Earth Day

I've been thinking a lot lately about recycling, sustainable energy, going green and all that business lately.

As children, Tracey and I would go around the neighborhood with our wagon, collecting newspapers and cans that our neighbors would put aside for us. After a few trips my dad would load up the Buick and head to the recycling center. I even built my own compost box back when I was in junior high. Somewhere along the way, I stopped doing any of that stuff.

I'd gotten quite used to buying things then throwing them in the trash when I was done. It was such  a culture shock when I moved to San Francisco back in 2004.Recycling? Banning plastic bags? Hybrid cars or even better...bicycles?! But over the years there, I guess something sunk back in. I've started paying attention again and doing a few things differently. 

I've started using my own bags almost everywhere. Grocery stores usually, but most recently, Target. I gave the apartment a thorough cleaning last week and found a ton of Target bags stuffed in the closet. I've always hung on to them because they work perfectly for our bathroom and bedroom trashcans, but we have enough to last us for months. So, at least I am reusing them for something, but now it's time to reduce. No more Target bags for me.

In an effort to drink more water, I carry around a bottle all the time. And I reuse it numerous times. It pained me a little bit when I had to get rid of a bottle before I got on flight last weekend...just to buy a new one afterward.

I've been unplugging appliances when they're not in use. I used to always leave things plugged in, you know, just so they would be ready at the drop of a hat. Like it's that difficult to plug something in. Those things drain energy just by being plugged into the wall.

Along those lines, I've been turning off the computer at night. I admit it, I used to leave it on at night. Don't know why. I usually leave it on during the day because I am on and off it all the time, but there is no reason to leave it on while I am sleeping for 8 hours. (Ok, maybe closer to 10 hours these days now that I am not working.)

I've been thinking about buying locally more. Buying locally means less emissions created by trucks bringing it to you, etc. There are numerous farmer's markets in a 5 mile radius of here and I plan on taking advantage of them this weekend. I'm toying with the idea of growing a few veggies here in containers on the patio, but that may be a while off.

I've been using less paper. Instead of using a new piece, I'll use the back of a receipt to jot something down. Or I'll just reference the computer screen instead of printing something out.

Along those lines, ReadyMade magazine has gone digital. I love that magazine...there are some really cool ideas in there. Some of them are still a bit too crazy for me, but if nothing else, it's good inspiration.

And I'm even going to bring it back to knitting here. I'm not talking about ecologically conscious yarns here quite yet, but reducing the yarn stash. I have plenty of yarn. And there are a few projects that need to be frogged and can probably be made into something else.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Granted, all of these things are small steps, but I'm getting there and every little bit helps.

Comments

[Ragged Around The Edges]

So many little things that add up. I gave up plastic bags a while back and it ended up being two-fold in the benefit: the obvious lesser impact on the earth, but also I quit finding places to stash them; less stuff is good.

[LLR]

Hooray, hooray, hooray! Happy Earth Day!

It's awesome that you're tweaking your everyday activites to lead a more low-impact lifestyle, but don't forget all the great things you've already been doing!

- You and Randy share one car and it's a tiny Honda!
- You filter your drinking water instead of just buying bottle water.
- You make banana bread out of old bananas instead of just throwing them away. ;)

[Katherine]

We've been thinking along those same lines, and cleaning out the basement has been confirming for us that we need to rethink the sorts of things we think we need.

So no more bags, local veggies (you must have so many choices, living where you do), and we just traded the plastic bottles for Siggs. And when we move: composting! (I'm way too excited about that.)

Bit by bit, right?

[Nell]

You're right. Every little but helps. Good for your for getting back to a greener life. Check out localharvest.org if you're interested in eating more locally.