No longer a SAHM... Am I still green?

Now that I am an out of the house working mom, you may wonder if I am still finding time to be green and the answer is yes and no.


Here are some things that I used to do that could be considered green/natural;

• Cloth diapers- yes and no. Yes at home we still cloth diaper, but our childcare uses disposables. She is a super sweet lady from Greece who cloth diapered her own children but since then has had no experience with cloth- I am bringing some diapers over to show her. I think modern cloth will change her mind.

• Soap nuts- yes and no. Yes we still use and love soap nuts for all of our laundry including our cloth diapers. No, I don't make my homemade cleaners from them anymore.

• Homemade dishwasher detergent- no, this was a great idea but even in our new dishwasher the results are so/so. Compromise- eco friendly detergent such as Palmolive Eco (works great and really affordable) and Seventh Generation.

• Homemade yogurt- nope, buying tubs of organic yogurt instead.

• DivaCup- YES! I love this thing... never be without it, perfect for long days at work!

• Cloth pads- yup, at night but I have to admit I'm a Diva convert.

• Baking soda instead of shampoo- no, this worked great for a couple of months but eventually my hair started to look greasy, I'm going to give Dr. Bronners a try. update: found Dr. Woods and love the results.

So I've cut some green/natural things out but I also like to think I've made a positive difference at work. Here are some changes I've implemented in my outpatient surgical office with the help of my eco minded office coordinator;

• Reuse every sheet of paper until it's all used up after that if it doesn't contain patient info we recycle it.

• Reuse fax cover sheets for people/places we fax frequently. Why use a new sheet each time we contact them? Any extra info can be put on a post-it, much less waste.

• Bought and use a recycle bin for non contaminated plastic and paper. Every shred of it. I bring it home since our building doesn't recycle.

• Turn off the lights when rooms are not in use.

• Don't accept business cards, fliers, brochures or catalogs- if I need it or want it I will find it online. SAVE A TREE!

• Contact companies that use excessive packaging/paper/resources and let them know we appreciate eco-minded companies. Hint hint- get with the times and stop wasting resources!Also, contact companies that use eco-minded packaging/practices and tell them we noticed.

• Bring my own coffee in my reusable travel mug, if I must buy coffee I recycle the cup, lid and cozy, bring a reusable water bottle- I use a Brita filter bottle, bring lunch in a mason jar and bring silverware from home- no plastic disposables! Recycle what isn't reusable.

• Tell everyone about my green mission, even if they think I'm a hippy. Reminding people to be eco conscious is an important and easy way to spread the green mission.

What little or big things do you/can you do to green your work routine?