It's not easy being green...

OK, so I am not the greenest. But I am trying. Really hard. Well, hard-ish.

I have the reusable bags for the grocery store. But I feel a little odd about bringing my Giant bags into Genuardi's or Acme. So sometimes I leave them in the car because I don't want to hurt their feelings at the other stores. (I am guessing they have no actual feelings on the subject and would probably rather have me in their store buying a big pile of groceries regardless of the bags I bring).

I do have one Whole Foods bag, and that one just makes me feel kind of cool. In a pseudo-green poser sort of way.

I am beginning to think there is some rule that the cashiers aren't allowed to touch the reusable bags. Or else I am giving off some manic control-freak vibe when I plunk my stash-o-bags on the conveyor belt. But they basically won't put anything in the bags. I stand there wildly opening the bags and attempting to sort through the deluge of stuff as it piles up at the bottom of the bagging area...and they just sort of watch me...and don't help.

Sometimes if I run out of space in my 6 bags (which is not often) - they do put the extra stuff in a plastic bag. Thanks for that.

So I am feeling all righteous when I use the bags - but not enjoying the process all that much.

I went to the farmer's market last week. Trying to "eat local" and do more "whole foods" and all that good stuff. But there are like BUGS flying around. And I didn't recognize many of the varieties of produce, which seemed to be heavy on the "fancy lettuce" category. So I ended up buying a loaf of bread. Lame, I know. The planet needs saving and I am buying bread.

We are transitioning to compact fluorescent bulbs. We are using the water bottles with less plastic. We are not taking receipts at the ATM or the gas station (I don't want evidence of how much I am spending on gas anyway!)

My dog eats food from Whole Foods. My children, for the most part, do not.

I still don't buy organic milk. Because if I had to dump 1/2 full glasses of milk that costs $8 a gallon down the sink I might have to kill someone. And trust me, that is much scarier than whatever might be in non-organic milk.

We are finding small ways to get greener. It is a long road. But as in most things, I think better is better...and if we keep getting better, maybe someday we'll get it all the way right.

Some good resources (even if we can't follow ALL of the suggestions, following any would be better, right?):

The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time very digestable. Some of the suggestions seem strange, but some are really good. And you can read about what the celebs are doing to be "green" (if you are into that sort of thing!)

Ideal Bite is a very fun website/newsletter that sends you one "green" tip each day.

The Lorax (Classic Seuss) is a great way to talk to kids about natural resources.


And I want to read these three - but there isn't room in the pile at the moment!

Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life

Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style

Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World