Recently my husband and I needed a pressure washer to complete a project, so we headed off to Lowes to price them out. Well, once I saw how big they were, I started to wonder, “Did we really need to own a pressure washer?” I mean we needed one, yes; but did that mean we needed to own one? To store one? Not so much.

So how did we meet our need? We borrowed one from my brother-in-law, who had bought one, used it once and was now stuck storing it.

Just think how much consumer waste could be eliminated, if we were willing to lend more of our belongings.

Enameled Cast Iron

“Made from recycled materials”, “all-natural”, “eco-friendly” – these terms used to mean something, but now that every manufacturer wants to appear green, they just don’t carry the same weight that they used to.

So how’s a green-minded consumer supposed to side-step all the hype? A simple way is to direct your spending towards items that are made to last.

Cast iron cookware is the perfect example. With just a bit of care, a cast iron pan will outlive any modern non-stick pan and it will likely outlive you too.

Jump on the buy-it-once bandwagon, and you won’t need a label to tell you that your purchase is a good one.

What buy-it-once purchases have you made? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo © Erin Huffstetler

Take a walk down the cleaning aisle of any store and you’re likely to come to the conclusion that using green cleaners means forking over more of your hard-earned green.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Learn how to make your own cleaners from baking soda and vinegar, and you’ll enjoy all of the benefits of green cleaning at a fraction of the price.

Homemade Cleaner Recipes to Try:

• Vinegar-Based Cleaners
• Baking Soda-Based Cleaners

Photo © Flickr user steve_greer

Cloth Napkins

My favorite green switch to date happens to be one of the simplest switches that my family has made: replacing disposable napkins with cloth napkins.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t too sure about this switch on the front end. Would my family go along with it? Would it add to our laundry? How many napkins would we need to get through a week? Only one way to find out . . .

Since ditching our reliance on disposables, I have found that cloth napkins are not only easy to deal with (the increase in laundry volume is undetectable), but they’re cheaper and more fun to use too (meals just seem a bit more special when you’re using cloth napkins).

So, Have you made the switch?

Tips for Finding Cheap Cloth Napkins:

• Shop for cloth napkins at yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets
• Raid your fabric stash for material that you can use to make napkins
• Let friends and family know that you’re making the switch. They may have cloth napkins stuffed in the back of a closet that they’d be happy to give you
• Purchase a value pack of wash clothes, and use them as napkins

I love green products, absolutely love them. What I don’t love is all of the advertising designed to convince consumers that the best way to go green is to immediately replace all of your non-green belongings.

That approach may make companies a lot of money, but it won’t do anything for our already-too-stuffed landfills, and it won’t do anything for your pocketbook. There has to be a better approach.

For me, that approach involves maximizing the life of the things that I already own, shopping second-hand for the majority of what I need and, when appropriate, buying those green products that I find so fun.

It’s an approach that favors common sense over spending dollars and cents.

Join me as I explore a more practical approach to going green.