Happy Earth Day!

Since today is Earth Day, I couldn't help but reflect on what Gabe and I are doing to be more "green". I realized we have made a few changes this last year to jump on the "green" bandwagon.

1) Re-usable grocery bags. These are the BOMB! I don't know about you, but our mountain of plastic bags became so big that we couldn't deal anymore. We got so sick of stores putting one or two items per bag. When we made the switch to these, we were very happy to see that the baggers pack as much as they can into one bag. The nice thing about these is the wide bottom so that you can hold much more in them. Most stores have made these bags available, including Target and Walmart. Some stores will give a .5 cent rebate each time you use them so they pay for themselves. Now Whole Foods announced they are getting rid of plastic bags completely.






2) Recycle - we have been doing this for years, but until this year we only recycled glass. So we bought these new recycle bins from Improvements (LOVE this catalog)so we can include paper and plastic.





3) Carpool - This was really just an attempt at saving gas money, but its side-effect is better for the environment :)


4) Cleaning Products - As much as I love the Swiffer dusters, I realized that is was causing unnecessary waste. So I went to Walmart and bought a pack of microfiber towels and a pack of bar-mop washcloths. The microfiber picks up the dust almost as good as the swiffers and the bar-mop rags replace paper towels for clean-up. When I am done I just toss them into the washer and viola! I have not been able to give up my Swiffer mop yet though. I still need to find a good alternative. I also switched from my chemically toxic cleaners to the new Clorox Green Works cleaners. So far I am happy with them. They work as well as the others and the smell is MUCH nicer! I wish I could give up my Magic Erasers, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Baby steps! :)

5) Energy effiencient washer and dryer - Housewarming gift from my dad and stepmom.


Here are a couple of items that still need work:
1) Light bulbs - we are slowly replacing these. We have some, but not many. One problem is the energy efficient bulbs put out the most awful light. Almost a fluorescent light and I hate that! So we still need to work on this.

2) Composting - Living out in the country, this is a common thing. A lot of people compost since they can't put kitchen scraps into the septic tank. There was an established compost pile out by our barn when we bought the house, but, we have not been the best at it. For one thing we have been quite lazy about taking the scraps out to the pile since its not in a convienent place. And we have not been good about making sure we are layering right and turning it often...etc. We are hoping to be better about it.

3) Kitty Litter - Probably the worst offender in our house is the kitty litter we use. Its clay based and horrible for the environment. I am on the hunt for a more environmentally friendly litter, but one that can handle two cats and cut the odor as well as the clay stuff does.

4) Garden - Gabe is starting the garden this year. we hope to be able to start consuming our own organic product soon.

These are small steps, but we feel pretty good knowing that even our small efforts can help to make a big difference.