I must admit ..... it's not a day that I've ever given much thought about before, but in my never-ending quest to be a better person (?) I decided that I would blog a bit about it and get some ideas from you for things you might do in your life to make our earth a bit more healthy.
Let me preface this post by saying that I have never been known to be anything close to a "tree hugger". Neither was Jim. Our children knew not to litter and we did raise them to recycle, so I guess that's one for our team. But all 6 of them have their own ways of handling our earth's resources, just as all 6 of them have their own way of handling their (or my) monetary resources.
Some of them seem to live in fear of vampires and keep all lights on at all times .... at all costs.
Others, who shall remain nameless (as she always does) give me the evil eye if I dare to bring home eggs from the grocery store in a styrofoam container. Sheesh.
So, in honor of my greener-than-their-parents-children .... I have decided to try to be a bit greener myself .... without living in a tree or something.
As I said, we've recycled for years. I still do .... paper, glass, plastic and aluminum. We're fortunate that our neighborhood association provides this service (at a cost, of course) at our curbs. Cuz I have to admit .... though I am loathe to .... that if I had to load my car up with all of our recycling and hunt down a place to take it ..... I would be a very bad recycler. But I'd try!
Last year I decided to try the composte pile.
I tried.
For a while.
I failed.
I haven't looked in my composte barrel in about 6 months ..... I wonder if I've got anything useable.
Maybe I'll try again.
I've also gotten better at unplugging things .... especially the charger cords that are all over and so easy to leave plugged into the wall when I remove my devices. I used to be very bad at that, and still struggle to remember, but I'm getting better (thank you Daughter #3).
OK .... that's the wee amount of greeness that I'm providing. Tell me what you do .... give me (and the rest of the Peeps) some ideas.
Here in Texas we have a beloved grocery store called HEB (some of us just refer it by the letters, some say "heeb" .... I have no idea what the H, the E or the B stand for but I know someone does).
Anyway, they're providing some great green tips on their web site. They've also got recipes, grilling tips and lots of helpful hints.
The nice folks at HEB have offered to give to one of you, my Peeps, a couple of reusable grocery bags (which I have also tried to remember to use ..... hey, at least I'm trying!) ..... for free. Just because I have a great blog!
OK, actually, just because they asked if I'd be interested and I said yes.
I am not getting paid by HEB for this, nor am I receiving any free items. I'm simply passing the freebie on to you.
So, leave a comment .... and PLEASE leave your name, even if it's just your on-line name (it's kind of difficult to award a prize to Anonymous) and I will randomly choose a name out of a hat (or probably a bowl) and one of you will be the lucky receipient of 2 reusable grocery bags. Oh .... there's one catch ....
you have to be a US resident to enter (don't ask me why .... I'm just the messenger).
You have until 5:00 p.m. central time tomorrow to post and then I'll shut the contest down and announce the winner tomorrow night.
Good luck and Happy Thursday/Earth Day, Peeps.
:)
14 comments:
I, too, am trying to remember to use reusable shopping bags!!
Love your blog!!
Uh-oh...I just posted a (far too long) comment, but then I got an error message...I don't know if my long post sent or not...so I don't want to try to repost.
If you didn't get it, I'd be happy to re-answer your "green" question, though!!!
Howard + Edward + Butts = HEB
This is all I learned in high school.
I think you should put the ideas in a wine glass and pick one from there.......I'm just sayin'
My kids call it the hairy elephants butt store. I'm sure you can relate.
My recycling is about like yours. The curb side is great. The reusable bags are nice unless the person doing the bagging puts all of your canned goods in one bag or puts your flour, white sugar, brown sugar and salt all in the same bag. Don't they know my kids carry in the groceries?
Glad to hear you received some good news on the medical front.
Lisa B.
hey, we recycle sandwich baggies, not because i'm green, but because, at 3 baggies per lunch x 2 kids x 5 days a week, well, you can do the math. so i keep rinsing out the baggies, then reusing them, until they get a leak. or until my daughter forgets to bring them home. which is usually every day. oh well, one for 2 isn't bad.
and here's another green tip. not becuase i love the earth, but because i hate to wait in line. never get in the carpool line. just be one of the last to get in line. i stay home as long as possible (for instance, responding to this blog) then pick them up after the line is gone. one time i showed up early and they were SO not ready for me. think of all the junk you are keeping out of the air by not waiting in line. better yet, have the kids walk or ride their bikes to school! Go green!
Susan ..... I SO did this carpool thing!!! I was always one of the last to arrive. God forbid it was a rainy day dismissal ..... the kids knew it would be 4:00 before they'd see me!!
When they got old enough .... they rode their bikes. Yay for mean .... I mean GREEN moms!!!
We have a recycle bin for all recycle stuff picked up at the crub like you...heaven forbid I would have to take it somewhere because I know I wouldn't do it if I did. I also use the reuseable grocery bags. I have 12 of them from one store and I take them to what ever store I may be going to. Mike thought I was silly for buying them but they hold soooo much more and I love them. Also when I take them to Whole Foods I get 10 cents per off per bag I use. Yeah I know, wow whooopy! 10 cents...but hey it all adds up! LOL We have our own garden...is that green? Probably not but maybe? That's all I got! Love you tons sis and so glad to hear the good news on the medical front.
let me first say that i do so enjoy reading about all your life's adventures. Thanks for sharing. We do recycle - save it all up in the garage and then my husband takes it someplace. When the kids were little they would do this together. Thanks for the giveaway
wendy greenspan
I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but it's a bit disheartening to see that people do "green" things, but not because they love the earth. I'm sure it's said at least partially in jest, and it is great that people are doing things to help the environment at all, but still. I mean (since it's Earth Day), think about how incredible this planet is. Seriously. From the mountains and the trees to the oceans and the things we'll never see living in their depths- we've been given a remarkable place to call home. And it's not as if we needed all of this- I'm sure God could have rested a bit more and skipped over creating flowers and sunsets and rivers and so on and so forth. But He didn't. He made it all. And then He made us. And he gave us everything on this planet in the hopes that we would be good stewards and take care of it all. And while it might not be very convenient all of the time, it really is worth doing. If not for the sake of preserving the beauty that God generously bestowed on us, then we should do it for the sake of future generations. I know that I would like my kids to be able to breathe fresh air and see clear bodies of water.
I know this might seem a bit extreme, but I've been thinking about it a lot today. I saw a special on the Discovery channel this morning about the deepest parts of the ocean (or the deepest parts of it that people are able to see), and it's absolutely nuts. God created a lot of incredible things on this planet, and I definitely know I could do a better job of taking care of them all.
I think most of us can, really. And perhaps, in the spirit of Earth Day, we should consider ways to do it. Whether through recycling, using green cleaning products, carpooling, cracking a window instead of cranking of the AC, washing our clothes in cold water, or just taking a little less time in the shower (or maybe all of the above!), I think we can all find a lot of simple ways to show the Earth (and the God who made it) that we care. And that we're thankful.
Also, for those of you trying to remember to use reusable grocery bags, it helps me to leave them in my car. That way they end up at the grocery store when I do.
I love that daughter #2! A very wise woman! Now which one is she anyway?
Just kidding L!
I just have one other tip for recycling-drink out of a coffee cup or beverage containers more often and not styrofoam and plastic water bottles! (unless of course you are recycling the bottles)
My Xmas gift to family were these: http://www.envirosax.com/
They're great - really really comfortable to carry, fold up really small, fit heaps, last for ever, and are super stylish - choose your favourite.
I got my niece and nephews them - and they make great ballet bags, baby paraphernalia bags, library book bags, as well as general grocery bags.
I love mine. Pick a set you like (none with George Clooney's face on - yet - that's a gap in the market)
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