Going Green

Lately I've been feeling convicted about how I treat/mistreat the environment. My sweet husband lovingly asked me if I am becoming "one of those tree-hugging crazies." I don't think I am, although some changes that I am considering will be out of the American norm. Here are some of the things that I have been considering (and no I am not committing to make these changes - just pondering):

1. After we move I want to stop buying paper napkins and towels. This is the easiest one, I think. Not only will it save a lot of money, but our classy factor will increase a hundred fold if we eat with cloth napkins every night.

Martha would approve.

2. Feminine products. Yeah, I know. Super nasty. The idea of using one of these things more than once makes me cringe, too. But, think about it. They're expensive. They're wasteful. The good news: we have options. Pads, tampons and... diva cups? I am afraid that the tampons would give me an instant case of TSS, but that may just be my grossed-out sensibilities talking.

Admit it. You think the owls are cute. And it has snaps!

3. When we have kids (no Mom, I'm not pregnant) I really, really want to use cloth diapers and wipes. Yes, there will be a lot of laundry but I think it would be worth it between the savings and the decreased incidence of diaper rash and other un-pleasantries.

Teach 'em young

4. Number three made me think: How hypocritical is it to make your kid use cloth diapers when you use trees to wipe your butt? This is the thing on my list with the biggest "ick factor." I know that for thousands of years people went to the bathroom with out a toilet, much less toilet paper, but it's just so - expected, and normal, and nice, and easy. There are, however, many alternates to tp. Some people use cloth wipes, other simply get a bidet. I'm leaning towards a bidet, but I think this may be where the green train stops. I would rather be married. I still maintain that cutting down trees to wipe your butt and immediately throw away is the ultimate waste.

See. It's not that scary...

5. Switch to a CatGenie rather than using our current nasty box and traditional litter. Cat litter is terrible for the environment. It is bad to make and worse to throw away. Making this alteration would also allow us to make change #6.

6. Switch to re-usable grocery bags rather than plastic. This is something that I really want to do, but, we have cats. Our cats have a litter box. It has to be cleaned out. We have to have a place to put their... deposits. That place is a plastic bag. See our predicament? Save us, CatGenie!

Stylish!

I'm going to stop this list here, lest I overwhelm myself. 6 is a good start, after all. I'll keep you updated as to our progress. I will say that we have switched to using CFL bulbs almost exclusively, so that's good right?