Going Green

Adding Enviro Post Scripts to My Emails

Tracking My Progress on The 90% Reduction Challenge

A few months back, I wrote about the Riot for Austerity - a challenge to reduce my emissions to 90% of what the Average American uses, within one year. Now, three months into it, I'm going to post my results for the whole world to see. Some of the numbers surprised me and a few are downright shameful. Of course, posting these measurements is not as ego-pounding as revealing my physical measurements, so feel free to point and laugh. I won't be offended. I rarely never am.

I'm going to assume that most of you reading this blog are like me and are just too lazy to click the link above, so here's a recap:

The 90% figure is borrowed from George Monbiot's plan to avoid reaching a tipping point, beyond which temperature rise will run out of control and major ecosystems will collapse. In Monbiot's book, "Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning" he has presents his views on how to avert this disaster. To avoid hitting the "critical threshold", he says, the world’s total carbon emissions must be reduced to 60 percent below current levels by 2030—a target that would require the developed world (that's you and me, friend) to reduce emissions by 90 percent, in order to compensate for growth in China, India and other developing countries.

In the Challenge there are seven basic categories for reduction: Gasoline; Electricity; Heating and Cooking Energy; Garbage; Water; Consumer Goods; and Food. There are a lot of rules on how to calculate your savings, so that we all measure our success with the same yardstick. You can check out all the rules, averages and factoids here.

So how do I measure up so far? See for yourself...


Gasoline:

The average American uses 500 gallons of gasoline per year. I didn't count hubby in on this one, since he has a company vehicle and I don't have access to his information. Instead, I just counted me, the kids and the minivan. So our monthly average American allowance would be 125 gallons.
Over the past three months, we averaged 20 gallons per week, or 86.6 gallons per month. For gasoline consumption, we are at 69% of what the average American uses. :-( Not the worst, but definitely needs improvement! Again, we don't have access to public transportation where I live but I still need to find ways to reduce this.


Electricity

The average American household uses 900 kWh per month.

Our usage last month was 490 kWh, so for electric consumption we are at 54% of what the average American uses. BUT! Since we utilize wind power, we get a 4-to-1 payback on our usage!

This little bonus means that our usage would actually calculate out at 122.5. That knocks us down to 13.6%! WOO HOO! Of course, the a/c went off that month, but to quote Edna Moles "I never look back darling, it distracts from the now".


Heating and Cooking Energy

The average American household uses 1000 therms per year, 83.3 therms per month.

Our usage last month was 47.15 therms, which puts us at 56% below average. This is scary since October wasn't even really that cold. This is why I'm trying so hard to keep our thermostat low, shut dampers, find leaks, etc.!


Garbage

The average American generates 4.5 pounds of garbage per day. We have four people in our household, so the average for us would be 126 pounds per week.

We are averaging roughly 60 pounds per week - 47% of the average American's trash output. Can definitely be improved upon. I just need to be more careful about the products I buy.


Water

The average American uses 100 gallons of water per person, per day. With four people in the house, that puts our monthly average at 12,000 gallons.

Our average water usage over the past two months was 3.5 ccf per month. Multiply 3.5 by 748 and you get 2,618 gallons per month. This puts us at 21.8% of the average American! I'm actually pleasantly surprised here! I thought we would be MUCH higher, but I guess all my little changes are starting to add up! :-)


Consumer Goods

The average American household spends $10,000 per year on consumer goods. So our monthly allowance would be $833.33.

I took the four months of July - October (since I have all the records, including credit card statements), and our average monthly consumer goods spending was $697.50. This puts us at nearly 84% of the average American. Not good. This definitely needs to be lowered! I can't imagine what my percentage will be after the holidays. Oy!


Food

This one is nearly impossible, even for a nerd like me, to quantify. The Riot says we should be at 70% locally grown, 25% dry bulk goods and 5% all else. Just looking in my pantry, I'd guess that my averages are more like 10 / 25/ 65, respectively. Pathetic.

I'm hoping to really improve on this next spring. I'd like to have a small veggie garden in the side yard and hope to nut up and go downtown to the farmer's market. Of course, it's always easier to eat locally during the summer months, so to make this a year-round endeavor, I'll have to do a TON of canning and freezing.


Summary

Well, I didn't reach 90% in any category, but then again, I didn't really expect to. Honestly, I was pleased just to see that all of my numbers were less than the average American!

Taking the time to look at my numbers has inspired to work harder towards achieving the 90% goal. It showed me that the cumulative effect of my small changes can actually have a pretty big impact. I am hoping that my next update will show even more improvement!

Questioning Authority

Formulate a Plan for the Holidays

Halloween was AWESOME! The kids had a blast hosting a party for some of their friends and then trick-or-treating last night. But now it's over and we're all suffering from severe sugar hangovers today.

Despite the pounding headache and upset tummy I still managed to spend the morning packing away the pumpkin and ghost decorations until next year and I'm already starting to think about the upcoming Holiday Trifecta. I want to start planning now so that I don't get caught up in the festivities (like I did with Ethan's birthday) and end up making poor eco-choices.

So, starting today I will be researching all sorts of holiday ideas from free-range turkeys to recycled Christmas cards and organic New Year's bubbly. Most importantly, I will have a serious tete-a-tete with dh to make sure we are on the same page when it comes to holiday gift giving (ie: less is more, homemade is best, LIMIT THE PLASTIC CRAP!).

Some famous dude said "He who fails to plan, plans to fail". I do not plan on failing this year.

That being said, I'd love to hear your suggestions!


Savings:

None yet, will calculate each change as I actually implement it.


Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

The planning stages are always the most difficult for me. It takes time and effort to plan and there's no instant gratification that comes along with the planning. However, if I try to "just wing it", I know I will not have the Green Christmas I am hoping for.

Days 61 - 80

Thanks to everyone for leaving me comments on how you're all doing! I love to hear how you all are making changes too! Sometimes you get to thinking you're fighting an uphill battle and that everyone else out there is drinking from styrofoam cups and then tossing them out the car window. The comments remind me that there are lots of everyday people going about their normal lives who are trying, like I am, to be a little nicer to the Earth. Thank you.

61. Buying in Bulk - I have my Costco ID card in my wallet -- it's really nice to get "carded" when I go somewhere again! Makes me feel young. I am amazed at the size of some of the items you can buy there. Once we're finished eating all the pickles, I am going to attach jar to the side of the house to be used as a solarium.

62. Throwing an Eco-Friendly Labor Day Party - We would have done this, if we had friends, but we don't, so we didn't.

63. Finding My Inspiration - Don't have to look to far for this, since one is usually on my hip and the other is riding circles around me on his tricycle.


64. Using Laundry Balls in Lieu of Fabric Softener - I gave this one a try, but honestly, the clothes were just so scratchy I couldn't stand it! When Ethan was asked about it, he told me his underwear was "pointy". Yikes. Who wants pointy underwear? I continue to use the 'balls, though, since I do think they cut down on drying time.

65. Start a Compost Pile - To paraphrase Groucho Marx, "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a compost bin". This is one change that I like and don't like, all at the same time. I went to turn the compost this week and there were HUGE maggots in it! GROSS OUT! I checked online, though, and from what I read, I think they are the larvae of "compost-dwelling soldier flies". 100% beneficial to the composting process and do not bite or grow into biters. But still, eeeewwwwwwww. I will continue to compost, but am already fearing the day next spring when I will be removing my black gold, for fear that it will be filled with critters.


66. Buying Local Seafood - This is one of my favorite changes. I LOVE the fresh fish each week and hubby does too! It's not as healthy as it should be, since my favorite recipe involves loads of butter and parmesan cheese, but ooohhhh, it's so good!


67. Giving Up Plug-In Air Fresheners - Sometimes I really miss these suckers. Mostly in the bathrooms. My candles are an ok substitute, but since they don't have the chemicals that dull your senses, they obviously don't suppress the underlying odors. *shrug* I guess that's why we don't have company over often. Well, that and the whole "no friends" thing.


68. Tell Manufacturers What You Want - I am now on three different "survey" lists for companies who want my opinions. Can you believe that? They are literally asking for it! And you know I'm not shy about giving it!


69. Forgiving Myself for Transgressions - Yeah, I definitely have a handle on this one. Maybe too good a handle as some weeks I find myself slipping up on simple things that I shouldn't be slipping up on anymore.


70. Stop Pre-Rinsing Before Loading the Dishwasher - I can deal with overflowing toilets and poop-filled gDiapers, I can ignore the fruit flies under my kitchen sink, I can even handle maggots in my compost bin. But for whatever reason, wiping food remnants off plates makes me dry-heave. -- every single time. I tried, I really did, but after two weeks of nearly delivering my own partially-digested dinner back to the sink I gave up. I use as little water as I possibly can to get the gunk off, but I definitely screamed "uncle" on this one.


71. Turning Off the Laptop During the Day - I cheat. A lot. I would say the laptop is off maybe just 50% of the time it should be. In my defense (if I'm allowed one) I only turn it on when the kids have already made their intent to ignore me clear. Only if they have decided to play with one another, are engrossed in animal rescues with Diego or are chasing the dog with wind up toys do I flick it on. It's a tough habit to break.


72. Donating To and Buying From the Habitat ReStore - Still afraid of downtown. Still have a pile of used building materials in my garage waiting to go to the ReStore. I will get there, eventually. Just give me some time to build up my courage.


73. Heating Water In the Microwave Instead of Running the Tap - Love this change! Daphne gets her cocoa at the perfect temperature every single time and I don't waste a single drop of water.


74. Taking on the 90% Challenge -It's not quite been a month yet, so I don't have the invoices from the power company and such to measure my success. I'll have to give you an update on this one later.


75. Closing the Drain Before Starting the Bathwater - Another super-easy change that doesn't even get noticed here, but still saves a goodly amount of water.


76. Repurposing All Our Stale Water - Oreo is the most eco-conscious doggy around! She is such a good girl, drinking all that stale water! Now if I could just get her to crap in the designated "poop zone", we'd be all set.

77. Re-evaluating the Products I Put on My Face - THANK YOU CAROLINE! My friend Caroline gave me a huge tip on ecologically friendly beauty products by recommending the Burt's Bees product line. I know sport their chapstick, two lip shades, shampoo and kids' baby wash. I love them all! In addition to changing my 'stick, I picked up an all-natural mascara that -- surprise, surprise -- doesn't make my eyes water like every other mascara I've ever owned. I've also invested in Bioelements, a naturally-derived foundation / blush kit (yeah, it's a kit -- lots of wands, brushes and containers... makes me feel like a mad scientist with all that stuff). I don't know if it has the same coverage and shine control, but it's ok. I don't have blush or eyeshadow yet, but I'll find them!

78. Using a Coffee Carafe to Keep My Java Hot - Lovin' this change too. I no longer have to choke down that last bit of burnt-flavored coffee at 10 am. My coffee truly is good to the last drop now.


79. Live Simply so Others Can Simply Live (Crunchy Chicken Solidarity) - I am happy to report that Mr. Crunchy Chicken is now home from the hospital and is doing much better. Mrs. Crunchy Chicken is back to posting and you can check her out here.


80. Update My Voter Registration - I'm ready to vote next month! Well, I will be once I finish educating myself about the candidates. I have been trying to keep up with the local politics here but I really need to just take the time, sit down and read through their stances on all the issues that are important to me. Can you guess what they are?

As I mentioned at the beginning of the week, I'll be taking some time off now to go see my family in New York. I'll be offline until Monday, hope you all have a great one!

- Erin

Days 41 - 60

It's funny. When I started on this new progress report, I thought about all the failures I have had along the way and was almost certain my misses would outnumber my hits. However, I am surprisingly pleased to see that, upon further inspection, most of my changes are actually sticking. Furthermore, the majority of them don't even feel wierd to me anymore. This must be what it feels like to "get crunchy". ;-)


41. No More ATM or Gas Reciepts - I keep saying "no" to every ATM or gas pump that asks. It's like dating again, but with kiosks. The only thing to watch out for is the "fast cash" option on the ATM. It never gives you a prompt for the reciept -- it just automatically spits one out. Don't fall for the fast cash!

42. Teach My Kids About The Environment - This is going so well! I think it's because the kids are like sponges and whatever you do, they want to do too. Ethan loves to be on "light patrol", and they both love to go on nature walks and watch the recycle truck in action. Ethan has gone so far as to tell me that a lot of his toys are plastic and that plastic is bad. ;-) Cute. We'll see how he feels come Christmas time, though!

43. Participate in Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup - This has been a very dry summer/fall in Central Virginia. Except, of course, for the weekend of September 15th when it rained like a bastard! We did have reservations to stay at our favorite state park, situated on the Chesapeake Bay, but we just couldn't bear the thought of trying to camp with the kids in the rain. :-( Instead, we went on a nature walk that Sunday and Mommy picked up trash near the shoreline of our reservoir.

44. Don't Buy Anything New for a Year (or Month) - This is The Compact that I speak of so often and it's hard as hell. I have GREAT respect for the compactors out there who are making this work. I was able to do it for one month, but fell off the wagon hard and have not gotten back on yet. I'm thinking I'll try in January as a New Year's Resolution. After all, our American Super-Consumeristic Attitude is one of the biggest contributors to global pollution.

45. Change My Fabric Softener - I thought I would miss that Downy Fresh Smell more than I do. Now my clothes just smell like clothes. I occasionally will pull out a garment I haven't worn in months and the perfumey aroma almost bowls me over. Strange how quickly we adjust.

46. Dropping Cotton Balls From My Daily Routine - Did I ever tell you what I ended up using as a substitute? Cut up cotton diapers! It's true. I had a bunch leftover from the kids (they're super-absorbent and we used them as spit-up cloths) and I cut one diaper up into about 20 cotton squares. I serged the edges and voila! Face swabs. I can use one for a couple days running and then they just get tossed in the dirty laundry pile. Love em!

47. Stop Driving Like a Maniac - I behave myself behind the wheel about 85% of the time now. You may scoff, but that is actually a HUGE improvement! I think it has lowered my blood pressure as well.

48. Replace My Dead Washer with an Energy Efficient Front Loader - Yeah. Probably shouldn't tell you that the kids still like to sit in front of the damn thing and watch the clothes go around. Also shouldn't tell you I do too.

49. Reducing the Amount of Beef We Eat - We've only eaten beef once since this post. It was a moment of weakness... I had forgotten to thaw out dinner and Five Guys Burgers is too close and too good to pass up. Besides, they let you eat all the peanuts you want and have the best fries on the planet. I'd say our trip was well worth the wait and we'll be going back in another couple of months.

50. Being Good Campers - We have had so much fun camping this summer! I thought camping with the kids would be a lot of work, but they actually bring a lot to the table. They get you to look at and notice things that you take for granted - "Mommy look at this rock! It is rrreeeeaaaaalllllly sparkley! I think it the most sparkliest rock EVER.".

51. Combine Errands to Save Gas - Anytime I have errands to run that take me off the main road between home and preschool, I map it out to ensure I am taking the shortest route. Works like a charm and keeps me extra-super organized. *cough*GEEK*cough*

52. Switch From Disposable Diapers to gDiapers - NONE OF THIS MATTERS BECAUSE MY GIRL "BOOPIES" IN THE POTTY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! But in case you were wondering, I clogged the toilet three times with poopy gDiapers. Once in front of the babysitter who almost puked when it happened.

53. Turn Off the Car When Idling - This one irks the kids a little bit (it makes their DVD player skip a beat when I turn the car back on) but other than that, it's a very simple change.

54. Convince Others to Conserve - Perhaps one of the more challenging items on my list. I don't ever want to come off as "preachy" or "pushy" and I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable. My biggest effort on this front is actually this here blog, so you tell me -- am I convincing?

55. Skipping One Shower Each Week - To Hell With Personal Hygeine Day is such a huge success, I'm thinking about making it a weeklong celebration! Just kidding. That's one change that even hubby would notice! I hope.

56. Brushing My Teeth With Less Water Waste - Use a Cup! It saves so much water! But none of those disposable dixie cups... that's a bit self-defeating. My new anal tooth brushing technique (hmmm, poor phrasing on that one) is working well and I've adjusted easily to the change.

57. Convince A Pharmacy to Reuse My Prescription Bottles - Convinced? Yes. Taken Them Up on the Offer? No. I keep forgetting that the pharmacy at Kroger isn't open when I go grocery shopping early Sunday mornings and then I end up calling the scrip in to Walgreens. I'll try my best to remember next time I need a refill!

58. Switching to Recycled Toilet Paper - Not much to say, really. The paper is definitely not as soft as Mr. Whipple's, but hey, it's a pretty small sacrifice to make and my ass is happy to do its part for the environment.

59. Packing Nuts Rant - I have decided to do what one of my fellow eco-bloggers, Beth, does and send unwanted packaging back to the source with a note telling them to ease up. BTW, if you haven't checked out her site in my links, be sure to drop by. She does excellent, level-headed posts about plastic!

60. Packing Nuts Rant, Part Deux - I am doing my best to avoid being a packing nut. I save all my boxes and reuse them for my garment shipments. Not a single customer has complained about recieving their beautiful renaissance garb in an old Amazon box. I love our customers! :-)

Days 21 - 40

As I said yesterday, now that I've reached 100 days, I'm taking some time to tell you the honest truth about how this little experiment is going. Some things are great, others not so much. I'd love to hear from all of you, though. Please feel free to leave comments if you've made any of these changes (or others) and let me know how it went for you. It's nice to hear how other folks are dealing with the same issues!

Here are today's good, bad and ugly:

21. Changing My Energy Supplier to A Wind Farm - OK, I did this online way back in early July. I thought I was all set, but on September 15th, I got an email from PowerChoice saying that the name I submitted to Dominion didn't exactly match the name on my account and the whole thing was null and void. Apparently, knowing my service address, account number, PIN, social security number, driver license ID, secret word and mother's maiden name just wasn't enough. Grrrrr. I went through the whole sign up process again and am hoping this time it "took". Guess I'll find out sometime next month.

22. Finding A Second Use for Lint - My lint log worked! I took up to Pennsylvania on a family camping trip and it did a hell of a job acting like wood. It takes a surprising long time to fill a paper towel tube with lint -- I'm still only on my second one. This will probably be my last log though. After I finish this I'm going to just start throwing the lint in the compost pile -- it needs more "brown matter".

23. Stop Using Paper Towels - My dishtowels are definitely getting a workout and sometimes I wish I had just one more paper towel -- but I always manage to find a decent substitute without too much stress.

24. Give Up Bottled Water - You know, we went to Blockbuster two weeks ago and I used a coupon I had for 2 free rentals and 2 free sodas. I didn't think twice about the sodas until they were home and in my fridge and then it dawned on me -- there is really no difference between a water bottle and a soda bottle. So in addition to swearing off water bottles, I've also sworn off any and all plastic, single-serving beverage bottles. Thank goodness my IBC diet root beer and Hornsby's Hard Cider are packaged in glass!

25. Write Letters to Politicians - OK, writing a letter every single Sunday is a bit ambitious for someone who cleans her house semi-annually. Since this post I have written exactly six letters to various politicians. But, that's six more than I would have sent otherwise and now, any time I get a bug up my ass about something, I write someone and let them know. It's seems to be more like therapy than activism.

26. Make Smart Choices About Packaging - Oh man, when I first started this, it was so hard to make these kinds of choices. My mind would start spinning the minute I walked through the automatic supermarket doors. But now, it's become second nature. The order of No Packaging, Reusable Packaging, Glass, Aluminum, Cardboard, Paper, Biodegradable, Plastic #1 or #2, Other Plastic is no harder than remembering the order of the birth of my kids.

27. Turn Down the Water Heater - I cannot BELIEVE I got away with this one. I thought for sure I would be caught by Mr. Shower-Till-I-Look-Like-A-Florida-Tourist. But, the jig will soon be up, as cold times are fast approaching and I'll be forced to turn the water heater back up to keep our house warm :-(

28. Plant A Tree - Oh crap, guess what I forgot to do. Mmm hmm. Yeah. I'll be hitting the nursery this week -- I promise! Any suggestions? And no, I can't plant pot -- my neighbor is a cop!

29. Skip the Plastic Toys in the Happy Meals - You know, it's the tasks that seem so easy that are really, really hard. Ethan only fell for the "they ran out of toys" line twice before he started scoping out other kids' happy meals to see if they got toys. I tried to ration with him. I tried to bribe him. I did everything short of boycotting McDonald's, but in the end, he beat me down. And of course, whatever the boy gets, the girl must get too.

30. Progress Report - This really motivated me to keep on making changes. I'm hoping the current progress report will have a similar effect. Again, feel free to tell me how you're doing!

31. Stop Using Weed Killers - Haven't used them at all since the post and I don't notice any new clover patches sprouting up. Of course, I also wouldn't really care if I did. If it's green, I'm calling it "lawn".

32. Switch from Alkaline to Rechargeable Batteries - This was a GREAT change! I keep four batteries in the charger at all times and I NEVER run out of batteries. Technology is so cool! Why didn't I do this long ago?

33. Giving in on Reusable Coffee Filters - Hehehehe, he may have won this battle, but I still claim victory on the war. I let him have his unbleached single-use coffee filters but I bought a $100 compost bin to put them in. HA!

34. Changing My Shower Routine - Not only does this cut down on chemicals and water waste, it gives me at least an extra three minutes of coffee-drinking / internet-surfing time each morning. To quote Martha Stewart: "It's a good thing."

35. Cleaning Out the Pantry to Avoid Waste - The pantry doors aren't closing all the way. Must be time to purge again.

36. Switching to Biodegradable Corn-Based Straws - These things are awesome. I love ALL my corny products and I don't understand why they aren't found in regular grocery stores. Shit like this should really be mainstream -- no one in the family even noticed the change.

37. Reusing Ziplock Baggies - Can you believe I am still on the same box of baggies that I bought in JUNE?!?!? These suckers (the big freezer ones) are damn near indestructible! I labeled them for different uses (ie: onions, bread, veggies, fruit, etc.) so I didn't get any cross-flavor contamination and everything is working just peachy.

38. Keeping My Tires Properly Inflated - I don't do this every time I gas up anymore. I thought I would see huge fluctuations in my tire pressure, but I don't. In fact, all four are pretty much spot-on whenever I check them. I'd say I check about every 4 weeks or so now.

39. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse - OK, my house is quickly starting to look like the home of an eccentric 80-year old shut-in who hasn't thrown anything away since bobby socks and saddle shoes were in style. I can't use all the bread wrappers, containers and toilet paper tubes fast enough. I guess that's my big clue that it's time to either find them a new home or start reducing, reducing, reducing.

40. Borrow from the Library Instead of Buying at the Store - Ethan calls it "The Borrow Store", which is also what he calls Blockbuster. We went quite a bit this summer, but then they caught a convicted child molester hanging out there and it freaked me out. I haven't been back since. Guess I'm not a very brave cowgirl.


OK, I shared with you, now tell me how you're doing....

Evaluating My Changes To See What Is or Is Not Working

Wow! One Hundred Days of Going Green! That's so awesome! Big pat on the back for all of us who have spent the last few months trying to be good Planeteers. :-)

Ok. Celebration is over, back to your desks, everyone. We've still got a long way to go.

This has been such an interesting adventure thus far but honestly, I'm surprised that I've lasted this long. Usually I get all excited about one cause or another and within a month or two I've forgotten all about it. However, I am learning so much about the environment and am really enjoying all the research that goes into the blog. Hubby thinks this is my midlife crisis, but really, it's an addiction. I don't smoke anymore and I no longer hold my liquor well enough to be a respectable alcoholic, so other than trying to raise my children, run a business and keep a home, what else is there to do?

I'm going to mark this centennial occassion by taking a temporary break from instituting new changes and will instead look back at the changes I've made and tell you how things really went. You see, I'm an eternal optimist and my posts reflect what would happen in my perfect little fantasy-ecobubble. Reality is always MUCH different. I slip up every freakin' day on one thing or another. But the good news is that this undertaking has so opened my eyes so to the fagility of the planet, that I could never, in clear conscience, stop trying.

This review is going to take more than one day, for sure, so bear with me. To make things easy (on me), I'm going to go in chronological order, listing twenty changes per day. And to raise the level of the laziness, I'll be taking a long weekend in the middle of it, to celebrate Autumn with my family. But, If you're new to the blog or haven't been playing along at home, this would be a great time to start, since I'll give you the real scoop on what is working and what just sucks.

So, without further ado, let's see how the first twenty changes have gone:


1. No More Plastic Grocery Bags - I love being the nutjob who pisses off the bagboy at Kroger. Mwah ha ha! (that's my evil laugh, but the keyboard doesn't do it justice). Actually, I'm surprised at how many good comments I get from cashiers. From Babies R Us to Target, a lot of people tell me that they think it's great. And after 100 days, I almost never forget to bring them with me!

2. No More Paper Invoices (Online Banking) - What? Paper invoices? Did I live in a cave then too? This is working out very well.

3. Picking Up Trash In Public Places - Hmmmm, pride is a funny thing, isn't it? I'm still way too embarrassed to do this during the middle of playgroup or anything, so I only do it when the park is empty. Also, it annoys the hubby..... so I do it more when he's with me ;-)

4. Purchasing Used Clothing - Not a perfect solution. For instance, I just can't bring myself to buy used underthingys, socks or shoes. However, when shopping for any other clothing item, I do check out Goodwill and the consignment shops FIRST then hit the regular stores for what I cannot find second-hand.

5. Canceling My Newspaper Subscription - huh. Forgot about that one. Yeah, we no longer get the Friday & Saturday paper and I don't miss it one bit.

6. Turning Off The Lights When Not In Use - Some of these changes work a little too well. I have turned poor Ethan into a one-man light brigade, so to speak. He runs around the house demanding the I shut off any unnecessary lights to avoid "wastin' lee-lectrickities".

7. Learning What Can and Cannot Be Recycled - OMG, if you only do ONE THING on this list -- make it this one! Even if you think you know what your municipality can recycle, please double-check -- I was amazed by what I learned!

8. Programming Our Thermostat - Did it, bought the t-shirt, and in a few weeks I'll need to re-program it for winter. It was a simple task and it cut down on marital disputes. Well, HVAC-related ones, anyhow.

9. Buying Locally Grown Produce - YUMMY!!! This has inspired me to the point where next summer I will probably join a local CSA and also grow some of my own tomatoes, peas and cucumbers right in the side yard.

10. Bringing My Own Mug to Starbucks - Ah, from bagboys to barristas, I'm annoying people all over Richmond! I forgot my mug a lot when I first started, but now I have my "car mug" that stays in the van at all times so I'm ready for a pumpkin spice latte whenever and wherever the mood strikes me!

11. Turning Off the Sprinklers - You know what, I bet no one even noticed. Our county has recently set mandatory water restrictions and a lot of people are bitchin' that their lawns will dry up, but hey, we haven't watered in months and ours is still alive. I'm beginning to suspect the whole irrigation system idea is just a farce created by the Sprinkler Industry of America. I bet they have an entire PR department dedicated to spreading pro-watering propaganda.

12. Putting An End to Junk Mail - pffff. What a freakin' joke. I spend at least a half hour each week on the phone trying to get off of people's list and I haven't seen a BIT of difference. If anything, it seems like I'm getting MORE mail than before. I'm considering giving up on this one, or at least letting http://www.41pounds.org/ give it a crack.

13. Taking A Break - OK, what made me think THIS was a post? What the hell does that have to do with saving the environment? Although, I made TODAY a post and I'm not really changing anything now either. But then again, it is my blog...

14. No Hot Water For Laundry Washes and No Bleach - Don't miss it, don't care. Although hubby did ask about all the pink socks the other day. Doesn't bother me... I like pink.

15. Using All-Natural Cleaning Supplies - Hey! It's only been four months, but I finally used my green cleaning supplies! No, no, I didn't actually mop the floors, but I did wash a couple mirrors and scrub the tubs. That counts, right? It's nice to not feel like you're going to asphyxiate and be found dead on the bathroom floor with a toilet brush in one hand and a can of Ajax in the other. There are so many better ways to go....

16. Switching To Cloth Napkins - Everyone in the family has adjusted and it's just the way we live now. No big whoop.

17. Using Freecycle to Get Rid of Unwanted Items - Freecycle ROCKS! I got someone to take all my toxic cleaning supplies and air fresheners, in addition to a huge stack of magazines and a bunch of kids' clothes. It's like when we lived out in Bumf*$#, NY and we'd put crap on the side of the road with a big cardboard sign that read "FREE STUFF". By next morning, it was always gone!

18. Educating Myself About Plastics - Wow, I learnted a Lot of Smert stuff. Seriously, the more I read, the more I realize that I don't understand chemistry. I have, however, learned enough to know that I can only recycle #1 & #2 where I live, that I should NEVER EVER put plastics in the microwave and that PVC is the WORST kind of plastic ever invented and should be avoided whenever humanly possible. I've also learned that plastic is EVERYWHERE. You can't get away from it. Although many plastic items are truly useful, we should all try to minimize our consumption (not literally. Well, yes literally, of course, but I meant "consuming" -- as in "purchasing") of plastic products.

19. Giving "Green" Gifts - This is fun because it really makes you think. It can require more effort to come up with an idea and a cute presentation, but the effort is all worth it! It's nice to give a gift and know that it won't soon end up sitting in a landfill for 1,000 years. Hopefully the recipients share my view.

20. Talk to Your Friends & Neighbors About Recycling - If you recall, it was my extremely gregarious friend, Leah, who spoke to her friends and neighbors, not I. I speak to exactly one neighbor. That is our 14 year-old babysitter who needs to know where to put her empty soda can. I also have a whopping three physical (as opposed to virtual) friends who know about my greening. I don't know why, but saying "So, recycled anything exciting this week?" just doesn't seem like a natural conversation starter to me. Although it's probably slightly better than "Hi. My name's Erin and I'm an eco-holic".

Take the Kids to the Farm

Do I get to count the wonderful autumn activity of tromping through a local pumpkin patch as an eco-adventure? Hell yes! I live in suburbia, man... anything that isn't paved, landscaped or mowed is considered eco-adventure to my kids!

So today will be short and sweet: Head outside and enjoy the beatifully crisp fall weather. Whether it's carving out a scary jack-o-lantern, taking a tractor-pulled hayride, picking a bushel of crunchy apples, or tasting wines at your local vineyard -- just get out there and sample whatever the local land has to offer.

Enjoy the Day! :-)

- Erin

Or At Least, A Site of Amusement...

I thought some of you might get a kick out of this site. Someone posted it on my Compact group and it presents the argument against carbon-offsetting in a very amusing manner.

Enjoy! :-)

Taking On A Challenge I Don't Think I Can Meet

Even though I've decreased the amount of time my laptop is plugged in, I still manage to find time to search out interesting eco-blogs and other like-minded folks online. One that I stumbled across this week was the Riot for Austerity which offers an interesting challenge to those of us who are attempting to reduce our ecological impact. It asks those who sign up to reduce their emissions to 90% of what the Average American uses, within one year.

The 90% figure is borrowed from George Monbiot's plan to avoid reaching a tipping point, beyond which temperature rise will run out of control and major ecosystems will collapse. In Monbiot's book, "Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning" he has presents his views on how to avert this disaster. To avoid hitting the "critical threshold", he says, the world’s total carbon emissions must be reduced to 60 percent below current levels by 2030—a target that would require the developed world (that's you and me, friend) to reduce emissions by 90 percent, in order to compensate for growth in China, India and other developing countries.

In the "Challenge", there are seven basic categories for reduction and they are:

1. Gasoline
2. Electricity
3. Heating and Cooking Energy
4. Garbage
5. Water
6. Consumer Goods
7. Food

There are, of course, a lot of rules on how to calculate your savings, so that we all measure our success with the same yardstick. You can check out all the rules, averages and factoids here. Now, I know that I most likely will not be able to hit the 90% goal in any, much less all, seven categories, which, according to Austerity Rules, would put me on par with the emissions of a Chinese Peasant. However, I am going to try my damndest to see just how low I can go.

Why take on a challenge that I'm pretty sure I cannot meet? Because by striving to achieve the impossible, I will no doubt reach further than I would have, had I been grasping for a lesser goal.

So, what do you think? You up for it? Are you "in the game"? Think you can do it? Huh? Huh? HUH? To quote GOB Bluth "CO-CA-CAW! CO-CA-CAW! CO-CA-CAW!" (Note to Readers: If you're not familiar with Arrested Development, here is where you would picture someone doing a very poor "chicken" dance).

Well, if nothing else, check out the rules to see what the average American uses and compare it with your current usage. Are you doing your part to lower those averages or are you a consumer whose consumption bumps them up?


Savings:

Well, duh, 90% -- if I can do it! Less if I fail. But here's the cool part: even if I fail the challenge, I still succeed at reducing those averages! :-) Besides, it's not like they can flunk me and I'll get kicked off the planet.... can they?


Difficulty Level 5 out of 5

This will be the biggest challenge I will undertake and it will take me a full 365 days to find out if I have succeeded. It is basically the culmination of all the changes I've made, and have yet to make. But now it's more like a competition -- which makes it even more fun! I'm already on Day 74 and I know I've made a dent already, I guess we'll find out some time next summer how I measure up.

Forgiving Myself For Transgressions

Find Your Inspiration

As he strolled along, he noticed a small figure dancing in the distance. It made him chuckle to think of someone celebrating life in such an uninhibited way. As he drew closer, however, it became apparent that the figure was not dancing. Instead, she seemed to be repeatedly performing some ritual.

He drew nearer still and noticed that the small figure was a child. She was methodically picking up starfish and tossing them into the surf. He paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked, "Why are you throwing these starfish?"

"It's high tide," she replied, "If I leave them on the beach, the sun will soon dry them and they will die. I am throwing them into the ocean so they can live." The man considered her actions, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness. Then he motioned up and down the miles of the beach. "There must be thousands of starfish along here," he said, "you cannot possibly make a difference."

The young girl stopped. Her face darkened. She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, "You're probably right," she said softly. She looked down at the sand. Then she leaned over, carefully picked up another starfish, pulled back and arched it gently into the sea.

With a tone of gentle defiance, she said, "But I made a difference for that one."

Savings :

Immeasurable.

Difficulty Level:

Attitude Dependent

**The Starfish Story was originally written by Loren Eisley and there are about one million different variations of the story, but they all share the same theme -- that one person who cares can make a difference.

Convincing Others To Conserve

You may recall a while back I posted about my attempt to switch from bleached, paper coffee filters to my homemade natural muslin filters. You may also recall that I failed miserably in my attempt, having been caught trying to pull one past Mr. Coffee. But, my friends, persistence pays off. In less than one month, I managed to convince him to see things my way. I made him several batches of coffee using a reusable coffee basket and he agreed that he couldn't taste any difference.

See, sometimes you have to go the extra mile to help others see the light. I'm not saying you should try to push your green ideas on all your friends, acquaintances and co-workers, but it's perfectly acceptable to annoy beloved family members until they crack.

So now I can continue with my 100% success rate and post my savings.


Savings:

We make one pot of coffee every weekday morning, two pots of coffee on weekend mornings, and every now and then we'll have a pot of decaf at night. That's about 40 filters a month, or nearly 500 per year. But more importantly, is the fact that I WON.


Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

A hard-won battle for sure, but it just goes to show you that with determination and a good attitude you can browbeat anyone.

Links to More Extreme Green Blogs Added

Well, my very informal poll tells me that most of you want me to continue with my fashion of describing the daily, albeit small, changes I am making to become a "greener" me. However, if you're yearning for some hard-core enviro-action, check out the new Extreme Green blog links I added. They're over in the left hand column, listed down below my archives and stuff. They're a good reminder that, if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!

Teaching The Kids About The Environment

I'm not sure how America, in the short timespan of one or two generations, got so disconnected with the environment. I do, however, think that this disconnection from nature plays a large role in how people treat the earth. If you don't see the planet as that which sustains us, providing air, food and water -- everything we need to live -- why would you care about it's health? If you fail to see the interconnectivity between all living species, why would you be concerned about their disappearance? I'm starting to feel that perhaps too much focus is spent on acheiving academic and financial success, rather than on good stewardship.

To help tip the scales, I've decided to start involving my kids in all the aspects of my green goals. The fun stuff, the boring stuff, the interesting things and the yucky parts. These are some of the things I've done recently:

• Take my kids camping - get them back to nature and let them discover the wonder of fireflies, bats and s'mores
• Take my kids to animal sanctuaries - show them various species and explain why we need to protect their habitats
• Have them help with recyclables - explain what is recyclable, why we should recycle and what happens to our recyclables (I even bribed the recycle truck guy with a cold soda so he'd let Ethan see the inside of the truck -- nothing excites a young boy more than a big truck that squishes stuff)
• Take my kids on nature walks - we go on the trails and look for pinecones, different leaves, rocks, etc.
• Have my kids plant stuff - we've planted lots of flowers this year and they're learning that plants need dirt, nutrients, water and sunshine to grow
• Pick up Trash - The kids and I do this one everytime we hit the playground or park
• Trip to the Berry Farm - We went and picked our own berries and the kids got to learn about how food is grown

In addition to these "fun" things, I also do the mundane things like holler "shut off the tv when you leave the room!", "turn the water off, you're wasting it!" and "for goodness sake, you don't need to use the whole roll!". All valuable lessons that I learned from my parents and am now handing down to my little ones ;-)

Upcoming events I plan on doing with the kids include:

• A trip to the local composting site
• A trip to the recycling place
• A county sponsored program for 2 year-olds called "Goose or Duck?"
• A county sponsored program for 4 year-olds called "Who Lives Underground?"
• Grow our own vegetables
• Start our own worm bin

I'd love to hear about stuff you do with your kids to help them learn about how to "tread lightly".

Savings:

This one isn't so much about measuring savings as it is spending time with the kids you love and showing them the wonder and beauty of the world around them -- and how to take care of it. Hopefully my passion about the environment will rub off on them and they will be better caretakers because of it.

Difficulty Level: 0 out of 5

Are you kidding? This is child's play!

Why I Sometimes Give very small tips for a VERY BIG PROBLEM

I received a comment yesterday from one of my loyal readers (yes, I have them. In fact, if I believe my free stats counter, I have twelve of them. So There.) that questioned why some of my tips are, well, downright puny. I hope he doesn't mind me copying the comment, but here's a portion of it:

I love what you are doing with this blog, believe me, but this post is tantamount to procrastinating the really big, really polluting, planet heating things like cars and air conditioning. Check out how air tight houses with A/C are crammed with high concentrations of the pollutants not filtered out of the environmental air. ATM slips!?! 30 sheets of paper…Cheryl Crowe said use one pane of tp!

At first I was hurt, then angry, then in denial, then realized he was right. BUT, there is a reason for this (other than I am a self-proclaimed lazy suburbanite mom). In fact, there are two reasons:

1. When I started this blog, it was a way for me to make myself accountable. The idea was that I would post each day a change that I had made that lessened my environmental impact. If others happened to glean something from it, that would be an added bonus. So, I haven't talked about cars or A/C or planes or coal mining because I haven't done anything about those things... yet. To me, personally, it defeats the purpose of this exercise if I give tips on things I haven't experienced. Plus I would feel like a big, fat hypocrite if I told everyone to stop driving SUV's while I tool around town in my minivan.
   
2. Somethings I just can't afford to do right now or physically am unable to do. I would LOVE to post about composting, line drying clothing and taking public transportation, but right now I can't afford a worm bin, am physically unable to drive a clothesline pole in the ground and don't have access to PT where I live. So until I get some extra spending cash or hope that Santa gets my letter, I don't feel like I can post about them.

However, I am nothing, if not flexible. So I leave it up to you, dear readers. Should I abandon my initial purpose of self-realization for the greater good of mankind? Or , would you prefer to hear about how I am doing on this quest, even if that means crappy tips for you? Either way is fine with me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Please leave me your comments :-)

PS... If you're lucky enough to meet Cheryl Crowe, I'd think twice before shaking her hand...yucky.

Giving in on Reusable Coffee Filters

As most of you know, I'm married to a great guy, who is not always 100% enthused about the strange changes I'm making here around the house. He has been a great sport, occasionally applauding my efforts, but in general, just going with the flow and trying not to ask too many questions ;-) What can I say? He loves me and my green-ness.

But not at 5:00 am with bad coffee. You see, I was all prepared to run out of our sparkly-white, bleached, disposable coffee filters and replace them with my homemade, natural muslin filters. I figured I'd better do a "test run" though before D-Day to make sure it worked correctly. I usually make the coffee anyhow, so I figured if it didn't work, I could just destroy the evidence before he saw the mess and find another alternative.

I got up EXTRA early to tiptoe down to the coffee pot. I opened the top of the machine and slipped in my lovingly hand-sewn muslin filter, piled in some great-smelling, coffee-house roasted grounds, added the water and waited. And Waited. I got nervous. Maybe the fabric was too thick and the water wouldn't penetrate it. Maybe the side of the filter would cave in and I'd end up with crunchy coffee. Maybe I need to see someone about the nervous episodes -- after all, it's only coffee.

Lo and behold, it worked! I was so excited! I didn't say anything to hubby and, sure enough, he drank down half the pot. And this is where I messed up. I took the last cup and didn't make more. When he went to make a fresh brew, he saw my little handiwork and asked curiously "what the hell is this?". I explained to him my desire to save the planet by foregoing such luxuries as disposable coffee filters. He explained to me the importance of being able to make a pot of coffee without doing laundry first. We argued. He won.

We will now be switching to unbleached, biodegradeable coffee filters instead. Life is all about compromises, you know. Especially when you're married to a coffee-aholic. Besides, a smart woman knows to pick her battles and I'm holding out for a home compost station.

Savings:

None. Yet. I'm down, but I'm not out! Besides, I'm at least going to switch to unbleached filters and that's a step in the right direction. If YOU are feeling brave and want to try my stylish homemade, reusable coffee filters, drop me a note and I'll send you a couple. I'd love to know how they work out in the long run and how well they hold up. I only know how to make the basket style ones, though, so if you need cone ones, let me know so I can pick up a sample disposable one to model it after.


Difficulty Level - 2 out of 5

Making the filters was easy. Making the switch, as you can see, wasn't.

Looking Back to See Review We've Accomplished

Yup, like all lazy Americans, I like to take a look back every so often, to see what I've done and give myself a nice pat on the back for making small changes in an attempt to NOT destroy the planet that gives us life.

All sarcasm aside, by making these small, daily changes, I've made a huge dent in my waste and, more imporantly, a huge change in my attitude! This 30-day mark is a great time to take a look back as well as update you on how I'm doing with these changes.


Day One - No more plastic grocery bags

This one is going well, although when I first started, I forgot them. A Lot. I also forgot them on small trips to the drugstore, farmers market, etc. so I put one in my purse to carry around wherever I go. I found out I WAY overpaid for these! And, of course, four weeks after I bought 6 for $24.99 + shipping, our grocery store started selling them for $0.99 each! Grr. I did have a couple instances where people would place my groceries in their plastic bag first and then put it in my cloth bag, but I just asked them to take them out and did an internal eye-roll.


Day Two - No more paper invoices

I thought this would weird me out but I LOVE IT!!! I don't have a huge ugly pile of unpaid invoices on my desk anymore and as soon as they come in, I schedule them for payment. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!


Day Three - Picking Up Trash in Public Places

Uh, not fun, but I don't get as embarrassed anymore. My sister, Shannon, also turned me on to geocaching, which launched a really cool program called Cache In Trash Out which makes my litter-picking up fashionable!


Day Four - Purchasing Used Clothing

This is going slow, but well. I haven't purchased ANY new clothes since that post and have visited the kids' consignment shop and Goodwill. I picked up a couple used tank tops and have re-outfitted Ethan's shorts supply. Daphne got a new swimsuit and some nearly new tanks as well!


Day Five - Unsubscribe Me

It took a couple weeks but they finally stopped sending me the Friday & Saturday editions. Two weeks ago they called and asked if I would like to start receiving the Friday & Saturday papers FREE again. Hmmmmm. Then last week, we never got our Sunday paper. I have no clue what is going on down there but hope I get my coupons this week. If not, I'm just going to cancel the whole thing and get my news online.


Day Six - Shutting Off the Lights

This took a while to get used to, but now even my hubby and kids remember to shut off the lights when they leave the room! I was super-bummed, though, when I got my last electric bill to see that I actually consumed MORE energy last month, but am hoping it's the timing of the bills and meter readings.


Day Seven - Learning What Can and Cannot Be Recycled

One of the easiest things to do is having one of the HUGEST impacts! I am down to only ONE AND A HALF TRASH BAGS PER WEEK!!!! Again, I've even got hubby taking the plastic bag out of the cereal box to recycle the box itself.


Day Eight - Learning How to Program the Thermostat

Easy. Done. Don't think about it anymore.


Day Nine - Buying Locally Grown Produce

AWESOME! Our dinners now taste like they used to when I was a kid and my Dad used to have a big garden with corn, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, etc. We are eating yummy strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon and peaches for fruit. All great stuff! The only thing I cheat on is apples. My son LOVES apples -- and the kid doesn't eat much else, so I figure I kind of have to get him something he'll eat. I'll be sure to stock up on local apples this fall, though.


Day Ten - Using My Own Coffee Mug at Coffee Shops

Cool. Found most places give you a discount ($0.10 or so) per cup each time you refill. Sweet. Unfortunately, I'm not doing very well at REMEMBERING my cup though, so I've actually been skipping the cup o' joe a lot instead. Oh well... saving money is good too.


Day Eleven - Turning Off the Sprinklers

I swear you wouldn't even know I did this!!! My lawn is just as green as all of my neighbors, who use their sprinklers a couple times per week. The super-duper-extra bonus is that now our grass doesn't grow as fast, so we only have to mow it every other week!


Day Twelve - Putting an End to Junk Mail

This is the hardest frickin' thing I've ever tried to do in my life! It's up there with quitting smoking and giving birth for God's sake. I did, however, run across a couple organizations out there who claim to be able to do all this for you. If you're interested, check out 41pounds.org or Stop The Junkmail.


Day Thirteen - Went on Vacation

Yeah, that was nice. :-)


Day Fourteen - No More Hot Water Wash Cycles or Bleach

OK, when I said "I won't have to sort laundry anymore" in my righteous, smug and ignorant manner, why didn't someone correct me??!! Come on folks, this isn't a spectator sport here, help me out! I have turned several of my son's white shirts pink and my hubby's sport socks are looking a tad feminine as well. Here's my big tip: YOU STILL NEED TO SEPARATE YOUR DARKS FROM YOUR LIGHTS!!! Other than that, though, it's going well :-)


Day Fifteen - Switching from Chemical Cleaners to Natural Ones

Uh, yeah. Ummmm. Well, I haven't actually cleaned anything, per se, since that post... anyone feel like coming to visit? ;-) What can I say, two kids, an eco-blog and working from home can keep a girl busy.


Day Sixteen - Swapping Paper Napkins for Real Ones

I like it, makes me feel all upper-crusty. Hubby hates it. I think the problem is I only have one set of really LARGE napkins. They're the fancy kind you use at holidays. I keep saying I'll make some smaller, daily use ones, maybe with Scooby-Doo fabric or NE Patriots, something he and the kids will like, but again, pretty busy here. Maybe after faire and Halloween sewing seasons are over...


Day Seventeen - Using Freecycle

As I said, I've been freecyclin' for a couple years now, so I'm an old pro. Love it, still love it, still use it. I think I'll start posting really odd items, like bottle caps and such, just to see if there are any of those "garbage artists" in our area.


Day Eighteen - Educating Myself About Plastics

Again, a HUGE part of what I'm doing here is learning. Unfortunately, a lot of times it gives me an upset stomach, panic attacks, or makes me want to find a religion. (yeah, please don't try to convert me folks. Religion is like a rhinoceros -- I don't have one of my own and I don't want to be trampled by yours). Nonetheless, educating ourselves is paramount if we are to stop the destruction of the planet.


Day Nineteen - The Gifted Child

I got so much feedback on this! People LOVE the idea. I'd love for all of you to take a minute and come up with a really cool "experience gift" and email me with it. I'll put them all together in one post that we can all refer to when we need an idea!


Day Twenty - Talk to Your Friends and Neighbors About Recycling

This story about my friend Leah inspired me to try to create a community compost here in Richmond. I met with a local nursery who has a compost field and they were going to give it a try, until they checked their permits and found out that they're not allowed to take post-consumer waste :-(. But, the important thing is to keep on talking about -- you'll find a lot of other people out there want to do their part too!


Day Twenty-One - Changing My Energy Supplier

Easy. Done. Don't think about it anymore. I got my "welcome" letter and found out it will take up to 45 days for the change to take affect, but still, we're on the right path.


Day Twenty-Two - Finding a Second Use for Lint

Yeah, I thought I'd be able to test my "Lint Log" last weekend, but you know what? It takes a hell of a lot of lint to fill a toilet paper tube! I'm still filling my first one -- man that stuff compacts down! I'll let you know when I actually get a chance to try it out...


Day Twenty-Three - Stop Using Paper Towels

We've adapted pretty quickly to this one. Nothing terribly exciting to announce. I think my husband is getting used to "running out" of disposables now. He's stopped asking questions anyhow.


Day Twenty-Four - No More Bottled Water

Hi. My name's Erin. It's been eight days since my last bottled water. . Don't miss it. Love my carry-it-with-you, take-it-home-and-wash-it then use-it-again bottle. Makes me look sporty :-) Like I might break into a jog at any moment.


Day Twenty-Five - Write Letters to Your Congressmen

OK, the queen of laziness has not yet written her second letter, but I did see a guy with a striking resemblance to John Edwards yesterday and I said "hi". Does that count? Seriously, though, I think I'll make my letter-writing a Sunday chore. Something to do when the baby is napping and Ethan is "resting" with a movie. I did, however, get a nice form letter back from Governor Kaine, urging me to contact my state representatives and ask them to introduce some legislation. Sounds like I've got Sunday's letters all lined up.


Day Twenty-Six - Making Smart Choices About Packaging

This is another one that gives me that queasy feeling. Going to the grocery store now feels like negotiating a mine field. Hopefully this will get easier, but this first week has been challenging.


Day Twenty-Seven - Turn Down the Water Heater

Hubby hasn't noticed -- yet. Which surprises me, because even I noticed it. And I don't notice anything.


Day Twenty-Eight - Plant a Tree

Remember when I talked about trying to start a community compost? Come on, it was like five or six paragraphs ago! Grab some coffee and try to stay awake, we're almost done here. Anyhow, the guy at the nursery felt really bad that they couldn't help me, so he gave me a free bag of compost! I spread some around our little Maple Tree and he looks very happy! I haven't planted anything since the post, but, again, I'm waiting till fall when it's better for the tree.


Day Twenty-Nine - Ditching the McDonald's Toys

The kids kept whining "where's my toy" and I did what any good mom would do. I lied. I told them they were all out of toys. Fortunately for me, the kids apparently didn't notice all the other children in McDonald's were playing with small Transformers and Hello Kitty Fashion Accessories. They must take after me....


The bottom line is I have GREATLY reduced the amount of junk I buy, GREATLY reduced my landfill waste, and reduced my energy consumption. I am reusing anything I can and have increased my recycling efforts. All in all, not bad for a month's worth of work. I plan on continuing this blog as long as I still have ideas to introduce to you all (yes, all 20 or so of you!).

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who is participating in this "greening". I love to get your emails and see the all the interesting ideas that get bounced around in the comments sections! Keep them coming!!! :-)