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Ok, well not my litter box, the litter box my cats use. Ever since we moved I’ve been trying to figure out a better litter to use for my cats. I had been using Fresh Step but I would often find that there would be little bits of litter caught in their paws and sometimes their entire coat would smell like the litter after they had been in there. So I wanted to see what I could do to make it better for my cats and I’ve tried a few different kinds.

I first tried Feline Pine and got the clumping kind. It seemed to work ok for the cats and there wasn’t much smell to it, but I ended up with little crystals all over the floor of my bathroom. Then I tried Swheat Scoop. The first thing the one cat did was eat it, proceeded with throwing up all over my bath mat. The smell was also not at all pleasing. Then I decided it was time to try the LitterMaid, and oddly, my cats are afraid of it. They would sit on the bathroom floor and just wait for it and watch it while it raked the litter. I ended up with more stuff that should be in the litter box on my bathroom floor because of their fear. The LitterMaid also wants you to use their “premium” clumping cat litter. Again, the smell was not something I could live with.

At this point, I’m back to using Fresh Step, still using the LitterMaid but keeping it off most of the time and just turning it on once a day to rake the litter for me. I’m hoping the cats slowly get used to it. I would still like to find a better cat litter that is healthier for my cats but still controls the smell and doesn’t end up all over my bathroom. If anyone has any advice, ideas or products I should try out, please let me know.

I was talking with my mom the other day about my parents flying back to Ohio soon.  With everything my parents have been through in the last few months, this is quite monumental.  So I got to thinking, with my new green choices, what would I do differently on my next trip that would make it more green and came up with this top 10.

1. Bring your own food on the plane.  Carrots, energy bars, celery, bananas, trail mix.  This way the food can be more natural, healthier, and with so many airlines now charging for food, it can save you some money too.
2. Bring your own empty water bottle.  Once you get through security, fill it up at a drinking fountain.  This way you won’t be tempted to buy a bottle of water and have to deal with that cheap plastic to dispose of and save some money while you’re at it.
3. Pack a canvas bag for shopping to avoid getting all those plastic bags while on your trip.
4. Use refillable toiletry bottles filled from larger packages you already have.  You don’t need to buy travel size products if you just fill travel size containers with what you already use.
5. Bring books with you from the library instead of buying a new one at the airport that you are likely to dispose of.  Or consider bringing a favorite book that already exists on your bookshelf.
6. Bring your own headphones to watch the movie on the plane.  You won’t be stuck with headphones that only work on the airline and reduces packaging waste from the headphones.
7. E-Ticket to eliminate the paper.
8. Use recycled or scrap paper to print out your boarding pass or check out the new paperless boarding passes!
9. Pack light. The heavier your bags are the more energy it takes to transport them.
10. Use rechargeable batteries for any of the electronic devices you’ve brought onboard to keep you occupied.  Just remember to pack the charger so you can have charged batteries for the return flight.

Next time you take a trip, what are you going to do to reduce your environmental impact?