Going Green

I want to be environmental and ecological and responsible.  But it is hard.  And often more expensive!  And sometimes, no fun at all.  I recently read an article about a family that threw away just about nothing because they were ubber unwasteful!  The mom took mason jars to the deli so she didn't get the meat wrapped.  The kids got experiences for their birthdays instead of stuff.  They recycled and reused and composted.  It was very interesting and I was jealous.  But I am more lazy than jealous so I can promise you that I will not be taking mason jars to the deli so I can carry home my sliced ham in them instead of the shiny white paper that I have grown accustom to!
Here is what I do to be green.  Granted, some days I am the really light green that almost looks yellow.  Yellow-green is what Crayola calls it.  But other days, I am a pretty vibrant green like the Sinful nail polish color Irish Green.  I don't think I will ever make it to kelly green or forest green.  But I will strive for that. 
Anyway, I have switched as much as I can to email so I don't get paper bills.  But I still get magazines because I don't want to take my e reader in the tub or to the pool or to work.  So those two kind of cancel each other out.  But I do pass my magazines on to others so they are read more than once. 
I use energy efficient light bulbs in about three fourths of the fixtures in my house.  I have yet to find a good outside one that is bright right off the bat and can withstand the cold weather.  My current energy efficient bulbs that are on the garage take twenty minutes to get bright and I am not exaggerating.  Harlow can go outside, dink around, go pee, dink around so more, go to the fence and bark at nothing, search the yard for a good place to poop, decide that that isn't a good place to poop, dink around behind the deck, roll around in the dry leaves, poop, run to the fence, perk her ears up at some sound, look at me for explanation of sound, dink around in the leaves by the garage, sit on the back door stoop and be let in.  Just as I am about to flip off the garage lights, they shine at their brightest.
I wash most everything in cold/cold but I don't air dry much of anything.  I wouldn't mind a clothes line, but someone in the house doesn't like stiff, scratchy line dried clothes.  I use a dishwasher and run it when it is full but I don't use the dry cycle. 
I don't buy water bottles but do get five gallon bottles filled at Hy Vee.  And say whatever you want about that, but I can taste a difference.  We did try a filter on the tap and a pitcher with a filter, but neither of these worked out for us.  The tap filter didn't fit the faucet and the pitcher never got used. 
Danny and I bought fuel efficient cars.  That is our biggest green thing at the moment, but any good that we have done will be offset by the plane trip we take this April.  So much for lowering that carbon footprint.
Many of the greens steps we have taken are green in two ways, environmentally and economically.  We have installed better windows and doors.   We put in a heat blanket in the attic and we have a high efficiency washer.  The blanket has done such a good job for us that our heating bill is lower now with the blanket AND running the hot tub than it was before the blanket and the hot tub.
I search online for more tips but so much of what I find just isn't feasible.  We can't have a goat mow the yard.  I will not bike or rollerblade to work.  The city will not allow me to erect a windmill in the yard.  But I could plant more local plants in the yard.  I could have one day a week that I don't drive the car.  I could even email companies to encourage them to reduce their packaging. 
You know though, Kermit is right, it isn't easy being green.  It takes thought and effort.  It takes being diligent about turning off everything and even never plugging some stuff in in the first place.  It means looking at what I am buying and if I need to buy it in the first place.  It means shopping local, living local.  It means trying to think of a larger picture than the one I am starring in.  Greater good and all that feel good mumbo jumbo.  But as Kermit said,
I am green and it'll do fine
It's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be!