Sunday, March 1, 2009

I'm Green Inside Challenge


A friend once challenged my lame excuses for not recycling. I wanted to recycle, I had done so in the past, but I had failed to do it.

What were my perceived barriers?
1. I had a compact car.
2. I had a child who required carrying around.
3. My city no longer offered curb-side pick up.
4. I had never seen the recycling center itself; I was unsure what to expect. (I just couldn't imagine how would I lug her on one hip and manage the bins all at the same time?)

After examining my perceived barriers, I outlined a plan. I shopped and purchased bins which would fit in the trunk of our car. Then I did a drive by of the recycling center. Much to my relief, I noted that I could park in front of the recycling bins. This meant I could leave my daughter in her car seat and recycle with ease. This small success led to a desire to do more for the environment.

I set up a compost bin. It was amazing how little trash we produced with the combination of recycling and composting. We went from two trash containers each week to 1 small bag instead. It felt good to throw away less. Of note: At Crunchy Chicken's blog there is an interesting post about food waste contributing to 50% of the land fill and its contribution to global warming.

Then I purchased the "green" household cleaners. They were expensive, but it felt like the right thing to do. Then the cost of food and fuel skyrocketed. As the aforementioned friend said to me "I am all for taking care of the Earth, but I need to take care of my household (budget) first". And I had to agree at the time; feeding my family healthy food and paying the bills meant more to me too.

Tonight while perusing my favorite blogs, I found the above "I'm Green Inside" challenge. And I got to thinking, maybe it is time to revisit the work I started before. I plan to utilize this blog to document my progress. Perhaps you will follow along?

Curious about this challenge? Visit:

http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com


4 comments:

  1. I love composting. It's a big part of our garden success and so easy! It's amazing how much we save and how much could be saved if everyone did it. I think like anything new, it may seem like a process at first (like recycling) but once it's part of your routine it becomes the natural process and you can feel good about doing a little something more for the environment.

    It's unfortunate your city no longer does curb side pick up? Was this a cost saving measure or was the service not utilized enough?

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  2. Sounds like a great challenge. As you know we do not have food wastes between the chickens, pigs, rabbits, ducks, and dog. There are lots of cleaners that you can make that are greener and much cheaper then the counter parts. I make my laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, and window cleaner. Baking soda is also a magical thing.

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  3. Wow - that is so great! Adam would love us to make our own cleaners!

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  4. Baking soda is a magical thing, apparently one can make a "green shampoo" with it. This information can also be garnered at 1greengeneration site.

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