This is the second day of our spring break and we are all full of bounce. Sloane has her best friend over and Jeffrey and I are attacking the garage. In fact, I only have a moment to say hello. We're all loading up in two cars and hauling off the recycling. We usually do this once every three months or so, but we let it get away from us this school year. Sheesh! We make a lot of recycling.Speaking of recycling, I was at a women's event at my church recently and the theme was Going Green. We went around our table and shared the green things we all do at home already. I have to say, I was shocked at how few people recycle. It's just a way of life for us and I guess I assumed it was for others as well. What I found was that many people are willing to do the "green thing" if it is only about money - say changing type of light bulbs. But, not so willing if it requires a lot of time and effort - say recycling when there's no curbside. No criticism here, just an observation. We all live such busy lives, I wonder if that is true in general.
So my questions are these:
- In what ways is your lifestyle already green?
- What plans to you have for becoming even greener?
- Do you even think it's important?
That picture is about the greenest one I've got. It's still pretty winter-brown around here.
18 comments:
our recycling bin is usually more full at the end of the week than our garbage bin.....
and i never let the water run while i brush my teeth...that's such a waste.....
and i rinse out and reuse plastic ziploc bags....why not I say !
we're pretty green - i use the bulbs, a brita water filter instead of bottled water, i take magazines and paper backs to either nursing homes, the library (the books) or box them up to send to friends so they can send to friends, etc. we took usable items to donation centers, etc. our city doesn't have a system for recycling and it's a shame but the good news is, we don't take the paper or anything and i save glass bottles at home to wash and reuse.
i use cute cloth bags for my groceries.
have a wonderful green break, my friend!
xo
What a great, great post, Relyn! We should all be talking about this more. I love that you folks take the time to recycle when it isn't easy. I'm always amazed by how many people don't recycle even when they DO have curbside recycling!
One of my neighbors got me using canvas bags for groceries back in the early 90's. He was green before green was cool! He and I would often shop together, and I think we were probably the only people in our neighborhood at the time who brought their own bags. I am grateful to him to this day for teaching me so much about being green in this and countless other ways.
One other green choice we make is to walk and ride bikes to cafes and shops and work as often as possible. That one is easy and fun, plus it has the added benefit of being good for us! Thanks, sweetheart, for this cool post! xoxo
very green..compost right into the garden . no plastic bottles . line dry in the summer (takes 15 mins in hot texas sun). vegetarian 98%..just to name a few...
did you close the comments on your 365??
I try to live pretty green and am lucky to live in an area that is recycle friendly. Traveling last week I realized how many places make it difficult to recycle--having to drive to drop off goods and such!
I have always recycled until we moved here. There is no recycling here. It kills me to put that stuff in the trash! I definitely think it is good to recycle.
Green Green and more green
avid recycler
Save the planet it is the only one with CHOCOLATE
and people we love
Love you
Jeanne
We do recycle although I would love for a better set-up. I lack space and right now we have a bin in the already tiny kitchen, like in the middle of the floor because there isn't any wall space....or extra cupboards.
Most of our light bulbs are energy saving. I need to do more though.
Did you get my thank you email? Thank you for the package!
Sometimes we fill the culdesac up with recycle.
Hugs, andrea
I LOVE reuseable grocery bags, as each bulb burns out we're switching to energy efficient ones and every other week we drop our recyclables off.
I tried using 'green' cleaning products, but unfortunately I just couldn't do it...I need a touch of bleach in my life :\
Enjoy spring break!!
No plastic bags, recycle more than we throw away, use both sides of the paper. Still, I think we are only skimming the surface! There is so much more we can be doing, but at least we try.
thanks for this thoughtful post!
Hi Relyn,
The axiom is "every little helps". We recycle a lot but there's always more one could do. The authorities, however, need to make it as simple as possible to encourage everyone and there ought to be a national standard - not each area, with different systems recycling different materials.
Oh, have you seen LunchBots?! I am so excited that our PTA is selling them during Green Week this year! Here's the link to LunchBots: http://www.lunchbots.com/ Also, we use KleanKanteen instead of plastic water bottles. They are great! We have recycle pickup at our house, so that makes recycling very easy.
We recycle pretty heavily but there is so much more I'd like to do. Would love to compost but have to buy one of those big containers to keep animals away. Can't get my father-in-law-suchness to recycle at all so when we visit I take all away that I can. Thinking about signing him up (curb service is available) whether he likes it or not but that's the Aries in me!!
Glad you're posting on this!!
Hugs to you,
Kirsten
I remember when I was a whole lot younger, David Suzuki came and gave a talk at our school...it was the first time many of us had heard of recycling...I was so inspired, I went home and got my parents to start recycling..have never stopped.
And of course, I will be turning my lights out tonight at 8:30 pm for Earth hour!!
I have been wishing I could compost. If I did, I would have so little garbage at all. But I don't have anything to do with the compost .. still pondering that one.
The one way I could be more green is in my driving habits. I'll work on those someday ..
Well, I'm so behind here, but really wanted to reply to this wonderful post. First of all, yes, it's very important. And it is a way of life for us. We have had our property certified as a wildlife habitat, so are all organic. We have an enormous compost heap, don't use any chemical or synthetic fertilizers or weed killers, recycle just about everything. We have one car (sold my cute convertible, :( sniff, sniff) and work at home. I would say, though, we also have an advantage as the Northwest is very "green" thinking in general. Thank you so much for bringing this up. xo – g
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