Looking Underneath

The beautiful purple and yellow flowers of eggplants grow facing down, so you can't really see what's going on with them unless you lie on the ground and look up at them, or lift them up and look underneath. It's sort of like that with "green changes," too. You sometimes have to stop and look underneath the hustle and bustle of daily life to really see how you're doing.

Seven months ago, I read that Go Green book and took that carbon footprint test and made the laundry list of things we as a family could do to live lighter on the land. I'm going to "lift up" the flower and show what's been going on underneath:

* Our usage of every single utility (gas, water and electric) has been LOWER this year over last year, since April. Our big change? Awareness. That's it. What could we achieve if we actually try?!

* My auto gasoline bill has been slashed, slashed, slashed. Last month, my total gasoline costs were $67, during a month where gasoline hit $4.50 a gallon. I would say I'm averaging about 70 miles of driving a week now, usually because one weekend day usually involves a bit of an outing. Days go by without me getting in the car now. I actively look for ways to avoid it, especially by do more things locally and with alternative transportation. This past Saturday, for instance, we almost went ice skating or to the river to ride bikes, both of which would have involved about an hour of driving round-trip. Instead, we walked to the bus stop and took the bus to a book store (and a neighbor teenager tagged along for her first ride ever on the bus). We then walked to that bus stop and read our books (I had a book already, the girls bought one) before riding the bus and walking home. Very, very nice.

Here are the other items on the list that I was able to check off:

• Buy stainless steel water bottles and eliminate plastic water bottles
• Buy Brita water purifier container and reduce bottled water use
• Call utility company and inquire about green energy options
• Close doors to rooms when not in use and reduce energy use
• Reduce car trips. Period. Make chart to follow progress week-to-week
• Make exclusively vegetarian meals at home (reduces carbon output 50%)
• Limit showers to 5 minutes and save water
• Use rain barrel for watering plants
• Use cloth napkins only
• Reduce paper towel use (use hand towels) and use 80% post consumer
• Use glasses instead of paper cups
• Make homemade herbal tea and eliminate store-bought packaging
• Eliminate dry cleaning as an option
• Reduce lawn
• Eliminate gas-based lawn care and all chemicals
• Find a natural shampoo and conditioner that actually works
• Buy a reusable coffee filter and eliminate paper filters
• Increase yields of kitchen garden and reduce store-bought food needs
• Add food and native plantings to front and side yards
• Eliminate unwanted catalog mailings
• Let most magazine subscriptions run out (read online or at library)
• Never buy greeting cards or wrapping paper again
• Sign up at freecycle.com

These changes have become pretty seamless parts of my everyday life now. There are still lots of challenges--reducing packaging is the biggest one since there are very few bulk food options within twenty minutes of my home. Since I believe waste is a design failure, I am on the hunt to solve this problem (no shopping at Trader Joe's, for instance, where just about everything is overpackaged).

As for food, I have been able to maintain costs from last year even though prices have risen significantly. Unlike many people written about in the news lately, I have not altered my commitment to organics at all. In fact, I've probably increased it. The veg thing is the big difference, but I'm also making more and more things from scratch (veggie burgers, for instance, rather than buying a box of four for 5 bucks) and continuing to eat whatever my local farmers have, and whatever is growing in my garden. Finally, I'm allowing certain foods to become "treats" again. Olives. Grapes. Ice cream. Somehow, over the years, these had become everyday items, even though to get good, organic versions was expensive. And so we still have the good stuff. But far less often.

What we are doing comes nowhere near comparing to what off-the-grid homesteaders are doing. We're just a regular suburban family, living in a subdivision, going to work and school, seeing friends and movies and plays, being involved in our community, trying to make a little bit of a difference. And feeling richer than we did a year ago, despite everything that's happening "out there," because we've been focusing on what's "underneath," and on each other.

Looking Underneath