Apr 23 2007
Everyday
So it sounds a little trite, but I try to make every day Earth Day. Thankfully, I have a partner who feels the same way that I do about sustainability, environmentalism, and ethics. Last year, we made several choices that impact our everyday lives: We converted our home’s energy source to 100% wind energy, and we changed all of our incandescent lightbulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. Kris and I continue to recycle fervently, and buy our food and materials in reuseable containers (buying bulk, bringing our own bags to the market, etc.)
This year, we began to shop (almost) exclusively at our local organic markets. The fruits, vegetables, and grains are locally grown and produced, and often certified organic.
Organic Swiss chard [see recipe]
I am a vegetarian, and I am also cutting many dairy products out of my diet. Kris eats meat, however, and has chosen many organic and free-range meats at the market. We take the time to do the research and to find out what we are putting into our systems. I feel that it is completely worth it in the long-run, and I am proud that we have made this decision for our planet, and for our own health.
Slowly, I am converting other aspects of my life and my daily routine to be more wholesome and sustainable. Recently, I have started research on cosmetics. Jenna told me about Skin Deep, a website that assesses the toxins and chemicals used in these products. It has been extremely helpful (and eye-opening).
This weekend, I did some garden work. Until this weekend, the weather was extremely unpredictable. Cold, windy, and rainy. We finally had a break in the cycle. Kris and I are using organic compost and fertilizers in our yard and garden. We tilled the vegetable garden plot, and I planted some bulbs and roses in the front yard. Kris also filled the back yard pond (the one we built last year) with new water and started the solar pump.
There is a lot of media attention and coverage going to green initiatives in recent months. I am happy to see that the environment is finally receiving some notice. It seems that it is now trendy and hip to be green. However, there is so much that still needs to be done. Years and years of neglect haunt us. Please consider making some changes in your routines – whether it be shopping locally, choosing organic produce, taking public transportation, changing your light bulbs, or not using styrofoam. Even crafters can get in on the green: sew, knit, or crochet yourself some reuseable market bags, recycle some worn-out clothing into a braided rug, and make reusable dishcloths to cut down on paper towel usage. (So I had this idea awhile back, didn’t take action, and then they beat me to the punch: Sew Green is a great new blog about environmentalism and the crafting lifestyle. Check them out!)
Clearly, I still have some issues to work on – particularly in the consumption department. I want to lighten my footprint on this earth. I want to live a change and inspire others to do so. I also want to be inspired by you. I would love to hear about what YOU are doing to help the earth. Please share.
Hi Lolly,
I do almost all the things you mentioned above minus wind energy as we have no access to that here. I also cloth diaper and have my own business doing this and have converted so many new moms to cloth as well. Something I would like to do is go hybrid or use public transportation more. We also try not to buy plastic and use glass to store leftovers, reheat things etc.
Great post! We switched all our lightbulbs to compact flourescents, we wrapped our hot water tank and installed a programmable digital thermostat. I also subscribed to greendimes.com where they work to eliminate your junk mail AND they plant a tree every month in your name. Every little bit helps!
Thanks for the link to skin deep. Checking that out now!
We have really started cutting out the commercial cleaners we use. Too many chemicals and too much packaging. You would be surprise how many things you can clean with: lemon juice, white vinegar, and baking soda. My three favorite cleansers! Add a pinch of elbow grease and you are earth friendly and much healthier air in your house. This is especially great for folks w/ small children.
Oh yup, we do the natural cleaners too. I also sell and use Allen Naturally detergent which is all natural, cruelty free and biodegradable. I also switched to Eminense Organic Skin Care which is awesome and try to only buy off the bunny list. I love this.
I so wish we had more farmers markets and organic produce sources around here – we are lucky we have a grocery store within 10 miles of us! I do love gardening and have to get going on my seedlings for this year if I want to plant them memorial day weekend!
My husband is way into environmental issues, and we are planning our first rain garden. (Great information at http://www.rainkc.com.) We recycle everything we can and I just ordered the Diva Cup – a feminine hygiene alternative. We’ll see how that goes…
thanks for this post – it’s a topic i think about a lot, and i’m always looking for more things i can do to help. we are in the process of buying our apartment, and once that happens, i am looking forward to greening it up a little – changing the shower head, installing compact fluorescent bulbs, and buying lower energy appliances (yay, new oven!). we also try to use non-commercial cleaners whenever possible. i’m looking forward to seeing what your other commenters are doing as well!
oh, and i’m so with you on the local, organic produce. we are members of our local organic co-op, and also regular shoppers at the many farmers markets in the region. since we live in an apartment and can’t have our own garden, i’m thinking of putting my name down on the waiting list for a plot at one of the local p-patches – these local community gardens are all organic and produce a lot of good, wholesome food for local food banks and schools. i’m excited to be a part of it!
I think your point about every day being Earth Day is right on – the choices we make everyday can have a big effect on the health of our world, so we need to be conscious about it.
We can also change over to wind energy with our power for a very reasonable price – I think we’ll start with 25% and increase it as the year goes on. I also want to try to moniter our monthly energy usage and try to maintain or decrease it every month. I’d like to get one of these smart strips to help reduce power used by our entertainment and computer electronics http://catalog.bitsltd.us/ I also want to get a solar light for our balcony. There are so many options!
Thanks for putting up the link to Skin Deep – it’s scary how much we may be putting ourselves at risk with our cosmetics!
Glad you had a good trip and a great haul, I hope the rest of your week is great.
Last year I read and researched a lot about different food industries, and am convinced that being meat, dairy and egg free is the way to go…for health, the wellbeing of animals, and the environment! I’m still transitioning, but I eat a mostly vegan diet now
Well Good for You! I recently saw several Discovery Programs about this very same thing and I was so inspired. I changed all of my light bulbs and recycle too. I am a renter so I can’t change to solar but I only keep lights on in the room I am using and do not use chemicals in my garden and I don’t let the water run endlessly. I don’t flush every time and have a small water tank, so less water is used. I pat us on the back along with so many others.
I made the change.
Sometimes it’s not as easy at it seems, though. Cloth diapers are very bad if you live somewhere that gets its water from shrinking aquifers or from rivers half the state away. That means a lot of California, much of the southwest, and a surprisingly large part of the midwest, for example.
Actually, a lot of things we can do to save energy will save money. Smaller houses, living closer to work, turning off lights, giving up big lawns, buying new cars. Buying new anything, actually. Manufacturing uses a lot of energy. That’s the problem with solar energy right now; it uses more energy to make solar panels than the panels will collect in their lifetime, for a net energy debt. That one’s getting close to a break-even point, except for the pollution from the manufacturing process.
Buying Energy Star appliances can do a surprising amount of good. When we got a new Energy Star refrigerator to replace the fridge we’d bought in 1974 we were amazed at how much our electric bill went down, even though the new fridge was larger than the old one. Sure it’s a big outlay up front, but it’ll pay for itself and then keep on saving. It’ll save more energy over its lifetime than it took to manufacture it.
I worry about the whole movement, though, when people start talking about not using chemicals. If you can touch it, it’s made out of chemicals. Air, water, dirt, plants, whatever, it’s chemicals. And just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s safe. Strychnine in apple seeds, oxalic acid in rhubarb, cyanide in peach pits, ricin in castor beans–all deadly poisons, all chemicals, and all as natural and organic as can be.
I like that my only forms of transportation are either my own two feet or public means of conveyance; i’ve taken a cab about 10 times since moving to NYC, each time in the pouring rain or lugging some large piece of luggage. (in Philly, I never took cabs–just walked or took the bus, occasionally.) My office just announced that it will be looking into reducing the building’s emissions, warning us that it might mean upping the temp in the summers, which everyone is welcoming (apparently it’s always freezing). I’m happy that corporate is trying!
I’m being very concious of going green things too. Next August, I’ll be in my first real apartment and my goal is to have the place be very “low” waste. Other than recycling, I’m not going to use any paper plates, throw-away paper towels or napkins or even plastic cups. I’m also going to make my own grocery bags and use tupperware instead of saran wrap and such. I’ve been doing my research to find tips on this… and there’s not too much that says more than “recycle” and “buy less packaging” – so it’ll be interesting to see how inventive I’ll be in this endeavour.
Great post, Lolly! We here at Chez Gardiner are always trying to do as much as possible. Right now the focus is on recycling (including buying as much recycled stuff as we can to help complete the circle – we’re currently installing Paperstone in our kitchen, which is countertop material made from 100% PCW (post-consumer waste) recycled paper), composting and organic gardening in our little yard, and raising chickens for their egg and organic fertilizer production as well as natural pest control (as in, they like to eat bugs). I also use cloth diapers and Glad Rags/The Diva Cup as well as 100% recycled toilet paper. Did you know that most consumer toilet paper is made from wood from virgin forest? Also, use cloth rags instead of paper towels, reusable containers instead of plastic bags, bring your own reusable cup to the coffee shop, use a reusable water bottle, yada yada yada. We also opted to get 100% of our electricity from renewable sources – it costs about 25% more but I figure it’s an investment in my kids’ future. And we buy used stuff as much as possible.
Whew! You hit a hot button here! I’m so glad that the environment issue has become hot, too – it’s about time!
Thanks for a great post! I’m thinking a lot about about these things too these days. We had to get scrap our car last year, and never got around to buying a new one. I can’t claim it was an environmetal decision at the time, but as time passed and we got used to carfree living, it did in fact become a choice, where the environmental aspect played a big part. I’m not a vegetarian, but make sure to always choose fish or chicken over red meat. When it comes to consumerism I’m a big believer in buying good quality things that last longer.
I’ve always been an avid recycler, but this year I also switched out most of our lighting to compact flourescents and will have the rest of the bulbs switched over by the end of next month. Last month we planted 5 new trees in our yard and this month we’re transitioning to all natural household cleansers. We’re also going to stop using paper napkins at home and use less of them when we’re eating out.
Your lifestyle is very inspiring and although wind power isn’t available to us at our current home, I’ll definitely check into it and solar power for our new home when we move this year.
I’ve been trying for years to reduce my consumption and not produce so much waste. So far, I use reusable totes at the grocery, refuse bags elsewhere (unless I really can’t manage, then I give the bags to my gramma to use for trash), never use paper towels or paper napkins, shop at Goodwill for clothes, donate old clothes rather than throwing them out, and recycling. The town I’m in now has a really great recycling program. They take almost everything curbside! I plan to switch out our bulbs this year, and when I pay off my car (six mmonths left!), I plan to shop for a hybrid. I also shop organically and from local farmers as much as possible, though all of our small local places are getting muscled out.
i loved your post on this topic!
a few years ago, my girlfriend and i decided to eliminate our use of paper towels completely. we both love vintage kitchen towels and napkins, so we use them instead. they look cute around the house and after researching some stain removal tricks online, we have been able to keep them from getting destroyed after major housecleaning. it’s a small change, but one that i think has made a difference. i was going to actually post about it on earth day, but never got around to it, maybe i will this week!
I agree that many of the environmentally friendly things you can do are also pretty money savvy. Here in the UK I find that most of our vegetables in supermarkets have travelled so far – they fill them with nasties to keep them looking fresh, but there’s nothing quite like locally grown produce. I love the farmer’s markets – but we have to drive to get to one, which is a shame.
We also switched to low energy bulbs, and we knocked the heating off already (I have a throw, and I’m knitting myself a new blanket to ward of the chilly nights) we recycle our plastic carriers and take our own bags when we go to the supermarket (we normally get delivery). We compost our uncooked food waste (and teabags too) which we’ll give to the council to fertilise the local parks with once it’s ready. We recycle all of our cardboard, plastic, glass and paper, whether it’s through re-use (ceral boxes for pom-pom makers and glass jars for water when painting) or recycling generally.
Also – we insulated our loft – it’s really important that if you’re using energy to heat (or cool) your house, you want as little of that to escape as possible.
As you can see, I’m getting there – considering how bad a consumer I was four years ago as a student I’m really proud of myself! But there’s plenty still to do.
Great post Lolly! We use all compact fluorescent bulbs too. We also recycle everything we can, thanks to our county’s free program. When we bought our house we got programmable thermostats and we keep them set in the 60s in the winter and in the high 70s now that spring is upon us. When we install new flooring (my allergies really hate carpet), we’ll be getting bamboo instead of hardwood since it renews faster, and in my opinion is prettier. I also drive a Civic hybrid, and my husband has a Matrix, and he’s getting great gas mileage too. We’re working on other things too (I’m going gradually back to being vegan), and one of our big resolutions this year is to be more green!
Hey, I am with you
. Without maintaining this beautiful nature, we are going no where. We are all connected to keep our balance on Earth. We are so blessed with beautiful living creatures all around us. My six-year-old son, told me one day that all animals are our brothers and sisters, and that he shall be a vegetarian 
. That is so uplifted.
Great post! Very inspiring. I’ve always been really environmentally conscious (“president” of my 2nd grade “Earth Club” here!), a diligent recycle-er and resuser, but recently my husband and I have been trying to get a lot more serious about reducing our environmental impact. One thing in particular that we’re doing is learning to cook more things from scratch, trying to use local ingredients as much as possible. We’re both vegetarians, which we also see as a positive in terms of environmental impact, but we relied far too heavily on prepackaged stuff the past several years (far too easy to do, as a busy student), which is bad both in terms of the packaging, and in terms of the energy that goes into producing them. We’re also working on moving to a house that is closer to campus (where I go to school and he works), so that we don’t have to drive (right now it is a 2.5 mile walk, which is doable now that the snow is gone, but totally not doable in the winter), but living in a city where all of the grocery stores are in the suburbs and there is little public transportation makes it impossible to walk or bike everywhere as we wish we could, so we’re trying to be really smart about when we drive to run errands and combine trips as much as possible. We’re slowly switching to compact flourescents, and to using things like cloth towels in place of paper towels, and just generally trying to “green” our lifestyle even more than it already is.
My husband & I use water collected from our rain barrel to water our plants and participate in a local CSA that delivers organic produce to our workplace weekly throughout the summer – these are two of my favorites!
One of my favorite research sites is Coop America (http://www.coopamerica.org/) – they are very helpful when researching major (and minor) purchases, and I found a ton of good info on ingredients and corporate behavior there when changing over my cosmetics. A donation buys you membership in the organization and a copy of their annual greenpages, among other things. And they hold green festivals too – we are planning to go to one in the Fall in DC – Woo-hoo!
Well, we have been a strict recycling family since we got married. With the move to NC, we have also restarted our compost pile. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that can go in there, does go in there. Stale bread? In there. Eggshells and onion skins? In there. Leftover pasta? Yep, in there. Anything but meat and dairy products are sent off to the pile. Coffee grounds from my local Starbucks (whenever available) go in there as well.
I am trying to use more environmentally friendly cleaners as well. I especially enjoy the “old fashioned” approaches of baking soda and vinegar and their many, many, many uses.
It all starts a little at a time, right?
I’m right there with you. One of the things that has dismayed me the most about having a new baby is all the DRIVING that one does. Maybe that’s a midwestern thing but when she was a newborn, I certainly couldn’t take her in a bike trailer. Now it’s a different story and I feel so FREE again to be able to hop on a bike and pop her in a trailer or kid seat!!! It was especially hard to take since my research is all about designing more walkable cities. Ugh.
I was thinking about you and your garden just yesterday, Lolly! I can’t wait to see some more pics and hear about what you’ve planted this year.
Cloth diapers! Compost! Recycling! Re-purposing! We’re right there with you. Great post!
What a great post — thanks, Lolly!
Now that I think of it, most of my ‘green’ activities are about consumption. Low energy light bulbs, fuel-efficient car, lots of recycling (even though there’s no recycling pick-up in our city!), no disposable paper products. We’re a vegetarian (me) and vegan (my lover) household, and we try to shop mainly at the farmers market (cheap) and at a local organic foods store (pricey), where we always bring our own bags. We grow our own vegetables and make our own cheese when we can, and since we’re both kind of fashionistas, we also try not to buy ‘new’ clothes that we don’t need (thrifted is okay). And we’ve recently sworn off ALL new oil-based fabrics, clothing, and yarn altogether — so no acrylic or polyester, no matter how appealing the easy-care label is!
What a fantastic post, Lolly!! I am lucky to live in a city where you toss all your recyclables from paper to magazines, to metal to plastic bags, into one container and the city picks them up and recycles them! We do separate glass or depending upon the brand/size, you can take them back for deposit. We just had a family meeting with our three kids and they are now required to walk to and from after school practices and classes if they are at their schools. It’s light out, safe, and only a mile! My husband bikes to and from work most days. Oh and the only acrylic yarn I knit with was gifted
)
great post! I know I could do lots more to do my part. I would like to look into the wind energy, too. I’m doing much the same as you. I tend to eat vegetarian quit a lot. I belong to a local food co-op here so I get local veggies (and they are delicious!) Every little bit counts!
I love reading posts like this. I don’t do much on my own, but I do recycle and eat organic when I can (How lame does that sound? Sometimes the budget just doesn’t allow it.). R and I area looking for an apartment in towns that have public transit systems and bike lanes, because we both prefer to drive as little as possible. The New Jersey recycling system is a plus too, as we can get curb pick up instead of hauling our stuff to centers (which is what we did in Columbus). We’re both vegetarians and love eating fresh, organic food, so I’m really looking forward to hitting the farmers’ markets this summer and cooking with him again. Oh, and neither of us likes buying new, pricey clothes, so we shop in thrift stores and with my new sewing machine I’m hoping to really get into fixing and altering old clothes.
This post has made me all optimistic. Thanks!
Living in Philadelphia has made the greening of my life very easy. I ride my bike everywhere I possibly can, I shop at a food co-op, I’m constantly dumpster diving for furniture and housewares (it’s not as gross as it sounds). I try to repurpose everything!
Unfortunately, recycling here is a nightmare and I can’t afford wind energy, but I do bring my own reusable cup to starbucks every day!
You’re a great example to follow in environmentally conscious living. Bravo!!
Thanks for the links. I am a vegetarian as well, and unfortunately we just moved to a very conservative area where there is not easy access to whole or organic food markets. So we planted a garden this year to try to improve our intake and supporting a locally-grown lifestyle
We do our part to help the environment. I have a rain barrel for watering the garden. I do not use drinking water to keep our lawn green in the summer. I just let it go brown – it always comes back.
We live very close to a recycling centre so we take everything there – from yard waste to leftover paint and even used appliances (including computer bits), etc.
We installed a higher efficiency furnace and a digital thermostat a few years ago. When we renovated the house, we installed carpet made from recycled plastic. We have low flow shower heads and a front loading washing machine that uses a tiny amount of water.
We live near Costco so we’re always buying things in bulk to cut down on packaging. And to haul things home, I keep a rubbermaid tote in the trunk of my car so I don’t need to take a cardboard box.
I am slowy replacing all the lights with CFLs. We got rid of those nasty halogen lights a few years ago. That’s all we’ve accomplished so far. There’s still a lot more to do.
Great post Lolly!
We basically do a lot of the same things…..however, living in the suburbs is always a challenge on the driving! I tell myself many days that I don’t REALLY need to go to the market, I should just stay home and knit!
I do want to start a compost for my vegetable garden this year…..I just have to do a little research on exactly what can go in it!
I do a lot of the basics, recycling, public transportation, etc. But one change I made a few months ago (and mentioned above as well) was switching to the Diva Cup. It just amazed me how much waste is produced each month by tampons/pads – and how much $$ is spent as well. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
Thanks for this great post, Lolly! Very inspiring! I didn’t know that you could choose wind energy from the power companies – I’ll definitely check that out. I’m lucky to currently live in a city with very strict recycling laws, so it’s easy to maximize on the recycling end of things. My spouse & I are both vegetarians, we reuse bags (or just decline them), try not to take many extra trips in the car, etc. I’ve also used the DivaCup for the last 3 years. It’s terrific – very convenient, and it definitely saves money! We’ll be moving to our first house this summer, so I’m looking forward to making it as green as we can, and planting a garden!
love this post.
off to check out the cosmetics site…
Another Diva/cloth for backup user here. The added bonus is that my system was reacting to the dioxin used to bleach disposable products-now that I’m not using them, my . is much lighter. Maybe TMI, but I cannot tell you how happy this made me!
I live in a mild climate so I garden for most of the year-no chemicals, please-just natural fertilizer from under my bunnies cages. It can be spread directly onto the soil around the plants-but I have enough that I put it into the compost pile, too.
i live in a rented apt., so i don’t have as much control over my habitat as i’d like. i keep my energy costs down to a minimum, meaning i freeze my a** off in the winter and melt in the summer =)
i am fortunate that the city picks up a wide variety of recycling, saving me from taking it to a municipal collection spot.
my apt. primarily faces the west, so as long as it’s not a dark and dreary day, i don’t need any lights or lamps on during daylight hours.
as a knitter and sewer, i SHOULD not be using paper towels or napkins. perhaps i can wean myself off of them this summer?
also, (really soon!) i should be riding my bike to work. it will be tougher as summer approaches, as i need a good 30-40 min to cool down (from a 20 min. bike ride).
i try to save water. i save some of the water from my freshwater tank when i do water changes … i use it to water plants.
i don’t see myself making a change in fabrics when it comes to clothing for exercise. there are some “green” manufactures of gear/clothing (patagonia to name one). cotton is great, but you won’t find me backpacking in cotton.
i primarily came here to read others’ comments, to get ideas about what else i can be doing.
and i think i might go and wash the front porch now (it’s time for a 10 gal. water change in my fish tank
I love what you’re doing! I need to look into the wind energy thing … We do lots of the same things. I’m trying to focus more on bringing my own bags everywhere, walking more, and composting everything we possibly can. We also belong to a fantastic organic CSA — our farmer is a wonderful spokeswoman for local organic produce … and a wonderful farmer!
I’m so glad to read that you are vegetarian. Even though I’m not very preachy about it, I do think that going veg, like going organic and going local, is one of the best and healthiest ways of greening up one’s life.
My company now has a “sustainability manager” whose focus is to strengthen our relationships with our producers in the third world (where, frankly, all our producers are) and streamline and green-up our work here in the US. It makes me happy to think that people are getting the hint that “being a treehugger” isn’t a just a political viewpoint, it’s about making life better for every constituent of the planet, even if it means a little more effort every now and then. Good post!
hi lolly!! it has been a while but this post really got my attention. i totally agree with you, on everything… luckily i live now in madison, wi where many others around me share our concern about the environment, but i still hear about cities and small towns that don’t have recycling programs and i find it really upsetting. i feel this urgency to do something QUICK before we ruin the world and ourselves and i can’t understand how some people don’t feel the need to help/conserve/be aware. it definitely helps to share and post your thoughts on the environment and i’m so glad that you did- we can do a green knitalong or something like that to get more people in the green mood (maybe knitting pot holders for plants and those recyclable bags and dish towes you talked about), unless there already is one out there that i’m just not aware of yet… i’ll write back more soon!
awesome sock knitting by the way
We buy local produce when we can (June to September) and use fabric bags most of the time. The plastic bags we do end up with, we reuse to scoop out the cat litter, I give some to local stores and markets to reuse and the Mr. takes his lunch to work in them. We recycle as much as we are allowed and only use energy efficient lightbulbs. I also do all our laundry in cold water only and use an environmentally friendly bleaching agent I found at the bulk food store. I tend to use simple cleaners to wash up and clean with. We try to limit our trips to town (save money on gas and wear and tear on the car too) and buy things with as little packaging as we can. We’ve been doing these simple things for years.
Our town also has a clean up the town initiative every year to get all the litter people carelessly throw out picked up and either recycled or properly disposed of.
Great post lolly! Thanks for the links. I’m fascinated by the wind energy. Every llittle bit helps.
such an inspiring post lolly! the gardening is one area where i always need an extra push… lots of big ideas on my part but then i get overwhelmed. at this point my little herb/tomato plot is going strong and perhaps one day more…
i am trying to make small changes and remember that they add up… we’ve been on compact bulbs for awhile, i’m sewing my market bags and buying organic. we very rarely drive (both bike commuters), and have just started trying to catch my greywater in the sink for use in the garden. definitely recycling too, always! long term plans as renovation money is saved up include diverting our washing machine water for the garden and installing gutters on the roof to catch rainwater. and i am so inspired by your conversion to wind power… that is fantastic!!
we have organic food delivered to our house once a week and it’s awesome! most of it is local, or if not it’s only a state or two away. it’s really forced me to be more creative in the kitchen. last weekend i made organic blue potato baked french fries to go with our free range steaks & organic greens. mmmmm!
Isn’t Swiss Chard one of the prettiest greens?
Thanks for the great post. I love your cute planting pigtails!
I live in Seattle and we are a little hippy-dippy here so environmentally conscience behavior is not only starting to become mainstream, in some regards, it’s enforced. The trash collection agencies here can refuse to pick up your trash if they decide that you have over 10% of items in the can that could be recycled. (well, there’s a few warning violations involved, but over time it can come down to a downright refusal). We are also supplied with “green” recycling for yardwaste and any kitchen refuse that can be recycled into compost (pizza boxes, paper towels, vegetable scraps, etc.) This has really cut down on the amount of things we put in our trash. And our neighborhood has a collection agency for commercial foodwaste (i.e restaurants, florists etc.) so all that can go out in green waste gets picked up once a day and may someday end up in our gardens.
We’ve been using CFL’s for some time (they’re cheap at Costco!) and this year we had our house re-insulated (a nice tax break, too!) I’ve used the same canvas grocery bags for close to 10 years (bought at Safeway -who knew? ~they’ve been workhorses!) and we’re super lucky to have an amazing farmer’s market from May-October in our neighborhood. Plus, my husband is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) consultant so he is always incorporating things around the house (rain barrels for watering, under the sink water filtration instead of bottled water, etc.) I had to put my foot down when he wanted to plant a living roof, though
While we’re ahead of the curve in some respects, we do hop in our cars way to often (and they’re not very efficient), shower more than we need to (our mayor suggests showering with a buddy 
and oh gosh – I’m selfishly reluctant to let our old washing machine go – what will happen to all my felting projects? Yet, we’re aware of it and that’s a good first step to change. (I think my hubby has been setting aside $$ for a new efficient washer – he’s funny that way…)
Thanks to you for pinging that awareness. It’s a good reminder and you are just the type of leader to get the wheels turning.
PS – my neighbor’s sister is one of the Sew Green ladies – and she’s in your hood!
If you want to check your eco footprint check out this site. It’s a fairly easy quiz an give you some idea of how much of the earth you consume.
http://ecofoot.org/
I didn’t do so well at 6.4…ciao
Hi Lolly. Kudos on your wonderful example of stewardship! My husband and I also make conscious decisions in order to shrink our footprint as much as possible. The biggest one is that we own one car. When we bought our home, we only looked in walkable neighborhoods with easy access to bus lines and plenty of “amenities” within walking distance (grocery, hardware, coffee shop, video rental place, etc.). When we were looking for a space for my yoga studio, we also limited our search to within walking distance of our home, so that I wouldn’t have to drive to work. Once we got used having the “do you need the car on Thursday?” discussions that are inherent to sharing one vehicle, it was pretty easy. Oh! And the car we own is diesel, and we run bio-diesel in it.
I have loved reading everyones comments on here… giving me great ideas! I am definitely going to knits some dishrags and bring bags to the grocery store- that is my goal for this year. (ashamed I haven’t done it sooner!)
I’m late to comment, due to being offline last week…I love this post! I am much along the same lines as you. We switched out all of our lightbulbs (such a simple thing- i don’t know why more people don’t just do it already!), reuse containers and our own bags, and try to conserve as much as possible, as well as use/eat, etc. orgainic products as much as possible. And I’m with you on needing to better about consumption. That’s more of a challenge. :p I want to do a green Earth Day post too, though it will be belated. Thanks, as always, for keeping us informed and motivated!
[...] earth day when Lolly posted about how everyday is Earth Day to her I’ve been reading Sew Green. They have great tips on crafting, and homemaking in a [...]