Here are the tiny baby steps that I have taken as an environment greenhorn towards greening myself and felt the grace of peace bringing myself closer to the truth of nature.
- I recycle anything that is recyclable, no matter how much labor or planning is involved in it, the details of which can feed another article!
- I have started a compost pile that takes not only my vegetable and fruit scraps, but also my dryer lint, vacuum cleaner’s sucked up dirt, my cats’ hair, shredded socks and underwears and handtowels!
- I have almost weaned myself of paper towels and napkins. Being a pet owner, I cannot completely do away with those, but the ones I buy are 100 recycled, and those that are used to wipe countertops occasionally are added to my compost pile.
- I buy completely biodegradable litter for my cats. I do not add used litter to my compost pile to keep it ‘clean’ until I have learned the art of manuring!
- I am making an earnest effort towards growing my own food with a wide variety of mixed cropping. with the backyard soil not cooperating right yet with my novice rudimentary skills, I have been rightly advised to use potting mix and my compost in cardboard boxes. It is so far working wornderfully. My front yard is also becoming a herb garden, mostly to share with my neighbors even when I am not home!
- Trips to the farmers market is becoming more frequent than before and the taste of simple food is so delicious. I try to buy local, within and around Houston or at most Texas up to Mexico. Food with minimum processing is becoming a family habit. The labor involved seems less stressful and so completely worth it.
- We have switched to wind energy through our electricity provider.
- We have installed double pane windows in two rooms that get a lot of sunlight most of the day. Those rooms are whole lot cooler now!
- Our Thanksgiving gift to ourselves was the radiant barrier and renewed insulation and a rain barrel in the garden! Yeah, we will soon receive our Energy Star certification!!
- The attic fan will be in addition to it during spring.
- I am currently going about the house plugging all gaps with various types of caulking, weather stripping materials and
- We are keeping our windows open these days for fresh air to flow in and freshen up the indoors. Feeling the breeze indoors is a luxury I have not enjoyed in a long time in drought scorched Houston. It feels great!
- We do not have a greywater system in our house. To replenish for that, I keep storing the used water in the kitchen to feed the plants outdoors (water that I have used to wash fruits, vegetables, rice and lentils)
- We have stopped buying mulch a long time ago – the leaves and acorns and grass clippings serve as fine mulch. If not so pleasing to the eye, it is indeed cheap and keeps my squirrels happy with the acorns they have not lost.
- We are seriously working on cutting down on our water consumption in intelligent and timed ways. Our water bills are beginning to show results already.
- We have switched to solar lights in the garden and use low-wattage lights endorsed by energy-star!
- For the ‘reduce’, we have done away with a lot of fanciful spending and have bought items with less packaging or with recycled and recyclable packaging.
- To reduce carbon emission, we carpool whenever possible.
- Bringing up your family’s habits to this level has been a tough challenge, but it is happening slowly as they are taking their babysteps, and of course my husband footing the bills for the green makeovers! They see the logic and realize that it is not a fad I am after, it is pure good sense!
- I run a greening program at my school, got my PTO signed up with Abitibi to earn some extra bucks through recycling. We also recycle # 1 and 2 plastics and soda cans at my school. I ran a Green Club at my school for 3 years in a row.
- I encourage my neighbors to recycle with me, every weekend, they leave their recyclables at my doorstep for me to drop them off.
- I am planning to do summer camps with neighborhood children on greening habits and how to save precious water and to develop a sensitivity of the effects of our consumption habits on the world.
- I make an attempt to attend important Green building conferences, or other environment awareness meetings as educators to get advice on how to provide leadership in these areas.
- I hope to continue growing my blog http://greenologics.blogspot.com to promote awareness of a healthier, chemical-free living. Tell your friends to check it out.
