It Ain't Easy Being Green

In our household, we try to be very environmentally conscious. Now, I haven't always had a knack for being green. Always one to keep a close eye on what I consider frivolous spending, I am frugal when it comes to things like turning off the lights when I leave a room and not using too much water. (Right, utilities? Frivolous. New clothes? Necessity.) These days, I call that environmentally conscious; back when I was paying all the bills on my own, I called it cheap. But Joel is the epitome of a green-thinker. At the farm, we are completely off the grid. He installs and uses solar panels, purchases electric appliances and machines when possible, and we grow a garden. I, however, am still learning and aspiring to be the Green Queen I know I can be someday.

Please let me keep them!!

Recently we watched a documentary on chemicals and realized that 90% of the products we use are full of harmful toxins and chemicals. After watching it, I quickly began googling how to make our own non-toxic, all natural laundry detergent, dish soap, fabric softener, hand soap, etc. I'm even pretty excited about it! Now, I do maintain a little bit of my girliness and product-whoreness when it comes to cosmetics. I am currently on the hunt for all natural toxin-free, yet store bought, amazing smelling, works-perfectly-for-my-body/hair/skin-type products. I'll even shell out the extra dough we're saving on cleaning products to pay for the good stuff when it comes to cosmetics. I haven't even ventured into my make-up drawers. Having spent the last seven years splurging on benefit, Smashbox, and Dior, I simply can't bring myself to make my own lip gloss and eye shadow. Yuck. Once I start in my green domestic goddess adventure, I'll be sure to chronicle it here and let you know how life is without Gain, Palmolive, and Soft Soap.

If this is environmentally-unsafe, knock me out cold. 

My favorite kind of being green is what I engaged in all morning. Now, I used to joke that the greenest thing I did was shop vintage. After watching a TED Talk (our newest way to waste away the day--if you haven't seen one, Netflix them. We're believers!) about reusable fashion as a environmentally conscious choice, I knew exactly how I'd be spending my Saturday morning. As if she read my mind, my friend Belva called to see if I wanted to hit up some yard sales this morning. Once I got past the shock of the 6am wake up call, I threw on some clothes and headed out the door, $100 cash in hand. After four hours of intense scouring, this is the damage.

3 sets of King size sheets
1 set of Queen size sheets
1 pair of swim trunks (SO)
1 Coleman Propane burner set for the farm (SO)
2 dresses
1 skirt
2 pairs name-brand jeans
5 shirts
1 very nice winter coat
1 pair shorts (SO)
1 pair hiking boots for the farm
1 sink with cabinets (long story)
1 pint of blueberries and 1/2 peck of peaches (FARMER'S MARKET--yay!!)
2 guitar hero guitars (Jaxon)
3 PS 2 games (Jaxon)
1 pair of pj pants
1 pair of pj shorts

Grand Total Cost: $100 on the nose.


Not too shabby. It looks like I'm well on my way to being the Green Goddess I want to be. Now, if I can just ignore that nagging voice telling me to jump in the car and run to Target...