A greener shade of green

There was something I left off of my colossal list of things I would like to do in 2010. O.k., there were two - the first being that I would not sweat it if I didn't make it through the list by year's end, and the second being that I would try and be just a little more green. I have always been pretty environmentally concious - I am pretty faithful about recycling and composting, I try to buy local as much as possible, and I like to ride my bike when weather permits, or when I'm not feeling too lazy. But, as they say, there's always room for improvement. So I signed up for an on-line challenge today that will hopefully take my level of green to a whole new level! Hip Mountain Mama has challenged fellow bloggers to make one small change a month from now until Earth Day, April 22, 2010 and to blog about their experiences. 


Since I started a new job out of town, I have been feeling green guilt about having to drive the car on a daily basis. This has resulted in me becoming a little bit lazy and a little more reliant on my car than I would like to be. So my initial desire was to commit to getting off my lazy butt and to riding my bike for all in-town purposes. But this being Canada in the early days of January, I didn't think that would work out so well for me (I'll maybe save that one for April!). So I've decided, for my first challenge, to not buy anything that our household does not need. Having just come down from the Christmas glut and having just cleaned out my kids' rooms of Christmases past, I was shocked to see how much waste our tiny household had created! This was just the exercise we needed to really start considering what and how much we buy. It wasn't long after I had committed to this challenge that it met me face-to-face when I had to stop at the pharmacy on my way home from work. Trust me, I really needed to buy deodorant. But a quick stop at the pharmacy is never just a quick stop at the pharmacy for me. As I walked toward the check-out counter, those glossy magazine covers were calling me over to pick up the latest issue that would show me all of the hot trends for 2010. Stop! And I did. Oooo! A new flavour of lip gloss! Must...have...but I put it back. But wait! Look over there! An entire aisle of discounted Christmas chocolates! Step...away...from...the...aisle! And I did. (My pocketbook and my waistline were thanking me! Hey! I might be able to knock a few of my New Year's resolutions off the list!) I'm not going to lie - this is really going to be a challenge. But I do hope that it will be one that will carry on once the month of January is over. Stay tuned!