The Green Sheepie

May the Force Be With You

2008-10-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

More cleaning stuff!

2008-09-17T22:15:00.001-07:00

Today I got some fun stuff in the mail:

Yep! More cleaning things! And it's only "fun" because it came in the mail just for me - because I do not like to clean really! LOL

You might notice all the items are from Method - and as from the previous post, I do use Method and I do like them very much. So you can imagine my surprise when a few short weeks ago, someone from Method (okay, really it was someone from an advertising company representing Method) sent me an e-mail asking me to contact them about their Method Maven Program.

I had already read about one Method Maven party from a blog I followed, so I was SOOOO excited. (this isn't the one I read, but this blogger also was one too) Not too long after I went downtown to talk to the very lovely lady who contacted me (and also, she has a British accent and I just loved to hear her talk LOL). Well, I learned Monday they picked me to become one of the Chicago Method Mavens!

Woo-hoo! This means I get to have a great party with my friends and they will send me stuff to try (hence the package today). The only downside is the party is NEXT WEDNESDAY! Which means I've given most people a one's week notice, which also means so far I'm hearing more no's than yes's - mostly due to the fact that people can't rearrange schedules to go. Although I am hearing it sounds like fun and they wish they could make it.

Anyway, I'm so excited about this opportunity and I know some of you reading this here blog are in the Chicago area and really how much fun would it be to meet up? And wouldn't it be even more fun if we got to meet for the first time at a party with food and drinks and free cleaning supplies?!?! No, really, if you are from around here, and can be downtown Chicago next Wednesday (the 24th) and want to meet me in person, let me know! I'd love to invite you and meet you too =) I swear!

On cleaning ...

2008-09-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

I use a WIDE variety of cleaners - I took a sample shot of them today to show you:

You can see Method, Burt's Bees, Palmolive, Scrubbing Bubbles, Seventh Generation, Shaklee and Clean Well. This does not include the water, vinegar, lemon, baking powder that I use either! Because I also use lots of those things too!

As you can see, I don't have a favorite brand or much brand loyalty - I look at the amount of chemicals, how well it works, are there alternatives, the price, and then look at the brand. So we end up with a wide variety. And we switch as things go on sale or special. I did not buy the Shaklee though. I won that. I use it. And I love it. However, that we won't buy unless the company changes their policies because we don't want to be locked in to buy a certain amount each month - which stinks, because I would probably buy from them otherwise. Also, I won't be buying scrubbing bubbles anymore, but the frugal part of me needs to finish the spray before replacing it - although maybe not so much anymore - it might be gone very soon - more on that later.

Anyway, my point is, I use lots of products and it doesn't bother me that I do that. I will say that right now we are trying to use less chemicals in our house - I have a child with neurological issues and a child with asthma - both of which are documented to be irritated by lots of chemicals in the products we use. My house is not chemical free - we have nonstick pans, some of our furniture has been treated with the fireproof agent, I'm sure my carpet is releasing VOC's into the air (along with our paint, furniture, and other things). We are not eliminating them completely to be sure, but we are trying to make small changes that can help a lot - and cleaners is one area it's been easy to do that with.

I'm sure you are scratching your head right now - it's okay ... this post will make a lot more sense once I make my next post. But it's a way for me to give you background without creating the longest post in the history of this blog! LOL

Living Platic Free

2008-08-07T10:42:00.001-07:00

Could you do it?

I've often said I couldn't do it. As far as I can tell - it's EVERYWHERE! And if you go plastic free, does that mean you never use plastic again (thereby throwing all the plastic you currently own?) or do you just not buy plastic from this day forward?

I guess each person who takes up the challenge will decide - and I bet much has to do with why thy are giving up plastic. Is it to be more environmental? Or is it because you think plastics are unhealthy? I'd have a hard time chucking all the plastic I own out because it seem so wasteful to me. But we don't heat our plastic and I don't feel too worried about the chemicals in it yet (although I will admit reading that they can now detect bpa in people's blood does indeed make me want to rethink that stand!).

Anyway, I don't have any plans to go plastic-free. I have personally cut back on plastic in our house - but only the convenient plastic to ditch (mainly plastic bags from stores) and we are buying less, which in general means less plastic. But our efforts have not be herculean nor have they been hard.

If you would like to go plastic-free or just greatly reduce how much plastic you are using, here is a list of some blogs and articles that I have found all about the topic. I will be perusing them too as I get a chance ... and who knows, maybe at my house we'll begin to work a bit harder at using less plastic!

any more that you think will help!!
Life Less Plastic
Month without Plastic
Plastic Free Picnic
Click for Carbon Plastic Challenge
Plastic and Physics
Living Plastic Free
My (almost) plastic free bathroom
Products to help make your kitchen plastic free
Life without Plastic
Living Plastic Free – year 2
Fake Plastic Fish

Long time no post!

2008-06-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

I really really keep intending to pop in and post. Sadly though, I haven't taken any recent pictures of the garden, but lots of good things are going on.
Things are growing! The tomatoes, which didn't change size for about a month, have finally starting growing! The potatoes are HUGE (I didn't know they got that big). The first planting of carrots have sprouted. I did a second planting but they haven't sprouted yet).
We have actually eaten some lettuce from our garden! And it tasted fabulous!! Next year - I need to plant more lettuce and start it sooner. I also need to do the first carrot planting sooner and plant some carrots more often.
Today I used fresh herbs from the garden too which was awesome!! =)

Speaking of, I got sort of creative with dinner tonight! I REALLY wanted meatloaf for dinner tonight. Our house was already 82 degrees when I wanted to cook - I had all the doors and windows open (our air isn't set to turn on until 84 degrees) and I didn't want to get the house hotter and keep the air off or shut the house up and let the air run. [Sorry, I'm rambling and I don't mean too!]. So, I "baked" my meatloaf on the grill. We have a propane grill - I don't know if it's any better or not than the oven, heating the house, and turning the air on. But it worked. It tasted delicious. It cooked faster than in the oven. And my house didn't heat up! =) Yeah!

(my meatloaf and potatoes right before I pulled them out to eat!)

I've also been making jam lately and have done my very first hot water bath canning! It has been fun. Although it's making me tired - I do it all in the evening when the outside air has cooled the house off a lot. Because, jam making, created a lot of heat I think. Two burners are on on my stove and it takes time.

(yeah, yeah, some jam is on the stove I know LOL!)
I've done too batches - at two different times. Next time I need to try to do them back to back so that I only need to fill the pans up once. Because it also takes a lot of water.
The first night, I kept the water and used it to water some plants the next day. Tonight, I took the very hot water and poured it into my sink, added soap, waited for it to cool, and used it to wash the non-dishwasher dishes! So, I'm trying to at least find other ways to use the water instead of just dumping it down the drain. But really, the jam tastes sooooo yummy!!!

A batch of strawberry kiwi jam - which I might add, tastes an awful lot like plain old strawberry jam with just a hint of something in there and it's delicious!!!

Anyway, I'm hoping I can come back Sunday with some garden pics to share - and also, pictures of our very first composter!!! Yeah!!!

Sunday Garden Shots!

2008-06-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

So, today I worked in the garden some more! I took a few plants out, put a few new ones in and just moved a couple to some other location. I do believe, however, everything is where it will be staying for this summer. I do believe that next year I will fight for a bigger garden .... however, due to the garden being smaller than I wanted it, my deck now looks like:

Somehow I need to make it look a bit prettier, but I'm not sure that will actually happen this year. We'll see ... I need to put together some wooden platforms that the pots can sit into, but I'm not about to pay for that and I don't know how to make it!

For now, I will sit back and think about all the delicious peppers and lettuce and kale and other yummies these containers will provide for my family - and since the round containers were free, well, I can not complain one bit about how they look!

In other garden news, both potatoes and peas have sprouted!

This makes me so excited. I planted those seeds, what, 2 or 3 weeks ago now? And there are the plants - so beautiful and wonderful to watch grow.
The carrots have not come up yet though, which really makes me wonder if they will grow at all. If nothing happens in the week I think I will dig them up and try to replant and hope it works this time. I think I put them too deep in the soil and so it's totally my fault.

Ah well, live and learn - and it does appear that at least some of it will turn into actual food! =)

For more of my garden photos, visit here.
And to see other people's gardens, visit here!

Sunday Garden May 25

2008-05-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

Not much has changed in the garden. We added the tomatoes and 2 celery to it though. Somehow the cherry tomatoes have disappeared. I'm so bummed. Should we find them, into pots they will go.

(The pictures aren't the best ... I took them at dusk but they will have to do!)

I also added some plants to the front ... these I should be able to cut all summer long and have some nice flowers sitting on the table whenever I want to (well, at least I hope so! LOL)

We put our strawberries out too - we are going to try them in hanging baskets and we'll see how it goes! (You can see one of them in the right corner of the picture!) And I need to definitely add some containers here and there and everywhere I can .. but I haven't purchased any yet. I think that will be next weekend's job list.

The Garden

2008-05-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday we worked pretty hard to prepare the garden. Basically we took a plot of land that had been mostly grass (but then also just a border around the house with wood chips in it) to convert to a garden. I had mentioned to dh that it just didn't look big enough to me - to which he replied that I was basically nuts and it was REALLY big!
So you know what I'm going to say right? I went out to start planting today (it's not warm enough for everything) and darn-it, there is not enough room for everything. Blah. So I had to pick and choose what to leave out. But I planted: 8 potatoes, a lot of onions, 2 rows carrots, 2 rows snap peas, 2 row peas, 1 red cabbage, 2 cauliflowers, 2 broccolis, 2 zucchinis, 1 kale, 2 different lettuce plants, and a couple others I can't remember. What was left out were: green beans, more peas, more carrots, spaghetti squash, other broccoli and lettuce, and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head.
What I'd still like to plant: lots of tomatoes, celery and cucumbers. I don't have enough space to do it all in though and I'm kind of bummed about that. I might try to put some things into containers on the deck though and see how they do. I might even move things I planted in the garden today into those containers, but we'll see what happens. My husband will probably tell me to just accept what I have and be happy with it!

Some pictures as it looks today:

A lot we planted today were just seeds though - so it looks a bit empty. I also sprinkled in a few herbs and some marigolds with the *hopes* it will also help to keep the bunnies away!

We do have an area on the side of our house that has some nice plants, but some blank spots, so I put the zucchini over there and am crossing my fingers that it works!

So we'll see how it goes. When it gets warmer I'll add some more things to it. But for now, I think it is looking good - except maybe it's just too small! =)

Weed Spray Update!

2008-05-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it half worked. Some plants looked untouched - I think you need to use more sprays than I was for the really big ones, and well, my 8 year old did a lot of it too! I would say we had a 50% success rate with it and so this weekend I will spray again, but give a couple extra sprays.
But I also want to point out that the grass around some of the smaller weeds also died - so I know as long as it can get into the roots, it will kill!

The recipe I used:
1 gallon distilled white vinegar
1 cup salt
1 tbsp liquid dishsoap

Mix and spray!
*It should be noted the recipe as read it also said most effective on emerging plants, and we waited for too long for our weeds to be called emerging!

A second recipe I saw, but have not tried:

1 tablespoon of gin
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap
1 quart of hot water

Crossing Fingers ....

2008-05-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Today we mixed up some homemade weed killer - that is pretty darn safe - and sprayed it a lot of places. Actually, my 8 year old sprayed which thrilled her a LOT. Even she told me "but last year daddy told me the weed killer was poison and we couldn't even touch where he sprayed it."
Yep, my darling, last year it was. This year, as of right now, it's not.
So I am crossing my fingers that it works. I REALLY want it to work.
I will update in a few days and if it worked, I will give you the recipe - but I don't want to pass it along until I know it's good! =)

A Craft Idea!

2008-05-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun craft idea that you can make with the kids - or if you like just for yourself!

Magazine Holder

Supplies Needed:
Cereal box
Pictures
Decoupage Glue
Scissors
Marker
Ruler

Step 1:

Using a Ruler, draw lines as to where you want to cut the box

Step 2:

Cut box on the lines!
You probably want them to look a bit like this:

But, really use your creativity and maybe change the shape a bit! =)

Step 3:

Gather lots of pictures. I'd like to point out this is a great way to use old magazines - they have lots of good pictures in there to use. And I also have to say my kids LOVE to cut them up, so they particularly enjoy this step =)

Step 4:

Glue the pictures on the box - however and where ever you want to!
Note: You could also paint the box if you want. My one dd suggested next time we paint the box first then glue pictures down so that the cereal stuff doesn't show up in the background. However, I don't know how well the glue would stick to paint.

Step 5:

After all the pictures are glued down, take the glue and then paint over the top of the pictures. In case you haven't used the decoupage glue before, it will look milky when you put it on, but it will dry clear.

Step 6:

Enjoy your magazine holders! =)

I didn't get better pictures because the kids grabbed them and used them almost immediately! We had a lot of fun doing this. And the kids have been saving all the empty cereal boxes (I have a pile of about 4 in my basement right now LOL). They can't wait to do it again.

This is a great way to make a magazine holder without a)buying one and b)having fun at the same time.

Spaghetti Trick!

2008-04-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I read you could do this but didn't try it until tonight.
I brought the pan to a boil as usual when making spaghetti, put in my pasta, brought back to boil (which took really about 10 seconds) covered it up and turned off the burner completely. 20 minutes later the spaghetti was *almost* perfect. I think next time I will let the burner stay on for an extra minute or two before turning it off. Not one person in my family complained because it wasn't off by that much, kwim?
I have also read you can do this with rice and quinoa, but have always been afraid it wouldn't actually work LOL!
Yeah, it took a little over twice as long to cook the pasta, but I cut the time my burner was on by half and can you imagine if I did that everytime I cooked from now on? Yeah, we spaghetti like twice a week!
Another little difference that can add up IMO when done repeatedly =)

Aveda doing good!

2008-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that when bottles are recycled, their caps (which can't be processed by recycling machinery) are often cut off and thrown away, ending up in landfills, oceans, rivers, and too often, in the mouths of baby sea animals? This causes the animals to either choke or end up with bellies full of plastic, which eventually leads to death due to malnutrition, explains Michael Braungart, a toxicology expert and engineering professor at Germany's University of Lüneberg.

So three years ago, Braungart approached the natural-beauty company Aveda for help with this problem. "Our solution was to prevent the plastic caps from getting into the ocean altogether," says John DeFausse, vice president of global packaging for Estée Lauder, Aveda's parent company. "So we created a second life for the discarded plastic by collecting caps from our employees and their families and using them to make new tops for Aveda's limited-edition retro Clove Shampoo bottles, which hits stores in September for Aveda's 30th anniversary."

What can you do to help?
From March 10^th through May 10^th, Aveda stores will be accepting any and all of your hard plastic caps (e.g. from bottles of water and soda, laundry detergent, facial cleansers, shampoo, etc.). To participate, visit aveda.com/stores to find an Aveda store location near you. Don't see one within driving distance? Mail in your caps instead to: Aveda Re-Cap Program, ACA Waste Services, 40 EADS Street in Babylon, NY 11704. Bonus: Bring in 25 or more caps and you'll receive a free sample from one of Aveda's hair or body-care lines (limit one per customer).

click here for more info

2 Contests ...

2008-04-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'd like to tell you about today. And both are being hosted by Mamanista!

The first is for Green Toys. Okay, these toys look fabulous. They are made from recycled milk jugs, they use minimal packaging, and they are even made in the good old USA! The contest is here.

The second is for the book Gorgeously Green. Looks like a great book that could be quite helpful. Click here to enter.

Good luck! =)

Carbon Footprint

2008-04-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today I calculated my carbon footprint. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is less than normal (although this only takes into account transportation and energy use in the home). You can go to the SafeClimate website to see what your footprint is! And let me know if you do ... I'll be curious to see what everyone gets!

Your carbon footprint household average is 4007 lbs. [1818 kg.] of carbon dioxide per month.

This is equivalent to 801 lbs. [364 kg.] per person.
The animation shows a per person comparison to the U.S. national average:

The graphs below are based on total household results. Your emissions are 66% from home energy and 34% from transportation.

show results by

Here is the chart of how to determine where you are:

Pounds of CO₂ emissions per month			Result
Below 507 lbs/mo			Much less than average
Between 507 and 1,013 lbs/mo			Less than average
Between 1,014 and 2,028 lbs/mo			Average
Between 2,029 and 2,535 lbs/mo			More than average
Above 2,535 lbs/mo			Much more than average

(Sorry because of the way I copy and pasted the information ... none of the link within my results will work - so you'll need to go to the site to get them)

Someday I hope to be much less than average! =)

Home again ..

2008-04-07T14:33:00.001-07:00

from what was probably a not very Earth Friendly vacation - but more about that later ...

for now, I want to tell you all about..

My friend, over at 30 Accomplishments While 30 is hosting not 1, but 2 contests right now!

One is an Earth Day giveaway aimed at the adults in the house - here
and one is an Earth Day giveaway aimed at the kiddos - here

So go share what you are doing to help the Earth and enter the giveaways! Good luck everyone =)

Need to kick it up a notch ...

2008-03-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am feeling like we need to kick it up a notch over here. And I'm not exactly sure how to do that.
I am thinking of a few challenges to present to my family as a way to help us do more in a faster amount of time. And spring is trying to come to us, but right now we still have snow on the ground! So I'm trying to think of things we can do this summer to help out (I'm looking into composting, rain barrels, and other such things).

Some things I am thinking about doing:

hosting an ecomom party
craft supply swap to get rid of the items I won't use without just throwing them away and getting new to me items without actually spending money and at the same time helping someone else get rid of things that won't use without throwing them away!
getting smart plugs for the tv so that we can turn them off and trick the outlet into thinking our tv is unplugged without having to actually unplug everything!
more indoor plants in our house because it has to be a good thing and they will look pretty
decluttering the house. My new theory is the more we have, the more we want, and so if we have less we should want less? Let's hope so! LOL

We skipped the farmer's market this week. I have 2 extra bodies here to feed, cloth, shelter, and take with me wherever I go. They are 4 and 7. It is not generally fun to go shopping with a 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 year old. I know, some people have kids that are that age and do it all the time! I seriously 100% applaud you because I'm terrified to be out with all of them frankly. We'll also skip it next week because we leave for Florida next weekend and won't really need to buy food I hope. But I have an idea to share with the lady who runs it and so in 2.5 weeks I'll be glad to see her and talk to her! And who knows, it might work out, it might now. I'll share details with you later!

Also, I'm going to be holding a contest here soon. After we get home from Florida, so around April 15 (and no sorry, it probably won't help with your taxes LOL). So please come back and check it out!

Need a green make over?

2008-03-11T21:14:00.001-07:00

Then Oprah is looking for you!
Click here for more info

I'm still here ...

2008-03-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

and I haven't forgotten about this new blog of mine! I've just been crazy busy!
A few things ... my town e-mailed me back. They are already aware of Earth Hour and are putting announcements in local papers encouraging others to sign up.
BTW: If you haven't signed up, go here to do so! Thanks =)
We went to the farmers market on Thursday. It was (as I thought) pretty small, but there were things there and we happily purchased quite a bit of things!
Friday I made our first mostly local dinner:

Beef stew with carrots and potatoes
Mixed green salad
Homemade Hearty Nut Bread

Look how yummy it all looks:

Our dinner:

So the breakdown is this: potatoes, carrots, meat, half the lettuce in the salad - local
The broth I used to cook it with was not local (although I have since made my own to have next time we do this!) and although I made the bread myself, the ingredients were all from the store.
I will say this, my 8 year old said "wow. these carrots taste like real carrots and not like the ones we usually eat." Seriously, they did taste so good and had a really rich, yummy taste! It was nice.

We also bought goat's cheese (for my no dairy daughter), butter, and turkey eggs. We had the turkey eggs as part of dinner Sunday night and they tasted, well, just like eggs LOL!

It is inside a bakery place and they kindly offered to make us gluten free items if we tell them in advance we will be coming! How nice is that? Very nice. And the people selling, all so nice and friendly. No one cared that my son was his normal wild self. They actually thought it was cute!

We will be going back this week, although I will be buying less. The food was great, I felt good buying it, but we bought one grocery bag full of food and it was 42 dollars. I just can't afford to spend 42 on food that will feed us for 2 meals (plus leftovers). I wish I could though. I will be buying more carrots though! And probably more potatoes. Next week I think I will buy chicken (instead of the beef) and maybe some more greens if they have them. But no eggs and no cheese and no butter. Well, okay, so I'm not really buying that much less LOL and the cheese and butter we have plenty leftover anyway.

And in effort to allow no food to go to waste - I made my first broth on Sunday night. We had turkey for dinner on Saturday, so we saved the carcass and I made broth! I have never made my own broth before, but now I have some and as a bonus it's gluten free so it's safe my dd. I think though, the recipe I followed was for less water than what we had, so it's tiny bit bland. But that's okay. I'll get better at it. And definitely do it again, because really, with my daughter I can not use the bullion cubes to make broth - it has to be the actual liquid broth AND it has to be the organic kind because the others actually have wheat in them! And well, that stuff is pricey. But now I know it is easy to make my own that is gf and that's pretty neat!

So that's the current update for now. I'm working on some more things I hope to be able to share with you soon too! =)

Well ...

2008-03-05T14:18:00.001-08:00

When I joined Earth Hour, I noticed I was the 5th person from my little village to sign up. Given that only about 15,000 people from the US signed up at that point, I thought that was interesting. And I decided there must be some interest in my village to support Earth Hour. So, last night, I fired off e-mails to the mayor, the village board, and a few other places alerting them to Earth Hour and urging them to make this a village-wide event.
We'll see what happens. I hope to see some sort of response - even if it is negative, just to let me know they indeed received the e-mail - but of course I am hoping for a more positive response!

Anyway, if you are going to sign up for Earth Hour - I encourage you to pass it along to the mayors/boards/etc in your town. Because, really, if you think about it, it's a small thing. Assuming not a lot is wasted in advertising it, it will actually save your town/city/village money if they turn off lights! LOL! =)

Learning ....

2008-03-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

My recent trip to the library netted me this books:
The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live it
Green Places in Small Spaces
The Bean Bible
The Bean Cookbook
Green Living
Affluenza
The Omnivores Dilemma
Natural Cleaning
Homestead Year
Celiac Disease
Illinois Gardners Guide
Naturally Cleaning Your Home
Simply Green Giving
The Little Green Handbook
The Green Book
The 10 Minute Activist
Full of Beans
Yoga for the Kid in All of Us
Total Body Conditioning
YogaKids 2: The ABC's

Honestly ... I won't read them all before they are due. But I will be reading as much as I can get through and a few I got to skim.
I did part of the Total Body conditioning today - the video is set up weirdly - it's like 9 separate work-outs, but you are supposed to mix and match them? I don't know, but the one I did today was just under 20 minutes ... maybe tomorrow I'll try two of them.

Earth Hour

2008-03-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

One Night. One Hour. Will you join?

Earth Hour

It's SO hard!

2008-03-02T20:59:00.001-08:00

I said in my last post we weren't making changes overnight and instead would do things gradually ... there are a few reasons for this. One is we are on a tight budget ... I really can't run out and afford to replace everything. So, I can start by using up what I have and slowly replacing it. Two is that some things that are more green cost more. Which again, goes back to the budget issue and so I need to incorporate changes slowly so that we can absorb the costs. But the third reason is, well, it's very hard! What items are good? What aren't? I'm learning that different people have different ideas and that sometimes you can't trust what companies say.

A few examples:
Clorox Greenworks Cleaners - they look good. They have green in the name. They say they are powerful and natural. However, they are only 99% natural. Better than normal cleaners but is it good enough? Some say yes, some say no.
G-Diapers - again, they look fabulous and sound fabulous. However, once again some are wondering if they are as great as they say they are. Again, another step in the right direction, but is it the leap towards being more green that they are marketed as?

Well ... I could go on and on about what is the right product, the best product, the most green, does going green mean cutting out all chemicals or just some chemicals? Does it mean going organic? Should we also become locavores? Do we stop using plastic? Stop using paper towels? Do I buy only organic cotton clothes?

See what I mean? It is SO hard! There are so many things to think about. That is why we are switching things over slowly. That is why I am trying to just learn right now. And I'm researching and trying to decide where to move from here. I do believe that even if we don't get it perfect, we can do things that are better. So, I'm not going to switch to cloth diapers - not because I'm opposed to it because I cloth diapered my now 5 year old. It's just that when we do put our boy in cloth he FREAKS out. I mean, completely melts down and tries to rip the diaper off and cries that it hurts. I'm not going to buy gdiapers either. I've been told to NOT to flush them down the toilet - regardless that their website says they will be fine - I've heard over and over they are not fine. But I will probably switch over to 7th generation diapers, or similar chlorine free diapers. Because it's not perfect, but I think it's a step in the right direction. And really, I'd love to just be done with diapers all together this summer so here's hoping the boy cooperates!

Anyway, my point is that saying we want to go more green can sometimes feel overwhelming. And I'll have to decide what is right for us and what line do we want to draw for what will pass our green test and what won't. But I figure even if we make small changes, that is a step in the right direction and I will take it! =)

Why?

2008-03-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

Why the Green Sheepie?

Well, I'm kind of the black sheep of my family because of all my green-ness, hence the green sheepie. Okay, okay, The Green Sheep was taken already so in all my cuteness I thought sheepie would be a nice touch.
But, I grew up hearing how recycling was actually bad for the environment from my dad! Yes, in deed - because - they had to make another bin for us to put our garbage in. We needed two trucks to visit our house every pick-up day (the regular garbage truck and the recycling truck), and you never really knew if what you put there would be recycled or not - so all that extra (gas, smog, plastic bins), well, it might all be for nothing!
Don't get me wrong. My parents have a healthy love of the Earth. They are farmers afterall. I couldn't say dirt when I was growing up! "It's not dirt!" my dad would tell me "It's soil. And you better be thankful for it because otherwise you wouldn't eat!" When the song Blame It on the Rain was popular, well, we were not allowed to listen to it in our house. I would hear things like "Blame what? The fact that plants grow and give us food? That we don't live in a dessert?" (of course, had it flooded that year, my dad just might have been singing along!) I couldn't listen to Smashing Pumpkins either. My dad's biggest crop - yep. Pumpkins. And no, we did not smash them.
But my family also has a lot of skepticism. Global warming is media hype - read the anti-global warming studies - things I hear. I think being farmers is what makes the skeptical. I mean, you can do everything right - save your seeds, store them properly over the winter, plant them the exact moment you are supposed to, warm them in the green house, transplant as they get bigger, wait to move them to the field until after the threat of frost, but you can't control if the rain will fall, or what day it will fall, or how much of it will fall. You can't control if some freak weather pattern creates a frost in June - even though it NEVER frosts that late in the season! Frankly, farming takes a BIG leap of faith every time you plant something. So I can imagine that it must seem pretty silly to think that we can do that much to impact our planet.
Plus, I love my parents - both of them. And I think they are pretty darn smart. And they are very wise. And I understand where they are coming from!
But well, we happen to disagree about the environment and how we should care for the planet. I'll even say it right now - I don't know if I believe in Global Warming either! And honestly, I don't think much about it. But I do believe that chemicals can hurt us. And I believe that we are hurting ourselves in many ways for the sake of ease and convenience and because we mistakenly believe if it were bad for us, it wouldn't be allowed to be sold! And I do love this earth and I want it to be a gorgeous place for many years to come. And I want all water to be safe to drink.
And so, I'm going green.

I'm not there yet. I'm not even partially there! I haven't thrown out all my plastic. I don't buy locally, organically grown food for my family. I don't buy organic milk or free range chicken eggs. I haven't even tossed out all my cleaners. And I still cook on teflon coated pans!
I know, right now you are probably thinking, then how in the heck can you start a blog about going green? Well, because I am trying to make changes. And I am learning. And I also believe that small changes can add up to big results. And well, we are creatures of habit. I am not going to make myself and my family green in one big swoop overnight.

But I am trying. And I am learning. And I'll chronicle it all right here for you to read! I hope I have many good things to report. I hope I get to tell you how easy that one change was and how my kids don't even complain about it and how smart my husband thinks I am! But, I'm sure that there will be some bumps along the road. It won't all be smooth. And it won't happen quickly. But I am trying. And I think that has to count for something!