Taking a Step Back

This past summer has been a difficult time for our family's Green efforts. There have been greater setbacks than in previous times, something I thought couldn't happen. Each time I walk into the kitchen I mentally note the things we aren't doing that we should be doing. One of the simplest Green moves, using reusable fabric shopping bags, has ground to a halt. Those bags are beginning to sport a certain amount of bacteria from leaks and spills to the point I don't trust them. Most of them can't be washed. Who decided that cardboard should be part of a reusable transport system? Fortunately, I am taking the plastic bags back to the store, but I wonder when they'll stop offering bags at all. Our closest store stopped giving us the nickel credit for bringing your own bag.

Bags are only a minor part of my slippage. I decided to lower the air conditioning temperature. The family doesn't complain as long as it's below 80 degrees. I still take comfort in the fact that some of our neighbors keep their thermostat closer to 70.

I have begun to feel rather sheepish sneaking our recyclables into the neighbor's bins. I plan to 'negotiate' our recycling fee with the trash company if I could get it down to $1 a month, but I'm not betting on it.

Now that it has cooled off outside, I find that the colder I run the refrigerator, the more heat it throws off into the kitchen. Talk about tradeoffs. The family wonders why I keep the grapes so cold, now that it isn't as hot outside. It's an energy thing.

While quite a few things now go directly into the trash that were former recycled, we still only put out one can of household waste. So our increase in the can hasn't really contributed to a major increase in the landfill. So, I'm still counting on the small stuff shown on my Green Short Cuts web site to keep our family Green. Are you?