My husband just informed me that it was earth day. I had no idea. I paused a moment and replied to him, "Everyday is Earth Day to me"
I did feel bad for a half a second, not knowing it was Earth Day. If I'm such a modern hippie, shouldn't I be counting the days?
But then I realized that I try to go above and beyond everyday to reduce my consumption of goods. I reuse everything I can (almost to a fault- ask my husband), from Kombucha bottles to plastic produce bags. We've gotten it down to a science recycling far more trash than we throw away putting 1 trash bag out every 2 weeks (thanks to compost).
We use absolutely no chemical products to clean, spray or scrub- it's either vinegar, baking soda or castille soap (or a combination of all three). All of our shampoos, soaps and detergents are biodegradable- which is more important to me than ever as we MUST protect the fresh water supply. I think someday, it will be fought for- tooth and nail.
Where do I need improvement? Water. I love my long hot showers- and with hair like this I need a few extra minutes to get through it all. I try to not waste it in the kitchen though by running the dishwasher as little as possible, maybe a few times a week. I suppose the other area that I need improvement in is driving. If I go to the Grand River Coffee shop (which I'm sad to say is exactly 1 half mile from here), I almost always drive. I'm going to try do better though- because confessing it to you here holds me to it. (a great thing about blogging)
It's never easy and it's not fun hauling a car full of cardboard and plastic to the recycling center- but I feel good about not putting that stuff in a landfill. And as I watch the landfill that is just north of our beautiful town of East Lansing grow (and get stinkier and stinkier btw) I wonder, how close does it have to get before people will start changing their behaviors? I guess pretty close!
Anyway, Happy Earth Day Everyone- And let everyday be your Earth Day- one thing at a time:)