You mean I can get paid for using reusable bags?

My baby girl has been sick lately. She’s had some nasty stomach bug that’s been giving her problems for about a week now, which has made changing her diaper *sarcasm alert* an absolute joy! The BRAT diet only worked marginally, and she’s about sick to death of eating rice at this point anyway. So it was time to visit to our beloved pediatrician. The doctor gave her a prescription which we filled at the CVS across the street. While we were there I decided to pick up a few toiletries and brought them to the check-out counter, where I saw something that interested me. CVS is now giving shoppers an incentive to bring their own reusable bags. It’s called the Green Bag Tag™ and you use it in conjunction with your CVS ExtraCare card. You buy the tag for 99 cents and attach it to your reusable bag (which can be any bag, even a reused plastic shopping bag). When you shop, the cashier scans your bag tag as well as your ExtraCare card and with every fourth visit you earn $1 in Extra Bucks. Adding to the environmental friendliness of it all, the tag is made of renewable corn-based material. Apparently they've been doing this for a few months now, but the store near our house either isn't doing it or hasn't introduced it yet, so I never knew about it until yesterday.

You might question whether this is just another form of “greenwashing” – you know, another company playing on the environmental sensibilities of its customers in order to make more money. Well, yes, I’m sure this new effort will bring in a lot of extra cash to the business since they’re charging a small fee for the tags and they’ll presumably save money on the cost of single-use plastic bags. But personally, I’m all for it. For people like me who frequent CVS (we go at least twice a week) it works because the tag will pay for itself pretty quickly. And after that, any amount of money I can save – however small that is – is helpful to my family’s budget. Those dollars add up over time! Plus the promotion will likely get more people to use reusable bags and possibly reduce the amount of litter caused by plastic ones.

For a while now, stores have given small discounts to their customers for bringing their own bags. Most grocery stores in our area do this, as does my favorite store, Tar-jhay (Target). Washington, DC recently started imposing a tax on single-use plastic and paper shopping bags. The tax funds city efforts to clean up the Anacostia River, for which the number 1 pollutant is plastic shopping bags. While I appreciate the effort on the part of the city of Washington, I’m not crazy about the tax because it makes the health of the river dependent on the very thing that’s hurting it the most. And does the government have to tax everything? Eh, I guess that’s a conversation best reserved for another blog.

At any rate, I’m happy that CVS has instituted this campaign. I most appreciate when businesses adopt holistically green practices such as powering their stores with renewable energy sources, stocking fair-trade merchandise, etc. But I commend CVS for doing something, anything, to help its customers live and shop more responsibly. Hopefully I won't have to use my Green Bag Tag™ to pick up any more prescriptions for sick babies in the near future.

I feel like you're taking advantage of me

I need to clean my house. No seriously, I do. I'm not the greatest of housekeepers in the first place, but especially now that we have a little munchkin I've gotten really bad. I just don't have the time, energy, or interest anymore. Imagine the laundry pile from my previous blog entry. Now imagine that pile in every corner of your house. That's how much I've neglected my chores lately. It's time to bust a move and bust some suds!

When I first found out I was pregnant with Layla I started looking for ways to reduce toxicity levels in our home. I didn't want anything harming the development of my little growing fetus. That led me to look into greener cleaning options, namely some "environmentally friendly" cleaning products from widely-known big names. I won't state the ones I used, but you know them when you see them in the stores -- "Green Cleaning Product" made by [insert popular name brand here]. They looked nice and they smelled a lot less toxic than their non-green counterparts. But if you read the label, the ingredients are so ambiguous. What is "plant-based cleaning agents" supposed to mean? And then to top it off, they color the products green so that you REALLY know you're making a positive impact on the environment. I'm not saying that all or any of them are being dishonest about their product's environmental friendliness, but I can't help but think I'm being had. Can you say "Greenwashing"?

Because I believe living a greener life most often means returning to simplicity, I'm now looking into home-made cleaning formulas. I figure I'll choose a room at a time to explore some of these methods and then post my results. I'm looking to Green Living Ideas to find some of my recipes. Today I'll start with the kitchen.

All Purpose Surface Cleaner - Mix together equal parts white vinegar and salt. Scrub surfaces with a natural cleaning cloth.

Cookware Cleaner - Coarse salt does wonders for scouring copper pans and ceramic baking dishes.

No-Streak Glass Cleaner - For sparkling mirrors and windows, combine 1/4 cup undiluted white vinegar, 1 tbsp cornstarch, and 1 quart warm water. Divide into spray bottles. For a lint-free shine, wipe dry with a sheet of crumpled newspaper or a coffee filter.

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MOMMY TIP: I have some old birdseye cotton diapers I used to use as burp cloths for Layla. Some of them came apart at the seams during a wash one time, so now I use the plies as cleaning rags. These can work great for windows and glass and it's a good way to re-purpose something you have. See, Layla's already helping mommy with the housework!