Green (ish)

It turns out I am as green as a cucumber.
Maybe the inside, ok.

On my current quest to commence greatness* as of February 1st, I've been reading up on how to be greener. I'm not very good at being green; we have very little in the way of services for recycling and I rarely manage to save more than paper and bottles. I drive a petrol car to places I don't need to go to. Disposable nappies are firmly established. Etcetera.

But now it seems I have a feather in my ecological cap. For I am super green with my laundry.

I do not own a tumble dryer. As I also do not own a garden to house a washing line, this is actually very goodly of me. We previously had a washer dryer and I didn't use it as a dryer. Therefore, in the Great Washing Machine Death of 2010, the washer dryer was replaced by a washing machine. We have many clothes horses and a humidity problem.

Green brownie points: 45,000

I do all my washing at 40. Not 30 because it makes it all smell icky. This was confirmed by a washing machine engineer (who popped round regularly in the later months of the old machine). 30 isn't hot enough, even if Unilever tell you it is (15 is made up altogether). No boil washes for me though. 40 does fine.

Green brownie points: 5 (because if I really cared about being green I'd just have the smell).

Dry cleaning is something I reserve for suede or leather, or things that would break the washing machine. Everything else does fine on a cold wash.

Green brownie points: 100.

Ironing. Nuh uh. I very rarely iron. We mostly wear clothes that don't need ironed, or just look a little rumpled. Shirts get ironed, as do properly crumpled things. Most things are ok.

Green brownie points: 10. It doesn't use THAT much energy.

It's good to be green, even if it is entirely inadvertent.

* new resolutions on Feb 1st. Details to follow.