HAPPY EARTH DAY!

• APRIL 22nd!  HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I thought that I would share 10 things that I am doing differently than I was a year or two ago in regards to being GREEN...or saving our planet. 


1.  NOT buying flowers that have been grown in "hot houses" and need lots of watering.  Yes they look great, but they are HORRIBLE for the environment as far as getting them to grow and then watering them for the summer.  INSTEAD, I'm planting more bulb flowers and things that tolerate the dryness of summer, like I just planted some daises in the new flower bed in my front yard.  Plus these will come back every year.


2. REFUSING stuff.  I was reading some blogs about how the best way to reduce trash is not to bring it home in the first place, right...duh?!  Like at Kroger they always hand me a fistful of coupons.  I quickly look through them and then if I know that I won't use them (or someone I know that I can pass it to), I ask someone else in the store if they want them...because otherwise that's just paper that I'm throwing away...and it all adds up!


3.  PAYING MORE BILLS ONLINE.  This make sense.  It saves you the 44 cents for a stamp, plus the cost of a check, which is probably about 25 cents, depending.  But it also saves paper, especially if you have the bill emailed to you.  There is no paper being wasted then!


4.  USING FEWER PAPER TISSUES.  This was helped by my kids!  When we have running noses, now I prefer using a wash cloth on their noses or a soft burp rag (think prefold diaper).  Yes, I have to wash them, but it's like using cloth diapers.


5.  NOT BUYING GIFT WRAP.  Since Claire is 3 we do a lot of kid parties.  Instead of buying wrapping paper, I either reuse gift bags with not a lot of tissue paper or wrap the gift in pages from coloring books that Claire has colored.  This way I also don't have to feel bad throwing away something that she colored because there is no way I can save it all!


6.  NOT BUYING BIRTHDAY CARDS.  Everyone loves greeting cards, but not all kids parties need a $3.99 greeting card.  So I just fold some construction paper for Claire to color and write our own message.


7.  NOT WATERING OUR LAWN  We watered our lawn the first few years we lived here until I started thinking about how wasteful all the water was...then you just have to mow it and waste lawn mower gas.  Of course, in April, things are just greening up nicely, but we didn't water a single time last year, and I don't plan on it this year either!  If it dies, it dies!


8.  BREASTFEEDING  Yup.  We're still doing that here, even though Alexander turned one.  Haha.  Because do you know how PROCESSED milk is...why buy my kids milk, when I can just...duh...make it myself while I sleep!  So no weaning to cow's milk at the end of Alexander's 12th month.  And guess what...if you're wondering, yes, Claire is still nursing at 3 3/4 and couldn't be healthier.  She's not missed one day of school for being sick.  WOOT!


9.  RECYCLING  This is obvious, but some "oddball" things that I've recycled that shouldn't be thrown away include: clothes hangers to the dry cleaner as well as garment bags, they'll take any kind; batteries to battery drop spots; glasses and hearing aides to the Lion's Clubs drops; plastic bags to the grocery stores, although I try to avoid them in the first place by bringing my own reusable grocery bags (back to REFUSE!); then taking clothes and toys and books to the Goodwill or donating them directly to someone who I know will use/enjoy the items; paper and cardboard to the CGS bins by the Fairgrounds to recycle; and trying to avoid individually packaged things like single serving bottles of Gatorade which I used to buy all the time...if I don't buy them, I don't have to worry about recycling them!  I've also really cut back on buying juice because it's really just sugar water, and then I don't have those bottles to recycle.


10. NOT SHOWERING EVERYDAY! Because I'm lazy!  And our Grandparents bathed once/week and lived! :)  Think of all the water and soap that one saves!  Also, it's better for skin and hair anyways! 


So those are just a few things that I've been doing lately.  How about you?