Green Living

Daughter's Home Life project this week is about living 'green', recycling, and making better use of resources.  Here is her report:

I learned about how to take better care of the planet.  First I had to fill in a chart about how much water I use.  When I looked at the chart, I saw some things I needed to change.  Our dishwasher uses 10 gallons or less to wash dishes, not 20 gallons.  Also, the toilet uses 1.6 gallons per flush.  It says it right on the toilet. 


After I filled out the chart, Mom helped me with the math so we could see how much water we use.  Then we talked about the ways we conserve water.  We have our own well, so we don't get charged for water, and there is no meter to tell us how much we use in a month, but we do try to save water.  We have a garden and trees, and we put mulch around them.  We have rain barrels too, and we use that water for plants.  When the chickens get their water dirty, we pour it by a tree.  Inside, we do laundry only when we have enough, and we don't leave the water running unless it has to be on, like when brushing teeth or washing hands.  I turn the water off while I brush teeth or soap my hands, then I turn it back on to rinse.

Next, I decorated some bags to make others want to recycle.  These bags were a prize from the library, for the grown-up reading program. 




I created a character named Purdles the Recycle Cat. She tells everyone to recycle and save the planet.


Purdles is standing on earth. She is kind of huge.




We recycle in our house.  We have to take it to the recycle place in town and drop it off.  The recycle place takes everything mixed together, so we don't have to separate metal, glass and plastics.  It's very easy to do.  I made a sign for our recycle bin, to remind us what to put in it.  

We do more things to take care of the earth too.  We have our own garden and fruit trees, so we don't have to go far away for all our food.  Mom cans food for winter, and you can use the jars and lids over and over again.  Some of the jars are older than Mom, and belonged to my great-grandmas.
 When there is extra food from supper, we eat it the next day.  We feed all the peels and scraps to our chickens, and then they give us eggs.  

We have a wood stove to help keep our house warm.  The wood was going to go in the trash, but we took it instead, and it heats our house.  People can plant more trees to make more wood, which is better than oil or gas. We wear warm clothes in the winter and when it's hot in the summer, we go in the basement or sit in the shade outside.    When we need clothes or things for our house, we try to get them at Goodwill, so that there is less waste.  I have toys, books, puzzles and games from Goodwill.  My bike is from Goodwill too, and it's nice!  We also give things and get things on Freecycle.  We also make old things into new things.  We made a can for my pencils from a peanut can, and I have a dinosaur dress made from a t-shirt and some extra fabric.
 We get books, movies and games at the library, so that we can share the same copy with lots of other people.    Everyone can help take care of the earth.  It's better than wasting and making everything run out.  The End.

Comments

Sheila said…
What a nice report!
Anonymous said…
Great job! How much water does your family use? I bet it is less than most other families! I love Purdles too. Is there any chance mom would let you sell one of the bags if you have any extra? It would be cool to take Purdles shopping with me.
God bless,
Helen

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