"Going Green" tips or just living smartly?

"Going Green" tips are everywhere now. It's the new fad, the new buzz-word. I believe in being a good steward of God's creation, but I have to chuckle at many of these tips. After all, wise housewives have been implementing them for generations!

Hang clothes to dry.
Turn off lights when not in use.
Make your own meals.
Grow a garden.
Conserve water.

The list goes on and on! Many a housewife doesn't even need to jump on the "going green" bandwagon. She's been riding it the whole time. It's just that someone took the bandwagon's "live smartly" sign down and replaced it with the new buzz-word..."going green." After all, being a smart housewife went out with Leave it to Beaver.

Some of these tips don't even make sense to me. For instance, they say to take a shower rather than a bath. So, I tried my own experiment. I plugged up my bathtub and took a normal shower. By the time the shower was over, the tub was nearly 3/4 full! So, I figured I just needed to take a quicker shower. The next day, I went as fast as I could without sacrificing cleanliness, but I still filled the tub half way! I can take a bath in only a 1/4 filled tub. In fact, I find it faster, more thorough, and it doesn't leave my skin all dried out.

The other tip is to use a dishwasher rather than washing dishes by hand. When hubby and I had a dishwasher, our electric bill went sky-high (and we always ran out of hot water.) I stopped using it and went to hand-washing. I can see where a dishwasher could save if you tend to run the hot water the entire time you're hand-washing. But if you're frugal with your water while hand-washing, it seems to me a greater savings. Also, when we had our dishwasher, most of the time I had to wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher! Or, I'd have to run the dishwasher twice because there would still be food stuck to the dishes (or transferred from one dish to another.) Granted, there are better models of dishwashers out there, if you can afford the price.

I've been "green" for some time now. Or should I say, I've been frugal for some time, it's just that someone slapped the "green" label over my frugal label.

Comments

Sue said…
In all the going green talk I hear I have never heard anything in conserving on the trash we put in the landfill by using cloth diapers on babys instead of disposables.
Anonymous said…
hear hear! I feel bad just throwing away old lettuce and banana peels because I think to myself: this could decompose and make good plant food! alas...my dreams of compost!
This is so funny! I wrote on this same subject last week. They are saying that being frugal is now "hip". I think that the problem is the reason it is hip. They are transitioning into making people worship the earth instead of the God who created it. Save a tree but kill a baby. I am so angry about the whole thing. I guess all we can do is pray!
Blessings,
Hunter
Anna said…
You might want to try a solar camp shower which uses 5 gallons for adults. Just fill in the morning and hang it in direct sunlight or put it in a parked car. Take your shower in the evening. :-) Obviously this would only work for about half the year...but still imagine the savings!

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