Today is the last day before the New Year...I can't procrastinate any longer on my resolution for a greener year although truly I have NOT been procrastinating. It just seems right to begin this adventure in the new year...and see where it takes us. And here we are.
Last night I decided to make a vision board. I am not exactly looking for any magical powers to come from my board-just something lovely for me to look at each day and envision what I might like to attain in my life. You could easily call it a collage because really, that is what it is. I did not know where I was going to start or end with my new vision/collage/thoughts on a big piece of card board. I did a minor amount of research-maybe 2 minutes worth just to make sure I was on the right track. I even found a website with some music suggestions to inspire me and I went into a quiet room to be alone and get into Zen Mode...I was feeling so inspired. Unfortunately, when I typed the song title into the computer...something went seriously wrong as the music I selected from the song suggestions turned into some sort of raging screaming scary outburst-you know grunge headbanging nightmare for your ears...so I just did away with that and turned off the computer program. At least I was in peace and quiet now with no kids and nothing to interrupt my mode, so I breathed in and out and proceeded with my inspirational board...until my husband came in with the baby and started to take over my Zen Room... I felt myself start to freak out inside because it is really difficult to be ZEN when everything around you is SO UN ZEN! I let it go....and then I proceeded and did not give up and one thing led to another and to another until I had a completed board and I am liking what I see...It has a lot of GREEN writing....a lot of PLANTS and FLOWERS and a GIANT BEAUTIFUL GARDEN on it...there are beautiful pictures of farm scenery, fruits and vegetables, a big yellow butterfly, and a lovely calm organized home with children's art hanging from the walls. There are inspirational quotes and inspiring words. I love my board! I can't wait to admire it in 2009 and see how I can re-create this vision in my own life.
So today, my oldest daughter spent countless minutes admiring my board. All day long she was asking about it and telling me how much she liked it. She also kept trying to adjust my pictures and help me glue stuff on (which secretly was a bit annoying) and I kept having to stop her...this was MY board.
As I write this, my daughters are on the floor with magazines and crayons and scissors and glue making their own boards. These boards are full of colors they love, cut out from magazines with rugs and bedspreads, beautiful bedrooms and kids playing at the beach. There are little girls dressed up in princess costumes and tutus and even one sweet child being kissed goodnight in her bed. One of my favorites is the "Beautiful Table" my youngest daughter had me cut out for her..."I just love that table-it is so beautiful". Their visions may not be about the new year or becoming green-but they are their own creations and they had fun!
I hope that in the coming year I can help inspire my children to be more aware of our environment and the impact we have on it.
I can't wait to live my green collage of inspiration in real time!!!
What inspires you to be green in 2009?
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
what to read in 2009?
My friend just asked me tonight for some good book suggestions....well anyone who knows me knows I read A LOT....I always have this GREAT NEW BOOK you HAVE TO READ. I think everyone has heard it so much they have begun ignoring my great new book talk....So now I will just tell EVERYONE....And if you read it and like it-let me know!
First of all-for Christmas my wonderful sister in law gave me two books because she is a book junky too and we love to read a lot of the same stuff. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver has been a HUGE eye opener for me. I feel like everything I have ever thought in a million different moments is all in her book. There is so much valuable information, you just have to read it and then have your own "A HA" moments. Currently I am reading In Defense Of Food-An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan who also wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma which I will be shoving my nose into next. Because I am a mom of three, (my youngest being a baby of 4 months), people always have to ask that "So how are you sleeping" question or "Are you getting enough sleep?" And the honest truth is-I would get MORE SLEEP if I did not read so much. I have a serious reading problem. I take books with me everywhere...in the car-just in case I get stuck say at the gas station or my husband wants to run an errand and I have to sit and wait-Ah, I can read...I have secretly been known to read waiting at stop lights but that is another story and one I don't discuss often. You know how you see people brushing their teeth or shaving on the road-I am the one reading. When you are as busy as I am with three kids, three dogs, a fish, a cat and a husband who assumes you know how to handle just about everything in the house-you will use any "red light" to get one more paragraph in.....I hope my kids don't do everything I do....I also read while in the bathtub, taking care of any bathroom business and blowing my hair dry. I don't know why my other sister-in-law ( I have five of them) thinks this is so strange. I don't need a mirror to dry my hair in front of-just a really good book!
And now you are wondering what these books have to do with saving the world? Read up....
Oily Food
"Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen – about 17% of our nation’s energy use – for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.
But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.
A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."
Steven L. Hopp- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
First of all-for Christmas my wonderful sister in law gave me two books because she is a book junky too and we love to read a lot of the same stuff. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver has been a HUGE eye opener for me. I feel like everything I have ever thought in a million different moments is all in her book. There is so much valuable information, you just have to read it and then have your own "A HA" moments. Currently I am reading In Defense Of Food-An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan who also wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma which I will be shoving my nose into next. Because I am a mom of three, (my youngest being a baby of 4 months), people always have to ask that "So how are you sleeping" question or "Are you getting enough sleep?" And the honest truth is-I would get MORE SLEEP if I did not read so much. I have a serious reading problem. I take books with me everywhere...in the car-just in case I get stuck say at the gas station or my husband wants to run an errand and I have to sit and wait-Ah, I can read...I have secretly been known to read waiting at stop lights but that is another story and one I don't discuss often. You know how you see people brushing their teeth or shaving on the road-I am the one reading. When you are as busy as I am with three kids, three dogs, a fish, a cat and a husband who assumes you know how to handle just about everything in the house-you will use any "red light" to get one more paragraph in.....I hope my kids don't do everything I do....I also read while in the bathtub, taking care of any bathroom business and blowing my hair dry. I don't know why my other sister-in-law ( I have five of them) thinks this is so strange. I don't need a mirror to dry my hair in front of-just a really good book!
And now you are wondering what these books have to do with saving the world? Read up....
Oily Food
"Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen – about 17% of our nation’s energy use – for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.
But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.
A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."
Steven L. Hopp- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Monday, December 29, 2008
good thing it is not the New Year :)
So....since my house has currently become a landfill it is taking some time to A. Clean up and B. Consider posting about how to save the world when, I, um, need to focus on saving my own life walking from one room to another in my house turned dump.
Exciting news- I am not the only one considering a GREENER 2009....I just read on my friend KT's blog-(which I did not even know existed until this very moment)-that she is going green...see....everyone wants to be green....and she made a great list of reasons on how SHE is going GREEN....
Perhaps I will humor her right back with my own personal list from around here...Here is a start from our water conservation efforts....
I have saved water in the following ways:
-Stopped doing laundry-it really piles up after a few days and the kids can't find any clean underwear.
-Watched the dogs drink from the pool (um that was totally an accident-please don't call animal control....)
-Did not water the plants because I knew it was going to rain-actually-it is a good thing it rained because I really had no intentions of water the plants...shhhhh
My kids have saved water in the following ways:
-They NEVER flush the toilet until I make a formal announcement of the never ending issue (ie) I parade them into the bathroom for them to witness that more toilet paper than water is now in the pot...UGH!
-Stopped drinking water....it seems to sit in the same cup through each meal....hmmm....and then they are sooooo thirsty at bedtime they just might die and all their tears of thirst pour forth....you know how it goes "Good Night" "Wait-I'm THIIIIIRSTY" and then I say "Good Night" and they say "Send Daddy In" and I hear "Daddy I am so THIIIIIRSTY" and of course Daddy doesn't want to dehydrate his children..
-Decreased time between changing the fish tank....hmmm.....
My husband has has saved water in the following ways:
-Stopped flushing the toilet-wait-he NEVER DID!!! Double UGH!
-I stopped yelling at him TO FLUSH THE TOILET...it doesn't do any good.
-Stopped doing dishes...gee-that really doesn't help our landfill for a house situation...
-Stopped washing our cars...(it rains now-sometimes)
As you can see-this is only a short list of our water conservation efforts....but it just proves that everyone with lack of effort (not just KT) can be green in 2009 :)
Exciting news- I am not the only one considering a GREENER 2009....I just read on my friend KT's blog-(which I did not even know existed until this very moment)-that she is going green...see....everyone wants to be green....and she made a great list of reasons on how SHE is going GREEN....
Perhaps I will humor her right back with my own personal list from around here...Here is a start from our water conservation efforts....
I have saved water in the following ways:
-Stopped doing laundry-it really piles up after a few days and the kids can't find any clean underwear.
-Watched the dogs drink from the pool (um that was totally an accident-please don't call animal control....)
-Did not water the plants because I knew it was going to rain-actually-it is a good thing it rained because I really had no intentions of water the plants...shhhhh
My kids have saved water in the following ways:
-They NEVER flush the toilet until I make a formal announcement of the never ending issue (ie) I parade them into the bathroom for them to witness that more toilet paper than water is now in the pot...UGH!
-Stopped drinking water....it seems to sit in the same cup through each meal....hmmm....and then they are sooooo thirsty at bedtime they just might die and all their tears of thirst pour forth....you know how it goes "Good Night" "Wait-I'm THIIIIIRSTY" and then I say "Good Night" and they say "Send Daddy In" and I hear "Daddy I am so THIIIIIRSTY" and of course Daddy doesn't want to dehydrate his children..
-Decreased time between changing the fish tank....hmmm.....
My husband has has saved water in the following ways:
-Stopped flushing the toilet-wait-he NEVER DID!!! Double UGH!
-I stopped yelling at him TO FLUSH THE TOILET...it doesn't do any good.
-Stopped doing dishes...gee-that really doesn't help our landfill for a house situation...
-Stopped washing our cars...(it rains now-sometimes)
As you can see-this is only a short list of our water conservation efforts....but it just proves that everyone with lack of effort (not just KT) can be green in 2009 :)
Friday, December 19, 2008
paper paper everywhere...
As I sat wrapping presents tonight and thinking 'ba humbug'....I was over come by the wrapping paper and how I was wrapping presents with all this paper and all the trash and waste that I was creating and everything that went into creating THIS paper. So I had an idea-I decided this would be it-I will use what we have and come up with more creative ways to wrap gifts in the future. Next thing you know, my husband appeared in the doorway with half a dozen rolls of brand new crisp wrapping paper. My eyes must have said it all because he immediately spoke "I didn't know if we had wrapping paper and if so how much we had or if we had enough?" I let it go....here I am ba humbuging out and here he is trying to help me in the Christmas spirit of gift giving and with 3 children, he knew better to have wrapping paper in the house ready versus none at all.
On a positive note, my ba humbug attitude lead me to some resourceful thinking. What do we do with all the paper and trash post Christmas? Where can we put all the pretty paper gone awry once little fingers have ripped open their gifts from mom, dad, Santa and anyone else who contributes to my wrapping paper problem? How can we use less or recycle more? How can we be more resourceful and less wasteful about gift giving? How.....think about it.
On a positive note, my ba humbug attitude lead me to some resourceful thinking. What do we do with all the paper and trash post Christmas? Where can we put all the pretty paper gone awry once little fingers have ripped open their gifts from mom, dad, Santa and anyone else who contributes to my wrapping paper problem? How can we use less or recycle more? How can we be more resourceful and less wasteful about gift giving? How.....think about it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
saving electricity
So I know it is not YET official-my quest to save the world (at least a little bit) but I have to say that we did a little experiment when we went on vacation a few weeks ago and it totally paid off HUGE!!!
First of all, our electric bill is so ginormous every month, I am surprised we have not been investigated...(or maybe we have and as it turns out-we just use a ton of electricity). So when we left for our 3 week road trip I unplugged just about every single thing BUT the fish tank and the computer. Seeing as I never got to log onto our home computer, I wish we would have unplugged it now. Anyway, I unplugged every single (or almost)every single thing I came across that plugged in....lamps, air filters, the toaster, our entire tv set up in our bedroom which consists of the t.v., dvd player and cable box, washer, dryer, radios and anything else I could think of as we were leaving. Just doing this-oh and the fact we did not have our lights on much for that entire time cut our electric bill in half TWICE!!I am talking major difference. I know my husband also set the pool to clean less too.
So since our bill came today with a significantly positive outcome from our simple changes, then clearly we are excited to make more AND try to continue decreasing our electric usage on a daily basis.
My husband would like to change out our light bulbs, look into purchasing a new fridge, do less laundry, only use heat and a.c. when we must and I am sure there are more....I would like to find someone to walk through our home and help us find our energy leaks......I am sure I can and will continue to think of more ways to save and conserve our energy use.
First of all, our electric bill is so ginormous every month, I am surprised we have not been investigated...(or maybe we have and as it turns out-we just use a ton of electricity). So when we left for our 3 week road trip I unplugged just about every single thing BUT the fish tank and the computer. Seeing as I never got to log onto our home computer, I wish we would have unplugged it now. Anyway, I unplugged every single (or almost)every single thing I came across that plugged in....lamps, air filters, the toaster, our entire tv set up in our bedroom which consists of the t.v., dvd player and cable box, washer, dryer, radios and anything else I could think of as we were leaving. Just doing this-oh and the fact we did not have our lights on much for that entire time cut our electric bill in half TWICE!!I am talking major difference. I know my husband also set the pool to clean less too.
So since our bill came today with a significantly positive outcome from our simple changes, then clearly we are excited to make more AND try to continue decreasing our electric usage on a daily basis.
My husband would like to change out our light bulbs, look into purchasing a new fridge, do less laundry, only use heat and a.c. when we must and I am sure there are more....I would like to find someone to walk through our home and help us find our energy leaks......I am sure I can and will continue to think of more ways to save and conserve our energy use.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
8 days til Christmas
...So for Christmas I have literally asked for supplies to get us on the road to becoming more self sufficient. I know my requests are being taken seriously as I witnessed my email in my husband's crack I mean blackberry...I have asked for things with the general theme of how I would like to make more conscious decisions in our life. My dream list went something like this : Meat Thermometer, Cheese Thermometer, Cheese Making Supplies/Book/etc. (I would love to learn to make my own cheese), a bigger garden, more fruit trees, chickens for eggs....(ok I don't even know if we are ALLOWED to have chickens here but I still think the idea is cool-will we ever? Who knows...but I can dream about our farm right?) I can't remember what else I asked for as it was not so much about getting a bunch of stuff I do not need but about creating the changes in our life to better suit the world and our children and if my husband wants to know how to really bless me with something....then this is what I want....to start making changes NOW....I can't wait to see what the new year will bring.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I was just thinking...
It is the holiday season and everyone is busting their butts to create MORE problems for our world and all I want is less...don't get me wrong...I LOVE Christmas...I LOVE LOVE LOVE opening presents and being surprised...I love smelling our fresh Christmas tree and admiring the white lights and silver glitter and glass ornaments hanging by a thread after my kids are done breaking a few and managing to get the rest to hang on for dear life. I love Christmas music and hot chocolate and rain and snow. I love it all. I even love shopping for family and friends and creating traditions and gearing up for the holiday season....but then there is this other side of me which is really bothered by everything about the holiday season as well....the waste...the excess trash...the over the top excess plastic and wrap and ties and strings and stuff to hold a toy in the package...you know gift giving and opening presents isn't what it used to be. Now we have to go out to the garage and get our tools to open gifts while horrified gift givers look on apologizing for the ridiculous packaging that they really had nothing to do with.......Barbie can't get out of the box unless you practically have a chainsaw to release her perfect self.....not that my kids play with Barbie (anyone who knows me knows I hate Barbie and clearly she is not interested in saving the world) Anyway.....the point that got me thinking of this was just now as I was standing in my kitchen putting the egg shells into the makeshift compost on our kitchen counter which will soon make its way to the compost bin in the yard which will probably make its way into at least one of my dogs intestines (although the lid seems to be doing a good job keeping them out for now) and I just thought-all I want for Christmas is to SAVE THE WORLD.....ok....not really-well actually YEA! Who doesn't want to save the world??? But really-I would be ok with saving it slowly-like one day at a time. So I suppose I will gear up now and get ready to start saving the world......over the next 365 days....so while this is not officially day one...DAY ONE of the NEW YEAR....2009 will be it!!!! I can save the world and then it will be saved for the start of a new decade. I can't wait! Anyone want to save it with me???
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