Go “green” for FREE!

Go “green” for FREE! Is it possible to “go green” for FREE? Well, you can “go green” within a limited budget because going green can actually save you money! We recently had the chance to do an exclusive interview with Alexandra Zissu, author of The Conscious Kitchen, a book that can help you live a green lifestyle and learn more about the toxic chemicals in our homes. I asked Alexandra Zissu her tips for living a green lifestyle, even if you can’t afford to spend money money “going green.”

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Here’s the exclusive interview:

1) What are some tips for people who want to go green in their home but can’t afford to spend much money?

Green isn’t about spending green. Really. If anything, it’s about reducing the amount of stuff in your life, which inevitably saves money. A few thoughts:

*Switching to green cleaning products doesn’t cost more than using conventional ones and drastically reduces your indoor air pollution. Making your own cleaning products out of vinegar, lemon, baking soda, and natural dish soap is also very cost effective.

*Taking off your shoes before you enter your home is free, and also reduces your indoor air pollution.

*Buying a share in a local farm – a system called Community Supported Agriculture – is an inexpensive way to buy local organic food. Check LocalHarvest.org for a CSA near you.

*Reducing the amount of packaged food you buy and buying whole foods instead will reduce your supermarket bill. So will cooking at home instead of ordering take out. As will drinking filtered tap water out of a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water. I have many more tips like these in The Conscious Kitchen.

*Washing your clothing at home instead of drycleaning saves money and means you’re not bringing perc, the highly toxic chemical used in most dry cleaning, into your home.

I could go on and on and on!

2) How can we best teach our children to live a green lifestyle when our society sometimes seems to be heading the opposite way?

I’d argue society is starting to come around! Teach by example. Set “green” up in your home now as something you do, get the kids involved, and you’ll be creating good green citizens for all of our futures. Children are great green minions. They (by and large) love projects and they’re great recyclers. They’re even willing composters and gardeners – they’re happy to get their hands dirty and play with worms. Take them to the farmers’ market, let them help cook family dinner, explain why conserving water is important, get them involved in hanging laundry out on a line. By including them, and making going green a family effort, it will also motivate you to continue.

3) How can we make the kitchen a safe, non-toxic environment for the whole family?

Source the best, purest, most local produce, meat, seafood, and dairy products you can find. Cook in and store food in tried and true materials (cast iron, enamel coated cast iron, stainless steel, glass) that aren’t known to leach harmful chemical components into your food. Keep the kitchen well ventilated. Clean with natural products exclusively. Filter your tap water if needed. Avoid plastic whenever you can. Repair, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost. If you can’t or don’t want to do all of this at once, choose what you’re willing to do and add more as it makes sense.

4) What’s the biggest hidden household danger all parents should be aware of?

It’s often the invisible that’s dangerous. Indoor air can be pretty scary stuff. Most of us know about things like carbon monoxide or even radon. But there are fumes in our homes from cleaning products, cosmetics, volatile chemicals from water heated up in the dishwasher and the shower, other chemicals outgassing from paint, furniture, mattresses, carpets, shower curtains, and even toys. All of these are potentially harmful in varying degrees, and most of us have our homes really well sealed to keep heat and cold in. Throw open your windows! Make sure there is ample ventilation in all rooms of the home. Studies have shown that outdoor air pollution – even in cities – is nowhere near as bad as indoor.

Also hidden, or at least not well understood: dust. Chemical fumes from all of the things I just mentioned basically land on, then ride piggyback on dust particles. Adults might not be crawling around on the floor and putting their fingers in their mouths, buts kids sure are. Wet dusting and vacuuming often with a vacuum containing a HEPA filter is good common sense.

5) Do you make any of your own household cleaners or laundry detergent? If so, could you share your recipes?

I do make some, and I talk about this in The Conscious Kitchen. I particularly like a scrubbing paste I make out of baking soda, natural dish soap, and a drop of water. I also use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide directly, or sometimes with a little water. I’m pretty loosey goosey about portions and exact recipes. For the best DIY household cleaner recipes, I have to defer to the excellent book Better Basics For The Home by Annie Berthold Bond. It’s ones of those must-have reference books.