Color Me Green!

I’ve decided to share my whole small attempt to go green. I haven’t been swayed by the celebs – this is being done by me to do my part in saving the planet. The fun thing is that the more you do, the more money you save for yourself. My dad used to nag about turning the lights off when you leave a room. He was from the depression era. I wasn’t. I decided that when I grew up and was on my own, I’d leave every darn light on if I wanted. Well wouldn’t that just show my dad something as I paid my “over what it should be” electric bill. Ouch.

Basically I’ve been green since before Al Gore said a word about it. Yea me! But I started trying to save money. I try each month to save a little more. It’s working, and I’m doing fantastically. Of course what I pay each month for utilities is probably less than the celebs pay for one lunch at a posh restaurant.

I’ve stopped using central air. I live on the Mojave Desert so a swamp cooler works great. Takes a little water, but not very much.

I’ve cut back on the water time for my lawn. I notice my lawn isn’t as plush or green as the neighbors’ yards. I don’t care.

I did switch to the energy efficient lightbulbs. They can really make a difference.

I don’t use the dry cycle on my dishwasher. The dishes come out clean – no problem with water spots, and I never run it without a full load.

I have a clothesline in my garage. During the summer everything dries within a few minutes. I wash all clothes in cold water, except for towels, and I do try towels and sheets in the dryer. My gas bill is next to nothing.

I’ve washed my car twice since I got it October 2006. Is it dirty? Nope. I bought one of those $7 California Cardusters at Walmart. I keep the car in the garage and dust it off before I go someplace. It looks like it was just washed yesterday. I also waxed it on the first wash.

I carry a large thermal bag with me into the market. All of my cold items go in it. I can then run errands without worrying about everything going bad and I tote bags for the rest. The big thermal bags are only about $8 at Sam’s Club. They’re huge, easy to carry and also work for hot foods.

I did read that in exerpts from The Green Book, a how-to guide filled with celebrities’ advice for would-be environmentalists by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen that Jennifer Aniston takes a 3 minute shower to conserve water. She brushes her teeth with a brush wash technique. Okay – that’s saving water and she’s doing her part, but I also wonder what other ways she saves in her new 9,000 sq. ft. home.

I am always slightly amused when celebrities give advice. Years ago Cindy Crawford had her first baby and wrote a book. In an interview she was asked why she wrote the book. She answered that she wanted to let mothers everywhere know that it was okay to play with their babies. And she explained how they could go about doing it. Whoa! If Cindy Crawford wants to give out some makeup tips, that’s great. But c’mon – please don’t tell me that mothers didn’t play with their babies until she came along. I think too many of these people forget they’re just that – people. I think so many think they’re the characters they play on screen.

There are some who truly do practice what they preach – Leo DiCaprio and Ed Begley Jr. come to mind. I still have a lot I could be doing. If you have any good ideas of things you’re doing, please share them with us.

Happy Earth Day 2007!

Earth Day 2007 is April 22, 2007. I think it’s special to have a special day for it, but also think that every day should be earth day.
I’ve been watching the Discovery channel’s “Planet Earth”. It consists of eleven segments dedicated to our planet Earth. I have to admit, I’m more of a “Desperate Housewives” tv viewer than the Discovery channel. But I’m fascinated with this entire series and it made me want to learn more and more our planet (finally).
I’ve even sent emails to friends telling them to watch. The first run is on Sunday nights. I watch in HD – and it’s so beautiful.
You can get more information and the schedule at http://discovery.com. And, you can get a glimpse of what’s been shown in a photo album.
You can also buy all eleven segments on dvd. That information is also at the Discovery site. I sound like a Discovery channel salesperson. No. Just bowled over at the whole series. This Sunday, the 22nd (Earth Day), is the segment on “Caves”. Really a good one. Also at the end of each segment, they show how they filmed some of the incredible things shown – animals, mountains, things that have never been filmed before.
I did get inspired and thus the two new designs that I have in my cafepress shop bySandra. Items available on tees, totes, hats, calendars, tiles, LOTS of stuff.