Turning Miss Eff Green.
Happy Earth Day!!!
Normally, I would celebrate Earth Day by planting ... a tree, a raspberry bush, a row of broccoli ... anything! But it is 45 deary rainy windy degrees on the hill outside of Donahue .... so here I sit.
Well .... sitting isn't the right word. I stew. I worry. I fret. I get anxious.
I'm really good at it.
But I digress........... back to Earth Day.
I won't say I came to a green lifestyle slowly. But I have to admit that the 1980's were a time of a consumer-driven, materialistic lifestyle .. Why eat a $5 lunch when you could have a $20 lunch?? And I loved it! The latest shoes, going to the best places, re-decorating on a whim...........
If I only had the money I spent!?!
But we have tried to embrace a very green lifestyle that encompasses those three magic, well-known words.... Re-use -- Reduce --Recycle.
Have we made good progress? Yes. You have seen someone drive my car before I did. My clothes were on someone else's back before they were on mine. My lighting and my front doors graced other homes before mine. And I can't tell you how many states my furniture has lived in before arriving in Iowa ... via the thrift store!
We buy in bulk when it makes good sense. We watch the packaging and try to limit what goes into the landfill. We bake our own bread and preserve our own veggies for health and environmental reasons. And after paying $10,000 for a well -- you bet I'm drinking our own water!!!!
We still heat our home with propane and I can't see that changing anytime in the near future. But I hope to heat water next winter with the help of a solar collector. Still no a/c as the Iowa breezes are caught perfectly by the design of our 1892 farmhouse. The Summer Kitchen will be cooled with an attic fan and heated with a solar collector.
Personal cleansing products have been easy to use local, environmentally-sound sources. But other than laundry soap, cleaning products have been a difficult switch for me!!!
We continue to collect rainwater. We raise chickens for eggs and the rich fertilizers they give us. We consider a plant's edible quality before we put something into the ground. We rarely use herbicides ... and never a non-organic pesticide. We are listed on the Iowa Sensitive Crop registry to make our neighbors aware of our crops and the environmental impact of chemical sprays.
Are we perfect? Nope! Its a journey that we walk slowly and daily.... one that we should all embrace.
Every piece of plastic that has ever been made ... is still on this earth.
Talk about a lasting impression ........... :(
As my daughter says ......... How many crying American Indians does it take, for us to understand what we are doing to this earth?
Be the change.
Normally, I would celebrate Earth Day by planting ... a tree, a raspberry bush, a row of broccoli ... anything! But it is 45 deary rainy windy degrees on the hill outside of Donahue .... so here I sit.
Well .... sitting isn't the right word. I stew. I worry. I fret. I get anxious.
I'm really good at it.
But I digress........... back to Earth Day.
I won't say I came to a green lifestyle slowly. But I have to admit that the 1980's were a time of a consumer-driven, materialistic lifestyle .. Why eat a $5 lunch when you could have a $20 lunch?? And I loved it! The latest shoes, going to the best places, re-decorating on a whim...........
If I only had the money I spent!?!
But we have tried to embrace a very green lifestyle that encompasses those three magic, well-known words.... Re-use -- Reduce --Recycle.
Have we made good progress? Yes. You have seen someone drive my car before I did. My clothes were on someone else's back before they were on mine. My lighting and my front doors graced other homes before mine. And I can't tell you how many states my furniture has lived in before arriving in Iowa ... via the thrift store!
We buy in bulk when it makes good sense. We watch the packaging and try to limit what goes into the landfill. We bake our own bread and preserve our own veggies for health and environmental reasons. And after paying $10,000 for a well -- you bet I'm drinking our own water!!!!
We still heat our home with propane and I can't see that changing anytime in the near future. But I hope to heat water next winter with the help of a solar collector. Still no a/c as the Iowa breezes are caught perfectly by the design of our 1892 farmhouse. The Summer Kitchen will be cooled with an attic fan and heated with a solar collector.
Personal cleansing products have been easy to use local, environmentally-sound sources. But other than laundry soap, cleaning products have been a difficult switch for me!!!
We continue to collect rainwater. We raise chickens for eggs and the rich fertilizers they give us. We consider a plant's edible quality before we put something into the ground. We rarely use herbicides ... and never a non-organic pesticide. We are listed on the Iowa Sensitive Crop registry to make our neighbors aware of our crops and the environmental impact of chemical sprays.
Are we perfect? Nope! Its a journey that we walk slowly and daily.... one that we should all embrace.
Every piece of plastic that has ever been made ... is still on this earth.
Talk about a lasting impression ........... :(
As my daughter says ......... How many crying American Indians does it take, for us to understand what we are doing to this earth?
Be the change.
Comments