Environment

October Challenge: Make it a Homemade Halloween

By
October Challenge: Make it a Homemade Halloween

I have a confession to make: my kids have never had a store-bought Halloween costume. Also? Neither did I. Call it a family tradition or call it frugality, but in the end it makes for a more sustainable holiday tradition. Think about it. If you need to buy a new costume for your little darlings every year, you’re depending on someone else to provide that costume – a costume that’s more likely than not made from plastic and synthetic materials. The challenge this month: make your own Halloween costumes and skip the imported, low quality disguises. But I don’t have a creative bone in my body, some of you are saying. So get zany. A flowing skirt, some scarves, and copious amounts of costume jewelry makes for a gorgeous gypsy. Slip your kiddo into jeans and a flannel shirt and tuck some loose straw into the arms and legs for a scarecrow. The thrift store is your friend. If you’re still stumped, check out my easy last minute Halloween costumes from a paper bag. If you’re comfortable with a hot glue gun and paint, you can get the whole family involved in crafting costumes from recycled cardboard boxes. Have...

Read more »

September Challenge: Cut Fuel Usage

By
September Challenge: Cut Fuel Usage

With gas up well over $4 a gallon (here, a brief pause while you all gasp) I’ve been limiting my own gasoline usage for quite awhile. I’m fortunate that we live within walking distance to town and both of my boys can walk to work. Since I work from home, I generally only drive the car once or twice a week. Certainly I drive it little enough that I’ve wondered if we truly need it. This month, as school gets into full swing, many families may see a surge in their fuel usage – but I’m challenging you to cut it. Inspired by this post over at Living Large in Our Little House, join me during the month of September as I work to cut my driving down even more. As Living Large asks: Do you really need to take the kids to school and pick them up, idling your car in those long lines in front of the school? Here’s the challenge: Eliminate ONE car trip from your weekly travels. Ask yourself if you really need to drive to the post office, the bank, the store. Could you save that trip and do it on the day you...

Read more »

August Challenge: Skip the Styrofoam!

By
August Challenge: Skip the Styrofoam!

Now here’s a challenge that will be either super easy for you or really hard – especially if you do takeout on a regular basis in certain states (ahem, Hawaii!). While some communities have banned polystyrene (Styrofoam is a brand name for polystyrene), others continue to allow restaurants and food service companies to serve meals and drinks in foam containers. Foam containers that just. Don’t. Go. Away. According to the EPA, Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 petroleum-based foam cups every year. And 500 years from now, the foam coffee cups we use today will still be sitting in a landfill. If that’s not enough to make you stop the Styrofoam habit right now, I don’t know what is. So, here’s the challenge: say no to foam. If you frequent a restaurant that uses polystyrene containers, bring your own container for your meal and let the owner know that you want them to make a change. If restaurant owners don’t know that it’s important to their patrons, they might not make a change. Take the time to compliment a restaurant that’s using compostable takeout containers – even though I’m sure you’ve brought a container of your own to avoid the waste...

Read more »

Shower Curtain Smarts

By
Shower Curtain Smarts

Next time you need a shower curtain, choose fabric rather than plastic. Fabric shower curtains are easier to wash and reuse, and don’t emit toxic fumes like PVC curtains do. Photo: Flickr user kissyface under Creative Commons

Read more »

Five Reasons to Replace Your Lawn with Vegetables

By
Five Reasons to Replace Your Lawn with Vegetables

I recently wrote for GeekMom about Julie Bass and her family’s fight with the City of Oak Park, Michigan over a front yard vegetable garden. The city wants the Bass family to remove the vegetable garden and put in lawn and shrubs like their neighbors. Obviously, I think this is ridiculous, but let me expand a little bit on why I think front yard vegetable gardens can be a better choice than lawns. 1. Water usage. Maintaining a lawn in dry, arid regions requires regular watering to keep it green and lush. Really the only way to irrigate a lawn is with overhead sprinkler systems that generate a fair amount of water waste via over spray and wind. But even if 100% of the water intended for the lawn actually benefited the lawn, does it make sense to use precious water to grow lush grass that provides essentially no value. I understand that this is the norm – and mind you, I’ve lived in houses with grassy front lawns – but knowing what we know now, isn’t it time to reconsider whether this is a smart use of our water? An edible garden in the front yard can be...

Read more »

July Challenge: No Bottled Drinks

By
July Challenge: No Bottled Drinks

I heard lots of success stories from the people who tackled the no drinking straw challenge. And the one local food a day challenge seemed to go well. But now I’m really going to ask you to stretch a bit! Throughout the month of July I invite you to go plastic bottle free. Yes, in the middle of the heat of summer! It is pure craziness that Americans consume two million plastic bottles every five minutes. Pure craziness. I know this is a tough challenge, but will you join me? Just think of the waste we could eliminate! This means you’ll have to plan ahead a bit; no quick stops to grab a bottle of water or a soda when you’re hot and thirsty. Invest in a reusable bottle or travel mug to take drinks along with you. We have one for every member of the family (and then some) and my kids rarely leave home without filling their own bottle. If you’re a fan of sodas and juices, find a couple of juice recipes that you can make at home to take with you. Liliko‘i gingerade is very refreshing and if you don’t have passion fruit growing in...

Read more »

Mini Bags for Small Bulk Items

By
Mini Bags for Small Bulk Items

I’ve stopped buying spices in bottles. Instead, I choose spices from the bulk section at the health food store. My  store provides customers with small plastic bags to fill, and that’s certainly less plastic than I’d be throwing away if I purchased the spices in a plastic bottle, but it’s still waste. I finally had some time yesterday to sew some small cloth bags that I can use for buying things like tea and spices in bulk. Let me state that I’m not a fabulous seamstress. I’m good with straight lines, though. This project took me about an hour and netted three mini bags. For a tutorial on how I did it, click through to see pictures and instructions.

Read more »

Dirt! The Movie

By

I’ve always taught my kids that dirt made their meals. I’ve discussed with them that they need to be able to trace their food back to dirt within three or four steps (milk comes from cows, who eat the grass, that grows in the dirt) to be sure they’re making good food choices. Now, Dirt! The Movie “tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and under-appreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.” It’s available on Netflix (currently as an instant play feature). I’ll be adding it to my queue.

Read more »

Make it a Clean Sweep

By
Make it a Clean Sweep

  If it’s time to replace your broom, reconsider the modern day plastic option and choose a straw broom with a wooden handle. If you’re looking for something really different (what a cool gift!), check out these hale (house) brooms made in Hawaii using traditional methods. Or if you’re super handy, you might consider making your own broom.

Read more »

Guest Post: Green Initiatives from Chez Sven

By

As part of the WordCount Blogathon, I’m participating in a guest post swap with Alexandra Grabbe who, along with her husband, runs Chez Sven, a bed and breakfast in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Chez Sven is a green B & B and Alexandra writes passionately about environmental issues in Wellfleet on her blog. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Chez Sven’s green initiatives! ### Kermit the Frog is wrong.  It’s easy being a green innkeeper. Anyone can do it, really. If you stay at a B&B, ask the innkeepers if they have considered going green.  Here are 10 ways Chez Sven does its part for the environment: Low energy light bulbs High-efficiency, front-loading washing machine Line-dried sheets, weather permitting Organic cotton sheets 100% natural amenities and soap Green cleaning products Organic food for breakfast Recycled plastic, bottles, and cardboard Filtered water Books on the environment available What is more difficult is sensing when guests are open to talking sustainability and environmental good sense over breakfast while they eat my homemade granola. I’ve discovered it’s possible to guide the conversation to the importance of green living.  If guests show interest, I will share some of my knowledge on the perils of toxic...

Read more »

Join Me!

e-book

Free Email Alerts!

Click 'subscribe' once, then check your email for a confirmation message.

Welcome

It’s one thing to think, “Hey, I’d love to be more self-sufficient!” and quite another to implement a lifestyle change that might require learning some new skills.

Attainable Sustainable is about bridging the gap between wanting change and making it happen without becoming overwhelmed. Nobody’s saying you have to go get a tractor and a cow. Attainable Sustainable is about discovering – one step at a time – how to make changes in your life to support a sustainable lifestyle.

The Author

Kris Bordessa has been gardening for most of her life. She's been authoring books and writing features for the past ten years or so. It's about time she combined the two, don't you think? [More about the author]