Going Green

I just thought it would be cool to begin listing some of the things that our farm, business and family do to “Go Green” and help the environment. I’ll make a notation if it is happening on the Farm, for the Business or in our Family, and if needed a few details about what we’re doing. So, here we go –

1. We do not use paper towels! Nope, I don’t know very many, if anyone else that dose this, but it’s not hard. We buy a roll of paper towels about once or twice a year, if that. Instead we have a nice collection of terry cloth wash clothes and cotton dish towels. We have a big drawer in the kitchen for quick retrieval. And, we just wash the towels, clothes and rags as necessary. Often, if it is just water on them, we let them dry and use several times before they go back into the laundry. FARM, BUSINESS, FAMILY
2. We have converted over to tablet toothpaste. There are several companies that we have tried and this month we are trying a new flavor. We have liked the taste of any of the companies. We have even tried tablets with the charcoal tooth whitener in them. All are super. It dose take a little getting used to, to not have a gel or paste in your mouth, but they really do a good job of making your teeth feel clean. Less volume in shipping, less water. FAMILY
3. Composting of table scraps. We have had chickens forever. And, they are like Earth’s little In-Sink-erator. We keep a small bucket in the kitchen, near the sink and fill it with all our food scraps. In an official way this dose mean that our eggs can not qualify for an organic certification because there could be preservatives and other food additives that eliminate your flock from that status. However, we only produce enough eggs for ourselves and a small group of neighbors and friends. So we feel that the benefit to the Earth far exceeds a label. FARM, FAMILY
4. Water re-use. When I am finished with a dye-pot and all the dye is exhausted, I will pour it onto our stone/concrete patio cracks to kill the weeds. The hot, close to boiling water, and the vinegar in the water make for a very good natural weed killer. Plus there is nothing else growing under the patio and it is a small amount of water, that mostly evaporates after application. These patios are used by our family, but also by folks that come and knit, or are walking up to the farm shop. FAMILY, BUSINESS
5. We do not buy plastic bottles of house-hold glass cleaner. We replaced the plastic spray bottles with glass ones we found on-line. And, then we have gone to using tablet form cleaners that you dissolve in the water and/or vinegar mixture, and occasionally a liquid concentrate. I’m not completely sold on any of the three replacements for the Windex/or similar product. Each has a plus and a minus. The tablets are great, but if you do not dissolve well enough, they can clog the spray nozzle. The vinegar is very easy and simple, but I do enjoy the scent of the commercial products. And, the concentrate is perhaps the best at solving the other two, but is the least comprehensive on helping the environment. So this one is an improvement, but still a work in progress. Since I use this cleaning product everywhere it is all three – FARM, BUSINESS, FAMILY
6. We have purchased some old fashioned brown paper bags for the business as an alternative to every skein of yarn going into a plastic bag. I really like this! I even had a box of mostly un-used silver foil labels, so I’ve made my bags look a little customized and attractive. I would imagine occasionally the plastic may need to be used, for example, a festival in the pouring rain. That dose happen. But, for the most part, I’ve gotten a very nice response from the shopping public on this one. And, even many customers bring their own bag now. Very good all the way around! BUSINESS
7. While on the topic of bags, when we shop we bring our own fabric or reusable Tyvek style bags. Truth be told, I much prefer the fabric bags. They are easy to clean, very collapsible, and attractive. However, I have a large collection of the more Tyvek style/reusable grocery bag, so I’ll use them too until they fall apart (because using something up has a value). FAMILY, FARM

There’s much more than this to report, but this is a good start. So from time to time, I promise to depart from the yarn and fiber for just a moment and add to this list. Please feel most welcome to reply with some of the things you do.