Going Green at Home: Toward a Sustainable Lifestyle

Sustainability means to protect both the environment and the economy with intelligent use of natural resources and technology. It does not involve a new wave of federal regulation or social disruption. While reasonable governmental initiatives can unquestionably help sustainability, they seem a distant dream in the current political atmosphere. The general public does not need to wait for the government. We can each start (or continue) to go green at home.

Consider simply what products we use to clean our homes. Once, and within living memory of our oldest citizens, everyone used common products like baking soda and vinegar. Then corporations started to promote specialized cleaners: dishes, windows, counter tops, wood furniture, and more had products made especially for them. Manufacturers claimed that these newer products worked better. They caught on quickly.

Lately, people have been writing articles advocating using the older, common products. Several reasons are given: they cost less; each one has multiple uses; a few products take much less cabinet space than many specialized products; they're just as easy to use and get things just as clean.

Notice that I have not mentioned any environmental considerations. Every manufactured product produces some pollution in both manufacturing and shipping. Any hazardous chemicals in cleaning products get into the water supply, despite the best efforts of sewage treatment plants. Disposal of the packaging becomes another problem that affects the environment. Simpler cleaning products and simpler packaging lead to simpler environmental consequences.

For example, before cleansers like Ajax™ or Comet™, either baking soda or salt served the same purpose. Did something boil over in the oven? Sprinkle it with salt while it's still bubbly, then lift it off with a spatula after it cools. If something burned on the stovetop and you can't clean it with regular dishwater, mix equal parts salt and cinnamon, sprinkle it on the burn, and immediately wipe it with a wet cloth. Vinegar works wonders on mineral deposits. Even the buildup inside a tea kettle will come out if you fill it up to the mineral line with (distilled white) vinegar, boil it for five minutes, and then let it sit for about eight hours.

All of us make many decisions that have some kind of environmental consequences every day. Those choices can be sustainable, or not; taken singly they may seem small, but lots of people making the same kinds of choices consistently over time has significant consequences. What's good for the environment is often good in other ways, too.