ATTEMPTING TO GO GREEN

Oprah caught my listening ear yet again and I am going to make an honest attempt to go green but not go overboard and build a house out of dirt and tree limbs!!! I am going to watch my electricity and water consumption although I am not sure about keeping my house at 78 degrees. I have bought some compact flourescent lightbulbs and can't wait to see if it actually lowers my electric bill like they claim. I am going to start recycling paper, plastic, aluminum cans and batteries. I found out there is a recycling drop off about two miles from our house and another in BA! I am even going to recycle all the worthless faxes and nonsense papers from work. Don't know about taking my own canvas washable bag for groceries though. Seriously how many families can get all their groceries in a couple of canvas bags! I would have to buy like thirty! I went online to stop the junk mail from coming to my house. I am also going to try the Shaklee and other all natural cleaning products available and hope it also will help with our home air quality. Some may say I am crazy but I clean all the time and some of those chemicals give me a headache and I know that strong chemical smell can't be healthy. My next idea is to refill Martez's water bottles with the filtered water from our refrigerator to see how long it takes him to notice and that will be a case of plastic bottles saved per week!! I'll just close them really tight so he'll maybe believe they are sealed!! I've never understood why he doesn't drink it anyway - it is filtered and cold. They also talked about cutting down on the number of napkins used per day. However can't help much there I have two boys and they just know how to wipe it on their shirt! Just kidding but we really never have napkins so I guess I will cut down on the number of baby wipes I use per day. I am only going to run the dryer and dishwasher in the early morning or evening hours when it is cooler since they produce more heat in the house. I will also wash in cold water. That one will be the easiest because every big girl knows your clothes shrink in hot water and we can't have that!!! Next I am going to get a smart strip. It keeps the tv, dvd player or computer from wasting energy even when they are turned off and supposedly this will lower the electric bill too. We'll see and I'll let you know. I do wonder though: Will I have to constantly reset the clocks on the tv etc? That would get really old! Keep the toaster, coffee maker, mixer, or other unused appliances unplugged if they aren't in use! I hate coffee so that is no biggie! I figure I can at least try if not for myself then for my children because they will be the ones living here long after we are gone. I am going to get The Green Book! It is supposed to have 500 everyday easy things to help save our planet. I'll let you all know about the easy things that we all can do to help out because for now that is all I have the time and energy for - easy!! That sounded bad but I am a busy working mom, the easier the better. At least I am willing to try. If it is as easy as they make it sound then I will be able to do it and so will you! Here I go wish me luck and don't worry I am not going to be a crazed environmentalist living in a treehouse I am just going to be eco-friendly! And have you all been watching the Planet Earth series on Discovery? It is truly amazing. Elijah insisted on watching it because of all the animals and now we are all hooked. They have some unbelievable footage. It is a MUST see for all