Carbon footprint

I'm thinking about what to make this month for the eco-craftalong. The theme is eco-cleaning. This is not a problem because I don't know how to be green, but completely the opposite. We're already a green household. We recycle our paper, plastic and cans through council waste collections. Our garden rubbish goes into a separate wheelie bin from our non-recyclable household waste, and kitchen scraps and soft garden stuff goes into our composter. Our personal details on paper, anything with our name, address, account details, anything we can be 'cloned' with gets shredded and also goes into the composter. Glass gets recycled by a regular trip to the recycling centre. Much of the glass I paint comes from a pre-loved source - charity shops are my favourite as I feel that the money to buy the 'blank' has gone to a good cause, and also the glass has gone from something that someone didn't want into something someone does want. I also use freecycle, car boot sales and eBay. I don't really buy that much new. Today the trendy phrase is 'reducing your carbon footprint' - I can't really do much about the petrol I use in my car as I need my car for work, but I try not to make unnecessary journeys, I walk as much as possible or cycle. I use my own bags when I go grocery shopping. I try not to use my drier very much - I prefer to dry my clothes outside on the washing line, or on hangers inside the house. I'm trying to remember to turn off my electrical appliances when they're not in use, rather than leave them on stand-by, or plugged in.


So, back to my dilemma. I have no idea what to make....I have dusters already...I have flannels and bath scrunchies and I make alot of my own bath products, I use cloth pads and a mooncup...I don't use a swiffer...I use a bagless vacuum....


I'm making some more cloth menstrual pads at the moment, will that do? I'm trying to find the perfect design - the last lot I made came out a little narrow and didn't want to fasten underneath without bunching my underwear together (I'm wondering whether the material shrank a little). This one has come out a little bigger than I was expecting, but I think I'll wash it a couple of times before I chuck out the template. (I've been making one or two at a time and test-running them, before I make a full batch.)

This is the one I've just made.

These are the ones I made last time.