No Impact Woman

A major concern to me has always been the environment and controlling my footprint. Living in San Francisco, it's easy to cut back. But sometimes motivation helps get things going, so when I came across the documentary No Impact Man I just had to add a few of his cool but least extreme ideas.  If you have a chance to check out this moving documentary, you should.

Here's what we did before No Impact Man :

• Walk : I always carry a tote or condensed bag in case I need to stop in Marina Super
• MUNI : I've linked a easy and mostly reliable live schedule for all lines accessible on your computer/smart phone.  You can always call 311 if neither of those options are available
• Farmers Market : Fort Mason has this awesome weekly/year round farmers market w almost 100% organic veggies, fruits, fish and meats.  It's a great way to meet your local farmers and introduce seasonal foods to the family. And lets face it, who doesn't like a deal? We never leave this place without a weeks worth of food and many times for less than $50, try doing that at your supermarket, good luck! A quick Yelp search turned up several other farmers market throughout the City
• Compost : Although we don't compost for our yard, we do use our green bin.  We love it and it's a great way to cut down on waste. Mommies, turns out those expensive compostable baby diapers cannot go into the compost bin since it contains human waste!  I was super annoyed and called the Department of Environment to complain but no word back, I'll keep you posted.
• Recycle : It sounds like a no brainer, but you would be shocked by how many SF residents still trash everything. Sometimes I wonder where the garbage auditors are hiding.
• Landfill :  90% of everything we buy can either be composted or recycled, so on garbage day we hardly ever take out of black bin.  It's a great feeling and I've recently learned you can turn in your black bin and reduce your Recology monthly bill.   
• Reusable water bottle
• Planet-Friendly Cleaning Agents: We love Method products (and they are local)
• Trader Joe recycled paper towels, toilet paper and tissues (we buy whole foods' recycled paper napkins)

After No Impact Man :

• Make our own : 
• laundry detergent
• dishwasher detergent
• house cleaning solutions
  
• Clean and do laundry after 6pm (not sure how long this will last when the baby arrives) We also try our best to hang our laundry out to dry.
• Reduce buying packaged goods, we purchase in bulk from either Whole Foods or Rainbow Coop (Rainbow Coop tends has more of a selection), using reusable bags. We also frequent our local deli more often for preservative-free meats and poultry.  We love Lucca's Deli.  
• Cook and bake more; but freeze more too!  It's been fun to plan out the week's food schedule. Plus now when I'm hungry I don't have to stare obliviously into the fridge and wonder what to eat. We recently were gifted with a waffle maker and my hubby has become waffle king. He's making whole wheat batches for breakfast and freezing the rest for his days off.  It's great! This also cuts down on eating out, which saves money and calories. (except the days leading up to our baby's arrival, we're trying to get in last-minute date nights)

Love Lots,

MommySF