Progress

So, I've been reflecting on what exactly I have been doing well and what i haven't in my efforts to reduce my ecological footprint. when we got our electric bill this month, it had gone down $15!! and that's in spite of the fact that we started cloth diapering and are dealing with the summer heat now. Anyway, here's what i've changed:

Energy

• turn off lights when i leave the room and re-think turning them on in the first place. (like during the day or if i'm just passing through a room. i thought i was doing this before, but i don't think i was really putting much effort forth.)
• when i do use the dryer, i always clean out the lint trap.only run full loads of laundry (it uses the same amount of energy to run a full load as it does to run a small load)
• unplugged small appliances in the kitchen when not in use (coffee maker, toaster oven, food processor)
• turn off power strips for entertainment center and computer desk when not in use.
• unplug phone chargers. apparently these are big energy suckers.
• use the dryer less (sometimes i need it to shrink my stretched out clothes, but other than that i don't use it. it makes me feel old fashioned)
• turn stove/oven off before food is completely cooked (food will continue to cook for a few minutes with the heat that's already in there, and i figure it won't make the house as hot.)
• don't preheat, i never cook anything that actually needs preheating (i'm not much of a baker, i would weigh 300 lbs.)
• always put a lid on what i'm cooking on the stove. things cook much faster. the watched pot actually does boil!
• stopped watching TV during the day. (it's so nice to be free of the commercials dancing in my head.)
• use the toaster oven rather than the big one for cooking small batches of things.
• eating more raw food, buying less processed food.

Garbage

• recycling (compostables go in the green bin, recyclables in the blue bags, etc.)
• cloth diapering! i actually really like it!
• broke the paper towel habit (i no longer grab them for toast or fruit or use them for cleaning or killing bugs :)
• trying to buy things with less packaging/in bulk, but i'll be working on this more
• using my reusable shopping bags (and getting my 5 cent discount, haha)
• making some baby food myself (i need to do more of this too, now that i'm more comfortable with it)
• cloth baby wipes - i cut up an old pair of flannel pajama pants = free!
• trying to reduce disposables - especially at restaurants and such.

Emissions

• i've been walking a lot! it's been so wonderful! i walk to the carrot to pick up our CSA box, i walk to save mart, to go get coffee, to the farmers market and to the library. fun fun, but only before noon.
• i've reduced my trips to target, which is across town. i think i only went once this month, which is good for me. i'm addicted to that place.
• i often don't even take the car anywhere during the day. if i get out for a walk in the morning, it keeps me from feeling house-bound and like i need to go somewhere.
• combining trips
• buying local produce

Water

• i have successfully weaned myself from my addiction to long showers and hot baths. it's nice to have that time for other things now.
• turn off the water when i brush my teeth
• turn off the water in between dishes when rinsing.
• i'm experimenting with watering the lawn less/using dirty water on the lawn, but so far it's turning pretty brown. i need to give it some more love (and dirty water).
• stopped eating meat. i never intended to stop entirely, but it just kind of happened after reading up on it. (read Diet for a New America if you're interested) side note: i feel better since i'm eating more veggies and fresh foods and it's cheaper i think. plus, you reduce your pesticide intake and it's all around better for you, but you're free to disagree with me.

Other

• started with the all natural cleaning products - works a lot better than i thought! works great, actually
• started an experiment with washing my hair with baking soda and rinsing with apple cider vinegar. i've read that you have to do it for 2 wks before deciding to stick with it or not, so we'll see! (so far it's interesting, i'm not sure how i feel)

all in all, since it's only been a couple of months since i started paying attention, i'm pretty proud of myself. i was afraid of embarassment in a few cases, but i got over that real quick and people don't look at me as funny as i thought they would when i hand them my reusable bags. i feel like i still have a long way to go, but it's actually been quite pleasant to make these changes (as you may be able to tell from all of my comments in parentheses) which was kind of unexpected. so, i'm looking forward to hopefully having some more progress in the future. i'm excited! especially as we begin packing for the big upcoming move, i hope to downsize in some ways to make things easier. yay! for those of you who actually read this, feel free to send me more suggestions.