350 Sacramento

I won’t be the first or last to say this, but I love living in Hollywood Park. Is it the best neighborhood in Sacramento? Just kidding – don’t answer that. I don’t want to start any fights right now (and, trust me, you don’t want to start a fight you can’t win 😉).

My neighbors are friendly and compassionate people. They are people who collect donations for people without homes. They are people who go out and march against injustice. They are scientists, teachers, and volunteers who plant trees. My neighbors are people who, like you and me, also care about the planet! So I wanted to use this space to showcase some of the Earth-friendly actions or lifestyle changes they have made.

• Heather, Rory, and Ski line dry their clothes most or all of the year. I would love to do this, but I have such terrible allergies in Sacramento. Ski responded that her household line dries in the garage! Brilliant!
• Emily makes her own soap and shampoo to cut out plastics and harsh chemicals. Look forward to a step-by-step blog post here in the near future!
• Rory, Heather, Katie, and others have replaced disposable napkins and paper towels with reusable cloth. Our household has also mostly done this (though we do keep a few spare paper towel rolls around for oil/grease cleanup). Additionally I’d just like to add that we transitioned to a bidet with washable towels last year and I can with certainty say it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. 
• Several neighbors have replaced their lawns with water-friendly landscapes, which are often very friendly to native bird species, bees, and butterflies! They’re also beautiful to look at. In case you’re interested in this, the City of Sacramento has river-friendly landscape rebates! 
• A few neighbors have committed to using their bikes to run neighborhood errands (fortunately our neighborhood is very errand-friendly). 
• And a few more neighbors, including Sean, are raising their own eggs and/or growing their own food. 
• Kathleen uses reusable produce bags at the grocery store and uses greywater for potted plants. 
• Allison has put up bird feeders, a western bluebird house, and dove boxes. She also maintains a clean birdbath, which the birds enjoy!
• Rory and a few other neighbors have donated to 350 Sacramento. Thank you!!!! And of course, reader, you know where to find our donation link. 😏
• Julie propagates California native plants and gives them to neighbors. 
• Katie and I do worm composting! 
• Shirley composts all kitchen waste. 
• Heather has converted all her light bulbs to LEDs and has also installed some solatube products to harness as much natural light as possible. Her household also utilizes electric cars.
• Kelly and Stacy have cut out disposable sandwich bags.
• A few of us go to Refill Madness, the Co-Op, or use bulk sections at other grocery stores with our own containers to reduce packaging waste!

Okay, I know that’s a lot of ideas for one post, but I hope you’ll be inspired and maybe even make a few lifestyle changes of your own. I know I’ll be working on adding a few of these items to my belt this year!

Written by Cat X.