For the past year, I’ve been working on greenifying our lives. Safer cleansers, natural (non-antibacterial) soaps, and less waste. It’s been a tough undertaking — reusable dryer sheets just didn’t do it for us. And the ones we tried – Method – still had waste when all was said and done: the sheets themselves, the plastic container they came in, and the plastic bag I had to keep them in to keep them fresh. But don’t get me wrong, we love most of the Method stuff we use.

We also have yet to give up Fantastik. Although we use Method cleaners for almost everything, the natural cleaners just weren’t enough for getting the kitchen spotless. We tried Mrs. Meyers and others as well. But ultimately, we still keep some Fantastik handy for tough spills. We do love Mrs. Meyers for dish soap though.

Our garbage is still going into plastic bags because I haven’t found an acceptable alternative (that the garbage man will accept too) yet.

We have however tried to cut back on waste and succeeded. I purchase less and try to avoid unnecessary purchases. We don’t always succeed, but we sure try. Read the rest of this entry…

Where to start? There are so many elements to trying to lead a greener life. It encompasses everything from where we get our food from to what we clean with. For me, it even means staying away from unnecessary synthetics (in clothing, in the kitchen, etc).

I spent a good part of the last few months researching in preparation for going green. In a way, it felt counter-intuitive because I put off starting until I was sure I could start and continue with success. Part of my concern is with the aspect of where we get our food. My area of Connecticut is startlingly devoid of butchers, for instance. And finding things like wheat, flour and sugar that isn’t from a giant company and shipped for thousands of miles is pretty much impossible.

Some decide to take drastic measures for their green pursuits, much like No Impact Man is doing. That’s just not me. The more gradual change I am taking will ultimately be more sustainable in my life.

Want to know more about my green transition? Check out Operation Green, a weekly column by Cate of Sweetnicks and I on Well Fed On The Town. It appears every Monday.

I recently wrote about the Kenmore PRO line of appliances for The Cook’s Kitchen over at The Well Fed Network. The relatively new product line has professional equipment styling with a more affordable price (it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles either, but looks like it should). Have you seen these appliances on Top Chef and fallen in love? Or maybe you have them at home? Perhaps you’ve been oogling them in Sears? If you are in love with Kenmore PRO, it’s time for you to put your love into words. Read all about the Kenmore PRO: How Do I Love Thee? contest sponsored by Sears and The Well Fed Network here. The deadline for entries is Monday, June 20 at 11:59 p.m.

I never thought about pesticide residue that could be on my produce before I had Will. And while I thought it was odd that apples in the store were so shiny and glossy, and broccoli had that white patina, I just didn’t put one and one together.

But while I was pregnant I began learning more and more about organic produce and why pesticides are bad. I was surprised to learn about how supermarket produce can have so much pesticide on it, and that certain fruits and vegetables absorb pesticides. It’s a little scary, actually, and it’s really impacted how I look at supermarket fruits and vegetables.

If I could, I’d have a completely organic kitchen from meat to fruit to veggies…even milk and eggs. But let’s face it: that is an expensive endeavor and, while it is worth it, I just can’t afford it.

What I can afford is fruit and veggie wash to get the icky stuff — like pesticides — off of my food. I found one that I like at Trader Joe’s a month ago. It’s called Environne (www.vegiwash.com) and is about $4 for the bottle of concentrated fruit and vegetable cleaner.

For easy access, I mix up a lot of the Environee with water in a spray bottle and just keep it next to the sink. Then, when I need to clean pesticides off of our fruits and vegetables, I just spray-spray a bit and rinse the fruits and vegetables off. Easy as pie.

So, if you can’t afford to go completely organic, you don’t have to accept pesticide covered fruit and vegetables. Simply use a fruit and vegetable wash to rinse away the pesticides and keep your family eating well.