Go Green

Those who are here for knitting content - check back tomorrow. For today, I wanted to talk a little bit about what we can do to take care of our planet.

Earth Day has inspired me to share with you the little ways our household is trying to make a difference.

We switched a few years ago to Green Mountain Energy, and now have 100% wind powered electricity. It costs a tiny bit more than "regular" electricity, but we think it's worth it in the long run.

For a year I walked to work almost every day (living across the street didn't hurt!), and now hubbo and I carpool. This summer we will be getting rid of one of our cars, since one sits in the garage 99% of the time. This helps us economically and reduces the amount of fumes we are putting into our air.

We are slowly but surely switching our lightbulbs over to compact flourescent bulbs.

We use energy star appliances (really, everyone should do this - they are so widely available.)

We use our own canvas bags at the grocery store (simple ones I made, but you can buy similar ones at many places), and refuse bags from other stores as often as we can. I also carry a small bag that compacts into my purse to save on plastic bags.

We recycle almost everything. We usually have no more than 2 bags of trash in a week, and when we have our garden and our compost pile established, that will be even less.

We use tupperware containers, and cheap plastic ware in our lunches that we bring home every day and wash and reuse, instead of filling up the landfill with ziploc bags and plastic spoons.

We plan to insulate our home and put in more energy efficient windows next year, to save on heating and cooling costs.

We have a programmable thermostat - according to the energy star website, this can save you up to $150 a year in energy costs.

When we run the water to get it hot for dish washing, we save the cool water in pitchers in our fridge to try to waste as little as possible.

We do not water our grass. Yes, we're those neighbors with the dead yard. But I refuse to waste water on grass. We're looking into other kinds of grass that require low to no watering.

We have ceiling fans in every room to help with cooling, and keep the thermostat set above (or below in the winter) most people's ideas of comfort.

I hope to put up a clothesline this summer, to reduce our dryer usage.

We have other idealistic plans (including solar panels), but these things are, for the most part, simple things we can do right now to make a difference. Please don't take this post as a "we're better than you - look at all the good things we do" - rather, I hope you find one thing you can do to make a difference today. We all have to start somewhere.

What other things does your family do to keep the earth green?