Comments on: End-of-April Giveaway – “Live Green Together” Prize Pack from Cascadian Farm

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 02 May 2010 08:30:54 +0000

Our family use only reusable bags

By: tree

tree — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:46:16 +0000

We have a large organic vegetable garden, and organic fruit trees/bushes. We grow as much of our own food as we can, and are constantly working to better preserve it. We raise free-range chickens (for eggs only, we are vegetarian) and goats (for milk eventually), we compost and recycle. We use rechargable batteries. i dislike all things disposable, and chose things that will last. We have rain barrels for garden irrigation, car washing and toliet flushing. We have a low flow well, so we are very conscious of the amount of water we use. We do not shower/bath everyday and have to space out baths, dishwashing and laundry…which really helps to conserve water. We line dry our clothing whenever possible. We work from home and only own one car. We only go to town once a week, sometimes once every two weeks. hee hee. We buy second hand as much as possible (i LOVE thrift stores!!) and always use reusable tote bags!
We are working on installing a greywater system, and are always expanding our gardens. We do not own cell phones, and our tv only gets one channel (PBS). So we do not have it on very often, which saves a lot of electricity. We added sky lights, that help heat our home (passive solar) and provide natural light during the day. We heat would wood, and use only dead fallen trees from our property. We buy locally as much as possible, and support our farmers market for items we do not grow ourselves. We hug trees and are kind to bugs. We plant a new fruit tree or bush every Earth day. This year we added another Blueberry. i use only safe cleaning products inside my home (vinegar baking soda and water), and we do not use any kind of pesticides or insecticides in our home or around our property. My yard is full of dandelions and that is exactly how i like it.

thanks for the chance, we love cascadian farms!!!!

enchantedtree(at)hotmail.com
.-= tree´s last blog ..Dragonfly’s Hollow Artist Feature =-.

By: Karen

Karen — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:07:55 +0000

We turned our side yard into an organic garden full of veggies, herbs and edible flowers. We love to watch it change each day, and enjoy creating recipes and meals with whatever looks good each day. Right now the carrots are abundant, and the lettuces and herbs make wonderful salads. ‘ can’t wait to plant our heirloom tomatoes this year!

By: Brad

Brad — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 05:41:46 +0000

We’ve used less water for watering outside & inside.

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 04:27:03 +0000

By: Jolynn Rood

Jolynn Rood — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:45:31 +0000

We’ve used less water for watering outside & inside.

By: Amanda A

Amanda A — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:34:15 +0000

There are some great tips from Cascadian Farm and from the comment section! Personally, we have been slowing making changes toward a more green lifestyle. We:
1. changed the temperature that our heating and air are set at, and try to open the house more and rely on our ceiling fans – we did it gradually and did not even mind the temp difference!
2. reuse clothing constantly! My sister has two boys, so when they outgrow clothing it goes to my two boys, and then I take it to our huge local consignment store where it gets even more uses!
3. For clothing that is stained, I have a bin in the basement that they go in, and then I cut the usable fabric up and make quilts out of them! Usually only a small portion of the shirt is stained, and there is plenty of usable fabric.
4. We have a veggie garden that we make a little bit bigger every year. As an added bonus, my kids eat more veggies when they grow it themselves!!
5. Our toilets are low flow and we have instituted a no flush after kids bedtime policy – it at least cuts down a couple flushes each day.
6. We have a separate trash can in the kitchen for recycling – it has really made a huge difference!! You are so much more likely to think about whether an item can be recycled when you have a bin right there in front of you.
7. I only plug in kitchen counter appliances when I use them, and then unplug again after.
I think that making little gradual changes can really add up, and you are more likely to stick with them if you slowly change your habits – it worked for us!!