Last year I did a "Frugal Habit of the Week" for several months, during which I tried a new frugal habit every week. Some habits stuck (like making homemade, completely unpackaged lunches for my husband) while others seemed to last about a week too long. At the end I calculated my savings and the difficulty of practicing the habit.
This year I want to give up bad, carbon-producing habits. As I have said before, I believe that most American families are wasteful in the small habits of their lives than in the larger areas. So here's what I'm giving up this week: long showers.
My showers are not actually that long, about 10-15 minutes. I justify them by claiming that they are my only time to think and I use a low-flow shower head. This week I am going to give up the long showers (and possibly also thinking, but, realistically, how much is that thought really worth?). I am going to get wet, turn off the faucet, lather up, turn on the faucet, rinse, and turn it off again. End of shower.
It's freaking freezing in my house, by the way.
But I don't have a lot of truly wasteful habits. In fact, I am going to have a hard time thinking of another thing to give up next week, so I welcome suggestions. I could give up all animal foods and products. Driving. Indeed, I, a normal mommy, am going to be taking many short forays out of the mainstream and trying on la vida crunchy. Because I think our planet is worth it, and my electric bill was insane last month.
I plan to write about each week's habit the Sunday after it is finished and introduce the new habit in that same post. So be sure to check back then... and during the week as well.
(If any companies want me to try their green stuff for a week, email me because I am so about the freebies and this is your company's chance to reach out to the bazillions of mommies in Yakima and worldwide who read me.)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
What I'm Giving Up to Save the World, Part One
Posted by Emily the Great and Terrible at 10:28 AM
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1 comments:
This is a great idea. We started doing this type of thing a few months back, but we take it a month at a time. It helps to really see how things change. We started simple, like only using our own cloth bags, then buying organic only when it is an option, then once a month grocery shopping, buying only organic fruits and veggies..if not an option we do not buy it, no processed foods, turing heat down, this month we are trying to use no paper products or limit the ones we do use (cloth napkins, no paper towels, no tissues, use hankerchiefs, and limit the amount of tp used, yep that means we are going to the family cloth for most potty issues (not all). We are excited about what we will try next.
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