will eat the roots and small shoots of the plants just after they've sprouted, and by then it may be too late to start another crop.

After you've fenced your garden, you will need to fertilize the soil. If you have horses, this is great news, because it's something to do with all of the manure you've collected over the winter. If not, you can always buy manure from a local farm- many cow and horse farms sell their manure for gardening use. It's completely organic and chemical-free. Fertilization can be done using a roto-tiller, or simply by loosening the first few inches of soil with a hoe or similar tool, spreading the manure, and then incorporating the two by going over the space again with the hoe.

After fertilization, divide your garden into sections for planting. You will want to do this based on the recommendations on your seed packets for how much room specific plants need. If it's your first time planting, you can put them anywhere you want. You will want to keep specific plant types together, and be sure that if plants require part shade, they will be able to get it.

Once you've divided the garden, you can start planting using the instructions on the back of the seed packets. From that point, all you need to do is maintain the garden with water and wait for the harvest to come!

For those of you without land on which to grow, as promised, here's a great solution- container gardening. Certainly it's generally more difficult to get a large yield, but it IS possible to cut down on the purchase of foods that travel thousands of miles to get to you.

Expect a post towards the end of the summer on canning, a great way to have your garden-fresh foods last you all year.


For more details about either of these methods, feel free to leave a comment on this blog or email me.

SFG #3: Ambulation.

In this technologically-advanced age, we have all sorts of loony solutions for the problems we've created. Hybrid and electronic cars have been one of the biggest steps into the future. Wow, great- a car that runs without gasoline! Think of all the green points you'll get for that!

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. But we'll get into that later- the point of this post is that the car solution is foolish anyway.

You know what's better? It's something that'll get you into shape, make your life greener, and allow you to appreciate the world around you! It's a forgotten art by many people, who will now hop in the car just to go down the street for some milk. Ready?

Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #3: Walking Is Always Better Than Driving.

I'm sure you're thinking that this tip is too much of a no-brainer even for this blog. But you're wrong! Most people have a set distance that they'll walk to; I say, extend it. Sure, we'll all go for a walk down one street. I'm suggesting that you make it further. For example, most people at the college I attend will drive to the liquor store down the road at least once a week. The drive takes one minute; the distance is half a mile. Walking, it's only 8 minutes.

A similar phenomenon occurs with the local grocery store. It's 1.7 miles away- about a 30-minute walk. For most people, including myself, this seems far too long. After all, that means it'll take you an hour to complete the trip, without factoring in how long you'll be in the store.

I can almost understand driving to the liquor store, because many people buy a large quantity of alcohol at once. However, grocery shopping as a college student isn't going to be a trip for $100 worth of groceries that you need a car to transport. If you're only going to buy a few things, there's no reason to take a car.

Visiting maps.google.com will show you that they even have walking directions now- usually even including details on the availability of sidewalks.

Particularly with the arrival of spring, I'd encourage anyone to try walking instead of taking their car. Sure, that hour's walk to and from the grocery store is going to take up a chunk of your day- but think of it as an hour of light exercise to add to your normal routine. If you're in a low-traffic area, it can also be a great way to relax and take in the world around you. Particularly in spring with all of the birds calling around you, taking a walk is an easy great escape. If you have some major objection to birds, just bring your iPod. Or don't- you might find you warm up to all the sounds around you.

SFG #2: "Green Works" Products Aren't.

The Clorox company has come out with a line of "green" products that have mostly natural ingredients. Great, right? You can clean your home with the products you're used to and still be green!

Wrong. Let's just take a look at their Natural Glass Cleaner, shall we?

It's 99% natural. Well, that's a good start. Let's see their natural ingredients:
- essential oils
- corn-based ethanol
- filtered water
- glycerine
- blue colorant
- coconut-based cleaning agent
- soda ash

Now, there are a few problems with that (corn-based ethanol isn't the smartest idea, but we'll get to that one later), but the one I'm going to choose is the coconut-based cleaning agent.

Clorox is a company that's based in the US. Coconuts come from many places...but they don't come from the United States. In fact, the largest producer of coconuts as of June 11, 2008, was the Phillipines, followed closely by Indonesia.* Now, if you'll notice, those are places that are all the way on the other side of the world.

The closest producer is Mexico, which produced about 1% of the output that the Phillipines produced in 2005. Now, even if we were to assume that Mexico is where Clorox gets its coconut-based cleaner, there's going to be a good deal of transport involved to get that cleaner produced and then delivered to your local supermarket. There's oil cost, AND you can't re-use the plastic containers in which these commercial products arrive.

So it's time for Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #2: Vinegar + Water = The Real Natural Glass Cleaner.

Vinegar is going to be the topic of another post later on, because it's just so useful for a load of things you wouldn't expect. However, right now, I'm going to tell you how to make your own glass cleaner that will both be more environmentally friendly AND less expensive than commercial products.

Combine one part white vinegar and one part water.

Yes, that's it. That's the whole thing. You can splash it on, or put it into a reusable spray bottle and use it just as you would Windex. For an even greener solution, you can use newspaper instead of paper towels and you'll get a great streak-free shine. I've done this myself, and it's a great, simple way to go greener. Sure, you have to get used to the smell while you're cleaning, but it's worth it. It won't linger, so don't worry about your house smelling weird afterwards.

There will probably be a upcoming post about all of Clorox's "Green Works" antibacterial products, but I don't have the time to put on my Super Science hat right this minute. Look out for it!

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut

SFG 1: Let's Start Simple.

For many people, "green" is an extremely important thing to be nowadays. Of course, past the fact that it's a buzzword on the news, most people don't think about what living green really means.

Sure, you could buy all of the "green" products out there. But my question is, why would you do that when there are simpler, more natural (and often more cost-effective) solutions to begin with?


For example, a water-saving showerhead is probably going to run you between $20-40. It'll save around 30% of the water that you'd normally use. Standard shower heads are going to be putting out 5-6 gallons per minute*, so that'll save you 15-18 gallons on a 10 minute shower. However, I can tell you a quick and easy way to reduce your water use by HALF!

Are you ready for this? Perhaps I should give you a quick hook for it first. I guarantee you that if you use my method, you're going to see softer, smoother skin within a week. People will start complimenting you on how nice your skin is, and- get this- you'll save a ton of money because you won't even need body creams to keep your skin that way. Ready?


Then it's time for Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #1: Stop Showering Daily.

Yes, you read that correctly. I am an advocate of showering less than 7 times a week, and have been for years. I also advise showering for 5 minutes, maybe 10 maximum. Here are some of the reasons why.

First, saving water is important. But if you just wanted to do that, you could blow the $20 on a water-saving showerhead instead of going my way. However, there are other reasons for showering less frequently- like that it's better for your skin.

Over the years, I've gotten many compliments on how soft my skin is. I get asked what lotions I use, how I keep it looking so great. This applies both to the skin on my body and the skin on my face. My big secret is that I don't overdry it by showering the oils away all the time. Sure, I could shower daily and spend more money on moisturizing body washes and creams, but that would cost me more money and involve me putting all sorts of weird chemicals onto my body. My hair is also in good condition, because showering every other day (or even every two days, sometimes) lets the oils in it work through and- gasp- it self-moisturizes!

Who'd have thought, our bodies can take care of themselves if we stop worrying about them so much.

We only shower daily because our society tells us that to be hygienic, we must. Some people even shower twice a day- for shame. Once you get past the idea that showering every other day is not going to make people turn up their noses at your stench (I promise, it won't!), this is a very simple, healthy way to live a little greener.

*(http://www.thewatergeeks.com/Water-Consumption-sp-16.html)