Just updating the full review since the last time I did it was a year and a half ago in April 2008.
Why review? To let you know how it's going, what's easy, what's not as easy, etc.
I figure a table with a 1(hard)/2(medium)/3(easy) star (*) system (x means failure and there is one n/a not applicable) with a comment might be easiest to peruse, but sorry about the scrolling...
| # | Description | *** | Comment |
| 1 | Mow lawn every week | * | I am always a slacker by the end of summer, but I just let it grow - I don't bother with the neighbour's electric anymore. |
| 2 | Fill kettle a cup at a time | *** | I have a counting strategy at the tap (3 is 1 cup, 6 is 2 cups, etc) but I'm still ( year later) working on hubby |
| 3 | Bring home recycling & green bin | *** | We mostly just carry reusable stuff so it's a non-issue. |
| 4 | Read news online (cancelled paper subscription) | *** | Works fine. Very rarely I crave a paper in hand. Plus I get news from more diverse sources now. |
| 5 | Buy produce at Farmer's Market in season | *** | I actually only get my honey at the farmer's market now that we use a CSA. (It comes in glass and is local and very tasty!) |
| 6 | Packaging free take-out | *** | Tiffin boxes have worked out very well! |
| 7 | Fair trade chocolate | *** | It's worth it (for my conscience) & you can buy it in more & more places (& I found it bulk!) |
| 8 | Unplug chargers/plugs not in use | *** | Habit took a few weeks to get into but I'm still doing well. |
| 9 | Walk to the bulk store instead of drive | * | Not since the bike accident... |
| 10 | No more bottled water | ** | I bought 2 in the past year when I forgot to bring mine along. |
| 11 | Buy second hand | *** | This is easy, cheap, and all-around great! |
| 12 | No junk mail | ** | I don't know if greendimes made any difference whatsoever but a sign on your mailbox certainly does. |
| 13 | Fair trade coffee | *** | We went a step further & roast our own green beans & I've never enjoyed my 1 cup/day more |
| 14 | Toilet train the oldest | ** | You don't decide - they do. We had 3 good months then it all fell apart... |
| 15 | Saving our plastic bags for when they are added to the recyclables | x | The city reneged on this idea so I have slowly been adding them to our (extra small) garbage once a month or so. |
| 16 | Using green cleaning products | *** | Haven't used caustic/toxic chemicals/bleach cleaners in many months! More info here. |
| 17 | Ride my used bike (vs driving) | *** | I was doing this until the bike accident. Back in the saddle in spring 2010! |
| 18 | Buy less! | *** | Going down to one income helped with this but I'm very conscious of it now, unlike before. |
| 19 | No more nail polish | ** | After the thumb surgery, I went out and got a mani/pedi... I needed the pampering. That's the only time... honest! |
| 20 | Next car will be green/hybrid/efficient/electric | *** | We're not planning on buying a next car at this point. |
| 21 | Replace plastic food packaging & infant toys | *** | I've managed to get many glass freezer friendly containers but it would be nice if they stacked better when empty. Also, the lids mostly suck, except Frigoverre. |
| 22 | No more delivery food |
** | We have actually done delivery a couple of times since styro is now recycled. |
| 23 | Don't buy from Esso/Exxon | *** | Easy. Even that time I got caught with the "extremely low gas" light on... |
| 24 | Use Gel-Free Tushies when need to use disposables | x | Not absorbent enough for overnight so we switched to Seventh Generation chlorine-free |
| 25 | Don't shop at Wal-Mart | *** | Easy. I don't even consider it an option. |
| 26 | a) Use the car less than 2-3x/wk | *** | We use the car 1-2 times a week. We live near transit, parks, groceries, libraries, etc. |
| 26 | b) Don't turn the tap on full |
** | This is a silly and difficult habit to break, but it's working finally. |
| 26 | c) If it's yellow, let it mellow... | x | We bought a dual flush instead. It smells better. |
| 26 | d) Turn out lights as I leave room | * | Easy, but I can't change seem to the habits of the people I live with. Actually, the boys are getting very good at it. |
| 26 | e) Navy showers | ** | This is a summer-only change. I'll be back to navy showers when it's warm again. |
| 26 | f) No paper subscriptions | *** | Always tempting, but I'm not going to. |
| 26 | g) Eat even less meat | * | We went pretty vegetarian for a while & my 3 year old (at the time) had a hard time with it. Meat 4 times/wk is average I think. |
| 26 | h) Amalgamate car trips | *** | Done. Easy. |
| 26 | i) Don't buy food in non-recyclable plastics (e.g. cherry tomatoes) | ** | I do this, but it's not always easy. |
| 26 | j) Cancel catalogues | * | When New Scientist expired we went for the new online only option. I have to talk to the ROM and zoo about this... |
| 27 | No T-Gel (coal tar) or Head & Shoulders (zinc pyrithione) | *** | Found an alternative at The Big Carrot. |
| 28 | Use only recycled toilet paper | *** | Ridiculously easy. |
| 29 | Use the kill-a-watt meter to see what's sucking energy | * | We did it for a few things but dropped the ball on that one. |
| 30 | Use toothbrush with replaceable head | *** | All 4 of us use these now. |
| 31 | Switch to LED night lights | *** | They work great! |
| 32 | Fair trade organic loose leaf (low packaging) tea | *** | We buy it by the kilo every few months. |
| 33 | No trash week | x | I bailed. Too much on my plate to worry about being all extremist. |
| 34 | Plant flowers that support the bee population | *** | Next spring! |
| 35 | Don't use microwave popcorn | n/a | No microwave, I make it in a pot the old fashioned way! |
| 36 | Vegetarian recipe exchange | *** | Got some good recipes (email if interested) & everyone was happy to be involved |
| 37 | Use organic vegetable & fruit delivery service | *** | Great service, but now that it's nearly harvest time, we're moving onto a CSA (see #51) |
| 38 | Write politicians about stopping the global warming nightmare that is the tar sands | ** | Done. I should really do this sort of thing more often, though... |
| 39 | Go green for xmas | *** | We pretty much bailed on the consumer-palooza that is Christmas for the past 2 years. They rocked. |
| 40 | Wash new clothes before wearing to rid them of formaldehyde finish | *** | I very rarely buy new clothes, but when I do, I do this. |
| 41 | Refer to the "dirty dozen" list & buy organic for the top offenders | *** | I have the full list in my phone and refer to it all the time. |
| 42 | Bought a hemp shower curtain | *** | This shower curtain rocks. No complaints. |
| 43 | Don't buy anything in styrofoam | ** | Styro is recycled now in Toronto, so I have done this about once every 2 months, but it is still rare. |
| 44 | Buy organic milk, mostly for the benefit of my little guys. | * | Whenever I can get it, I do. |
| 45 | Work towards creating less than 1 bag of trash/4 weeks | * | We're at or just less than 1 full bag/4 weeks and holding steady. |
| 46 | Participate in Earth Hour | *** | Easy. We should do it more often. |
| 47 | Make my own sour cream (since I'm already making my own yogurt) | * | This worked a couple of times (even with lower fat cream) then it stopped working. Still trying to get it right. My sister-in-law is doing it successfully and loves it. |
| 48 | Don't even consider using biofuels (with the exception of used chip oil) | *** | This is a ridiculous, yet government mandated, affair. |
| 49 | Buy naturally raised beef directly from local farmers | *** | Love that beef from beefconnections.ca. |
| 50 | Properly dispose of expired meds at household hazardous waste | *** | I missed my local Environment Days but have stashed the offenders to disposal at a later date. |
| 51 | Buy shares in local organic CSA for summer | *** | Loving it. |
| 52 | Got an "green" yoga mat for my 3 year old | *** | Love the new yoga mat I bought for my little guy but borrow when he's in bed! |
| 53 | Turn off power bars for computer 2 | *** | Easy. Do it every night. Should have started a long time ago. |
| 54 | Use grey water for toilet flushing | * | This fell by the wayside around the accident when I couldn't lift anything. Will try to get it going again. |
| 55 | Use a dry diaper pail | x | Not currently using cloth. |
| 56 | Community park clean-up | * | in 2008 but not 2009 |
| 57 | DIY toothpaste |
* | I used it for about a year and then bailed. May go back. |
| 58 | Summer savings |
* | I stopped using the clothesline and my bike after the accident but we don't use A/C and I still did navy showers... |
| 59 | Events without bottled water |
** | I always push for this during out fundraising events. Last time I didn't even have to push! |
| 60 | Dual flush toilet |
*** | Excellent. |
| 61 | Holiday solar LED lights |
*** | Excellent. |
| 62 | Gift free birthday party |
** | Last year it went great. This year we don't have a plan as of yet. |
| 63 | Late night laundry |
* | I was really, really good at this until we had a house guest in our basement for several months. Now I have to get back into the habit! Dishes are always at night. |
| 64 | Knitting local and sewing. |
** | I make hats for folks with yarn from Kingston, ON now. Have to get better at patching clothes (boys and the knees in jeans, I tell ya...) |
| 65 | Hankies |
*** | Haven't bought a box of tissue in 6 months, although we do have one on hand for guests. |
| 66 | Recycled printing paper |
*** | Excellent. |