It's Not Easy Being Green
I want to start by saying that I consider environmental consciousness to be extremely attractive. Whenever I listen or read about people who I admire, in the back of my mind there is always that thought "I bet he/she recycles".
Quick story: I almost broke up with Roger upon finding out that he didn't recycle. He promised to fix that, and that worked out well.
I started to recycle back in 2002, while teaching ESL. I was also working part time at a library, and they had a workshop on recycling. I was in charge of interpreting the workshop to Spanish. I was blown away at the impact that my trash was making to the world.
In the last few years, I realized that recycling was not the only thing I could do to reduce my carbon print in the planet. It has taken a lot of work and a lot of thinking, and all of my efforts are still a work in progress. Here are some things I have changed in my life:
Goodbye Plastic Bottles- Last year I gave up buying water bottles. I used to buy 2 packs per week, because in my mind, I liked the taste of Aquafina better than any other water. Have you ever read that stupid phrase "nothing taste as good as skinny feels" ( I don't believe in that phrase at all, tacos taste better than anything in the world), but I started telling myself "Nothing tastes as good as a clean planet feels" and that was that.
Zip lock bags- Last year around the summer, I realized that we were buying and throwing away a lot of ziplock bags, and that infuriated me. I stopped buying them and transitioned to other forms of storage, like reusable plastic containers.
Things that I am still working on :
Plastic utensils - it is one of my 2018 goals to reduce the amount of plastic utensils I use. This has proven to be a difficult task, because I forget to carry my spoon, and fork everywhere with me.
Disposable straws- another goal of mine is to use less disposable straws, but same as the utensils, I forget to always pack one with me. However, I feel I'm doing better at taking my reusable cup and straw with me to more places.
Grocery bags- We currently have a bag full of empty grocery bags... Roger is not fully not the reusable bag wagon with me. But we do use those as trash liners... which I know it's counterproductive.
Truth is, all of this environmental care takes a lot of work, and a lot of planing. I am not perfect, but I am still wiling to keep working on reducing my carbon footprint on this earth. I am researching into ways to compost in my city, and into reducing my waste. I still find it wildly attractive when I find out somebody recycles.
Quick story: I almost broke up with Roger upon finding out that he didn't recycle. He promised to fix that, and that worked out well.
I started to recycle back in 2002, while teaching ESL. I was also working part time at a library, and they had a workshop on recycling. I was in charge of interpreting the workshop to Spanish. I was blown away at the impact that my trash was making to the world.
In the last few years, I realized that recycling was not the only thing I could do to reduce my carbon print in the planet. It has taken a lot of work and a lot of thinking, and all of my efforts are still a work in progress. Here are some things I have changed in my life:
Goodbye Plastic Bottles- Last year I gave up buying water bottles. I used to buy 2 packs per week, because in my mind, I liked the taste of Aquafina better than any other water. Have you ever read that stupid phrase "nothing taste as good as skinny feels" ( I don't believe in that phrase at all, tacos taste better than anything in the world), but I started telling myself "Nothing tastes as good as a clean planet feels" and that was that.
Zip lock bags- Last year around the summer, I realized that we were buying and throwing away a lot of ziplock bags, and that infuriated me. I stopped buying them and transitioned to other forms of storage, like reusable plastic containers.
Things that I am still working on :
Plastic utensils - it is one of my 2018 goals to reduce the amount of plastic utensils I use. This has proven to be a difficult task, because I forget to carry my spoon, and fork everywhere with me.
Disposable straws- another goal of mine is to use less disposable straws, but same as the utensils, I forget to always pack one with me. However, I feel I'm doing better at taking my reusable cup and straw with me to more places.
Grocery bags- We currently have a bag full of empty grocery bags... Roger is not fully not the reusable bag wagon with me. But we do use those as trash liners... which I know it's counterproductive.
Truth is, all of this environmental care takes a lot of work, and a lot of planing. I am not perfect, but I am still wiling to keep working on reducing my carbon footprint on this earth. I am researching into ways to compost in my city, and into reducing my waste. I still find it wildly attractive when I find out somebody recycles.
I get very surprised when someone tells me they don't recycle. I'm like... why not? It's so easy! Like it either goes in the trash bin or the recycling bin.
ReplyDeleteWe use a lot of zip loc bags. I could do much better on that front. You have now motivated me!
I know!! I know people who don't recycle and I just want to scream at them!!!
Deletezip lock bags are so convenient to use.. I liked using them instead of washing a dish, but they are so awful for the environment! I hope your reduction of ziplock bags goes well!
You are so right, it does take a lot of planning. Adam and I have had reusable grocery bags for years but so many times we forget to grab them on the way out the door. We're getting better at it though. I don't think we've forgotten the reusable bags in a while for groceries. That being said I hardly ever think to bring reusable bags with me when I go regular shopping to like Target or places like that!
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you for keeping good track of your reusable bags!! Somebody suggested to me to keep a few bags in the car, for those times we forget.
DeleteI have a couple of bags that fold into small bags, and carry those for out of town trips, but I need to work harder on that too.
" I consider environmental consciousness to be extremely attractive" ----- THIS!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is so true!! I also find people who are smart and open minded to be very attractive. Hence my love and devotion to Steve Inskeep.
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