I would like to think that as far as hippies are concerned, that I’m a more updated, less grungy version of the stereotype. I also believe that it’s in my blood, since my dad went to Woodstock, so that should give me some hippie street-cred. And while the intention to be more earthy, chemical-free, humane and planet-friendly is a great thing to strive for, sometimes it might take a tiny bit more effort to fit it into your life.

1) Beginner level: Take care of the mess you make.

Hippie solution: Try to buy products that have less packaging, don’t litter, and do recycle.

How hard is recycling, just throw plastic bottles and cans in the blue bin every week and voila? Not exactly. While recycling plants have a process in place to sort your recyclables from the non-recyclables that end up in their possession, there are things you can educate yourself on to make sure that you’re being mindful of what is and isn’t recyclable near you. A lot of this depends on your local recycling program – if you have one. As we found out while living in eastern New Mexico for a year, not every city recycles because it’s not immediately the most profitable thing. I think this is less the case as the push for recycling is coming from more than just the militant save the earth crowd, so it’s more readily available at home, public places and offices wherever you are.

After spending a few minutes on the recycling page for Phoenix, I found out that they only recycle #1 and #2 plastic (they don’t take most plastic butter tubs, plastic utensils or straws, packing peanuts or plastic bags without a recycling symbol). They don’t take “wet-strength chipboard” which most frozen food boxes are made out of (if it has corrugated cardboard in it though, it’s okay)… styrofoam is okay, light bulbs aren’t, and it’s helpful to take the 2 seconds to take the lids off containers. Most containers don’t have lids made out of the same material, so bottles use a different plastic variety (some which might not be recyclable quality), and then you’ve got glass jars with metal lids (and they use a big magnet to sort metal.) There’s a lot to learn about how to keep their expenses/your costs down – partially by helping prevent injury of people who work at the recycling plant – just from a quick read on your city’s recycling info page. Some places have commingled recycling (like Phoenix and Raleigh) and others you have to sort before you they’ll accept it. Raleigh friends, click here.

2) Intermediate: Make less mess.

Hippie solutions: Repurpose boxes and containers, use real dishes and silverware instead of disposables, buy gently-used when new isn’t essential, email pdfs instead of printing and mailing invoices, and use reusable bags.

Maybe you have the best of intentions and feel a twinge of guilt at the grocery checkout when you’ve again forgotten your bag at home, and the green police remind you to buy their canvas bag and not use paper or plastic. The problem isn’t that people aren’t aware, it’s that using a canvas bag takes some forethought. We keep a few of them in the car so when we suddenly remember we need to stop by the store on the way home, the bags are there already. When we use one for groceries and bring it in the house, when we’re done we hang it up on the back of the door to the garage, so we can’t miss it on our way back out to the car. The key is getting the bags back into your car so they’re available so it’s easy to bring your own bag.

The second thing about “reusable bags” is reusing the bags you get. I think the only place we don’t bring canvas bags into is Target, because they have the most sturdy bags to reuse. If you have cats, you know the importance of having a poop-scoop bag that doesn’t have holes in it, as most grocery store bags will. Target bags get reused for cat poop duty and for lining garbage cans in our house.

3) Advanced: Be kind to yourself and your family by avoiding harsh chemicals and toxins.

Hippie solutions: Cleaners without ammonia, food with pronounceable ingredients, health and beauty products with herb/vegetable-based ingredients.

Here’s something that you may have heard about: anti-perspirant contains aluminum chlorohydrate, and there have been some studies and trials that show a connection between using anti-perspirants with aluminum-derivatives with earlier onset of breast cancer. Non-conclusive studies, but enough of a thought (and perhaps some paranoia) to maybe find a better solution, right? Seems like just a deodorant, without the cell-clogging properties and potentially harmful ingredients in anti-perspirant should do the trick. Reality: unless you find the right brand for you, you’ve discovered where the “hippie” smell comes from.

I’ve tried deodorants without anti-perspirant in the past and have had nothing but funky results. I went to Spouts and asked an employee what she would recommend, and she handed me a “sport” version from a brand I hadn’t tried before. Eureka! It’s a little baffling that it takes “sport”-level deodorant to sit in a 70 degree room for 8 hours, but sure, whatever works. So, it can be done, and many times as icky as it sounds these more independent or earthy stores will take back health products that don’t work – in this case, they get credit with the manufacturer and it doesn’t hurt their bottom line. But you shouldn’t have to give up smelling good to be determinedly healthy, and a little on the cautious side. If you’re thinking about trying to swap out your makeup for something made without tons of chemicals and not tested on animals, these store return policies will be helpful while you find a replacement you’re happy with.

So let your inner hippie shine through in a new way this week, whether it’s putting your Home Depot purchases in a bag from home, trying out glass cleaner without ammonia or switching your eyeliner (or in the spirit of American Idol, guyliner) to an organic, non-chemical based version… and let me know how it goes!