Going Green in 2010

2010-07-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

Alright, it's been a month since I last blogged. I'm not even going to try to catch up. I have made the decision to end the blogging portion of my challenge. I will still be doing something green each day for the year, but unfortunately I just can not keep up with writing something each day. Part of me feels like I have failed, but I know that it's not the blog itself that is making the difference, it is the daily actions and commitments I'm making. So, thanks to everyone who has come along with me through the first half, but I will be going the second half alone, without the blog.

The last time I blogged I wasn't quite ready to share the news, but the world seems to know now, so I will let everyone else know that I am pregnant with my second baby. That was another reason why the blogging slowed down- I was just too darn tired in the first trimester to blog about the green things I was doing. I am 17 weeks now and due December 26th.

I am thinking that within the next little while I would like to start a different blog, unrelated to the challenge, that focuses on green issues, finds and ideas. So, you'll still be able to get a dose of me and my hippyness, just not on a daily basis. I think a lower commitment blog would be a little easier to manage than this daily blogging business. Anyways, I hope that you will check back every now and then because I will be sure to let everybody know if and when I start a new blog.

Thanks again for reading.

Days 161, 162, 163, 164, 165

2010-06-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Day 161-
There are two sides to every paper. From now on, when I'm printing something off (on recycled paper, using Century Gothic font), I will use both sides of the paper.

Day 162-
I try to stick to a daily cleaning schedule, although it doesn't always happen. Today was my laundry day. My washer gives me a couple options for cycle length. I've decided that my change for the day is to pick the shortest cycle so I will use up energy for less amount of time and save on some water.

Day 163-
Saturday, June 12. Friends of ours were celebrating their son's first birthday! Such an exciting time. They had a very nice birthday for him and a good time was had by all. Prior to the party, I had made a point to ask the birthday boy's mom what they would prefer and prefer not for their son to get. I know that sometimes with having a child that age, you can get a whole lot of one thing and not so much of another thing- something that is maybe more useful. I am glad I asked because I probably would've gone ahead and just bought an outfit, but as it turns out this little guy has tons of clothes! So, my change is giving the people what they want! Asking for a wish list before giving a gift to make sure that the gift gets enjoyed.

Day 164-
This particular Sunday, the two Churches (one of which we attend regularly) in the town next to us were getting together for their annual outdoor community service. At this service, the Church goers are asked for volunteers to bring muffins and bagels and beverages are all provided. I figured I would whip up some muffins to bring along. I've already given up boxed cake mixes, so I've decided to do the same with muffins. The ones I brought to the service were from a mix, but next time, I will be making them from scratch.

Day 165-
This was the day I drove past the little recycling area of town and noticed something I had never seen before. You can recycle your glass items there. I have never recycled anything glass and I didn't even know I could do so right here in town. I have a few jars I have saved because I felt too bad throwing them out, so I will be taking them down to the recycling bins!

Days 157, 158, 159, 160

2010-06-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

More catching up. This is going to take forever. Note to self: never neglect the blog again. Let's get started:

Day 157:
Okay this is technically not something I did, but my husband did it, so I'm using it as my green thing for the day. We have had nothing but rain around here, which is fine by me because I love rainy days, but it's not good for getting stuff done outside. Sunday was finally a nice afternoon so my husband got to work building some garden boxes for the backyard. The green of it? He built it from recycled wood. I can't remember what exactly he said the wood was from, telephone posts I think? Anyways, green!

Day 158:
I suspect there is room to be debated either way about this, but I'm going with I think is the greener option. I'm not a big fan of plastic for obvious reasons, but when it comes to making purchases I will be using my plastic. I don't normally carry cash around, because if I have cash it gets spent far too easily (which really isn't green at all!), and I never spend more than I have in my savings account when I use my debit or credit cards. I read a blurb on Green Is Sexy about why your credit card is a better option and I will agree with it and make that my change for the day.

Day 159:
I mentioned above that we've had a ton of rain lately. It rained all of last week and started yesterday and is expected to carry through into the weekend. This inspired a green change for Tuesday, June 8th- day 159. Although the rain means a lot of mud, which leads to a dirty car, I will be taking advantage of the rain and letting it wash the car instead of hosing it down or taking it through a car wash. No point in driving through the mud and rain to a car wash only to get it dirty again driving back home through more mud and rain that is expected to last a few more days. Let's let the rain do its job.

Day 160:
Clearly I haven't spent much time on my laptop this month so far. Not necessarily a bad thing (if you don't include all the time I don't have catching up on blogging). Towards to beginning of my challenge, I vowed to turn the power off on my laptop when it is not being used. I have done really well with keeping up with that challenge but I feel I can take it one step further- unplugging it from the wall outlet. It's one of those things that continues to use power even if it's off, so I'll save myself some money on my power bill and do the Earth a favour and unplug my computer when I turn it off.

Alright, that's enough green for one day. I'm only about a week behind now. Slowly but surely, we're getting back on our feet here!

Days 154, 155, 156

2010-06-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Alright... so where did we leave off? I last blogged on Wednesday, June 2, day 153. That was like, forever ago. I have been making sure to try to still think up something green for each day, even if I don't have time to blog it. I'm two weeks behind, so I'm going to go at it a few days at a time for a few days until I'm caught up and hopefully we won't run into this problem again. It's just been really tough to keep up lately.

Day 154:
Thursday. On Sunday night, my husband had left to take a computer networking course in a city 3 hours away. It was a long week and Chelsea and I missed him, but we survived. Being away from home meant that he needed to stay in a hotel. Because I wasn't with him, I haven't been able to implement this change, but him being in a hotel inspired it. Next time I stay in a hotel, I will be hanging the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside of the door for the duration of my hotel stay. This sign will prevent the cleaning staff from coming into the room and changing the sheets (which requires water and electricity), vacuuming, dusting, and other cleaning which may require chemical cleaners and electricity. It just seems really unnecessary to have someone coming in and doing all this stuff while I'm still staying there. It can wait until I check out.

Day 155:
Friday the 4th. The day Andrew came home after being gone all week. Yay! It was also the day I made a pretty big change- big for me anyway. When Andrew and I got engaged, I relied on the internet to give me inspiration for a lot of our wedding planning. I created an account on a wedding forum and posted regularly in the topics. I've been married almost 3 years now and I still find myself going their and spending hours there on a daily basis. It's actually kind of ridiculous. So, I decided that I'm no longer a bride-to-be or a newlywed so I logged out of my account at the forum and have decided to stay away until my challenge is over. It's done me a world of good, because here we are, almost two weeks later and my computer has been turned on only once. Coincidence? I think not. So, my change was to give up online forums that waste too much of my time and cause my laptop to be on far too much.
*I thought this was a good place to note something- remember how I closed down my Facebook account a few months back because I spent too much time on there? Well, this forum pretty much replaced Facebook as a way to kill time online. I wanted to point out that last week I reactivated my Facebook account in order to get a hold of somebody with whom I needed to speak. I feel like I can handle having Facebook again, so I'm tinkering with the idea of keeping my account activated, but we'll see what happens.

Day 156:
Saturday. The church we attend is associated with a near by summer camp- Redberry Bible Camp. With summer around the corner, the church organized a weekend at the Redberry campgrounds. Saturday was what they called a "Workbee" where you were welcome to come and lend a helping hand with things the camp needed to get done before the eager campers arrive for the summer. So my little family packed up and headed out to offer up our help however we could. I decided that this could be my green change- volunteering to help out. It's something I don't do a lot but should do more. Through volunteering, we got to enjoy the great outdoors while digging up weeds, planting new plants, mowing grass, removing tree stumps, etc.. So, when possible, I'd like to start volunteering my time more often- especially if it is doing something eco friendly or involves getting to be outside.

More catch up to follow tomorrow, so please come back and check it out...

FYI- I'm Still Alive

2010-06-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

So, my blog won't write itself. I've been sort of MIA for the past week and a half but I will get caught up. Eventually. Stayed tuned and thanks for your patience.

Recap- Weeks 18, 19, 20, 21

2010-06-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

I've got a lot of catching up to do. That trip out of province really set me behind in my blog and I've hardly been able to catch up. It doesn't help that I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed by the whole challenge and have been tempted to give up. I'm still not sure how I will come up with over 200 green changes... HELP!?!?

1. Walking instead of driving around town
2. Canceled my magazine subscription to Kraft
3. Committed to meal planning
4. Got a library card
5. Watched An Inconvenient Truth
6. Not buying anymore disposable diapers
7. Not replacing cosmetic items that rank higher than 3 on the Cosmetic Database
8. Not plugging in the car unless absolutely necessary
9. Switched to Blackle as my primary search engine
10. Not purchasing any new articles of clothing
11. Carpooling when possible
12. Making my own laundry detergent
13. Bought a DivaCup
14. Sending an email to a different company each week of the year
15. Letting my hands air dry in public restrooms
16. Bringing a reusable bag wherever I go
17. Limiting my showers to 5 minutes long
18. Not eating meat on Mondays
19. Keeping the oven door closed while baking
20. Switched to Organic shampoo
21. Turning my laptop off when it is not in use
22. Using Kijiji to sell items I know longer use
23. Keeping a jug of water in the fridge
24. Shoveling snow instead of using a snow blower
25. Not washing my hair everyday
26. Looking for work online instead of using the newspaper
27. Got rid of Facebook
28. Recycling bottles and cans
29. Only using reusable coffee mugs
30. Recycling my cardboard
31. Washing and reusing Ziploc bags
32. Unplugged the kitchen clock radio
33. Turning my Blackberry off for the night
34. Shared the Healthy Child video with friends and family
35. Using my toaster oven to bake
36. Using cruise control in the car
37. Recycled my bras
38. Let it mellow if it is yellow
39. Asking for local and organic flowers for Valentine's Day
40. Purchased a low flow toilet
41. Turning the lights off during sex
42. Giving out homemade Valentine's Day cards made from recycled paper instead of store bought cards
43. Went off of hormonal birth control
44. Eating dinner by candlelight
45. Stayed in for Valentine's Day
46. Using a hand held can opener instead of electric
47. Using receiving blankets/rags to clean up messes instead of paper towel
48. Cooking with the pot lids on
49. Not using my hair dryer anymore
50. Making my own dishwasher soap
51. Shopping online
52. Making sure the lights are off when the room is empty
53. Recycling bottles that others have littered
54. Unplugging from the internet (except to blog) for the last week of each month
55. Removing clothes from the dryer immediately after drying
56. Driving the speed limit
57. Exploring natural remedies for a sore throat
58. Downloaded DoGood
59. Recycling my aluminum cans
60. Purchased reusable produce bags
61. Opening the blinds to let in the warmth of the sun
62. Only taking the garbage can to the curb once a month
63. Washing clothes in cold water
64. Only washing clothes when there is a full load
65. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
66. Skipping the plate and eating from the pot/pan
67. Turning out the lights when leaving empty public change rooms/bathrooms
68. Using cloth napkins instead of paper napkins
69. Turning off the engine when idling for longer than 30 seconds
70. Switching to a natural hair spray
71. Checking a map and planning my route before going somewhere
72. Purchasing second hand appliances
73. Using a reusable featherweight frosting bag
74. Going to bed earlier
75. Switching to The Crystal Body deodorant
76. Parking at the street meter when at the movies
77. Only buying large tubs of yogurt
78. Not drinking anymore soda pop
79. Not using disposable plates
80. Using handkerchiefs instead of tissue
81. Not bathing the baby every day- only when she needs it
82. Printing on recycled paper only
83. Using the same bath towel to dry off at least 3 times before washing it
84. Switching to Organic green tea
85. Colouring my hair with an eco friendly dye
86. Observed Earth Hour
87. Not boiling more water than I need
88. Using gray water from baths
89. Not purchasing anymore prepackaged foods
90. Not ordering more than I will eat in one sitting when in a restaurant
91. Using bars of soap instead of body wash in the shower
92. Wearing clothes more than once before washing
93. Using a cone instead of a dish for ice cream
94. Buying organic, free run eggs
95. Putting a sign on my mail box requesting no flyers
96. Switching to a natural bar of soap
97. Using cloth wipes on my baby's bum
98. Making to-do lists on my Blackberry instead of paper
99. Packing an emergency overnight kit to keep in the car
100. Wearing glasses more often instead of contact lenses
101. Getting organized and giving a home to the junk in my house
102. Purchasing music in MP3 form instead of CD
103. Making homemade stocks and broths instead of store bought
104.Not dirtying more than one drinking glass each day
105. Purchasing Organic dairy
106. Cleaning out the lint trap on the dryer
107. Watching TV online
108. Parking in the first spot I see
109. Keeping hot water in a Thermos for my tea
110. Pledged to give up bottled water
111. Giving away only eco friendly things for blog giveaways
112. Made my blog carbon neutral
113. Switching to recycled toilet paper
114. Not wrapping flowers when I purchase bouquets
115. Dressing warmer when cold instead of turning up the heat
116. Not using chemical cleaners to clean the toilet
117. Not buying from the concession when at the movie theater
118. Participated in a clothing exchange
119. Not using a chemical rinse agent in my dishwasher
120. Filing income taxes electronically
121. Getting more life out of broken things and not automatically replacing them
122. Not using cake mixes
123. Making my car into a No Phone Zone
124. Using rechargable batteries
125. Packing light when going somewhere
126. Not using the bathroom in airplanes
127. Not using disposable cutlery
128. Leaving footprints and taking pictures at the ocean
129. Not taking the toiletries from hotels
130. Declining the complimentary snacks when flying
131. Purchasing carbon offsets
132. Buying organic produce
133. Washing fruit and veggies in a bowl
134. Purchased organic garden seeds
135. Not using pesticides on the weeds in my yard
136. Avoiding automatic doors
137. Taking better care of my potted plants
138. Giving up Q-Tips
139. Collecting rain water in rain barrels
140. Using a face cloth to wash my face
141. Switching to an eco friendly sunscreen
142. Switching to an eco friendly, Fluoride free toothpaste
143. Blogging from my iPod
144. Not using hair mousse
145. Using non-toxic and homemade all purpose cleaners
146. Buying in bulk
147. Changing my font to Century Gothic when printing
148. Using the right size stove burner for the right size pot

Phew. I'm all caught up. I have a couple monthly recaps to do yet, but that can wait. I'm too darn tired.

Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions??

Day 153- Norwex

2010-06-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I went to a Norwex party at a friend's house. I had only ever heard the name but had never known much about the company or used anything from Norwex. I decided to stay open minded about the products and see what they had to offer, but to also be mindful and pay attention to the ingredients in the products, as they claim to be environmentally friendly.

I wasn't comfortable with purchasing any of the personal care products (shampoos, etc) because many contained SLS, which I'm not cool with using, but I liked the idea of the cleaning cloths.
I decided to buy an antibacterial microfiber cleaning cloth...

and a window cloth...

The window cloth was specifically interesting to me because while I've cut out the Windex, I haven't been able to ditch the paper towel yet because nothing does as good a job as paper towel. I've tried newspaper, cloths, etc., but the windows and mirrors always end up streaky.

So, when I went to finally use my new cloths, I was pleasantly surprised. The directions said to wet the antibac microfiber cloth with water and wash down surface, in this case it was my bathroom mirror and coffee table. Then, take the dry window cloth and polish. It worked! None of the horrible streaks I always ended up with when using regular cloths or towels to wipe my mirrors. I was very impressed and excited.

Change of the day? Not using paper towel to clean my mirrors! There is no need anymore.

**Please note that my thoughts about the Norwex products I purchased are my own. I received no sort of compensation to write this post.

Day 152- Air Drying

2010-06-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

How about another dishwasher related change? From now on I will be letting my dishes air dry. Once the dishwasher reaches the "dry" cycle, I will turn it off. What's the point in wasting all the power to dry the dishes when they will dry just as well if I give them some time? Makes sense to me.

Day 151- Dishwashing

2010-05-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

My green change for the day is not changing the way I do dishes. Might sound a little weird, but stay with me here. I rely very heavily on my dishwasher- if it can go into the dishwasher, it does, because frankly, I hate washing dishes by hand. Unfortunately though, there were a few things that were not dishwasher safe, so I filled the sink and sunk in my dishpan hands. As I wash washing my hands, I started wondering if it would be more eco friendly of me to start washing all my dishes by hand... I paid close attention to the amount of water I wasted..er, used, and I really think that my dishwasher is a lot more efficient and less wasteful than I am when it comes to getting the dishes clean. So today is a change I'm okay with not making, I'm sticking to using the dishwasher instead of wasting a ton of water, as I always end up doing when washing dishes by hand.

Day 150- You're Welcome

2010-05-30T23:52:00.000-07:00

The other parents who have their children enrolled in the same swimming class as my daughter will thank me for shaving my legs tonight before showing up at the pool tomorrow. Lessons were canceled last Monday due to the holiday so it'd been a few weeks since they were last maintained. So, I was thinking about the fact that I only allow myself 5 minutes to shower... it was definitely going to take longer than 5 minutes. So, I decided to skip washing my hair. Let me point out the problem- my hair needed to be washed and it means I will be taking a shower tomorrow morning before I leave the house. Really, nobody won in that situation. So, I've decided not to shave my legs in the shower anymore. Too much water gets wasted.

Day 149- Paper Or Plastic

2010-05-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

We don't buy tons of juice, but we buy a fair bit of milk and soy milk. If I am grocery shopping without the baby and I'm not buying too much, I will often opt for the larger 4L plastic jugs of milk. If I'm in a hurry though, I'll usually just grab the cartons though. It weighs less and takes up less real estate in the shopping cart of basket. After some careful consideration though, I have decided to stick with buying the smaller cartons that aren't made out of plastic. Why? Plastic causes a lot of harm to the environment, whereas the cartons are made of paper and they have a bit less of an impact. If that wasn't enough, lets also consider the fact that many types of plastic can leech chemicals. If I'm going to cough up the extra dough to buy organic milk, I don't want to counteract it by having plastic chemicals in my beverage.

Day 148- Burn It Up

2010-05-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

My stove burners get used regularly. My stove is a bit of an older model, so I'm not sure if the fancy modern day ones are still built this way, but I have two large burners diagonal to each other and two small burners diagonal to each other. I also have a number of different sized pots. I have a bad habit of tossing a large pot onto the smaller of the two burners or a smaller pot on the large burners. I guess I just don't pay attention and turn on whichever burner is closest. Unfortunately though, this ends up wasting a lot of heat. Think about it, if the entire large burner has to heat up, tons of heat is wasted because the pot isn't covering the entire burner. My change is so stop being lazy and pay more attention and to start using the appropriate burner for the appropriate pot size.

Day 147- Century Gothic

2010-05-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

While surfing a favorite site, I learned an interesting little tidbit that I have decided to use as my change of the day. My change is to set my font to Century Gothic when I am printing something from my computer. How the heck is that green? Well, because the font is light and narrow it uses less ink than something bolder and thinker. If I can stretch my printer ink a little further than why not, right? So there you have it.

Day 146- Bulking Up

2010-05-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have a serious sweet tooth. I LOVE candy. I would eat it for every meal if I could. However, that would result in lots of cavities, an upset tummy and a WHOLE lot of garbage.

Today I had popped into the grocery store quickly to grab some organic chocolate soy milk and bananas when the bulk bins caught my eye. I'm not usually a bulk shopper, but I couldn't stop thinking about the yummy candy. I thought of walking away and just grabbing a small package of Wine Gums from the candy stand they always have near the tills instead of buying them in bulk. Then I considered the waste. I scooped some into a bag and considered how many packages I'd have to buy and how much garbage would be created if I were to buy that many. Bulk is the way to go. It's also usually a lot cheaper. So my change for the day is to start buying in bulk more often.

Day 145- Justice For The Earth

2010-05-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

Cleaning the house. Nobody really likes doing it, but it needs to be done. Wait a second though- have you ever stopped to think about what you're spraying on your counter tops? What you're using to scrub the sink, tub and even the dishes you eat off of everyday? Do you ever consider that maybe the harsh chemicals in the cleaning products we use daily are causing more harm than good? Harm to our environment and to our health.

I wanted to take the time to introduce you to Earthjustice. This organization is doing a fabulous job of raising awareness about the effect of our everyday cleaning products and questioning the ingredients in these products. Be sure to check out their blog.

Anyways, I have made the decision to cut the crap when it comes to cleaning. I don't want to be wheezing and running for the nearest window for fresh air when I'm cleaning. I want safe, green products that won't hurt my family or the Earth. I am committing to using homemade, non-toxic cleaning supplies from now on.

Here is a recipe sample from their website for an all-purpose cleaner. Please note that there are tons of other great cleaning recipes at their website:

1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
spray bottle

Mix vinegar and water in the spray bottle. Spray on surface, and wipe with cloth or sponge.It is as simple as that! Want to spread the word about green cleaning products to your friends and family? Host a Green Cleaning party. You'll find more information about that here.I am looking forward to hosting my own Green Cleaning party as soon as things are a little less crazy. I'm very much so looking forward to it. So... who is coming??

Day 144- If This Were Chocolate Mousse, I Wouldn't Be Giving It Up So Easily...

2010-05-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

There's a certain routine that occurs after I step out of the shower. I dry myself off then towel off my hair. I typically comb out all the knots and then put styling mousse in and let it air dry. Well, tonight when I went to add the mousse, I used the last of the can. I've decided not to replace it. It's just another thing to buy, it doesn't actually seem to make a difference, the product I was using has an atrocious rating on the Skin Deep site and it just means another empty can in the landfill. So, that's it for hair mousse.

Days 141, 142, 143

2010-05-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

There just are not enough hours in the day. You'll notice that I've really been slacking in terms of my blog, and for that, I apologize. I just honestly haven't been at the computer at all lately. It was the long weekend and so we were busy with lots of different things. I've been purposeful though to think up something green for each day even if I haven't had time to blog it.

Day 141:
This was Friday. We had spoken with some friends and someone came up with the idea to go to the lake for the long weekend, weather permitting. I started thinking of things we would need to pack, sunscreen being one of those things. I'm sure we have an old bottle or two kicking around the house somewhere, but I'm not sure where and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the ingredients in the lotion. This prompted me to find an eco friendly sunscreen that I can feel safe using on myself and on the baby.

Day 142:
Well, so much for the lake. The weather was awful so we stayed at home. Thinking about sunscreen the day before had me thinking about other products I use around the house that I may not be completely comfortable with using. I've already switched over a few beauty products- shampoo, hairspray, deodorant, etc., but one thing I still hadn't done was switch toothpastes. I'm currently a Crest user. It's one of the few toothpastes that I don't mind the taste of and doesn't make me gag. I've decided to look for something free of Fluoride though. So, I'm switching to a healthier, more eco friendly toothpaste.

Day 143:
I've hardly been on my laptop lately. Things have just been too busy the past few weeks. I've decided that instead of using the energy to fire up my laptop just for blogging purposes, if there is nothing else I want to do online then I will just blog from my iPod. I have an awesome blogger application that allows my to blog and it uses very little energy to power my iPod.

So I'm all caught up after the weekend, finally. Hopefully today I will get a chance to post the weekly recaps from the past 3 weeks. I also plan to post reviews on the products I have recently ordered (the sunscreen and toothpaste).

So, thanks for sticking with me and being patient!

Day 140- Face Wash

2010-05-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

I'm a splash my face with water kind of girl. Let the water run, create a cup with my hands and splash my face until it is clean. This is both a waste of water and time- especially with the amount of makeup I wear. I figure I will use a lot less water if I just use a face cloth to wash, so that's the change I'm making.

Day 139- Rain, Rain, Go Away

2010-05-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

At about 3:30 am I was awoken by a huge thunder storm. I love thunder storms but I love my sleep even more. It rained in the night and they are predicting some rain over the next few days, so my green change is to use rain barrels to collect the rain water. It can be used to water the grass and the garden (once we have it)

Day 138- Q-Tips

2010-05-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have decided to give up Q-Tips. The only thing I use them for is to clean my ears and I shouldn't even be using them for that, as it is bad for the ears. This may not seem like a huge change, because Q-Tips are so small that the amount of waste they create seems negligible, but if you consider how many you use and how often, it can certainly add up. From now on, I will just be using a damp cloth to clean my ears.

Day 137- Green Thumb

2010-05-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

My change for the day is an attempt at greening my thumb. I've always loved the idea of house plants but it has just never gone too well for me. I tend to forget about them or just don't know enough about the plants to care for them properly.

My husband went to visit his grandmother the other day. She is an avid gardener and was kind enough to start a plant for us. My goal is just to keep it alive. I have a few other potted plants but they all look like they could just drop dead any day. I am going to learn more about each type of plant and what they need to live and hopefully that will be enough to prevent me from murdering anymore innocent house plants.

Day 136- Doors And Apologies

2010-05-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

The change I'm making today is simple. I've decided that when I'm entering a business (mall, store, whatever) and there are doors that open automatically, I will use the regular manual doors instead. Why? Regular doors don't require the power that auto doors do.

I realize that I still owe everyone weekly recaps from last week and this week, as well as a recap of the month of April, but things have just been so crazy and I can hardly keep up. Sorry for letting it go! It'll happen soon, I promise.

Day 135- Weed Free

2010-05-15T21:08:00.001-07:00

Every time I walk up to my house lately, I shutter at all the weeds that have started growing in the flower beds along the front of the house. I finally got the required burst of energy needed to get out there and get rid of the weeds. I know that a lot of people turn to chemicals and pesticides to get rid of those nasty buggers, but I know that yanking those bad boys out one by one is a lot better for the Earth, so I am committing myself to weeding by hand.

Day 134- A Seed Is All You Need

2010-05-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

I have never had a vegetable garden. I know nothing about gardening. I have an enormous back yard though, and the desire to learn, so I am planning to have a garden this summer. In preparation, I purchased some seeds while my husband and I were out shopping at a greenhouse today. Even though they were more expensive, I insisted on the organic vegetable seeds because it is important to me. So, that was my green thing of the day!

So, experienced gardeners, what do I need to know about gardening? Advice? Tips? I'm clueless here.

Day 133- Green Washing

2010-05-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

If I were to cut all foods out of my daughter's diet except strawberries, I think she would be okay with it. She just loves them. I was washing and cutting some up for her snack this afternoon when I realized that I was wasting a lot of water by washing the berries one by one under running water. Instead, I think I would conserve a lot more water if I were to run water into a bowl and just wash the berries (or whatever other fruit/vegetable) in the bowl. The water can then be dumped in the toilet, on the lawn, used to water plants, etc..