Pope's encyclical - personal approaches

[lynnvinc]

For those of us who don’t have kids - hand wash. Clothing that isn’t stained can be done by hand with minimal effort. I’ve started doing most of my clothing by hand to save on trips to the laundromat.

I do hand wash a few things now – but mainly so they won’t get harmed.

I’m not totally sure about hand washing, bec I think it uses more water. I remember a person telling me years ago that using the dishwasher was better than hand washing dishes, but I’m not sure if she included the electricity, etc. When we had a working dishwasher, I would hand soap and scrub, then put them in for rinsing, but since it broke I’ve been hand washing dishes – stacking up the soaped ones while rinsing so I don’t use as much water. Does anyone here know about the diff between hand-washing dishes and using the dishwasher?

Now you have inspired me to hand-wash at least a few more clothes for the sake of the kingdom of God and its righteousness (and not just for the motive of preserving my clothes better)

 

[pensmama87]

I do hand wash a few things now – but mainly so they won’t get harmed.

I’m not totally sure about hand washing, bec I think it uses more water. I remember a person telling me years ago that using the dishwasher was better than hand washing dishes, but I’m not sure if she included the electricity, etc. When we had a working dishwasher, I would hand soap and scrub, then put them in for rinsing, but since it broke I’ve been hand washing dishes – stacking up the soaped ones while rinsing so I don’t use as much water. Does anyone here know about the diff between hand-washing dishes and using the dishwasher?

Now you have inspired me to hand-wash at least a few more clothes for the sake of the kingdom of God and its righteousness (and not just for the motive of preserving my clothes better)

As far as water usage, a housekeeping blog I used to read said that the average person hand washing dishes in the US will use 4-10 times “fill capacity” for each dish washed. A properly filled (and that’s important) dishwasher uses much less. Dishes should not require pre rinsing or washing, and if they do it’s a sign that the machine needs repair or cleaning. Wiping or scraping should be sufficient.

There’s actually a variety of simple things people can do to maintain efficient appliances - cleaning filters, vacuuming refrigerator coils, etc. Improves performance and lifespan. I’ve learned to do a few things and it does make a huge difference.

 

[pensmama87]

As far as water usage, a housekeeping blog I used to read said that the average person hand washing dishes in the US will use 4-10 times “fill capacity” for each dish washed. A properly filled (and that’s important) dishwasher uses much less. Dishes should not require pre rinsing or washing, and if they do it’s a sign that the machine needs repair or cleaning. Wiping or scraping should be sufficient.

There’s actually a variety of simple things people can do to maintain efficient appliances - cleaning filters, vacuuming refrigerator coils, etc. Improves performance and lifespan. I’ve learned to do a few things and it does make a huge difference.

OK, so here’s the link I thought I was talking about last night: How to Make the Most of Your Dishwasher. It is part of a series of sponsored posts for Maytag appliances, but I still think it had some interesting information.

This link says it’s just three times fill capacity, so I’m now really curious as to where I got the 4-10 number from. I know I saw it…somewhere! :whacky:

I thought using 3 gallons per dishwasher load was really interesting. That really isn’t a lot when you consider how many dishes can go in for a load. I do handwash a few things (I don’t like leaving dirty dishes out overnight and only do it in the case of really tough stuff to soak that won’t fit in my dishwasher), but when I had to handwash all my dishes I tried to use only enough water to get the dishes clean, and I’m sure I used more than three gallons for an equivalent number of dishes.

 

[Thomas_White]

You know, I have only read a portion, and will continue to read the encyclical, with an open heart and trying to see what God is asking of me, but I am looking into how I should approach an encyclical in obedience to the Church, but where I am not sure if I do agree 100% with the Scientific etc portion that is being presented. Like I said, I am still reading it, so I may find that I am 100% in agreement with the facts, but I do worry that it may state certain facts that not all scientists agree with, and that members of my family may not agree with, and that I don’t personally agree with based on my research, and so it is kind of tough for me, because I want to encourage my family to live how we should, but I am still researching this matter from a scientific and theological perspective.

On reading the Encyclical, I didn’t get the impression that agreement with the scientific portions of it involved a question of obedience to the Church. What seemed important was recognition of the consumer mentality and the throw-away culture with its effects on both humans and the environment.

The Pope consistently made the point that “everything is connected”. I thought this was the essential message. Whether or not we agree with a particular scientific report isn’t really the issue, and the Pope makes clear that disagreement in this respect is legitimate. What is important is recognizing that the current cultural paradigm, which involves the misuse of science, has had serious consequences. This is beyond the issue of AGW. It concerns the theological perspective, and, considering it is a papal encyclical, it is what is important, I think.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

On reading the Encyclical, I didn’t get the impression that agreement with the scientific portions of it involved a question of obedience to the Church. What seemed important was recognition of the consumer mentality and the throw-away culture with its effects on both humans and the environment.

The Pope consistently made the point that “everything is connected”. I thought this was the essential message. Whether or not we agree with a particular scientific report isn’t really the issue, and the Pope makes clear that disagreement in this respect is legitimate. What is important is recognizing that the current cultural paradigm, which involves the misuse of science, has had serious consequences. This is beyond the issue of AGW. It concerns the theological perspective, and, considering it is a papal encyclical, it is what is important, I think.

I think that is a very good summary of the primary theme.

 

[lynnvinc]

Here is something not related to AGW – I read that the ocean is becoming seriously polluted with micro-bits from our synthetic fabrics due to washing clothes, and these are going up the food-chain. I read about it just before Christmas but didn’t tell my environmentalist friends then, bec I didn’t want to spoil their Christmas. See treehugger.com/ocean-conservation/your-clothes-are-polluting-ocean-every-time-you-do-laundry.html

So, the solution is buy natural fiber clothes – cotton, wool, flax, silk…

The problem with those types, esp cotton, is they don’t last as long and most need to be ironed.

Of course if you do hand laundry and dry them on a line or rack, that cuts down on ironing…

 

[Corki]

If my clothes had to be hand washed and ironed, I would need about 5 times as many clothes since I would hardly ever do that. Might defeat the purpose.

 

[lynnvinc]

If my clothes had to be hand washed and ironed, I would need about 5 times as many clothes since I would hardly ever do that. Might defeat the purpose.

Well, I’m thinking cotton knit clothes don’t need to be ironed, and others don’t need ironing if they are hung up immediately. And I’ve heard that there is some cotton fabric that doesn’t need ironing.

I also don’t hardly ever iron, but once in a month or so, I usually stick something in while my husband is ironing (he’s better than me in ironing).

 

[Corki]

Joking aside, more and more of my wardrobe is natural fiber clothing. Cotton knits are a staple for me (and don’t need ironing). Glad to hear there is an additional environmental benefit to the choice.

 

[lynnvinc]

Well, we’ve set our AC at 82F, sometimes setting it temporarily at 80, if we feel too uncomfortable. So far so good.

And we are going on a slow-paced diet – mainly for our health, but it’s good for the env too. My husband has to lose some 20 or more lbs to get to the upper range of what’s good for his health, and I have to lose some 25 or more. We’re just cutting out junk food (most of the time) and eating a bit less…so far we’ve both lost about 3 lbs

 

[lynnvinc]

Some ideas…

For reuse (which is just 2nd after reduce):

• buy & sell used things at garage sales, thrift shops, Good Will, Craig’s list, ebay, amazon, etc.
• donate used things to the above, etc.
• have a “green Christmas” with an artificial tree, and reused wrapping paper, etc
• reusable cloth hankies, shopping bags, napkins, diapers (also helps in toilet training due to the discomfort), coffee mugs, etc. I even took a steel “tiffin carrier” from India to a take out Chinese place one time and the Chinese cook got all misty-eyed about the bamboo ones they had in school back in China – they’d all put them in a huge steamer…

Any other reuse ideas?