Being Green

I've never really thought of myself as a "green" person. Definitely not a "tree hugger" (and I'm not using the term in a derogatory fashion). I started taking stock of my life, though, and realized I'm a lot more environmentally conscious than I gave myself credit for.

We have a very energy efficient home* - double/triple glazed windows, ridge vents, ample insulation in the ceiling, water heater wraps, and reduced flow shower heads. We use CF bulbs in our fixtures, close the blinds on the sunny side of the house, and try to keep chargers unplugged when not in use. We've always recycled aluminum, paper and plastic** and have just recently started composting. I use cloth bags whenever possible when shopping and when purchasing my last car, dropped back to a better gas mileage 4 cylinder engine. These are just a few of the little things.... but they all add up.

Here are a couple of websites I ran across awhile back that you might find interesting.

Earth911

The Freecycle Network



* We originally built it this way over 20 years ago. When I was drawing house plans in college 30 years ago we were designing them using solar panels, berming, etc.!

** We live outside the city limits so this involves carting all our recycle stuff to the center ourselves rather than just putting it curbside.