Bag your face!

I'm trying so hard to get this 'no bag' thing burned into my brain. Like Joanna mentioned, we got the reusable bags for Trader Joe's, but remembering to bring them... that's another story. Maybe it's a better strategy to buy tons of those bags and keep some in each car at all times (with a note by the steering wheel reminding me that they are in the car... because, yes, I need the notes.) Seeing this in action at Trader Joe's is no biggie really, but I really find it inspiring when I see people in Von's or Ralph's with their reusable bags.

Maybe a tattoo of a bag on my head? Nah, cuz then everyone BUT me would be able to see it.

We have this cool invention that I'm sure a LOT of you have... one of those giant tube sock looking things that hold plastic bags. You know what I'm talking about. The long cloth thingy that you push your plastic bags into and they come out the bottom when you give them a yank. Like a little bag dispenser. My mom had one for years, but this one was made (and by made I mean knit) by my mother-in-law. I love it because I use the bags and then reuse them. Currently though, I believe our 'bag sock' has reached maximum capacity and could very well explode into little plastic bits any second. Another good argument for remembering to ask for no bag.

I still don't understand why we have to ask for no bag... should be the other way around, right?

How about the instance of this evening where I ran down to 7-11 just to get a quick bottle of wine? By law they are required to put all alcohol in bags in order for you to walk out with it, so how can you swing the 'no bag' thing here? I will try to bring my own bag next time and see what kind of reaction that spawns. I'm pretty sure that isn't standard behavior for 7-11 patrons.

No bag, no bag, no bag... repeat after me... no bag, no bag, no bag...

I even had one clerk recently look at me all pissed off when I remembered to say 'no bag.' It wasn't as if he had even started bagging and then had to unbag, he was just in a pissy mood i guess and my trying-to-keep-it-green attitude rubbed him the wrong way. Tough luck, big guy, keep your bags to yourself! This little green man doesn't need 'em! Now if only I can remember that I don't need 'em...

It's a start!

Holy Canoli! What a week...or so! Let's see what I've managed to do right since that'll be easier to cover than all of the stuff I did wrong. Grocery shopping: Hate it! Love to cook tho so there's a bit of a catch there. In any case, I love Trader Joe's and with their prices I have managed to buy more earth friendly if not organic products including face soap (love the tee tree oil!) and free range eggs. I even bought the reusable bags :) though I managed to forget them once :( Please cut me some slack tho...I'm still trying to establish a system! AND when cleaning out the fridge, I threw less food away than ever! I have a tendancy to buy too much because I have all of these grandiose menu ideas at the time. The reality is that I'm just too tired and stick to the easy to cook meals at the end of the day. I guess I'm getting better with planning, huh?

Speaking of planning, the whole idea of making lunch in the evening always kinda jeebed me out a little. Something about cold, soggy bread and such. But I tried it and you know what? It worked! Whatta time saver! (I know...'she's a friggin' rocket scientist' right? But it's just getting past those preconceptions we create for ourselves, no matter how trivial...or utterly ridiculous! Another conversation for another day.)

In the meantime, our recycling pile grows ever larger as we are managing to throw less away. That's great except that we just don't have the wherewithal to drag it to the recycling center. But still...for us, it's progress. Trust me. But the great news is that we will be moving after the first of the year to a neighborhood that has recycling pick up at the curb. Awesome! We will also have a yard and a garden which means that I can compost again! WooHoo! I love me some dirt! And being closer to work and school, I'll be able to ride my bike. Funny how life works...

So it may not be a great start, but it's a start. We're gonna have to some painting so that will be the next challenge. I'll let you know how it goes.

So it begins...

Sure I recycle from time to time. I turn the lights off when I’m not using them. I also try to conserve water when I brush my teeth. But to turn my whole world/life “Green”????? That’s quite the monsterous undertaking. So why do it?

I think it's best put when you talk about "Being Green" as an appreciation of Earth. I like that. When you look at all the "rules" that accompany this lifestyle, it seems pretty hardcore at times and at others a bit overwhelming. Some of the "rules" are hard to remember, especially at the beginning and that is what makes it seem so hard. Simple things like asking for no bag at the grocery store, or putting the bottles and cans in the recycle bin. But for me, when I look at it as appreciating the world we live in, it makes it a whole lot easier. Easier to remember. Easier to do. And I am all about easy.

When you take something for granted, you treat it poorly, or just flat out ignore it. No one likes to be ignored. It's a horrible feeling. But when you enjoy something, you love to show your appreciation, sometimes even go out of your way to do so. So that's how I'm going to approach this new lifestyle—as a newfound, or rather, rediscovered appreciation for this place we live in. Sure it sounds trite and corny, but it works for me. At least the concept does. The undertaking itself may be a whole different story. My wife used to live this way so it should be a bit easier for her to make the adjustment, but I need that concept to hold on to. It makes the goal seem less nebulous and much more concrete to me.

So that’s where we are now… my wife and I are adjusting our lifestyle. Not that we are extremely wasteful, but there are always a few things we can improve on to make our footprints on this world a bit more eco-friendly. Afterall, with two kids inheriting this world after we are gone, it’s a good idea to leave it in a state in which they can enjoy it. And hopefully in our green learning/living, the kids will pick up something too.

Here we go…

No More Excuses...

So I overheard a woman at work say she bought a french press. "Yeah! I'm trying to go green!" she said. It made me think of all of the 'green extremes' that are out there and all the little things people do to contribute to saving our beautiful planet. Of course I evaluated my contribution. Well, I used to recycle everything. I used to compost. I used to buy organic as much as I could. I used to shop locally and at farmer's markets.

So what happened? I moved. Yup. I moved to southern California from the beautiful and very green north in Humboldt. I live in a very small upper story apartment about 35 miles from work. So much for riding my bike....My meager income,which was sufficient for Humboldt, is next to nothing compared with the cost of living down here. There goes organic.....Recycling? I admit, I was reeeeealy spoiled up north with a great recycling center with a super organized system that took everything just up the road from me. Here? Only a slight pain in the behind.

I know...excuses, excuses. I've got one for everything! So now that I'm finally getting settled (2years later) and have an incredible (and sexy) husband that I can talk into just about anything, we are going to try this green thing again. The blogging keeps us honest!

For myself, it's an experiment in patience and some serious planning; especially when it comes to recycling as much of everything that we can. Nothing in SoCal is convenient and I'm all about instant gratification! I really don't want to spend my weekend driving all over the place to recycle tin here and aluminum there, etc. And though some folks may not consider the health impact that green living has, it does force you to really think about how your food gets from the farm to your table; never mind the health of the plants and animals you may be consuming. There is no straight line if you catch my drift. My husband is much more romantic about it and looking at it as an appreciation and gratitude for our world. Whatta concept, huh? If we only had more people like him around!...And being the incredible artist he is, he's already having fun making stuff out of tin cans and fun stuff like that!

So we call it our 'misadventures' because if you knew the two of us, you'd know there's bound to be some tripping over our toes! Wish us luck! (and keep the band-aides handy....what?)