Eco-Me

I think I am gradually becoming an eco-nazi. Don't get me wrong, I don't run around wearing hemp clothing or berate strangers for not recyling a soda can - but I think I'm definitely well on my way. I took an environmental science course in college, and it totally impacted the way I think about the Earth and how we function on it. I found the whole thing very interesting (short course summary: we're killing the planet and we're all going to die) and honestly if I was any good at regular science, I would have really enjoyed minoring in environmental science. But as it is, I just don't have a very scientific brain. But I digress...

I think I've replaced most of the bulbs in our house with the CFL's. And I've been recycling like a fiend for a few years now - God bless Springfield for making recycling a free part of trash pickup. I'm teaching Paige how to sort everything into the bins now - and still trying to train the husband to recycle. He's getting better, but there's still a lot of nagging involved. I'm so glad that eco-friendly is becoming a mainstream thing now. It's so much easier to find information and products to help people be more green. I am loving that!

A couple of weeks ago I got a compost tumbler...I've wanted one for like 5 years now and finally broke down and got a small one. My neighbors have compost piles but I just couldn't handle having snakes on it or worrying about it attracting rats or something. I guess I'll know in a couple of months how well it works. I'm big on gardening and this year, since Paige is big enough to finally (kind of) help out, we're loading up the vegetable garden. I'm going to try to hit the farmer's market more often this year too. Buying organic food is too expensive most of the time, but in the summer at least we can eat our own. My next big green move is to get some of the reusable shopping bags to take to the stores. I've really gotten to hate the plastic ones - I try to reuse them but I still end up with more than I can use and always forget to take them to Walmart to recycle. The other thing on my list is to start a paper recycling program at my school. I talked to my principal about it this year but just got too busy to take it on myself. And if I can talk my husband into taking the kids to daycare next school year, I'll be able to walk or ride my bike to work!