Eco Conscience

With the green movement really taking off in so many ways, there are many ways to help. 

As a metal smith, I try to do my part by recycling my scrap silver.  One of the reasons I choose to buy from Rio Grande, is because they refine their own silver.  They pay up to 80% for scrap silver.  They then use this silver in their refinery to produce various products.  Though no product will be completely recycled, I feel I'm doing my part.  Here is a very informative article regarding recycled silver. 

As a mom, we decided to start using cloth diapers when my son turned a year old.  Though it was a shift in the way we do things, I still think it was worth it.  It not only has saved hundreds of diapers from the land fills, but has saved us hundreds of dollars.  We also have discovered a very helpful website that speaks about the toxicity of various products. Skin Deep has added a baby section and is always adding more.  Though we haven't changed all of our baby products, we have changed products that James puts in his mouth (like bubbles in the bath) or one's that we use every day (like baby powder). 

As a home maker and wife, I do my best to conserve energy by consolidating trips, turning off lights and watching the heating and air conditioning usage.  I also try to minimize the amount of bags I use in the grocery store.  Mostly this comes in the produce department and at check out.  We also get a local produce box each week.  I've been using this produce bounty to freeze and stock up on produce for the winter.  I'm looking forward to using this in some homemade soups. We also keep chickens in the backyard.  We let them free range during the day and they provide us with eggs.  We also use the manure in our compost pile, which makes for wonderful fertilizer.  Another consideration is MPG as a big factor when purchasing vehicles. 

Though these are small things, I feel they are making a difference.