Earth Day

Happy Earth Day to everyone!!

When I was in 4th grade I learned about Earth Day. I was scared to death of what the world would be like if everyone didn't recycle. Then as any 4th grader will, I forgot about the day until the next year when we again celebrated it in school. I immediately felt guilty about the whole year going by and my not doing more. But again, I forgot. It wasn't until I was an adult that I started watching my carbon footprint, and as I started recycling, I found more and more to recycle. Today I recycle everything from the Jiffy corn muffin box to the plastic containers that my deli meat comes in. I make a pile of paper every day that sits on my dining room table until I end up in the garage, then it goes in the recycling bins. I have 2 bins for paper and one for plastic, but I always end up needing more that that, so I have a garbage can which I use for overflow. It's amazing how much junk mail I get and it all gets thrown into the bins. Every glass jar that I'm unable to re purpose, every paper and plastic packaging that something new comes in. It all ends up there, waiting to be recycled by the city.

My husband thinks that words like, 'green' and 'carbon footprint' are a laugh, he pictures hippies living in trees or pretentious people who only want to be viewed as earth friendly using them. But it's hard not to use those words when talking about a lifestyle. And this is my lifestyle, a green one (good thing he doesn't read this blog!). I use cloth diapers, bring my own bags to stores (although I do enjoy getting plastic bags sometimes to use for dog poop bags), and I unplug electronics when I know I won't be using them for a while. I'm not as earth friendly as some people, but I believe that I am more earth friendly than most. So on this Earth Day I ask you all to look at what you're throwing in the garbage. Can it be recycled? Just like any change in life, it just takes a little persistence before it becomes a habit.