we do at Number 17 to lessen what has become that proverbial Carbon Footprint... 1. Almost all of our laundry is hung out to dry...for the winter months (such as they are in Georgia), I have a line in the garage...and I hang things on the shower curtain rods...unsightly? yep...but I feel better for using less energy and my inner Tightwad loves really takin' a Big Bite out of our electric bill...
2. Recycling...I realize actually buyin' less to have less to recycle is the Best Road to Take...I've got to figure out how to actually drag less packaging home to begin with...well, within reason...I don't see how to live without draggin' something home at some point...for a woman who truly gets the whole Don't Drag It in the Front Door To Begin With philosophy check out this blog...
3. Less Running O' The Streets...years ago I was the Queen of Oops-Forgot-To-Get-BLANK-At-The-Store...even tho' said item was almost always the reason for the trip to begin with...and I'd actually go back for whatever it was I forgot...now, unless it involves plasma and isn't a television, it'll just have to wait until someone passes that way...Lists and Combining Errands trips...the way to go...I did this even when gas prices were cheap...96 Cents a Gallon for Regular...remember those days? Now, it is just a painless habit...
4. Turn It Off If You're Not Using It...man...that one is so simple it doesn't bear explaining...well, that's a lie because I'm still breaking Some People's Bad Habit of leaving chargers pulled in...I find them in the oddest spots, hoping to elude my right hand and its bad habit of yankin' device less chargers out of the socket and tossin' them where ever they may land...not nice, I know, but I just get irritated about the whole Talkin' to Brick Walls thing...
5. Closing the Curtains (Drawin' the Drapes, Amelia Bedelia? odd the things you bring with you out of childhood :)...I close and open doors, blinds and curtains as the sun moves around the house...just keeping the deck door closed from late morning until early evening keeps the kitchen so much cooler even if there is a wind blowin' through the backyard...I don't get too excited about wind that is Hot...
But I know these are just little dribbles in the Big Bucket of Things we could be doing here at Number 17 to lighten our steps on the earth...I've been doing the Easy Things for so long that I've gotten comfortable about, if a little guilt-ridden, not moving onto the Bigger Things...
This is an interesting project/undertaking...I'm nowhere near advanced enough for these guys, but I'm going to watch and see what shakes out...
The problem, I believe, that keeps more people from taking bigger steps to ease up on the Earth and its resources (and that includes clean air, water and soil, folks) is there is no single definitive Yes or No, Good or Bad for a lot our Day to Day Stuff...
I mean, Paper or Plastic is a debate that has been goin' on for at least 10 years now...and there still isn't a Writ in Stone answer (I know...take your own...I've yet to see the person brave enough to take a buggy of groceries to the Wal-Mart checker who has been on her feet for 6 or 8 hours and plop down an armload of Brought From Home Bags for her to use on her little spinny bag thingie...of course, you could shop for less...necessitating more trips to the store...see what I mean? and no lectures about W/M, please...I'm really Not A Fan but our area has no cute little locally owned organic earth-friendly shops...I'd luv to have, please)
I guess we just have to start depending on each other to take all the steps that we can to help out with our negatively impacting the planet...and be willing to call ourselves and others when it doesn't happen...
and I'm going to start on my end by comin' up with 5 New Things to Do that will ease up some of our part of the burden...and I'm going to commit to doing these things for at least 3 months...surely they'll become "habits" during that length of time...
(I'll post my list after I sit down with paper...er, used envelope retrieved from the recycling bin...pen...sigh...I have no fountain pens, only disposables...and Mr G to mull these 5 things over...it's okay...he already thinks I'm a Bit of a Nut anyhoo...)
*photo courtesy of NASA.Gov
9 comments:
Mrs. G, If you are a Nut, then Im the biggest Nut their is. I think you are making a statement and doing your part. That is all we can do. Jamie
We try to do some of the same things at our house....I think that your ideas are good ones!
If everyone does just a little bit - even changing out their lightbulbs to compact fluorescents - it would have a large impact. Kroger & Publix both have bags that you can buy and re-use. If I forget - both these places offer recyclying of plastic bags. So I do that. Actually the baggers have said they prefer these bags because they stand up by themselves.
Anway, those are great do-able ideas!
Manuela
I'm switching us over to Compact Fluorescents...they're not cheap but if they last like they are supposed to, the initial investment will be recouped...and it is weird how they glow for a bit after you turn them off & the room is dark :)
I'm hoping we get a Publix here one of these days...their organic products have expanded and right now organic products are hard to come by in our area without a drive to Savannah...
I'd love to find a small plot of land to start an organic garden/co-op on around here...maybe I'll start investigating that this fall..
I love buying things I can completely use. Eggs are one. Eat the egg. Put the shells around the tomatoes to prevent blossom end rot. Use the carton for paper mache projects.
Another thing I use almost completely is juice concentrates. I buy the cans with tin lids then I can use the lids to make ornaments All that leaves is the cardboard.
I let my dishwasher air dry.
Compact fluorescents are awesome.
As it becomes necessary to replace energy using things I try to find the most energy efficient - our energy bills keep dropping.
A big change for me was to stop showering twice a day and only shower once a day.
It is good to do what you can.
Frugal, green, low carbon inpact, its all good. I'll be interested in following your new choices/habits.
We have an on demand hot water heater at the Mt. House and when the current one here by the Bay needs replacing that's what we will get. The initial cost is high but they are very *low impact* to run.
We've always been a one car family. DH rides a bike everywhere.
We have a veggie garden. I'm not sure of the efficiency when you consider watering, etc. but at least we know where our food is coming from... or I should say that portion of our food.
Hope others will share their ideas.
Darla
Great reminders! We should all be good stewards of what we have been blessed with.
Thanks Mrs. G, these are great ideas. We already do some of those things too...I must get better about not going to the store when I forget something though!
The back of the house gets the morning sun, so I've learned to pull the curtains until after lunch. The afternoons, I keep the 2 bedroom doors on the front of the house shut and porch helps with the heat in the den. I wish our house had deep large porches on the back and front. I think it would help keep the house cooler.
Most of the stores around here only offer plastic. We stopped into Earth Fare last Sunday while in G'ville and they gave us a choice of paper or plastic. Wish more stores would.
Post a Comment