17 Out of 32: Going a Little Greener

As Kermit the Frog said, "It's not easy being green." There are lots of things I could be better about with reducing my carbon footprint.  I recycle like most people in New York do, although I have to say after visiting San Francisco, the West Coast has us beat when it comes to composting.  Despite NYC being a big city that often gets a bad rap for it's garbage, I have to say there are some easy ways to be green in this city.  I used to volunteer with Transportation Alternatives  a non profit dedicated to getting more people to walk, bike, or use mass transit.

Yet there were other things I could do in my life to be a little kinder to mother Earth.  Here are some new practices that I've adopted.  They may not change the world, but they make me feel better ecologically and in some cases physically.

Eating Greener: I recently wrote a post about eating cleaner.  The other great thing about cutting out processed foods is you can get everything you need at the farmers market.  I love helping out local farmers and venders, plus you enjoy fresh foods that you just can't get at the supermarket.  I never see Wild Strawberries at Gristedes and Lavender Honey Goat's Cheese at the farmer's market is better than your run of the mill processed cheese product any day.  The prices are great too!  I recently got the yummiest cucumbers for about a third of the price I would have payed at Whole Foods.  The farmer's market also is a good reminder for me to use my reusable bags.  Even Milo has gone green.  One of his favorite treats is when he gets wheatgrass from the farmer's market.  He get a lot of his other produce from the farmer's market too.  He loves his kale, carrots, and berries.  Another bonus to having him is since I live a alone I used to waste produce all the time, now there are two of us who can enjoy mother nature's yummiest before it spoils and has to be thrown out.

Milo going to town on his kale! 

Using Natural Products for Beauty and Hygiene: I had starting using Tom's of Maine deodorant years ago when I learned that aluminum was one of the ingredients in most store brand antiperspirants.  But this year I have gone even more natural.  Lately I've been getting a lot of comments on how healthy my hair looks.  I'm hesitant to tell people this when they ask what I've been doing but I stopped using store bought shampoo and conditioner because they are filled with harsh chemicals.  It sounds crazy, but I now wash my hair with baking soda and condition it with diluted apple cider vinegar.  By the way both of these products are amazing for other things.  I mix baking soda in my toothpaste for a whiter smile and apple cider vinegar is also a great skin toner and I drink a little to help with acid reflux flair ups.

Using Natural Products for Cleaning:  I don't like using chemicals when cleaning now that I have Mr. Milo.  White vinegar has been great for cleaning out things like his litter box but also for cleaning the hard wood floors in the rooms he hangs out in.