I used to go all eco conscious and use old ...
354848
I used to go all eco conscious and use old newspaper but got tired of ash flying around and not working anyway; these just do the job fine
2985255
No wonder I haven't cleaned up since reading this book. Start
Swith core ideas. She is an alternate thinker and some stories are hard to believe they are true but you know they are.  She is right...clothes and books need to be recycled first.
2638494
I am trying hard to reduce my carbon footprint so I got a few of these to use with my kitchen appliances. One flick of the level and I can turn off my coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave etc. Who needs to keep all those things on 24/7? They seem to be holding up well with once or twice a day usage over a year.
1506412
I've decoupaged some things over the years and truly love this product.  Only recently have I thought of many other ways to use it as a sealer and figured it was time to buy the gallon to stop running out of it.
3294968
this book showed me further ways to augment my meager living. I have long recycled and scavenged but this showed me some things I overlooked  and organizing ways so I don't just have piles sitting around my yard. now I have bins for metals I was  missing out on.
on my drives into town I really am keeping an eye out for tossouts I never noticed before.
864427
Replenishing the stock via Amazon. Love these bulbs. I have some neurological issues which include sleep disturbances and sensory sensitivities - stark white light and lights that emit a higher-than-I-can-tolerate blue - ultraviolet wavelength mar my already fragile circadian rhythm and tend to make me cranky and an otherwise unpleasant person to be around. I did the CFL thing for years - just before it got big here in the US - and I'm doing the opposite of some countries and phasing CFL's out of my house. I can't stand the things. I've been putting up with them for almost a decade, and I'm done. I've had it. I'm going to start stockpiling incandescents, and possibly take an occasional trip to a third world nation so I can purchase them so I have enough for the rest of my life (or atleast until someone can come up with something better).

Why did I buy CFl's in the first place? Well, I was (and still am) as liberal as all get out. I wanted to do my part to help the world be a better place. I knew they had mercury in them, and I have been recycling them (Pretty recently - CFL's are like cockroaches; they just don't die). However, I did not consider the issues beyond the energy-saving factor. How much energy did it take for the CFL to be produced? Was it made in a country with terrible environmental practices and human rights abuses? (Cough...China...cough) And of course, how many people are actually going to recycle the CFL's? Not enough - which of course will inevitably pollute the groundwater with mercury, thus causing significant harm to anything that needs water to survive.

I think a lot of pro-environment ideas are well-intentioned, but not thought out. Much of the electricity in the US is fueled by coal - which is mined. Electric cars? Powered by coal. Oh, and the batteries for electric and hybrid cars? Nearly as many carbon emissions needed to produce those as what is emitted by the life of a well-cared for economy car. I could probably spew out more examples (Don't get me started on organic food).

A lot of things to help the environment are actually pretty simple - maintain your car, drive less, wash in cold water, eat less meat, repair clothes rather than throw away as soon as a small tear or popped off button happens, turn your thermostat down, insulate your attic, don't buy needless crap, wear cotton (actually fairly resistant to pests due to breeding over the years and doesn't need a ton of processing like bamboo rayon), buy local food if you can, drink tap water in a reusable cup (if the water is safe in your area, as plastic bottles are wasteful and those little Brita filters are bulky and made in China), donate usable items rather than throw away, blah blah - I"m sure you can find more handy dandy tips on the web. If everybody did more simple things, the environment would be better. And yes, legislation to hold companies accountable for the waste they produce should be in there, too.

If we all took some time to think about things in the long-term (Or atleast try to, since the human brain physiologically wired to think in the short-term), we'd be better off. Perhaps if we spent some more money on research for things to help the planet versus money on...well, I'll keep my liberal bias to myself there...we could start coming up with better crap than CFL's.

In the meantime, I'm going to use my incandescent light bulbs and remember to turn them off when I'm done with them.
3334880
I love this. I feel like I'm saving some of the environment as well as making a good choice in using better oil than traditional sprays. Good price too..
2780893
I love these diapers.  I'm kind of a green freak.  I use a clothesline, compost, have timers on my electronics, and yet, I could never bring myself to switch to cloth diapers.  This is an excellent alternative.  I love that the diapers are biodegradable, and compostable as well. They disappear in my compost pile in about a week, but I live in Arizona. They rarely leak outside the liner, and are much more convenient than cloth.  Just a note, though: if you have a septic system, do not flush them.  Also if you are throwing them into the garbage, make sure to use biodegradable trash bags, otherwise you're missing the point and they'll just sit enclosed in your plastic bag forever and won't biodegrade. Try them out, but give them a good two week or so chance.  It took me that long to get used to them.
Gdiapers also makes cloth inserts for them which I use when I'm at home all day.
3276432
Who doesn't love Post-it Notes, those cute multi-colored slips of paper with the glue strip on the back that have a thousand uses in the office and almost as many in the home.  Well, now there's Post-it Greener Notes, made from 100% recycled paper and plant-based adhesives.  They are virtually identical to regular Post-It Notes, except they are environmentally friendly, so you don't have to feel guilty about using them to remind yourself for the hundredth time that you forgot to buy milk, or jot down phone messages and quick memos.

The new Notes come in soft pastel colors and so far, the glue appears equally reliable as the adhesive on the regular product.  I think they're a great way to go green, and I'm glad that 3M thought of it.

Recommended.
1586260
the funny thing is that i used to do almost all of the things that marie kondo recommends when i was little, but for some reason, i stopped doing them when i got older. consequently, i have accumulated way too much stuff. this book's premise, that you start with an image of the life you want to live and then 'work backwards' from there, is truly liberating. instead of trying to get rid of as much stuff as you can, or plowing through this or that just to be done with it, when you start with the attitude of thanking everything for what it has done for you but allowing only those things to remain that really give you happiness, the whole process stops being some kind of marathon or act of penance and becomes instead an act of joy. at that point, you (or i, i guess i should say) have no desire to go out and replace what i have gotten rid of because my focus is now on what i have rather than on what i don't have. having spent one summer living in a dirt-floor shack in a region where most people lived that way and seeing how little people really need to live on, not to mention how happy i was that summer, just focusing on doing rather than having, i'm ashamed to think of how twisted our priorities in industrialized countries have become. this book was the spark i needed to break that cycle. it was really just a matter of allowing myself to focus on what i love instead of feeling guilty for what i was giving away or trying to rationalize all the stuff that i was keeping. the only thing that marie kondo doesn't get into is what to do with all the stuff you get rid of. i guess she leaves that up to the individual. for me, goodwill is the answer. i used to think of having a sidewalk sale or taking things to a consignment shop to get money for them, or even having a party to give things to my friends, but all of those just ended up preventing me from doing anything. this way, i thank each item for what it did for me while it was here, and then i give it to goodwill and hope that someone else can find as much or more joy in that thing than i did. the end result is just a refreshing sense of freedom. now i know where everything is--finally--and i love seeing each thing i have. and i have no desire to go out and get more stuff. this book truly revolutionized my way of looking at things.
3294199
Something so simple has saved me a lot of money.  I used to over water or not enough.  But not anymore
705099
I am the product of a long line of hoarders.  Both sets of Grandparents lived through the Great Depression.  They saved EVERYTHING, cause as children, they lived a life where you never knew if you would be able to get things, and even if you had money to get them (which you usually did not), they may not be available at any price.  I remember as a child, my Grandmother's kitchen was full of balls of rubber bands, tins full of wooden thread spools, stacks of paper bags, pencils and erasers going back decades...empty bottles, can, jugs, egg cartons, piled literally to the ceiling.  Needless to say, my parents are the same way, though not to that degree.

I have fought it my whole life, with a great deal of success.  I don't hoard things, and I've moved many times in my adult life, and with each move, have gotten rid of a lot.  But in my home, every thing does not have a place.  I find myself irritated by clutter due to limited closet space and too many things to fit into the ones we have.  About six months ago, I got rid of 75% of my clothing, but still...I know I can do better, cause no, I don't wear everything that's left.  I still have two small hanging closets and two dressers.  No make that three dressers!  AARGH.  My kitchen counters are covered in little groupings of spices and vinegars, herbs and teas, because I don't have enough cupboard space for everything, so the most used items perpetually sit out.  After reading this book, I realize now this can change.  Do I really need TEN rubber spatulas?  Probably not.  Do we really need to save TWELVE thermal coffee cups?  I daresay not.  Husband, are you ever going to eat that chipotle jelly from the gift basket you got two Christmas's ago?

This little book is already changing my view of things as I walk through my house, and I'm not quite done reading it.  I have a plan of attack for the three day Labor Day weekend, and it will involve thanking and saying goodbye to a whole lot of superfluous spatulas and coffee cups.  :)

Yes, there are some quirks to this book, but overall I find it a delightful read that inspires me to action.  That doesn't happen very often, so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can.
1859720
bought these on my old ways of thinking on going to raves not on the stange anymore though. well yeah
4467803
I'm not much of DIY person, but this book caught my interest because I am now a new person. I eat healthy because I want to live healthy but I realize living healthy is not only about the food that we eat.  I have also become more environment conscious because I realize living in a clean and green environment is also a key to long life. Since I started preparing my own detergents, my home and our clothes have a lovely clean lingering scent that my family and friends love, scents that vary from lemon to peppermint and everything else in between. A bonus is that these DIY detergents are so easy to prepare.
2994830
I've had cats most of my adult life. I shudder thinking about the amount of money I used to spend on cat litter and litter box liners. I could rarely bring myself to scoop the box (because face it, it's just gross), so after a few days I would just lift out the entire liner and throw all the litter away. Bad for my budget, bad for the environment.

I looked at the self-cleaning litter box models that you hook up to a water source (too expensive!), and also at the systems with the washable reusable litter (I had a cat with soft stools so the thought of that route just turned my stomach). I gave the Omega Paw a try, and IT IS AWESOME. Literally, all you have to do is roll the entire box on its side to the right until it's upside down, then roll it back, pull the little handled collection tray out, dump the contents in the trash, put the tray back in, and you are DONE. All of the clean litter flows back into the tray, no more wasting litter!

Tips: make sure you use a good clumping litter or the purpose of the design is defeated. Also, I will usually disassemble the box once a month and disinfect it to remove any germy particles.
831691
This is really cool, but I haven't really needed it yet.  Unfortunately, I have a horrible carbon footprint what with all the paper plates and plasticware I use.  :(
1364640
Okay, here's the deal. I tried to `go green' like everyone else but I didn't really have the attention span for it. I have to say that rather than replacing the mulch in my garden with chopped up tires, covering my roof with solar panels, or like...recycling my toilet paper, I was much more willing to follow the steps in this book. Turning down your heat and air by at least a degree, keeping furniture and cloth away from radiators, things like that. The tips are simple, easy to implement, and easy to remember. Some of them even save me some money, which I always appreciate. So just in case you're not the planet saving type, you should still take a lot of these suggestions in consideration when you think about how much more convenient they can make your life in the long run. Both bill and society wise. In other words, if you don't care about the planet, at least care about the size of your utility bills each month.