I don’t even know where to start. November 22, 2008

It’s been way too long since I’ve updated my blog!  October was filled with the craziness of the MOPS convention in Dallas, Carina visiting, getting Oscar neutered, Hanson tour, and a couple of Sixers shows.  Needless to say, I’ve been playing catch-up for a few weeks!  I’ve thought to myself many times, Gosh, I need to update that blog! It seems so overwhelming at this point that I’m not even sure where to start.

Even though tour, I tried my best to keep adding one new ‘green’ resolution to my list each week.  I haven’t posted anything, but I’ve been doing - and that’s really the important part!  I’m hoping to set aside a few moments to get Fifty-Two Green up to speed!

I’ve found a new love/project!  (I know, just what I need is something else to try to accomplish!)  I downloaded a trial version of Adobe’s Photoshop and absolutely fell in love with it.  Many of the first days of November were consumed with Photoshopping all of my photos from the Walk Around The World Tour.  Alas, I’ll never be able to afford the program, but it was amazing to experience it for 30 days!  I actually discovered that I had downloaded the trial for CS3, and CS4 is now out.  I’m in the process of attempting to download the CS4 trial, and hopefully have the program for another 30 days!  It really is an incredible tool and I wish like anything that I had a spare thousand dollars to drop on it.  Alas, my financial priorities are elsewhere….

Speaking of financial priorities, I’m proud to report that Alex & I are officially out of debt!!  We didn’t have much to begin with, but after listening to Dave Ramsey, we decided that we want to operate on a cash-only basis from now on.  We paid off our car, my student loan, and our credit card.  It was a thrilling feeling to close our Capital One account and be able to quote Dave: “What’s in your wallet?  MONEY!”  Of course we have many more ‘baby steps’ to accomplish, but for now, we’re very satisfied with being debt-free!

Even on tour. October 12, 2008

This week begins the craziness of The Walk Around The World Tour, for me at least!  I’ll be attending 9 shows in the next three weeks!  Often tour means many meals eaten on the road in a hurry, equating with lots of trash created.  My resolution for this week is that even on tour, I’m going to do my best to stay ‘green’!

Probably the biggest way we’ll be green this year is to carpool to every show.  I’m not attending any shows alone, and for most of them, I’ll be riding with two or more people.  Not only does this strategy allow us to split the cost of gas and share the driving time, but we’ll also cut the amount of gas we would use in half or more!  Carpooling to shows is definitely the way to go – besides, it makes tour extra fun!  This week I have to credit everyone I plan to ride with this tour: Ashley, Chrissy, Emma, Erin, Karen, and Kim – you guys are the best!

Lather, rinse, repeat. October 5, 2008

I recently purchased one of those Reynolds handi-vacs to use when I freeze food.  It’s an awesome little machine – there is virtually no freezerburn on anything I use it on!  I frequently freeze meat since Alex & I can rarely finish an entire package before it would spoil.  I could see, though, how this handy little machine could easily create a lot of waste.

The plastic bags used for vacuum sealing have a double layer on part of the bag, which means more plastic in the landfill for every bag thrown away.  The bags are also a little more pricey than regular freezer bags.  Solution?  I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve resolved to wash and reuse plastic freezer bags.  *Gasp!*  It sounds like a lot of extra work, but it really shouldn’t be.  And even if it is, it’s worth it to do a little to save the planet.

Use half. September 28, 2008

Finally, I’m posting my green resolutions from the past two months!  I’m going to post-date them to make them less confusing.  Even though I haven’t posted these, I have been keeping them!

Whenever I use soap, it’s natural for me to use one pump for whatever I’m doing.  It occured to me this week that most of the time, I probably don’t need an entire pump of soap.  So, I’m commited to only using half a pump of soap when I wash my face, hands, or the dishes.  It doesn’t sound like much, but cutting my yearly soap useage in half will make a big difference!

BYO… M? September 22, 2008

It’s officially fall, and that means I’ll be visiting Starbucks a lot more than I do in the summer!  I’m not sure what it is about the slight fall chill that makes me crave coffee.  I drink it more from September to November than I do even during the coldest winter months!  With all of those to-go drinks can easily come a lot of paper and plastic waste.  So this week’s resolution is to bring my own mug whenever I visit a coffee house!  If I forget the mug, then I’ll just have to make do without coffee that day.

I actually went 3 times last week, and thankfully had planned ahead and brought my favorite travel mug each time.  I adore the logo and saying on it (Hanson: highly caffeinated since 1992), but perhaps even more I adore that it was free!  I won it during the spring leg of Hanson’s “The Walk Tour.”  At each show, fan club members were able to get their membership cards scanned and entered in a drawing for free merchandise.  After the opening act, the winner was announced.  In Falls Church, I was that lucky winner!  By that point I’d already purchased everything I really desired, except the mug.  It was $25, and in my opinion that’s way too much!  I’m thrilled to have it, and it reminds me of tour and especially that show every time I use it.

So this fall, not only will I be helping to save the planet, I’ll be reminiscing about a wonderful tour and advertising for my favorite band.  Does life get any sweeter?

Cut the chemicals. September 14, 2008

This week’s resolution closely ties in with last week’s!  Since I’ve banished disposable toilet cleaning products from my house and switched to a toilet bowl brush, I definitely need some type of cleaner to use in that dirty toilet bowl!  Sarah told me that she has recently been using vinegar, sometimes with baking soda added, to clean her toilets.  I’ve decided to adopt this habit, too.  I bought the biggest jug of vinegar available – 5 gallons!  Since both baking soda and vinegar are things people can ingest, I figure they’re probably pretty easy on our earth.  I just hope they clean well!  And as a bonus, I can now make my own pickles….

Brush up. September 8, 2008

This week’s resolution will probably have a pretty big impact.  For the past three years, I’ve been using the Clorox disposable cleaning wand to clean my toilets.  I decided that it’s probably not good to be throwing out that blob of spun plastic every other week!  I bought a toilet bowl brush, and after I use that last cleaning wand, I’ll be switching to using it exclusively.  (I haven’t used a brush since I lived with my parents – I hope it cleans well!)

About face. September 5, 2008

This blog is almost a week late.  (I blame the holiday weekend, having company [not that I minded at all!], and general laziness.)  I promise I’ve been doing it all week, even though I’m just now getting around to posting!

It’s time to do an about-face from using conventional face wash to one that’s more earth-friendly.  I’m going to be honest: it’s not organic.  The commissary actually doesn’t currently offer an organic face wash!  This one, however, is soap-free, colorant-free, contains no animal-derived ingredients, and is not tested on animals.  I’m not sure those could all be claimed by my former scrubbing agent, so I figure it’s at least an improvement.  Leaving out the soap and colorant is not only better for the skin, but also prevents those chemicals from being washed down the drain.  It’s amazing how much soap is put into our fresh water sources each year, and it has a profound effect on the environment.

[I bet I looked kind of silly having a photo shoot with a bottle of face wash in my backyard, but hey, my indoor lighting isn't very good!]

Take a cold(er) shower. August 24, 2008

Heating water takes a lot of energy! My resolution this week is to take cooler showers. I’ve marked a line in the shower past which I won’t turn the knob. (It’s about half as far as I normally turn it!) Summer is a great time to start doing this, because let’s face it – I tend to take warmer showers in the winter. By December, maybe I’ll be used to the change!

Fifty-two green. August 22, 2008

“It’s not easy being green…” Sorry Kermit, but I’m out to prove you wrong. I’m making an effort to change my habits to be more planet-friendly. It’s been a process, one that began several years ago and seems to have grown exponentially in the past few months. Inspired by a blog I saw called “365 Green,” in which the author records one green change she makes each day, I’m trying “Fifty-two Green.” I hereby resolve to make one green change each week – either for my body or for the planet. I’ll start with a list of green things I already do. You won’t find these in future weeks’ reports – no fair unless it’s an actual change!

• Bring my own cloth bags to the commissary
• Use environmentally-friendly (Seventh Generation) dish washing detergent and household cleaner
• Buy organic dairy products (& various others)
• Use energy-efficient washing machine & dryer; run full loads only
• Buy items with smaller/recyclable packaging
• Recycle all plastic, metal, glass, and paper products
• Turn off air conditioning whenever possible & open windows
• Use organic shampoo, conditioner, & body wash
• Use compact fluorescent bulbs in all fixtures

These are good starts, but I could do a lot more. I’ll post my new week’s resolution every Saturday. Oh, and it’s list I’m adding to – when I make a change, it’s not just for a week. The changes are here to stay. Please feel free to leave comments with ideas for what I can do each week!