When it’s time to turn to eco-conveniences
April 1st, 2011
Photo via Flickr: Jencu
Lately, every day feels like I’m on one of those giant hamster wheels. I can’t remember a night when I haven’t been writing and answering emails right up until it’s time to go to bed. Yesterday, my husband said to me: You know, we’re really doing everything the most difficult way possible. And it gave me pause. Because you know what? He’s right.
Going green is obviously so much a part of my life that it practically is my life, but my effort to DIY (actually DIM) is starting to feel, well, exhausting: We don’t have a washing machine, so I have to schlep my daughter’s cloth diapers to the laundromat. She’s starting to eat solid food now, so I’m whipping up different variety organic purees every couple days. I abhor processed food, so I cook three organic meals a day from scratch (and we don’t have a dishwasher). I try to make it to the farmers market once a week. I run errands on foot. I mend clothes. I soak beans. I breastfeed.
Oh, and did I mention my daughter recently started crawling?
The fact is, there are great eco-conveniences out there: Disposable (but biodegradable) gDiapers, for instance. Prepackaged organic baby food. Prepackaged organic adult food. Organic grocery delivery services. Canned beans.
The problem is, these little green time-savers come at a cost; monetarily, yes, but also environmentally, since they usually come neatly wrapped in not-always-recyclable packaging. But I may have to learn to compromise.
What eco-conveniences are you turning to?
–Jennifer Grayson
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April 1st, 2011 at 6:36 am
For many years I bought dried beans and took the time to soak and cook them, but often found that my stomach never digested them very well, no matter how I adjusted my cooking and soaking times.
Canned beans are a staple in my house, since I only buy dried lentils and split peas. I’ve been on the lookout for companies that use recycled metal in their cans though, because I feel like buying organic beans isn’t enough. Any thoughts?
April 1st, 2011 at 10:17 am
If you can get a dishwasher — you should. Not only will it make your life easier, but if you use it properly (i.e., only running it when it is absolutely full; using eco-friendly detergent, and not too much of it), you will actually save more water than if you washed those dishes by hand. If you’re renting (and therefore don’t have control over your built-in kitchen appliances), Sears sells portable dishwashers. We bought one for our apartment in Manhattan. When we moved to a Brooklyn brownstone 10 years ago, we gave it to our tenant–it’s still going strong. And believe me, it will make your life easier.
April 1st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
I totally agree with Therese. Dishwashers are so much more eco-friendly than washing by hand. Also, because it uses hot water, it will also sterilize your baby’s dishes too. Washing machine is a time saver too and you can hang dry – provides humidity and saves electricity for not using a dryer. Buy portable ones if you can’t use full size ones. I find that cleaning and washing take up so much time in a day, I’d compromise those two and buy organic, cook from scratch, and walk.
April 1st, 2011 at 4:51 pm
I don’t know about recycled metal, but I think when it comes to canned food, avoiding BPA is usually my main priority. For that, Eden Organic is pretty much the only way to go: http://www.edenfoods.com/store/index.php?cPath=21_32
I usually soak beans for things like beans and rice, but I actually had great success just tossing dried beans into the stew I made for my kitchen sink stew. I got the idea from this NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/dining/03appe.html
April 1st, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Agreed about saving water with the dishwasher, but alas the way our rental apartment kitchen is set up, we never had space to put one. Probably moving soon, though — I will not move unless we find a place with a dishwasher!
April 1st, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Line drying is actually great for cloth diapers, too — it bleaches them so nicely! Maybe one day when we have a yard. Although by then, our daughter will probably be out of diapers!