Green House Week One: Intro

(Also known as Hippie School: 101)

Welcome! This is the first official post in the Green House series, and it’s also the most boring SORRY but it’s important, I’ll try and keep it lively.

Today I’ll be laying out the format, sharing the supply list, and walking you through a rough post schedule. I am not a wizard, so some things may get shifted around a bit over the next few months but this will be the general framework.

So, let’s get started!

First, your shopping list. This list includes everything you will need to participate in the whole two-month series. You can either go and buy everything all at once, or wait for each week’s post to see if you are interested in making the recipe featured that week, and go get the ingredients at that point. It’s up to you!

Most of the items on this list can be found at a grocery store, but a health food store will be the best bet for good quality essential oils and Dr. Bronner’s soaps.

These ingredients will be enough to last you six months to a year, so don’t panic if it seems pricey at first. You’ll recoup the costs in no time!

Supply list:

• Baking soda (Get the big box! We’ll be using this a lot)
• Tea tree essential oil
• Spearmint essential oil
• Lavender essential oil (or a different calming scent if you don’t like lavender)
• Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (a small bottle will last you ages)
• Dr. Bronner’s bar soap (2)
• Borax
• Washing soda
• White vinegar
• 3 spray bottles (feel free to wash and reuse ones you already have)
• Apple cider vinegar (try to get the best quality you can afford, preferably something organic with some sediment at the bottom)
• Black tea

If you have any questions about the list, please leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Aaaand here’s the schedule for the next few months:

Week One: Intro (that’s us!)
Week Two: Bathroom
Week Three: Bedroom
Week Four: Kitchen
Week Five: Living Room
Week Six: Playroom
Week Seven: Ladies Room
Week Eight: Laundry Room

(We’re just going to dive in and start with the bathroom first, because it’s one of my favourite places to clean. I know. I would clean a bathroom over a kitchen any day, I have no idea why.)

Each week the room will be broken down into four pieces:

What to Phase Out: The key word here is phase, as in slowly change. Don’t feel like you need to immediately throw out everything on this list and replace it, just gradually transition to the green alternative suggested as you run out. Slow change is sustainable change – don’t overwhelm yourself!

What to Bring In: This will offer suggestions for Eco-friendly replacements for the items/products you’ll gradually be taking off your shopping list, as well as positive things to start doing.

Recipes: Fairly self-explanatory, 1-2 a week.

Extra Credit: I think of green living like I think of sexuality – we are all along the spectrum somewhere. Very few people are 100% green or 100% enti-environmentalism, most of us fall somewhere in the middle. So, the “Extra Credit” bit is a suggestion aimed toward those who already skew a little bit hippie, and want to stretch a bit. Basically this section is like that girl in your yoga class doing the extreme version of every pose. Cool to look at, but most of us aren’t there yet (and might not want to be) so just admire the view and carry on.

OK! I think this sets us up pretty well, let me know if you have any questions, happy shopping and, duh,  remember your reusable bags!

(Also, in case you were wondering, YES, the colour of the “Green House Series” text WILL change with every week! I know! Can you believe it?! That’s reason enough to follow along right there. What will the coming weeks bring? Mint? Fuschia? A deep ochre? STAY TUNED!)